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Last modified: April 14, 2008

Headline News From Our
April 18, 2003 Issue

Leaders vow fight
to keep Butte water

CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE

About 800 area residents, business owners and public officials gathered at the Truth or Consequences Civic Center Thursday afternoon to ask questions of and voice their concerns, or outrage, to State Engineer John D’Antonio regarding his plans to dump Elephant Butte Lake.

City tables water rate hikes again

Truth or Consequences City Commissioners on Monday again tabled action toward raising water rates for city and Village of Williamsburg customers.

BLM seeks comments at T or C public meeting as part
of watershed planning for Sierra & Dona Ana counties

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will host a public meeting in Truth or Consequences on Tuesday, April 29, to hear comments about and invite participation in establishing priority watersheds in Sierra and Dona Ana Counties.

Prescribed burn planned on Wilderness District

The Wilderness Ranger District of the Gila National Forest will be conducting the Lincoln/Terry Prescribed Burn during the month of May.

Governor Richardson approves
capital projects for Sierra County

Governor Bill Richardson has signed a capital outlay package into law, paving the way for nearly $785,000 in community projects to benefit Sierra County.

Domenici announces $428,111
to improve NM scenic byways

Senator Pete Domenici last Friday celebrated the award of $428,111 in grant funds to improve nine federally-designated scenic byways in New Mexico, including thoroughfares in Grant, Sierra and Lincoln counties that highlight the region's natural, historical and cultural attributes.

Can You Get Published?

The Desert Journal has expanded its challenge “Can You Get Published?” as a result of its offer to and acceptance by Scott LaFon’s eighth grade Language I Arts class at the Truth or Consequences Middle School.

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The Shadow Advisory

By Bill Johnson, Editor

…An editor's eulogy
to Cliff Gardner

OBITUARIES

Death notices for Clifford C. Gardner, Joe Frank Garcia, Verna Marcia Stueber-Castleman, Maria DeJesus Regalado, Jennie L. Hill & Frank Chamberlin,

…Going, going, gone?

Most of the water behind Elephant Butte Dam will diminish to a small pool as the state holds more water upstream this summer to meet the demands of the silvery minnow, Santa Fe and the Middle Rio Grande. Meanwhile, tourism stands to suffer in Sierra County, home of New Mexico’s largest recreational facility. Farmers and merchants expect devastating economic impacts. County leaders promise a fight to keep the water at home. Click on photo to see more photos and details of the state's raw deal for Sierra County's summer tourism economy.

DJ photo by Bill Johnson

State Engineer
John D'Antonio

Realtor John Garcia (above) and other demonstrators show suppor for Elephant Butte Lake outside the T or C Civic Center, where State Engineer John D’Antonio and members of the Interstate Stream Commission Thursday addressed the concerns of area residents about plans to drain the lake dry this summer.

"All of New Mexico will suffer this summer as a result of the drought," State Engineer John D’Antonio told a large crowd in Truth or Consequences Thursday afternoon.

DJ photos by Bill Johnson

Leaders vow fight

to keep Butte water

By Fred Mramor

of the Desert Journal

The meeting also attracted reporters and camera crews from Albuquerque TV stations.

The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission is negotiating with the State of Texas to release as much as 217,500 acre feet of water from Elephant Butte in exchange for the right to store equal amounts of water in reservoirs north of Albuquerque to better meet the water needs of northern and central New Mexico and of the silvery minnow.

According to the 1938 Rio Grande Compact, New Mexico may not store water in reservoirs built after 1929 when there is less than 400,000 acre feet of water in Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs combined.

Elephant Butte Lake, now at one of its lowest levels since 1950, has about 395,000 acre feet of water between its shores.

Elephant Butte Mayor Bob Barnes opened Thursday’s public meeting saying, “Our voices have been heard,” and that Governor Bill Richardson wants to protect Sierra County’s water and economy.

Billy Sparks, one of the governor’s representatives in attendance along with the state engineer, said Sierra County is an extremely important economy to New Mexico and that the governor wants establish a working group so that the community’s concerns will be heard during the decision making process.

Sparks said this will not be the only time the community will see them, that the meeting is a first step and that there will be more discussions.

Sparks said that from everything the governor has heard, Elephant Butte Lake will be at a peak water level for Memorial Day weekend.

State Senator John Arthur Smith said he appraised property values in Sierra County long ago and that he understands the recreational and agricultural importance of Elephant Butte Lake.

“We knew that someday water will be a big issue and today is that day,” Smith said, but it has been only a few weeks since he has been aware of the plan to release water from Elephant Butte Lake.

Senator Lee Rawson said he is appalled at the arrogance of the administration (governor and staff) to make the offer to Texas without public input.

“This is input after the fact,” Rawson said, adding that it’s fortunate Texas turned down the (initial) offer.

No one seemed to believe Bill Hume from the governor’s staff when he said Bill Richardson knew nothing of the state engineer’s plans until very recently.

D’Antonio said his job is to balance water issues for the entire state but he is concerned about Sierra County’s economy, despite what has been printed in the newspapers.

The state engineer said Sierra County and New Mexico are now in a drought cycle following a15-20-year cycle of good rainfalls.

“We are all victims of the drought. Lakes are low all over the state,” D’Antonio said.

D’Antonio said that even after some water is released from Elephant Butte Lake it will be more than twice the size of other lakes in New Mexico and will have a recreational season this summer.

The state engineer said nothing has been done yet and negotiations are still being conducted with Texas. D’Antonio said he will be better about communicating with the Elephant Butte Lake community.

An Elephant Butte business owner said his business was off 40 percent last year and 20 percent the year before and asked how much worse can it get.

D’Antonio said he can’t predict the future but that we can hope for more rainfall. The real culprit is the drought, D’Antonio said.

Area resident Mary Ellen Bowman said that by robbing Peter to pay Paul, we’ll run out of Peters.

The state engineer countered that he is not trying to rob Peter but is trying to maintain priorities.

Asked if the state’s drought plan is being adhered to, D’Antonio said a new plan is being developed and that the current plan does not address the issue of moving large watersheds but only shortages in local communities.

The state engineer said he hopes he will be able to answer the question of how household wells will be affected after water is released from Elephant Butte Lake and said wells all over the state are going dry.

To the accusation that the administration is more concerned about the silvery minnow than it is about people, D’Antonio said the minnow actually allowed for more water being released from upstream and ultimately into Elephant Butte Lake.

Asked what Elephant Butte, Truth or Consequences and the Village of Williamsburg will get from Texas, the state engineer said there is a misconception that water released from Elephant Butte Lake will benefit only Texas but that it will also benefit New Mexico farmers south of the lake in the Elephant Butte Irrigation District.

Elephant Butte realtor Cindy Torres asked if the deal will eliminate Elephant Butte Lake’s water credits. “What will we do for water next year?”

D’Antonio said the reservoir will still have enough water credits after water is released, at least 47,500 acre feet, and more if less than 217,500 acre feet of water is released according to the original proposal.

Dave Armstrong of Lakeside RV Park told D’Antonio and the governors’ representatives that he had strong bookings for this summer only two weeks ago but that they have dropped drastically after the publicity about the state engineer’s plans to release water from the lake.

Armstrong said also his plans to purchase additional property and expand his business have been cancelled. The only local economic benefit from the plan, Armstrong said, will be the expansion of welfare and unemployment offices.

An Albuquerque boat dealer stressed the economic importance of Elephant Butte Lake not only in Sierra County but also to other communities whose businesses, like his, depend on the lake.

“The ripple effect goes far beyond Sierra County,” he said.

An Albuquerque man said he has used Elephant Butte Lake for boating for 50 years and he contributes to Sierra County’s economy in storing his boat, buying gas, paying for storage, eating at restaurants and buying groceries.

He said rumors of the lake going dry keep people from buying boats and dealers from stocking up. The Albuquerque man said he wants studies from other than state agencies and meetings on the issue elsewhere in the state.

Alma Grantham from the Bank of the Southwest said her bank has millions of dollars in business and agricultural loans out respecting Elephant Butte Lake.

A local business owner said the plan to release water from the lake is a bad decision that will make T or C a ghost town.

Another business owner said he only heard of the plan four days before and asked why the community is being blindsided. He said he doesn’t know how many people to hire or how much inventory to buy. He said he’s getting calls from all over the planet asking if it safe to take a boat into the lake or if there is any water.

…Sierra County officials weigh in

Sierra County Manager Adam Polley at the County Commission meeting Thursday morning said he would like to be proactive and offer an alternative proposal to the state engineer by resurrecting the concept of a “recreational pool” over time.

Polley said he realizes there is a drought also in northern New Mexico and that his hope is for a proposal that will make everyone happy.

County Attorney Jim Catron asked why the state would relinquish any water credits. “It means draining this pond and sending it down the river,” Catron said.

The county attorney said that according to the 1938 Rio Grande Compact there is an “absolute prohibition” to store water in reservoirs upstream of Albuquerque as the state engineer proposes, when there is less 400,000 acre feet of water in Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs combined, despite the authority claimed by the Interstate Stream Commission in John D’Antonio’s March 27 letter to the Rio Grande Compact Commissioner for Texas that cited an April 2001 Resolution of the Compact Commission.

Catron said the resolution is illegal and an abuse of power.

County Manager Polley said he had to pull a lot of strings to get a copy of the letter.

The county attorney said there is nothing the community can do stop the release of water from Elephant Butte Lake but can take legal action if water is stored in northern reservoirs when Elephant Butte and Caballo’s water levels fall below 400,000 acre feet.

Catron said the community must take an organized approach to any legal action and file an injunction against the Interstate Stream Commission, the state engineer and the governor.

Litigation could be very expensive, however, starting at about $10,000 and possibly reaching into the hundreds of thousand depending on when the state engineer calls it quits, the county attorney said.

Catron said the deal would benefit fishing lakes in northern New Mexico, the Elephant Butte Irrigation District and Mexico.

“Everything north of here to Cochiti will be collateral damage,” Catron said.

The county manager proposed working with the Arizona/New Mexico Coalition of Counties, with its combined political clout, in taking legal action if and when water is released from Elephant Butte Lake.

<<< >>>

Pearce reps to intervene

in EB Lake’s water issue

Representatives of U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce’s office will be meeting with citizens and officials of Truth or Consequences regarding the concerns over excessive drawdown of waters in the Rio Grande and Elephant Butte Reservoir.

The meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 22. A show of interest would be appreciated by all who are concerned. Call Angie Amin of the T or C City Manager’s Office at 894-6673 Ext. 105.

<<< >>>

Harv Kleinstiver of Elephant Butte was among about 400 concerned Sierra County residents who signed up at the meeting Thursday in T or C concerning plans to drain Elephant Butte Lake, the state’s largest recreational facility, this summer.
DJ photo by Bill Johnson

City tables water rate hikes again

By Fred Mramor

of the Desert Journal

Truth or Consequences City Commissioners on Monday again tabled action toward raising water rates for city and Village of Williamsburg customers and will further discuss the matter in an upcoming workshop.

After conducting a cost of services study, the city’s Utilities Advisory Board recommended higher water rates to raise revenues sufficient for the adequate and efficient operation and maintenance of the facility, to provide funding for needed system upgrades and to restore and maintain adequate reserves, according to the board’s Rate Study Report.

In plainer language, Advisory Board member Charlie Hibler said Tuesday the rate increases are meant to get the city’s water service to pay for itself and to fix water lines and tanks and “pretty much he whole system.”

Hibler said some of the city’s water lines are as much as 50 years old and leak all over town.

City water customers pay $1.84 per thousand gallons with the first 3,000 gallons free. The proposed rate schedule outlined in City Ordinance 525 includes the elimination of the 3,000 gallon “give away” and customers will pay $1.56 per thousand gallons for the first 7,000 gallons.

To encourage water conservation, customers will be charged higher rates for higher consumption. Under the proposed schedule, the city will charge $1.87 per thousand gallons for the first 22,000 gallons above 7,000 gallons, $2.24 per thousand for the next 20,000 gallons, and $2.69 per thousand over 50,000 gallons.

About 55 percent of the city’s water customers use less than 7,000 gallons a month and only 6 percent of customers use more than 29,000 gallons, according to Hibler.

The basic service charge for all customers, currently $7 a month, will be increased to $8.15 under the proposed rate schedule.

The Advisory Board recommends still greater increases in their proposed second and third steps.

Hibler said Monday he knows commissioners are concerned about the rate increases but asked that they consider the proposal, and if they do not adopt the proposed rate schedule, to provide the Board with guidance toward a rate structure commissioners will accept.

Commissioner and local K-Bob’s Steakhouse owner Bud Stevenson said outside of city commissioners’ meetings that he will oppose this and any measure that will place higher costs on the city’s business owners.

…State to pay $9,000

Commissioners at their regular meeting Monday also approved an agreement with the New Mexico State Office on Aging in which the state agency will provide $9,000 for improvements to the city’s Senior Service Center on West Fourth Street.

The state agency has up to seven years to spend the funds but commissioners at City Manager Richard Ramsey’s request will include the revenue and expenditure in the city’s fiscal year 2003-04 budget with expectations that specific projects - to be determined by the city commission, the state agency and the Sierra Joint Office on Aging - will be completed next year.

…Tribute to Ken James

To honor retired Sierra Joint Office on Aging Director Ken James, commissioners renamed the Truth or Consequences Senior Center as the Kenneth James Memorial Senior Center.

James was instrumental in establishing the city’s Senior Center and securing funds to continue its operation the last 20 years, City Commission Resolution 23-02/03 states.

The resolution acknowledges that State Senate Memorial 37, as introduced by State Senator John Arthur Smith, recognizes Kenneth James for his contributions to the people of New Mexico.

…Tribute to Mike Tooley

Bestowing a like honor on the T or C Fire Department’s chief, commissioners, at the request of members of the volunteer fire department and auxiliary, named the city’s new Fire Hall on East 9th Street for Mike O. Tooley.

Tooley has been a member of the volunteer fire department since 1969 and has been its chief since 1981. He was named Volunteer Firefighter of the Year in 1975 and Fire Chief of the Year in 2001, City Commission Resolution 24-02/03 states.

The new fire hall and emergency operations center was dedicated to Tooley in January 2002 by Senator Smith and Liz Bernal of the South Central Council of Governments.

Mike Tooley said at the city commission meeting he appreciates the recognition in having the new fire hall named for him and especially when it was initiated by members of the volunteer fire department.

Mayor Jimmy Rainey jokingly said that while it’s nice to have a park, building or trash can named for you, what really counts is what people think of you when they propose such honors.

…And for more tributes?

Commissioners next adopted Resolution 25-02/03 to establish a policy for naming city buildings and parks to honor citizens, outstanding city employees and elected officials for their accomplishments and contributions to the City of Truth or Consequences.

The policy provides for buildings and parks to be named for honored individuals and for photographs and other memorabilia to be hung in City Commission Chambers upon the approval and official action of the city commission.

With Nadyne Gardner absent, commissioners initially voted 2 to 2 vote with Commissioners Stevenson and Everett Banister opposing on grounds that the city will run out of parks and buildings to name for deserving individuals. Banister a little later moved to reconsider the motion and all four commissioners present voted in favor of the resolution.

Stevenson said he wouldn’t want anyone’s feelings to be hurt when the city has no more parks and buildings to rename. Banister said the city will paint itself into a corner by exhausting its supply of parks and buildings it can name for city honorees.

Mayor Rainey countered that such individuals can be placed on a waiting list and that a city park or building will be named for them as they become available.

Commissioner Lois Reaver-Black said that this sort of recognition will be reserved for individuals who have provided outstanding service to the city over a period of many years.

…Vehicle policy passes

Due to rising fuel and maintenance costs, commissioners adopted a policy allowing police officers and other city employees on standby or on-call duty to take their city-issued vehicles home, providing those employees live within 10 miles of their duty stations.

Concerned about the response time required for off-duty police officers during emergencies, commissioners feel that officers who take city-owned police vehicles to their homes should be ready and able to respond to emergency calls within a reasonable time, the policy states.

Due to liability concerns, unauthorized persons are prohibited from traveling in city vehicles and city employees may not transport any person who is not directly involved with city business, according to the new policy.

Mayor Jimmy Rainey said the city needs a policy that says city-owned vehicles will be used only for official purposes, citing instances in the past where four-wheel drive police vehicles were used for hunting in Winston.

“It’s not that we don’t want you to use the vehicle. We want you to use it. We want you to take it home and bring it back. There has to be limits and there has to be a policy for what you can do and can’t do,” the mayor said.

The policy does not, however, explicitly prohibit employees from using their city-issued vehicles to conduct personal business during employees’ off hours but only limits the distance an employee may live from his duty station to within 10 miles if the employee is to drive the vehicle home.

…Manager hires an assistant

City Manager Richard Ramsey said he has hired local engineer Doug Copeland as his assistant city manager on an emergency basis.

Copeland will fill the assistant manager’s position on a part-time basis for 90 days after which the job will be advertised and filled on a permanent basis.

The position has been vacant since Mark Huntzinger left the post in January last year when a dozen or so city employees were laid off or their positions eliminated to help resolve a city budget crisis.

Commissioners re-authorized the assistant city manager’s position in a special meeting on March 25, Ramsey said.

Having at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering, Copeland will serve also as the city’s joint utilities director, Mayor Rainey said Tuesday. The utilities director’s position has been vacant since Neil Knott resigned in January this year.

…Parade to support troops

The city manager said a parade to honor American troops serving in Iraq will be held Saturday, April 19. The parade will proceed from the Veterans’ Center on South Broadway at 8:30 a.m.

…The Wall is here!

Rainey and Stevenson announced The Wall That Heals is here. A half-scale model of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Wall was welcomed to Truth or Consequences with a parade downtown last Saturday.

Now in storage, the Wall will be erected along with other monuments at the Veterans Memorial Park now under construction next to the Veterans’ Center. Rainey said the Wall is a larger version of The Wall That Heals that was in T or C during Veterans Day 2001.

“This is something very, very personal to me,” Mayor Rainey said. “I am a Vietnam veteran and I’ve waited for 26 years for something like this to happen to us. Now we have the opportunity to be one of the most sought after sites for all veterans’ groups in the Southwest.”

“If you have ever seen it or if you have ever been to the one in DC, it’s an awesome feeling. I have never made that trip, I haven’t convinced myself yet that I’m ready to make that trip,” Rainey said.

The mayor acknowledged the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce, Bobby Allen and Carol Wilson of the Veterans’ Center in bringing the Wall to T or C.

…Judge grants stay

The city manager said District Judge Kevin Sweazea on April 10 granted a stay for D & R Tank Company in their dispute with the city over a contract to build a water storage tank.

The city had awarded the water tank contract to low bidder Allen Douglas Construction (ADC). D & R protested the bid award, which city commissioners upheld after hearings on Feb. 26 and March 10.

D & R alleges that ADC was non-responsive in its bid for the contract in that ADC failed to list all its subcontractors as required by law.

ADC was to hire Brown-Minneapolis who in turn was to hire an independent painting subcontractor, not named in ADC’s bid, to inspect Brown-Minneapolis’s work.

ADC countered, saying they are not required to name second-tier subcontractors in their bid. ADC attorney David Gorman described the remedy of declaring his client’s bid non-responsive as drastic and said it would deprive the low bidder of a project into which it has already invested $22,000.

Gorman said also the drastic remedy would cost the city $155,062 – the difference between ADC’s and D & R’s bid. ADC priced the job at $1,258,256 plus tax.

City Attorney Jay Rubin said during Monday’s city commission meeting that while the city is a party to the case, attorneys representing the two contractors will slug it out in court.

<<< >>>

...Spring cleaning

Time to get out the gloves, rakes and whatever it takes to clean up the town before the big Fiesta weekend May 2-4 in Truth or Consequences. Above, a barrel marks the spot where tons of white goods were removed from city property along the Rio Grande and which will be in view of the new Veterans Memorial Park on South Broadway.
DJ photo by Bill Johnson

BLM seeks comments at T or C public meeting as part

of watershed planning for Sierra & Dona Ana counties

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the T or C Civic Center, 400 W. 4^th St.

"The meeting is a part of follow-on planning required by the Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement (RMPA/EIS), which established standards for public land health, especially as it pertains to livestock grazing," according to Jim Stovall, BLM-Las Cruces lead natural resource specialist.

The RMPA/EIS, published in January 2001 by the Secretary of the Interior, lists the lower Rio Grande as a "priority area-of-interest" watershed that includes about 650,000 acres of public land in southeast Sierra and extreme northeast Dona Ana Counties between Truth or Consequences and Hatch.

The public land in Sierra County is east of the Rio Grande. The land in Dona Ana County is east of the Rio Grande and north of the College Ranch and the Jornada Experimental Station, according to Phil Smith, BLM range management specialist.

"We're trying very hard to make sure that land users in particular and all interested parties have a say in how these watersheds are established and managed. We're really hoping for a big turnout," Stovall said.

Information about the RMPA/EIS, planning for the watershed and the April 29 meeting are available by calling Stovall, 525-4309, or Smith, 525-4372.

<<< >>>

Prescribed burn planned

on Wilderness Ranger District

MIMBRES - The Wilderness Ranger District of the Gila National Forest will be conducting the Lincoln/Terry Prescribed Burn during the month of May.

Objectives of the prescribed burn are to improve wildlife habitat, watershed conditions and reduce fuel accumulations.

The prescribed burn is located eight miles north of the Wilderness Ranger District office in the North Star Mesa area off Forest Road 150. Planned acreage for the Lincoln/Terry prescribed burn is 2,500 acres.

Firefighting personnel will be monitoring and overseeing the project.

Smoke from this project will be visible during early morning and evening hours in the Lake Roberts and Mimbres Valley but is expected to dissipate as day time temperatures increase.

For more information about the Lincoln/Terry Prescribed burn project, call District Fire Management Officer Robbie Gallardo at (505) 536-2250.

<<< >>>

Governor Richardson approves

capital projects for Sierra County

SANTA FE - Governor Bill Richardson has signed a capital outlay package into law, paving the way for nearly $785,000 in community projects to benefit Sierra County.

Under the bills signed into law by the governor, the New Mexico State Veterans Home will receive $145,907 for kitchen flooring, and $199,000 will help pave Balboa and Hallmark streets in Elephant Butte.

Gov. Richardson said while there are flaws in the capital outlay process, he still believes most projects - especially in rural communities - are vital for economic development.

"This package I've signed is an important part of New Mexico's economic development engine," Governor Richardson said. "These projects create thousands of jobs across the state."

Capital Outlay Projects for Sierra County include:

$100,000 to pave Balboa & Hallmark Streets in Elephant Butte.

$99,000 for kitchen flooring at the NM State Veterans' Home in T or C.

$145,907 for Sierra County offices computer system.

$10,000 for T or C drilling test holes for aquifer.

$75,000 for T or C effluent water transport.

<<< >>>

Domenici announces $428,111

to improve NM scenic byways

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pete Domenici last Friday celebrated the award of $428,111 in grant funds to improve nine federally-designated scenic byways in New Mexico, including thoroughfares in Grant, Sierra and Lincoln counties that highlight the region's natural, historical and cultural attributes.

Domenici announced the $428,111 grant award with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta on April 11.

The funds can be used to make improvements that will enhance the experience for travelers on scenic byways, including safety improvements, bike and pedestrian facilities, scenic overlooks, and visitor information.

"I think it's wonderful that New Mexico's scenic byways are getting this boost from the Transportation Department. We have some of the best vistas in the nation, and I'm sure that will be apparent to more people when they get to Albuquerque next month for the National Scenic Byways Conference," Domenici said.

"This grant will be used on trails all over the state. These byways are being used effectively as an economic development and tourism tool," he said.

The grant funding will help to promote tourism, expand educational and community outreach programs, improve access to recreational activities and assist in the conservation of the historical, cultural and natural assets of the following New Mexico scenic byways:

Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway ($40,000), Wheeler Peak, Taos & Colfax counties;

Billy the Kid Trail ($24,160), Lincoln County Corridor Management Plan Implementation;

Trail of Mountain Spirits Byway ($40,000), beginning at Silver City, runs through the Pinos Altos Mountain Range and ends at the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument;

Turqouise Trail ($24,884), Albuquerque to Santa Fe trail via the "ghost" mining towns of Golden, Madrid, and Cerrillos;

Historic Route 66/1926 Bypass ($25,000), New Mexico Corridor Management Plan Implementation;

Historic Route 66/El Camino Real ($20,000), Los Ranchos de Albuquerque; and,

Jemez Mountain Trail ($25,000), Sandoval & Los Alamos counties, looping through the Santa Fe National Forest and the recreation areas of Jemez Pueblo.

The funds will also support the following projects:

Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway, Sierra County - $42,115 to construct a rest area in Chloride, providing the only public facilities within a 40-mile radius of the communities of Winston and Chloride, two small adjacent communities along the trail.

El Camino Real, Santa Fe County - $151,352 for construction of a multi-use trail, several trailheads and an outdoor educational center related to the Santa Fe River Trail Development project, promoted by the city and county of Santa Fe. It is part of a long-term plan to provide recreational and immediate educational opportunities for school children, the local public and tourists.

Jemez Mountain Trail, Sandoval County - $35,600 for construction of an informative "turn-out", located next to an historic church, in the village of San Ysidro along the trail.

Domenici noted there is an April 25 registration deadline to attend the 2003 Scenic Byways Conference May 18-21 in Albuquerque.

Domenici last year pressed to have the conference in New Mexico.

<<< >>>

Can You Get Published?

…Desert Journal expands challenge

All youths of the community – Truth or Consequences, Sierra County and New Mexico – are invited to write on any subject of their interest, whether it be the war with Iraq, home or school life, pets, friends, or whatever they so desire as long as they don’t slander or defame anyone. Articles must be typed, double-spaced and use proper language with a 250-word limit.

This youth literacy publishing project is the brainchild of local writer Chris Wortman, LaFon and Desert Journal editor Bill Johnson.

The following is the fourth installment of articles found publish worthy among Mr. LaFon’s students.

The humiliation of paint ball

By Jesse Flora

You can feel it when you play the game. The adrenalin is running up you back and into your mind.

You know that you’re good and you think you will come out victorious. So you go into the game with a clear mind.

I’ve bet you felt that before. You’ve felt the great rush of superiority. Then you see the kinds of guns your opponents are carrying.

You think to yourself, “Ha! How are they going to play the game with a gun like that?”

You have a ZXS-600E (it is fully automatic) and they have a Stingray (a semi automatic).

I’m thinking to myself, “What kinds of Bozos come into the tourney with a semi?”

I had done some research on him the day before. He had won several tourneys with that same gun. But I still underestimated him.

On the day of the tourney my team and I got ready. We thought we were going to win.

We thought we were going to rumble the field. We went out onto the field and looked at each and every opponent.

We were thinking that each one of them was in a lower class of paintball skill than we were. So the game began.

My team and I spread out – we thought we could do more damage this way. I went to the right thinking that no one can stop us now.

I hid behind a balloon looking for someone to shoot. All of a sudden I saw paintballs hurling at me.

I jumped down to my stomach. All of a sudden I felt a pounding pain go up my back.

I turned around and stared. It was the kid with the stingray.

I left that day with the humiliation of getting shot point blank range.

<<< >>>

The Shadow Advisory

By Bill Johnson

Editor of the Desert Journal

…An editor’s eulogy to Cliff Gardner

Cliff Gardner made me a better listener, a better journalist. The lesson he taught me may even have contributed to all of the journalism awards I have accumulated over the years.

He taught me – although he may never have known it – that tape recorders lie! “Lie?” you ask.

“Yes, lie,” I reply.

Cliff was many things to many people, but for me he was a godsend, although our words may have been harsh.

I was working on the county beat as a reporter for Brand x (little x because they don’t earn the respect of a big X) 16 years ago. At that particular time in 1987 I was covering a meeting of the Sierra County Commission and Cliff Gardner was a member of the board.

It was my publisher’s policy to quote some sources with their entire statement, although at times un-comprehendible or not even quote worthy, even if it makes someone who may actually be smart look stupid because maybe they’re not the publisher’s best friend and the boss wants to make a show and belittle them, like this particular run-in with Cliff Gardner.

Anyway, I used to have this company issued tape recorder and my boss told me I had to record what officials said so I could prove it later if I had to. So the recorder was on when Gardner was spouting off a saying, “Of mice and men… blah… blah… blah…”

I don’t exactly remember all of the details but I’m sure if I wanted to torture myself I could look at library microfiche and glean through dozens of Brand x issues to try to find exactly how I quoted Gardner in the published story. But that’s not the point.

At the next meeting Gardner confronted me and asked me if I heard his quote right and whether I knew the popular saying, and he quoted it again, “Of mice and men…blah…blah…blah…”

I responded I wasn’t familiar with his famous quote and told him I took his quote straight off the tape recorder.

He said I was either deaf (how prophetic, at the time I could hear perfectly well but depended on tape recorders and now I’m half deaf, and well, I’ll tell you the rest of the story), or my tape recorder lied.

I was befuddled and thought I had just been insulted, but I said nothing and left it all behind at that, as far as Gardner would be concerned – he had his word. The rest Cliff Gardner would never know because he died last week, unless he can hear me now.

I later went to the Brand x office where I worked and discussed the issue of misquoting the county commissioner and so my colleague, Lee Dubois, and I listened to the tape recording and agreed that I had quoted Gardner correctly, with fumbled grammar and misplaced words. Then our boss walked in and we explained the situation of being accused of misquoting Gardner to make him look bad in the paper and our boss said, “Let me listen to the tape.”

And wouldn’t you know it, the damned tape said exactly what Gardner said he had said and we were dumbfounded – the tape recorder did indeed lie and to this day it’s still a mystery except my friend Lee and I believe the tape recorder was demon possessed because after our boss left the room, the tape recorder went back to saying the same lie over and over and over again. We must have listened to the recording a hundred times and the only time it told the truth was the one time when our boss was listening too.

Since that day I have not relied on one tape recording or recorder – I depend on only my listening skills despite the fact that I’m now totally deaf in one of my ears and hear constant ringing 24 hours every day of the year, which makes hearing difficult in my good ear.

But let me say this – I’m a better listener than most people who have all of their hearing because of the lesson I learned from the Gardner tapes.

So, Cliff Gardner wasn’t such a bad guy after all, at least not quite the illiterate guy that my publishers had required us reporters to portray their political enemies by putting their entire statements behind quotes and thus confuse our readers.

No, I’ve learned over the years that it’s best to get rid of quotes where they’re not needed by paraphrasing and at times I have made even the most poorly speaking people appear at least halfway intelligent by sparing readers of the noise.

NOISE! Anyone who buys it must have ringing in their ears twice worse than in mine.

So, thanks to Cliff Gardner, I at least want his family and friends to know how much I relish our short lived relationship that has taught me most of all humility and to think the best of humanity no matter how poorly they speak (or are misquoted by a cursed machine) and give people due respect, even if tape recorders ain’t got it right.

Editor’s footnote – I laugh when new reporters ask for a tape recorder to use on the job.

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OBITUARIES

Clifford C. Gardner, 78, a longtime Truth or Consequences resident, businessman and former member of the Sierra County Commission, died Wednesday, April 9, 2003, after a long bout with cancer.

He was born Dec. 4, 1924, in Valleyhead, AL, and moved to Santa Rosa, NM, with his family three years later. He was co-valedictorian at Santa Rosa High, sharing the honor with his first wife, Lois McGuire.

The World War II veteran was introduced to the war on D-Day, landing on Juneau Beach while attached to the Canadian 3rd Army. He served in Europe during the entire war against Germany. While serving in the OSS, he often went behind enemy lines and worked with resisting forces inside Nazi-occupied territories. While awaiting a new assignment after the allies retaking of Paris, he served as Ernest Hemingway’s driver while the writer was a war correspondent for various United States news agencies.

Gardner was among the first group of American liberators of the infamous Nazi death camp in Buchenwald. He was honorably discharged from service in December 1945, returning to the states and marrying Lois McGuire shortly afterward.

Clifford entered the University of New Mexico’s engineering school and eventually went to work for Timpte Brothers trailer manufacturers. He managed with Timpte until he retired in 1978. In 1976, he married Nadyne Nave Heard, then a school teacher at Taylor Middle School in Albuquerque. The pair moved to T or C in 1979 and Gardner went into the Nave family ranching business.

A few years later, Gardner found a group of investors in southern New Mexico and started KSNM-FM in Williamsburg. The station eventually moved its headquarters to Las Cruces and shortly thereafter the group launched another station, KHQT -FM, serving southern New Mexico and El Paso. Gardner remained active as one of the stations’ directors until they were sold in late 2002.

While married to Nadyne, Clifford enjoyed traveling and fishing. His love of fishing took him from salmon streams in Alaska to deep-sea fishing exploits in the Gulfs of Mexico and California and various points in between. But his true love was Elephant Butte Lake. He and Nadyne were great friends and companions, traveling often, making endless friends across the country. In the late 1980s, Nadyne served in the Department of Education in Washington, DC, as a member of the Bush Administration. While she whiled away her days in the District, Clifford spent his time fishing the waters of the Potomac. But he was genuinely in love with life in T or C, what he often referred to as “the Center of the Universe.”

In the mid-1980s Clifford served as a Sierra County Commissioner, winning his first term in a “landslide” by two votes. Never a big “joiner” he was proud to belong to the Brotherhood of the Elks, joining in Albuquerque where he said they “made a good steak and had a fine saloon.” He was also a member of the Rotary Club and Sierra Bass Club.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Laura; his first wife, Lois; a younger brother, Bill; sister, Vivian; and granddaughter, Alexa Heard.

He is survived by his wife and “bride” of 28 years, Nadyne; his three daughter, Carla Ilfeld, Jenifer Erickson and Anne Hallet; three sons, Whitney, John Heard and Jeffry; a brother, Leonard; a sister Joanne Winland; his mother-in-law, Ruby Nave; his grandchildren, Matthew and Jason Vaillencourt, Sean, Michael and Alicia Gardner, Amber Graham, Wake and Aidan Gardner, Greta Erickson, Zack and Nick Heard, and Delilah and Damien Hallet; and four great-granddaughters.

Visitation was held Apri113 in the Chapel of French Mortuary or T or C and services were conducted Monday, April 14, at the Hillsboro Community Center with Rev. Jack Cain officiating and Vernel Trujillo as pianist and Jeffry Gardner and Alicia Gardner as soloists. Interment was in the Hillsboro Cemetery. Casket bearers were Bil