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Last modified:
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Headline
News From Our
April 25, 2003 Issue
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Governor
cuts Butte water
loss by half
Governor Bill
Richardson has decreed that 122,500 acre feet of water will be released
from Elephant Butte Lake between now and the end of September, Elephant
Butte Mayor Bob Barnes said Wednesday.
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NM
Farm Bureau lauds compromise
agreement
for EB Reservoir releases
The state's
largest agricultural organization Wednesday praised a compromise that will
save the irrigation season on the Rio Grande and protect family farming
operations and associated businesses.
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Domenici
works to ease hardships
associated with lower EB Reservoir
Senator
Pete Domenici this week began receiving assurances that the Bureau of
Reclamation will help mitigate the economic hardships that could be felt
by Elephant Butte small businesses when New Mexico and Texas reach a Rio
Grande water delivery agreement.
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Gila
infested with beetles:
Worst
outbreak in 50 years
Much
of New Mexico is currently experiencing a large upswing in piñon and
ponderosa pine mortality due to outbreaks of several species of Ips
beetles and the western pine beetle.
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Fort
McRae named to
the
State Register
The Cultural
Properties Review Committee (CPRC), the governor appointed board
overseeing the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division (HPD) of the
Department of Cultural Affairs, has named several places to the State
Register of Cultural Properties.
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Scenic
Byways Program receives $428,111
The New
Mexico Highway and Transportation Department received word from Senator
Jeff Bingaman’s office that the Department’s Scenic Byways program
will receive $428,111 in federal funds for fiscal year 2003.
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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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CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE
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The
Shadow Advisory
By
Bill Johnson, Editor
…Veterans
who
get
the
goodies
& NM Vets who do not
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OBITUARIES
Death
notices for Lillian
K. Crabtree, Evelyn Joyce Smith, George John Gibbs, Gene Fruit,
Richard L. Bleck, Rachel M. Jones & Michael Ralph Morgan.
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Mardi
Gras on the Rio Grande
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CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE |
2003 Truth or Consequences
Fiesta shapes up for big weekend - Click on underscored link for Fiesta
events and information. See
this week: Miss Fiesta crowned!
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…Portrait
party at Senior Center
These
dedicated volunteer members of the Sierra Joint Office on Aging Board of
Directors who have made life that much better for Sierra County’s
elderly are about to hang their portraits in the halls of the Ken James
Senior Citizens Center, 360 W. 4th St. in Truth or
Consequences. The photos were presented during special ceremonies
Wednesday at the Center’s meal site. Shown are (from left) Wally
Vollbrecht, 25 years of service; Odelia Garcia, 20 years; Ken James (at
rear center), founder of the Senior Citizens Programs in T or C and Sierra
County, retired executive director of SJOA after 29 years of service;
Jeannette Johnson, 20-plus years; Lela Anderson, 3 years; and Amanda
Parkes, 18 years and whose many donated works of art brighten up the
Center’s walls. Click on photo to see who else got awards.
DJ
photo by Bill Johnson
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Governor
cuts Butte water
loss by half
Only
122,500 acre feet
to
be released this summer
By
Fred Mramor
of
the Desert Journal
Governor Bill Richardson has decreed that
122,500 acre feet of water will be released from Elephant Butte Lake
between now and the end of September, Elephant Butte Mayor Bob Barnes said
Wednesday.
The water will be gradually released,
half by Aug. 1 and half in late August and September, Barnes said.
In a plan that he may not have intended
to share with Sierra County residents, business owners and public
officials, State Engineer John D’Antonio originally proposed releasing
217,000 acre feet from the lake into the Rio Grande and on to Texas, thus
permitting the state to store an equal amount of water in northern New
Mexico reservoirs.
Though never granted an audience with
the governor and only able to speak with administration staffers Bill Hume
and Billy Sparks, Mayor Barnes said he thinks last week’s public meeting
in Truth or Consequences, attended by hundreds of alarmed local residents
and officials, got the governor’s attention and probably resulted in the
smaller release amount.
“They heard what we had to say and I
think it affected the final decision because we raised the devil,”
Barnes said.
The mayor said he’s disappointed that
more thought wasn’t given to the impact on the local economy before the
plan was formulated and that locals, officials or otherwise, weren’t
consulted.
Barnes said of State Engineer John
D’Antonio that he approaches his decisions from an engineering
standpoint with no consideration to local economy and people.
The mayor said Elephant Butte business
owners base their decisions to purchase inventory, hire employees, take
out loans and advertise on monthly water level reports from the Bureau of
Reclamation.
But without advance notice from the
state or any opportunity to offer their input before the engineer got
involved, Barnes said those business decisions are down the drain.
The governor’s final decision will
mean more water will be released than local officials and business owners
hoped for, but less than originally proposed, Barnes said, adding,
“We’ll live with it.”
The mayor doesn’t anticipate that any
legal action will be taken to prevent the release of water from the lake
because legal costs could run into the hundreds of thousands, precedents
regarding water compacts haven’t been established and the outcome would
be uncertain.
“We’re at the mercy of these
decisions,” Barnes said.
To make the best of the situation, the
mayor said Elephant Butte will have to get aggressive with advertising
campaigns in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, El Paso and Tucson promoting what is
still the largest lake in New Mexico and Arizona.
Elephant Butte will also work closely
with State Parks toward an ad campaign throughout the state, Barnes said.
Currently estimated at between 380,000
and 400,000 acre feet, Barnes said he expects that after 122,500 acre feet
have been released, the lake’s water level will be about the same as it
was during the 1970s.
But Barnes said he had just as much fun
boating on Elephant Butte Lake in the seventies when the water level was
lower than it is now and that he always considered a full lake as a bonus.
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NM Farm Bureau
lauds compromise
agreement for EB
Reservoir releases
The state's largest agricultural
organization Wednesday praised a compromise that will save the irrigation
season on the Rio Grande and protect family farming operations and
associated businesses.
The president of the New Mexico Farm
and Livestock Bureau, Mike White, said the compromise announced by
Governor Bill Richardson is indeed a "win-win" agreement which
protects the state's substantial agricultural resources.
"Farmers will be able to irrigate
and grow our important food and fiber crops up and down the Rio Grande
while preserving recreational opportunities at Elephant Butte Lake. We
appreciate the efforts put forth by Governor Richardson and his team in
negotiating a viable agreement that is good news for all the
stakeholders," White said.
The Farm Bureau President noted that
the relinquishment of the water to the Texas portion of the Rio Grande
Compact also includes water for the Hatch and Mesilla Valleys.
He noted that the Elephant Butte Dam
was built for the primary purposes of flood control and irrigation and he
said New Mexico farmers empathize with Truth or Consequences residents and
businesses.
"We're in a drought and we're all
in the same boat," White said. "We must never lose sight of the
value of our limited water resources."
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Domenici works
to ease hardships
associated with
lower EB Reservoir
U.S. Senator Pete Domenici this week
began receiving assurances that the Bureau of Reclamation will help
mitigate the economic hardships that could be felt by Elephant Butte small
businesses when New Mexico and Texas reach a Rio Grande water delivery
agreement.
Domenici, as chairman of the Senate
Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee that has funding
jurisdiction over the Bureau of Reclamation, said the federal agency has
agreed to a number of actions that would help ease the potential harm to
the Sierra County/Elephant Butte recreation-based economy.
Domenici has been working directly with
Bureau Commissioner John W. Keys on the issue.
The states of New Mexico and Texas are
currently negotiating a water delivery agreement by which more than half
of the water in Elephant Butte would be delivered to Texas in exchange for
permission for New Mexico to store more water in lakes and reservoirs
north of Albuquerque.
"I can clearly understand the
concern among people in Sierra County who fear that Elephant Butte could
be left a big muddy hole. The area has developed an extensive small
business foundation based on water recreation, and any radical diminution
of that water base would be very hurtful to that business base,"
Domenici said.
"Because the Elephant Butte
Reservoir is a federal facility, I am working with the Bureau to try to
ease or avoid these hardships. The plug will not be pulled on the lake,
and the Bureau is willing to work with us to keep Elephant Butte
attractive as a recreation destination even if the water is drawn down and
managed differently by the state of New Mexico," he said.
Domenici said he has asked the Bureau
of Reclamation to use its Drought Emergency Assistance program to help
address the immediate, and more long-term, management of Elephant Butte
water levels.
"The history of Elephant Butte has
been that about 25 percent of the time it has been under the minimum pool
requirement. Low water levels are not just a recent predicament for the
lake. We need to be more focused about its management. This is
particularly true in terms of looking at Elephant Butte as a recreational
and economic base, well beyond its original irrigation and flood control
interests," Domenici said.
"The Bureau's recognition of this
fact in New Mexico is significant," the senator said.
The Bureau, Domenici said, has
indicated it will work with the state to moderate the rate at which water
would be delivered to Texas so that there is no rapid reduction in
Elephant Butte water levels. This would serve to allow for a longer
boating season.
Domenici is also determining how to
give the Bureau, as the federal administrator of the irrigation and flood
control dam, authority and funding to extend or modify the boat ramps at
the lake.
Domenici said he would work to give the
Bureau this authority without seeking a local cost-share percentage
payment from dock and ramp owners.
"The ongoing drought has been, and
will continue to be, a terrible burden for New Mexico, and this episode is
just another indication that it will take innovation and cooperation to
see us through these hard and dry times," Domenici said.
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Truth
or Consequences City Commissioners Nadyne Gardner and Lois Reaver-Black
(both at center) accept a certificate of appreciation for the
Commission’s support the last 29 years for the Senior Citizens Programs.
Presenting the honors Wednesday are Ken James, retired executive director
of the Sierra Joint Office on Aging, and Jennie Bustamante, director of
the local Retired & Seniors Volunteer Program.
DJ photo by Bill
Johnson
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Gila
infested with beetles:
Worst
outbreak in 50 years
By
Paul Tidwell
Silviculturist
Gila
National Forest
Reserve
Ranger District
Much of
New Mexico is currently experiencing a large upswing in piñon and
ponderosa pine mortality due to outbreaks of several species of Ips
beetles and the western pine beetle.
Low tree
vigor caused by several years of drought and excessively dense stands of
trees have combined to allow bark beetle populations to reach outbreak
levels.
Aerial
surveys indicate during the last two years, bark beetles have killed about
71,000 acres of ponderosa pine on the Gila National Forest. Piñon
mortality is harder to assess as the piñon-juniper woodlands are not
routinely surveyed.
These insects
are native to piñon-juniper woodlands and ponderosa pine forests of the
Southwest, normally attacking only a small number of diseased or weakened
trees. Healthy trees are usually not susceptible to these beetles.
The bark
beetles are tiny, roughly 1/8 inch long, or about the size of a
match-head. These beetles have multiple generations per year, and when
conditions are favorable, they have a tremendous capacity to increase
their populations.
The beetles
attack trees by chewing through the outer bark and laying eggs. When the
eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the soft, nutritious inner bark.
Also, the
beetles introduce a "blue-stain" fungus that spreads through and
clogs the water and nutrient conducting tissues, hastening tree death.
Once the insects mature, they leave the infested tree and travel to a new
host. Usually, they travel only a short distance, but they are capable of
moving up to ½ mile or more.
Millions of
piñon trees have already been killed, mostly where piñon and juniper
grow together. Juniper is unaffected by the insect attacking the piñons.
In some
localized areas, up to 70% of the piñons have died, leaving only the
smallest seedlings to survive. Even then, small piñons may be vulnerable
to another, less aggressive insect, the twig beetle.
Ponderosa
pine mortality is also on the increase, although not at the scale of piñon.
This is the
worst bark beetle epidemic in the Southwest in almost 50 years. If the
drought persists, more trees can be expected to die.
On the Gila
National Forest, the stands where losses exceed 30% are dense and the
crowns are close together.
Currently,
tree mortality is centered in "stress-zones" such as drier
south-facing slopes, transition areas between ponderosa pine and piñon-juniper
areas, recent construction sites, and areas heavily infected with dwarf
mistletoe.
Infested
trees will start to turn reddish-brown within a month of attack. Evidence
of infestation can include sawdust at the tree's base or in bark crevices,
small popcorn-like masses of sap called "pitch tubes," small
boring holes, and a "fading" of the needles.
If the tree
is extremely drought-stressed, it may not produce pitch tubes, which are
its natural defense against the beetles.
Once beetles
have left a tree, it no longer poses a threat to other trees as a source
of beetle infestation.
…Treatment
There is
nothing that can be done to save a tree after it has been successfully
attacked by bark beetles and infected with the blue-stain fungus.
If the goal
is to kill the beetles under the bark, then infested trees must be
cut-down and treated by one of the following means:
·
Pile and cover logs with clear
plastic in a sunny site. This produces high temperatures by a greenhouse
effect.
·
Peel the bark from logs,
·
Burn, chip, or bury the logs. It
must be noted that fresh pine chips can attract Ips beetles and should be
immediately removed from forested sites.
Fresh pine
debris over 4-inches in diameter, created during tree thinning operations,
must be removed from the forest or treated as noted above to prevent it
from becoming breeding material for Ips beetles.
There is no
effective insecticide treatment for infested trees. Injecting trees with
systemic insecticides is not an effective method of control or prevention
due to the feeding location of the beetles within the inner bark.
Be aware that
removal of actively infested trees may not be an effective treatment
option during an epidemic because of the difficulty in detecting and
removing all green-infested trees, the asynchrony and rapidity of beetle
reproduction, and the sometimes overwhelming opportunities for
re-infestation from adjacent untreated properties.
Due to the
extent of the outbreaks and the tremendous capacity of bark beetles to
reproduce, the implementation of effective large-scale control actions to
prevent further tree losses is not feasible.
…Protecting
high value trees
Trees
not yet infested can be protected by annual applications of a preventive
insecticide. Carbaryl and permethrin are specifically labeled for this
purpose, but carbaryl is the preferred material because it provides longer
protection.
Typical home
and garden insecticides should not be used. The entire surface of the
trunk and large limbs must be thoroughly sprayed. Ips beetles will attack
any limb or trunk 3 inches in diameter or larger, so care must be taken to
treat to these diameter minimums.
Over the long
run, reduction of tree density, disposal of the resulting woody debris,
and appropriate use of prescribed fire, will not only improve forest
health, but also greatly reduce the probability of bark beetle outbreaks
and catastrophic wildfire.
The removal
of brush and thinning of trees will ensure remaining trees get more water
and nutrients therefore making them healthier and more resistant to insect
attacks and disease.
For more
information contact: Debra Allen-Reid, 505-842-3286; Gabe Partido,
505-388-8377;
Paul Tidwell, 505-533-6232; George Duda, 505-476-3332; or the local
New Mexico State Forestry District Office, local County Extension Agents
and Natural Resource Conservation Districts also can provide assistance.
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General
Summary of Insect/Disease Conditions
Fall/Winter
2002-2003
Gila
National Forest
Following is a narrative of insect/disease conditions, by Ranger
District, as determined by aerial surveys conducted during the summer/fall
of 2002. The acreage figure from 2001 is also included for comparison.
Black Range Ranger District (RD) – Defoliators: about 300 acres of Western Tent Caterpillar
activity; all within the Aldo Leopold Wilderness and northwest of
Hillsboro Peak; acreage identified in 2001 = 120. Mortality - About 2,044
acres primarily from Western Pine Beetle but including some Fir Engraver
and Piñon Ips; in a line northwest from Seven Brothers Mountain to
Diamond Peak/Round Mountain (most within the Wilderness); acreage
identified in 2001 = 685.
Glenwood RD
– Defoliators: no areas of significant activity identified; acreage
identified in 2001 = 2,030 (Western Spruce Budworm). Mortality - About
6,500 acres primarily from Western Pine Beetle but including some Fir
Engraver, Ips Engraver, Piñon Ips and Spruce Beetle; from the West Baldy/Bearwallow
Mtn. areas northwest to the Blue Primitive Range Wilderness; acreage
identified in 2001 = 685.
Quemado RD
– Defoliators: About 10 acres of Western Tent Caterpillar identified in
the Slaughter Mesa area; acreage identified in 2001 - none. Mortality -
About 10,260 acres primarily from Western Pine Beetle but including
incidental occurrences of Douglas-Fir Beetle and Piñon Ips; uniformly
distributed across the District from the Mangas Mountains west to
especially heavy concentrations west/south of Luna; acreage identified in
2001 = 8,380.
Reserve RD -
Defoliators – About 1,038 acres primarily from Western Spruce Budworm
but including incidental amounts of Needle Cast and Western Tent
Caterpillar; located in the Middle Elk Mountain and Bearwallow Mountain
areas; acreage identified in 2001 = 2,485. Mortality - About 1,217 acres
primarily from Western Pine Beetle but including incidental amounts of
Douglas-Fir Beetle and Fir Engraver; mostly in the Eagle Peak John Kerr
Peak areas; acreage identified in 2001 = 4,460.
Silver City RD – Defoliators: no significant areas identified; acreage
identified in 2001 = none. Mortality - About 4,421 acres primarily from
Western Pine Beetle but including incidental amounts of Douglas-Fir, Fir
Engraver, Ips Engraver and Piñon Ips Beetles; some activity in the
Sawyers Peak and Burro Peak areas, much more extensive activity in the
Pinos Altos Range; acreage identified in 2001 = 8,650.
Wilderness RD
– Defoliators: About 354 acres primarily from Western Tent Caterpillar
and Western Spruce Budworm; mostly in the Mogollon Baldy Peak and
Whitewater Baldy areas; acreage identified in 2001 = 495. Mortality -
About 9,302 acres primarily from Western Pine Beetle but including
incidental amounts of Piñon Ips and Fir Engraver Beetles; uniformly
spread across the District but heavier concentrations in the Rocky Canyon
and Upper/Lower Black Canyon areas; acreage identified in 2001 = 16,620.
Summary -
Tentative trends indicate increased activity in Needle Cast, Western Tent
Caterpillar, Fir Engraver and Western Tent Caterpillar infestations.
Because piñon-juniper woodlands are not routinely included in the aerial
surveys due to the vast acreages involved, piñon mortality from the Piñon
Ips bark beetle is believed to be much more extensive than initial reports
indicate.
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Jennie
Bustamante, director of the local Retired & Seniors Volunteer Program,
presents Ruth Reimers with a certificate of appreciation for the 20 years
she served the RSVP as a dedicated volunteer. It was noted during the
special presentation Wednesday that Mrs. Reimers is perhaps the local
walking club’s record making walker with 7,000 miles recorded under her
feet.
DJ photo by Bill Johnson
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Fort
McRae named to
the State Register
SANTA FE - The Cultural Properties
Review Committee (CPRC), the governor appointed board overseeing the New
Mexico Historic Preservation Division (HPD) of the Department of Cultural
Affairs, has named several places to the State Register of Cultural
Properties.
These properties include the Phillips
Chapel Church in Las Cruces and Fort McRae near Truth or Consequences.
The CPRC also included a multiple
property submission of the Homestead Era Trails and Roads of Los Alamos,
which included ten individual road segments approved for National Register
designation.
The Phillips Chapel Christian Method
Episcopal (CME) Church is a one-story, adobe building located in a barrio
northeast of the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces.
The simple church consists of a
gable-front building revealing a modest influence of Spanish and Hispano
architectural traditions. Built in 1911, the church served the growing
African-American community in Las Cruces, and is the earliest surviving
example of an African-American church in New Mexico. The chapel
additionally served for 10 years as a place for the education of black
children during an era of segregation at Las Cruces' public schools.
Terry Moody, a graduate student at New
Mexico State University, prepared this nomination as part of her
coursework for a historic preservation class. Ms. Moody is currently
studying anthropology and public history. After researching the church and
preparing the nomination, she received a grant from the New Mexico
Endowment for the Humanities to prepare an exhibit on the history of Las
Cruces' African American community, which will be displayed at the
Brannigan Cultural Center in Las Cruces.
For these efforts, she received an
award for outstanding graduate student work at the university, and used
the proceeds to help paint the church.
The site of Fort McRae on the east side
of Elephant Butte Lake is a former frontier military outpost that was
submerged during the creation of Elephant Butte Reservoir.
In operation for 13 years, between 1863
and 1876, Fort McRae served travelers along the treacherous Jornado del
Muerto as well as settlers populating communities along the Rio Grande.
Foundations for all the structures
described in the archival record were identified and mapped during an
archaeological reconnaissance that took place in 2000.
Matthew Sterner of Statistical Research
Inc. prepared this nomination for the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR).
Concerned with the lowering water level
of Elephant Butte Reservoir, the BOR initiated an archaeological survey
and a subsequent National Register nomination in order to protect the once
submerged fort from vandalism.
The individual nominations of the
Homestead Era Road and Trails of Los Alamos are organized by a Multiple
Property Submission (MPS), which is not in itself a nomination, but a
framework to nominate individual segments of historic road to the National
Register.
The roads provide a history of a system
of horse trails and wagon roads constructed between 1887 and 1943 giving
access to the once remote and rugged Parajito Plateau.
One network of roads served a seasonal
homestead lifestyle, primarily farming, where Hispanic residents developed
a biannual migration route from the Espanola Valley to homesteads at the
lower elevations of the mesa.
A second network of paths were
constructed as horse trails for recreational use, and associated with the
Los Alamos Ranch School, a private school for boys. Submitted with the MPS
are 10 individual nominations that illustrate these contexts and represent
the remaining segments of trails and roads in Los Alamos.
The MPS and individual nominations give
a unique perspective to the homesteading and Ranch School stories. If
approved by the Keeper, the nominations will be the first network of
homestead roads listed on the National Register.
Local researcher and preservation
advocate Dorothy Hoard prepared these nominations with assistance from
members of the Los Alamos Historical Society.
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Scenic
Byways Program receives $428,111
SANTA FE - The New Mexico Highway and
Transportation Department received word from Senator Jeff Bingaman’s
office that the Department’s Scenic Byways program will receive $428,111
in federal funds for fiscal year 2003.
This is an increase of $120,111 over
fiscal year 2002. Scenic Byways funding comes out of the Transportation
Equity Act for the Twenty-first Century.
Ten projects on eight byways will be
funded. The byways are El Camino Real, Jemez Mountain Trail, Enchanted
Circle, Geronimo Trail, Billy the Kid, Route 66, Turquoise Trail and Trail
of the Mountain Spirits.
The projects include planning
activities, management plans and rest area facilities, among others. All
of the projects will continue to support economic development along scenic
byways.
The Department will host the 2003
National Scenic Byways Conference May 18 through 21 at the downtown
Albuquerque Hyatt. Scenic Byways is a grant program funded by federal
transportation legislation.
New Mexico has 27 state scenic byways;
six of these also have national designation.
Byway designation is based on
outstanding cultural, historic, archaeological, recreational, natural and
scenic qualities.
For more information about New
Mexico’s Scenic Byways program, call Laurie Evans at 505-827-5516.
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Can You Get Published?
…Desert
Journal expands challenge
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.
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.
Drugs and Alcohol in T or C!
By Ann Marie Bergen
I’m
14 years old, attend TCMS and I’m in the 8th grade. I’m
writing about drugs in our town.
Right
now there are so many drugs in this town and there are kids here who do so
many drugs who could die from them. People in this town don’t think
there are any real drug dealers or gangs in this town. Well, they’re
wrong because there are gangs here. Why do you think kids drop out of
school or skip school because they’re addicted to drugs?
Literature
teacher Mr. Lagoon read us a story out of the newspaper the other day and
it was about a young girl. She went to a sleepover and drank at least a
half cup of vodka and passed out. She never woke up the next morning. I
hope you don’t want that happening to you.
Believe
me or not, I know what it feels like to drink too much and wake up three
days straight being sick and having a headache or smoke too much and pass
out and feel like crap for a couple of days. I know how it feels and it
doesn’t feel good.
So
if you women end up like that girl in Albuquerque, go for it but don’t
say anyone never warned you.
I
was like that but then I finally got caught with drugs and it ruined my
whole life. I was on house arrest, probation, the whole thing. I wasn’t
allowed to see my boyfriend or my friends. It really sucked. So let’s
just say I learned my lesson.
Talk
to someone if you need help – don’t hide it! I talked to my parents
and my sister and my boyfriend and they were the ones who convinced me to
stop and for that I owe them all of my life forever and a day. I love them
all, especially my sister and her faunas Alan – they were there when I
tried to commit suicide and when I ran away. They were the ones who held
my hand and told me it would be alright. All drugs did was drag me down.
For
that I definitely owe Brandy and Alan my life forever and a day.
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The
Shadow Advisory |
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By
Bill Johnson
Editor
of the Desert Journal
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…Veterans
who get the goodies
&
NM Veterans who do not
I’ve been reading stories about recent New Mexico legislation that is
intended to attract veterans to the business climate of the Land of
Enchantment.
My
question is, what are they going to do with veterans already in business
about to fold it up or who want to take their business out of state?
This
veteran is growing weary of legislation that is supposed to do
everything but help New Mexicans. Sounds like a fishing story. Any
veterans out there want to do business in New Mexico?
I doubt
it, or I doubt they will after they read my story as a disadvantaged
veteran doing business in New Mexico. Disadvantaged, I say, because
there is no legislation to help me out of my rut or financial ruin from
doing business in this state. And this is how it is for most people,
veteran or non-veteran, doing business in New Mexico.
We know
all too well that legislation is intended to help legislators’ friends
or relatives and that’s it. They want to think all of the veterans are
their friends or political allies, but when they invite outside veterans
to come do business and compete against other longtime New Mexico
resident veterans in business, I would say, “Adios, you don’t really
want us. You just want our money.”
What
money? That’s what I mean by doing business in the state of New Mexico
– you don’t make any! But the state does. Lots of it. Taxes for
this, taxes for that, and what’s left over is a negative bank balance.
Go to
Texas, Arizona, Colorado, California, anywhere but New Mexico because
taxes are on the rise and we veterans in business are on the decline as
we earn more bad credit trying to do business here.
Do
legislators really want to appease us veteran businessmen? Then quit
giving tax credits and allowances to those who would bring new business
to New Mexico.
Instead,
give everyone – every business and therefore every consumer – a big
tax break by doing away with all of those horribly excessive taxes that
make New Mexico one of the worse, if not the worst, in the nation for
high taxes and taxing everything.
Then
maybe business will naturally flow into the state and the state would
grow without pounding its heavy hands on tax tables and into our pockets
that hold nothing but dust balls anyway.
Want a
good business climate? Then foster the growth of existing businesses
that struggle to make it day to day, week to week, year to year (if they
even get that far)!
Legislation
intended to help or encourage veterans to go into business in New Mexico
is phony – it really is just for the retired wealthy generals and
admirals who want to take advantage of New Mexico’s extremely cheap
labor but want to avoid paying the taxes that go along with living here
and which everybody else has to pay.
So, you
say, “If you don’t like it, then leave!” My reply is that most of
us can’t even afford to move, never mind doing business in this state.
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OBITUARIES
Lillian K. Crabtree, 80, a resident of Caballo since 1994 and former
longtime resident of El Paso, TX (1953-94), died Tuesday, April 22,
2003, at her home.
She was born Oct. 31, 1922, in Warren, OH, to Lionel
Curtis King and Edna Mae Weldy King. She was a retired teacher who was
named Texas Teacher of the Year 1991. She was a member of the Texas
Teacher’s Association and a lifetime member of the Church of Christ.
Survivors include her two daughters, Sharon and husband James
Morris of Caballo, and Judy and husband William Lucero of Albuquerque;
four grandchildren, Jaime Brooks Morris, Jody Torres and husband Rafael,
Gabriel Ernest Lucero and Justin Brooks Lucero; and her brother, Lionel
Curtis King Jr. of Warren, OH. She was preceded in death by her husband,
Carroll Brooks Crabtree, in 1980, and her parents and two sisters, Helen
and Violet.
Visitation will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 26,
and services will be held at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, April 27, at the Sierra
Church of Christ with Bill Lewis officiating. A graveside service will
be held at 10 a.m. Monday, April 28, at the Restlawn Cemetery on Dyer
Street in El Paso, TX. Arrangements are by French Mortuary of T or C
Inc.
Evelyn
Joyce Smith,
71, a resident
of Truth or Consequences since 1994, died Monday, April 21, 2003, at the
Sierra Health Care Center. She was born Dec. 1, 1931, in Texas to Fred
and Anna Seitz Lewis. The homemaker was a member of the Moose Lodge
Auxiliary No. 2750 in T or C. She enjoyed sewing and fishing.
Survivors
include her husband, Charles E. Smith of T or C; her son, Charles
Michael Smith and wife Linda of El Paso, TX; her daughter, Kayla and
husband Oscar Beltran of El Paso, TX; her sister, Dorothy Little of
Amarillo, TX; and six grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her
son, Stephen Lee Smith.
A
graveside service was held Thursday, April 24, at the Fort Bliss
National Cemetery in El Paso, TX. Casket bearers were Alex Garcia, Mike
Smith, Shane Sebastian, Oscar Beltran and Pat Browne. Arrangements were
by French Mortuary of T or C Inc.
George
John Gibbs, 74, of Truth or
Consequences, died Sunday, April 20, 2003, at Sierra Vista Hospital. He
was born Nov. 11, 1928, in Mount Holly, NJ, to Ulysses Hagman Gibbs and
Pearl Shaffer. He was a retired lineman of Mountain Bell Telephone and a
Korean Conflict veteran, having served in the U.S. Air Force. He was a
former Merchant Marine and a life member and Past Commander of the
George Curry Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3224 in T or C.
Survivors
include his wife, Jean P. Gibbs of Truth or Consequences; his sister,
Mary L. Rodriguez of San Antonio, TX, and his two step-daughters, Debrah
L. Weller of Elephant Butte and Linda Temple of Sonora, CA.
He was
preceded in death by his first wife, Jeanette Mayer Gibbs, in 2000, and
by his brother, Norvill Gibbs in January 2001.
A
graveside service with honors was held Wednesday, April 23, at Vista
Memory Gardens Cemetery in T or C with Chaplain Bob McGinnis and the VFW
Post 3317 of Williamsburg officiating. Casket bearers were Dewey
Whetstone, Dane Conwell, Pat Brosnahan, Bud Tixton, Isaac Howard and Ted
Lucas. Arrangements were by French Mortuary of T or C Inc.
Gene
Fruit, 82, of Truth or
Consequences, died Saturday, April 19, 2003, at his home after a long
illness. He was born July 6, 1920, in Arthur, NE, to Clive E. and Bertha
Fair Fruit. He had worked for Rainbo Bread as a distributor and in 1965
he purchased the A&W Root Beer Drive In Restaurant in Monte Vista,
CO. He retired in 1982 and then became a Real Estate Broker and decided
to retire and do some traveling. He was retired from the U.S. Navy,
having served during World War II. He had served as the Exalted Ruler of
the Elks lodges in both Alamosa and Monte Vista, CO. He also was a
member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign War. He served as
president of the Monte Vista Conquistares and he was a member of the
Monte Vista Chamber of Commerce and the Sierra Church of Christ in T or
C. He enjoyed fishing and dancing. He’ll be remembered as a family man
with integrity and fairness.
Survivors
include his wife, Valerie A. Fruit of T or C; his three daughters,
Barbara and husband Ron McGinnis, Gaynell and husband, Phil West, all of
Alamosa, CO, and Sara and husband Jim Jones of Santa Fe; his son, Jim
and wife Cheryl Fruit of Pagosa Springs, CO; his step-daughter, Kathy
Bland of Bosque Farms; his three step-sons, Mark and Clay Wilkinson,
both of San Antonio, TX, and Wade Wilkinson of Lewisville, TX; 11
grandchildren; and 26 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by
his first wife, Nadine, and by his second wife, Betty.
Services
were held Thursday, April 24 at the Elk’s Lodge in Alamosa, CO.
Interment was in the Alamosa Cemtery. A memorial celebration also will
be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 26, at the Sierra Church of Christ in
T or C with Bill Lewis officiating. Local arrangements are by French
Mortuary of T or C Inc.
Richard
L. Bleck, 69, a resident of
Truth or Consequences since 1995, died Tuesday, April 22, 2003, at the
Mountainview Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces. He was born May 11,
1933, in Illinois to Edward Frederick Bleck and Emma Mae Keeler Bleck.
The retired truck driver was a member of the Moose Lodge No. 2050 in T
or C.
Survivors
include his wife, Joan Bleck of T or C; his son, Scott and wife Lisa
Bleck of Albuquerque; his four grandchildren, Heather, Krystal, John and
Catrina; his sisters, Nancy Motlinger of Kokomo, IN, Rosie and husband
Paul Demske of New Port Richey, FL, and Emma and husband Darrell Frasier
of Chaparral, NM.
Cremation
will take place and a private memorial service will be held at a later
date. Arrangements are by French Mortuary of T or C Inc.
Rachel M.
(Termes) Jones, 87, died Tuesday, April 22, 2003, at her home in Truth or
Consequences.
She was born March 24, 1916, in Coffeyville, KS, to Harry Harrison
and Mary Sarah Elizabeth (Bell) Howard and was raised in Texas. She
spent most of her life in Colorado and retired in New Mexico. She was a
gifted hobbyist, being very creative in arts and crafts. She was warm
and loving and raised several children including her own four.
Survivors include her three sons, William LeRoy Hampton of
Herington, KS; Charles Ansel Hampton of Junction City, KS, and John W.
Jones Jr. of Denver, CO; her daughter, Sharron K. Boyles of Tucson, AZ;
three sisters, Cynthia Shepard of Tulia, TX, Etta Mae Moore of Easley,
SC, and Kathleen M. Holman of Brazoria, TX; 10 grandchildren; and 16
great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her two husbands, John
W. Jones and John Termes, her parents, one brother, Ansel William
Howard, and two sisters, Hazel Pittzer and Lucille Jones.
Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. today (Friday, April 25)
at Vista Memory Gardens Cemetery in T or C with Pastor Bill Simmons of
the New Testament Baptist Church officiating. She will be laid to rest
beside her first husband. Arrangements are by Sierra Funeral Home, 507
W. McAdoo St. in T or C.
Michael
Ralph Morgan, 59, died
Wednesday, April 16, 2003. He was born Feb. 1, 1944, in Mesa, AZ, and
was raised in Sierra County, NM, attending Hot Springs High School in
Truth or Consequences until the family returned to Arizona. He graduated
from Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix. The Vietnam Era veteran served
in the U.S. Navy. He married Jacquenline Adele Cretti on June 15, 1968,
in Phoenix.
Survivors
include his two sons, Jeff Morgan of Chandler, AZ, and Steve Morgan of
Queen Creek, AZ; his two daughters, Jennifer Anderson of Mesa, AZ, and
Mari Cash of Seattle, WA; his sister, Linda Durbin of Seattle; and seven
grandchildren, MacKenzie, Brooke, JP, Ashlee, Britanee, Zachary and
Hayden.
He was
preceded in death by his wife Jacquenline in 1988 and his parents.
Memorial
services will be held in Arizona at a later date and no local services
are planned at this time. Arrangements are by Sierra Funeral Home and
Sierra Crematory, 507 W. McAdoo St. in T or C.
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