Archive for Tajique

USDA Summer Food Service Program

by John Weckerle

Checking in on our friends at Mountainair Announcements, we find news on the US Department of Agriculture Summer Food Service Program, which provides meals to children without charge.  According to Mountainair Announcements, the program is currently offering lunch at Mountainair Elementary School, Ernestine Garcia Park in Willard, Quarai National Monument, Manzano Convent in Manzano, The Torreon Community Building in Torreon, and the Tajique Community Building in Tajique.  For additional information and meal times, see the Mountainair Announcements articles here and here.

Cibola National Forest Enacts Stage 1 Fire Restrictions

USDA Forest Service Press Release

Albuquerque, June 17, 2010 – The Cibola National Forest, including the Mt. Taylor, Sandia and Mountainair Ranger Districts will implement Stage 1 fire restrictions starting Friday, June 18 at 8:00am. Cibola National Forest Supervisor Nancy Rose explained, “With the recent increase in temperatures, higher winds, continued dry conditions that are drying vegetation, the potential for Wildland fires has increased and we feel it is necessary to take these precautions.”

As always, fireworks are prohibited on all national forest system lands.

Beginning 8:00 am, Friday, June 18, 2010, the following restrictions apply to the Mt. Taylor, Sandia and Mountainair Ranger Districts.

Open Campfire Restrictions:

  • Campfires, charcoal grills and stove fires are prohibited on national forest lands except in Forest Service developed camp and picnic grounds where grills are provided.

Restrictions:

  • Pressurized liquid or gas stoves, lanterns and heaters meeting safety specifications are allowed. Please contact the Cibola National Forest for more details regarding where fires are allowed.
  • Smoking is allowed within an enclosed vehicle or building; a developed recreation site; or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter and free of all flammable material.

Please call for more information, Mark Chavez, Cibola National Forest Supervisor’s Office at 505-346-3900, or one of the following district offices:

  • Mt. Taylor Ranger District, 505- 287-8833
  • Sandia Ranger District, 505-281-3304
  • Mountainair Ranger District, 505-847-2990

Additional fire information for the Southwest Area is available at http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/index.htm.

Memorial Weekend Fire Safety Reminder

by Arlene Perea, Mountainair District Ranger Station

Mountainair, NM, May 19, 2009 – Cibola National Forest officials remind everyone of the importance of responsible recreating in anticipation of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. The Mountainair Ranger District as well as the Kiowa & Rita Blanca Grasslands are the only districts currently under stage 1 fire restrictions.  Although Black Kettle, Mount Taylor, Magdalena and Sandia are not under any fire restrictions, we would like to remind all forest visitors to use extreme caution to prevent any wildfires within the Cibola National Forest and Grasslands.  In anticipation of the upcoming holiday, district fire and recreation personnel will continue to patrol the roads, trails, campgrounds, picnic areas, and other recreational facilities during the holiday weekend.
The following Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands Ranger Districts remain affected by high fire danger:
MOUNTAINAIR RANGER DISTRICT, KIOWA & RITA BLANCA GRASSLANDS:

STAGE 1:
Open Campfire Restrictions:

  • Campfires, charcoal grills and stove fires are prohibited on national forest lands, except in Forest Service developed camp and picnic grounds where grills are provided.
  • Pressurized liquid or gas stoves, lanterns and heaters meeting safety specifications are allowed.

Smoking Restrictions:

  • Smoking is allowed within an enclosed vehicle or building; a developed recreation site; or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter and free of all flammable material.

Fireworks:

  • As always, fireworks are prohibited on all national forest lands.

Forest Officials would also like to remind the public to please “Be Bear Aware”. Some areas of the forest have been experiencing a high occurrence of black bear sightings. Although beautiful to look at, black bears are wild creatures that can be very dangerous if provoked. Camp and picnic grounds are heavily used over the holiday. Please remember to keep your Forests free of litter.

For further information, please contact the Cibola National Forest at 505-346-3900 or visit us on the web at www.fs.fed.us/r3/cibola.  You may also call the districts at:

Sandia – 505-281-3304
Mountainair – 505-847-2990
Magdalena – 575-854-2381
Mount Taylor – 505-287-8833
Kiowa & Rita Blanca – 575-374-9652
Black Kettle – 580-497-2143

New Mexico Sex Offender Registry Site

by Chuck Ring

I am not by nature an alarmist. But, I also believe forewarned is forearmed. With Halloween and other holidays coming very soon, it might be valuable for parents and others to know more about some of the areas and individuals to avoid during trick or treat and other activities where children and adults are placed together.

The New Mexico Department Of  Public Safety (DPS) maintains a website known as the Sex Offender Registry. The site is user friendly and there is no need to provide detailed information in this article. You can get to the site by clicking here Sex Offender Registry (State Wide) and then you can search using various criteria. You can also subscribe for email notification for offenders moving in close proximity to your area (within limits), but you may find that the function is inoperable. I tried to subscribe and could not due to an internal error on their website.  I did report the problem to DPS, so hopefully the problem will be resolved as soon as possible.

Be sure to read all of the warnings contained on the various pages of the website and recognize that the information provided on the website is provided as a public service and there is a disclaimer for accuracy. In other words, please use the information as it was intended to be used. Do not use it to intimidate, harass, or to take any action outside the bounds of propriety.  Nor should individuals or groups do anything that would be a violation of any law regarding any information found on the website.

Extra-Cheap Entertainment For The Excessively Bored Young Person

by Chuck Ring

Yes, gas is cheaper than it was a month ago, but no one can say for how long. Even so, it is still an expensive proposition to drive to Albuquerque for movies or other entertainment. Then, when you get there, you’ll likely bust a twenty dollar bill for admittance and popcorn for two people and you haven’t taken into account the cost for gasoline and the wear and tear on the family buggy. What to do?

Don’t fall back on the couch and watch that big screen that has somehow managed to deliver everything that has become important to you and most of your family. Instead do what your grandparents did before television and computer games inserted themselves into every corner of their lives and brain containers. To further clarify, for those of you lost in space or just spaced-out, I’ve lifted a little content from “Radio Lovers.Com” to better explain where we’re going.

“We offer hundreds of vintage radio shows for you to listen to online in mp3 format, all for free. Before the days of video games, shopping malls, MTV, and the Internet, families used to sit in their living room each night to listen to radio shows such as Superman, Groucho Marx, The Avenger, Gunsmoke, Sherlock Homes, and many others. When TV become popular in the 1950’s, most of these shows went off the air, but they now live on at websites such as this one and on weekly nostalgia radio broadcasts worldwide.”

Find yourself one or more URLs that will direct you to “old time radio shows” which can be downloaded to an IPOD© or an MP3 player for a listening time of your choice. If you wish you can listen from your computer, but knowing that you would want to get outside for fresh air, exercise and Starbucks, I listed the players first.

To help you get started, here’s one of the most extensive and free download sites to be found http://www.radiolovers.com/There are many other sites for this kind of content, both free and fee. Just grab a Google and find them using old time radio show for the search term.

One last hint for the older crowd. This was really subterfuge meant for your eyes. Armed with in-depth information after listening to countless hours of old time radio, you should be able to answer the following question. Who ended his show with, “Good night, Mrs. Calabash … wherever you are.” And, why did he use the phrase? Using the preceding information will allow you to enjoy life a little more and actually force you to be secure in your oldness. Maybe we can look at it as the first step in the “12 Step Program To Growing Old And Almost Liking It.” Nah!

In any event, check it out, young or old. Nostalgia does not have to mean “a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition” as Webster would say.�