Archive for Edgewood
Public Service Announcement: Father’s Day Car Show
by John Weckerle
Those looking for something to do this weekend might consider the 7th Annual Father’s Day Car Show at Valley View Christian Church just north of NM 344 and Dinkle Road in Edgewood, which will be held from 9 a.m to 3:30 p.m. this Sunday, June 20. For more information, see the Valley View Car Show page or the Gadabout-Blogalot.com announcement.
We’re Back…
by John Weckerle
Our recent hiatus has perhaps been our longest on record. Your editor has been occupied with a maelstrom of activities, most of which has been very positive.
Here’s one thing that might be positive for one of our communities: automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for the Edgewood Police Department, and you can help. Pepsi is having a contest which might bring the life-saving devices to Edgewood. For more information, see the Gadabout-Blogalot.com article. Voting is still open!
Edgewood Considers Budget, But Where’s The Music?
by John Weckerle
Tomorrow night, the Edgewood Town Council will review the proposed budget for FY 2010 to 2011. In some ways, it is hard to understand just exactly what they will be considering. The budget provided on the Town web site is convoluted and relatively uninformative and contains some obvious errors, which leads one to believe that there are probably less obvious errors, as well. The budget, as presented, contains numerous references to budget items that are not defined or explained. Throughout the spreadsheet provided the next fiscal year is identified as “-2012 011.” The document is provided in PDF format only; the original Excel spreadsheet is not provided, which makes it difficult to check the math or troubleshoot the equations used to calculate the figures presented.
We have been hearing word “on the street” of a projected 2% revenue decline. The budget as presented does not support such a decline; according to the “Budgeted Revenues” on the third page, municipal taxes and “general” are each slated to increase 4%, and municipal gas taxes are projected to rise by 2%. Declines in revenue from “SFC Fire Protection” and “Public Safety” are projected at 4% and 8%, respectively. The document incorrectly calculates the drop in “Parks and Recreation” revenues from $42,782 to $13,567 as a 215% decrease; the correct figure is 68%. The pie graph provided above the chart is “Consolidated Revenues” – for which fiscal year, it is anybody’s guess. Expenditure categories do not line up particularly well with revenue categories, making it difficult to reconcile what is going in with what is going out, and the spreadsheet is little help in that regard. »» Edgewood Considers Budget, But Where’s The Music?
If April Showers Bring May Flowers, What Do May Snow Flurries Bring?
by John Weckerle
Snow was heavy today at times, with flakes occasionally nearly an inch across.
Cabin fever.
Well, it’s winter again here at New Mexico Central headquarters – at least for today. It has been a day of on-and-off snow flurries, with the high so far having been about 41 degrees Fahrenheit. There has actually been enough precipitation to create mud, and at the rate things are going, it looks as if even the trees will be getting a drink from this bit of unusual weather. Unfortunately, gardening activities planned for today will be postponed until further notice. »» If April Showers Bring May Flowers, What Do May Snow Flurries Bring?
Public Service Announcment: Wildlife West Invitation to Green Energy Vendors
Editor’s note: The press release below is an invitation to vendors to participate in the annual Wind Festival and Green Energy Fair at Wildlife West Nature Park next month. The invitation would appear to include exhibitors as well as vendors.
Invitation to participate in our free wind festival and green energy fair at Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood, NM. Any vendor that has anything to do with green energy or the wind should consider coming to our 9th annual festival on May 1,2 from 10-6 daily. Our e-mail is info@wildlifewest.org if you would like to join us. There is no fee for any vendor qualified by doing any education or having products or services relating to our theme of green energy and or wind gadgets or kites. Please join us for the fun and opportunity to meet and greet our visitors.
Thank you, Roger Alink 263-9453
Public Service Announcement: Edgewood Mobile Pantry and Civitan Clothing Exchange
The Edgewood Mobile Pantry and Civitan Clothing Exchange will be conducting distribution tomorrow, March 25. For more information, see the article at Gadabout-Blogalot.com.
Edgewood And The Chamber Of Not Exactly Secrets
by John Weckerle
We take it as a compliment that our readers are willing to send us information on which to report.
We received a forwarded e-mail today that apparently originated with the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce. The message reads as follows:
There is going to be a workshop titled “Making of America in the History of our Constitution”
The workshop will be on May 1, 2010 from 9:00 Am – 4:30 PM and will be held at Valley View Christian Church in Edgewood, NM
The cost is $15/adults and $12/students – includes workbook, lunch and refreshmentsI have registration forms at the Edgewood Chamber office if you are interested.
We thought it was worth looking into. »» Edgewood And The Chamber Of Not Exactly Secrets
Cap, Trade, and Chambers
by John Weckerle
Last year, as a gesture of friendship and by way of some attempted fence-mending, then-Edgewood Chamber of Commerce president Kelly Krauth put your editor on the Chamber’s e-mail list for announcements and other communications. On February 22, we received an e-mail from Chamber executive Robin Foshee discussing a proposal by New Energy Economy (NEE) to include what appears to amount to a carbon dioxide (CO2) cap-and-trade program in New Mexico’s environmental regulatory structure. The e-mail strongly opposed this move, and listed the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce as being publicly opposed to the regulation. Language in the e-mail seemed fairly clear with respect to an intent to have it forwarded to the greatest extent possible. I responded to the e-mail, asking whether the decision to oppose this proposal was made by the entire membership or just the board of directors, and on what basis the Chamber was opposing the regulatory change.
In response, I got a “corrected” version of the e-mail (this was also sent to me by a concerned Chamber member), which simply changed “Edgewood Chamber of Commerce” to “Edgewood Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors.” I sent another e-mail to Ms. Foshee stating the belief that this was essentially a difference that made no difference, given that the Board was invoking the Chamber’s name and using Chamber resources to oppose NEE’s petition. I again posed the question regarding the basis for the Chamber’s opposition. The response was rather unexpected. »» Cap, Trade, and Chambers
Holy Landslide, Batman…2010 Election: Early Edgewood Results
by John Weckerle
We have received some reports on election results for the Town of Edgewood Council elections from former candidate (and, apparently, Councilor-elect) Chuck Ring. According to Mr. Ring, the count stands as follows:
- Chuck Ring – 365 votes
- Rita Loy Simmons – 350 votes
- Glenn Felton – 273 votes
Mr. Ring also reports that votes for the bond issues went as follows:
- Roads: 147 for, and 474 against
- Facilities: 110 for, and 431 against
Issues associated with Wildlife West Nature Park have been part of the debate. We contacted the Park’s founder and current director, Roger Alink, who stated, “We’re delighted. Chuck and Rita have been consistent supporters of the Park in all its endeavors.”
WeckTech Satellite Office Closes
by John Weckerle
After nearly a year and a half, your editor’s company, WeckTech, closed its satellite office on Route 66 in Edgewood yesterday. This had nothing to do with the office, or Edgewood; we simply were not using the space often enough to justify keeping it. Work at other locations was not permitting us to spend much time at the satellite office. It was a very good small office, and well worth the rent.
It’s always tough to close a location like this, even if it makes sense. In a way, we’ll miss having the office even though we were almost never there.
Waging Wiki Wars Against Wildlife West?
by John Weckerle
It was just this past week that your editor decided to take a look at the Edgewood Wikipedia entry, having not done so in a very long time. I was appalled to find that much of the community-related information had been removed – as had the external link to Wildlife West Nature Park. We went through the edit history of the Edgewood article, and found some very interesting patterns. One especially fascinating set of changes was wrought by a user named EdgewoodNMTown, who made a series of changes in late May 2009, “updating” the page by adding citations for the Town’s web site, updating the Chamber of Commerce web address, removing referenced and relevant information on the Town history, correcting sponsorship and date information on Run Rally and Rock, and adding information from the town of Edgewood meeting minutes. When correcting the sponsorship information, EdgewoodNMTown provided an explanation: “corrected the sponsorship information. If you have a question contact EdgewoodNMTown on wikipedia or the Edgewood chamber of commerce at www.edgewoodnmchamber.com.” This involved removing the external link to the Mountain View Telegraph article “Game of Chance Decides Mayoral Contest.” Perhaps most significantly, EdgewoodNMTown also removed the external link to the Wildlife West Nature Park site just a few minutes later, explaining: “removed link to a private business, removed link to irrelevent (sic) reference (no bearing on content on page).”
Let’s take a look at what we see here, but first, there is an inaccuracy in the entries that should be addressed. EdgewoodNMTown cites www.edgewoodnmchamber.com as the Chamber address. It is not, and has not been for quite some time. It is the address for Edgewood, New Mexico and the Surrounding Area. That is an informational site about Edgewood, not connected with the Chamber, run by your editor. EdgewoodNMTown had to have known this, as it was in fact this person who had updated the Chamber’s address on Wikipedia the previous day. It is unclear whether this is a typographical error or some sort of a primitive attempt to pit uninvolved parties against each other. »» Waging Wiki Wars Against Wildlife West?
Elections Ho!
by John Weckerle
With various local elections in the region just a few days away, and the last of the newspapers to be published before the voting now on the racks, we remind candidates that they are welcome to have their last say here.
The Edgewood race seems to have dominated the letters to the local newspapers. With that in mind, and without specifically endorsing any candidate in any election, we have a thing or two to say about some of what we’ve seen in the papers thus far.
In a February 25 letter to the editor of the Mountain View Telegraph, local resident Sue West takes issue with Edgewood Mayor Bob Stearley’s endorsement of incumbent candidate Glenn Felton. We wholly agree with Ms. West’s criticism: Leaving the content of Mr. Stearley’s letter for others to debate, Mr. Stearley should not have used his title to endorse any candidate in this or any other election. The title is essentially for official use only, and using it to endorse a candidate means that Mr. Stearley is doing so in an official capacity, as a representative of the Town of Edgewood. This is improper, and we suggest that Mr. Stearley refrain from such actions in the future. We also believe that the Edgewood Code of Conduct should be expanded to prohibit such transgressions. »» Elections Ho!
Public Service Announcement – Roadrunner Food Bank
by John Weckerle
The Roadrunner Food Bank will be making distributions on February 25 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Valley View Christian Church in Edgewood. For more information, see the Gadabout-Blogalot.com article.
Edgewood Councilor Glenn Felton’s Campaign Web Site
by John Weckerle
Edgewood Councilor Glenn Felton has declined to provide direct comment to New Mexico Central, but has asked that we post a link to his campaign web site, www.glenn4edgewood.com. As a reminder, we have offered to post any articles, information, web links, etc. for any of the candidates in any local or county election. If any of our readers should know a candidate in any race who might benefit from this offer, we ask again that our readers let them know.
Headliners Line Up For Wildlife West Music Festival
by John Weckerle
Pat Donohue
Headline acts for this year’s Wildlife West Music Festival have been signed. Returning this year will be Claire Lynch, who starred in the 2007 Music Festival. Other headline acts include Spring Creek, Pat Donohue, and Small Potatoes. For information on the event and these four groups, visit the Wildlife West Music Festivals page, and watch for more announcements both there and here.