Archive for Mountainair
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
Summertime Approaches, And There’s Plenty To Do
by John Weckerle
Checking in on our friends at Mountainair Arts, we see that there are a number of events. These include work on the Mountainair community mosaic tomorrow, starting at 9 a.m.; a meeting of the Mountainair Gun Club on Thursday; Voices In The Wind at Gran Quivira on Saturday and Sunday; and the Tijeras Open-Air Arts Market this weekend. For more information, see the Mountainair Announcements article.
Grow Your Own – This Year’s Adventure Begins! Or Continues, At Least…
by John Weckerle
Earlier this week, we decided to pull the top off the “mini-greenhouse” on the south bed, take some inventory, prepare the bed for planting – and, well, plant. As we’ve mentioned previously, some of the salad greens and culinary herbs had made it through the winter. The thyme and sage never went dormant, and early Spring saw the emergence of a new crop of oregano. After tasting the salad greens – which had flowered and become bitter – we determined that we would be best off simply pulling them and planting some of the lettuce we started earlier in the season. As you can see, the herbs are looking fine and are ready for use. »» Grow Your Own – This Year’s Adventure Begins! Or Continues, At Least…
Public Service Announcement: Coming Up in Mountainair
Our friend Vanessa from Mountainair Arts has informed us that the Mountainair Spring Fling – to include the Town cleanup, a community yard sale, and evening bingo will is scheduled for May 9, 2009. For more information, see the Mountainair Arts article. Also on May 9, Salinas Pueblo National Monument will hold an all-day event at Quarai in cooperation with International Migratory Bird Day. Vanessa is awaiting a copy of the flyer, and we’ll post it as soon as she receives it and passes it on.
Spring Must Be Here…
by John Weckerle
The weather is warming up, and so are the musicians! For three consecutive Fridays starting April 17, the Mountainair 2009 Spring Concert Series will be presenting concerts at the Brazil Auditorium on Limit Street and Highway 60. The April 17 will feature Holy Water & Whiskey, with traditional, folk, bluegrass, gospel, Western, and other tunes. The New Mexico Marimba Band will present pop, jazz, and authentic Mexican marimba music on April 24. The Watermelon Mountain Jug Band will serve up a heaping helping of ragtime, country, bluegrass, some rock and roll, and a Spanish ranchera added for spice on May 1. All concerts start at 7 p.m. and involve one of our favorite four-letter words – free. For more information, see the Manzano Mountain Arts Council web site.
Also, don’t forget the Kite Fair and Green Energy Festival at Wildlife West Nature Park in Edgewood. There will be kites, kites, more kites, and vendors/demonstrators representing a wide variety of green energy and sustainable technologies and services – and much more. It’s a great outing and an opportunity to learn a thing or two! For more information, see the Wildlife West Kite Fair and Green Energy Festival page.
Circus Clarification
by John Weckerle
Two important bits of information regarding the upcoming Culpepper and Merriweather Circus. First, the circus will also be doing a show in Mountainair on Wednesday, April 8. For more information, see the announcement at Mountainair Annoucements. Second, according to new Edgewood Chamber Executive Director Julie Terrell, local schools and the Chamber will only benefit from ticket purchases made by Monday, April 6. Interested parties should contact the Chamber at 286-2577.
Friday Night In Mountainair
by John Weckerle
Checking in on our friends at Mountainair Announcements, we find that there are some interesting events in Mountainair tomorrow night. Dr. Joseph Sanchez of UNM’s Spanish Colonial Research Center and Superintendent of Petroglyph National Monument will give a lecture on “The Mystery of the Lady in Blue: Maria de Agreda and the Jumanos in 17th c. New Mexico” beginning at 7 p.m. at the Shaffer Hotel Conference Room. Arts enthusiasts will enjoy an opening at Mountainar Clayworks from 5-9 p.m., featuring “coiled pottery, architectural constructions, clay masks and other objects of art” created by the gallery’s students and studio artists. For more information, see the full announcement at Mountainair Announcements.
Fire Restrictions To Begin In The Mountainair Ranger District Starting Monday
by John Weckerle
Stage 1 Fire restrictions will be in effect beginning Monday, March 9 at 8 a.m. Restrictions include the following:
- 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.
According to Mountainair District Ranger Karen Lessard, “With the lack of precipitation this winter, we are going into restrictions earlier than ever.” Given the fact that El Nino Southern Oscillation is in a La Nina configuration, this may be the first of an increasingly strict series of restrictions. We ask that everyone please take these and future restrictions very seriously and comply with them completely to help avoid the kind of catastrophic wildfires that have plagued the area in recent years. For more information on where fires are allowed, contact the Cibola National Forest Supervisors Office at 505-346-3900 or the Mountainair Ranger District at 505-847-2990.
Mountainair Animal Shelter Fundraiser
by John Weckerle
Checking in on our friends at Mountainair Announcements, we find that that there will be a fundraiser for the construction of a local animal shelter (in Mountainair; this is separate from the regional shelter project fighting for its life in Edgewood) at the Dr. Saul Community Center on Saturday, March 14, at 2:00 p.m. The benefit will include a talk on animal training by Albuquerque-based animal behavior expert and author Judy Halliburton. Admission is $10.00. For more information, see the Mountainair Announcements article and consider attending; our animal shelter efforts need all the support they can get.
Public Service Announcement: Mountainair School Board Elections
by John Weckerle
Checking in on our friends at Mountainair Announcements, we find that the Mountainair School Board election will be held on February 3, 2009. For more information, see the full article at Mountainair Announcements.
Solar-Power Incentives — Bah, Humbug!
by Chuck Ring (GadAbout-BlogAlot ©2008)Â
Quote Freely From the Article — Leave The Pseudonym Alone
Of course, I’m not against incentives for solar or wind power. Let me explain. The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) has just approved regulations that requires Public Service Company of New Mexico (PSC) to pay commercial customers 15 cents for ever solar-generated kilowatt used by its commercial customers. This is in addition to a 13 cent scheme for residential customers. The PRC stopped short or refused to require PSC to pay for any excess power generated by the company’s customers. Whether this refusal is good for the customer and PSC is anyone’s guess, but one reason given by the PRC is that the PRC didn’t want the customers to become mini-utilities or words to that effect. On balance all the forgoing seems great for PSC’s customers and it allows PSC to comply with regulations that require it to be more green.Â
Sneaky Petes With Dirty “Feats!”
by Chuck Ring (GadAbout-BlogAlot ©2008)Â
Quote Freely From the Article — Leave The Pseudonym Alone
Have any of you noticed how your eyes have become defective. I mean, have you seen that packaging in food stores seem to be the same size, but the contents weigh less than they did perhaps a month or a few days ago? Can we lay this on a sign of the times or pure fraudulent deception? Can we just chalk it up to sophisticated packaging to allow for a more comfortable ride for the various items as they zip to their various destinations? Or, should we accept one or more of the manufacturers lame explanations (revelations) given when they are pinned to the wall?
Revelations are popping-up all over and it makes one wonder, why the deception? Wouldn’t it be proper and honest to just raise the prices? The manufacturers seem to say that the consumer will accept deception before they will accept honest increases in prices. Well, let’s view a television spot which sheds more light on the issue
That’s it, except that if you want to keep up on consumer scams, you might want to subscribe to the newsletter offered here TrappedByAMouseÂ
Goings-On In Mountainair This Weekend
by John Weckerle
Our friend Vanessa Vaile at the Mountainair Arts Blog has given us the heads-up that there are things to do in Mountainair this Saturday, including a fundraiser for the Mountainair Shelter Project, a sidwalk sale, and the first anniversary party for Alpine Alley – a coffee house that, according to Vanessa, “has become the popular hangout among resettlers and visitors.” For more information, check out Mountainair Announcements. Weather forecasts are for a beautiful day Saturday, and there’s plenty of daylight to visit both the Mountainar events and Wildlife West’s Community Appreciation Day.  Better get out and about, readers; winter’s coming!
Not Quite Over For The Political Junkies
by Chuck Ring
For those who are political junkies or just feel like a junk heap after the election, here’s something you can play with to see trends and results statewide and countywide.
After you arrive at the page you will see that you are on the results page for Santa Fe County. If you wish to dig down to individual precincts you will find a precinct select window next to the county window in the upper left corner of the page. Of course you can also select another county to examine if you want to spend all day and night on the site.
In Santa Fe County precincts 15, 16, 18, 73, 84 and 85 the transit tax was voted down. The total vote was 2755 against to 1515 for, which seems to verify that most folks in those precincts (which is mostly Edgewood do not see a train track or any other real overall transportation benefit to the citizens in our future. But, the bad news is that the rest of the Santa Fe County portion of transit district citizens felt differently and voted for the tax, so that the totals were 34934 for to 28,501 opposed.
So, what will happen as a result of the transit tax passing? On January 1, 2009, you will see the gross receipts tax for the incorporated area of Edgewood (inside Santa Fe County) rise from 7.625 to 7.750. This tax, joins other taxes that have been foisted on us because we cannot overcome the votes from the rest of the county when it comes to tax referendums. One answer to the perpetual problem is the possibility of forming a county out of portions of Santa Fe, Bernalillo and perhaps Torrance counties. This is not the first time that this possibility has been mentioned, but it might be more viable now, because it is difficult to walk much less run, with Santa Fe County’s hand in our back pocket.
It could be worse. Santa Fe City joins Española, and Taos to have gross receipts tax rates above eight cents on the dollar.
What? A 36″ Giant Sucking Sound!
by Chuck Ring
Just when you thought that the City Different, AKA Santa Fe or Disneyland, was through being outrageous, comes the story that they want to add to their water supply. Maybe not bad on the surface, but this deal involves sucking or pushing water through a 36″ pipeline from Ft. Sumner. Such sucking and/or pushing would be over a distance of 145 miles and a lift in elevation from 4049 feet altitude to an elevation of 7320 feet altitude. A lift of 3271 feet through a 36 inch pipeline will require enormous energy, materials and “mucho dinero.” Similar problems did not deter Santa Fe City several years ago when they hatched a similar scheme to import water from the Estancia Basin in Torrance County to Santa Fe. A very vocal Estancia Basin contingency and a well-attended Santa Fe City Council meeting put a dam up to halt that particular project.
I am preparing a series of articles that will shed light on some of the two Santa Fes’ (The Twins) water deals and gimmicks. The articles will be published here and will be utilized elsewhere in an attempt to halt the craziness of The Twins and their like, especially as their actions apply to taxing entities that will not see benefit of such taxation and similar actions. Until I post the first article in the series, you can slake your thirst by accessing and reading an article on the subject which appears in today’s (Sunday, November 2, 2008) Santa Fe New Mexican:
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Private-water-pipeline-proposed-for-S-F-
That’s it for now.
GadAbout-BlogAlot