New Edgewood Outdoor Market Opens Next Month
by Kelly Krauth
When I was younger, one of my favorite Saturday morning events was a trip to the farmer’s market. Wandering through the booths, picking and choosing my “prizes” for the week was something that I looked forward to. As we look towards doing our part in the fight for a “green” community, the revitalization of the local market seems a wise choice.
On June 13th, the Edgewood “Arts and Organics Market” will open on the corner of Rt 66 and 344. As the name implies we will offer a variety of organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, honey, and eggs as well as the crafts and products of local artisans. We are seeking all facets of vendors as we wish to offer enough variety to have something for everyone. Growers, Artists, Canners, Bakers, Crafters, musicians and anyone else that has a marketable product that is produced locally is welcome to join us!
The market will be open every Saturday from 9:00 – 1:00 through September. For more vending or other information, call Shari at 235-8285.
Happy Birthday, New Mexico Central!
by John Weckerle
It hardly seems possible that, just a year ago today, NM-Central.com sprang into being. A lot has happened over the past year, and we thought it might be entertaining to take a stroll down memory lane, look over our early stories, and see what, if anything, has changed.
Our debut article – Will the Grinches steal Edgewood’s music festival? – discussed the Town of Edgewood’s decision to abruptly cut all its funding for the annual music festival at Wildlife West Nature Park. The pretext for this decision had to do with the Town’s position that funding the event represented a violation of the State anti-donation clause, an assertion that we disputed then and still dispute today. Because the funding was terminated after the Park had signed contracts with the performers, the Park had no choice but to produce the event under its own steam. The community came together and, with donations and other funds raised, the festival almost – but not quite – broke even. The financial strain from this situation, coupled with the subsequent economic downturn, have put the Park in a state of difficulty, and we again ask that people consider making donations at the Park’s web site. This year’s music festival, featuring nationally acclaimed folk performer John McCutcheon, promises to be a top-notch event, and tickets can be purchased in advance on the Park web site. »» Happy Birthday, New Mexico Central!
Public Service Announcement: Torrance County All Hazards Committee Meeting
From Arlene Perea at the Mountainair Ranger District:
Just wanted to drop everyone a short line informing you of two meetings, tonight and tomorrow night (Editor’s note: That would be Tuesday, May 12 and Wednesday, May 13). They will be the same meeting so there is no need to attend both unless you think of different questions which you would like addressed. Tonight’s meeting in Tajique at the Tajique Community Center at 6pm. Tomorrow’s meeting is also at 6pm at the Torreon Community Center.
An example of some of the topics to be discussed include:
General Fire Season Outlook
Fire and Flood Preparedness – Lessons Learned
Well Head Protection
Flood Potential
This is not a Forest Service Meeting, but a meeting sponsored by the Torrance County All Hazards Committee. Just helping get the word out.
Osha Fire 75% Contained
by John Weckerle
Firefighters from the Mountainair Ranger District and the Type 1 Mount Taylor Hot Shot Crew, with support from a severity engine from the Caribou/Targhee in Idaho, appear to have successfully fought a fire that grew to only two acres this week. As of yesterday, May 8, the Osha fire, which started in very rugged terrain was 75% contained, and District fire official Arlene Perea anticipated that the fire would be completely contained by last night. While the cause of the fire is as yet undetermined, the District suspect that lightning is likely the culprit, as there were confirmed strikes in the area during last weekend’s storms. Mop-up efforts will continue throughout the weekend.
We’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that this has been a relatively dry year thus far, and that means that fire danger may increase as time moves on. The warm weather and winds seem likely to dry the area more over the next week, with no precipitation predicted until next Sunday in the vicinity of New Mexico Central headquarters. Please take extra care to avoid starting fires, and if you must smoke, let’s keep those cigarettes in the car, and the butts in the ashtrays. If you’re worried about smelling up the car, try some smokeless ashtrays:
- Smoke Outlet
- Talon Outlet
- Smoke Eliminator
- The Distinguished Self-Extinquisher
- Smokeless Car Ashtray
Avoid using open flame outdoors whereever possible, and keep a fire extinguisher handy while using outdoor tools such as chainsaws.
Wildlife West Raptor Class
by John Weckerle
Did you know that the only birds in the world known to have any sense of smell are the kiwi and our own Turkey Vulture? This is just one of the many fascinanting facts attendees at Wildlife West Nature Park’s Bird Handling Class will learn. The Park will hold its Bird Handling Class on Saturday, June 13, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $20, which is an outstanding value for a great day of learning about native raptors. For more information, see Wildlife West’s Bird Handling Class page and our June 9, 2008 article.
On another note: I recently met with Park officials who told me that donations were down significantly compared to last year; they didn’t have hard figures, but thought it might be as much as 65%. I was shocked to hear that the Park is currently borrowing money just to feed the animals. Folks, Wildlife West is an asset that all of us can enjoy and that provides employment and educational opportunities for our young people – and the rest of us. We’d like to remind everyone that memberships can be purchased and donations of any size made via the Park’s membership page. We know that times are tough, but even small donations – $5, $10, $20, etc. – can help Wildlife West continue to be the asset it has become. The Park also accepts corporate, music festival, and habitat sponsorships (corporate and music festival sponsorships may be purchased online, and habitat sponsorships may be purchased through coordination with the Park). For more information, contact the Park at 505-281-7655 or toll free at 877-981-9453, or visit the Wildlife West web site, roll your cursor over the “Support” button, and choose the link that interests you. Wildlife West is recognized by the IRS as a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization, so your contributions are tax-deductible. Checks can be sent to:
Wildlife West Nature Park
P.O. Box Number 1359
Edgewood, NM 87015
As always, we encourage people to visit the Park – your entry fee also helps, and we think you’ll find the visit well worth the price of admission.
Public Service Announcement – Credit Workshop
The New Mexico Small Business Development Center at the Albuquerque South Valley SBDC will be holding a credit workshop on May 26, 2009 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. For more information, see the full announcement.
An Experiment…
by John Weckerle
While the economy is improving somewhat, unemployment is higher than any of us would want, so we’re going to run a little trial here at New Mexico Central. Once a week, we’re going to run classified-style employment ads free of charge. We’ll try this for a week or two, and then evaluate it to see if it’s worthwhile to continue. Employers seeking applicants may send the following information to editor@nm-central.com by Friday of each week and we will try to post it early the following week:
- Name of company
- Contact phone number and name
- Brief description of position (about 50 words)
- Address to which resumes, etc. should be sent (snail and e-mail)
We won’t be posting links to corporate/organizational web sites, as we’re trying to run a sort of free “classified jobs article” rather than create a link farm situation. We will consider posting links to specific job announcements or job descriptions on others’ web sites; however, we will not be posting detailed descriptions directly on the NM-Central.com web site. Announcements must be for real jobs that are currently available and employers must identify themselves, as we are trying to connect people with jobs and are not looking to facilitate corporate “fishing expeditions.” New Mexico Central accepts no responsibility for the veracity of the information provided in the ads or the employment practices of employers providing us with announcements.
Public Service Announcement – CNMEC Job Openings
by John Weckerle
We’ve received the following information from the Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative via the Estancia Valley Economic Development Association:
Central NM Electric Cooperative has one full- time and one part-time night dispatcher position open. Please send resumes to Workforce Connections or to the Moriarty or Mountainair CNMEC Office. Beginning pay is $11.63. CNMEC will accept applications until May 15th.
The addresses for the two CNMEC offices are:
Moriarty Office
Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative, Inc.
P.O. Box 669
810 1st Street
Moriarty, NM 87035
Mountainair Office
Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative, Inc.
P.O. Box 157
301 N. Summit Ave.(Hwy 55)
Mountainair, NM 87036
Public Service Announcement: Community Mural In Mountainair
Checking in on our friends at Mountainair Announcements, we find that there will be a Community Mosaic Workshop on Wednesday, May 6 beginning at 9 p.m. at Mountainair Clayworks. For more information, see the full announcement. We wish the Manzano Mountain Arts Council and sponsors Mary and Scott Childers good luck with this one; it sounds like a great way to add color and interest to the look of the community.
Bird-Watching
by John Weckerle
We love the fact that we live in a place with such a wonderful variety of wildlife, including birds. We sighted one of these in the sky recently; we don’t mind them flying over, but it’s murder on the trees when they try to roost for the night.
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…
Meteor Sighting
by John Weckerle
Just a few minutes ago, I observed a spectacular meteor moving in a southwest to northeast direction – more or less – and we’re wondering whether anyone else has observed it and has any information. Based on the angle and the apparent velocity, it would appear that the meteor made it relatively deeply into the atmosphere – and it faded out while still in the western portion of the sky. We have not yet found any references to the event online, but would welcome any information from our readers; it was – again – a spectacular sight, and I hope that others in our area enjoyed the show as much as I did.
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.
Edgewood Kite Festival and Green Energy Fair
by John Weckerle
The Town of Edgewood will hold its annual Green Energy and Kite Festival at Wildlife West Nature Park this Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event includes kite flying contests; stunt kite demonstrations; and remote control gliders. Green energy and sustainable living demonstrations will be given including solar electricity; renewable energy; water harvesting (tours of Wildlife West’s water harvesting features); wind energy; biodiesel, hybrid; electric, and fuel cell vehicles; a solar oven; and solar-powered car kits. Workshops will be conducted on the T. Boone Pickens plan for restructuring the nation’s energy system, permaculture, and more. The Albuquerque Astronomical Society will be providing stunning views of the Moon and Sun, and there will be music from Trombone Troubadours and the Messangers Choir. The event also marks the debut of Wildlife West’s new Disc Golf Course. All the aforementioned events are free to the public and vendors.
In addition, inside the Park’s enhanced zoo (see the Park web site for admissions information), Artists for Wildlife West will hold their Pre-Mother’s Day Artistfaire. For more information, see the event flyer and the Wildlife West site, or contact Roger Holden, Edgewood Parks and Recreation Director, at (505) 286-4518 (e-mail: parksrec@edgewood-nm.gov).
Public Service Announcement – Future Land Use Alternatives Evaluation Available for Comment
From the Estancia Basin Water Planning Committee:
The Evaluation of Future Land Use Alternatives for the Estancia Basin Water Planning Region, prepared in support of the Regional Water Plan Update, is now available for review and comment. Comments and suggestions on the report are now being accepted until May 20, 2009. Comments can be sent to Dan McGregor at dmcgregor@bernco.gov or mailed to Estancia Basin Water Planning Committee c/o Dan McGregor / County of Bernalillo 2400 Broadway, SW Bldg. N,, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
Copies of the report can be requested from Cheri Lujan at 505-384-2272 ext 103 / 715 South 5th Street, PO Box 58, Estancia NM 87016 or can be downloaded from the Estancia Basin Water Planning Committee web site at www.EBWPC.org