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.
Grow Your Own – Alas, Poor Stringbean; I Knew Him, Horatio…
by John Weckerle
In a tragedy of not exactly Shakespearian proportions, we must finally accept the fate of the string beans we’ve been attempting to grow in the plant room. They appear to have succumbed to pests, or at least very nearly succumbed. This is too bad, as they had actually produced a few string beans. We believe the culprits to be fungus gnats and perhaps some odd-looking creature that appears occasionally on the undersides of the leaves – but only on the pea/bean contingent (the snow peas appear to have bounced back from this). This is not our first abortive attempt at indoor string bean cultivation; we had similar problems last year. While the fungus gnats don’t seem to damage anything else, string beans seem unusually susceptible. We’ll give it another shot soon. The lettuce is doing nicely, and has produced leaves for a few sandwiches already. »» Grow Your Own – Alas, Poor Stringbean; I Knew Him, Horatio…
100 Days of Solitude – Well, Slow-itude, Anyway
by John Weckerle
According to the latest information received from the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT), we can expect the lane closures/repositioning on I-40 to remain as it is (one lane westbound, two eastbound) for the next 100 days. The next phase will also have two lanes eastbound and one lane westbound. The reason for this is that the bridges are only wide enough for three lanes. The lane width restriction through the construction zone is 11 feet.
This is, I suppose, the price we have to pay for the great highway we’ll have when it’s all done. As I sailed by on Route 66 most days this week, the shortest backup I saw was about three miles. I’ve been jumping onto I-40 at Tijeras, and note that the westbound lane includes the shoulder rumble strip, right where the passenger side tires go. We applaud this development on behalf of people who will be getting paid to tighten up all the little rattles that will be developing in people’s dashboards over the next 2/3 of a year.
The Long, Thin Parking Lot
by John Weckerle
Once again, we’d like to heap a little kudos – or perhaps something else – onto the traffic management whizzes at the New Mexico Department of Transportation. I’ve had the pleasure of driving to Albuquerque mid-morning twice this week. Tuesday, we hopped on I-40 at the Sedillo on-ramp, and within about a quarter mile – just far enough so it couldn’t be seen from the bridge at Sedillo Hill – traffic slowed to a stop, and proceeded to move slowly; I think we topped out at about 20 mph before eventually reaching the end of the tie-up just west of Tijeras. That’s about a six-mile backup, and it wasn’t even rush hour. We were nearly half an hour late for our meeting as a result. The problem? I-40 westbound through the construction is limited to one lane, and – once again – NMDOT has created a major traffic flow problem and has not posted a sign at the Sedillo entrance.
I took Route 66 eastbound mid-morning yesterday and, except for some traffic approaching Tijeras, found it to be the better way to go. Eastbound at rush hour, the difference between taking Route 66 and I-40 seemed less pronounced; traffic was slow on both roads approaching Tijeras, but evened out on I-40 after that. Of course, NMRoads.com is malfunctioning at present, so we can’t get updated information for you this morning. For now, we’re recommending taking Route 66 going west, which at least allows the option of turning around and heading back to an I-40 on-ramp if it’s really backed up. We’d also like to suggest that the NMDOT consider placing signs at entrance ramps BEFORE traffic tie-ups so that drivers can seek alternative routes.
Oh, What A Tangled Web
by John Weckerle
It was about a month ago that we noticed that the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce web site was missing. Shortly thereafter (on or about March 2), the beginnings of a new site appeared, with most pages simply stating “New site coming soon.” The site has remained essentially unchanged since. It has come to our attention that the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce web site went dark this past Sunday, and remains so as of this morning. Given the history of outages in the past, perhaps a gentle admonition is appropriate. »» Oh, What A Tangled Web
Partnership For A Healthy Torrance County
by John Weckerle
Our friend Vanessa Crary Vaile from Mountainair Arts informs us that the Partnership for a Healthy Torrance County (PHTC) will meet this Wednesday, April 1, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. For more information about the PHTC meeting, see the meeting agenda.
PHTC, a cooperative effort among various state, county, municipal, and private health organizations, is another of the array of interesting programs offered by the Torrance County Project Office. Other community programs include the founding of KXNM FM, currently in progress; child car seat distribution; domestic violence and child abuse prevention programs; youth services; a bus system providing local service as well as service into Albuquerque (with stops throughout Torrance County and Edgewood; see the schedule); and more. For more information, see the TCPO web site or contact them at (505) 832-0332.
Get It In Gear, Walmart!
by John Weckerle
We’ve been very favorably impressed by Walmart’s corporate citizenship in the Edgewood area, and hope they’ll continue. However, we’ve recently had a few experiences that we would prefer not to repeat.
One class of experiences involves the purchase of alcoholic beverages – specifically, in our case, wine – and the checkout experience. We seem to repeatedly find ourselves in situations where we have to wait at the checkout line because a) the cashier does not have the required State certification; and b) there is no manager nearby to complete the sale as required. This problem reached the ridiculous stage yesterday. After waiting nearly ten minutes, I went over to the customer service counter and asked them to send someone to the the register. The person on duty said she would “send somebody right over.” I returned to Register 5 and resumed my wait, along with my wife, mother-in-law, and the people behind us. Finally, a rather unapologetic manager-on-duty named Phyllis arrived and told us that she had been “busy in the office.” I told her that I thought the wait was unreasonable – we were standing there with people lined up behind us for at least seventeen minutes after everything else had been rung up – and she replied that “someone decided that she should be doing something else.” I told her that, if they were going to have uncertified people working the register, there should be a manager nearby. She responded curtly that “he’s at lunch.” This was at 4:30 p.m. on a Saturday.
This didn’t just affect us, it affected the people behind us who had already loaded their items onto the conveyer. Walmart should either stop using uncertified cashiers or make sure that managers are available to assist. In fact, they should do the latter regardless of the former; nobody dissatisfied enough to ask for a manager should have to wait a long time to see one.
Is Forward Looking The Same As Looking Forward?
by John Weckerle
In a Mountain View Telegraph Guest View this week, as well as in The Independent, Edgewood Mayor Bob Stearley outlines some of the accomplishments of the first year of his tenure as Mayor and of the current Town Council’s term. While there has certainly been progress in some areas, some of these statements bear a little closer examination.
Among the accomplishments listed are passage of a new sign ordinance, relocation of the library, some unspecified progress on the sewer, and a projection that funds will be sought for other uses in the future.
On the subject of the sewer – Mr. Stearley writes: “The sewer system, which is designed to serve the Highway 66 business corridor, is due to be constructed this year. The project was delayed by the inability of the first contractor to do the work to the specifications contained in the bid package. In the next few weeks our engineer will provide the council with proposed sewer rates. I will be working on your behalf to set rates which are comparable to the rates set by other towns within commuting distance of Albuquerque.” We point out that Mayor Stearley stated in a June 19, 2008 Mountain View Telegraph Guest View that “We are currently working on setting the costs which users of the sewer will pay for sewer hook-ups and monthly sewer rates. The sewer should be in operation in January.” We have also seen no information regarding exactly what specifications the contractor was unable to satisfy. Further, rumors have surfaced that the western branch of the sewer will have to be redesigned because the New Mexico Department of Transportation will not grant an easement in the I-40 right-of-way – a potential pitfall that should have been exposed by the work of the design engineering firm. It seems a little unrealistic to suggest that the engineer has been working on setting rates since last June without having them ready. »» Is Forward Looking The Same As Looking Forward?
Road Closures, etc.
by John Weckerle
According to NMDOT, as of 5 a.m. this morning, I-40 eastbound was still closed from Tramway to Santa Rosa (according to KOBTV, this stretch was still closed at about 6:30), and there have been closures at Santa Rosa as well. Travel is discouraged fromTramway to Santa Rosa. The Moriarty-Edgewood School District is closed for today. We encourage people to stay where they are this morning if they can, and proceed with extreme caution if they must use the roads.
Grow Your Own – Hang ‘Em High, Bury ‘Em Deep
by John Weckerle
As we restlessly await the beginning of growing season, we’ve decided to reinvestigate the prospect of upside-down tomatoes. Previous experiments were of mixed success. Most resulted in very tasty, but very small, fruit. We learned in the meantime that it is important NOT to use standard house plant food or potting soil fortified with house plant food. Our prior efforts involved both. This time, we’re trying an unfortified potting mix, which wasn’t that easy to find (after checking Lowes and Home Depot, we finally found one by Hyponex, an old favorite from many years ago, at the Edgewood Walmart). Houseplant formulations contain too much nitrogen and not enough phosphorous, which results in small fruit. We want big ones this time; last time, our cherry tomatoes were about twice the size of peas, and the beefsteaks were about twice the size of regular cherry tomatoes. »» Grow Your Own – Hang ‘Em High, Bury ‘Em Deep
Stray Dogs and Cats In Jeopardy?
By Bob Steiner
With a 73% adoption rate, the town of Edgewood is presently doing a commendable job in saving the lives of dogs and cats brought in by town animal control staff. While the success of this program is largely due to the diligent efforts of Vicki Murphy and Mike Ring, the fact that the current temporary animal control facility is at a central, easily accessible location has been a contributing factor to the results achieved. Wisely, looking ahead to the time when the town would consolidate most of its functions at the municipal center at the area known as Section 16, the previous town administration recommended that the animal control facility be also located at that site. They recognized the importance of a central location and how it would impact on the number of potential “adoptive parents” visiting the facility.
Unfortunately, our present mayor seems to be uncomfortable with anything associated with the animal shelter or Section 16. He seems reluctant to initiate any action to get any of the projects at the future municipal complex moving. His lack of focus on the property has gotten another local blog to compare the area to the”promised land” in Old Testament biblical times. In that case the Israelis were forced to wander in the desert for many years because they hesitated to enter in when they had the chance. I truly wonder why WE are hesitating! How long will we wander?
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.
An Idea Whose Time Has Come – Here
by John Weckerle
Back in the 1980s, during a 5-year soujourn in Tampa, Florida, I enjoyed a great way to do dinner and a movie – cinema pubs. The idea was simple – the cinema pubs showed movies that had just completed their runs in the major theaters but were still showing in the discount theaters and at midnight shows, but they also offered dinner as well as beer and wine. Patrons sat at tables, and were served throughout the movie by waitstaff who seemed incredibly adept at minimizing their time between the patron and the screen. Both the movie and the food were reasonably priced, and well-suited to those of us who were students and/or in their first job out of school, and it was a nice experience. Depending on the film, I sometimes waited for movies to hit the cinema pubs because it was simply a better place to see them. And now, you can see them that way, too.
Following the recent success of movie showings at Mustang Mudd’s, in the former Le Barn building, entrepreneurs Maria Braendle of Le Barn and Miki Anaya of El Comedor Restaurant have teamed up to bring the experience to Moriarty. This weekend’s feature, Twilight (your editor, who has read the books and seen the movie, recommends it to fans of the Stephanie Myers series of vampire novels) will be the opening event (for details, see the flyer). Next week’s offerings, with shows from Wednesday to Sunday (with weekend matinees!), include Gran Torino, starring Clint Eastwood; Taken, starring Clint Eastwood; Bolt (voice of John Travolta); The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke; and Defiance, starring Daniel Craig (see next week’s flyer for show times and other info). For more information, call LeBarn at 832-9481 or El Comedor at 832-4492.
A Bunch Of Clowns
by John Weckerle
Well, maybe we’re assuming something, but it seems like smoke and fire – where there’s a circus, there are usually clowns. The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus will be at the corner of Route 66 and NM 344 in Edgewood on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. The show is sponsored by the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce, and proceeds will be split between the Chamber and several area schools. Two show times are scheduled at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact the Chamber at 286-2577 or the Circus at 1-866-BIG TOP 6.
Wildlife West Summer Job Application Date Changes
by John Weckerle
The deadline for applications for Wildlife West Nature Park’s Youth Conservation Corps positions has been extended to May 1, 2009. Young people ages 14 to 25 may apply. For more information on a great summer job opportunity, see the Park web site or contact Wildlife West at 281-7655.