An Official Counter Notice

The Bosque Farms "official counter" has notified this author that this is post 300 for this blog.

While that might not seem like a record to some, it is a record for this blog. Thank you to the readers who read this blog and comment. Thank you to the readers who read and just talk about the issues this blog brings up, without commenting online.

We just have to believe that by wanting better, demanding and asking for better every one of us who lives here in the Village might get better.

Not everything will be solved, nor will the Councilors vote the way this author would expect each and every time. We have to believe that by talking about the issues and concerns amongst ourselves and then sharing our opinions with our Councilors and Mayor it will be better.

Bosque Farms has many good things about it, and this blog has tried to highlight those as well as some of the ongoing, outstanding concerns the authors have noticed.

Thank you readers. Keep up the good work, reading, commenting, talking, communicating with the government officials who impact our daily lives.

A Cell Phone Tower

The cell phone tower has been approved and yet it hasn't been set up in Bosque Farms yet.

It is just one more thing on the business boulevard that clutters up the view and the Village gets nothing, no benefit out of it. This author uses the phone service from the server the tower is being set up for and already has fine service. Gross Reciepts will not be paid because of the extra business this tower will help the company do. And property tax won't increase. The only person benefitting is the person who owns the property.

Why didn't the Village let it be put out on the sewer plant? Or demand it go somewhere else?

Other readers have had comments too.
http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/06/website-original-post-june-19.html

Did anyone see the editorial in the ABQ journal regarding cell phone towers. Too bad this council didn't decide the issue of camoing cell towers when they had the opportunity. That would have been BEFORE they agreed to a cell tower in the Village.Thats right. It could have been done here in BF first, but now we're going to get an ugly cell tower. "Been Around"

I don't know about hiding the cell tower in BF. I don't know if 125 foot pine tree will cut it here, but it would be nice to see something else considered before it is built besides just the regular tower.I also like the part where the cell companies pay. I agree they are ruining our view and this Village doesn't seem to care. "US Military Man"

This author cares. This author is frustrated with hearing stories about current Councilors before they were Councilors promising people they know that they would vote for this or against that... This was a promise kept it seems.

Industrial Revenue Bonds Explained

From the Albuquerque Economic Development Website.

http://www.cabq.gov/econdev/irbs.html

A clear and concise description of an industrial revenue bond. This is typically used for larger businesses that will need two million or more in capital help; purchasing equipment or land or buildings.

"Why is an IRB desirable to a company?
IRBs help a company save money in two ways: Because the city owns the title to the project, it’s exempt for up to 20 years from 95 percent of property taxes on land, buildings, and equipment. And a company may also receive gross receipts and compensating tax exemptions on initial purchases of equipment made with bond proceeds."

On this website you will see this interesting explanation when giving the example of providing a 35 million dollar IRB to the company.
It’s not correct to say the company is getting $35 million in tax breaks. The $35 million represents the amount of money the company will invest in our community.

The problem with this statement is this: The business most likely would not have come into the town (in this case Albuquerque, but just as easily Bosque Farms) if they had not recieved the IRB. And to top it off, you give someone money to buy land and then you don't get property tax on some of the highest valued land in the community, and you may not get grt too?

The Village Walkpath.

It is unfortunate that the walkpath that is in Village limits and is well used by many people is so controversial so many years after it is built. It is unfortunate that something that brings many people such enjoyment is still being debated.

What is even more unfortunate is that this Council that seemingly gets along so well is not using their energy and collective agreement to take action on something big. Instead they are worrying about a walk path and adding more signs, stop signs, stripes, poles and any other thing they can think of to protect themselves from being sued.

There is some interesting discussion about the walk path within the Village limits here at this link: http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/06/proposed-walk-path.html

The Proposed Walk Path

Have you been reading in the newspaper about the Governor's proposed trails in the Bosque?
50 miles of paths connecting Valencia County to Albuquerque.

It sounds like a great plan and it sounds like it might be a lot of fun. A person could take their kids for a walk or ride a bike with a friend or just enjoy some time with a picnic lunch down in the Bosque. It may even generate some tourist dollars if it is marketed well.

The only thing that makes this author wonder and think if this is a good idea is the local governments, and Bosque Farms in particular. It is the guess of this author that since it has been in the paper and brought in front of us, this proposed walking, biking trail system in the bosque has already been discussed in many meetings.

• So have the Councilors of Bosque Farms talked about the bosque proposed trails?
  
• Have they discussed the impact this might hvae on Bosque Farms?
  
• Have they thought about where they might provide access points and parking to this trail system? This author won't support them taking away property or homes to provide an access point or parking lot. And if the Council hasn't thought about providing parking, you can bet that people who want to access the bosque will park right on the road by the homes that back up to the bosque.
  

This Council needs to think about the impacts and begin talking to the people who are trying to make this trail system happen, Richardson's people in SF, and tell them- we don't have a place for parking, we are not taking away property, any parking spots or access spots had better be someplace that won't ruin the property value and rural feeling for our residents.

Some related articles:

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/56071-11-09-05.html


Citizens here in Valencia County discuss the impact of people along the ditch banks and in the Bosque at a meeting many years ago.
http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/archives/arch_NB_299-2001.HTM

Water

The rains in Bosque Farms have been nice. The lawns are watered, things have cooled down and it generally smells and looks nicer.

Several questions have arisen out of the rains though.

Do the businesses that have standing water take care of the mosquito larvae? Does the Village have those tablets you drop in water to kill the mosquito larvae off for sale?

This author hopes so. While this author truly appreciates the businesses that take care of their own problems, like extra rain fall, this author hopes these rains and the stnading water around does not result in extra mosquitos.

And surely, really, seriously it can not be legal to dump water off of a parking lot into the road??!

It seems that where the cars are parked would result in some seriously dirty wataer. The cars sit there dripping their oil as they cool down, dripping the radiator fluid and all the other car fluids; and then when it rains all that stuff floats up and flows over to this big puddle in the middle of a parking lot. And then that is pumped into the road??

That can not be good for the ground water of our area. And as it runs down the drains where does it go? Our sewer system? Does that make extra work? Or does it go to right the river? With all of those chemicals and dirt?

The whole situation just does not seem good.

When this author and the wife built the house we were told- bring dirt in to get you out of the flood water and keep the rain that falls on your land on your land. A small area was even designed with rocks and sand to filter the water as it soaked into the ground.

A good neighbor would not do this. A poor neighbor that pumped water into your yard would cause problems for everyone but themselves and there would be complaints against them and hopefully something would be done to fix the situation.

But it appears that the businesses are different. Because they are not pumping into a neighbors yard but into Government property (the roads) it is ok? It shouldn't be. At a minimum, there should be a sunset clause written into the laws that says within some number of years this is fixed for good. The parking lots that have lots of standing water, the businesses that pump into the road, will redesign their area and build a place to hold and filter water as it goes into the ground.

Thank goodness this is not all businesses. The Wells Fargo banks has a nice parking lot and a pretty area for holding water and filtering it into the ground. That is just one place, there are other lovely businesses as well that do a good job of taking care of rain water.

Open House

There IS going to be an open house. A two day open house at that.
In July on the 14th and 15th you will be able to go to the fire station, meet some of the fire men and maybe some of the police men. You will get to see the new fire station too.

Community Watch

Here is some information for everyone about community watch.

This is not the car that drives around the neighborhoods and checks up on the community. They do a great job at that and this is not to talk down what they do. This is about a neighborhood watch program.

This website has books and videos that explain what community policing is and how to impliment it in an organized manner so that it best helps the police in a neighborhood. It has a lot of good information.

It is the hope of this blog that one of the many police officers reading this will look at this site and begin developing a program that helps us help ourselves and helps us protect our own areas.

http://www.crimeprevent.com/docs/community_watch.htm

More about Bonds

Did you know there has been discussion by previous Councilors to try to 'float a bond'?

This author was aware that there had been some discussionby the previous Council, including Councilor Linthicum and Councilor Eldridge. In previous meetings both budget meetings and special meetings there was talk that it might be appropriate to get a bond passed.

This author heard that Councilor Proctor was saying 'the previous Council talked about passing a bond so this is right in line with them'. What?

Why???
Why would two Councilor who were very fiscally conservative think about and discuss this in open meetings? why???

While this author could remember some vague discussion, this author couldn't remember the reason the Council might have been discussing this option previously and why it didn't come to pass. So this author spent some time trying to recall the facts, talking to ongoing attendees at meetings, and generally trying to track down more information.

Here it is:
The previous Council was discussing the option of trying to pass a bond several times.

• To complete the fire and police station. The old fire station was falling apart and if the state didn't the Village money for a new station then what? The Council briefly discussed trying to pass a bond in order to build a new fire station. Of course, the first option and what happened was a little bit of the money you pay for state taxes came back to our community to help us.
  
• Another time a bond was discussed was when there was a small push to have an ambulance type service in Bosque Farms. This has been dropped for now it appears. Maybe because there are other items that need to be done like arsenic?
  
• And arsenic. It seems to this author that Mayor Ake talked about raising a bond and raising water rates in order to clean up the arsenic.
  

That is it. There was never a discussion that this author was able to discover about raising funds via a bond or increasing the gross reciept taxes or raising water rates to just make the ends meet. Any discussion about bonds was always as another option if the state didn't help pay for what was needed or savings were not enough to cover the daily costs.

NEVER was the discussion 'let's raise bonds or taxes or property taxes or water rates so there is more money to spend on ongoing things'.

A Rumor and a Bond

This blog has heard from a reputable person that Councilor Proctor has said that with the budget being the way it is, a bond will have to be passed. This is a rumor and certainly can't be proven one way or another.

What concerns this author is that it seems credible.
The budget is a large part of what makes this Village run. It is how your basic services are provided and the employees who do the work are hired. It is how basic repairs (such as potholes) are repaired and on and on. It all revolves around the budget.

For many years (not yet then) Councilor Proctor, Councilor Wallace and others complained at the tightly run budget. They felt there was plenty of money and demonstrated this when they took office.

It has been two years since the police chief recieved and $8,000 raise and other officers recieved larger raises. Yet this year, they were asking for raises again. And remember, a raise is not just the $8,000 dollars. This is just the top part of the pay, there is the matching pera, the match in insurance and the traditional increase in insurance and so on and so on.

This year they gave the clerk another $6,000 raise. They also agreed to lease cars. The increase in gas prices and basic equipment has all contributed to a budget that is not saving much.

It appears that the money set aside for a fire truck is no longer saved and if it is in the savings there has been no money added to this figure.

And now the Council is discussing if they need to pass a bond for economic development? And they are discussing if they need to pass another bond? And an increase in GRT?

The lack of savings for future emergencies and spending the savings that was in place prior to their election to office has this author concerned.

This author hopes that the Council won't attempt to pass a bond to cover basic services and ongoing expenses. This author hopes that the Council understands better than that and will just simply decide to live within the budget and to budget well.

What Needs to be Done

This blog has asked, what can be accomplished and provided a short, reasonable list of some items. Some of what the Council decides to put their efforts and energies towards is based on immediate needs obviously. And obviously some of what they decide to do is based on their individual interests. But some of it is just something that needs to get done but is not an emergency nor is it a pet interest.

What might this include? On going repairs for example. They are not at an emergency level to need repair or risk spending lots more money in the future, nor are they going to be a pet interest of the Council but they need to be done. Here are some of the small things this author noticed that need to be fixed.

Pot holes and holes dug by Village employees for a variety of purposes. Driving around this past week this author noticed several holes that needed to be repaired. At least one of them looked like a hole that was deliberately dug and then forgotten.

Signs. There are signs for roads and signs for stopping and signs at the park and so on. It has been pointed out by the spouse of this author that the signs are falling down, gone, or defaced. The sign at the park for example has had letters 'erased' or covered up and just looks poorly and old. Other street signs are missing or have fallen down and can't be seen. And stop signs are covered by trees or have been defaced.

It doesn't look bad now. But if it continues it will begin to look like a trashy little town. This isn't what the residents of Bosque Farms want or deserve. It is time to send the road crews out and the man with the screwdriver and extra signs out and get them to fix it all back up to nice.

A Reason to Live in a Small Community

http://www.news-bulletin.com/sports/62574-06-24-06.html

This blog is proud to read stories like this in the local paper.

Thanks Mr. Rick Babcock

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/62536-06-24-06.html

This blog is sure that Mr. Babcock donated his time and effort into setting up the aforementioned webpage. The Council can declare a Mr. Babcock day and it would cost them nothing but the paper to print up the declaration.

This blog would support the Council in recognizing the efforts and energies of the volunteers who help make Bosque Farms a better place to live.

Posts Moved

There have been several posts moved up recently. These have been moved up not because the authors thought that the information in the original post was important but because the discussion in the comment section was worth rereading. Possibly, you might want to chime in and say something also. And the authors of this blog did not want the discussion ending simply because it went off of the screen and was buried in the many posts of this blog. This is particularly true of the post titled "A Website" because there is an interesting discussion about the police department here.

What Can Be Accomplished.

There is just under two years left in this term for two of the Councilors and the Mayor. That is plenty of time to accomplish a lot of work for Bosque Farms and those of us who live here.
The authors of this blog have a list of things they would like to see happen. What would you like to see happen in the next two years?

OUR (Partial and we think realistic) LIST

Develop and coordinate a quality summer program for children.

Have an open house with the new police station.

Live within the budget and save money to fix the arsenic problem.

Put a moratorium on used car lots

and make it more difficult for them to set up business here in Bosque Farms.

Develop Neighborhood Watch areas.

Work with the Bosque Farms Business Association and

Develop a list of realistic items that can be done to help the Business District and

Begin implimenting those items. But not throw money at businesses.

Suggest A Topic (originally posted May 27)

This blog recently had a posting about the decisions to post on a topic and how it is decided what an author might write about or investigate further.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/05/decisions-about-what-posts-are-written.html

Sometimes the posts are written about an interest than an author has on a given topic. This might include the history of Bosque Farms, a positive note about a business or any other topic that comes to mind.

Sometimes the decision to write about a topic comes directly from this blog and the comments that the readers make on this blog. This blog has often copied comments directly from a response and posted it on the main page of this blog.

Other times the decision to write about something is due to the Council actions at a meeting, problems that are obvious to the authors or a newspaper article.

The authors of this blog welcome and enjoy the comments and reasonable discussion. The authors recognize they do not have all the facts and appreciate when a reader shares what they know. The readers are a valuable part of the process and provide much input and direct in many ways the posts of this blog.

This is the chance. This author had thought you, the reader, might respond with some suggestions for posts that might interest you the last time a post like this was made. Here is your chanace again. What would you like to read about?

Are you interested in what other communities are doing about used car lots?
Do you want to hear the positive reviews of businesses that the authors have experienced?
Is there something you want to learn more about?

List it out and this author will try to rise to the challenge, within reason.

*One note: although it might seem like it at times this blog was not set up to and does not want to be the Bosque Farms Police Department Bashing Blog.

Still more about Councilors Missing Meetings

Did you know?

This author has attended enough Council meetings to have a feel that for every Council meeting there are other meetings that the Councilors or Mayor must attend to represent the Village of Bosque Farms and those of us who live here.

Councilors have to represent us in many committees and at many meetings. The Council Of Governments holds meetings on transportation for example. There are master plan meetings in progress, rewrites for planning and zoning laws, and so on. In addition there are their own personal committees that they have chosen to take on and lead due to their interests, a horse path committee for example. At each of these meetings a Councilor should be there to represent Bosque Farms and those of us who live here.

If the Councilors miss the normal Thursday night, once a month, Council meetings, it is a fair question to ask - are they attending the other meetings that we elected them to attend?

Reporting on Councilors Missing Meetings

There has been an interesting discussion on the post about Councilors Missing Meetings.
You can read the original post and comments here:
http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/06/another-councilor-misses-meeting.html

The question may be rightly asked why this blog reports when Councilors miss meetings or attend meetings late. This blog reports on this for several reasons.

The stance of this blog is this:

While it is certainly understandable that not every Councilor can attend every meeting in the complete four years they are in office, (family emergencies, travel for work and so on crops up) they should be attending every meeting if possible.

The Councilors that were elected ran on a promise of attending meetings, holding meetings when the public could attend and being accountable by answering questions and listening to us. Every candidate that ran promised this. The candidates that won and are now called Councilor should try to live up to these promises. These are promises that are mostly in their control.

For example, they can decide to take a firm stand with the Mayor and not agree to extra special meetings. If Mayor Ake knew he wouldn't get a special meeting unless it was a special reason, he would most likely take care of business during normal meetings. The one item, not holding so many special meetings and conducting Village business during normal meetings would do a lot to helping them keep their promises.

Another reason this blog has resolved to try to report these missing from meetings councilors is that another election will be held in a few years. It will be your decision who you vote for at that time. Having the facts easily available for you might help you in making an educated decision.

It is a fair question to ask yourself, are they representing you? Are they doing what is best for the people they promised to represent if they are not attending all of the meetings?

What does Represent Mean?? (Original post June 13)

This blog post has been moved up by one of the authors of this blog. It is thought that due to the discussion about Councilors missing meetings this might be worth rereading. The Councilors that have been elected are to be representing each of us who live here in the Village.

Representing in the minds of these authors means that in light of the fact it is clunky or difficult to have many many people vote on every action that needs to be taken, the Councilors have been elected. They are to stand in place for each of us. They are to act on our behalf.

Attending meetings is a large part of this... it is difficult to act on our behalf or act as a substitute for us if they are not at the meeting.

This blog has talked a lot of about "Who is Representing You?"

So what does it mean to represent someone? Here are a few definitions that says it all.

be a delegate or spokesperson for; represent somebody's interest or be a proxy or substitute for, as of politicians and office holders representing their constituents... Google Search.

To stand in the place of; ... to perform the duties, excericise the rights or to speak and act with authority in behalf of... to act the part of a (another).

http://www.word-lookup.com/define-represent.htm

The Councilors are supposed to be representing those of us who live in Bosque Farms. They aren't supposed to be representing the police or the library or the employees of the Village. They are supposed to be doing what we would do... they are to be standing in the place of you and I.

Acting on our behalf. Standing in as a substitute would and acting as if they are us.

Special Meetings

It has recently come to the attention of this author that there have been a large number of special meetings being held to conduct business for the Village of Bosque Farms. This includes having a special meeting to discuss how a summer program should be run to a special meeting for the budget and a special meeting to ban fire works.

Why is business being done at special meetings and not normal Council meetings? It is a question worth asking. There are some possible answers.

Why?
Many possible answers to this come to mind and not all of them are positive or good.
Is it possible that the Councilors, the Mayor and other Village employees are not doing any preparation work and are therefor not ready to discuss business as it appears on the agenda?

Is it possible that because some of the Councilors appear to be missing meetings that special meetings are being held to get them to attend?

Is it possible that in his haste to have a short meeting Mayor Ake is not taking care of all the business items he needs to during the normal meeting?

It is possible that by holding a meeting at a time that is difficult to attend; the mornings, particularly the morning on an election day, that the Councilors expect less in put and less argument about their actions.

This blog would encourage all of the Councilors and Employees and Mayor to conduct business at the normal time and not in special meeting after special meeting.

Summer Program Questions (Originally June 14)

There are a lot of questions about this program. Before listing them this author would like to make an observation. While you read this post this author hopes you will ask yourself "Who is Representing You?"

Last year during budgeting time the Council set aside money for this program. It was mentioned several times in Council meetings. But besides mentioning it, nothing was done. Councilor Knowlton said he was going to do the research and then? Nothing, until now.

As one reader mentioned in previous posts, this is too little too late. This should have been developed, the people hired, a plan put in place, the parents be given the paperwork to sign and the advertising done prior to school getting out.

Here are some questions that most mothers are asking themselves about this program. Do you imagine that Councilor Knowlton is asking himself the same questions?

- Will there be a place for them to use the bathroom? The bathroom doors are locked at the park. Will they be unlocked for this program? OR will the kids be able to use the Community Center- the one that the average person can not use when playing at the park because it might disturb a senior?

- Will there be a place to get water?

- Will there be a first aid kit on hand?

- Will my child just be able to wander off? Will someone else besides me be able to take my child?

- Is there a program in place? Is there equipment and supplies? Is there a plan for what will be happening each day?

- Do the two people running this have background checks?

Too Many Special Meetings

This author is concerned that there are too many special meetings.

Each third Thursday there is a Council meeting. This is the traditional, normal date for a Council meeting. And if you call and ask at the Village Office when the next meeting is, this is the date they will most likely provide for you- the third Thursday of the month.

BUT there are special meetings as well. Those are meetings held at times other than the normally scheduled meeting. These meetings can be held any time on any date provided the meeting is advertised with what is essentially a three day warning to the public.

A special meeting was held to ban firework use in the Village of Bosque Farms for example. It was held on Tuesday and in the morning. If you missed the advertisement for this meeting or you couldn't go to the meeting then too bad for you, you didn't get to provide input.

This author is concerned that there are too many special meetings being held and not enough business is being done in the normal Council Meetings. The normal Council meeting time has dropped partially because the Councilors do not have the same level of discussion as previous Councilors. But the time has partially been dropped because there are so many special meetings.

This author would like to see the Councilors and the Mayor push to have fewer Special Meetings and finish the work at the normal meetings when the public expects the business to be done.

Dirt Roads

There are a few dirt roads within Bosque Farms. Why?

Here is the answer.

Those roads are not Village property. All of the paved roads you see have been 'dedicated' over to the Village and the Village owns and maintains those roads. The dirt roads are more like an easement.

The owners of the land did not want to give up their land to get a paved road. This has some long term consequences for the owners of the land. The Village will not plow those roads, maintain them, or anything else. It is also the understanding of this author that the Village will not dig up those easements to provide sewer or water to the people living on those roads.

When you are driving around and encounter the odd dirt road, you can nod and say to yourself, 'oh, that is one of those roads that aren't really a road'.

Nice Yards

There are many lovely yards in Bosque Farms. One reason for all the pretty yards that are well kept and weeded may include the fact that we are living in a small community.

Being in a small town has the benefit that many neighbors keep up their yards. They know that what they do will impact their friends that live nearby.

It is so nice to have the nice large open lawns with grass or even nicely plowed dirt that does not allow weeds to grow.

International Fire Fighters Day

Nationally many presidents have had a Fire Fighters Day in October, around the 8th or 9th each year. This is coming up and lets hope in light of the recent fires that Bosque Farms has suffered that the Mayor and Council tries to do something great with this day.

Another Day, the International Fire Fighters Day is May 4th each year.

Horses- a few observations

This author has owned horses in the past and thinks owning horses is part of the charm of the rural character of the Village. However, recently there have been some disturbing events noticed by this author.

In some yards horse poop is allowed to pile up to an almost shockingly large pile. The pile is so large it makes it impossible to believe that the owners of the horses will clean this up at all. This pile of poop (or to use the more pc term manure), attracts flies and insects and smells. It also makes this author a little bit worried about the water quality we hear so much about.

There is at least one yard this author has passed recently that had a large number of horses in a small area. If you consider that the lot might have been a full acre (which is doubtful) and the house was placed in the middle of the lot with a front and a back yard and a fence splitting the two apart; it would be easy to see how the backyard is a half acre at best. How many horses can easily be put on a half acre? This horse owner seems to think more than five on a yard of this size is more than acceptable. This does not seem appropriate and while this author is sure that someone will log on and justify why it is ok, this author will go on record and say the family of this author has never owned more than two horses at one time. And it was for the very reason that horses are large animals that need some space to be horsey and overcrowding is not healthy for any animal, including mankind.

Just an observation

Waste Management Helps The Village

Did you hear that Waste Management has given the Village of Bosque Farms Fire Department a total of two thousand five hundred dollars recently? Some of this money was presented at a previous Council meeting and some of it was presented at the last Council meeting. Thank you to a companay that works hard and gives back to the community it works in.

Reporting Problem Judges.

In this posting, linked to below, there was a discussion about paying court costs if your case was dropped by the judge. In the comments, "Yes A Cop" mentioned that if there is a complaint about the judge then the Judicial Standards Board would investigate the matter.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/06/question-for-day-originally-posted.html

Here is the link to the Judicial Standards Board. The directions and information provided seems pretty clear. If anyone has a problem with any judge this is the place to go. It is NOT a place to turn to if you are unhappy with a ruling but it is the place to turn to if you think the judge is doing something wrong. Something that might be worthy of getting him removed from the bench.

http://fscll.org/JSC/Main.htm

Another Councilor Misses a Meeting

It appears the Councilors are taking turns being late.

This time it was Councilor Knowlton's turn. He didn't come into the Council Chambers until almost the end of the meeting.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time nor will it be the last time that he is late or absent from a meeting.

Councilor Knowlton ran on being a responsible citizen who cared about the children of this Village. Yet he doesn't show up to vote on important issues.

Is he really representing those of us who live here to the best of his ability?
If this is his best I'd hate to see him slack off.

A Compliment from "Fugettaboutit"

Here are the observations and comments by "Fugettaboutit" about the recent fire.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/06/fire-in-bosque.html

First off I would like to say that the volunteers did one hell of a job fighting the fire. They worked the first hour by themselves and did a great job of containing it from going over the ditch bank into homes. Heres what I also saw; A police officer watering down a backyard that was too big for an elderly lady to take care of, many untrained residents trying to help the fire fighters, residents when told to please stay out of the area, they actually listened. The community as a whole impressed the heck out of me when it came down to helping each other. There was sightseeing on a small part, but eventually they left. I also saw the old smoke shop guy asking one of the cops if he could help. It amazes me that some of the people helping eachother, didn't get along before the fire and maybe they wont after but they saw a job that needed to get done and it was. HATS OFF TO THE BOSQUE FARMS FIRE DEPARTMENT!!!!!

A quote to think about

Firefighters are essential to the safety and security of our local communities.

We owe it to these men and women to provide them with better training and equipment so they can do their jobs more effectively and safely.

-Carl Levin

__________________

Courage is not the absence of fear,

but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.

~Ambrose Redmoon

Another Positive For Living in A Small Community

Neighbors help Each Other in Times of Crisis.

All the neighbors were very helpful," Wood said. "They were wetting each other's homes and barns with hoses and helping one another out. They really came together."

When he arrived home, he was shocked to see the fire was only a football field length away from his back yard. He immediately noticed that his neighbor from across the street, Sally Frazier, was wetting down his stack of firewood, his barn and his trees.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/62244-06-14-06.html

Another Positive Thought

Thanks should also be given to the other fire fighters that came to fight the fire in the Bosque.

Fire crews from Bosque Farms, Peralta, Isleta, Los Lunas and state forestry worked together to douse the flames. Bosque Farms Fire Chief Spensor Wood also credited the residents for helping one another during the crisis

Each one of these communities that have pitched in and helped deserve the recognition of those of us who live here in Bosque Farms.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/62244-06-14-06.html

A Positive Note

This blog has been remiss and needs to correct the situation.

Thank you to the fire fighters who have worked so hard in protecting our community.

The fire fighters of the Village of Bosque Farms are something the community and those of us who live here should be proud to know.

Their fast response and hard work saved the Village from a scary situation of having to evacuate and lose our homes to the recent fire. They are volunteers who do this for nothing. Since they have been formed the fire fighters have raised their own funds or used state funds and have had very little help from the Village Budget. They often pay for their own training. They put their lives in danger and they do this because they know how important it is to protect us and our property.

There should be a Fire Fighters Recognition Day here in Bosque Farms.

Did You Readers Help Make A Difference? Sort of?

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/62246-06-14-06.html

The Councilors have decided to have a sign in sheet for those kids participating in the community Summer Rec program at the Community Center. Or should this author say, outside of the Community Center.

"Councilor Dolly Wallace's biggest concern over the summer recreation program was whether a sheet for signing in and out by the children participating in the program should be included in the general description.... I think the program is great and maybe it's because I'm a mom and a grandma but I think whenever people bring children to an organized activity they expect them to be there," Wallace said."

Even Mayor Ake, the Police Chief and the Attorney saw the light.

Mayor Wayne Ake said he would be concerned if there wasn't a sign in sheet required because the last thing he wants to see is a child missing. And this from Stidham: "The benefits far outweigh the work,"

So what is the problem? Having a sign in and out sheet will help ensure the kids are where they should be, it will help provide a time reference for where they were at a given point, the benefits outweigh any extra work. So what is the problem and who raised it?

Councilor Bob Knowlton agreed that keeping track of the children participating in the program was a good thing. However, he did not want to make the process so complicated that you would need a parent to sign the child out.

"The parents and the kids will already have signed forms allowing them to participate in the summer recreation program," Knowlton said. "We don't want to have a captive program especially for kids 12 years old."

That is right. If a kid is 12 years old it is now ok for them to be roaming the streets with no parental knowledge of where they are or when they are there. If you drop your kid off and your kid wants to leave, Councilor Knowlton thinks they should be able to do so, particularly if they a pre teen.

So it seems the readers who are responding and talking to their Councilors made a difference sort of. It appears, although this newspaper article isn't clear that what Councilor Knowlton wanted, he got. Even though Mayor Ake, the Chief and at least one Councilor thought it was a good idea to have a sign in and sign out form and that it would be safe to ensure that when you drop your kid off there your kid stays there, it appears from this article that this won't be the case, particularly if you are 12.

Why Live in a Small Town?

Some Great Reasons to Live in a Small City or Town

• 1) Everyone knows everyone else — so your kids have to behave better!
  
• 2) Going to the grocery store can turn into a mini town hall meeting so be prepared to stay awhile wherever you go.
  
• 3) If you double park for five minutes, no one honks the horn.
  
• 4) Citizens really get involved so you can actually accomplish something.
  
• 5) Everyone feels like they have a stake in “MY town.”
  
• 6) The store owners know your name.
  

State Law- How a Community Bans Fireworks.

There has been some discussion in a previous post about if this ban on fireworks is within state law. Here it is... the portion of state law that applies to this question.

Here is the original posting by this author:
http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/06/restricting-fireworks-ban-that-isnt.html

Here is the information answering the question. And before anyone asks? Yes, Chasers are considered Ground Audible Devices and Councilor Proctor was legal in asking them to be banned.

But read it and see, there are still many many fireworks that are not banned by state law.


http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:3e2no-DXmOoJ:legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/04%2520Regular/bills/senate/SB0173.pdf+New+Mexico+Banning+Fireworks&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=50

60-2C-8.1. EXTREME OR SEVERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS--RESTRICTED SALE AND USE.--

A. The governing body of a municipality may hold a hearing to determine if fireworks restrictions should be imposed within the boundaries of the incorporated municipality
affected by extreme or severe drought conditions. The findings of the governing body shall be based on current drought indice published by the national weather service and any other
relevant information supplied by the United States forest service.

B. Pursuant to any hearing under Subsection A of this section, the governing body of a municipality shall issue a proclamation declaring extreme or severe drought conditions
within the boundaries of the incorporated municipality if the governing body determines such conditions exist. The governing body's proclamation:

(1) shall ban the sale and use of missile-type rockets, helicopters, aerial spinners, stick-type rockets and ground audible devices within the affected drought area; and

(2) shall give the governing body the power

(a) limit the use within its jurisdiction of any fireworks not listed in Paragraph (1) of
this subsection to areas that are paved or barren or that have a readily accessible source of water for use by the homeowner or the general public;

A Thought Against Eminent Domain

No man but feels more of a man in the world if he have but a bit of ground that he can call his own. However small it is on the surface, it is four thousand miles deep; and that is a very handsome property.

~Charles Dudley Warner

A suggestion for a cop car.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/NEWS01/606110363/-1/all

Some Cops are driving VW Bugs read this. ...

An Outstanding Citizen

http://www.news-bulletin.com/locals05/unsungcoy/5516-10-29-05.html

LILLY MCNABB

When asked why she does all she does, McNabb simply answers, "I do what I do because I can. I feel such a need to help people."

And in between all that, she makes it a point to be involved and informed in all aspects of village government. In the past 30 years, McNabb has rarely missed a village council or a planning and zoning meeting — she says it's her duty to make sure she knows what is happening in the village that she helped to incorporate.

Community Patrol

This blog has had several questions about background checks. A quality, well done background check and a Council and Mayor who read these background checks would go a long way to editing out the 'potential problems' within the ranks of the employees.

It occured to this author that as the family was preparing for a trip that it might be wise to notify Community Patrol that the house would be empty.

Then it occured that this author knows one person only who is on Community Patrol and that person not very well.

Does the Village do background checks on everyone?
They certainly should do a background check and each and every person who will be representing the Village. Of course, elected officials should be excempt. People on Community Patrol know when homes are empty, when people work, when young adults might be left at home for a night and so on.

This is pretty heady and powerful information in the wrong hands.

Each person is to be commended for volunteering so willingly. It takes up time and energy to do this duty. This author and those of us who live here should be thankful for volunteers. This blog is only pointing out that these same volunteers have a lot of information at their fingertips and a background check would not be out of the norm.

Fire in the Bosque

There was a fire in the bosque. That is not good.

It occured to this author that if it wasn't under control the Village or parts of it might have to evacuate. We saw a year or so ago how quickly fires spread in the bosque and how quickly fires burn homes.

Does the Village of Bosque Farms have a plan for this?

How will they notify the public that it is time to evacuate?
How will they control traffic?
How will they ensure that everyone has evacuated?
At one point will it be a mandatory evacuation?

Small Cities Day

June 10 this year was the official Small Cities Day.
This is a day other communities are havaing a parade, the Mayor is outside playing ball with young children and generally celebrating what it means to live in a small community.

Maybe next year Bosque Farms will take one something like that for this annual day.

Raising Taxes.

There has been some warnings on this blog that if the budget is not carefully develolped and carefully followed there will be some long term consequences for those of us who live in Bosque Farms.

Here is one survey completed by a group of people in Washington D.C. It says that many cities aare increasing fees for basic services to balance their budgets. Some are also increasing property taxes and other taxes.

If Bosque Farms Government, the Councilors and the Mayor and the employees who work there are not extremely cautious with our money it will be our city that raises rates on basic services and taxes.

According to a survey conducted by the Washington-based National League of Cities (NLC), 48 percent of the surveyed cities increased fees and charges for municipal services to balance budgets in 2005. The annual survey also found that 26 percent relied on increases in property taxes, while even smaller numbers increased sales tax rates, income tax rates and other tax rates.
http://americancityandcounty.com/mag/government_raising_revenues/

And from within the survey report itself "One in three city officials indicate that unless city tax rates and fees are increased, city service levels will decline. "

http://www.nlc.org/content/Files/06_SofAmCitiesBrief%20(2).pdf


http://americancityandcounty.com/mag/government_raising_revenues/

Economic Development Conference

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/62153-06-10-06.html

Business people of Valencia County will receive a review of the past year's accomplishments and upcoming initiatives by the county's administration and municipalities, as well as from the educational institutions at the annual economic development conference.

"This year's conference is an update on where we are and where we're going in regards to economic development efforts by elected officials, educational systems and members of local industry," said Roberta Scott, director of the Small Business Development Center.

Question for the day (originally posted June 4)

If a police man stops someone for speeding and the judge then throws out the case because the police man 'did something wrong' or 'forgot to do something', would the person who had been stopped for speeding then have to pay court costs?

Doesn't that seem a little bit strange?

Economic Development

Did you know...

The state of New Mexico offers some tax incentives to businesses?

This author didn't know there were so many tax incentives through the state of New Mexico.
And this author certainly doesn' t know all the details of each tax break available. It certainly looks like New Mexico is doing its share to help small communities with economic development.

Read through this list...

New Mexico Tax Breaks for Businesses

1. No inventory tax

2. Tax Exemption Related to IRBs. (Industrial Revenue Bond) Watch this blog for more info
about what an IRB is and how it works.

3. Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit.

4. Technology Jobs Tax Credit. A company can take a credit of 4 percent of technological research costs against gross receipts, compensating or payroll taxes, and the credits can be carried forward.

5. Double-Weighted Sales Factor. This is a favorable way to calculate New Mexico corporate income tax liability, especially for companies with investment in plant and payroll in New Mexico but substantial product sales outside New Mexico.

6. Research and Development Gross Receipts Tax Deduction. Services exported from the state, are exempt from GRT.

7. Research and Development Small Business Tax Credit.

8 High-Wage Jobs Tax Credit.

9. Child Care Income Tax Credit. Employers can take a corporate income tax credit for employees’ childcare services they provide or pay for.

10. Aerospace Tax Deductions. New Mexico offers three deductions for the aerospace industry.

11. Renewable Energy Production Credit. A qualified energy generator can earn credit.

12. Distilling and Brewing Preferential Tax Rate.

Now ask yourself, what more can Bosque Farms provide?
Let's just take one option that this author has heard as an idea for keeping businesses here in Bosque Farms and attracting new ones. Lowering Gross Reciept Taxes.

Did you know that Bosque Farms already has one of the lowest GRT rates in the Valencia County? Did you know that Bosque Farms relies on GRT to pay the men who keep the sewer running and lease the police cars? The money has to come from somewhere. If it is lowered by even a little bit each resident would have to spend even more here in Bosque Farms to make up for the decrease revenue Bosque Farms would be recieving or your property taxes might be raised or your water rates.

It is like cutting a pie, you cut one slice smaller, the other slices will be larger.

How will decreasing GRT keep businesses? The theory is that with lower GRT you will spend more and the businesses will earn more that they get to keep in their pocket thus they will have more to spend... you get the idea. But if your paying more in water, sewer or property tax rates will you spend more? This author won't. In fact, this author will spend less.

Lowering GRT is probably not going to happen and it really doesn't make sense within the bigger picture. Watch this blog for other economic development ideas and some more good reasons voting no on any economic development bond issue put before us voters.

Challenge Issued Again to "Resident Responder"

This blog recently published a challenge to "Resident Responder" who claimed to have information about why past Councilors acted as they did. Several readers issued a challenge - Tell Us More. The blog authors thought it was important and posted it here as a blog post.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/05/challenge-for-resident-responder.html

Since then? NOTHING.

It has been a bit of a disapointment that "Resident Responder" would make these intimations against former Mayor Carl Allen, then try to demand an apology for what she percieved as 'intimations' on this blog written by one of the authors on behalf of a Councilor. (see link below)

It is also a bit of a disapointment that "Resident Responder" chooses to not provide any information.

But, when "Resident Responder" recently posted again several readers of this blog again asked her for more information.

Chile Chick for one says:
"...Residentresponder, YOU however DID intimate something few weeks ago about some backhand or sinister doings at the Village office with the statement "I also know why the councilors appeared to support him." But you never responded to the challenge to explain YOUR intimation. So do you want to pony up? "

There are other readers that also requested more information.
http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/06/broken-promises.html

How about it "Resident Responder" It appears you are the one who is 'playing with words' . Now is your time to explain your statements and shed light on the past so it is not repeated.

Bill Moyer's Graduation Day Speech

...But the question is not so much who we are going to fight against as it is which side of our own nature will we nurture: The side that can grow weary and even cynical and believe that everything is futile, or the side that for all the vulgarity, brutality, and cruelty, yearns to affirm, connect and signify. Albert Camus got it right: There is beauty in the world as well as humiliation, "And we have to strive, hard as it is, not to be unfaithful...in the presence of one or the other.

That's really what brings me here this afternoon. I did put myself in your place, and asked what I'd want a stranger from another generation to tell me if I had to sit through his speech. Well, I'd want to hear the truth: The truth is, life's a tough act, the world's a hard place, and along the way you will meet a fair share of fools, knaves and clowns--even act the fool yourself from time to time when your guard is down or you've had too much wine. I'd like to be told that I will experience separation, loss and betrayal, that I'll wonder at times where have all the flowers gone.

I would want to be told that while life includes a lot of luck, life is more than luck. It is sacrifice, study, and work; appointments kept, deadlines met, promises honored. I'd like to be told that it's okay to love your country right or wrong, but it's not right to be silent when your country is wrong. And I would like to be encouraged not to give up on the American experience. To remember that the same culture which produced the Ku Klux Klan, Tom DeLay and Abu Ghraib, also brought forth the Peace Corps, Martin Luther King and Hamilton College.

And I would like to be told that there is more to this life than I can see, earn, or learn in my time. That beyond the day-to-day spectacle are cosmic mysteries we don't understand. That in the meantime--and the meantime is where we live--we infinitesimal particles of creation carry on the miracle of loving, laughing and being here now, by giving, sharing and growing now.
...

Nothing really related to Bosque Farms, but this is an interesting thought that came from his liberal remarks made at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0522-35.htm

The New Mexico Spend O Meter

http://riograndefoundation.org/

Because those of us who live in Bosque Farms pay taxes, here is an interesting site with a

SPEND O METER

So you can see how fast your taxes are being spent.

The Library.

The Village of Bosque Farms is making progress.
The Bosque Farms Public Library has a website.
And now you can search the card catalog online.

Do you want to know if a book is available or research a topic for your report, you can start the process right at home.

http://www.bosquefarmspubliclibrary.org/

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
- Mark Twain

One website for the Village.

The Village of Bosque Farms is making progress.
The Bosque Farms Public Library has a website.
And now you can search the card catalog online.

Do you want to know if a book is available or research a topic for your report, you can start the process right at home.

http://www.bosquefarmspubliclibrary.org/

Now if the Village is able to manage to make this happen, why not a website for the Village office? Let's help, lets think of a list of items that might be worthwhile on a Village Website.

- garbage pick up days during holiday seasons.
- the budget, one reader pointed out earlier, Los Lunas does this.
- .... what else?

Congrats to the winners of the elections

This blog will not post all the winners and losers. It is available in the newspaper. The authors of this blog do want to recognize that there winners in the primaries.

How thankful this author is that others are willing to run and to put their name before us with the idea that they think they can make it better. Thanks to each person that ran.

Restricting Fireworks. A ban that isn't a ban.

Councilor Virgil Proctor said that the village's current fireworks ordinance allows firecrackers as long as they're 50 milligrams of powder or less.

"I don't think they'd create more of a fire hazard than sparklers, so I'd like to put them on the permissible fireworks list with the restrictions that are in our current ordinance," Proctor said. "If it's (the ordinance) enforced, I think firecrackers are acceptable under our present ordinance. I'd also like to move chasers to the prohibited list."

Bosque Farms Police Chief Joe Stidham was asked how well banning firecrackers could be enforced and he stated that "it's hard because there's no way to prove it by the time we get over there, unless we happen to be right in the area."

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/62028-06-07-06.html

Maybe this needs an explanation.

What Councilor Proctor is saying here is this:
IF our fireworks ordinance will be enforced then the types of fireworks he likes, firecrackers, should be allowed. And even if the ordinance isn't enforced, and it won't be according to the police chief himself, Councilor Proctor is still going to vote for the firecrackers he likes to use and who cares what anyone else likes.

So we have a ban but not one that is easily enforced and will most likely not be enforced if last year is any indication. A ban that is not a ban.

Broken Promises

Councilor Kennedy is one of the Councilors that has broken his promises.

He promised to represent you

BUT

He doesn't go to meetings.

He promised to hold meetings when everyone could attend

BUT

He agreed to a meeting on Tuesday morning

when elections where going on and during work hours.

And did he even go to that meeting?

He promised to explain issues and consequences

BUT

He didn't do that for the budget. And he hasn't yet.

This blog has reported on one resident asking for more information and where was Councilor Kennedy? Nowhere. He wasn't even at the meeting. So much for representation. So much for standing up and demanding what he promised- a clear accounting of issues (in this case the budget).

And will he change it at the next meeting? Doubtful. He certainly didn't do a good job of explaining that by increasing the spending like they have you will have to vote for a tax increase on your property and on your spending in the Village limits if you want anything extra because they aren't saving for it.

A broken Campaign Promise

Bosque Farms Councilors and Mayor held a special meeting today, this morning.

While you were rushing around trying to get to work and make time to vote, they were holding a meeting. Campaing Promises Out the window.

Both Councilor Proctor and Councilor Kennedy promised to meet at times that would allow you and I, the average working man to attend meetings. Councilor Kennedies final postcard said this: "MAKE GOVERNMENT USER FRIENDLY- Create a village government that is more open, meets at times convenient to residents and explains issues and consequences"

Was holding a meeting this morning so important that it couldn't wait?
Nope. They just banned the use of some fire works.
http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/62028-06-07-06.html

Did rushing to ban the fireworks this morning save homes and lives?
Nope. In Chief Stidham's own "it's hard (to enforce fireworks) because there's no way to prove it by the time we get over there, unless we happen to be right in the area."

So there was no rush and nothing really was changed by them meeting except that you can't use fireworks earlier, if you wanted to use them today. And yet they met at a time that was incovenient. Against their campaign promises.

June 15 Council Meeting

What should be on the agenda for the June 15 Council Meeting? Let's share some ideas here and now.

- Officer Meo should be introduced and congratulated for being the officer of the year.

- An explanation of the current fiscal health of the Village of Bosque Farms.

- An explanation of the money on the approved budget, this should have been done last month but this author would settle for it being done this month, even though it is too late to provide public comment since it has already been voted on and passed. The Council should provide some numbers- what are they saving for? A new fire truck? etc. What are they spending that is out of the ordinary? etc.

- A notice of when the open house will be for the Village of Bosque Farms fire station.

- Can you think of anything else that might be worthwhile to have on the June agenda?

Economic Development. A Thought.

Politicians say they're beefing up our economy.

Most don't know beef from pork.

~Harold Lowman

VOTE TODAY

Even though it is the primaries, your vote is still important. It is not to0 late to vote today. At 7pm then it will be too late.

Voting- Your Opinion (originally posted May 27)

As you can tell by the signs all around town it is time for another election. While it is early days yet and while the next election day will be primaries, it is no less important to vote.

Here is an opportunity for each of you to 'stump' for your candidate/s. Take a minute and share who you will vote for and why.

Warning: Any comments that are insulting to candidates will be deleted. While you can certainly share who you will not be voting for and why, be warned that any thing that is obviously untrue or 'ugly' may be deleted.

The authors of this blog have never deleted comments except for obvious ads. It was decided that in the interest of giving everyone a fair chance to 'stump' for their person to focus on the facts and the positive.

A Quote To Think About

If we escape punishment for our vices,

why should we complain if we are not rewarded for our virtues?

~John Churton Collins, Aphorisms in the English Review, 1914

An Answer for "US Military Man"

Under another post there is an interesting discussion going on. During the course of this discussion When the following comments came up:

"Fugettaboutit" said "Linthicum was charged with assault twice and the charges were dismissed. Does that make him a crazy violent scary person? It would seem that if what you have been saying is true, then Linthicum shouldn't be a cop either. He has a history of assault..."

And then "US Military Man" asked the following question:
"Well, I'm no attorney, but I looked up the stuff on Linthicum at nmcourts.com as per Mr. Fugg's suggestion. Not alot there, other than they were both dismissed. One for non-prosecution and the other states "dismisal would be in the interst of justice." I also noticed that both of his court cases had civil numbers not criminal. I don't understand. If he was criminally charged why are they civil lawsuits?Can anyone answer that?"

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/05/great-idea-originally-posted-may-14.html

Because it is related to Bosque Farms, because it was brought up in discussion, because this author wanted the complete story, this author followed up on those questions.

The newspaper originally had this as front page news but never followed up on the end result. Side comment: How awful is that? That it's 'news' if it is embarrassing or upsetting, but not if it is a dropped case or good news or won't embarrass someone. It is poor reporting too. Some links for your reading pleasure. You can read the original story but there is no follow up. There are other articles that cover the additional money spent to hire a special prosecutor and so on, but note there is nothing else about how the cases were dropped.
http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/33223-05-14-03.html
http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/37654-02-04-04.html

And because we are discussing legal terms here is a website that may help you understand some of the terminology. http://brandonlclark.com/glossary.html

It took some time to go visit with former Councilor Linthicum and dig into this issue further but here is what this author was able to find out.

There were NEVER any criminal “charges’ against David Linthicum. Look at nmcourts.com. You will see the case numbers start with CV. CV is the acronym for civil. You can’t “charge” someone civilly. You can only “choose” to sue them. The Village judge(s) Patterson (for the first case) and Wilke (on the second event) chose to file a criminal complaint against Linthicum.

So first, Wilke CHOSE to sue then Councilor Linthicum and when his case went nowhere he took the opportunity to sign another criminal complaint against then Councilor Linthicum when an employee was unhappy.

From one of the articles linked to above, this quote might help clarify the problem. "It's very sad to see that the power of a municipality is abused by others," English (an attorney) said. "The problem is having a criminal complaint failing to allege a crime, signed by a municipal judge."

The first case against David, brought by the Village of Bosque Farms was for “assaulting” Wilke, the now current judge, but who was not judge at the time. The court order was signed by Judge Patterson who was the judge for the Village of Bosque Farms at that time. The police were never involved. It was a case of two guys who decided to use the power of an elected official (the judgeship) to try to harass Linthicum. That case was dropped because the Village never pursued it and it was transferred to district court where the district attorney didn't feel the need to persue it either.

And why say "assaulting"? Althought it varies from area to area assault is generally defined as "A threat to inflict injury with an apparent ability to do so." That does not include holding a coke in one hand, a briefcase in the other and responding to someone who instigated contact.

And then, Wilke was elected judge.

The second case, also a CIVIL lawsuit, was dropped because it was determined to be MALICIOUS PROSECUTION. That is defined as “…maliciously procuring or attempting to procure an indictment or otherwise causing or attempting to cause a criminal charge to be preferred or prosecuted against an innocent person, KNOWING HIM TO BE INNOCENT.” The Village paid a Special Prosecutor (the guy to represent THEM) to review the case. He determined it was in the best interest of the Village AND justice to DROP the case against Linthicum.

The Village had to pay all of the court costs and reimburse Linthicum for his attorney’s fees.

Wilke's willingness to sign a criminal complaint when there was no investigation by the police force (red the newspaper reports yourself) and no evidence a crime had taken place cost the Village and you, the tax payer, money. Money to hire a special prosecutor, money ro reimburse former Councilor Linthicum for his attorney's fees and court costs.

The poor decision making skills could have cost the Village more had Councilor Linthicum chosen to sue for malicious prosecution.

A Bosque Gal Thought:
In each case the Village judge was hoping to have Linthicum appear before him in Village court. Both judges used their official, elected powers (and Village funds) for petty and personal reasons. Let’s hope none of you get on his bad side. Wilke has demonstrated he is not above using his public, elected authority to make trouble for you.

Just the kind of people we need….

A Great Idea (Originally Posted May 14)

As it seems many want to compare Bosque Farms to Los Lunas or Belen, maybe now Bosque Farms will hold an open house that is fun, has something for everyone, and will allow those of us who live here to get to know those of them that work here.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/61699-05-13-06.html

Belen is having an open house. Supposedly it is being held so you can meet the people who would be working on you in a medical emergency. But if you read closer you will see more:
The Parks and Recreation department will be handing out info about the summer programs,
the fire department will have an extraction demo,
the Valencia County fire men will be out there,
the Police of Belen will have a child car seat check
And so on.

And why are they doing this?

This is to tell the public that we're out here and we want to let them look at our equipment and show them what we do," Peoples said. "We want people to know that we all work and respond together and it's a way for the public to get to know us a little better and for us to get to know them."

Another Opinion

A mother weighs in with her opinion about the Bosque Farms Community Program.

What do you think about the proposed summer recreation program in yesterday's news bulletin?

I think it is:
1. Too late (I enrolled my kids in a summer program in March).

2. Too loosely run. I would not let my children go to a program that I have to release all liability and let my 6 year old decide when to leave the program. It sounds like there will be no supervision or planned activities.

3. Too open. I think it should be limited to Bosque Farms children since it is MY taxes that will pay for this.

I also think that the families should pay something for that child care. I don't want kids from another community dropped off here for free babysitting, then allowed to check themselves out of summer rec to go vandalize my house.Just my two cents as a concerned parent.

http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21274246&postID=114879405664182349

Well said "Bosque Mom" and clearly written as well. This is an example of the poor choices that the elected official made. Councilor Knowlton points out that the discussion was started last year and now all of a sudden he wants it completed and put in place with very little effort during the winter months.

In addition to that, the idea that there will be no sign in, no checking of IDs etc points out how little regard Councilor Knowlton has for children and their safety. It is concievable that a child could be dropped off and get tired of the program and simply walk home, thus going missing. It is concievable a young adult could be dropped off and the parent thinks their daughter is safe when instead she has simply gone off with someone else for the day.

It is concievable now that it has been published in the paper that all the pedophiles will read this and thank Councilor Knowlton for being concerned only for the Village liability. It seems he will be under greater liability if a child is kidnapped or runs away from this program and goes missing.

The Community Program for Kids

This blog has posted information about pedophiles and where they hang out.

Where do they hang out? WHERE CHILDREN ARE, Where the molester might have an opportunity to have access to a child unsupervised.

Councilor Knowlton and the other Councilors need to read this. If this blog makes one tiny difference, maybe they will see reason in their proposed unsupervised/supervised program.

Here is the quote: "Knowlton said he doesn't believe its necessary that the participants should have to sign in and out and could leave the recreation program when ever they want. He said he views it the same as someone going to the public library coming and going freely."

And why not have a list of who can pick up a child or not? Because Councilor Knowlton says "I'm extremely worried about liability and my opinion is that we have a registration form that does have a limited liability release."

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/61878-05-31-06.html

So you can go and drop your kid off to play and have no assurances that your child is safe. It is just the same as them going to the library.

WHAT??

On basic difference between sending your child to the library alone and sending your child to a Village sponsored program.

• If you send your child to the library alone, it is your responsibility. The child is still your responsibility and in your care the whole time. And Note- the library does not generally allow unescorted children in the library.
  
• If you drop your child off at a Village sponsored program with someone the Village is being payed to care for your kid, they take responsibility for the child.
  
• When you send your child to the library you have a reasonable expectation of when they will return home and can begin searching if they don't reach home at that time.
  
• When you put your child in a program you wouldn't know your child was missing until hours later.
  

Rather than looking at it like sending your child to the library, maybe Councilor Knowlton needs direction from the readers of this blog that he should be looking at it as sending a child to school.

Schools realize they are paying for the teachers, paying for the supplies, paying for the building and will be paying if something goes wrong. As one commentator often says "DUH!"

But if you send your kid here and your child goes missing, it's ok, you have signed a liability so the Village can't be sued right?