The Company Repairing Our Water Tank

This is the company that is repairing our well tank.
They are an Alaskan company with offices all over the South West Region.


http://www.ascg.com/home/default.aspx?node=nil

ASCG’s 2005 ranking is #94 in Engineering News Record (ENR) Top 500,
#16 on Zweig White’s Hot Firm 100 national listing for 2005,
and #15 on Zweig White’s Hot Firm 100 national listing for 2006.

Tribute to "Hazardous"

http://solosong.net/clowns.html

Some Interesting Links about Favoritism

This is for future reference. This simply came up in light of the recent vote (or lack there of) by Councilor Knowlton. What exactly is nepotism and what else can be learned about nepotism.

Definition of nepotism: favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship

http://www.sullivan-county.com/id2/nepotism.htm

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/government_ethics/introduction/cronyism.html
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/ethics/legisbrief-nepotism.htm

Be Sure to Attend

November 28th, there will be a Community Meeting at the Village offices at 7:00pm

This blog has been specially notified by a regular reader "The Hog"of the above meeting.
"The Hog" has worked hard to develop programs and it is hoped a plan to impliment neighborhood watch programs in neighborhoods that request this.

This is an opportunity, for you will also be able to meet the offiicers and learn more about what is going on in the Village.

Good Luck Police Department.
These authors hope you have success so that more programs and community policing events can occur in the future.

Not Nepotism! Councilor Knowlton and Reporting

Councilor Knowlton is to be commended for not voting recently!

First read the newspaper account. Robert Knowlton voted for ASCG to have a business contract.

The council unanimously approved action on a contract with Albuquerque-based ASCG Incorporated of New Mexico to begin work on the redesign of the village's water tower No. 1.

And who is working at ASCG Incorporated of New Mexico? Thom Knowlton
Do you think they just maybe might be related? Yup. They are brothers.

And to read the paper you would think that means Councilor Knowlton voted for his brother to have work sent his way, absolutely illegal and unethical. But that isn't the case.

Councilor Knowlton said it right up front "This is my brother who works for this company and I abstain, please put that on the record." Good going!

If you had merely taken the newspapers 'word' you wouldn't know about this action by Councilor Knowlton. You would have had to attend the meeting, speak with someone who did go or do as this author did and chat with Councilor Knowlton's wife.

Shame on the newspaper for not making it clear that these two men are brothers and shame for not making it clear that Councilor Knowlton didn't vote. Just reading the paper one might think that Councilor Knowlton voted (see the quote above.)

Surely there was plenty of spaces for quotes and comments there should have been space to clarify this rather than put Councilor Knowlton in a position of seemingly voting for his brother to have work sent his way in a clear conflict of interest.

While the paper does a fine job of reporting, sometimes it seems crucial bits of information get left out and misconstrued and for those that rely soley on the newspaper that is not good news.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/66830-11-22-06.html

Sex Offenders Websites to Visit

In a recent post about a law that the state of New Mexico should consider, an interesting discussion arose.

Coulrophobic: Just thought I would mention some disturbing statistics. Do you realize that there are at least 7 convicted sex offenders living in Bosque Farms? With a little over 1400 residences in our little Village, that equates to roughly 1 convicted sex offender for every 200 homes!

Hazardous: Where did you get 7 convicted sex offenders? When I looked on the sex offender website, I only found two. Please enlighten us.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/11/good-idea-aimes-law.html

The authors were curious where this information came from and there seemed to be some debate about the facts. So a quick search on google provided this website.

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

There are seven that pop up within the zip code of 87068. It does not appear all seven are within Bosque Farms Village limits however. In addition to that, there is a tab called non mappable offenders. It seems there are several that they are aware of but can't, for some reason, put on the map.

And "Coulrophobic" is correct when he (or she) says that not all of them are registered. If the crime was committed prior to 1995 they are most likely not registered, unless they were in jail or on parole at that time. Also not all of the ones that should register do so. And some that do register provide an address for family rather than current addresses, thus hiding their place of residence.

Note: There are other websites that provide the same information. There is one run by the state at this website below.

http://www.nmsexoffender.dps.state.nm.us/

Take Care

There are several employees at the Village office that have recently had surgery or been in a situation where their lives were endangered. This blog author wants to wish each and every employee the best and quickest recovery. Other employees at the Village take care.

Happy Thanksgiving

The authors of this blog will share a few things they are thankful for right here in Bosque Farms.

We are thankful for the rural feel of this Village. (We hope that it will stay this way and that no more families in our neighborhoods will take advantage of the solid metal fence law. )

We are thankful for the walkpath, bike path, multi use path. Call it what you will, we use it.

We are thankful that we can have horses and dogs with enough space for both.

We are thankful we can get fresh fruits and veggies right here in town.

we are thankful we know our neighbors and like them.

Your Turn...

Closed for the Family Holiday

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Here is a little Trivia Quiz about this special holiday.

http://www.brownielocks.com/thanksgivingtrivia.html

Valencia County

If you have ever questioned anything about Valencia County Government, here is the webpage to visit.

http://www.co.valencia.nm.us/

An Oversight Group at the Federal Level.

This is a link to an oversight group. It is called Project On Government Oversight. This link does not provide information about Bosque Farms directly. However it is about the Government on a Federal Level.

This provides an interesting read and does impact each of us in some way. You can read what one group thinks about some of the spending and current and upcoming laws. It also addresses open government meetings and more.

The Project On Government Oversight follows a rich tradition of assuring that the government continues to work for the people it represents. Our nation was founded on the very principle that representation and accountability are fundamental to maintaining a strong and functioning democracy. Today, these principles espoused by our founding fathers are under attack as our federal government is more vulnerable than ever to the influence of money in politics and powerful special interests.

http://www.pogo.org/

To Prepare For Thanksgiving

For the reader who recognized that at least one of the authors was a mother that cooked home made meals for her children, as if that were a bad thing, here are a few recipes this author is planning on trying for a healthy vegetable oriented Thanksgiving.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Potato-and-Garlic-Salad/Detail.aspx

The Library Hours

First, here are the Library winter hours.

Monday 11 am to 5 pm
Tuesday 11 am to 5 pm
Wednesday 10 am to 5 pm
Thursday 10 am to 5 pm
Friday Closed
Saturday 10 am to 2 pm
Sunday Closed

This makes it difficult for anyone working to visit the library except for four hours in the middle of the weekend.

With the thirty minute commute from Albuquerque, anyone who works anywhere near a typical work week won't have any time to rush home and then rush to the library on a weeknight. This extends to young children who are to be escorted by an adult or driven by an adult to the library. If they have research papers or need homework help it probably isn't happening at this library.

In addition to the zero evening hours and limited weekend hours the library is open less than forty hours a week. Longer hours on the weekend or one night a week with a later closing time would be beneficial to the whole community.

It seems Los Lunas is considering this as well for a different reason. Here is the article from the newspaper about Los Lunas and their library hours.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/66752-11-18-06.html

November 19, 1863

The Gettysburg Address.

It is worth revisiting this historic talk.

http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/gettysburgaddress.htm

The Rural Water Assc.

There are many Associations and groups that the Village of Bosque Farms and it's employees can join. These help in different ways. Some provide benefits such as training, insurance and others provide a form of networking with others in similar situations.

The New Mexico Rural Water Association is one that Bosque Farms still belongs to.

http://www.nmrwa.org/

New Mexico Rural Water Association is a non-profit membership organization that provides free training and technical assistance to water and wastewater systems.

Here are just a few of the services they provide and what the Village is charged should it make use of these services:

Circuit Rider and Field Specialist Technical Assistance and Training
Water System Operator and Manager Training
Wellhead / Groundwater Protection Program
USDA Source Water Protection Program
...

These services are provided free-of-charge to all recipients. The Association is funded by membership fees and contracts with the Environmental Protection Agency, the USDA Rural Utility Service, and the New Mexico Environment Department, Drinking Water Bureau in support of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Windows Tinted

For anyone who has wondered, when looking at the cop cars of Bosque Farms, 'what is the law about window tinting anyways'? Here is the answer.

Now these are both from websites that are not direct links to state law and thus state law may change while these websites will reflect old data. The best this author can tell however, the laws posted are the most current laws.

But looking at this one author has an opinion about the windows on the police vehicles.
Read these over and share your opinions.


http://www.tintcenter.com/laws/NM/

http://home.pcisys.net/~bpc/auto_law/tint/tint_nm.html

What Happened? Or Another Incomplete Project

This author has been waiting for the property maintenance law to be completed. It seems that it has been lost in the fog for the past year. Maybe someone can learn more about this from the Councilor in charge? Or maybe someone knows something this author doesn't know?

Councilor Wallace offered to take it over when she became concerned and compared the proposed ordinance to the one the County was passing. She seemed worried that the laws as they were proposed would be interpreted to put limitation on horses or something to this effect.

Just to refresh your memory here is the newspaper article that covered this very item.

In an effort to aid the council, two committees were established to go over the ordinance and make the necessary revisions. The first committee, which will be headed up by Councilor Dolly Wallace, will look into the property maintenance portion. Resident Robert Kavanaugh volunteered to steer the committee that will review the nuisance abatement section.
The mayor asked for volunteers from the community to sit on the committees and asked that they wrap up their work in between 60 and 90 days so that it can come before the current council for consideration. The next council election will be the first week in March.

...
According to Donna Baker, the village's planning and zoning officer, she recently discovered the village does not have an ordinance to deal with poorly maintained properties. She said the current ordinance deals with debris and weeds but does not give her the authority to ensure that the condition of the property is not detrimental to the value and community appearance.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/56012-11-05-05.html

Mr. Kavenaugh, and his committee, finished his within the time frame and brought it before the Council to be passed.

And it has been well over 90 days as requested by Mayor Ake and is well into the one year mark. And to date, the Village still does not have any method to deal with falling down buildings, poorly maintained property etc.

Uh... Councilor Wallace?

Garden Fresh Market

This author has been in this store several times. The store is clean and the owner is very helpful.
And the fruits and veggies are exactly as promised, fresh. In addition to that the prices are very reasonable and often times lower than a grocery store.

Some random quotes from the newspaper article that describe a quality business. Someone who is doing a good job, working hard, and practicing what he believes.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/66668-11-15-06.html

Overall, Abu-Zahrieh said his business philosophy is very simple.
"My plan is to always have the customers come first in service," he said. "We help them, get anything they want. And that's what I told my cashiers.

"My fruits and vegetables come every day — every day," he said. "If I skip one, I order for two days, but generally they come every day. My regular customers know we'll have things fresh. For that is important — it's very, very important.

"When you give the customers something, you do it and they like it, you know you'll win them and they won't leave you."

A Way to Help Bosque Farms Elementary

There are many craft fairs held this time of the year. If you do crafts or buy crafts or just want to help support the local school, here is one that might be of interest.

AN ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (December 2nd) at Bosque Farms Elementary School, to benefit the school. Booths rent for $15. Call Stella, 869-6711.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/community/noticias.html

A Good Idea. Aime's Law.

Recently a law was passed in Wisconsin that New Mexico should consider passing. And while New Mexico may have a law like this on the books, this author was unable to find anything similar.

It was named after a young girl who was raped by a fourteen year old boy. He served his time and then his record was sealed because he was a minor at the time. Had the police been able to tell the community about his previous sex offender convicition others might not have been raped. Unfortunately, he was able to rape another young girl.

Aime's Law allows the police, but does not make it mandatory, to release this information about sex offender's minor records.

Because the best available information is that sexual offenders will repeat the crime, and because this seems to be particularly true of young sexual offenders (see below) this is a good law in the authors' opinions.

This author hopes that the readers who read this blog will take the time to lobby their state law makers for this law to be adopted.

This blog hopes that the officer who played such a large part in getting the Amber Alert passed and put into place in the State of New Mexico will consider pushing for this law as well.

This blog hopes that the officers from Bosque Farms would lobby the state and help the people in Sante Fe understand this is a good law worth writing.

http://markgottlieb.blogspot.com/2005/03/aimes-law.html

http://www.csom.org/pubs/recidsexof.html

From the above link:
In a recently conducted study, Hunter and Figueredo (1999) found that as many as 50 percent of youths entering a community-based treatment program were expelled during the first year of their participation. Those who failed the program had higher overall levels of sexual maladjustment, as measured on assessment instruments, and were at greater long-term risk for sexual recidivism.

...released sex offenders were 4 times more likely to be rearrested for a sex crime.

Accountable Development

Here is a very interesting website that everyone who wants to know more about Economic Development should read. It discusses the hidden costs of economic development, the types of economic development and even defines economic development. See some of the quotes below and then go read more yourself.

http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/accountable_development/beginners_guide.cfm


Economic development is government intervention to promote private sector economic activity in a particular locale. Intervention can take a variety of forms, ..... The assumption is that economic expansion will create new jobs: jobs that residents need, politicians promise, and local economic development officials work to deliver.

Development subsidies are money, tax breaks, and in-kind benefits given to companies to offset the costs of opening or expanding a new facility....
Some people call subsidies "incentives," but that's not really accurate... A mountain of evidence suggests that development subsidies are often abused by companies that would have done exactly what they did anyway.

Economic development decisions are made largely behind closed doors by political and corporate powerbrokers.

Previous Posts about Free Speech

This blog has responded before this to the very same accusations about anonymity previously.
Others who read this blog want to say 'what a coward you are for not stating your name clearly'
and how unethical you are for being anonymous.

There are many reasons to remain anonymous. Many more than the oversimplified list posted earlier.

Having checked the phone book there does not seem to be a listing for most of the people who chose to respond on this blog. Furthermore, those that choose to sign their name may simply be putting a name out there but not be who they say they are in reality. There is no way of knowing. So in essense each one of you is anonymous, even when you provide a 'real name'.

At least one reader has said 'my ancestors fought for the right to bear arms' and yet in almost the same breath seems to forget the Civics lessons taught in high school. The same men who put their lives on the line for that right also used free speech, anonymous free speech.

Do you doubt this is true? Follow the links below to find previous responses and even more links with even more information.


http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/02/free-speech-and-supreme-court.html

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/02/founding-fathers-and-free-speech.html

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/02/on-freedom-of-speech.html

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/02/anonymity-response_25.html

Parent Involvement Day

This Thursday, November 16 is the annual Parent Involvement Day.

It is an effort to get parents into the classroom and involved in their child's learning. It is an effort to improve public schools through a variety of methods including volunteerism.

This author would encourage all parents who can, carve a bit of time out, and visit the school your child attends and see how you can get involved. There are many many ways and not all of them large or time consuming or expensive.

http://www.projectappleseed.org/abc.html

Veterans Day

It seems slightly wierd to wish all a Happy Veterans Day.
Let's try this on:

Thank You Veterans

_________________

The difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day
Memorial Day honors servicemembers who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle. Deceased veterans are also remembered on Veterans Day but the day is set aside to thank and honor living veterans who served honorably in the military - in wartime or peacetime.

And How Can You Celebrate?

http://www.military.com/veteransday/Celebrate_Kids.htm

Happy Birthday Marine Corps

Since 1921 the birthday of the Marine Corps has been officially celebrated each year on 10 November, since it was on this date in 1775 that Continental Congress resolved, "That two Battalions of Marines be raised...."

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/a/customs.htm

Another Agency that Impacts Bosque Farms

The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District

... the Rio Grande is still a wild river. It can still be heavily affected by climatic and ecological change and requires constant maintenance and monitoring by those around it. Here, in the heartland of New Mexico, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) is charged with this responsibility. ...

These are the people who are charged wtih managing the ditches and controlling what happens on the ditches.

http://www.mrgcd.com/

And while this is old news now, here is an interesting article:

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/56868-12-07-05.html

Anonymous and History

There is a "long tradition of anonymous speech" by the Founding Fathers who fought so hard for the rights many of us enjoy today.

And one of those rights is the right to speak anonymously.

In fact, early American patriots often used pseudonyms like Publius (used by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay when they wrote the Federalist Papers) when they pushed political change.

Courts are finding that anonymous speech on the Internet is worthy of protection and that unmasking a defendant's identity must have evidence of a valid case, and sufficient justification for revealing the identity of the anonymous poster.

For the February 4, 1735 issue of The Pennsylvania Gazette, Franklin sent an anonymous letter to his own newspaper entitled Protection of Towns from Fire. Writing as an "old citizen"...
http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/philadelphia/fire.htm

Question for "The Hog"

It has been some time since you have posted on this blog. Everyone is curious.
What is the status on your research and what are the future plans for having neighborhood watch programs set up in appropriate neighborhoods?

It seems the last time you posted you were mentioning a drop date of November sometime. Any more information?

Reasons to Remain Anonymous

1. Fear of retaliation. (political, economic, or otherwise)

2. It makes internet debate more robust because it removes the status indicators of class, race, gender...

3. It facilitates dialogue that would not happen otherwise.

4. Fear of detrimental impacts on employment.

5. If it is good enough for old Ben it's good enough for me.

Something to Think About

Anonymity is the truest expression of altruism.
Eric Gibson, in The Wall Street Journal

________________

One of the most profound, witty, and interesting people ever, Anonymous.

Anonymous (3,023,299 BCE - Current)

_____________________

All truth passes through three stages.

First, it is ridiculed.

Second, it is violently opposed.

Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

--Schopenhauer)

____________________________

Interesting Articles

http://web.media.mit.edu/~nicholas/Wired/WIRED6-10.html

http://tkyte.blogspot.com/2005/05/is-being-anonymous-bad.html

I believe anonymity is essential. It is vital to a healthy society and market. Without the option of anonymity I believe a society would be less than optimal. Indeed I would fight vigorously to keep the option of being anonymous as an essential part of any society. It is both humane and wise.

http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2006/01/on_the_option_o.php

Election Results

Word was that the Democratic Party of New Mexico was pouring much money in here in an attempt to overtake Valencia County again. True or not it seems the Democrats have won more seats this year than Republicans.

The totals for the election will be canvassed by the Valencia County Commission in a meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, at the county courthouse.

Final figures will be reported in the Saturday edition.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/66545-11-07-06.html

The Council of Governments

Across the nation there are groups of governments who joined something called a "COG".

These authors wanted to know more about COG. What is it? What does it do? Is it some kind of railroad? Will it help the community to be a member of a COG? Is Bosque Farms part of a COG? So one of the authors began and search.

A quick phone call assured the author that yes, Bosque Farms is part of the Mid Region Council of Governments, or as it is sometimes called Mr. Cog. A Council of Governments: representatives from connecting governments getting together and talking and solving problems.

Here is their website and their philosophy:

MRCOG is a unique governmental agency which takes a regional approach to urban and rural planning in Central New Mexico. In addition to the interactions created by geographic proximity, MRCOG recognizes that transportation, natural resources, land use and the economy are interrelated and that strategic short and long term policy decisions are critical to a healthy community and prosperous New Mexico

http://www.mrcog-nm.gov/index.htm

Bascially MRCOG helps communities to communicate with either, work together with overlapping resources; such as, water use, air pollution etc...

They also do a lot of other things for communities. Recently they helped Bosque Farms write a water use law. If you see those black counters on the road that count cars, that is usually from Council of Governments. They count traffic so communities can plan long term how to direct and control traffic. They have various committees and workshops and meetings. A look at their website should provide you with plenty of information about their work.

Be Sure To Vote

Politicians are like diapers.

They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.

~Author Unknown

__________________________

Our political institutions work remarkably well.

They are designed to clang against each other.

The noise is democracy at work.

~Michael Novak

_

Burning Laws

While this news article is from September 22, 2004, a quick check confirms the information included is still valid.

While the Bosque Farms Village Council decided not to amend its current open-burning ordinance in June, (2004) the state informed the village last week that residents will still have to abide by the new regulations.
...

Residents who do conduct open burns of vegetation within the 300 feet (of a home or building)limit may not be violating the less-strict village ordinance, but could be found guilty of violating the state regulation — which Musick says would be equivalent to a petty misdemeanor.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/44582-09-22-04.html

It is interesting to note that this agency, the New Mexico Environmental Agency wanted Bosque Farms to pass a law so that Bosque Farms could do the work for the state that the state wants done. In other words, if Bosque Farms doesn't control the burning, then the state would have to control the burning.

And it is interesting to note that there are very few people who work within this agency who are responsible for policing the open burning, in the Whole State. So although this law is still in effect, the possibility of getting a ticket or fined for this is very minimal.

For more information visit the website of the government agency that is in charge of stopping everyone who does burn weeds within 300 feet of a building. And if you want to read more about the state law follow their link on the left hand side of the screen about open burning.

http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/aqb/

It is the Small Things (From Oct. 6, 2006)

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together."

-- Vincent Van Gogh

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are

infinitely the most important."

-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things

and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things."

-- Lawrence Bell

Congratulations

There have been several new businesses opening up lately. The authors of this blog want to express our sincere hope that each and every one do well.

Last Day for Early Voting.

Last Day for Early Voting

If you haven't done that already and want to avoid the lines and crowds and the wait on voting day, today is the day to vote. It has been busy over there, but last mention said there was very little wait.

A Pool In Bosque Farms

During the past year there has been many repeated mentions of both Councilor Wallace and Councilor Knowlton saying they want a pool and additional recreational facilities. Sometimes they try act as if this is not the case. Sometimes others will respond and say 'that is not what they said..' But here it is, from their campaign promises:

What they said when they ran was 'we want a pool'.

The question they were asked in the newspaper was this:
Bosque Farms has a limited budget. What should the financial priorities be?

At the risk of being redundant, let this author point out the key points...

LIMITED budget and financial PRIORITIES. What did these two say?


Dolly Wallace:

Wallace said she will work with seniors to address their needs, promote youth activities, support Bosque Farms' schools and promote community recreation with a swimming pool and additional playing fields, such as for baseball and soccer.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/37873-02-07-04.html

Robert Knowlton

Securing government grants for infrastructure improvements is important for facilities such as a new police-fire complex, a new baseball complex, a swimming pool and a library expansion. Growth in the business district could help pay matching funds for some of these items through increased gross receipts taxes."

(Author note: The police/fire station was under way when Councilor Knowlton was elected, the funds for the baseball complex available and the library expansion has been repeatedly moved lower on the to do list by Councilor Knowlton himself. What does that leave? A pool!)

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/38180-02-18-04.html

Yet, repeatedly when this is mentioned some reader will stand up and say the authors misunderstood what these two people said. Or will even defend both of these two Councilors by saying 'yes, they want a pool but not before everything else is taken care of that needs to be done.' And even worse, in the opinion of these authors, some readers will say 'we want a pool, no matter what.' This author hopes it doesn't come to that.

Fascinating Pictures

If you click on the link below you will be directed to the official government website of the Farm Security Administration. This is the place that is famous for sending photographers out during the depression to record life in small and rural towns.

To find black and white pictures from the early years of Bosque Farms you can visit the Geographic Location Index.

The images show Americans at home, at work, and at play, with an emphasis on rural and small-town life and the adverse effects of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and increasing farm mechanization. Some of the most famous images portray people who were displaced from farms and migrated West or to industrial cities in search of work. In its latter years, the project documented America's mobilization for World War II. The collection includes about 164,000 black-and-white negatives; this release provides access to over 160,000 of these images.

http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fahome.html

You may also want to follow the the following link. It will take you to color pictures of this area as well. Many, if not all of the color pictures are from Belen. However, it will provide a fascinating look at the past in this area.

http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/fsachtml/fsacgeogindex1.html

A Rolling Quorum

This author has heard about rolling quorums in the past. What is a rolling quorum you ask?
Well, a quorum is easily defined as the minimum number of people needed to conduct business at a meeting.

If the mayor frequently conducts rolling polls of council members to determine his support before bringing up issues in open meetings, this is a rolling quorum.

If the Council speaks amongst themselves (via phone, or after a meeting) and makes decisions about how to vote prior to a public vote, this is a rolling quorum and is in violation of the open meetings act. If one Councilor speaks with another and then speaks with yet a third and they vote the same way, it is a rolling quorum. Even if the official vote is not taken until the Council meeting, the fact that there has been non public discussion on a topic of consideration it is a rolling quorum.

This practice by the mayor and council curtails public discussion. This is a violation of the Open Meetings Act and smacks of illegal back-room deal making.

It seems difficult to prove but when the Council stands up and all vote the same way with very little discussion, it appears to be a rolling quorum in action. That is, they discussed behind the scenes where their allegiences are and how they will vote prior to the meeting.

When, during their public discussion in a meeting, prior to a vote they echo each other almost word for word, it appears a rolling quorum may be in action.

This is against the law and should be reported to the attorney general. Even if you just suspect a rolling quorum, sometimes the mere act of having to answer to the attorney general will prompt a governing body to be more careful.

In the Spring/Summer 2004 issue the New Mexico Foundation for Open government reports Las Cruces City Council violated the Open Meetings Act by conducting a rolling poll... while the article says the New Mexico Open Meetings Act doesn’t use words like rolling quorum or rolling poll. It says FOG has frequently argued that rolling quorums (telephoning individual council members or speaking with them in the parking lot) are violations of the public’s right to observe and listen to council discussion in an open meeting.

http://www.horseflyonline.com/index.php?fuseaction=home.viewarticle&article_id=603

Tennis Courts

The tennis courts in Bosque Farms are great! They might need minor repairs or they might not be the prettiest courts but they are great. These courts are well used.

In fact there is a group of people who meet in the mornings to play.

In June 2006 there was an article in the newspaper about this group.

The "Bosque Farms Informal Tennis Club" — as it was casually dubbed by founder Emil Schandl-- is about having fun, staying active and making friends.

Since 1986, a small group of adults have gathered for an hour's worth of tennis each weekday morning in Bosque Farms. The players, who hail from across Valencia County, don't have set partners but instead rotate in and out of games. The mood is light. Hitting the ball into the net is hardly cause for a frown, let alone an outburst.

We welcome anyone who wants to play," Schandl said.
Added Don Honeyfield, "Be sure you put that in (the newspaper) — anyone who wants to come join us, they're welcome."

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

But besides that group this author has routinely noticed two young men playing in the evening, a family walking on the walk path to the tennis courts in the afternoons and several others using the tennis courts.

It is nice to see community property being used and enjoyed by all ages.

Membership and Benefits

This author has always found it fascinating the number of associations and groups that any municipality join.

Here are only a few of those groups. Watch further posts for more in formation on this topic.

Obviously the first that comes to mind is the one that Councilors will refer to when they have done some prior phone calling, looking for help on a certain topic. The New Mexico Municipal League.

http://www.nmml.org/

They provide training for newly elected officials. And in their own words:
Individual service to member municipalities on a day-to-day basis is one of the most important functions of the League. These services include research to help local officials make decisions ... legal opinions from the League's legal staff; publication of a monthly newsletter... Information on the legislature and The League organized and administers the New Mexico Self Insurers' Fund, which offers Workers' Compensation, general liability, law enforcement, civil rights, errors and omissions, auto liability, auto physical damage, and property and volunteer coverage to its members. The Fund also offers group health, medical and life insurance.