Have You Heard? (From May 3, 2007)

This author has heard that a certain Councilor who loves horses and who is involved in the Bosque Farms Rodeo Association is still talking about having the Village of Bosque Farms take over the rodeo grounds and then getting money from the state to run the rodeo grounds.

Has anyone else heard this tidbit?

This author wonders how the rest of the members of the BFRA would feel about this?

Finally!

Let's hope this happens soon and that it doesn't get lost in the shuffle of doing other things.



Agreed to the placement of benches and water fountains along the village's bike path, which runs along the loop. The council agreed to place benches with shade structures on the North Loop, west of Green Acres Lane; on the South Loop, east of McNew Road; and another in front of the village's tennis court on the West Loop. The council also agreed to place a bench and shade structure without a water fountain east of Country Lane on the North Loop.



Maybe this author did not read this correctly but it seems a water fountain would be ideal in front of the park or the community center.

About Illegal Immigrations

http://www.heritage.org/

Yesterday the talk show pundits were discussing the cost of amnesty and the cost to tax payers of low wage or low skilled workers, particularly those that are here in this country through illegal means.

No matter how you feel about this issue the numbers the Heritage Foundation provides are very compelling and very though provoking.

Memorial Day

Another Special Day commemorating and Remembering those that have served in the past and died while serving this country.

http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

(See you on the other side of the weekend)

Helmets, biking, skate boarding (Post Three)

Just a few more articles about helmets for "El Tigre" to trounce on. For the record though, they are all local.

BMX racing is a relatively inexpensive sport ˜ all that's needed is a bike and helmet... Riders must also wear shoes, long-sleeved shirts and long pants to help avoid abrasions in the event of a mishap.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/archives/arch_NB_582-2001.HTM


It's probably not cool to mention this, but we urge skaters to make a commitment to wearing helmets and knee and elbow pads. If all of you decide to do it at once, none of you will feel as though you're sticking out.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/archives/arch_NB_3857-2002.HTM

Water Rate Increase

"Coulrophobic" made a very lengthy contribution to the discussion of water rates increasing and why this is a good idea. You can read it here:

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2007/05/have-you-heard.html

This author believes that there are many many questions and not enough answers. The more important ones being:

• Why do water rates need to be raised? Why can't there be another form of raising revenue? What other options are there?
• Where is the money that the residents of Bosque Farms pay in the form of property taxes, GRT, etc going?
• Why can't enough money be saved for these future expenses that this author keeps hearing about? How much money is saved? How much many can be saved? How expensive are these future expenditures going to be?

Based on what "Coulrophobic" has said:

1. Based on his post, it sounds as if it is a given the rates will be raised, the Council is just trying to justify it
...What about trying to see if they can get by without raising the rates?
... Why try to justify a decision already made? Why not get the facts then make the decision?
... What about looking at the options?

2. The decision will be made by a bunch of Councilors running free software with some free help from NM Tech.
... What about running the number every which way and then have the civil engineers run the numbers?
... Where else can information be gathered?

3. Water rates will increase every year if Councilor Knowlton has his way.
... What about making that decision yearly?

And these are not the only questions, others have questions that are worthy of answers as well.
"EyeCare" asked this question:
why make only those connected to the water system pay higher rates to maintain the water/sewer system when everyone in the Village benefits in 'some way' by that system?

"Just Here" says:
I have sat in meetings with LW and C. Knowlton's wife. They have both said that they think there are plenty of grants available for a swimming pool. Oh please. We can get grants for swimming pools but have to raise the rates for repairs to important facilities? Why not switch it around?

Helmets and Bikes and Children (Post two)

Another article about wearing a helmet, just to keep "El Tigre" busy pointing out how wrong it is to wear a helmet.

Five gray chunks are all that is left of Jace Muir's best friend's helmet. Thanks to his friend's urging that he wear it, 5-year-old Jace is alive today.

What happened next would have been fatal had Jace not been wearing that helmet, his mom said. Jace sped out of the driveway — and ended up headfirst beneath the back tire of a neighbor's car. "The back wheel ran over his head completely, the whole weight of the car," Muir said emotionally.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660221688,00.html

And yes, this one too happened in another state. Does it make it any less valid? "El Tigre" seems to believe so if you consider his comments on the previous post.

Traveling Worker

Many communities make each and every business that does business in their community pay a fee to do work in their community.

They drive on our roads and they earn money by coming into our neighborhoods and doing work but they take their money and they pay their gross reciept tax elsewhere.

Businesses such as the bug sprayers, the landscapers and others.

Is this something Bosque Farms should do? Is it worth consideration? Certainly this author is aware it was spoken about in the past as something worth looking into.

While it might not bring in a large amount of money, it would be that much less money our water rates would need to be increased.

"Former Villager" Shares some Information

The discussion about the Flood Plain, Flood Insurance, and Flood Control ordinances has come up repeatedly. This blog has advocated a strong stance and an effort to get the Village out of the flood plain.

Many parts of the Village were not in the flood plain until recently and now, with others building their homes up to get out of the flood plain, more land will be altered thus expanding the flood plain.

"Former Villager" (Welcome new reader!) shared his information about this very topic.

Approximately six years ago when I was a resident, I contacted my then agent, Ron McDivitt, and asked him about the flood insurance situation.

He told me that the Corrales Administration had lobbied the agency that handles the flood plain plans and had subsequently gotten Corrales ommited from the flood insurance situation.

He also told me that if the BF Administration asked him to, he would help in any way he could, to get the Village of BF eliminated from the flood insurance program.

I personally spoke to Mayor Baldwin and relayed the information and was told,'He would look into it'.

Before I could follow through, the company transfered me and I completely forgot about it. ... But when this subject came up, I wanted to let those that read and post here know, that a vigorious campaign to the right agency might get BF off the flood plain list.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2007/04/talking-about-drought.html

Armed Forces Day

The third Saturday in May, (Tomorrow), is Armed Forces Day.

Thank you to all that are serving or have served in the past.

Well, each branch of the military had their own day of celebration. But, on August 31, 1949 then Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of Armed Forces Day. President Harry Truman also announced the holiday in a presidential proclamation on February 20, 1950. All branches of the military were asked to celebrate on this day and they complied on the first Armed Forces Day which was held the following year on May 20, 1950.

http://www.holidayinsights.com/other/afd.htm

A Bosque Farmsite

Harris, a 17-year-old home-schooled student from Bosque Farms, is one of more than 1,500 high school students - and one of two from Valencia County - who are participating in the Intel International Science and Engineering fair this week at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/71313-05-16-07.html

This author wonders how he did and hopes he did a great job and had an enjoyable time.

The general public can visit the Intel ISEF 2007 for FREE on Thursday, May 17 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to noon. All the finalists will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m on Thursday to meet visitors and discuss their work. During other times finalists are not required to be at their projects.

Another Example of Community Attitude

This author recently commented on the fact that Belen throws a party when it can, looks for reasons to celebrate and to bring the community together in a positive fun environment.

Look at this:

Los Lunas
- Library sponsors the Poets Society.
- Fiddlers and Musicians of New Mexico meet in Los Lunas.
-

Belen
- spinners and weavers guild meets in a church there.
- Optimist Club
- Belen Stitchers
- Spring Art Show
- Hub City Music Fest

Bosque Farms
- Yeah! Community Watch and Community Education Meetings sponsored by the Police.
- The Community Center sponsors events for seniors including AARP training.
- Adult Tennis at the tennis courts.

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

Is this a comprehensive list of everything each community offers? Nope. Not even close. Look for yourself.

FFA, 4H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and so on. But if you are looking for events that work to bring the community together or serve a wide range of people or for variety, you are more apt to find something going on in Belen or Los Lunas.

The point of this post? Just to point out that Bosque Farms could be doing something more. Maybe they need to be looking at buying some land up by Hwy 47. A place where celebrations can be held, and events staged. Or maybe they need to be using that lovely new parking lot and building just as the architect envisioned, as a community square.

This author believes it is time that Bosque Farms begins acting like the small town community it is and does some of the same old fashioned types of events it used to do.

Let's throw a sheet up on the back of the community center, set up some hay bales and watch a movie. Let's get some local bands and local talent to volunteer for a night in the park. Let's have a brown bag dinner and let's use that Community Center and Library to the fullest.

A site to read (and wade through)

www.nmfma.org/callforaction2003.pdf

If someone would like to read a lengthy bit of information about the flood plain here it is in plain English. It is from 2003 but still provides many facts and much food for thought.

As some of the current comment makers are very good at doing this, and some don't have the time, everyone is encouraged to feel free to read it and report back what it says in a brief summary.

John Adams

And why on this May 15th would this blog post about John Adams?

It was this day that John Adams said independence began. Not July 4 as some might believe, not July 2 as other history buffs might guess but May 15, 1776.

On May 15, 1776, the Virginia Convention passed a resolution that "the delegates appointed to represent this colony in General Congress be instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United Colonies free and independent states."

The idea was not merely a move away from a monarchy but a move towards a new form of government

The first president to live in the white house was John Adams. Both he and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day, July Fourth 50 years after they declared independence. He died thinking his friend Thomas Jefferson was still alive.

There are many online resources about this great man. There are several fascinating books about him and his wife.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams

(Apologies for using wikipedia, but it was the fastest way to document this... other sources are available for this, mainly in the form of books.)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/adams/sfeature/sf_book_text_01.html

http://research.history.org/pf/signers/virginiaConvention.cfm

Speeding Police

This author just HATES seeing the police of Bosque Farms driving on the freeway at higher speeds than the rest of those of us who live here that must poke along at a measly 65 miles per hour.

Is this an official perk of the Village police department?
Is this something they are told when they are hired? Don't worry about being late because you can speed to work?

It seems there should be a policy for this very event. And maybe there is but it doesn't seem like it.

This author one time did call the chief and did report that an officer was speeding on the freeway between Albuquerque and Bosque Farms. Guess what happened? NOTHING. Not one thing. No one returned the call, no one followed up on it, and the police are still speeding.

First Response Program

Did you know there was a meeting to organize the first response program?

This was a program originally proposed by one volunteer fire fighter. He did a lot of the leg work for this program and had an idea and was trying to generate support in the Council. Unfortunately, under Mayor Baldwin that plan went nowhere.

Now, several years later the plan has been dusted off and money has been recieved from the state for this program and to date it appears there is no interest in the community any more for this type of program. And volunteers to date? Zero to few at the first meeting.

Now?
During an informational meeting Wednesday evening, about 10 residents interested in forming the village's first volunteer emergency medical service gathered together. But unfortunately,
only 7 would commit to attending training and a minimum of 8 is needed.

And of course, it is still in the planning stages:
Jones said she and Fire Chief Spencer Wood have sat and talked about what it would take to establish a volunteer emergency medical service, but technicalities such as dispatch issues and boundaries are still being discussed and worked through. She did indicate that the village is, however, contemplating extending service to the new Town of Peralta. ...

We are open to suggestions because we're all feeling our way as we go," Jones said. "This is brand new, and the main thing is that we don't want to be gung-ho and jump in there and start this and have it fail. I want to do it right, or not at all. We need to set it up right and consider all the angles and make sure that this can be a success."

Let's discuss this a bit...

This author began working on this posting when look, Clara Garcia, also has a great idea to write an article about this very topic. This post was reworked a bit to share some of the information from the following article. Information about volunteering is available in this article.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/71239-05-12-07.html

Planning and Budgeting.

The following quote, sure does concern this author:

Gayle Jones, the village's clerk-administrator, who is heading up the endeavor to establish and emergency medical service in Bosque Farms, said the village initially requested $75,000 from the State Legislature for a new medical rescue unit and equipment.

"When it went to the very first committee, they came back to us through our lobbyist and said that it wasn't enough, do your homework and come back with another figure," Jones said. "I did my homework ... and we were given $150,000."

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/71239-05-12-07.html

LET'S CONSIDER THIS

They wanted to start a program and went to the state for money. Ok, makes sense.

The state said... You need to ask for more because you have no clue what you are doing and it's going to take more than that... WHAT????

Several thoughts come to mind:

We are paying someone to do this work, to do the research, figure out how much it costs to run a program like that, and obviously this person didn't do any legwork or basic informational search.

Do your homework! No joke. It should be done before hand!

Really! How hard is it to pick up the phone and call? Call the guy who sells the vehicles, call the municipal league for insurance information, call other communities and see how they began theirs and for how much. Let's see, need some more information? How about call the guy who started this idea rolling in the first place?

We are paying for a lobby person to beg for money only to look like an idiot with his hand out, next year, this lobby man should ask for more money to do his job. Afterall, he had to come back and tell the Village to do their job right.

Why oh why would you go to the state and beg for money and a. ask for less than you need and b. have no clue how much you really need to get the job done?

Mother's and an Idea

In Honor of Mother's Day

It seems that one thing that could be on going and a great use of the community center would be a mother's group or a play group. The Community Center could allow mothers to meet at a set time and day each week. There is a park there for the kids and when it's rainy they could go into the Community Center. This would take very little effort on the part of the Community Center director as once it got going the mother's would be there to watch their children. The time and energy would be in advertising the ongoing event and maybe storing some puzzles and small craft ideas for rainy or windy days.

There are probably many mothers in Bosque Farms who stay at home with young children that would love to have a play date each week.

The other good idea this author has had that would also require little effort on behalf of the Community Center director would be to have a mother's group in the evening. One night a week, come sit and chat for an hour or so.

A Mother's Day Story

Happy Mother's Day!!

This story recently came in the email of one author.

With the expectation that there are mothers who will understand and appreciate this, Happy Mother's Day.

"Why my lips stayed chapped on Mother's Day"

Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom. Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli.

Eli really loves chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done.

Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rusharound and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood. We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in thecar and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli.

He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped."

Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn’t seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth.

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious littlecreatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.

-- Posted early so that others can share this and have a laugh on Mother's Day.

A Budget Meeting

Did you know that in March there was a budget meeting?

And did you know that despite promises during their election that meetings would be held at a time when the general public could attend, this special meeting was held during the day.

This author would encourage the Councilors to remember their promises to the public and not make liars out of themselves and hold all meetings in the evening, when the general public can come to the meeting.

In addition to that, this author hopes the Council holds more budget meetings and strives for a balanced budget.

One thing to keep in mind and this author hopes the Council does so, is that with the new hospital your property taxes are sure to rise. This means it is more than ever important that the Village develop a balanced budget and live within it so other taxes won't go up.

Craft Show

This author spent much of last night and some of this early morning trying to get this post to come up correctly. All that shows is the title. Apologies to those that saw only the title and not the complete post.

Simply this author was asking if anyone had attended the annual Spring Craft Fair at the Community Center. In the past there have been a wide range of items from knives to jams to jewelry displayed and sold at this event.

This author would love to see these craft shows expanded into a bigger event, maybe something that takes in the rest of the community. There is that lovely grassy area behind the community center that could hold more booths and wouldn't take away from the parking area in the front.

For example, this author has advocated a farmer's market and that could easily be tied to this by setting up a farmer's market that coincides with this day. And it would be double nice if the Village Library (Or Friends of the Library) began their annual book sale again on the same day.

To make this truly a community event there could be a farmers market. And at each event there could be a special booth or table or spot for the local groups to do a fund raiser on a rotating, as requested basis, and as dictated by Village policy that would have to be developed. The Boy Scouts could sell their popcorn, the Girl Scouts could sell cookies or magazine subscriptions, the 4H could wash cars or have a bake sale.

Now, this author recognizes from previous discussions all the problems inherent in this suggestion (such as the groups that we might not like but might still qualify (such as the Neo Nazi Party) but it's a place to start a discussion.

Something to Look At (Moved from 10/11/06)

If you drive down Rio Bravo one day, just past Broadway, cast your eyes to the South side of the road. A bike path or a walk path or is it just a multi purpose path graces the area.

This author saw that walk path being used by two bikers and several walkers the day it was noticed.

It looks just like the one in Bosque Farms. It is made of asphalt. It is pushed off the side of the road as far as it can go.

• There are few differences. There are benches on that one and ours has yet to have the benches installed. (Sure wish the Council would get on that!).
  
• It is not mucked up with signs. There are a few stop signs where the path crosses a major road (roads with stop lights). There are a few signs saying 'no motorized vehicles'. There are not signs advertising where horses can walk.
  
• Except for the delineation down the middle there are not lines painted on the Broadway path.
  
• And of course ours has many lines and stop signs and signs.
  

Is this the only walk path to discuss? Probably not. It was one this author noticed that looked quite a bit like the one in the Village and thought the comparison was interesting.

Welcome New Readers and Posters

Food For Thought

If in the last few years
you haven't discarded a major opinion
or acquired a new one,
check your pulse.
You may be dead.

~Gelett Burgess

(The Author of the Purple Cow)

A Short Walk Path Note - From April 18, 2007

It is important to keep in mind that one size does not fit all. In general, in-street bicycle lanes are NOT appropriate on low-speed downtown streets or neighborhood streets. Their application tends to be most appropriate on higher-speed suburban arterial streets.

http://www.walkablestreets.com/bicycle.htm

Clean Up Day

Oops, this author thought this had been posted previously. Apologies.

How did that go for everyone who showed up to the clean up day?

This author did see some people on main street walking with their white shirts and free garbage bags. Wonder if anyone found a diamond ring this year? I've heard the rumor that a few years ago someone did.

While this author did not show up to get the free garbage bags; the children of this author did come to town to help pick up garbage in this neighborhood. It took no time at all and the bags were thrown into various neighbors garbage cans with their permission, of course.

Good for those that showed up and good for having a scavenger hunt of sorts.

Then it was off to run errands and do yard work.

Learning From Belen (Part Two)

This author has mentioned this previously and would like to provide a few ideas that might be similar to what Belen does with their many celebrations.

Fall Festival
Spring Fling
The Business Association Fair

The Enchilada Making Contest (Sponsor? Sopas?)
The Benny Burger Cook Off

The Anniversary of Founding Bosque Farms
(Did you know several years ago the 30th anniv. passed with barely a whimper?)

The Annual Bosque Farms Reads Fiesta

Mud Recipes

In light of the information this author has shared recently, an in honor of a long ago reader who complained that this author liked to cook healthy meals for children, here is an unhealthy meal that might actually be healthy... just throw a little mud in it and enjoy.

Mud Pie

1 pkg. Oreos, crushed
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 gallon coffee ice cream, softened
Hot fudge sauce
12 oz. Cool Whip

In a 9x13 inch pan, mix Oreos and melted butter. Press to make crust. Freeze 30 minutes. Spread coffee ice cream over crust. Freeze 1 hour. Spread a thick layer of hot fudge sauce over ice cream. Freeze 1 hour. Spread Cool Whip over hot fudge sauce. Freeze 4 hours.
Before serving, let stand for 5 minutes.