Welcome Ms. Snare

Agreed to change the description for the community center director's position. The council agreed to add wording to the director's duties and responsibilities. One of the changes includes "coordinates the use of the facility, as needed, to support the summer youth program, and all other activities as deemed necessary."

During a special meeting last Tuesday morning, the village council hired Shereen Snare as its new community center director. Snare, who started working on Monday, will take over the position after longtime director Gloria Stanley retires at the end of the year. Snare and Stanley will share the center's responsibilities until Dec. 31.

Welcome Ms. Snare.

This author is hopeful that you will be a great help and do a good service for this community. This author is hopeful that you will serve everyone and not just one particular segment of the population. This author is hopeful that you will let the little kids that have to use the restroom in your building because the outside ones are locked. This author is hopeful that you will let all groups use the community center free of charge for doing a small service project (not just the 4H group).

There are a lot of ways you can do your work and meet the needs of the community; good luck figuring out how do this job.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/85050-12-03-08.html

Coats

Very good for the vet to post that they are taking coats for children at their place. Thank you.

A positive thing

This blog has put forward its fair share of complaints about the police department.
However, when something positive comes out, it is worthy of mention.

The police stopped several bank robbers.
So now when we get stopped and we complain 'why are you stopping speeders, go catch a criminal!' at least some of the officers on staff can say "I did that already".

Bosque Farms police have arrested three men suspected in several bank robberies in the Albuquerque area over the past month.

The FBI says two of the men were arrested after the MyBank in Los Lunas was robbed Monday. Officers spotted a car that fit the description of the getaway vehicle. Inside were Daniel Alexander Duran, 34, and Marco Anthony Demarsh, 31, both of Albuquerque.

FBI bank robbery specialists were able to link the men to what they believe is involvement in as many as five recent robberies in the Albuquerque area.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/85454-12-20-08.html

An Idea

Here is a foundation that travels around the country giving free classical music concerts. This is the type of thing that Bosque Farms Community Director and the Librarian should be looking around for and taking advantage of

http://www.piatigorskyfoundation.org/forhosts.cfm

Venezuela

Venezuelans attend a daily early morning church service between December 16th and 24th called Misa de Aguinaldo ("Early Morning Mass.") In Caracas, the capital city, it is customary to roller-skate to this service and many neighborhoods close the streets to cars until 8 a.m. Before bedtime children tie one end of a piece of string to their big toe and hang the other out the window. The next morning, rollerskaters give a tug to any string they see hanging. After Mass everyone enjoys tostados and coffee.

http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/venezuela.html

This was such an unusual picture in my head of all of these strings hanging out windows and kids with sore big toes and skaters in church that this author copied it all directly from the site.

Post 1200

When this author first started the official counter would keep track of the number of posts this author had made, but the official counter slipped up and quit counting. Now, this author has received noticed from the official counter that this is post 1200.

Thank you to the readers who have read and posted over the past years on this blog.

And while this might sound like a good bye, it's not. Not to fear. This author is watching and listening and keeping track of what is going on behind the scenes and so on.

However, with the holidays coming up, please do not be surprised when you see a few days go by between postings. This author will be up and back at it after the grandkids all leave after Christmas.

Poland

In Poland there is a 24 hour fast before the Christmas dinner. Many families participate in star watching as it is a tradition there that no one eats before the first star is seen. They have a feast once the star is seen. The feast has 12 courses, one course in honor of each of the apostles. Families will often set a special plate out for a visitor on Christmas eve. This is for any unexpected visitor or for the Christ Child.

For the Council and the Police- The Law

You too can look it up on the Bosque Farms website in the ordinances posted there. However, to save you some time, this author has done it for you.

10-1-5 General Regulations. A. Access to Structures. All structures shall be located on lots or parcels of land such that safe and convenient access is provided for servicing, fire protection, and any required off-street parking or loading.

Note to the police and the Council- there are no exceptions listed and General Regulations means it applies to everyone.

10-1-19 A. Parking and Loading Space Required. There shall be provided on site, when any new building or structure is erected, off-street parking and loading spaces as set forth herein. Existing buildings or structures need supply such parking and loading space only to the extent ground space is available. Such spaces may be located on any portion of the lot but shall not obstruct public right-of-way.

Through out this whole ordinance of 10-1 every sections discusses off street parking. While an argument might be made that there is not enough space for all the cars that visit Bosque Farms Elementary, this author would beg to differ.

Did you know that the old fire house belongs to the school district? They can tear that down and make parking. There used to be parking right in front of the school until they made that funky little bus path section.

Did you know that to have parking on the street the Council can approve that but it has to be by variance? It's true and to the best of this author's information- a variance has never been asked for and granted regarding this parking issue.

It certainly isn't safe and having people park along the street like this is not in the best interest of the people who live in the homes that have all of this parking going on. All things being equal, if this author was buying a house, it wouldn't be one that had people/strangers parking in front of it every day for 385 days a year.

About the School

This author doesn't have reason to drive past Bosque Farms Elementary when school is getting out. However, today this author did drive past the school and the question came to mind- what is going on over there?

It seems to be a mad house during after school time.

There are cars parked all along the road. And why? There are two parking lots at this school. Count them, two. Come to think of it, there are always cars parked right in front of the school along the road. Isn't there are a rule, a law, an ordinance about parking on the side of the road?

There is this weird bus pick up and drop off thing going on with parents milling about. And while that doesn't directly impact the traffic in Bosque Farms, and while that doesn't break any ordinances you have to wonder if some one couldn't put more thought into the whole set up.

What concerned this author the most was the parents with their children crossing the street at a angle across two busy roads (Esperanza and West Bosque Loop) to reach their cars parked in the Village Office parking lot. And the cars backing up onto West Bosque Loop and pulling out of two different parking lots.

This area is a hazard. The Council spent so much time worrying about the bike path. This author would like to see them do something about the traffic around the School. This author realizes that the school system is it's own entity, but surely if the Council and the Police did nothing but tell the school the laws were going to be enforced; the school district would have to look at what else could be done to help the traffic situation and thus the safety of the area.

Mele Kalikimaka!

Merry Christmas
In Hawaiian

This author is going to take some time to share some Christmas traditions around the world?

Why? Well with the idea that maybe Bosque Farms can use some of those ideas to springboard off of for a new festival of our own.

Santa goes surf boarding in Hawaii?
Maybe we need to have a Village Surfing party.
Sand, water games and more.

You get the idea. Let us help the Councilors think creatively about economic development.

Plus, it is just plain fun to learn about other countries.

Nicaragua

There is no way to know how accurate this is but it is interesting to read and think about the many varied ways people celebrate Christmas.

Like many Latin American countries, Nicaragua retains many of the customs of old Spain. In the weeks leading up to Christmas people stroll the streets where there are many things to buy: candles, Nativity pictures, toys and foods. Children carry fragrant bouquets to the alter of the Virgin and sing carols. On Christmas Eve, church bells beckon the people to Midnight Mass. On January 6, the feast of the Epiphany, it is the three wise men who brings gifts for the children. Often the Holiday season concludes with a brilliant display of fireworks.


http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/

Another Special day Around the World

http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/netherlands.html

The Netherlands are also celebrating the Saint Nicholas Feast Day today.

December 6, St. Nicholas Eve

Nearly every French home at Christmastime displays a Nativity scene or creche, which serves as the focus for the Christmas celebration. The creche is often peopled with little clay figures called santons or "little saints." An extensive tradition has evolved around these little figures which are made by craftsmen in the south of France throughout the year. In addition to the usual Holy Family, shepherds, and Magi, the craftsmen also produce figures in the form of local dignitaries and characters. The craftsmanship involved in creating the gaily colored santons is quite astounding and the molds have been passed from generation to generation since the seventeenth century. Throughout December the figures are sold at annual Christmas fairs in Marseille and Aix.

If our children and grandchildren lived in France they would get a small gift from Pere Noel on December 6.

But shhh. Don't tell Councilor Wallace about the creche scenes which include local dignitaries. She might decide that this is a tradition to start here in Bosque Farms. Yet another way to spend your tax money.

Ha ha ha

This author has been following Legit security via the blog of Call Summit.
There are several articles on this blog about employees of Legit security and the president of Legit Security, none other than Stidham our fearless police leader.

Amazing. Funny sad and even a bit funny ha ha. And horrible as well. These are the reactions this author has when reading about Legit Security. The biggest portion of those emotions are just a deep sense of sadness that this is the man in charge of our police and the Council is blind to all of this.

http://callsummit.typepad.com

Speed Humps

Say what you will about them, they have done their job in the neighborhood where they are installed. They have cut down traffic and thus cut down people speeding through the back of the loop in order to get around stop lights.

So what you ask? Why is this author mentioning the speed humps?

Well, there was that tiny little notice in the paper that the state has given Bosque Farms some funds in order to repave the road.

This author hopes that the Council doesn't expect to just simply repave the road and not do it the proper way, in order to keep the speed humps functioning.