Count off Grappling Education help Torrance County plays its part in election recount Young wrestlers head to Moriarty for large tournament Pinto Pride Foundation raising money through brick sales NEWS ■ 3 SPORTS NEWS ■ 6 ■ Mountain View www.mvtelegraph.com An edition of the ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL 7 TELEGRAPH Volume 12, Number 18 Serving the East Mountain and Estancia Valley areas 50 ¢ Copyright © 2014, Number Nine Media, Inc. December 18, 2014 Moriarty OKs waste authority deal EVSWA wants to add two new members; city adds requirement to the authority’s board of directors are chosen. Moriarty’s council approved an agreement with amendments that would require authority board members to be selected By Rory McClannahan from member governing boards and from Mountain View Telegraph residents within the entity. In addition, seats on the board would be apportioned The Moriarty City Council approved an based on the amount of environment gross amended joint powers agreement at its receipts taxes the entity pays into authorregular meeting on Dec. 10 that would pave ity coffers. the way for the Estancia Valley Solid Waste “I think this is fair across the board,” Authority to add two new members. said Moriarty Mayor Ted Hart. “We came That agreement, though, comes with a up with this so that members of the board price of changing the way representatives would not only be close to the member ■■ HART: “I think this is fair across the board” entity, but to the voters within that entity as well.” The current 13-member authority board could see major changes under Moriarty’s plan. At least four of the board members are neither governing board members nor residents of the municipalities they represent. On top of that list is the authority board Chairman Bill Williams, who was appointed to the board by the town of Mountainair but does not live in the town. Williams was vocal in his opposition to Moriarty’s amendment and that the council’s action could jeopardize adding Santa Rosa and Guadalupe County. In addition, a loan the authority sought from the state Department of Finance could be in danger because of the delay Moriarty is causing. Williams pointedly told Hart that the mayor would find it difficult for other authority members to go along with a restructuring of the board. “I’m sure you’ll find that they don’t want ya’ll telling them what to do,” Williams said. Hart quickly pointed out that neither See MORIARTY on PAGE 2 CYFD board funding discussed SHINING A LIGHT ON TALENT Panel’s match from Torrance, schools, Boy Scouts detailed By Nicole Maxwell Mountain View Telegraph NICOLE MAXWELL/TELEGRAPH Students in the East Mountain High School Music Program’s Fundamentals class perform an original composition at Friday’s Light the Night Concert at Vista Grande Community Center in Sandia Park. Light the Night is the annual festival of luminarias, music and crafts at EMHS. E ast Mountain High School’s Light the Night event is about more than thousands of luminarias. It’s also a chance for the talent at the school to be put on display. The talented students at the school, under the direction of Michael Wood, put on a show. Fortunately, they were in the warmth of the Vista Grande Community Center. The annual event is a major fundraiser for the charter school. RIGHT: East Mountain High School Music Program Director Michael Wood adjusts a student’s guitar prior to the Light the Night Concert last Friday night. MESD budget woes to bleed into 2015-16 School closings alone can’t bridge deficit the 80th day of school earlier this month, the district had 2,530 students. The district received funding for the current school year based on a count of 2,709 students By Rory McClannahan from last school year. Mountain View Telegraph New Mexico school district Budget woes are continuing in receive operational expense the Moriarty-Edgewood School money from the state through a District despite the closure of two formula based on the number of schools. students. MESD has seen a drop in The district will take a dual hit the number of students each year to its operational budget for the for the past 12 years. Because of 2015-2016 school year that initial that drop, and the corresponding estimates indicate could cost drop in state funding, the district about $1.7 million. closed Edgewood and MountainThe MESD Board of Education view elementary schools at the received reports on budget and beginning of this school year. enrollment issues at its regular The second hit the district is meeting on Tuesday. taking is on Training and Experi“We are painfully aware of this ence Index. As part of the funding budget situation and we are facing formula, school districts in New it head on,” said Superintendent Mexico are given more money Tom Sullivan. for more experienced and highly The first hit the district is taking See MESD’S on PAGE 6 is in relation to its enrollment. On Six of 8 school board positions uncontested Familiar faces will return following Feb. 3 elections in three districts ■■ Telegraph Staff Report There will be a lot of familiar faces on local school boards after the Feb. 3 elections. Candidates were required to file their intent to run for election on Tuesday. Out of eight positions that will be in the ballot in the Mountainair, Estancia and Moriarty-Edgewood school districts, only two will be contested. In Mountainair, incumbents Darrell Roberts, Frances Gonzales and Gabe Chavez are virtually guaranteed re-election. No opponents signed up to run against them. Estancia will have a contested race in Position 3. Incumbent Kendra Otis will face challenger Robert P. Chavez in the election. For the Position 5 seat, incumbent Jesus Lucero does not have an opponent. Voters in District 3 in the Moriarty-Edgewood School District, which covers much of Edgewood, will have to choose between incumbent Elizabeth Howells and Filandro Anaya. Anaya served on the school board for 12 years until he was defeated by Howells for the position in 2011. Incumbents Charles Armijo and Albert Chavez don’t have opponents in their races on the board. Even though there is only one contested race in the Moriarty-Edgewood district, voters throughout the district will be asked to consider extending a 2-mill levy for six years. The levy costs property owners within the See SCHOOL on PAGE 6 The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department Juvenile Justice Board funding was discussed at the regular meeting of the Torrance County Commission. The board receives a 40 percent minimum match from Torrance County which is partially from payments-in-lieu-of-tax dollars. According to the Department of the Interior, PILT funds are federal payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to non-taxable Federal lands within their boundaries. Then a large portion comes from a Memorandum of Understanding from MoriartyEdgewood School District, which provides an in-kind donation of a two-room portable building at Moriarty high School that was not being used, Kathy Swope of CYFD Juvenile Justice Board said. “Any time you get state or federal monies, you have to get a match,” Swope said, adding that the match doesn’t always have to be monetary, it can be in-kind like the Moriarty High School building they are currently using or through Scoutreach from the Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts of America provides over 50 percent match with Scoutreach. “This program is for juveniles who have gotten into trouble and are referred to CYFD,” Swope said. This is a diversion program that helps them get better, she said. The referrals come from the Juvenile Inventory for Functioning “which is a test to see where problem areas for youth are,” Swope said. These problems include if the child is being bullied, is suicidal, has problems at home, is being sexually molested, etc. The JIFF is also given to truancy cases as a way of finding out why they are not going to school. “It gives us a starting place, a great idea for where they are. If we can help them, maybe we can help them be better decision-makers,” Swope added. Also discussed at the meeting: n Always a subject of contention, the Estancia Valley Solid Waste Authority was discussed, at length, during both the designated time concerning the New Mexico Finance Authority Loan Agreement, which was passed, and during public comments. Discussion over what county pays what and why Bernalillo County pays less per ton of solid waste than Torrance County, a subject the EVSWA Manager Joe Ellis clarified during a phone interview on Thursday. Bernalillo County pays $30 per ton plus commercial rates which make it closer to $40 per ton, Ellis said. See CYFD on PAGE 6 Inside AROUND THE COMMUNITY 5 CALENDAR 11 CLASSIFIEDS 9-10 CLASSIFIEDS 9-10 POLICE REPORT 11 CROSSWORD 5 EDITORIALS 4 SPORTS 7 WEATHER Winter officially starts this weekend, but don’t expect any snow.
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