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There is Nothing More
Powerful Than The Truth
Double Setback at Home
Musical Feast
Hot Springs varsity basketball team falls big at Mesilla
Valley Christian on Tuesday, plays competitively against
Sonblazers on Friday at home, then gets upset by Ruidoso
Acoustic Eidolon, performing in
Hillsboro, features Joe Scott on
‘guitjo’ and cellist Hannah Alkire
HSHS VARSITY BASKETBALL • PAGE 3
ARTS • PAGE 5
HERA
RALD
The ��
www.heraldpub.com
www.theheraldtorc.com
email: [email protected]
& [email protected]
VOLUME 86, NUMBER 27 ~ January 14, 2015
Positions of Leadership
On Commission Up for Vote
By Tony A. Archuleta
HERALD Reporter
The new Sierra County
Commission
–featuring
incumbent Commission Vice
Chair Frances Luna and
incoming
Commissioners
Sherry Fletcher and Ken
Lyon– was scheduled to meet
for the first time this year on
Tuesday, Jan. 13.
The first order of business:
selection of a chair and vice
chair. The pressing question:
would Lyon and Fletcher team
up to wipe the old regime slate
clean, naming Lyon (a former
county commissioner) the
chairman on the commission
and Fletcher the vice chair?
Two years ago, thenincumbent
Bobby
Allen
came away unhappy, being
outvoted by Luna and thencommissioner/chairman Walter
Armijo for a top leadership
role. It was an early indicator
of how things would go for
“just-one-vote-Allen” the rest
of the way.
Incoming
commissioners
generally cede the top
leadership positions to the
veteran commissioners on the
board, but it hasn’t always
worked out that way, as
evidenced in 2013.
The commissioners were
also set to address several
other
start-of-the-new-year
tasks, including appointing
commission
members
to
various local, regional and
national committees.
The commission was also
scheduled to act on a resolution,
“Public
Participation
at
Sierra County Commission
Meetings.”
“The
Sierra
County
Commission recognizes that
public access to the proceedings
and decision-making process
of the meetings of the Board
of County Commissioners
is crucial to the functioning
of democracy,” the proposed
resolution states.
The
resolution
also
See VOTE on Page 8
50¢
12 PAGES IN 1 SECTION • PLUS 3 INSERTS
TorC Fire District Elevated to Class 2 by ISO
By Mike Tooley
HERALD Publisher
City officials and Fire Chief
Paul E. Tooley have been
notified by Insurance Services
Office (ISO) that the Truth or
Consequences Fire District has
been elevated to Class 2. Truth
or Consequences is the first allvolunteer fire department in the
state of New Mexico to reach
this plateau. Their previous
classification was 5.
“This is a huge accomplishment
for our department and both
communities,” stated Chief
Tooley. “We have been working
on this for around three years,
preparing for the ISO survey.
It took the cooperation of the
City of Truth or Consequences
and Village of Williamsburg
officials, city water department,
Sierra County Regional Dispatch
Authority,
and
volunteer
firefighters to make it all come
together.”
There are no class 1 fire
districts in New Mexico, and fire
districts that are rated at class
2 include Artesia, Hobbs, Las
Cruces, Raton, Los Alamos and
Roswell, and all of those districts
TorC FIRE MAIN STATION • EAST NINTH STREET
TorC FIRE CHIEF
PAUL E. TOOLEY
receive fire protection from paid
personnel. In the United States,
out of approximately 49,010 fire
districts, only 60 have received a
rating of Class 1, and 750 Class
2.
Most
municipalities
hire
outside consulting firms to
assist in preparing the districts
for the ISO qualifications.
Truth or Consequences Fire
Chief Tooley did all of his own
TorC FIRE MAIN STATION • SOUTH BROADWAY WILLIAMSBURG
research in-house and created
custom software to assist in the
calculations for the survey.
More information can be found
at www.isorating.com.
Truth
or
Consequences
received a rating of Class 2/2X,
meaning anyone living within
1,000 feet of a fire hydrant could
possibly see a reduction in their
insurance premiums starting
April 1, 2015. This includes
residents of Williamsburg as
well as Truth or Consequences
since Williamsburg is now part
of the Truth or Consequences
Fire District.
See ISO on Page 8
EB Cleans Up Previous Action Women Lead the Way in Sierra County
By Lorri Ooley
HERALD Reporter
The City of Elephant Butte
previously
took
action
concerning two residential
properties that had fallen into
a status of nuisance for the
safety and ordinance of fellow
residents.
Throughout December, the
council and staff continued to
monitor and keep photographic
record of the nuisance conditions
at both properties. The city staff
recommended different paths
for the two properties, one led
to the unanimous approval to
enter into Resolution 14-15332, which legally enabled
the city to start the necessary
timeline for abatement for the
property on the 100 block of
Calle del Contento. The council
elected to table enforcement of
the Resolution due to receiving
response from the property
caretaker, in addition to some
action to address the safety and
maintenance concerns.
Ultimately, during the city’s
regular scheduled meeting of
Wednesday, Jan. 7, the council
unanimously approved to rescind
its previous action concerning
the property. After which, the
staff assured both Mayor Eunice
Kent and council of the city’s
continued monitoring of the
property, to ensure it does not
fall back into nuisance.
Additionally, the council had
opted to continue to table the
matter concerning Resolution
14-15-333 due to legal issues for
the property, as its legal owner
was now deceased and the
property ownership was being
contested through probate court.
Because of this, there were
difficulties for the city to contact
either the owner or caretaker for
the property. However, during
the time from December to
January’s meeting, an attorney
for one of the potential owners
took necessary action to address
the issues documented by staff
for the nuisance status of the
property at the 100 block of
Camino Encantado.
Based upon advice of both staff
and legal council for the city, the
council elected to continue to
table Resolution 14-15-333, with
the request that the staff continue
to monitor the progress and
status at the property to ensure
continued action be occurring.
At the previous meeting for
the city, held on Wednesday,
Dec. 17, the city unanimously
adopted Resolution 14-15-337,
which
contained
language
concerning the city’s Drug &
Alcohol Abuse Policy. This
document was initially drafted
from New Mexico State’s policy
for the same topic.
Upon further legal review of
See EB on Page 8
Wednesday
January 14
Office, and Adult Probation &
Parole.
Arrests include 31-year-old
Anthony Lara, 47-year-old
Travis Gregory, 27-year-old
Christine Bruno, and 20-yearold Darien Moore, according
to records obtained from
Truth or Consequences Police
Department Detective James
Harrington.
TCPD Detective George Lee
stated that Thursday’s operation
is the latest in the local law
enforcement effort to locate
known felons with a history
of committing property crimes
and narcotics offenses, and who
the symbolic leader of Sierra
County’s largest municipality,
serving alongside Mayor Protem Steve Green as well as
Commissioners Kathy Clark,
Jeff Richter and Ralph Olivas.
Mayor Eunice Kent leads the
way in Elephant Butte along with
Mayor Pro-tem Kim Skinner and
Councilors Gerald LaFont, Dee
Rodgers and Sarah Stagner,
who just recently tendered her
resignation.
Deb Stubblefield is the Mayor of
Williamsburg, serving alongside
Mayor Pro-tem Majie Powey as
well as Trustees Ron Hoskins
Sr., Guillermo Hernandez, and
Penn Root.
At the time of this writing, the
leadership of the Sierra County
Commission is up in the air,
with it being anyone’s guess
whether incumbent Vice Chair
Frances Luna will be elevated
By Lorri Ooley
HERALD Reporter
With a palpable heaviness,
Elephant Butte City Councilor
Sarah Stagner tendered her
resignation to Mayor Eunice
Kent and the city council during
the regular scheduled meeting,
held on Wednesday Jan. 7.
Stagner
commented
her
decision was based on changes in
her personal life, not concerning
anything that is connected with
the city council. Commenting
that she “greatly appreciates the
support of [her] constituents in
the last two elections.”
Stagner expressed to the council
and Mayor of the pleasure it has
been for her working and living
BITTERSWEET– During the council
report portion of the regularly
scheduled meeting for Elephant
Butte, held Wednesday, Jan. 7,
councilor Sarah Stagner tendered
her letter of resignation to Mayor
Eunice Kent and fellow councilors.
Although the event was bittersweet,
Stagner was caught smiling during
the follow-up comments between
the council, as she expressed her
pleasure with all her experiences
working, living in, and serving the
community.
are wanted by law enforcement
entities.
The increase of property crime
has been well-documented by
this newspaper and has been
addressed by TCPD brass
head-on at every opportunity.
Law enforcement authorities
state they plan to continue
targeting those with a history
of committing property crimes
and drug offenses. As has been
reported several times, these two
types of crimes often go handin-hand.
Thursday’s sting provided law
enforcement investigators with
See RAID on Page 2
��Friday
��
Thursday
January 15
5
January 16
Saturday
January 17
to the position of Chair or if
the commission will choose
incoming commissioner Ken
Lyon or Sherry Fletcher. My
sources tell me Mr. Lyon has
this one in the bag, however,
either way, the Sierra County
Commission will be comprised
of two-thirds women this year.
As previously stated, all of the
local banking institutions are
headed by women, including
Alma Grantham at Bank
of the Southwest-Truth or
Consequences, Blanca Barrera
at Bank of the SouthwestElephant Butte,
Karri Conyers at BBVA
Compass Bank in Truth or
Consequences,
Michelle
Romero at First Savings Bank
in Truth or Consequences, and
–as reported in last week’s
edition of The Herald– Lee
See WOMEN on Page 8
EB Accepts Resignation of Councilor Stagner
Sting Nets Four
By Carlos Padilla
HERALD Editor
As was first reported on
The Herald’s Facebook page
Thursday afternoon, Jan. 8, a
joint operation among several
local law enforcement agencies
resulted in the arrests of four
individuals in the area during
an operation held Thursday
morning.
Among the agencies involved
in Thursday’s sting were the
Truth or Consequences Police
Department, Sierra County
Sheriff’s Department, New
Mexico State Police, Seventh
Judicial District Attorney’s
By Carlos Padilla
HERALD Editor
Sierra County’s women are a
force to be reckoned with, as
evidenced by the positions of
power held by members of the
fairer sex.
In Sierra County, women
make up 100 percent of our
mayors, 100 percent of our
financial institution’s branch
managers, and almost all of our
principals for our schools.
Two-thirds of the Sierra
County
Commission
is
comprised of women for the
first time that this reporter can
recall, while a healthy margin
of women make up our top
elected officials for the City
of Truth or Consequences, the
City of Elephant Butte, and the
Village of Williamsburg.
In Truth or Consequences,
Mayor Sandy Whitehead is
Sunday
ay
y
January 18
8
HERALD photo/LORRI OOLEY
in Elephant Butte, and further
expressed her gratitude for
all the positive memories and
lessons learned with each council
member and the city staff.
She was unopposed in the most
recent elections for the city,
��
��
Tuesday
Monday
J
January 19
January 20
which was held in March 2014.
Stagner further clarified that
the last meeting she would be
serving as a council member will
be the final January meeting for
the city, to be held on Wednesday,
Jan. 21.
Wednesday
J
January 21
10%
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48/31
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Cloudy 53/32
Cl
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NNE Breeze: 9 mph
Sunrise: 7:13 am/Set: 5:24 pm
60/34
34
34 Partly Cloudy
Clo
Partly
l C
Cloudy 57/34 Partly Cloudy 59/34
NE Breeze: 7 mph
Sunrise: 7:13 am/Set: 5:25 pm
ENE Breeze: 5 mph
Sunrise: 7:13 am/Set: 5:26 pm
NNE Breeze: 8 mph
Sunrise: 7:13 am/Set: 5:27 pm
Sunny
S
61/35
35
NE Breeze: 9 mph
Sunrise: 7:12 am/Set: 5:28 pm
Sunny
Su
59/34
34
N Breeze: 8 mph
Sunrise: 7:12 am/Set: 5:29
Mostly
M tl Sunny
S
56/32
ESE Breeze: 8 mph
Sunrise: 7:12 am/Set: 5:30 pm
Mostly Sunny
E Wind: 12 mph
Sunrise: 7:11 am/Set: 5:31
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