Sheriff's Department fills vacancies

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department has filled all of its vacancies, according to a news release.

The Sheriff's Department now employs 79 full-time deputies and two part-time deputies, and as of Thursday, they were all working on the streets. Pay raises of up to $6 per hour were approved by the Santa Fe County Commission in July, and that helped keep deputies on board and recruit new people, according to the release.

Sheriff Greg Solano said he hopes to get one to two new positions after upcoming budget talks with the county, according to the release.


AG: Lyons went outside authority

LAS CRUCES — Attorney General Gary King's office has concluded that state Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons lacked the authority to enter into a business lease with a developer for a master plan in Las Cruces' east mesa area.

The office, in an opinion issued Wednesday, said certain terms of the Jan. 1, 2007, lease overstepped the bounds of the Land Office's legal authority.

But Bob Stranahan, the Land Office's general counsel, argued Thursday that the attorney general's nonbinding opinion contains legal deficiencies. Stranahan said the Land Office plans to review the opinion and send a legal memorandum outlining its position to King's office.

State Sen. Mary Jane Garcia and state Rep. Nathan Cote, both Las Cruces Democrats, requested opinions last year about the legality of the lease with Solo Investments, a Philip Philippou company. The lease deals with master planning for The Vistas at Presidio development.

Gov. wants new look at vet's sentence

Gov. Bill Richardson is urging a state district judge to re-evaluate the sentence of an Iraq war veteran who fatally shot a would-be burglar after chasing him several blocks.

Richardson's office describes the two-year sentence handed down to Elton John Richard last week as harsh.

Richard, a decorated Marine who had fought in both Iraq wars and had been part of the 2003 rescue of Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch, had pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter after being charged with second-degree murder. In addition to the prison term, Judge Pat Murdoch ordered Richard to pay restitution of $500 a month for four years.

Richardson says if Murdoch doesn't review Richard's sentence, he's willing to consider a request for executive clemency.

The governor has received dozens of calls and e-mails in the last week urging a pardon or clemency for Richard.

Lab waste storage work on pause

Managers at Los Alamos National Laboratories' Environmental Programs Directorate have temporarily paused operations at the lab's radioactive waste storage and disposal facility.

The pause will last less that two weeks and will let management review processes at the facility, called Area G, and should let workers better meet lab commitments to remove the highest-risk waste from the site in a timely and safe manner, officials said.

"The pause gives us an opportunity to improve our processes without significant impacts to mission-critical activities or operations," said Sue Stiger, associate director for Environmental Programs.

Chimayó man charged in death

An 18-year-old Chimayó man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of another man who was accidentally shot in the chest last week, police said Thursday.

Julio Gurule told state police investigators that on Feb. 22 he was inspecting a rifle that Moses Martinez, 25, of Chimayó, wanted to see, a police news release says. Gurule said he wasn't ready to give Martinez the rifle, but Martinez grabbed it and the firearm accidentally fired, the release says.

Martinez was struck in the chest and later died at Española Hospital, the release states. The two men had been planning to go target shooting, according to the release, and Gurule said he didn't know the gun was loaded.

Gurule initially told police another story about what happened, though detectives later found blood at a home on Rio Arriba County Road 95 that indicated the shooting took place there, the release says.

In addition to involuntary manslaughter, Gurule was also charged with tampering with evidence. His family posted a $50,000 bond to get him out of jail.

State denies permit for dairy

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES — The state Environment Department has denied a discharge permit for a proposed dairy at Truth or Consequences, saying storage lagoons would be only 30 feet from a flood plain that feeds into the Rio Grande.

Environment Secretary Ron Curry denied the permit Wednesday. "New Mexico has limited surface water and we must protect it," he said.

John McCatharn, who proposed the ParaSol Dairy, sought permission to discharge up to 8,000 gallons of dairy wastewater a day from the site off N.M. 187, less than two miles from Caballo Lake in Sierra County.

Border fence plan laid out at meeting

EL PASO — Homeland Security officials presented details Thursday for plans to build about 57 miles of border fencing and add other technology in the El Paso area.

Barry Morrisey, a Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman, said federal officials held the sort of open house Thursday to get reaction on an environmental assessment drafted in advance of construction that is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008.

Officials explained proposed locations for five sections of double-layer steel fencing that will stretch from just east of downtown El Paso to just east of the port of entry at Fort Hancock.

All told, 56.7 miles of fencing is expected to be built across largely rural areas in El Paso and Hudspeth counties, Morrisey said.

The Department of Homeland Security was most interested in comments focusing on environmental issues that may have been overlooked during the review, but planned to take complaints about the fence project too. About 35 protesters stood outside the meeting for about an hour.

McAllister Lake closed to fishing

LAS VEGAS, N.M. — McAllister Lake will remain closed to fishing until water quality improves enough to stock fish, state officials said Thursday.

A complete die off of all fish in the northern New Mexico lake occurred in 2007.

The state Department of Game and Fish will monitor water quality and stock fish when they can survive. Currently, the lake has low water levels — about 15 percent of its capacity — and high salinity.

Low water levels initially caused warm temperatures and low oxygen levels in the lake, killing the trout. Later in 2007 a golden algae bloom killed the carp that remained. Golden algae produce a toxin that's deadly to fish but does not harm birds, wildlife or humans.

McAllister Lake closes each year on Nov. 1 and usually reopens on March 1.





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