Sheehan to ordain man to priesthood

A former mayor from the Philippines will be ordained to the priesthood at 10 a.m. today at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

Joel Bugas, 43, is from Tagum City in the Philippines and has an master's degree in public administration. He is a graduate of Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.

Bugas' first Mass will be celebrated Sunday at 8:30 a.m. at San Antonio de Padua Parish in Peñasco followed by a 10:30 a.m. Mass at St. Anthony Parish in Dixon. He will be assigned to a parish within the Archdiocese of Santa Fe after the Ordination Mass.

Before becoming a seminarian, Bugas worked as a researcher at the House of Congress in the Philippines and was liaison officer for a congressman who headed the Ethics and Finance Committee for the Lower House. He was the youngest elected mayor of a municipality in the history of the country. Bugas was 21 when he became mayor of Nabunturan, a city of more than 80,000.

S.F. police officer under investigation

Santa Fe Police Sgt. Michael LeBlanc is in trouble again. Deputy Police Chief Aric Wheeler said Thursday that the detective in charge of the property crimes unit is on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into new domestic violence charges by Albuquerque police.

LeBlanc, who was under investigation last year regarding allegations of violence against his estranged wife, was booked into the Albuquerque detention center just after midnight Wednesday following his arrest earlier in day. This time, his mother, Leah LeBlanc, called police to say that her son acted aggressively toward her during an argument, according to criminal complaint filed in the city's Metro Court.

Albuquerque Officer A.D. Chavez reported that LeBlanc, who had driven to his mother's apartment in his unmarked police car, admitted to kicking a cup of soda in his mother's direction.

LeBlanc, who started working at the Police Department in 2000, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Last year, he agreed to enter a domestic-violence "early intervention program" in order to defer a judgment on charges that he battered his estranged wife.

Police: Man robbed same store 3 times

A 34-year-old Albuquerque man was arraigned in Santa Fe Magistrate Court Friday in connection with the armed robbery of the same Allsup's convenience store three times between March 5, 2008 and May 4 of this year.

Juan Sanchez is being held in lieu of $100,000 cash and is charged with three counts each of robbery, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. He also is accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

He is accused of being one of two men who robbed the Allsup's at 1899 St. Michael's Drive about 6 a.m. on April 4 and again on May 4, demanding money from clerks at gunpoint. Sanchez also is accused of holding up the same store on March 5, 2008.

Court records indicate the store was robbed of a large amount of money, though no amounts were disclosed.

Police also suspect that a girlfriend of Sanchez, Elizabeth Vigil of Albuquerque, who had worked at the store before the two moved from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, was involved in planning the three robberies, according to court records.

No further information was immediately available on Vigil or the other man.

Valles Caldera posts audits

Long-awaited audits of the Valles Caldera Trust's business affairs are finally finished and posted online for the public at the organization's Web site, www.vallescaldera.gov.

The trust manages the 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve in the Jemez Mountains near Los Alamos.

In 2007, the trust board found no financial audits had been posted for the prior four years. The trust hired an auditor who found inadequate practices in financial accounting and controls.

"It appears that multiple changes in personnel, trustees and accounting practices during the formative years of the trust resulted in procedural errors in accounting and financial reporting," said the trust's executive director, Gary Bratcher, in a prepared statement.

Bratcher said the audits found no instances though of malfeasance, fraud or misappropriation of funds.

State swine flu procedure changes

New Mexico health officials said Friday they will no longer report individual swine flu cases and asked clinics to send only cases involving hospitalized patients for testing at the state laboratory.

The state's Health Secretary, Dr. Alfredo Vigil, said that by focusing on hospitalized patients, epidemiologists can more closely monitor the severity of the illness in New Mexico.

Vigil said national and state health officials believe there are more swine flu cases than reported "because sick people do not necessarily see a physician, and those who do are not always tested for influenza."

State officials will alert the news media and the public when hospitalized cases are confirmed or if the severity of the illness changes.

So far, the state has seen mild swine flu cases.

S.F. man fighting extradition to Colorado

A 28-year-old Santa Fe man on Friday refused extradition to Boulder, Colo., where he is wanted on a warrant charging him with homicide with a vehicle.

Nathan Hankie was arrested about 8 p.m. Thursday by Santa Fe police as a fugitive from justice, and appeared in Santa Fe Magistrate Court on Friday. No further information was immediately available on the circumstances of Hankie's arrest or the date or details of the homicide in Colorado.

Taos official resigns over health

TAOS — Taos County Commissioner Charlie Gonzales of Questa has announced that he will resign as of June 1 due to health issues.

Gov. Bill Richardson's office said Thursday that he will appoint a replacement "in the coming weeks."

Gonzales, who represents the northwest corner of Taos County, had a heart attack Jan. 16, The Taos News reported, and his participation in commission meetings has been irregular since then. "As a result of the heart attack, I feel that I am unable to fulfill my duties and represent my constituents to the best of my ability," his resignation letter said.

Gonzales, who also served as mayor of Questa, city councilor, school board member and county assessor, was elected to the commission in 2006 and began his term in January 2007. State law provides for the governor to name someone to fill his commission seat until the next general election, in November 2010.

State awards funds for watershed plan

The New Mexico Finance Authority Water Trust Board has awarded $1.3 million to the City of Santa Fe Water Division to help implement a plan for managing the city's municipal watershed.

The money will cover Santa Fe's obligation under the 2010-2029 watershed plan for the first five years.

The plan establishes goals for watershed managers in reducing forest fire hazards, monitoring water quality and quantity and enhancing existing riparian habitat.

The Santa Fe National Forest has thinned hundreds of acres in the watershed and conducted prescribed burns to reduce weeds and brush that fuel wildfires. Now the city and the U.S. Forest Service want to keep the fire hazards reduced.

The plan estimates a wildfire in the watershed, which has a one in five chance of occurring in any year, will cost $22 million from flooding, potential damage to the reservoirs and to the water treatment plant.

Some of the costs for maintaining the watershed are already paid for by city water customers through their monthly water bills. The plan calls for itemizing the costs of maintaining the watershed on the bills.

Galisteo Basin boundaries set

The state Oil Conservation Commission on Thursday approved the legal boundaries defining the Galisteo Basin. The division used the Office of the State Engineer's description to establish the boundaries, according to Mark Fesmire, Oil Conservation Division director.

"We're making a law so we can't just say the Galisteo Basin. We have to have a legal description," Fesmire said.

With the legal boundaries decided, the commission can complete a proposed set of special rules governing oil and gas drilling in the Galisteo Basin. Originally, the commission was going to look at special rules for all of Santa Fe County.

"The commission decided there wasn't sufficient evidence to extend the rules outside of the Galisteo Basin," Fesmire said.

Residents of the Galisteo Basin began pushing for special protections from oil and gas development in 2007 after a Texas company Tecton Energy, announced plans to drill there.

Fesmire said the primary concerns in the basin are to protect water supplies and extensive archaeological and cultural sites.

The commission will vote on the proposed special rules for the Galisteo Basin at their next meeting in mid-June.




© Copyright The Santa Fe New Mexican. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.