Court overturns exploitation verdict

The New Mexico Court of Appeals has overturned the convictions of a former state worker for secretly videotaping teenage girls in a bathroom.

Ronald Myers, a former employee of the Department of Transportation, had been convicted of sexual exploitation of children for videotaping girls in a bathroom next to his Santa Fe office in 2004. One of the girls was a 16-year-old intern and another was a 17-year-old daughter of a department employee.

The court ruled Wednesday that a recent state Supreme Court interpretation of a child pornography law shouldn't apply retroactively to Myers' conduct. The case returned to the Appeals Court after the state's highest court outlined a new legal test for determining whether photographs are lewd under the law.

County appeals to those with traffic tickets

The Santa Fe County Magistrate Court wants all area residents with arrest warrants based on traffic tickets to come to the court building Saturday morning.

In exchange for showing up and dealing with an outstanding citation, the court will dismiss the arrest warrant, according to a news release. After Saturday, however, state police will conduct a traffic ticket round-up in the area in which those with outstanding traffic-related warrants will be taken to jail, the release says.

The warrant forgiveness program does not include defendants with arrest warrants based on drunken driving or domestic violence charges.

The program will take place between 8 a.m. and noon, though defendants must show up before 10 a.m. to have the warrants processed, said Magistrate David Segura. Defendants can look up their cases at nmcourts.gov.

The Magistrate Court is located at 2056 Galisteo St. For more information, call Cynthia Pacheco at 827-4721.

Tent Rocks to close for holidays

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument will be closed during several winter holidays. The monument will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

The Bureau of Land Management and Pueblo de Cochiti will be closing the monument due to holiday observances and staffing, said BLM Albuquerque District Manager Ed Singleton.

The monument's winter schedule on all other days through March 10 is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.. All visitors must leave the monument by 5 p.m.

2009 writing contest around corner

It's that time again! Get your pen and paper or your computer keyboard ready and start writing a short story, an essay or a poem for this year's contest. Enter your piece in The New Mexican's 2009 Winter Tales writing contest. Winning entries will publish in Pasatiempo on Dec. 25.

The categories include: adults (ages 19 and up) 500-1200 words; teens (ages 13-18) 500-1200 words; children (through age 12) 350 to 1,000 words. Poems should be 800 words or less. Cash prizes range from $25 to $100 for each category.

Mail entries to: Sandra Baltazar Martínez, Winter Tales, c/o The Santa Fe New Mexican, 202 E. Marcy Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501 or e-mail them to smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.

Electronic submissions are highly recommended.

The rules: Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Dec. 4. No exceptions. We reserve the right to edit winning stories. Submissions must include name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, age and category (short story, essay or poem). For a complete list of rules, e-mail Sandra Baltazar Martínez or call 986-3062.