County Commission District 1 race narrows

Seferino I. Valdez of Nambé confirmed Monday he has dropped out of the race to for Santa Fe County Commissioner for District 1.

Valdez cited "personal reasons" for his decision and said he wishes good luck to the winner of the seat.

The 50-year-old contractor officially filed as a candidate at the Clerk's Office on filing day — which means his name will still be on the ballot and he'll have to continue to file campaign finance reports.

Valdez has posted signs in the Nambé area but hasn't attended any of the recent candidate forums.

His withdrawal narrows the crowded District 1 race from five candidates to four.

Jon Paul Romero, Paul White, Lenny Roybal and Danny Mayfield are still vying for the Democratic nomination for the position. Because all of the candidates are Democrats, the seat will be decided in the June 1 primary.

Hiring begins for Buckman operators

Officials in charge of the city/county Buckman Direct Diversion water-supply project announced Monday they will soon hire the first seven of an expected 31 full-time employees at the site west of the city.

Available posts include facilities manager, chief operator, facilities and equipment maintenance superintendent, automation and security systems administrator, safety officer and other positions in the project's management tier.

Project manager Rick Carpenter said hiring will start now because specialized training and certification is required to operate the water-treatment plant and river-diversion facility, which was about 85 percent complete as of March.

To apply for a BDD position, call 955-6742 or visit the city of Santa Fe Web site at www.santafenm.gov and click on "Buckman Direct Diversion Project Jobs."

Carpenter said the next group of BDD positions is scheduled to be advertised in late April or early May and will include five shift charge operators, seven advanced water treatment operator seniors, and four operators, among other jobs.

History Museum makes mag's list

The New Mexico History Museum in downtown Santa Fe placed first in True West magazine's annual list of the top 10 museums of the west.

In the write-up, Johnny D. Boggs, a local author, says that he admires the 96,000-square-foot building's architecture and the 300 handmade arrows that hang from the ceiling in the Pueblo Revolt area.

Other museums getting the magazine's Top-10 Western Museums nod: the Adams Museum & House, Deadwood, S.D.; Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave, Golden, Colo.; Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, Canyon, Texas; High Desert Museum, Bend, Ore.; Plains Indian Museum, Cody, Wyo.; National Oregon/California Trail Center, Montpelier, Idaho; Boot Hill Museum, Dodge City, Kan.; Cripple Creek District Museum, Cripple Creek, Colo.; Rim Country Museum, Payson, Ariz.

The list will be in the May issue of the magazine, on newsstands soon.

N.M. tags moon site as cultural property

New Mexico became the second state to designate artifacts left behind at Tranquility Base on the moon in its official registry of historic properties.

Among the objects left behind from the 1969 moon landing are a spacecraft lander, a U.S. flag, the lunar laser ranging retroflector, space boots and other items jettisoned to lighten the load for the return trip.

The state's Cultural Properties Review Committee voted April 9 to approve a nomination for the registry prepared by the committee's vice chairwoman, Beth O'Leary, and students from her graduate-level Cultural Resource Management course at New Mexico State University and the Apollo 11 Preservation Task Force. She said in a news release that New Mexico has a strong relationship to space exploration, citing Robert Goddard's early launches in Roswell, the development of the V-2 rocket at White Sands Missile Range and the new Spaceport in Southern New Mexico.

In 2006, New Mexico put the lunar landing site on its Cultural Resources Management System, a Web-based inventory of state cultural sites. Earlier this year, California listed the moon objects on its historical properties registry.

Sewer replacement closes La Farge library

The La Farge Branch Library remains closed through Friday because of a sewer-line replacement project.

A city news release said the branch plans to reopen Saturday with regular hours of 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Until then, patrons aren't able to pick up books on hold or interlibrary loan books.

Also, weekly morning programs such as PreSchool Story Time, Books and Babies and the after-school Mars: Inside & Out won't meet this week.

The contractor, Cartwright Plumbing, Cooling and Heating of Santa Fe, is replacing an original clay-pipe sewer system.

Plaza sod work keeps grass off limits

The spring sprucing up of the Santa Fe Plaza is scheduled to resume today with resodding of bare areas that didn't recover from last season's heavy use.

The grassy quadrangles in the park will remain blocked off with thin green rope while city crews do the maintenance and renovation work on the turf, a news release said.

Absentee ballot applications available

Applications for absentee ballots for the June 1 primary election are available now at the Santa Fe County Clerk's Office.

Absentee-in-person voting, for those who will not be able to vote in person on June 1, begins May 4. Early voting begins May 15.

Applications for absentee ballots can be filled out at the Clerk's Office in the County Administration Building at 102 Grant Ave. Voters can also request an application be mailed to them by calling 986-6280.

Free jazz concert at St. John's

St. John's College is hosting an evening of free jazz, 7 p.m. April 20, in the Great Hall, Peterson Student Center. This concert is free.

The trio consists of Larry Ham and local musicians John Trentacosta and Mike Olivola.

Ham is an internationally recognized jazz pianist and is traveling in the United States on a spring tour. He will be performing with Olivola on upright bass and Trentacosta on drums.

Run raises money for school

Wood Gormley Elementary School's Parent Teacher Committee is encouraging you to run to raise money for the school's PTC.

The school hosts its sixth annual Wood Gormley Panther Run, a 5K run or 2-mile walk for adults and a 1K Fun Run for kids, on April 24.

The run starts and ends at Wood Gormley, 141 E. Booth St.

Registration for the 5K run and 2-mile walk is $30, while registration for the children's run is $10.

Registration forms are available at Wood Gormley and at sports stores in Santa Fe.

Health grant applications invited

The Northern New Mexico Health Grant Group will award $200,000 this year to nonprofits that improve health.

The group is a joint initiative of Con Alma Health Foundation and the Hospital Auxiliary for the Los Alamos Medical Center.

The grants, of up to $20,000, are limited to nonprofits serving residents of Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and northern Santa Fe counties. Applications are due June 25.

A free pre-proposal workshop will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on May 20 at Los Alamos National Bank, 1200 Trinity Drive, Los Alamos. For information, grant guidelines and to register for the workshop, go to Con Alma Health Foundation's Web site at www.conalma.org and click on 2010 Grant Guidelines released. The workshop is free, but at RSVP is required.

GenNext accepting applications

Generation Next, The New Mexican's teen section, is accepting applications from high-school students interested in journalism. Applications include a 500-word essay about why you would like to work for Generation Next, what kind of things you would like to report on and what kind of previous reporting/writing experience you have. Previous reporting/writing experience is not required, but applicants who have high-school newspaper experience should send two to three writing samples. Please include your full name, address, phone number, school name and grade.

Applications can be mailed to Ana Trujillo, P.O. Box 2048, Santa Fe, NM 87504; or e-mailed to atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com. Applications are due by 4 p.m. May 24.

Vehicle sparks fire in Southern N.M.

FORT STANTON — Lincoln County volunteer firefighters have contained a blaze that burned 30 acres of public land near Fort Stanton in Southern New Mexico.

Officials with the Bureau of Land Management say the fire was sparked Monday by a vehicle that appeared to be having brake problems. The fire was near the intersection of state highways 380 and 220.

Firefighters responded quickly and were able to contain the flames despite windy conditions.

The BLM says the fire was in an area that was scheduled for a prescribed burn starting this week. However, the burn was canceled by the agency because weather conditions were not favorable.

Charges upheld in artifacts case

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge has denied a request to dismiss 14 felony counts against a Utah man charged after a two-year federal investigation into illegal trafficking of American Indian artifacts.

Joseph M. Smith of Blanding pleaded not guilty last year to 28 counts related to the alleged theft and sale of jewelry, sandals and other ancient artifacts from public and tribal lands.

His federal defender in January asked that half the counts be dismissed, saying Smith was charged several times for the same alleged criminal conduct.

U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart denied the motion on Friday.

Smith was one of 26 people charged as part of the Four Corners investigation.

Gallup mayor's day in court: June 17

GALLUP — Cibola County Magistrate Jackie Fisher will preside over the bench trial for Gallup Mayor Harry Mendoza, who was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery after a fistfight with Gallup Independent publisher Bob Zollinger.

Trial has been scheduled for June 17.

Fisher was assigned to the case after two other western New Mexico magistrates — Clayton Atwood of Catron County and Kenneth Howard of McKinley County — recused themselves.

Mendoza and Zollinger both claim the other started the Jan. 6 fight outside a Gallup bank.

The dispute between the men centers on newspaper articles linking Mendoza to the gang rape of a teenage girl in 1948 when Mendoza was 16 years old. The mayor denies the accusations.

Tucumcari men arrested in bank heist

CLOVIS — Authorities say four Tucumcari men have been arrested after allegedly robbing a bank in Melrose.

Curry County Sheriff's Office officials say four men armed with a pellet gun, a machete and a baseball bat robbed the American Heritage Bank of an undisclosed amount of cash Monday morning.

They then fled in a vehicle and were followed by the bank's branch manager, who reported the suspects' locations to law enforcement. Authorities say the suspects discarded their weapons and disguises during the chase that ended at a roadblock on State Road 209 in Quay County.

Authorities say the men — who range in age from 18 to 24 — have been returned to Curry County and booked into the Detention Center on charges of armed robbery, conspiracy and tampering with evidence.

Navajo homes to get running water

ALBUQUERQUE — Thousands of homes on the Navajo reservation will soon get running water for the first time.

The Eastern Navajo Water Pipeline phase 2 is now under construction and officials say it will bring clean, safe water to nearly 10,000 homes.

Navajo Nation residents gathered Monday in Sandoval County to bless the new water system. The chapters it will serve are Burnham, Huerfano, Nageezi, Counselor, Ojo Encino, Torreon, Pueblo Pintado, Whitehorse Lake, Lake Valley and Becenti.

Thousands of residents in Sandoval, McKinley, Rio Arriba and San Juan counties currently drive dozens of miles to fill up gallons of water. Federal, state, and Navajo dollars funded the nearly $30 million project. Officials say it will also provide running water to another 12,000 people in the next 20 years.




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