HighlightsFishin’ and Finances

Page 2 and 3

Forester’s LogPage 4

National Forest NewsPage 5

Nature and WildlifePages 6 - 9

Pioneer StoriesPage 10

Community Section Pages 12 - 14

Timberon MeetingsPage 14

The Trading PostPage 16

...And Much More!

BULK RATEUS POSTAGE

PAIDCLOUDCROFT, NM

PERMIT NO. 7

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Smokey the Bear...Past and Present

TimberonRoad

Update

Woodpeckers ... How to PreventDamage to Your Property

ARE YOUGETTING YOURNEWSPAPER?

If not, call toll free1-877-987-2561

...Continued on Page 11

Several species of woodpeckers, flickers andsapsuckers live in a variety of habitats through-out New Mexico. Under most circumstances,they are beneficial to the natural environment.However, their hammering or drumming onbuildings and other structures may cause sig-nificant damage. Most damage from woodpeckers in NewMexico occurs in urban and suburban areas.

Spring generally is the worst season, cor-responding to the breed-ing season and territoryestablishment. How-ever, woodpecker dam-

age can occur throughoutthe year. The northern

flicker, yellow-bellied sap-sucker, red-bellied woodpecker

and red-headed woodpecker arethe most common species that cre-

ate damage in New Mexico. Drumming is the term used to de-

scribe the rapid pecking woodpeckersmake on hard surfaces. In the spring they

drum to establish territories and to attractmates. Metal items, such as gutters, down

spouts, street lights and TV antennas, may bechosen for drumming sites. Although metalsurfaces are seldom damaged, the noise canbe frustrating. When woodpeckers drumon structures, such as woodensiding, eaves, trim boardsor stucco, damage may beextensive. Extensive damage also canoccur when woodpeckerscreate holes while searchingfor insects or excavating nest-ing cavities. These holes canbe round and smooth or ver-tical, rough gashes that are oneto several inches long. Wood-peckers, particularly sapsuck-ers, may damage ornamentaland fruit frees.

BIOLOGY ANDIDENTIFICATION

Woodpeckers generally prefersnags or partially dead frees fornesting sites. They also can be seenreadily pecking holes in trees andwooden structures in search of in-sects, spiders and ants. While manywoodpecker species feed primarilyon insects, some also eat berries, fruit, nuts,seeds and sap. For example, sapsuckers eatsap they obtain by pecking rows of small holesthrough the bark of live trees. Woodpeckers, flickers and sapsuckers are 5

to 15 inches long. Their stout, sharplypointed beaks are well-adapted for peck-ing into wood in search of insects and tochisel out nesting cavities. They haverelatively short legs and usually four toeswith sharp claws. Two of the toes pointinward, while the other two point back-

To understand how Smokey Bear became associated with forest fire prevention, wemust go back to World War II. On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes attacked PearlHarbor. The following spring in 1942, a Japanese submarine surfaced near the coast

of Southern California and fired a salvo of shells that ex-ploded on an oil field near Santa Bar-bara, very close to the Los Padres Na-tional Forest. Americans throughoutthe country were shocked by the newsthat the war had now been brought di-rectly to the American mainland. Therewas concern that further attacks couldbring a disastrous loss of life and de-struction of property. There was also afear that enemy incendiary shells explod-ing in the timber stands of the Pacific Coastcould easily set off numerous raging for-est fires. With experienced firefighters andother able-bodied men engaged in the

armed forces, the home communities had to dealwith the forest fires as best they could. Protec-tion of these forests became a matter of nationalimportance, and a new idea was born. If peoplecould be urged to be more careful, perhapssome of the fires could be prevented. With thisis mind, the Forest Service organized the Coop-erative Forest Fire Prevention Campaign with thehelp of the Wartime Advertising Council.

Posters and slogans were created by the War Advertising Council, including “ForestFires Aid the Enemy,” and “Our Carelessness, Their Secret Weapon.” By using catchyphrases, colorful posters and other fire prevention messages, the Advertising Councilsuggested that people could prevent accidental fires and help win the war.

Bambi or a Bear? Walt Disney’s motion picture, “Bambi” was produced in 1944 and Disney let theforest fire prevention campaign use his creation on a poster. The “Bambi” poster wasa success and proved that using an ani-mal as a fire prevention symbol wouldwork. A fawn could not be used in sub-sequent campaigns because “Bambi”was on loan from Walt Disney studiosfor only one year; the Forest Servicewould need to find an animal that wouldbelong to the Cooperative Forest FirePrevention Campaign. It was finallydecided that the Nation’s number onefirefighter should be a bear. On August 9, 1944, the first posterof Smokey Bear was prepared. Theposter depicted a bear pouring abucket of water on a campfire.Smokey Bear soon became popular, and his image began appearing on other postersand cards. ...Continued on Page 8

Lincoln National ForestChristmas Tree Permits

November 7 – The Lincoln National Forest has Christ-mas tree permits for $5 available for purchase at oneof the locations below, or by mail now through De-cember 24. Permits may be purchased at all Lincoln

National Forest Offices from 7:30am to 4:30pm, Mon-day through Friday. Any live evergreen tree up to ten

feet in height can be cut down or dug-up in the SmokeyBear, Sacramento, or Guadalupe Ranger Districts as desig-

nated by a map accompanying the permit. Please be consider-ate (and legal) and do not cut trees on private lands or Wilder-ness areas. You may purchase a permit at the following locations -- All Lincoln National Forest Offices in Alamogordo, Cloudcroft,Ruidoso, and Carlsbad.

Fuels ReductionProject Rescheduled

November 25 – A fuels reduction project on the SacramentoRanger District is scheduled to begin on December 2, 2003.The project was originally planned for October but was post-poned due to unfavorable weather conditions. The prescribed burn planned for the Lick Ridge/Pinon Drawarea located in the southeastern part of the District involvesapproximately 4200 acres; however, burn conditions may al-low for only a portion of the project to be completed at thistime. The project is designed to remove excess ladder fuels inponderosa pine and mixed conifer stands. Residents in these areas should expect to see and smell smokeduring the course of this fire. When the project begins, signswill be posted along highways affected by the smoke and mo-torists are urged to use caution. Forest information staff willbe posting current information regarding progress of the burnfor communities and residents in the area. As always, firefighterand public safety are a top priority. For additional information, please contact the SacramentoRanger District Office, (505) 682-2551, between 7:30am and4:30pm, Monday through Friday. The address is: SacramentoRanger District Office, P.O. Box 288, Cloudcroft, N.M 88310.

...Continued on Page 3

New Hope to Improve FiveMillion “High Risk” Acres

of New Mexico Forestsfrom Senator Pete Domenici’s Office

November 21 – U.S. Senator Pete Domenicitoday praised the final Senate passage of abipartisan bill that will offer new hope forreducing the risk of catastrophic wildfiresand disease on nearly five million acres of“high risk” forests in New Mexico. The Senate Friday gave final approval tothe bipartisan Healthy Forests RestorationAct of 2003 (HR.1904), following a 286-140 vote in the House of Representatives.The bill now goes to the President to besigned into law. Domenici, as chairman of the Senate En-ergy and Natural Resources Committee, wasa member of the bipartisan team that craftedthe bill to improve forest health and reducethe threat of catastrophic wildfires by giv-ing federal land managers more fundingand power to carry out projects to decreasefuel loads, and control insects and diseasein 20 million acres of national forest. “This is a remarkable and necessary bill.I am very happy that we will now have a lawthat will allow healthy forest projects tomove forward. For too long this work hasbeen stopped by bureaucratic and legalquagmires. Now this measure will allowmanagers to tackle the work that needs tobe done in New Mexico and all our nationalforests,” Domenici said. The bill going to President Bush includesthe following highlights:• Prioritizes treatment of up to 20 millionacres in the Wildland Urban Interfaces (for-ested areas around communities), as wellas high risk areas outside the Wildland Ur-ban Interface areas.• Creates a 1.5 mile zone for each WildlifeUrban Interface.

• Mandates that 50 percent of funding in thebill will be dedicated toward Wildlife UrbanInterface areas.• Allows one environmental review, as re-quired by the National Environmental PolicyAct (NEPA), of proposed thinning projects

...Continued on Page 6

The Story of John ArthurEddy “Father of Cloudcroft”

by Pat Rand

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of the story about the Eddy brothers, JohnArthur and Charles Bishop, who brought the railroad to Cloudcroft, and also about theirlong-time attorney and associate, William Ashton Hawkins. Next month, Charles BishopEddy will be featured, and the final installment in February will be about William AshtonHawkins. John Arthur Eddy was born in the town of Milford, located in Otsego County, New York,in 1853. His father was the largest hops merchant in the region, and had becomequite wealthy. John Arthur, together with his brother, Charles Bishop, who wasborn in 1857, decided they would follow the heed of Horace Greeley, who said“Go west, young man.” With the help of an uncle, they founded the Eddy-BissellCattle Company in southern Colorado in the early 1880’s, and established tworanches - “The High Lonesome” and “El Dorado.” Charles Bishop becamethe company president and John Arthur was the general manager. Thissame arrangement would be set-up for most of their future businessenterprises. The Eddys soon heard about fertile land in the Black River region ofsoutheastern New Mexico, and acquired thePecos Valley Ranch there. Pat Garrett, famousfor his killing of “Billy the Kid,” had formu-lated a plan to develop the land along thePecos, from the Texas state line to Roswell,by use of an irrigation system made up of aseries of dams and canals that would feedthe water to the thirsty land. Garrett had beenunsuccessful in attempts to finance such aventure, but found a willing ear in CharlesBishop Eddy, who could visualize such a

North PoleExpress Mail

That’s right! Get your letters to Santa to the North Pole in ahurry this year by sending them through the Alzheimer’s Asso-ciation North Pole Express Mail. We’ll make sure that your let-ter is hand delivered to Santa Claus in plenty of time for Christ-mas so that the elves have plenty of time to start working on yourwish list! Once Santa receives your letter, he will send you a personal-ized letter along with a small surprise. The cost for the NorthPole Express Mail is five-dollars, so please send a five-dollardonation to the Alzheimer’s Association with the letter. Be sureto tell Santa about yourself and don’t forget your return address.Please allow one week for a response as Santa and his elves arevery busy this time of year getting ready for their long trip onChristmas Eve. Send your letters by December 16th to -

Alzheimer’s Association, New Mexico ChapterAttn: North Pole Express Mail8100 Mountain Road NE, Ste. 102Albuquerque, NM 87110

The Alzheimer’s Asso-ciation, New MexicoChapter is a non-profit,

organization that pro-vides a multitude ofservices to patients andfamilies of Alzheimer’s

disease and related disor-ders across the state.

...Continued on Page 15

At this point, the FHWA has not awarded the contract for construction of the Sacra-mento Road yet. In their evaluation of the bids, they discovered that the apparent lowbidder, Delhur Industries, Inc., neglected to include New Mexico Gross Receipts tax intheir prices. FHWA has decided to allow Delhur to adjust their bid to include the tax.The new low bid total is now $10,158,250.13. FHWA has sent notice of this action to theother bidders. There is a 10 day objection period, so it will be around December1st before FHWA knows if they can award the contract at this price. We will keepyou informed.

The Mountain Times is a monthly newspaper that cov-ers Sunspot, Weed, Sacramento, Timberon, Cloudcroft,Mayhill, High Rolls, Mountain Park, Pinon and the LincolnNational Forest. The Publishers and Editors are J.J. &Kim Duckett; with various writers from the mountain com-munities. We are always looking for more writers! If youare interested, call. We are now hiring Advertising Salespeople. This newspaper is published monthly by Moun-tain Times Publications - P.O. Box 190, Timberon, NewMexico 88350. By the way, THIS NEWSPAPER IS CUR-RENTLY FOR SALE! Own a newspaper in the Sacra-mento Mountains, call for more information. You can contact the paper with an ad, news story, or torequest a subscription in one of the following ways -

TOLL FREE1-877-987-2561IN TIMBERON

987-2561FAX

Call Before Faxing!EMAIL

mountain@dellcity.comWEBSITE

http://www.mountaintimes.net Help keep us informed on what is happening in the area. Inaddition to current events, we are interested in history, pic-tures, etc... deadline is the 20th - 25th. We are always look-ing for new writers and will be more than happy to discussany ideas you might have for an article or series in the paper. Letters from readers must arrive by the 20th of the month(deadline) with your name, address and phone number. Allletters are the writer’s opinion and may not reflect the opinionof this paper. Letters are subject to editing for length, gram-mar and its worthiness of publication. We have reasonable rates on advertising. Ads will be de-signed for you free of charge if you provide the wording andany special graphics or logos. Some of the images usedherein were obtained from IMSI’s MasterClips®andMasterPhotos™Premium Image Collection, 75 RowlandWay Novato CA 94945, USA.

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INFORMAINFORMAINFORMAINFORMAINFORMATTTTTIONIONIONIONIONWWWWWhite Shite Shite Shite Shite Sands Missile Rands Missile Rands Missile Rands Missile Rands Missile Rangeangeangeangeange 505-678-1178505-678-1178505-678-1178505-678-1178505-678-1178McGrMcGrMcGrMcGrMcGregor Regor Regor Regor Regor Rangeangeangeangeange 915-569-9280915-569-9280915-569-9280915-569-9280915-569-9280NM Road AdvisorNM Road AdvisorNM Road AdvisorNM Road AdvisorNM Road Advisory Hotliney Hotliney Hotliney Hotliney Hotline 800-432-4269800-432-4269800-432-4269800-432-4269800-432-4269

“Fishin’ With Chip”... Gifts for the Angler

by Chip Chipman, Arizona Mountain Flyfishing

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Youshouldn’t feel

sorry for conceitedpeople. They carrytheir comfort with

them at alltimes.

Christmas shoppingtime is here. Themost difficult thing

about shopping is se-lecting a gift forsomeone. If thatsomeone is a flyfisherman or awannabe fly fisher-

man, I can give youa few ideas.

If that someone is awannabe, the most

logical gift is a fly rod. Butbuying a fly rod requires a little knowledge of theproduct. Unless you have some knowledge of flyrod characteristics such as weight and action,seek some advice. If you visit a fly shop, they canassist in your choice. They will want to knowwhere the user of the rod will be fishing and forwhat species. Catalog companies such as Orvisand Cabela’s have consultants that can assist inmaking the proper choice. Just because that someone already has a roddoesn’t eliminate the need foranother one. A back-uprod can save the day if

a rod is broken on a fishing trip. There’s no suchthing as too many fly rods. If you are buying a rod for someone new at thesport, make room in your budget for a couplehours of instruction. I can’t think of a more pa-thetic sight than to see someone trying to cast a flywithout prior instruction. A couple of hours ofinstruction will cost about $70 and you can buygift certificates. Also a day with a guide makes a great gift even ifI do say so myself. It’s one thing to learn to caston still water, leaning how to handle a fly rod onmoving water is another. There are several other items that make greatgifts. I love fishing shirts. I must have a dozen ofthem, but I wouldn’t mind a few more. My favor-ites are those that are made of Supplex. This ma-terial feels like soft cotton yet dries quickly. I haveseveral shirts that I have had for 5 years or so anddon’t show any signs of wear. The shirts that I favor have oversized front pock-ets that will contain fly boxes and zipped pocketsthat hold other items. These shirts are grate fortraveling also. You can easily carry your wallet

and passport in the zipped pockets. Polarized glasses are some-

thing appreciated by anyangler. They greatly aid

vision into the water andoffer eye protectionfrom errant flies. If youalready wear glasses

there are glasses de-signed to fit over your regu-

lar glasses. The best way is tohave them in your prescription.

No matter what the experience levelof the fisherman in your life, everyone needsto replace the consumables. We always needflies, leaders, and tippet material. There arecertain flies that work well anywhere in thecountry that should be in anyone’s fly box. Always carry a good supply of Royal Wulffs,Adams, Gold Ribbed Hares Ears, and WoolyBuggers, just to name a few. There are a lot of gizmo items that are mar-keted to us, but there are two things we can’tbe without: forceps and clippers. Fly fisherman do a lot of wading that canbe hazardous without proper footwear. The

most important piece ofgear for a fisherman is agood pair of wading shoes.Wading shoes have felt solesthat won’t slide on slipperyrocks. Keeping upright in astream is very important.Falling into a stream tendsto spook the fish. Opening a fishing gift isopening a dream. A dreamof a beautiful summer dayon a favorite stream in theWhite Mountains of Arizona,or any place else yourdreams may take you.

Chip Chipman is a fishingguide and lives in Nutrioso,Arizona. “Fishin’ with Chip” ison-line at www.azod.com.

“GIRL TALK” with Laquita Hunter... An Old Fashioned Christmas

from Laquita Hunter

Each year before the holidays, I seem to have the samelongings. I long to have an “old fashioned Christmas.” Ilong to have the kind of Christmas that my great grandpar-ents most likely had, the kind where the main focus is onthe birth of our Savior and a renewing of spiritual values;the kind where there are gatherings with good friends andfamily telling Christmas stories while sipping hot cocoaaround the fireplace. I have come to truly detest the commercialism associatedwith the holidays and resent the expectation that gifts mustbe bought for just about anyone one has come in contactwith in the past year or that children must be lavished withmany gifts. What I do love is giving gifts spontaneously,without that person thinking I expect one in return. I loveto send Christmas cards to folks who may not be expectingone from me. I love filling my home with glittering lights, the sounds ofChristmas music and the smell of home baked goods. Ilove making handmade ornaments and homemade gifts. Ifind joy in giving to a needy person or family in some anony-mous way and imagining their delight in finding a mysteri-ous gift or bag of groceries outside their door. I have a young daughter and I want her to grow up with

the true meaning of Christmas imbedded deep within herheart. I want her to care, deeply, that Christmas pictures thebirth of her Savior and the Savior of mankind. I want hermemories of Christmas to be stories, around the fireplace ofthe Christ Child who grew up to be Savior and soon comingKing, the smell of home baked goodies, of making ornamentsand gifts. It is my greatest hope that her fondest memories ofthe holidays with her family will be of these things and not ofthe ‘things’ she got for Christmas. It is not wrong to receive gifts for Christmas. This is awonderful custom that we have and we all remember Christ-mases when we got the ‘perfect’ gift. We all love to watch ourchildren open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morn-ing. It becomes wrong only when getting gifts becomes ournumber one focus. The season is about so much more thanthat and we miss out when we don’t make its true meaning apart of our celebration. We miss so much when we don’t realize that the greatestgift we could ever receive has already been given to us in theform of a Savior. Truly there is no better gift than that. Wehave already been given the ultimate gift. Luke 2:8-11, “Andthere were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keepingwatch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord ap-

peared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone aroundthem, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,‘do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy thatwill be for all the people. Today in the town of David aSavior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Christmas is, indeed, a joyful time and there is much tocelebrate. I hope your Christmas is wonderful, and frommy family to yours, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

These days we all know that the trees on our property have to be thinned inorder to be healthy and fire safe. But there is no reason to let those trees andslash go to waste! WoodBusters has everything needed to recycle your trees into a more usefulmaterial, done right on your property. There is no need to waste trees by haulingthem off or burning! Here is what we can turn your dead trees and slash into -

CHIPS - Trees and slash (up to 8” in diameter) can be chipped. This is very cost-effective for smaller jobs. The chips can be used on flower beds, walks, drive-ways, etc... providing they are somewhat level surfaces.

MULCH - Trees and slash (up to 8” in diameter) can be ground up by the TubGrinder (Hammer Mill). This is more cost-effective for larger jobs. The grindingsare in the form of a “stringy mulch” that can be used on flower beds, walks,

driveways, wash-outs, etc... on just about any incline, it holds together better than chips.

LUMBER - Trees (up to 32” in diameter and 22’ long) can be processed on our portablebandmill into rough-cut lumber and beams. These are good for decks, building, etc...

FIREWOOD - We can cut and split, or just split, your wood. Why buy firewood from others,possibly bringing new bugs and diseases to your property, when you can use your own.

We also offer a TREE THINNING service. As a matter of fact, everything we of fer is aservice. Wood Busters doesn’t want your trees, just to help recycle the ones that need tobe thinned out into something of use to you!

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PERSONAL FINANCES... Should You Rush Into Gold?

from Charles Wagner, CFP

Gene BurtonTile - Remodel - Building

987-2462(505) 885-1021

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Call Toll-Free 1-877-987-2561

“Humor from the Gila”...We Buy Used Xmas Trees

Humor by Norman M. Maisel of Quemado

Norm Maisel and horse atthe Ranch in Quemado.

Gold is back, with a vengeance. Should youinvest in it? After languishing in investment exilethrough much of the 1980s and 1990s, downas much as 70 percent from its January 1980

high of $850 an ounce and outshined by financial investments such aslarge cap stocks and bonds, gold is making a splashy return. The priceof gold hit a seven-year high in October at $390 an ounce. Gold stockmutual funds were the top-performing mutual funds in 2002, with re-turns around 85–100 percent, and a gold mining company was the top-performing large-cap stock, returning 52 percent. And in 2003, goldmutual funds were up 26 percent through September, according to LipperInc. So, should you buy gold? If you do, in what form? What percentage ofyour portfolio should you devote to it? Whoa, not so fast, caution manyfinancial planners. Gold may have a place in your portfolio, but it shouldbe a small one at best. Gold traditionally has been viewed as a hedge against wars and politi-cal unrest, high inflation, or other uncertain economic times. And somepeople just like the idea of owning an investment they can hold, if onlytheoretically, in their hands. Because of its defensive quality, gold has a low correlation with mostother types of investments—that is, it typically doesn’t move up and downin concert with stocks, bonds, cash or real estate. If they’re down, goldis apt to be up, and vice versa. That’s why some investment experts oftenlike to include it in portfolios. Despite its volatility, its inclusion canactually reduce the risk and boost the overall returns of a portfolio—aslong as gold comes in small doses. While some gold enthusiasts recommend allocating as much as one-third of a portfolio to gold and other precious metals, most financial

planners recommend keepinggold to five percent or less.

Investors with smallportfolios probably

shouldn’t botherwith gold at all,

and some planners think that admonition should apply to all investors.They prefer clients invest instead in real estate investment trusts or evencommodities as assets with low correlations to stocks and bonds. A big challenge for including gold in a portfolio is the investor’s willing-ness to suffer through long stretches of steep declines or simply medio-cre returns. Despite the huge returns in 2002 and 2003, gold funds overthe past ten years annually returned a paltry 1.3 percent, according toLipper Inc. Another risk is that, as so often happens with investments that suddenlybecome hot, investors may have missed much or even all of the recentrun-up. Some gold experts expect prices to continue to climb, perhapsto $600 an ounce, particularly if U.S. deficits continue to grow, the economystruggles and terrorism holds center stage. But if the economy and theworld scene improve, the price of gold could quickly stumble, thoughdemand for gold as a commodity might offset the decline. As is usually the case when it comes to investing, it’s better to have awell-diversified portfolio in place at all times. That way, when an assetgets “hot,” you already own that asset and are able to take advantage ofits run-up. Loading up on an asset after it becomes hot usually meansyou end up buying high and selling low—exactly what happened to manyinvestors who came late to the high-tech party in the 1990s. Still think gold might have a place in your portfolio? You have severalways to buy gold. The easiest way is to buy gold-mining stocks, eitherdirectly or through stock mutual funds. Just be aware that the price ofgold-mining stocks usually rise—and fall—much faster than the priceof gold itself. Also be aware that fees for gold stock funds, as is commonwith sector mutual funds, typically run significantly higher than for largeand mid cap mutual funds. While direct ownership of gold is less volatile, it’s a more difficult wayto own gold. You can buy gold coins, but they have their own volatility.You also can buy gold bullion from brokers, but transaction costs andstorage fees typically are steep. Gold, along with other precious metals, is also ripe for investment scams.So be cautious how and where you buy gold—if you buy gold at all.

This column is produced by the Financial Planning Association,the membership organization for the financial planning community,and is provided by Charles Wagner, a local member of the FPA.

“Holiday Greetings”...from the Sheriff’s Department

by Sheriff John Blansett

Holiday greetings, with the holiday season comingthere are many things to be thankful for. We made itthrough the fire season, reasonably unscathed, andfor the most part, even survived the deer season.There are two things that occur during the holidaysthat you should be aware of; burglaries and vehicleaccidents related to alcohol. With this season, the Christmas trees go up, withvaluable presents under them. Remember, the “badguys” know this. Before you leave your house, evenfor a few minutes, lock it up. Your holiday seasoncould be ruined, in a matter of minutes, which is allthe time a thief would need to clean you out. If yourleaving town, even overnight, let your neighbors know.Tell them who may be at your residence, checking onthings and what they will be driving. Encourage yourneighbors to contact the Sheriff’s Department, if theysee or hear anything unusual. This is how Neighbor-

hood Watch works. After the first of the year, we willbe putting on meetings to show you how to organize aNeighborhood Watch. We all like to be happy and cheerful, during thisseason. Remember, when you go to Christmas or NewYears parties and you intend to drink, have a desig-nated driver or an alternate way of getting home.Police presence will be increased, during the monthof December. Don’t have yours or your loved onesholiday season ruined by you becoming a fatality sta-tistic or having to be bailed out of jail, for somethingyou could have easily prevented. In conclusion, The Otero County Sheriff’s Depart-ment and my family wish all of you the very best dur-ing this blessed season. We would also like for you topray for or men and women, who will be in harm’sway, protecting our liberties, which allow us to cel-ebrate this time of year.

After deciding not tomake any New Yearsresolutions, “I mean,why should I botherthinking up resolu-tions? Heck, Iwouldn’t bother withthem anyway.” Jimmylet out a whoop and aholler. “I now knowhow I’m going to geteven with that darned

Bub.” Bub had come upon Jimmy’s truck the pastsummer. Jimmy had left all of his clothes in the truck,and was skinny clipping in Snake Creek. Bub let allthe air out of Jimmy’s tires, and had absconded withall of Jimmy’s clothing. All that is, except for Jimmy’shat and boots. After all, Bub knew that no self re-specting cowboy could retain any semblance of dig-nity without boots on his feet and a Stetson on hishead. Jimmy had been holding a grudge for the pastfive months. “Quick Norm.” Jimmy said to me, “Give me yourpen.” “What form of evil are you up to now?”, I askedJimmy. “I’m writing a classified ad to send to The Moun-tain Times newspaper. I don’t have much time. Ihave to hurry, or it will be to late.” I watched over Jimmy’s shoulder while he wrote outthe ad:

WANTED USED XMAS TREESHIGHEST PRICES PAID

DELIVER TO BUB’S HOUSEQUEMADO, NEW MEXICO

“Jimmy”, I exclaimed.“Not even you would be thismean!” “Oh yes I would. After allhe’s done to me? You’d bet-ter darn well believe I would.All’s fair in love and war, andthis is war.” The classified ad ran, andthe following morning,

- Chamber of Commerce Offices inAlamogordo, Cloudcroft, and Ruidoso.- Wal Mart Stores in Alamogordo, LasCruces, Carlsbad, and Ruidoso Downs(customer service department). Mail-in applications are available at -- Lincoln National Forest Offices inAlamogordo, Cloudcroft, Ruidoso, andCarlsbad.- Chamber of Commerce Offices inAlamogordo, Cloudcroft, Ruidoso,Carlsbad, Artesia, Clovis, Hobbs, Jal, LasCruces (Hispanic Chamber also),Lovington, Portales, Roswell, N.M., and ElPaso, Lubbock, Midland, and Odessa, TX.- Wal Mart Stores (customer service dept.)

in Alamogordo, Las Cruces,Carlsbad, and Ruidoso Downs.

Forest Christmas Tree Permits... ContinuedCHRISTMAS TREE PERMITS

- U.S. Post Offices in Alamogordo, Tularosa,Carrizozo, N.M., and El Paso, TX.- JC Penney Stores (catalog dept.) in LasCruces, NM and El Paso, TX. (Gateway W& Sunland Park).- Holloman Air Force Base Morale, Wel-fare and Recreation Center.- White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs,Community Center and Outdoor Recre-ation- U.S. Border Patrol in Las Cruces.- N.M. Game and Fish in Las Cruces.- Bureau of Land Management Offices inLas Cruces and Roswell.- Outpost Gallery in Dell City, TX.- Chamizal National Memorial in El Paso,TX.

Maps and specific instructions are pro-vided with each permit. Visitors are urgedto call ahead at the following offices fortravel and weather conditions on the For-est, as no refunds can be given once a per-mit has been issued; Smokey Bear Districtat 505-257-4095, Sacramento District at505-682-2551, and Guadalupe District at505-885-4181. For more informationabout the Lincoln National Forest, pleasecheck out our website at: www.fs.fed.us/r3/lincoln or call 505-434-7200.

people began showing up at Bub’s front door. Eachlugging one or more used Xmas trees. Bub couldn’tfigure out what was going on, but he sure wasn’t buy-ing any used trees. After thirty or so of those treeswere littering his driveway, Bub’s temper was begin-ning to grow short. He was out front yelling at the lineof people, “NO! I ain’t buying any darned trees. Nowtake your trees and get out of here!” The people, mostof them, called him a Scrooge, along with a few otherchoice names. They just dropped their trees, alongwith an assortment of empty pop cans and candy wrap-pers, and left. By noon time, Bub couldn’t take it anylonger. He jumped into his pickup. He was comingover to my ranch for the rest of the day. Of course, hehad to move a big pile of trees before he could evenget his truck out of the yard. “Get out of my way!”, heyelled. People and trees were still arriving. “And takeyour dam fool trees with you!” When Bub arrived at myplace, his face was still red. Ithought maybe I was going tohave to call 911. I had neverseen Bub so distraught.“Norm”, he said to me, “I knowwho it was that did this to me. Iknow. I’ll tell you Norm. Thiswar is now in full swing. I guar-antee that for Jimmy, the year2004 will be one to remember.That’s my New Years Resolu-tion,”

I guess that we will have towait and see what comes. Itshould be interesting.

4 FORESTER’S LOG ... Mixing in Mexicofrom Mary Stuever, Forester Specializing in Forest Ecosystems of the American Southwest

The terraced landscape stretches before me: undulating hills with oc-casional lone, tall pine trees, a plantation of tree seedlings with this year’sshoots stretching beyond a foot’s growth, and miles and miles of trenchesthat follow contours in rows roughly thirty feet apart. The El HuerfanoFire occurred five years ago in 1998. Our guides are animated whenthey recount the fire. They speak of helicopters, scores of firefighters,long-term drought conditions, and extreme fire behavior never witnessedbefore. It is a similar story line to the fires in my home states of NewMexico and Arizona, but I am in a foreign country. I am keenly aware of my alienstatus because I cannot follow theconversation. My poor Spanish canget me to the baño, order a cerveza,and pick up a café a llevar. I can-not get the gist of the intention orscience behind the ditches. Thebilingual members of our party tryto translate. Community membersof the local ejido who work for$10.50 a day have dug thesetrenches by hand. These men havespent four years digging, and theyare funded for another eight. Thetrenches are a half-meter deep, ahalf-meter wide, and every three orfour meters there is a half-meterwide break (perhaps a bridge forwildlife, I muse). The ditches aredesigned to keep water on site.With a twinkle in his eye, one of theMexican foresters explains to usAmericans that they would not wantthe water to get to Texas. There isa paper from a university that cananswer my more technical ques-tions.

I am standing in this burn, in the Sierra Madres, near San Juanito,Chihuahua, with a group of approximately eighty foresters. Half of usare from the Southwest Society of the Society of American Foresters, asection of the national professional organization that includes New Mexicoand Arizona. The rest are professional foresters from the Seccion Chi-huahua, Asociacion Mexicana de Profesionales Forestales. Every twoyears the two sections meet for a conference, and the conferences alter-nate between Mexico and the United States. This year’s theme includes wildfire restoration, and as a newly hired

coordinator of rehabilitation efforts for a large burn in Arizona, I ameager for new ideas and exchange. My Mexican colleagues do not disap-point. They offer a fresh viewpoint to similar problems. In addition, Ienjoy the exchange with the other forty foresters who have made the tripfrom El Paso with me. We travel in a chartered bus, and the conferenceis held in city of Chihuahua and the town of Creel, with field trips fromthere. We buy trinkets from the Tarahumara natives, we sip tequila in the barsat night, we marvel at the multiple species of pine and oak, and we sitthrough technical sessions that, even with advent of power point, are stillthe bane of professional meetings. At one such session, there is a strong exchange of emotion and cul-tural values. The title of the presentation is “Proyecto para elApprovechamiento Turístico de El Divisadero, Barrancas del Cobre Chi-huahua.” A director of tourism outlines grandiose plans for developingthe Copper Canyon country and improving the standard of living for thenative people. I am proud of my colleagues when the question/answer session fo-cuses on lack of involvement of the Tarahumara people in developingthe plan. I am hoping something has been lost in the translation whenthe tourism director explains that this model is obviously a benefit to thelocal people. “They may not know what they want, but they will learn.” It is the pot calling the kettle black. In the American Southwest wehave a long history of impressing our “concept” of development on tonative peoples with disastrous results to the native cultures. Currentlywe are in a mode of super sensitivity trying to recover what has been lost.We urge our Mexican comrades not to make the same mistakes. Al-though I leave skeptical our message has been heard, I am proud thesegovernment and academic foresters, generally a conservative group, madesuch a vocal objection. Overall, the conference exceeds my expectations. I can return to Ari-zona, still puzzling about the watershed restoration trenches and won-dering if our own treatments will seem asstrange to my new Mexican friends when theycome to the next reunion in Tucson in 2005.

El Huerfano Burn Rehab - a landscape shot showing more of contours and trees (isolated pines and new seed-lings). Trenches dug by local community members keep precipitation on site on this burn rehabilitation project inChihuahua, Mexico.

This Year Get A Patriotic Christmas Tree!from Mary Stuever, Forester Specializing in Forest Ecosystems of the American Southwest

This Christmas season do your patriotic duty, and cut down your ownChristmas tree. One of the most serious problems facing our country isan excess of trees. Small trees. Christmas-tree-size trees. What we ad-mire as festive holiday decoration, may be seen as “ladder fuels” if left inthe forest. If we all went to the woods to cut a Christmas tree, with “im-proving forest health” as our overriding motto, think of the safer forestswe would have next year when fire season rolls around! So let’s start a Christmas tree revolution. Here’s the game plan. First, prominently display an American Flag while engaged in your tree-cutting outing. Remember this is a patriotic endeavor! Your mission willbe more effective if you can convince others to follow your lead, and theAmerican Flag just might attract enough attention to explain your inten-tions. Once you have an audience, educate them on their duty. You might start with the battle cry “REMEMBER LOS ALAMOS!” Forthose of you who don’t remember Los Alamos, I am referring to theCerro Grande Fire in May of 2000 that burned over 43,000 acres anddestroyed 239 residential dwellings in a northern New Mexico commu-nity. The real culprit to that disaster was the condition of the forest onceit was burning… a severe case of “too many trees.” Since that fire andthe ensuing severe fire season that followed throughout the West, Con-gress has responded with almost three billion dollars. Much of this money(referred to as the “National Fire Plan”) has been used to help removetrees from overcrowded forests, especially near residential areas. Al-though communities, government agencies, and industries aimed at us-ing small trees have hit the ground in full force trying to address thisproblem, it won’t be solved in one fell swoop. It took over a century offire exclusion to build-up the excess trees and fuel in the forest; it maytake decades of hard work to return the forest to a semblance of health.It may also take a Christmas tree revolution. If your potential recruits still don’t get the patriotic tie-in, point out thathundreds of military troops were involved in fighting fires in 2000, andthat those same troops might be preoccupied when our country faces itsnext brutal fire season. The next step is to find an area to cut the tree. Regardless of our nobleall-American intentions to save the forest, we still have to follow the lawsthat govern the age-old of tradition of Christmas tree cutting. One of theobvious choices is to cut trees on public lands, and each of the landmanagement agencies have their own approach to okaying this opera-tion. The U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which manages the national forests,administers their tree-cutting programs at the district level. This meansmaking some phone calls and perhaps a visit to a district office to get theproper paper work and pay the appropriate fee. In New Mexico, if youcut a tree on private land, you need to have written permission of thelandowner in your possession when you cut and transport the tree. Ifyou are the landowner, you need proof of that fact such as a tax bill or acopy of the deed. Nobody ever said that doing your patriotic duty wasgoing to be easy. Once you’ve loaded your briefcase with the proper documentation, it’stime to head to the woods. Dress warmly, pack a big lunch completewith a thermos of hot chocolate, and don’t forget to bring a saw and arope to tie the tree to the top of your car. The next step is to select the perfect Christmas tree, and consideringour patriotic mission, this may take on a wholly new definition. Forthose of you familiar with Christmas television specials, we are talking“Charlie Brown” trees here. Remember, you are trying to improve theforest, which may mean taking out the trees that are growing too closetogether. When trees grow too close together, they become somewhat lopsided.They certainly don’t have the bushy elegance of a Christmas tree farmmanicured tree. But they usually do have this elegance on at least oneside. So never fear, the easy solution to this is to cut two or three of theseless perfect trees and lash them together for the ideal tree. (Did I fail tosuggest you buy more than one permit? Hopefully you have read aheadand are already prepared.) In the Southwest, we have several species that make excellent Christ-mas trees. At lower elevations, which are usually easier to access in thewintertime, the tree of choice is the state tree, the two-needled pinyon. Afew New Mexicans will opt for junipers, but most of us natives have suchsevere allergies, just the word “juniper” is enough to throw us into asneezing fit. Generally, the juniper pollen won’t come out on the treeuntil January or February, but why risk it? In the ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests, the ideal Christmas

trees are Douglas-fir and white fir. These species have soft needles, andare generally the “ladder fuels” within the pine forests that need to beremoved. If you desire a spiny-needled tree that will keep the kids andpets away, you might look for a blue spruce, usually found in cold drain-ages. Most people shy away from ponderosa pine trees in their livingrooms. The branches are sparse, the needles are long, and even a ro-bust pine sapling has “CharlieBrown” written all over it. However,if a ponderosa pine is the tree thatneeds to leave the forest, rememberyou are doing your patriotic duty. The ecology of the high-elevationspruce-fir forests is somewhat differ-ent, and you will stay out of moresnowdrifts and achieve your patrioticduty more completely by cutting treesat lower elevations. Once you have your tree(s) home,there are a few things to keep inmind. Remember we justified thisoperation as removing potential“fuel” from the forest. Well, you justtook that fuel into your house. Besure to keep the tree stumps sittingin water always, and monitor the treeclosely for signs of drying out. If it islosing too many needles toss the treeout. A well cared for cut-tree shouldlast several weeks, but don’t take anychances if you think it is too dry.Besides, you could always doubleyour patriotic duty and cut anothertree. Or maybe you want to buy a tree.You can still do the patriotic thing bybuying a locally cut tree from ourown forests and avoiding those less-than-fresh plantation specimensfrom the west coast. Just be sure toask the tree seller if forest healthdrove their selection process. (Yes,they will think you are totally nuts thisyear, but once our revolution takeshold there may even be a “certified-ecologically sound” tag attached infuture years.) Finally, and this is a matter of per-

sonal preference, consider flying a flag at thetop of the tree (maybe the angel could hold it?). Once again, this is tooffer your guests an opportunity to politely ask why you have three treeslashed together in your living room. Just explain you have done yourpatriotic duty this year, and be sure to tell them how they can do theirs byjoining the Christmas tree revolution.

5What’s Happening on the Sacramento Ranger District by Marleen M. Moya

Do you have a photofrom your hunt in the

Sacramento Mountainsand want to share it?Send it in to the paper

and we will put it in!

Del Corazon RestaurantDel Corazon RestaurantDel Corazon RestaurantDel Corazon RestaurantDel Corazon Restaurantat the Riverside Condos in Timberon, New Mexicoat the Riverside Condos in Timberon, New Mexicoat the Riverside Condos in Timberon, New Mexicoat the Riverside Condos in Timberon, New Mexicoat the Riverside Condos in Timberon, New Mexico

OPEN Mondays thru Fridays from 8am to 2pm

Linda Ness Gulley, Agent101 N. White Sands Blvd.Alamogordo, NM 88310

(505) 437-46991-888-921-4699

OFFICE HOURS The Sacramento Ranger District Office, located in the Village ofCloudcroft, at 61 Curlew Place, is open Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. –4:30p.m.INFORMATION REQUESTS Questions regarding management practices of the Sacramento RangerDistrict may be addressed to: Frank Martinez; Sacramento Ranger Dis-trict: P.O. Box 288, Cloudcroft, N.M. 88317. The phone number is(505) 682-2551. The Sacramento Ranger District is within the Lincoln National Forest.Questions regarding management practices for the Lincoln NationalForest may be addressed to: José Martinez, Forest Supervisor, LincolnNational Forest, 1101 New York Ave., Alamogordo, N.M. 88310. Thephone number is (505) 434-7200. There are two websites containing visitor and forest management in-formation regarding the Lincoln National Forest. They are:http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/lincoln/http://www.fs.fed.us/largewatershedprojectsTOLL FREE FIRE DISPATCH There is now a 24-hour toll free phone number to call and reportpossible wildfires. The number is 1-887-695-1663.

NEW THIS MONTHCHRISTMAS TREES Permits are available for sale, just $5.00 each for a tree up to 10 feet,at our district office. They are also available at the Cloudcroft Chamberof Commerce and the Mountain Top Mercantile. You may cut or trans-plant any species on forest land only. Maps and instructions are pro-vided with your purchase.AREA CLOSURES The first snow in Cloudcroft will bring about some areaclosures on the forest. They will be Pumphouse Canyon, Lower KarrCanyon and the Trestle Recreation Area. If you have any questions, pleasecall the District Office at 682-2551.16 SPRINGS LANDSCAPE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT The Sacramento Ranger District will be initiating an environmentalanalysis for approximately 23,000 acres of thinning and burning activi-ties within the 16 Springs analysis area. The US Forest Service has con-tracted the services of SEC, Inc to work through the environmental analy-

sis process. We willwork closelywith SEC, Inc toensure that thecommunities

associated with 16 Springs are kept well in-formed of our progress. The Analysis areaencompasses approximately 85,000 acrescomprised of the Silver Springs, Lower ElkCanyon, Sixteen Springs, and Burnt Can-yon watersheds. Vegetation treat-ments are focused on:* reducing tree density to reduce in-sect and density related mortality,* reducing natural fuels to reduce the riskof large fires, and* re-introduce fire into systems thathistorically depended on fire withspecial emphasis on pinyon-juniper,dry mixed conifer, ponderosas pineand grasses. If you are interested in commentingon this project, getting additionalinformation, or just being keep abreastof the progress, please contact the Sac-ramento Ranger District.SACRAMENTO RIVER ROADCONTRACT Progress is continuing on the secondphase of reconstruction of the Sacra-mento River Road. Bids have been re-ceived and the Federal Highway Adminis-tration (FHWA) is evaluating them. Theproject should be awarded by FHWA inearly November, 2003. This projectwill reconstruct the road from Timberonto the north for 7.67 miles. Theproject is scheduled to be completed byAugust 30, 2005. Road closures will beput into effect as needed and may closethe road from 11:00 am until 3:15 pm - Mon-day through Friday. The Sacramento River Roadreconstruction is a FHWA “public lands highways” project funded underthe TEA-21 act. The Lincoln National Forest is a cooperating agency.Project contact is Nancy Taylor, (505)434-7370 or ntaylor@fs.fed.us.FUELWOOD AREAS We currently have four fuelwood areas open to the public.James Ridge (16 Springs Road area) – mixed species, 4 cords for$20.00

Calico Peak (High Rolls area) – pinyon/juniper, 2 cords for$20.00McGee (Mayhill area) – pinyon/juniper, 2 cords for $20.00Cox (located near Sleepy Grass Campground) – mixed species, 4cords for $20.0016 Springs (16 Springs Road area) – mixed species, 4 cords for$20.00

Please contact the District Office for permits, maps, and themost current information on these areas. All fuelwood ar-eas will remain open until snow makes the areas impass-

able.

New Mexico state law requires that any person cutting, removing,transporting, or selling any woody materials must have the written con-sent of the owner or proof of ownership with them. The requirement is

for woody materials that are cut from publicor private land.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs at Mescalerosometimes has fuelwood for sale. Call(505) 671-4410 for information. Several

sawmills and timber companies also sellfirewood. Contact them directly for

more information.HUNTING SEASONS

Hunting Seasons are upon us once again.Hikers, bikers and campers are asked totake extra safety precautions and be aware

of their surroundings while recreating in theForest. It is advisable to wear brightly col-ored clothing so the hunters can see you

better. Hunters are also reminded to payspecial attention as other people besides

themselves will be out during this time.Below are the hunt dates for the re-mainder of the season.Deer - Archery : January 10-18,2004

Elk - Rifle: December 6-10Barbary Sheep - February 1-28, 2004HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES

Many outdoor enthusiasts visiting the LincolnNational Forest for the first time may be looking for

hunting and fishing opportunities. Many big gamehunting licenses must be applied for through a

lottery system with the New Mexico Depart-ment of Game and Fish. Some hunting and

fishing licenses may be purchased over thecounter at various locations. Currently, the clos-

est locations to purchase these licenses are inAlamogordo located at “Dave’s Guns”, “K-Mart” and “Wal-Mart”.BUYING LAND? If you are purchasing land, always make sure that it has legal accessfrom a public road. If there is other private land between the land youare purchasing and a public road, there should be some type of docu-mentation that you will have access across that land. Documentationmay include an easement or documentation in the deeds. (Forest Ser-vice personnel are not trained in legal matters – if you have any ques-tions, please consult a professional.) If you must cross land adminis-tered by the Lincoln National Forest to get to your private property, i.e.,your property is surrounded by Federal land and no public road ac-cesses it, please give us a call at the Ranger Station and speak to MarcieStokes.RECREATION The new Lincoln National Forest trail guide is available at the districtoffice. This is the second edition which has been revised and expanded.This guide has been extremely popular because it provides maps, andinformation for trails on the Smokey Bear, Sacramento, and GuadalupeRanger Districts. The author, John Stockert, has personally walked eachof the trails in order to write this comprehensive guide. The book issold through the Public Lands Interpretive Association and retails for$16.95.CAMPGROUNDS Recreation Resource Management, the concessionaire operatingthe campgrounds and picnic sites on the Sacramento District will beclosing the remaining campgrounds, which are Silver and Silver Over-flow located on Highway 244 on October 14th. Individual campsitesare available on a first come first serve basis. Group sites may be re-served by calling 1-877-444-6777 or online at reserveusa.com The National Recreation Reservation Service is taking reservations for

the following GroupCampgrounds:* Aspen * Black Bear* Lower Fir * Slide* Upper Fir To make a reserva-tion, call 1-888-444-6777. A website isavailable that allowscustomers to checkavailability dates andmake on-line reserva-tions. Reservations may bemade from 5 days to 1year in advance. Theweb site address is:http://reserveusa.com/.

from theMountain Times

and our Advertisers

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Wildlife Grants for Landowners

Traffic Stop Catches Poachers

October 31 - Department of Game and Fish officersissued three citations in three hours after setting upan artificial elk decoy the afternoon of October 19.The decoy operation was set up on Forest Road 64 inAgua Chiquita Canyon in the Lincoln National Forest. Curtis L. Davidson, 62, of Hobbs; John A. Garza, 20,of Carlsbad; and V ictor Arrieta, 34, of Mesilla Parkwere cited for shooting at game from a public road.The men were hunting in separate parties and travel-ling in different vehicles when they were stopped andcited. “It’s a safety issue,” Ernie Sandoval, Alamogordodistrict wildlife supervisor, told one of the suspects.“There is a lot of traffic on these roads and it’s dan-gerous for hunters to shoot from or across a publicroad.” New Mexico law requires hunters to be at least 40feet from a public road before shooting and prohib-its shooting across public roads.

Colin Duff, Alamogordo district officer, arrestedGarza on an Eddy County bench warrant for failure toappear, failure to pay fines and contempt of court.During his arrest, Garza was found with a small bagof marijuana and a pipe in his possession. The drugsand paraphernalia were turned over to a sheriff’sdeputy when Garza was taken to Otero County Deten-tion Center. Garza was sentenced October 20th toseven days in jail and $500 in fines for shooting atgame from a public road. He entered the video pleafrom jail before Judge Richard Stokely of Otero CountyMagistrate Court. Daytime decoy operations were made possible bythe passage of Senate Bill 59, signed into law April 2by Gov. Richardson and making it illegal to shoot atartificial game or birds. Decoy operations have beenconducted at night for a number of years to detect theillegal use of artificial light for hunting. The new lawexpands the capability of officers to detect other wild-life crimes.

October 31 - The New Mexico Department of Gameand Fish is offering a total of $40,000 in matchingfunds to private landowners to improve wildlife habitatthrough its Wildlife Partnership Grant program. Pro-posals are due December 15 and projects must pro-vide clear benefit to New Mexico citizens and enhanceand improve wildlife habitats. Partnership funds are restricted to actual purchaseof materials and supplies used during constructionor the lease of grazing deferrals. Funds may not beused for salaries, benefits, travel or labor. Landown-ers must contribute at least 30 percent of the projectcosts in cash, labor, equipment rental or the value ofa voluntary grazing deferment as in-kind match. “Last year we had $22,000 and we funded two

projects,” said Robyn Tierney, LOSS supervisor for theDepartment’s Wildlife Management Division. “A typi-cal project might include a component of water, suchas protection of a spring or playa lake, or funding tokeep livestock out of sensitive areas.” The money comes from big game partnership dol-lars budgeted by the Legislature. “I’m trying to spend the money particularly on spe-cies of concern,” said Tierney. “Last year the projectsaddressed lesser prairie-chickens and black-tailedprairie dogs.” Landowners interested in partnership grants maycontact Tierney at (505) 476-8044 or Bill Dunn at(505) 476-8034. Applicants will be notified of thestatus of their proposals by February 1, 2004.

October 31 - An early morning traffic stop by anAlamogordo police officer led to charges against 18-year-old Holloman Air Force Base resident JeffereyOtt on two game law violations. Officer David Hunter of the Alamogordo Departmentof Public Safety stopped Ott for speeding at 1:22 a.m.October 19. Hunter noticed a set of elk antlers and alarge ice chest in the back of Ott’s pickup. When Ottfailed to produce an elk license, Hunter called ErnieSandoval, Alamogordo district wildlife supervisor. Sandoval found the ice chest filled with elk meatand questioned Ott, who admitted killing the elk inKarr Canyon the previous morning without an elk li-cense. In addition to the meat in the ice chest,Sandoval seized about 200 pounds of elk meat froma residence where the meat was processed. Ott wascharged with illegal killing and illegal possession ofan elk.

October 31 - Three meetings have been held in cen-tral New Mexico to gather public input on the estab-lishment of the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Spe-cies Act Collaborative Program. This is a congres-sionally approved program working on public/pri-vate partnership on river issues. Meetings were held in November in Santa Fe,Socorro and Albuquerque. The public meetings were the first step to prepare adraft programmatic environmental impact statementon the establishment of the Collaborative Programwith federal funding. Each meeting began with aninformation session followed by a facilitated discus-sion. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau ofReclamation, and the New Mexico Interstate StreamCommission are the joint lead agencies for prepar-ing the environmental impact statement. The Collaborative Program now operates under aninterim memorandum of understanding to strive forthe survival and recovery of threatened and endan-gered species in the Middle Rio Grande, while simul-taneously protecting existing and future water usesin compliance with state and federal law - includingcompact delivery obligations. Its interim membersrepresent a wide array of agencies and groups. Tod

Stevenson, deputy director of the New Mexico Depart-ment of Game and Fish, is chairman. The Collabora-tive Program will seek authorizing legislation andfunding. The public can submit comments in writing to MRGESA EIS Program, c/o SWCA Inc. 7001 Prospect PlaceNW, Suite 100, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87110; byfax to (505) 254-1116; or by electronic mail toMRGESA @SWCA.com. Comments must be received by December 5 to beconsidered in preparing the draft environmental im-pact statement. Interim MOU signatories are: Alliance for RioGrande Heritage, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau ofReclamation, City of Albuquerque, Middle Rio GrandeConservancy District, National Association of Indus-trial and Office Properties, New Mexico Attorney Gen-eral, New Mexico Department of Agriculture, NewMexico Department of Game and Fish, New MexicoEnvironment Department, New Mexico InterstateStream Commission, New Mexico Lieutenant Gover-nor, New Mexico State University, Pueblo of Isleta, RioGrande Restoration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S.D.A. Forest ServiceRocky Mountain Station, and University of New Mexico.

Ott pleaded guilty October 27 in Otero County Mag-istrate Court before Judge Richard Stokely, who as-sessed Ott with $1,000 in fines and 180 days sus-pended jail time for each charge. Ott must serve 360days probation and pay $114 in court costs. In addi-tion, Ott will pay $500 in civil damages to the Depart-ment of Game and Fish for the state’s loss of the ani-mal and faces the loss of his hunting and fishing privi-leges for up to three years. In all, Ott will pay $2,614in fines, court costs and civil penalties. Sandoval had high praise for both Hunter and OteroCounty Sheriff ’s Officer Leon Ledbetter, who assistedthe traffic stop. “They went the extra mile after finding the antlersin the truck,” he said. “They checked things out eventhough it’s not part of their job and when things didn’tadd up, they contacted me. Without their help thisguy might have gotten away with the crime.”

Poachers Pay $2,740 After Antelope ChaseNovember 6 - Two Artesia men were fined a total of $2,740 in fines,court costs and civil damages October 29 for charges stemming fromthe illegal killing and chasing of antelope on four-wheelers in August. Quinton Bell, 22, and his brother-in-law Russell Wilson, 22, pleadedno contest before Judge Larry Wood in Eddy County Magistrate Court tonumerous charges associated with the illegal killing of antelope andillegal operation of four-wheelers. The charges were filed after officers from the Department of Gameand Fish investigated a rancher’s report of a dead antelope on his propertysouth of Artesia. There was no antelope hunting season at that time inthe area. Investigating officers Bryan Nygren and Terry Nelson determinedthe antelope had been killed with a shotgun at close range and part ofthe meat taken. They found a second dead antelope nearby that evidentlywas shot with a .22-caliber firearm. Four-wheeler tracks covered thearea where the antelope were killed. While Nygren and Nelson were completing their investigation at theranch, Bell and Wilson arrived by highway on four-wheelers. The officersfound blood and antelope hair on one of the men’s vehicles. Bell admitted chasing one of the antelope on his four-wheeler until hewas close enough to kill it with his shotgun. He also admitted shootingthe second antelope with a .22-caliber pistol before it ran off. Both Belland Wilson said they had taken the meat from one of the antelope anddined on it the previous night. Bell was fined $400 each for two charges of illegal killing and onecharge of possession of antelope; $50 each for harassing antelope witha motor vehicle and operating an off-road vehicle on a paved road. He

paid an additional $263 in court costs and must pay $500 in civil damagesto the Department of Game and Fish for the state’s loss of the two antelope. Wilson was fined $400 for illegal possession of antelope, $50 each foroperating an off-road vehicle on a paved road and failing to register hisfour-wheeler. He paid $177 in court costs. Both men must serve 360 days probation and successfully complete aHunter Education class. They also face the loss of their hunting andfishing privileges for up to three years.

Social Security Requiredon Applications Now

November 19 - Beginning with the new application cycle, hunters whoapply for New Mexico”s special big game hunts will be required to pro-vide Social Security numbers. This will help the state¹s enforcement ofthe Parental Responsibility Act and other record-keeping responsibili-ties. The first deadline is February 7, 2004, when oryx, special-entry tur-key, wildlife-management-area bear and population-control hunt appli-cations are due. Applications for all elk (including Unit 6B), antelope, draw deer, jav-elina, bighorn sheep and ibex will be due April 24, 2004.

within the defined zones around communities.• Requires the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to “fullymaintain, or contribute, toward the restoration” of old growth trees.• Authorizes $760 million a year for hazardous fuel reduction work,including the projects authorized under this act, which is more thandouble current funding—$340 million. The bill is structured so that forests that are in the worst conditions(identified as Condition Class III) will receive the most immediate assis-tance. New Mexico has 4.72 million acres of Condition Class III foreststhat are at the highest risk for stand replacement fires and stand to re-ceive immediate assistance. In addition, New Mexico has 4.94 million acres of Condition Class IIforests, which are also at risk and will be prioritized next. Overall, thereare more than 10.4 million acres of national forests in New Mexico.

More than 92,000 acreswere affected by wildfiresin 2002 alone. As chairman of the En-ergy committee, Domenicithis year conducted hear-

ings on reforming forest policies,and examined impacts of insects,disease, weather and fires on pub-lic and private forest lands. In thepast five years, the Forest Servicehas only thinned 1.4 million acresnationally. In contrast, 17 timesmore rangeland has burned in thelast five years than have been man-aged.

New Hope... Continued

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7NM Game and Fish WILDLIFE NEWS US Fish and Wildlife

Public Meeting Scheduled for ZuniBluehead Sucker Plan

State Enhances Public ElkLicensing at Valles Calders

THE TIMBERLINEin the timberin the timberin the timberin the timberin the timberon lon lon lon lon lodge / Community Buildingodge / Community Buildingodge / Community Buildingodge / Community Buildingodge / Community Building

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November 19 - Elk hunting licenses for the VallesCaldera National Preserve will be issued through NewMexico’s public big game drawing in 2004, the StateGame Commission decided November 13 at a meet-ing in Albuquerque. Previously, authorizations to purchase the majorityof mature bull or either-sex licenses valid on the Pre-serve were issued by the Valles Caldera Trust throughits own lottery and the state’s nonresident-residentquota system did not apply. For two years, residentscompeted equally for access authorizations with hunt-ers from across the United States. With the state conducting the drawing, New Mexicoresidents now will receive 78 percent of the VallesCaldera (Unit 6B) licenses and nonresidents will re-ceive 22 percent split between those who use outfit-ters (12 percent) and those who do not (10 percent). To be eligible to apply for 2004 Unit 6B elk hunts,license applicants must first purchase at least oneaccess-agreement coupon from the Valles CalderaTrust. The non-refundable coupons are $25 each,payable to the Valles Caldera Trust. There will be nolimit to the number of coupons individuals may pur-chase. The Trust will give those who buy coupons a dis-tinct drawing application. Those applications, along with the appropriate li-cense and application fees, should be submitted di-rectly to the New Mexico Department of Game andFish, Special Hunts Section. Only one Valles CalderaTrust application may be submitted, but each accesscoupon purchased will represent an additional op-portunity to draw a license. Big game applicants also will be allowed to submitan application for other public land elk hunts. Thestate will conduct the 2004 Unit 6B drawing prior tothe other public-land elk hunt drawing andsuccessful applicants will be removed fromconsideration for other elk licenses. Un-successful applicants for either Unit 6Bhunts or other public land hunts will re-ceive a refund of the New Mexico licensefee portion submitted with the applica-tions, minus $6 application fees. Gary Ziehe, executive director of theValles Caldera Trust, said the board oftrustees supports this approach as a “tem-porary” solution. “We appreciate the Commission’s affir-mation of the Preserve as a unique placeunder a unique management structure.We’ve worked with the Commission andDepartment to ensure that hunting will con-tinue on the Preserve in 2004.” “Over the next year, we will continue towork closely with the Department to im-prove the hunting program on the Pre-serve and to more completely understandthe Jemez Mountains elk herd and how bestto manage it.” “We must continue to work together tocreate a consistent approach to meet ourmutual goals for better wildlife manage-ment in this region of New Mexico,” Ziehesaid. The Valles Caldera Trust generated ap-proximately $350,000 in gross revenues

through elk hunting with its previous system. Moneygenerated helps provide for quality elk hunts, includ-ing those offered to youth and mobility-impaired hunt-ers, as well as provide a high level of hunter success.The hunting program also helps contribute to a Con-gressional directive that the Trust become financiallyself-sufficient. The new system applies to all 6B elk hunts. In thepast, antlerless hunts went through the state draw onlyand did not require participation in the Valles CalderaTrust lottery system. Alfredo Montoya, vice chairman of the State GameCommission, said the state was merely fulfilling itsmandate by making the licensing process more opento the New Mexico public. The new system also elimi-nates a $150 use fee previously charged by the Trust.Now the $25 access coupon is the only fee chargedby the Caldera. “We have a responsibility to the taxpayers and theresidents of the state,” Montoya said. “And I am gladthe fees are not so high the average person can’t ap-ply.” Dale Jones, a retired U.S. Forest Service biologistrepresenting The Wildlife Society, said the Calderarepresents a new paradigm in public lands manage-ment. “We have got to figure out a method so thatelk management can be funded to the point where itwill work,” Jones told the Commission. More information on the upcoming hunting sea-son will be available in New Mexico’s Rules and In-formation Booklet, available at www.wildlife.nm.us inDecember, and also via the Valles Caldera Trust website - www.vallescaldera.gov - early in January. For more information, call Julie Grey of the VallesCaldera, (505) 661-3333 or Martin Frentzel at NewMexico Game and Fish, (505) 476-8013.

November 19 - A public information meeting on theZuni bluehead sucker is scheduled 6-7:30 p.m. De-cember 11 at the Cibola County Convention Center,515 West High Street in Grants. The Zuni blueheadsucker is state-listed as endangered. The meeting will provide opportunities for the pub-lic to express views about the plan and its potentialsocial and economic impacts. Background informa-tion about the species listing and recovery plan pro-cess will be presented, as well as opportunities forparticipation in the recovery plan advisory commit-tee. The Zuni bluehead sucker is a small fish about 8inches long, with mottled blackish-green coloringabove and cream-colored below. During spawningseason, males have bright red and black lateral bands.Like all suckers, the Zuni bluehead sucker has thickfleshy lips on the underside of its head for bottomfeeding. The lower jaw has a cartilaginous ridge thatenables the Zuni bluehead sucker to scrape algae fromrocks. This species occurs in shady, cobbled andbedrock streams with frequent runs and pools.

Historically, the Zuni bluehead sucker occurred inheadwater streams of the Little Colorado River in eastcentral Arizona and west central New Mexico. Currently, the fish is limited to about 10 percent ofits historic range in the upper reaches of the Rio Nu-tria and Agua Remora in McKinley County. Past land use practices in the watershed, includingdam construction, stream channelization, deforesta-tion, livestock grazing and the introduction of non-native fishes and crayfishes have contributed to thecurrent imperiled status of the species. The Zunibluehead sucker was designated endangered by theState of New Mexico in 1975 and is a candidate spe-cies for Federal listing. It also is designated a speciesof special concern in Arizona and a species of con-cern by the American Fisheries Society. Please direct comments and questions to StephanieCarman, Department of Game and Fish, ConservationServices Division, P.O. Box 25112, Santa Fe, NM87505, phone (505) 476-8092; fax (505) 476-8128;E-mail scarman@state.nm.us.

November 19 - Sometimes you just get fed up. Offic-ers of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish,frustrated by several recent burglaries at their Albu-querque office, devised a new use for an old bearcollar. After two break-ins in the last two months, officerscame up with a plan to help New Mexico State Policecatch the thieves. Sargeant Chris Chadwick, whose truck was brokeninto in October, wondered if there was some way totrack the culprits. Using an old bear collar that needed

refurbishing, officers removed the transmitter fromthe collar and slipped it into a broken compact

disc player. The bait was set November 7 inthe same shed that had been the target sev-eral times. Now it was time to wait. “Never in our wildest dreams did we ex-pect a chance to test out our idea so quick,”said Chadwick. Sometime during the wee hours of No-vember 8 or 9, thieves drove a truckthrough a heavy-duty chain link gate, de-molishing it in the process, and broke into

the shed and a back office building. Theirloot included a shotgun, a television, money,

Hunter Education equipment and - moreimportant for the plan to work - the

compact disc player with the hiddentransmitter.

Bear Collar Collars MoreThan Just Bears

The break-in was discovered the afternoon of No-vember 9. Department pilot Tom Sansom flew overAlbuquerque the next morning and picked up the tale-tale “beep, beep, beep” on his receiver. Homing inon it just as he has done hundreds of times with bear,deer and elk, he narrowed the location of the trans-mitter to a few square blocks in downtown Albuquer-que. On the ground, Department officers and State Po-lice took over the task. They quickly narrowed the transmitter location toone of two houses. Requesting permission to enter each house, it wasin the second that Chadwick spotted the compact discplayer. Armed with that information, State Police be-gan their investigation and interviews. The trail soonled to a downtown motel, where police arrested 38-year-old Merle Lee Baker on several charges, includ-ing aggravated burglary. As of November 13, Bakerwas still in jail on a $15,000 bond. Police still arelooking for an accomplice. “The whole investigation was a team effort,” saidChadwick. “Besides several Department officers, thecooperation and efforts of State Police made this pos-sible. Sometimes you just get lucky, but without theplan being in place, luck doesn’t get you very far.” New security measures also are being installed atthe office.

New Wildlife License Plate on Sale Now The plate features a colorful Gambel’s quail and revenues

will help generate additional, much-needed funds forShare with Wildlife, a program that helps New Mexico’s“species-in-need.” Species-in-need include a wide variety of wild animals -

mostly nongame - including bats, chipmunks, jackrabbitsand other small mammals, many species of birds, lizards and

snakes, and a host of others. Share with Wildlife, which is sup-ported by voluntary donations, state income tax check-off donations, and

interest return on its principal with the New Mexico State Investment Coun-cil, is a component of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

The New Mexico Wildlife License Plate will cost $25 for the first year, inaddition to regular annual renewal costs. Share with Wildlife will receive $15

of that amount to help species-in-need, and the remaining $10 will go toTaxation and Revenue/New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division. Renewal stick-

ers for subsequent years will cost $10 in addition to the standard license renewalamount. All of the additional $10 will go to Share with Wildlife.

Although orders may be taken as early as October 15, theactual plates will not become available until January 2004.

The New Mexico Wildlife Plate was signed into lawApril 6, 2003 as Amended House Bill 656. Theoriginal bill was proposed and championedby Rep. Mimi Stewart, D-Bernalillo County/District 21, with input by former New MexicoState Game Commissioner Steve Padilla. Why feature a Gambel’s quail? Isn’t that agame species, which already has othersources of funding? “Yes, it is,” says Jane Susan MacCarter,Share with Wildlife coordinator. “But it’s alsoa very attractive species that just about every-body likes-hikers and wildlife-watchers, hunt-ers, anglers and birders. Since we want a lotof folks to buy this plate, we want to appeal tothe widest audience possible.” “Although it’s true that the Gambel’s quail

has other potential sources of funding, it doesn’t receivevery much in the way of financial resources,” says ChuckHayes, assistant chief for endangered species and nongamewildlife. “It’s competing with lesser prairie-chickens, wa-terfowl, and lots of other species that appear to have higher-priority needs for our limited resources, so it’s a pretty goodmascot for species that potentially could need funding.” The selection of the Gambel’s quail was determined by aDepartment Wildlife License Plate Review Committee, Rep.Stewart, and by members of the New Mexico State GameCommission. The New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division began taking or-ders for the Wildlife License Plate October 15 and will de-liver them in January 2004. If you wish to order a WildlifeLicense Plate, you may obtain the required order form fromtwo web sites -Motor Vehicle Division web site http://www.state.nm.us/tax/ To access information on the web, select “Forms,” thenselect “Motor Vehicle Forms,” then scroll down to the “Wild-life Specialty Plate” form. Select the form and print it.NM Game and Fish web site http://www.gmfsh.state.nm.us/ Scroll down to the bottom of the page to “NEW FEATURE,IN THE SPOTLIGHT,” then click on “Order Wildlife LicensePlate.” It will bring up the same specialty plate order formthat is found on the Motor Vehicle web site. Select the formand print it. If your registration is about to expire and you want toexchange it for a wildlife plate, call the MVD toll free num-ber 1-888-683-4636 for instructions.

“Step forward and be counted!” urges Don MacCarter,chief of Public Affairs for the Department of Game and Fish.“Buy a New Mexico Wildlife License Plate on behalf of ournongame species statewide. Help make this plate a successin New Mexico, providing much-needed, new funding forspecies that really need it.”

8 Smokey the Bear ...Continued In 1952, Smokey Bear had enough public recognition to attract com-mercial interest. An Act of Congress passed to take Smokey out of thepublic domain and place him under the control of the Secretary of Agri-culture. The Act provided for the use of collected royalties and fees forcontinued education on forest fire prevention. We still have a lot of work to do. The Smokey Bear wildfire preventionmessage is as vital today as ever before. Each new generation must bereminded of their role in wildfire prevention. Remember: Only YOU can prevent wildfires!

The Story of Smokey Did you know the cartoon Smokey Bear is based upon an actual babyblack bear that was found alone, charred, and scared after a devastatingwildfire burned through New Mexico? One spring day in 1950 in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, anoperator in one of the fire towers to the north of the Capitans spottedsmoke and called the location into the nearest ranger station. The firstcrew discovered a major fire being swept along the ground between thetrees, driven by a strong wind. Word spread rapidly and more crewsreported to help. Forest Rangers, army soldiers, men from the NewMexico State Game Department, and civilian volunteers worked togetherto gain control of the raging fire. As soon as they contained the fire toone spot, the wind would push it across the lines. During one of the lullsin firefighting, a report of a lonely bear cub who had been seen wander-ing near the fireline was reported. The men left him alone because theythought the mother bear might come for him. Several soldiers were caught directly in the path of the fire storm, barelyescaping by laying face down on a rockslide for over an hour until thefire had burned past them. In spite of the experience, the firefighters

were safe except for a few scorches and some burned holes in theircloths. Nearby, the little cub had been caught in the path of the same fire andhad not fared as well. He had taken refuge in a tree that was now nothingbut a charred smoking snag. His climb had saved his life but left himbadly burned on the paws and hind legs. The soldiers removed the littlebear cub from the burned tree, but they did not know what to do withhim. A rancher, who had been helping the firefighters, agreed to take thecub home. A New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Ranger heardabout the cub when he returned to the fire camp and drove to the rancher’shome to get the bear. The cub needed veterinary aid and was flown in asmall plane to Santa Fe where the burns were treated and bandaged. The news about the little bear spread swiftly throughout New Mexico.Soon the United Press and Associated Press picked up the story and broad-cast it nationwide. Many people wrote or called to inquire about thelittle bear’s progress. The State Game Warden wrote an official letter tothe Chief of the Forest Service, presenting the cub to the agency with theunderstanding that the small bear would be dedicated to a publicity pro-gram of fire prevention and conservation. The go-ahead was given tosend the bear to Washington, DC, where he found a home at the NationalZoo, becoming the living symbol of Smokey Bear.

Smokey’s Name In 1952 Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins wrote the anthem that wouldcause a debate among Smokey enthusiasts for the next several decades.In order to maintain the correct rhythm, the writers added a “the” be-tween “Smokey” and “Bear.” As testament to the song’s popularity,Smokey Bear became known as “Smokey The Bear” to many adoringfans, but in actuality his name never changed, and he is still known cor-rectly as Smokey Bear.

Created in 1944, the Smokey Bear campaign is the longest runningpublic service campaign in US History. Smokey’s forest fire prevention

message remained unchanged for 50 years until April 2001, when the AdCouncil updated his message to address the increasing number of wild-fires in the nation’s wildlands. As one of the world’s most recognizablefictional characters, Smokey’s image is protected by US Federal Law andis administered by the USDA Forest Service, the National Association ofState Foresters and the Ad Council . This article and the photos of posterson this and the next page are compliments of these three organizations.Visit the Smokey website at www.smokeybear.com

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9Smokey the Bear ...Continued Enthusiasts have been enjoying and collecting Smokey paraphernalia for more than half a century. Observe the variety of ways Smokey Bear haspromoted his message of wildfire safety and prevention over the years through campaign images, and Smokey’s memorabilia that bear theSmokey name and tagline.

2001

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Patches

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505-434-1455

8:30am to 5:30pm Tuesday thru FridayMonday we will be CLOSED

41

Charles L. Ballard, Pioneer Roswell Cowboy From 1936 to 1940, during the great depression, the Federal Govern-ment sponsored a Writer’s Project. Local authors were hired to inter-view local pioneer citizens. After each interview, the author submitted areport of that interview, called a “manuscript”. The goal was to publish and then archive the manuscripts. It was a wayof collecting the oral histories of America’s early settlers. These manu-scripts are now archived at the Library of Congress. Following is a manuscript of an interview conducted by Georgia B.Redfield, an author working for the Writer’s Project. She interviewedCharles L. Ballard on September 16, 1938, when Mr. Ballard was 56years old. Ms. Redfield wrote:

Charles L. Ballard, Pioneer Roswell Cowboy, 1880. Stock and RanchOwner 1890. Used Eight Yoke of Oxen to Plow on Work of PioneerIrrigation Ditch. Veteran of Spanish American War 1898. Charles L.Ballard, born in Texas in 1867, came to New Mexico with his father, J. L.Ballard, and settled at Fort Sumner in 1878.

He was eleven years old at the time of his interesting journey across theplains in a covered wagon. He and the other older ones of his six broth-ers and sisters were excited over the anticipation of seeing thousands ofbuffalo that had roamed the plains east of the Pecos River during theyears 1875-1876 when his father had been a buffalo hunter on the LlanoEstacado (Staked Plains) near Roswell. While they did not see as large bunches as they expected, for the buf-falo were fast being exterminated, they were thrilled over the sight ofherds in which there were several hundreds. The travelers suffered forlack of water during the last days of their journey across hot, sun baked,treeless plains. While traveling in those days was hazardous because of hostile Indi-ans, and many lost their teams and stock, the Ballard family was notmolested. On the last night of their journey, on seeing smoke and dimforms, they thought might be Indians, around a camp fire, they werefilled with dread and were afraid to stop to make camp. Charlie Ballardand his father walking quietly ahead of the wagons and were delighted tofind friendly Mexican people who shared their camp at what is PortalesSpring, which furnished fine cold water for the teams and all the travel-worn campers. The next day, on arriving at Fort Sumner, Mr. A. J. Ballard, the father,decided to establish a home at that place for his family. Herethey remained a few months, until their home was demol-ished by an explosion caused by “a drunk” shootinginto a keg of gunpowder, kept in a store, on the plazaaround which the houses were built. After the loss of their home, Mr. Ballard moved hisfamily to the town of Lincoln where there was a school

for his children to attend. During theirresidence at Fort Sumner, CharlieBallard had boarded at Anton Chico inorder to attend the only school in thatpart of the country. At Lincoln, CharlieBallard knew William Bonney, known as Billy theKid, who was making history as both an admired andfeared outlaw leader of the feudal battles of what wascalled the Lincoln County War. Mr. Ballard remembers “The Kid”as not being an outlaw in manners. He speaks of the youthful desperado,as being “quiet, but always active and doing something interesting. Hewas a leader in sports and games. That is the reason for his having hadmore friends than enemies in those turbulent days.” This was the secret of the popularity of the outlaw, who was loved aswell as feared, by many. “He was small for a youth of his age,” said Mr.Ballard, “about nineteen and he weighed only about a hundred and twenty-five or thirty pounds, and was quick and active as a cat. He was a veryfine rider. We often rode and raced our ponies together. He was cred-ited with more killings than he ever did. However there are plenty thatcould be justly counted against him. I am one of the many who appreci-ated his good qualities in spite of his career as a two-gunman and killer.” This is Charlie Ballard’s only criticism of the once notorious outlaw hewas not ashamed to call, “my friend”. In 1880, Mr.Ballard moved to Boswell where he worked as a cowboyfor Captain Joseph C. Lea. Later he launched into stock raising for him-self, continuing in ranching and the cattle business for twenty years ormore. In 1881, his father moved the rest of the family from Lincoln toRoswell and Charlie Ballard assisted them in opening up a farm home,three miles out east, on East Second Street. While attending the first school, in or near Boswell, taught by Asbury C.Rogers, Charlie Ballard drove eight head of oxen to a plow, or scraper,on work of the pioneer irrigation ditch, known to the early settlers as the“Ballard Cunningham Ditch”. In 1893, while serving as sheriff, he made a record for himself forbravery by capturing the Cook brothers who were members of the Daltongang of murderers and desperadoes operating in the Pecos Valley. In 1898, Governor Otero, Territorial Governor of New Mexico, wiredCharlie Ballard asking if he would accept a commission in the regiment

to be mobilized at San Antonio, Texas to serve in the Spanish Ameri-can War. On accepting, Mr. Ballard was made Second Lieutenant of

the Second Squadron of the famous Rough Riders with Lieuten-ant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in command, under Colonel

Leonard Wood, commander. Mr. Ballard, after hostilities were suspended, was invited with four ofhis military companions to visit the Roosevelt family at Oyster Bay, wherethey were entertained at dances, fishing parties, and dinners given intheir honor. The five entertained by “Teddy” Roosevelt were John C.Greenway - whose wife, Isabelle Greenway, served as Congresswoman ofArizona two terms - David Goodrich, Chairman of the Board of theGoodrich Rubber Company, Hal Sayre, Robert Ferguson and Charles L.Ballard. Mr. Ballard was one of the forty of the Rough Riders who formed theGuard of Honor at the Presidential Inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt.Charles Ballard has been twice married and bereaved by death of bothwives. Three girls and three boys, Syble, Mable, Willie, (deceased)Theodore, Jack, and Katherine are the children born to Mr. Ballard andthe wife of his first marriage, to Minty (Corn) Ballard, daughter of MartinV. Corn who, with his family lived as neighbors and friends of the Ballardfamily during the early days of settlement of the farming section of thecountry near Roswell. Mr. Ballard is the only one of the Rough Riders ofthe Spanish American War from around Boswell, who is known to beliving at the present time. He has many friends in Artesia, where he now (1938) lives, and atRoswell his former home, who appreciate his friendship, and his impor-tant contributions to the upbuilding, progress and improvement ofRoswell, and his efforts in maintaining law and order during the earlydays of settlement of the Pecos Valley, in New Mexico.

To read more manuscripts, point your browser to:http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/nmcat.html and for more about the history of little-known and lesser-known placesin New Mexico, visit:http://www.huntel.com/~artpike/ or http://nmwanderings.com/

British Pathe is offering free access to a digitized collection of more than 12million historic photographs from its 20th century cinema newsreel archive. Archivists and technicians at ITN, which now operates the British Pathe library,have created the images by re-scanning the newsreel’s 3,500 hours of 35millimeter film. The collection consists of one still image from every second offilm, ranging from monochrome images of the Boer War in nineteenth-centuryAfrica to pictures of the Beatles on the set for the movie “Help.” Images are displayed as a “storyboard” of thumbnails. Since the images weredigitized from motion pictures, a full page of thumbnails represents about 50seconds of material from a video clip. To enlarge an image, simply click on itsthumbnail. Images are displayed in pop-up windows, so if you’re using a pop-up blocker you’ll need to disable it to view images you select. The site offers free search and preview storyboards for anyone to view. To savea preview image, simply right click it and save it to your hard drive. Preview files display a large copyright notice, but can be used for personal oreducational purposes. Enhanced high resolution versions of the images are also available for webpublishing and use in power point presentations for a fee. The site offers both basic search and advanced search capabilities. Advancedsearch offers a number of useful filters, including media characteristics (blackand white or color, sound or silent picture) production date, and so on. Advanced search also offers text filters that scan the metadata that has beencreated for each clip. This text information includes a description, title, keywordsand a summary, and is also displayed with the storyboard thumbnails of imagesin results. There’s also a fun “lucky dip” button that randomly selects 20 items from thearchive for preview. The process of digitizing the images took about three years to complete. Go to- www.britishpathe.com

Huge HistoricPicture Archive

by Chris Sherman

READER NEEDS HELP! I have attached a school photo of my great grandmother Mary Amaryllis Smith. Her father was Abner Smith whohomesteaded several miles north of Cloudcroft, NM in the late 1800’s. They ran a cattle ranch on the border of the Mescalero reservation. I am sendingyou this picture to find out if you can help me identify the location of the school house. Is this the Cloudcroft, NM school house? Mary A. Smith is the sixthstudent standing from left to right in the bottom row. Mary was born in 1884 so the picture may be circa 1892? Can you also identify other people in thephoto? The names I have are Sue second student standing left to right bottom row, Nellie tenth student standing left to rght bottom row, and Ella fourthstudent standing left to right top row. Thanks, Michael McGee - Roswell, NM [505]626-0448. Who can help Michael?

FESTIVAL OF CAROLSat the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts1110 New York Avenue, Alamogordo, NM

Friday, December 12, 2003 andSaturday, December 13, 2003 at 7:30pm

$10 Adults, $5 Children

The Festival of Carols is a Flickinger Center holiday tradition.This is our ninth festival fund-raiser. Enjoy a fun-filled produc-tion staged by the Academy of Ballet under the direction ofMonique Foster and cast members of the Alamogordo MusicTheater. Our theme for this year will be the “Christmas Grinch”.See us light our large holiday tree and of course we will have avisit from your favorite jolly ole celebrity. Come see what holi-day surprises we have in store for you!

A MARIACHI CHRISTMASat the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts1110 New York Avenue, Alamogordo, NMMonday, December 15, 2003 at 7:30pm

$20 Adults, $15 Children

The Mexican tradition of Christmas is among the most beauti-ful moments and one of the most anticipated throughout the year.The beautiful and colorful pageantry combined with the entranc-ing blend of the sounds from the Mariachi instruments: violins,trumpets, guitar, bihuela, and guitarron, and the spell bindingenergy and movement of the folklorico dancers results in excit-ing and mesmerizing entertainment. Immediately following theconcert, there will be a reception at the Wells Fargo Bank for allof our wonderful patrons. Feliz Navidad! Call or stop by the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts at1110 New York Avenue, Alamogordo, NM for advance tickets, orcall us at (505) 437-2202. 9am – 5pm Monday through Friday.We accept Visa and Master Card.

11

From Everyone at Dell Telephone CooperativeTIMBERON OFFICE: 505-987-2500DELL CITY OFFICE: 915-964-2352

Happy Holiday

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ward, which allows them to cling to tree trunks and branches. They alsohave stiff tail feathers, which they use to brace themselves against thetree. Woodpeckers generally fly with a series of rapid wing flaps fol-lowed by short glides with the wings folded against the body. Woodpeckers breed in the spring and commonly lay three to six eggs.The incubation period generally lasts for only 11 to 14 days. Many wood-peckers have two broods per year, but some species may have three.Northern Flicker The northern flicker also is commonly called the “common flicker,”“red-shafted flicker” or” yellow-shafted flicker.” The northern flicker isabout the size of a pigeon with a brown back and dark bars and spots.The head is gray with a brown crown. The male also has a distinct, redmustache stripe. In flight, its white rump and yellow - or salmon-col-ored underwings and tail show.Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker The yellow-bellied sapsucker is about 8 1/2 inches in length with a redforehead patch and a long, white wing patch . The male has a patch ofred on its throat, while the female has only a partly red to white throat.Red-Bellied Woodpecker The red-bellied woodpecker is about the same size as a robin. Itsback and upper wings are barred with black and white feathers, giving a“ladder back” appearance. The male has red feathers on the top of itshead and back of its neck. The female has red feathers only on the backof its neckRed-Headed Woodpecker The red-headed woodpecker is about 10 inches long, and its entirehead is red. Its wings and tail are bluish black, and it has a large, whitewing patch on each wing. It also has a white rump, which is evidentwhen flying.

DAMAGE PREVENTIONAND CONTROL METHODS

Woodpeckers can be extremely persistent and are not easily drivenfrom their territories or drumming sites. Therefore, damage preventionand control methods must be implemented immediately after woodpeck-ers begin creating damage. A combination of control methods also maybe needed to control woodpeckers successfully.Restrictions Woodpeckers are listed as migratory, non-game birds and are pro-tected by state and federal laws. Permits must be obtained from the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service before live trapping or killing of woodpeckersis attempted. There must be good justification for the issuance of a per-mit. Contact the Migratory Bird office for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-vice in Albuquerque at (505) 248-7882.Habitat Modification

Woodpeckers, How to Prevent Damage to Property ...Continued In some cases, eliminating foods that attract woodpeckers to areasnear buildings, such as suet at bird feeders, may be helpful. Dead treesalso may harbor insects that attract woodpeckers and, therefore, mayneed to be removed. However, removing such trees may deny wood-peckers of drumming, nesting or food sites, forcing them to use the build-ing instead. In fact, allowing large dead limbs to remain on trees has, insome cases, reduced damage to buildings.Repellents Sometimes, visual and auditory repellents may deter woodpeckers fromdrumming if used soon after the damage begins. Hawk or falcon silhou-ettes can be constructed from plywood, cardboard or construction pa-per; painted black; and hung from the eaves of the building near thedamage sites. A 1-foot piece of monofilament line can be attached to thesilhouette at the beak, using a fishing swivel and hung near the drum-ming site. This allows the silhouette to move freely in the breeze. Twosilhouettes used at one drumming site sometimes provide better results.Moving the location of the silhouettes daily also helps prevent the wood-pecker from becoming too familiar with them. Owl silhouettes, owl de-coys, rubber snakes and cat silhouettes generally are ineffective. Aluminum foil strips or brightly colored plastic strips 2 to 3 incheswide and 2 to 3 feet long can be attached to a 6-inch long string andhung above the drumming site. Attach the strips so that they hang freelyand move with every breeze. Sound also can be used to harass nuisance woodpeckers. Loud noisesfrom clapping hands, shooting a toy cap pistol, playing a radio or bang-ing pans may frighten the woodpeckers from the area. However, audi-tory repellents must be used persistently to be effective. Water sprinklers sometimes prevent woodpeckers from damaging build-ings. Direct a water stream at the area the woodpecker is damaging.The sprinkler can be turned on whenever the bird begins drumming andleft on until it leaves. Taste or odor repellents generally are ineffective. Sticky or tacky birdrepellents, such as Bird Tanglefoot and 4-The-Birds, applied in the dam-aged area and for several feet on either side have been effective in somecases. The birds don’ t get trapped in the sticky or tacky repellents, butthey dislike the tacky footing. Smearing the tacky bird repellents onlimbs or trunks where sapsuckers are causing damage can sometimesdiscourage the birds away from high-value ornamental trees. The sametypes of repellents also can be applied to damaged areas on wood orstucco siding. However, some sticky bird repellents will discolor thematerial to which they are applied. During warm weather, they may runand leave streaks. Because the repellents may stain, they should be ap-plied to masking tape and not directly on the surface to be treated. It is important to remember that in many cases repellents only providetemporary protection. Therefore, exclusion practices must be used toprovide long-lasting nuisance woodpecker control.

Exclusion One of the most effective ways to exclude woodpeckers from damagingwood or stucco siding beneath the eaves is to use plastic or nylon net-ting. Netting (3/4-inch mesh) should be attached to the overhangingeaves and angled back to the siding below the drumming site. Makesure that the netting is taut and leave at least 3 inches of space betweenthe netting and the building. Metal sheathing or 1/4-inch hardware cloth can be placed over peckedareas on buildings to provide permanent protection from continued dam-age. However, sometimes the birds will move to an unprotected spot,and the protected area will have to be expanded. Ornamental and fruit trees can be protected by covering the damagedareas with 1/4-inch hardware cloth, plastic mesh or burlap. Drapingplastic or nylon netting over the entire tree also will provide protectionfrom woodpecker damage.Trapping It may be necessary to kill the birds if non-lethal methods are unsuc-cessful (see Restrictions). The federal permit will explain whether trap-ping and/or shooting are allowed. Nailing wooden-based rat snap traps to the damaged area can be effec-tive for killing the offending birds. The trap should be secured to thebuilding with the trigger placed down along the damaged area. Makecertain the traps are out of reach of children and pets. Baits includewalnuts, almonds, pecans or suet. Shooting offending woodpeckers with air rifles or .22-caliber rifleswith dust shot or BB caps can be effective. Be sure to check with localauthorities on the use of firearms. Good judgment must be used aroundhomes and buildings.Other Control Methods Placing suet stations near damaged buildings occasionally will enticewoodpeckers away. However, do not offer suet during the warmer sea-sons, because it may be harmful to woodpeckers. The suet can get onthe bird’ s feathers and may lead to matting and eventual feather loss. Some success has been achieved by placing cavity-type nest boxes nearthe damaged area on the building or on trees near the building for wood-peckers, especially northern flickers. Nest boxes are constructed of woodwith an entrance hole 16 to 20 inches above the floor and about 2 1/2inches in diameter. The nest box should be about 6 by 6 inches in widthand about 22 to 26 inches in height. A thick layer of sawdust should beplaced in the bottom of the nest box. Be aware, however, that wood-peckers may construct new cavities next to the nest box.

This article is from the New Mexico State University CooperativeExtension Service. You can find this article and more on their websiteat www.cahe.nmsu.edu.

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Cloudcroft Light Opera Updateby Pat Rand CLOUDCROFT

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December 6 - Arts and Craft and all kinds ofTreasure Fair from 9am to 5pm atthe Weed Cafe. For more info callShirley Akers at 687-3680.

December 19 - Weed Cafe Christmas Party at 6pmat the Weed Cafe.

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Use the Newspaper to get the word out! If you have a birth announcement, death in the family, event

in the area, notice for a non-profit organization, etc.... Wewill print it FREE! Just let us know in a timelymanner. Just one of our many services to helpthe Mountain area!

Sacramento Mountains Museumby Pat Rand CLOUDCROFT

My friend Travis and I were leaving the school cafeteriaafter lunch that November day in 1963. We were halfway out the door when a familiar tone camefrom the public address system. Unusual since all the dailyP.A. announcements came during first period in the morn-ing. Only special announcements came during the day andthey were rare. We paused at the door to listen. It was Mr. Middleton’s voice. Mr. Middleton was the Jun-ior High Principle. Since the cafeteria for all schools inMorton, Texas was in the Junior High building Mr. Middletonhad control of the P.A. in the cafeteria. He said President Kennedy had been shot at in Dallas. It has been 40 years ago but I think Mr. Middleton saidsomething about the president being wounded in the shoul-der. The principle made the obligatory statements of go to yournext class and so on... then the tone that indicated the mes-sage was over. Travis and I walked the block back to the high schoolbuilding. As I said, it’s been 40 years ago, but as we walked I thinkwe talked about girls (a more or less constant topic duringthat 15th year of our lives) and who would be stupid enoughto shoot at the president. It didn’ t occur to us Kennedycould have been seriously hurt. That was outside our realmof imagination. I think my next class after lunch was algebra, but I’m notsure. I do remember taking my seat and the teacher wasn’ t there.Unusual. Something told me this was not going to be a nor-mal Friday. The teacher came into the room. I think she was crying.She was dabbing at the corner of her eye with a Kleenex.

She offered the class a weak smilebut said nothing. Among my teach-ers in high school there weresmilers and frowners. This particular teacher was usually asmiler so her demeanor was out of character. She sat downbehind her desk and the public address speaker came on. It was the school superintendent. What’s this all about, Ithought. The superintendent seldom talked on the P.A. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was dead, he said. Af-ternoon classes had been canceled. Rural busses would runin one hour. “Wait a minute”. I said to the class. “They told us a fewminutes ago that he’d been shot in the shoulder. This iscrazy.” No one was listening to me. The kids were filing out of theroom. The girls were crying. I guess there were a couple ofguys crying, too, but when you’re a teenaged boy, you’re notsupposed to cry... especially around the girls. I guess I walked home. I don’t remember. Starting withthat P.A. announcement and for the whole weekend my ex-istence was a blur of TV broadcasts... everything in grainyperipheral reception black and white (in Morton, most ofour TV antennas were taller than the utility poles. The clos-est TV stations were in Lubbock, 60 miles away. It seemedlike we were constantly adjusting the vertical and horizontalhold). I do remember one friend calling Saturday morning andasking me if I wanted to play some catch. I said no. As Ihung up I wondered if that kid didn’t realize the world hadstopped. Some guy named Harvey Lee. He wore a tee shirt. TheDallas police all wore Stetsons. Roses scattered in the backseat of a limonene. A Dallas cop was killed. They found arifle. Ladies wearing those funny 60s glasses bawling. My friend Mike called. We’re watching it all on TV he said.Come on over. It was Sunday. I walked to Mike’s house. Sunshine on myface. Too pretty a day for November and for what was hap-pening. Before the screen door shut behind me Mike said someguy just shot Oswald. We and the rest of the world watched Washington, DC dur-ing the funeral. The Rum, Rum, Rum, Roll of the muffleddrums. The dead president’s little boy stepped forward andsaluted. A riderless horse with boots turned backward inthe stirrups. The clop clops as the horse-drawn wagon bearing the cas-ket went by. Dark clothes. White gloves. The marchingband played a melody that sounded like crying. “You’re not crying, are you?” Mike asked me. “Me? Of course not. You?” “Not me.” Mike said as he turned his head away. I watched but I couldn’t believe. This is crazy, I thought. The tube took us back to Dallas. Oswald was dead. This isreally crazy. Back to Washington. The widow. The kids. The flame.Taps. Monday night. Mom fixed chicken. Our house was usu-ally an active and noisy place but not that night. Our con-centration was still on the television. America was still try-ing to sort out what had happened Friday. Walter Cronkitewas on the screen. “It’s hard to believe...” I remember him saying “...but therehave been other things happening in this world in the pastthree days.” Cronkite reported on a house fire somewhere in the Souththat killed 6 people and a special report on a phenomenalnew singing group from England that called themselves TheBeatles. A big black mark was drawn on my calendar of life. Thedays before were permanently separated from the days afterNovember 22, 1963. Care-free days were now a memory.In front of us was Selma Alabama, Viet Nam and Watergate.Camelot, real or imagined, was history. I can still see his face. I can still hear his words. “Ask not what the country can do for you. Ask what youcan do for the country.”

December is here, and CLOC (The CloudcroftLight Opera Company) has ticked through twoLodge Murder Mysteries, which were held onthe first two weekends of November. The firstmystery, which was held on Friday, October 31st

through Sunday, November 2nd, was namedAWho Killed Victoria=====s Secret?@ An actualwedding took place at the Lodge on that Satur-day afternoon, November 1 st, and the bride =sname was Victoria. Get the connection? Themystery revolved around the bride= s andgroom =s families - the de Hermans and theSandovals - and their long-lost relatives fromthe hills of Kentucky, who had been feuding forhundreds of years and came to Cloudcroft totry to stop the wedding. Unfortunately, some-one got killed. As usual, the parts of the sus-pects were filled by CLOC members. DaveVenable wrote the script and directed the mys-tery. The second mystery weekend was on Friday,November 7th , through Sunday, November 9th.It was called AMurder on Clown Alley,@ andrevolved around the competition for being theCenter-Ring Clown at the circus - even to thepoint of murder. This mystery was also writtenand directed by Dave Venable. Both myster-ies were well attended, and the guestscomplimented all the CLOC members for theirparticipation. At the November CLOC meeting, the newly-elected officers for 2003-2004 took over theirduties, and schedules for 2004 were estab-lished. There will be a February Lodge Mur-der Mystery, which will be written by Leo Ber-nard , Bethani Sellers and Rebecca Sher-iff. The exact date for the mystery has not beenestablished. Two 2004 melodramas will beheld, the first one beginning with three perfor-mances on Memorial Day weekend and twomore on Western Roundup weekend. This playhas not yet been selected. The second melo-drama, will be a repeat of AHeaven Help ThePo===== Taters ,@ a hilarious play that was last per-formed by CLOC in July of 1995. Three perfor-mances will be held on Fourth of July week-end, and there will be two more on each of thefollowing two weekends, for a total of sevenperformances. In other business, it was decided to remodelthe concession and sound booths at the ZenithPark Pavilion, to provide space for video equip-ment in the sound booth, and to install a re-frigerator which could handle up to ten casesof soft drinks in the concession area. The spacebetween the two areas will be closed off to thepublic and will be used for new stairs to thesound booth and extra storage for concessions.Also, a portable electric signboard will be pur-chased to advertise the melodramas, and ei-ther walkie-talkies or head-sets will be orderedto provide communication between the soundbooth and back-stage. The last item of business discussed was therepainting of the storage and dressing roomdoors that had graffiti painted on them, plusthe sealing of all the exterior wood surfaces atthe Zenith Park Pavilion. This work plus gen-eral cleanup will be done in the spring.

The next CLOC meeting will be held onWednesday, December 3rd,at Dave=====s PineCone Café, beginning at 6pm. If you are not aCLOC member, but are interested in our activi-ties - either on stage as an actor, or behind thescenes with wardrobe, props, makeup, or setconstruction - you are invited to attend our nextmeeting and learn about the organization andthe people who are already members. No ex-perience is necessary - just the willingness toparticipate. If you should have any questions, comments,or suggestions about CLOC, please call PatRand at (505) 682-3317, or write to CLOC atP.O. Box 1166, Cloudcroft, NM 88317.

The Museum is receiving good responses to the re-cently completed display in our Hall of Honors room -a photographic record of the first atomic explosion atTrinity Site - just north of White Sands on July 16, 1945.There are twenty-six laminated pictures that includethe preparations for the event, mini-second exposuresof the blast itself, and the aftermath of the detonation.We had a few technical problems with the display origi-nally, but these have now been corrected. The displayhas also increased sales of the book, “The Day TheSun Rose Twice,” about this history-changing event,which is available in our gift shop. The two Museum cats - a calico and an orange andwhite - that were mentioned in last month’s article, havenow been named officially. The calico is “Callie” andthe orange one is “Pumpkin.” Many thanks for all thesuggestions. Also, thanks to the help of one of ournew volunteers, Joy Bernard, they were recently “fixed,”so we won’t have more than the two. They are becom-ing more friendly all the time and will purr and allowvisitors to pet them. The cats are allowed to roam dur-ing the hours the Museum is open, but are kept insideour front building at night, now that it is getting colder. During the month of October, 239 visitors to theMuseum came from sixteen states and four foreigncountries - Ecuador, Germany, Mexico and Poland.This was the third-largest number of visitors in themonth of October since we began keeping suchrecords. So far in November, by mid-month, peoplehave come from twelve states and two foreign coun-tries - Germany and India. These were our first visi-tors from Ecuador and Poland, and brings the num-ber of foreign countries now represented to 48. Thelist of foreign visitors seems to grow every month. In the Museum’s Gift Shop, there are a number ofbooks about area-wide history that you might consideras Christmas gifts for either a friend or for yourself.They include “Apache Voices,” a collection of sto-ries told to Eve Ball, which sells for $20, “The CloudClimbing Railroad,” about the Alamogordo and Sac-ramento Mountain Railroad and the founding ofCloudcroft, which sells for $15, “The Day The SunRose Twice,” about the first atomic device - whichwas previously mentioned - that sells for $17, “HighNoon In Lincoln,” about the Lincoln County War and

Billy the Kid, which sells for $18, “Santana, WarChief of the Apaches,” that tells the story of theMescalero Apaches, which sells for $17, the G.E.Miller collection of early area photos, whichcosts $10, “My Cloudcroft ,” about the remem-brances of Aaron Edwards on Cloudcroft people andevents, which costs $5, and “Tularosa ,” the story ofthe settling of this region, which sells for $18. Sev-eral of these books were recently sold out and had tobe re-stocked. There are a number of other items,such as Cloudcroft Centennial coins at $5 eachand 8 oz. burlap bags of pistachios at $5 per bag, forsale in the gift shop, so come by, look them over, andpick out the ones you want. If you are not presently a member of the HistoricalSociety, we hope that you will consider membershipfor this year. It runs $25 for a family or businessmembership, and $12.50 for an individual. The dueshelp us operate the Museum and continue with theongoing research being done, display updating, andplacing of information into our computer system.Forms are available at the Museum, or you can calland one will be mailed to you. Please consider join-ing us, now that we have completed our first twenty-six years of existence, and are continuing on with thegoals that were established back in 1977. The Museum is open to visitors on Monday, Tues-day, Friday, and Saturday from 10am to 4pm, and onSunday from 1pm to 4pm. It is closed on Wednesdayand Thursday. Admission is $3.00 for adults and$1.00 for children from six to twelve years of age.Younger children are admitted free. We hope thatyou will consider a visit and see the changes that havebeen taking place recently - including the adoptionof our two new mascots. If you should have anyquestions, comments, or suggestions about the Mu-seum or the Historical Society, please call the Mu-seum at (505) 682-2932, or write to us at P.O. Box435, Cloudcroft, NM88317.

In Time ForChristmasArts - Crafts - and all

Kinds of Treasure Fairat the

Weed CafeSaturday, December 6th

9am to 5pmFor More Information CallShirley Akers, 687-3680

A Death inTimberon

Bill Norkunas was found dead at his home inTimberon on Saturday, November 22. He ap-parently died from unknown natural causes. Bill had been a real estate broker in Timberonfor many years, associated with Timberon Re-alty, Mountain V iewReal Estate andmost recentlyMonte V ista RealEstate.

13

TIMBERON

mountain communities

MAYHILLFamily and Community Education

by Carole FenbergThe Volunteer Fire Department

by Shirley Enyeart

The Timberon Development Councilby Jackie Fioretti

TIMBERON

SANTA’S SCHEDULESchedule and Hours Subject to Change

December 17th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 18th 5pm - 8pmDecember 19th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 20th... 11am - 8pmDecember 21st... 1pm - 5pmDecember 22nd... 1pm - 8pmDecember 23rd... 1pm - 8pmDecember 24th... 11am - 4pm

Special Holiday HoursDecember 12-13... 10am - 10pmDecember 14... 12pm - 8pmDecember 15-16... 10am - 10pmDecember 17-20... 9am - 10pmDecember 21... 12pm - 10pmDecember 22-23... 9am - 10pmDecember 24... 9am - 6pmDecember 25... MALL CLOSED

CINEMA OPEN

December 26... 9am - 9pmDecember 31... 10am - 6pmJanuary 1... 10am - 5pm

Shop Beall’s, JCPenney, Big KMart,and over 25 of your favorite stores.

There Will Be Extended Hours AndDays For The Holidays.

JC Penney, Bealls & K-Mart’s hourswill be more extended and varied.

December 1st... 5pm - 8pmDecember 2nd.. 5pm - 8pmDecember 3rd... 5pm - 8pmDecember 4th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 5th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 6th... 11am - 6pmDecember 7th... 1pm - 5pmDecember 8th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 9th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 10th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 11th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 12th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 13th... 11am - 8pmDecember 14th... 1pm - 5pmDecember 15th... 5pm - 8pmDecember 16th... 5pm - 8pm

SHIPPING / RECEIVING CLERK The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico has anopening for a Shipping and Receiving Clerk. The successfulcandidate will be responsible for all the shipping and receivingoperations of the observatory including local buying and expedit-ing materials and supplies, as well as, visitor transportation, maildistribution and other related duties. Applicants should possess ahigh school degree or equivalent and must have good communi-cation and interpersonal skills. A Commercial Driver ’s License orthe eligibility to qualify for one will be required. Must be able to liftup to 40 pounds. We take affirmative action to employ women, minority groupmembers and protected classes of handicapped persons,disabled veterans, and veterans of the Vietnam Era. If you qualifyand want to be considered under our Affirmative Action Program,let us know. Submission of this information is voluntary.

Send resumes to: Rex Hunter, Administrative ManagerAURA, Inc./National Solar ObservatoryP.O. Box 62Sunspot, NM 88349

Wednesday, November 12th was a beautiful fall dayfor the monthly meeting of Family and CommunityEducation (FCE). Our meeting was held in the beau-tiful home of Eloise Hughes. We were greeted atevery entrance and throughout the house with fall andThanksgiving decorations. Our guest was LindaGreen. At this time of year, we make various donations tohelp those less fortunate than us. We are helping alocal person by providing her with propane for thiswinter. The club voted to help two local families withchildren for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will bedonating food and gift certificates. Marsha Slanereported on the State meeting that FCE hosted inAlamogordo at the end of October. One of the projectsdiscussed was the very successful “Women’s PrisonSewing and Cooking Project”. During this year,FCE clubs through out the State donated three vansfull of sewing, cooking, and craft items. The object ofthe program is to give the women in Grant’s prison askill they can use to find a job when they leave prison.Because of the success of the program, prisons in

Oregon and Florida are interested in starting similarprograms. A second report was on the Internationalproject of sending embroidery floss to help women inRumania. If you have any thing you would like to do-nate to either project, contact an FCE member. Edith Posey explained the CASA stocking project.Each year FCE members through out the state fill stock-ings full of toys and buy gifts for CASA children. CASAchildren are abused or neglected children that are liv-ing in foster or group homes. Frequently, our gifts arethe only toys they receive. Our county organizationand three local clubs support this project. Our Mayhillclub divided up the names we received and will shopfor their stocking toys December 8th. Members willbuy a gift for each name they take. Throughout this article I have mentioned many ofthe projects on which we spend a large portion of ourbudget. Our members donate some of the money forthese projects. The rest of the money comes from thetickets our very generous community buys in supportof our annual quilt fundraiser. Edith Posey showedus the fabric and the pattern the quilters have selectedfor next year’s quilt fundraiser. It’s beautiful. Not allthe members of our club quilt. The members that doquilt are always interested in teaching new membersto learn to quilt. Come to our Christmas meeting tomeet our quilters and learn this project from the be-ginning. Patty Posey announced that the quilters had fin-ished the quilt Mary Helen Foley started for herdaughter. They presented the quilt to Gail while shewas here visiting. The Mary Helen Foley Scholar-ship Fund has reached $1,125. Donations can stillbe made to Mayhill FCE. Eloise’s husband, Michael, was busy in the kitchenwhile we had our business meeting. The Hughes’s,Jo Hicks, and Janet Sanders hosted our potluckluncheon. They served ham, turkey, fresh cranberrysauce, and Michael’s special gravy. Members broughtdelicious side dishes and desserts. Eva Hale presented a craft program. We decoratedornaments for each of the CASA children’s stockings. Our Christmas meeting will be held Wednesday, De-cember 10th at 10am at the Mayhill Community Cen-ter. Audrey Corona and Carole Fenberg will deco-rate to the theme of “A Winter Wonderland” withthe hopes that if we think snow we will get snow. Wewill enjoy a wonderful array of finger food and sweetsthat our members bring. Our program will be stuffingthe Christmas Stocking for the CASA kids and our riot-ous gift exchange. If you are at all curious about FCE,come to this meeting and see what we are all about.You will always have fun and eat well. Some times youwill learn something or share something. Often youwill make a difference in someone else’s life. If youhave any questions call Patty Posey, president, at 687-2003.

The November meeting marked the first time ArdenSchug presided as Chief. His first act was to enumer-ate the accomplishments made during the tenure offormer Chief Rick Merrick and Asst. Chief KevinRoss — the acquisition of the new brush truck,pumper, computer with accompanying fire program,new personnel, the Volunteer of the Month program,rebuilding the Communications Room, purchase ofT-shirts and caps, and action started on water tanksand sirens. A well—deserved standing round of ap-plause was given by the members. A critique was held regarding the mock extrication

session held Oc-tober 25 for allmembers. Ev-eryone agreed itwas an enjoy-able experienceand we learneda lot. Monthlytraining contin-ues Thursday,

November 13, for firefighters and pumpers. Commu-nications continues to train each Tuesday after the gen-eral monthly meeting. The EMS train the 3rd Mondayof the month starting in December. This fire depart-ment is blessed with many dedicated volunteers andall strive to hone skills in their respective areas. Tom and Eva Tannehill have been charged withthe responsibility of the radios. They have spent manyhours organizing and checking them out and so werenamed Volunteers of the Month. Many thanks to both! The EMS responded to five calls during October.Their training session for the month was the extrica-tion exercise and therefore no additional training isscheduled for November. New members voted in were Richard Bidgood andJesse Lard. Welcome, fellas! We look forward toworking with you. The December Meeting (December 4 at 6:30pm)will continue the tradition of the annual ChristmasParty. No business will be discussed. It’s time to relaxand enjoy each others company! It will be potluckwith the meat being provided by the department.

SACRAMENTOMOUNTAIN UNITED

METHODIST CHURCH Services in the Smith Chapel atthe Sacramento Methodist Assem-bly in Sacramento New Mexico.

Worship Service - 10am Sunday School - 11am

Dulaney Barrett, Pastor687-4016

President Everett Putney opened the meeting at approximately 10:06am. Heasked if anyone would like the minutes to the last meeting be read? A motion wasmade by Bill Daniels and seconded by Mary Fran Seidl not to read the minutesand approve the minutes as submitted. The minutes were approved. Nellie Spencegave the Treasurer’s Report. Mary Fran Seidl made a motion and Ruby Roberts seconded the motion toaccept the Treasurer’s report as submitted. The Treasurer’s report was approved.ELECTION OF OFFICERS Nominations for the Office of President was opened. Everett Putney was nomi-nated and elected President for 2004. The Office of Vice President was opened.Charlie Bain and David Haskins were nominated. David Haskins receivedeight votes and Charlie Bain received twenty votes. Charlie Bain was electedVice President. The Office of Secretary was opened. Jackie Fioretti was nomi-nated and elected Secretary. The office of Treasurer was opened. Nellie Spencewas nominated and elected Treasurer. All officers will serve from January 2004through December 2004.

OLD BUSINESS 2003-2004 Tree Thinning Grant is very close. Everett Putney has been coordi-nating with Santa Fe. The money is there and he has signed the necessary paperwork. Since we are getting a late start on the 2003-2004 grant we should be ableto extend the time frame for completion. He advised the 2004-2005 grant moneyis not there. We submitted our paper work on time but only four counties in thestate were awarded grant money for the 2004-2005 cycle. Connie Zipperer, ourrural community assistant coordinator, advised us to keep in touch with BarbaraLuna, District Forester to see if she receives any National. Airstrip progress is positive and meetings are being held on an ongoing basiswith Otero County, Bob Meeks and the New Mexico Department of Transporta-tion. Grants are being proposed and it will be April or May before any activity isrealized. A chip and seal runway surface will last approximately five years. TheFAA requires an asphalt runway which will last approximately twenty five yearsonce they become involved. Nellie Spence gave a report on the New Mexico Infrastructure Funding SourceConference she attended in Albuquerque. She advised grants and loans are avail-able for small communities. The priorities are water, roads, transportation andinfrastructure. A two year plan is required to ask for money for development.Money is available and it requires very careful planning prior to requesting themoney.COVENANTS Everett Putney advised the existing covenants are out-dated and a representa-tive is needed from each section to work with Ruby Roberts on the covenants. Ifyou are interested in working on the covenants to meet the needs of the commu-nity for the next twenty years, please provide your name, address and unit numberto Ruby and she will provide you with a copy of the existing covenants. RubyRoberts telephone number is 987-2440 and her address is P.O. Box 1, Timberon,NM 88350.NEW BUSINESS The hazards of deer hunting in Timberon and possible solutions was discussedat length. It was advised signs be posted at both entrances toTimberon that would appeal to the hunters about safety of peopleand homes. Bill McCullough will get with the TWSD Park andRecreation Committee and discuss means to restrict hunting withinTimberon. Nellie Spence read the bills to be paid, Everett $35.32, Fran$25.20 and Nellie $79.78. Betty Phillips made motion and RubyRoberts seconded to pay the current bills. The motion passed. The road construction contract has been let and there is somequestion as to whether or not the road can be built for the lowestbid contract price. It is therefore being investigated before theletter to proceed is issued. (Editor’s note - There was some misun-derstanding here. The contract was never “let” during this time.) Betty Phillips made a motion and Fran Trendler seconded itto adjourn. The meeting adjourned approximately 11:05am. TheDecember meeting is canceled and the next meeting will be Satur-day, January 10th at 10:00am. Meeting notices are posted at sev-eral locations in the community. These are public meetings andeveryone is invited to attend.

The Extension Clubby Jean Green TIMBERON

For our November meeting, the week before Thanksgiving, we were all aboutChristmas. The Chapel’s Community Christmas Dinner is Sunday evening, De-cember 7, at 5pm. For our club’s part, we completed ornaments to be given toeach child. This annual event, because it’s early in the season and all of Timberonattends, is the very best way to join in the spirit of Christmas. We, also, made plans for our own Christmas party and luncheon on December11th at 10:15am. Once again, James and Marie will prepare and serve us aspecial repast. The Bourguets need to know by December 4th the number ofmembers and guests attending. Please call Josie Vasquez or Joy Odom if youwish to attend. We were delighted to welcome Joy’s daughter, Kathy Morgan, to our meeting. Much of our discussion centered around our new Community Activities Board.As we stated last month, the purpose is to keep our community informed aboutupcoming events. We encourage all clubs and organizations to place announce-ments there. We plan to enlarge the board and, perhaps, have an additionalboard in another location. Our January meeting will be on the 15th at 10:15am in the community room ofthe lodge. Suzie Sims, of Sierra Propane fame, will speak on money-saving waysto conserve fuel during the winter months. Please join us!

Library NEWSby Grace Meyers TIMBERON

Looking for a Matureand Self-Motivated

Person to SellNewspaper Ads

Call toll free 1-877-987-2560or Email - mountain@dellcity.com

Our faithful friend from Denver has come through again. Lou Robinson sentfour bags of books this month, with only two of them duplicates. Appropriately, one is about what is referred to as the Kennedy Curse. You don’twant the whole list of books, so here’s a sampling - Diana’s Boys; The Clinton Wars ; Bed and Breakfast Guide; Bizarre Colo-rado, unusual events and people; Seabiscuit; and Triumph and Tragedyin Lives of American Presidents. What if They Hadn’t Died is a collectionof stories that read like these famous people had recovered; Marilyn Monroe,Kennedy, Elvis, James Dean, Arthur Ash and others. Interesting supposition. Then there are new books by McMurtry, Coulter, Fannie Flagg and SandraBrown and many more novels and non-fiction. Opening those boxes was like Christmas morning. Which reminds me - we at your Library wish all of you a very MerryChristmas and a Happy New Year! …and there will be a special place forseasonal books and videos for all ages.

14 MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIESThe Timberon Water District’s (TWSD) Monthly Meetings

by Debbie Goss (Draft of Minutes) with Bill Gideon’s Manager Report TIMBERON

20

21

19

22

24

34 35

23

33

3031

32

29

28

25Air Strip

18

6

8

9

1017

16

2611

27

12

15

5

13

4

7

12

3

Pawnee Drive

Merlin Drive

Hoover Drive

Sacramento Drive

Pawhuska Drive

Sauk

Driv

e

Sacramento Drive

Pleasant Valley Drive

Paradise Valley Drive

Pounds Road

To South Entrance

North Entrance

Only a small portion of the over 9,000 acresthat make up Timberon is shown here.

Sacramento Drive

Stable Road

14

1. Timberon Backhoe - Earth Moving/Materials2. Sacramento River Lodge - Motel Lodging3. Timberon RV Park (Closed in Winter)4. Riverside Condos & Del Corazon Restaurant5. Sacramento Energy - Propane, Appliance,

Heating Sales & Service6. Roberts Realty - Land/Home Sales7. Monte Vista Real Eatate (Closed)8. Timberon Post Office (New Location)9. Timberon Mall - Gas & Grocery10. Mountain Times Forestry & Solar Sales11. Mountain Times - Newspaper12. Mountain Top Daylight Lodge13. Josie’s Country Market14. Circle Cross RV Park15. Dell Telephone - Timberon Office16. Timberon Auto Parts17. Timberon Fire Department18. Moss Ranch - Horses (Currently Closed)19. Timberon Lodge Playground

20. Timberon Lodge Pool (Closed in Winter)21. Timberon Water District offices, Community

Center, Library and Exercise Room22. Timberline Restaurant23. Mountain Millworks - Woodworking24. Timberon Self Storage - Storage Rentals25. Sacramento Energy Storage Site26. Community Dumpster27. Sierra Propane -Propane Sales, Service,

and Plumbing28. Timberon Development (TDC) Office29. Golf Course Rentals - Lodging30. Casa Sacramento - Lodging, Kitchenettes31. Timberon Golf Course - Nine Hole Golf

Course, Driving Range & Pro Shop32. High Country Bar & Grill -Food and Drinks33. Timberon Chapel34. Timberon Memorial Park - Cemetery35. Old Timberon School - Community Facility

Aspen Company... 987-2372Fax 987-2374

B and R Tree Thinners... 987-2440Blue Water Real Estate 987-2258Burton Electric... 987-2462Circle Cross Ranch... 987-2650Circle Cross RV Park... 987-2651Casa Sacramento... 987-2201Dell Telephone... Timberon 987-2500 Main Office 964-2352 Nights & Holidays 964-2500 Trouble Line 611 Equal Access 964-2222 Time & Temperature 964-8401High Country Bar/Grill... 987-2580Josie’s Country Market 987-2490Kevin’s Kustom Welding... 987-2201Mountain Times... 987-2561Mountain Times Forestry & Solar... 987-2561Otero County Electric... 505-682-2521- For Power Outages... 800-548-4660Riverside Condos... 987-2553Roberts Realty... 987-2440Sacramento Energy... 987-2365Sacramento Mtn Construction... 987-2233Sacramento River Lodge... 987-2600Sacramento Services... 987-2435

Sierra Propane... 987-2385Timberline Restaurant... 987-2527Timberon Backhoe... 987-2357Timberon Chapel... 987-2470Timberon Post Office... 987-2231Timberon Fire Dept... 987-2296

Business Calls 987-2202Emergency 911

Timberon Golf Course... 987-2260Timberon Development (TDC) 987-2464Timberon Mall... 987-2525Timberon Mountaineer (WebSite)... 987-2267Timberon Pool... 987-2207Timberon RV Park... 987-2240Timberon Water District...

Office 987-2250987-2252

After Hours 987-2380Maintenance 987-2230

A LISTING OF USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS IN TIMBERON

MAP OF TIMBERON’S BUSINESSES & FACILITIES

If we left your business or an Important phonenumber out, please contact us -(Toll Free) 1-877-987-2561(in Timberon) 505-987-2561(fax) 505-987-2561(Email) mountain@dellcity.com

Do you want to be aDirector on the Timberon

Water District Board?

Time to startthinking about it!

Elections are scheduled tobe held on January 13, 2004.

The last day to declare yourcandidacy is December 4th.

Call the District Office at505-987-2250 for more

information.

A regular meeting of the Timberon Water and Sanitation District Boardof Directors was held on November 15, 2003 at 10am in the communitycenter. Board members present were Larry Hanson, Betty Phillips,Joan Schug and Colleen Gillmouthe. Minutes for the October 18th of2003 meeting were read and ap-proved. Betty Phillips read theTreasurer’s Report for October of2003 Sid Benson entered the meet-ing telephonically. The employee benefit packagewas discussed. Resolution 03/04-009 outlined the benefit optionsoffered by Risk Management. BettyPhillips moved to accept the reso-lution with corrections. The board voted to accept thetrash removal agreement with theCounty. TWSD will receive $6,000this fiscal year for assistance withtrash removal in Timberon. The Board discussed their plea-sure with the service provided by Sierra Transportation and votedunanimously to renew their contract for another year. Bill Gideon requested that the Board approve the new contract formfor line extensions. They agreed it was a good form. Colleen Gillmouthe

moved to approve a line extension for Ronald Humphrey for $1,435plus $450 for the meter install. After Sid Benson seconded the motion,it passed unanimously. Larry Hanson asked the Board to approve mileage and per diem fortransporting the generator and forklift from New Mexico Surplus on Sep-tember 26 th. The Board unanimously approved $279.50. The decision to send a delegate to the New Mexico Rural Water Asso-ciation Annual Conference was tabled.

Bill Gideon presented the Manager’s Report… Mike Robinson andDoug Tindell from Engineers Inc. came to Timberon on the 21st of Oc-tober for a town meeting to discuss our water system with the public. Itwas a very good meeting and a lot of issues were discussed. We haveavailable to the public, the notes that the engineers took as well as mycomments on the meeting. We had complaints of a bad smell in the Pro Shop and the lounge. Wefound that a sewer pipe had broken under the Pro Shop floor and thesewage was collecting there. In addition, we found that the sewer pipefrom the facility to the septic tank was the old style pipe and had crumbledto the point that the sewage could not get to the septic tank. We replacedthe pipe under the Pro Shop, and from the facility to the septic tank. Wehad the tank pumped and the septic system is now working properly. I invite everyone to drive Dixwood. Right now it is the best road inTimberon. James and Gary Don did an excellent job on it. We have been working hard to get our equipment in good shape. Theequipment has not been properly maintained in the past, but we are nowgetting it back in shape. The yellow dump truck is now in good shape.

We are sending our water opera-tors to Cimarron next week fortraining and testing.

Debbie Goss reported on theNew Mexico Infrastructure Confer-ence that she attended.

A question was raised about the paving of the Community Center park-ing lot. Engineers, Inc. is working on specifications. It has been sug-gested that getting asphalt would be easier and cheaper if the project wastimed to coincide with the Sacramento Road Project. Bill Gideon requested a Personnel Committee to review the Person-nel Policy. The Board authorized Bill Gideon to appoint a committee.

Agenda Request Maria and Leopoldo Cuevas asked that the past standby fees for aproperty they purchased at a tax sale be waived. The directors agreedthat the standby fees could not be forgiven. The meeting was adjourned.

12 OAKMONTA cute 3 bedroom, 1 3/4

bath cabin on 1 acre

Call JOHN BOMPART at BLUE WATER REAL ESTATEfor more details and a showing of this home!

THIS WELL-MAINTAINED HOME SITS HIGH UP ON THE LOT TO MAXIMIZE VIEWS AND SUNSHINE.ENJOY THE EAT-IN KITCHEN, LIVING ROOM FIREPLACE AND 2 CAR GARAGE. COMES FURNISHEDINCLUDING THE WASHER & DRYER, TURN-KEY. . Only $95,000.

Local (Timberon) 987-2258 Cloudcroft: 505-682-3566

WesternWesternWesternWesternWesternBBBBBar & Cafear & Cafear & Cafear & Cafear & Cafe

Wishes One & AllA Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year!Join Us in December for

KARAOKE NIGHTSThursdays 9pm-12am

The cafe will be closingat 2pm on December24th. Both the Barand Cafe will beclosed December25th.

God Bless andDefend Our Troops

Breakfast 6am-11am Lunch & Dinner 11am-9pm7 days a week!

505-682-2445Located on Burro Steet in Cloudcroft

Sunday Evening, December 7th

www.ocec-inc.com

Office505-682-2521

Outage Assistance1-800-548-4660

PO Box 227 - Cloudcroft, NM 88317

TIMBERONAIRSTRIP

IMPROVEMENTPROJECT

The Timberon DevelopmentCouncil is requesting financialsupport from those who are in-terested in the benefits of hav-ing a new airstrip. Projectedimprovements will afford thecommunity the following ben-efits: medical evacuation; usefor fire fighting air craft andemergency personnel; emer-gency landing after leaving theAlamogordo and Hollomanarea; and Timberon is the onlylanding strip within a 75 mileradius. Improvements will be madewith the use of state, federaland local funding. Local fund-ing, although minimal, will berequired from the community.At the present time, we needto build a standby fund to beused to meet the liability insur-ance requirements and costshare for grant opportunities.The goal is approximately$10,000.00. The Timberon DevelopmentCouncil is a 501(c)3 non profitorganization. We ask thatyour check donations bemade and sent to theTimberon Development Coun-cil, P.O. Box 417, Timberon,New Mexico 88350.

Merry Christmasand

Happy New Yearfrom

All of Us atSacramento Energy

We appreciate your business this past year. It has been a very good one for us.We would like to welcome all our new customers and thank all of our old ones!

Call today for a brochure on a heater by

99.9% Energy Efficient - vent free - Runs without powerRinnaiRinnaiRinnaiRinnaiRinnai

TIMBERON: 505-987-2365 (Fax) 505-987-2441ALEDO: 817-441-6568 or 1-888-441-6630

SACRAMENTO/WEED AREA: 505-687-3345MAYHILL: 505-687-2301 (Email) sacenergy@aol.com

Serving Timberon, Pinon, Mayhill, Weed,Sacramento and Sunspot areas with propane

and propane services.

15

Roberts Realty - PO Box 1, Timberon, NM Phone 505-987-2440VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.TIMBERONNM.COM

Thank you for your friendship and business this past year.Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Healthy New Years

from all of us atRoberts Realty

and

Timberon Post Office

Ruby & Don RobertsMichelle & John Lowe

Charlie & Carol Bain

Chris & Harry ThomasShirley & Frank Enyeart

project involving the Eddy land along the Pecos, and the development offarms and a new town there, which would be aptly named “Eddy.” The Pecos Irrigation and Improvement Company was organized withthe usual arrangement of Charles Bishop Eddy as president and JohnArthur Eddy as general manager. Garrett became a minority stockholder.A portion of the Pecos Valley Ranch was set aside for development intothe town of Eddy. The Eddy brothers were able to convince the territo-rial legislature to form two new counties from the eastern portion ofLincoln County in 1889. The northern portion became Chaves Countyand the southern area became Eddy County. The new town of Eddy be-came the county seat. In 1889, the Eddy brothers, as their empire grew and became morecomplicated, realized they needed the help of a good attorney to repre-sent them. They were fortunate enough to find a young lawyer fromSilver City named William Ashton Hawkins, who was looking for a change.This was the start of the three-legged base that the Eddy conglomeratewas built upon. Charles Eddy was the dreamer and money raiser, JohnEddy was the practical, day-to-day operations manager, and WilliamHawkins was the legal expert who kept them out of trouble. In 1889,John Arthur Eddy, the oldest of the three, was only 36 years old, CharlesBishop Eddy was all of 32 years old, and William Ashton Hawkins, theyoungest, was barely 28. As plans for the irrigation project developed, it became apparent thatthe project would be quite expensive, and more funds would be neededin order to complete it. Charles Eddy spoke with James John Hagerman,a wealthy mining man from Colorado, and convinced him to invest heavilyin the project. At this time, the decision was made to organize a railroadline from Pecos, Texas to Eddy, to provide an outlet for the dreamed-ofquantity of produce from the proposed irrigated fields around Eddy. Theline - their first venture into railroad construction - was completed andlater extended on to Roswell. There soon developed a serious conflict between Hagerman and Charles

The Story of John Arthur Eddy “Father of Cloudcroft” ...ContinuedEddy. They were both strong willed, and constantly battled over the deci-sions that had to be made. The Eddy brothers finally made the decisionto pull out of the situation and leave it in the hands of Hagerman to com-plete. The Eddy brothers leaving the project left a bad taste in manypeoples mouths, and an election was held, changing the name of thetown from Eddy to Carlsbad, its present name. With the experience gained in the Eddy railroad project, Charles Eddybegan looking into another possible railroad venture. In 1889, a rail-road line had been started northward out of El Paso, Texas towards WhiteOaks, New Mexico. The road bed had been laid for twenty miles whenthe company became insolvent. The project was purchased by Jay Gould,a railroad speculator, but he had died before any action was taken, andthe line became part of his estate. After thorough investigation, CharlesEddy believed that such a line would be highly successful, with coal andother minerals, timber, produce and cattle in the region waiting for amarket in El Paso. He also visualized a tie-in at the northern end of theline to the Rock Island Railroad, providing a shorter route from the eastinto El Paso. On October 28, 1897, the El Paso and Northeastern Railroad Companywas incorporated with Charles Bishop Eddy as president, John ArthurEddy as secretary and general manager of construction, and William A.Hawkins as counsel. On April 13, 1898, Oliver Lee sold his Alamo Ranchand water rights to the Eddy brothers for $5,000, and shortly, surveyorsbegan laying out and platting the proposed new town of Alamogordo.The Alamogordo Development Company was organized, with John ArthurEddy as president, to begin selling lots in the town. The railroad reachedAlamogordo at 10am, June 15, 1898, with plans to continue northward,but a large amount of timber was required for railroad ties to begin theextension. A survey party was sent into the nearby Sacramento Mountains to de-termine the feasibility of a branch line to bring logs down to Alamogordo.They reported that there was all the timber the railroad would need, but

also reported that the top of

the mountain, where the clouds lay along the ground, would make anideal resort for the railroad, and suggested the name of “Cloudcroft,” or“a field of clouds,” for the resort. The report of the party was acceptedby the railroad board, and the Alamogordo and Sacramento MountainRailroad was incorporated on March 24, 1898. The railroad purchased 2,700 acres of land at the summit and estab-lished the new village. The first building was the Pavilion, which wasopened in a formal ceremony by John Arthur Eddy in 1899. Soon lotswere being sold and other buildings erected. The Virginia Hotel, whichlater became the Texas Hotel, and is now a shop named Colliques, wasalso built in 1899. It soon became apparent that an organization wasneeded to operate the affairs of Cloudcroft. The Cloudcroft PropertyOwners Association, known as the Directory, was formed in 1903. JohnArthur Eddy drew up the by-laws and served as the first secretary of theorganization. Until Cloudcroft was incorporated in 1948, the Directorywas the governing body of the community. Once construction of the railroad was complete and Cloudcroft wasfirmly established, John Arthur Eddy sold his interest in the corporationto his brother, resigned his position with the railroad, and moved toDenver, Colorado. There, he married Susan Norvell from St. Louis, Mis-souri, and they had two daughters, Katherine and Sarah. He maintaineda summer cottage in Cloudcroft and his family often visited and enter-tained guests there. John Arthur and Susan later divorced and she moved back to St. Louiswith the two girls. John Arthur sold their Denver home and spent hislatter years residing in a suite in the Hotel Tours in Denver, correspond-ing with people in the Cloudcroft area regarding its founding. John ArthurEddy passed away in Denver on November 9, 1931, seven months afterhis brother Charles Bishop died in New York City, and was buried in theFairfield Cemetery in Salida, Colorado, near the location of the Eddy-Bissell Cattle Company, their first venture after leaving New York

Because of his continuous connection with thecommunity, John Arthur Eddy is considered to

be the “Father of Cloudcroft,” and was so hon-ored during the Centennial, held in 1999.A bronze bust of Eddy is in the Sacra-mento Mountains Historical Museum.

Writing Letters Captures Memoriesfrom Debbie Stone, Postmistress in Weed

Rainbow-colored blooms delivered to your door.Boxes of chocolates exchanged and savored. A tele-phone conversation heating up the wires. Despite thejoy of those moments, memories fade away. But ahandwritten letter or carefully chosen card providesa memory you can touch and relive forever. In a generation raised on fast food, faxes, comput-ers, and instant messaging, letter writing seems tobelong to a more leisurely time in our past lives, whenpeople were not so rushed, so tired, so exhausted.Yet many people are discovering that writing or read-ing a letter can bring a welcome break to their hecticlives. For a few moments, a letter transports us awayfrom a stress-filled day to an oasis where we savor thewords of that special person who comes to visit us on

paper. And, that visit can be relived again andagain each time the letter is brought out and read. Letters keep special time special. Problems areminimized and put into perspective when they’re dis-cussed with a friend in a letter. And your card with apersonal “thank you” note just for being there withhelpful advice” is always appreciated. You’re neveralone or lonely when you sit down to write a friend. So make someone happy and send a card or lettersoon. Writing is an inexpensive way to show someonehow much you really care. During the Christmas season renew old friends! Tellyour loved ones how much you miss them! See howmuch pleasure people can share for just 37 cents. Whynot make some new Christmas memories.

Call toll-free1-877-987-2561

$375.00plus shipping

SOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLD

SOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLD

PIANO FOR SALE Kimball Stinnet Piano, 1969, Ex-cellent condition. $1,800.

Call 505-439-0472----------------------------------------------NEW WATER HEATER

New 50 gallon propane hot waterheater $250. If interested call -

505-623-0134-----------------------------------------------

REFRIGERATOR Combination Propane/Electric, Ex-plorer, 14.4 cu.ft. (freezer & refrig-erator) Model GRQ15. Call 505-457-2241.----------------------------------------------

VAN FOR SALE 1987 Dodge Van, good mechani-cal condition, AC. $1,200.

Call 505-439-0472----------------------------------------------

Antique wood burning cook stovesfor sale. Large selection. Will deliver.Please call toll free (866)965-2319.Ask for Jimmy with High Plains PetFoods or leave message.----------------------------------------------

1996 SOUTHWINDMOTOR HOME

34’ Wide Body, 460 Ford FullyEquiped - Plus Many Extra Features.

Exellent ConditionOnly 29,000 Miles

Price $38,500Call 505-585-4163.----------------------------------------------

HORSE TRAILER 7’ x 7’ x 18’ long. 4 Horse - Has adivider. 2 doors, 3 access windows,4 wheel brakes. 2 - 3600 lb axles.All tires like new, 2 spares. Pullsgreat! Call 505-623-7923 (Roswell)

HOUSE FOR RENT(the old Roseborrough place)

2 Bedroom - Completely Furnished- $75 a day - Special Weekly andMonthly Rates Available. ContactMary Hamill @ 505-987-2537.-----------------------------------------------

OFFICE orRETAIL SPACE

Available in Roberts Realty build-ing - good location, DowntownTimberon. For Information Call 1-888-441-6630.

ANTLERS-HORNSSKULLS

I buy these items for use in makingtable lamps. Therefore, they must besmall in size. I prefer pronghorn ormore exiotic species. They must beclean, not weathered, with skullboneattached.Al Gillespie, 505-266-7635Email: al.gillespie@att.net

THE MOUNTAIN TRADING POST - CLASSIFIED SECTION

WILL MANAGE Professional couple relocating toCloudcroft area, willing to manageproperty or small business, and/orcontracting computer drafting or car-pentry, livestock management. Ref-erences and detailed resumes pro-vided upon request. Call 505-824-0090.

LOT FOR SALE 1 acre in Timberon - Lot 37. Blk78, Unit 7. Call 505-624-2175, Askfor Roger.----------------------------------------------

FOR SALE Due to health reasons the homeof Roy & Ruth Sellers is for sale at1200 Edgewood Drive in Timberon,NM. We have 3 bedrooms and 2baths. Also we have a 1 car garage,we use it for golf carts. Everything goes - all linens, dishes,furniture, etc... Call 915-362-1847.----------------------------------------------

FIREWOOD FOR SALE Mostly Ponderosa Pine - mostlyfresh cut and uncured. Long sec-tions and shorter pieces, unsplit. $25a pick-up load. You come and get itin Timberon. We have a bunch andwill have even more!

Call 505-987-2561.----------------------------------------------

$1,000 REWARD There is a $1,000 reward offeredfor information leading to the arrestand conviction of the person, or per-sons, who cut the fence on CircleCross Ranch.Call 505-987-2651 or 505-987-2652.----------------------------------------------OWN A NEWSPAPERIN THE MOUNTAINS This newspaper is for sale.Own a growing, and profitable,paper in the SacramentoMountains. $20,000.00 For more information, call tollfree 1-877-987-2561.-----------------------------------------------

CLOUDCROFTCONCRETE & MATERIALSTransit Mix - Sand - Gravel, locatedbetween Highway 82 and 130 inCloudcroft. Call 505-682-2309.

RENTALSMISCELLANEOUS ITEMS FOR SALE REAL ESTATE

TIMBERON LOTFOR SALE

Sacramento #3, Blk 10, Lot 7. 1.13acres. Electricty at rear / waternearby. NE exposure, excellentview. $8,400. R. Niehaus, 241 Hol-lywood Dr. Edinburg, TX 78539.956-381-5960.

MOBILE HOMEFOR SALE

NMSU Students & Parents 16X702/2 Palmharbor Energymiser, 2X6walls, plywood floors, newer carpet,ceramic kitchen counters, hardboardskirting, in park around corner fromcampus, 3K under book. Call 505-523-5856.-----------------------------------------------

HOME FOR SALE Very Unique, Delightful Home onapproximately 1/2 acre. BordersNational Forest on a cul-de-sac. 3Bedrooms, 1 3/4 Baths, CustomKitchen, Den. Central Heating andWood Stove. Aspen Realty Associates, 505-682-5032.-----------------------------------------------

LOT FOR SALE In Timberon, Very reasonablypriced. Call 505-832-6045.-----------------------------------------------

MOUNTAIN CABINFOR RENT

Large screened porch, high deckin rear, 2 bedrooms (king andqueen), fireplace, VCR. Modern,attractive, fully equiped. $75 @night, $420 @ week. 915-550-3406.-----------------------------------------------

S

N

EW

McGregor RangeMcGregor RangeMcGregor RangeMcGregor RangeMcGregor Range

MAP OF THE SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS This map of the Sacramento Mountains is just meant as a general guide. It is not a complete map of all the roads on the mountain. The Forest Service office in Alamogordo (505-434-7200) and the Sacramento Ranger Districtin Cloudcroft (505-682-2551) have a very good map of roads and trails that they will sell you. If you have a road that you think should be added to this map, call us at 505-987-2561 or tollfree at 1-877-987-2561. We will be addingroads to this map periodically.

ROADS

1..... US Highway 82 A paved all-weather road that goes offto the Alamogordo area on the left andtowards Artesia on the right of map.2..... Forest Road 339 Haynes Canyon.3..... Forest Road 162 La Luz Canyon.4..... Forest Road 1835..... State Highway 244 A paved all-weather road that goesthrough the Mescalero Indian Reserva-tion and on into Ruidoso.6..... Forest Road 405 Dry Canyon.7..... Forest Road 90 West Side Road, truck suggested.8..... Forest Road 63 Karr Canyon, closed in winter.9..... Pierce Canyon10..... Apache Canyon11..... Forest Road 175 Sixteen Springs.

LEGEND

COMMUNITIES

1..... Timberon2..... Sunspot3..... Pinon4..... Weed5..... Sacramento6..... Mayhill7..... Cloudcroft8..... Bug Scuffle9..... High Rolls10..... Mountain Park

Paved RoadDirt Road

FYI - When you go around themountain, travel with a full tankof gas. With the exception ofAllsups in Cloudcroft, most ofthe mountain community’s gasstations keep set hours. InTimberon you can only get gasfrom 12 to 3pm.

12..... Forest Road 228 Three Mile Canyon, shown in part.13..... State Highway 130 Cox Canyon, paved, all-weather.14..... Forest Road 269 Curtis Canyon.15..... Forest Road 247 Russia Canyon.16..... Forest Highway 6365 Sunspot Highway, paved, all-weather.17..... Forest Road 164 Rio Penasco.18..... Forest Road 169 Wills Canyon.19..... Forest Road 257 Hay Canyon.20..... State Highway 24 Paved, all-weather road that goes pastPinon, through Duncan, towards Artesia.21..... Forest Road 64 Agua Chiquita, good dirt road.22..... Forest Road 238 Perk Canyon.23..... Forest Road 382 Seep Canyon.24..... Forest Road 255 Jim Lewis Canyon.25..... Forest Road 460 Scott Able Canyon.26..... Forest Road 537 Sacramento River Road, Good all-weather dirt road.27..... State Road 506 Part is paved and rest is dirt, comesout by Oro Grande.28..... Forest Road 171 Perk Canyon.

Call the paper to update various roaddescriptions and conditions. This map is in the process of chang-ing in layout soon, hopefully making iteasier to use!

NAME: _________________________________________________________________ADDRESS: ______________________________________________________________CITY : __________________________________________________________________STATE: __________________________________ ZIP: __________________________

Send your check to Mountain Times, PO Box 190, Timberon, NM 88350

Classified ads (up to 30 words and 1 photo) are free to subscribers. Non-subscribers pay $5.00 forup to 30 words and 10 cents for each additional word. Photos are an additional $1.00 and a SASEis required if you want the photo returned. All payments for classifieds must be made in advance -the ad will run until you stop it.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE TRADING POST CLASSIFIED FORM

HOME FOR SALE

Mobile Home For sale in Timberon,NM. 14x60 Palm Harbor, nicely fur-nished, new deck, woodburningstove, sitting on approximately 5/8acre with beautiful view. $28,000o.b.o. Call 505-987-2512 or Email:storm4x4@hotmail.com----------------------------------------------

HOME - SALE/TRADE Home for sale or trade for equalvalue Cloudcroft, HighRolls home/property. 4bdrm/2bth, newly remod-eled, paint, appliances, fenced backyard, great location in Alamogordo. Call evenings 505-824-0090.

The Trading Post Gets Results!

VISIT THIS WEB SITE New Mexico Wanderings Aboutlittle-known and lesser -knownplaces with over 1,700 photos and800 pages, go to both -

http://www.huntel.com/~artpike/and http://nmwanderings.com/

-----------------------------------------------START YOUR OWN

INTERNET BUSINESS We have what you need to startPart-time or Full-time: We have E-books to suit every need - We offerFREE web-sites. Set your ownhours and work from home! You can earn weekly checks andhave Passive-residual income! No computer or experienceneeded. Don’t miss out! Visit ourwebsite!www.freewebsiteofthemonth.com/500/kennethkirk

ITEMS WANTEDINTERNET

IN CARLSBAD Firetruck - 1968 Ford F850 withhoses, reels, new pump, only 14000miles! Holds 750 gallons of water. Also 2 International Travelalls, 4-wheel drives, both in good condition. Call 505-361-3334, Photos below

TIRES FOR SALE Pair of P215-75R15 Studded forSnow and Ice. Used only One Sea-son. Good Shape! $40. Call 505-439-9886 (Alamogordo)-----------------------------------------------

FIREWOODSPLIT AND SEASONED

Juniper, Cedar, Aspen and Oak.Located in Timberon. Call 505-987-2263.

Cloudcroft DRINKINGWATER Storage Tanks

Catch Rain!! Black, algaeresistant, 100 to 5,000 gallons,reasonable prices, free delivery.Please give us a chance to serveyou!! MasterCard/Visa. 1-800-603-8272 or (505) 682-2308.

SERVICES

SERVICES

Retired college professor andSmall Business Administrationconsultant has limited time to serveas a confidential pro bono consultantto Cloudcroft area small businessentrepreneurs. Are you thinkingabout starting a business? Do youhave an existing business thatneeds to perform better? Brieflydescribe your situation and send itvia fax (505-687-3150) or emailprofessorclarke@pvtnetworks.net I wilt respond and let you know if Ican help. My ability to take on clientsis limited by my desire to spend timewith my grandchildren and to playgolf!

REAL ESTATE

ITEMS FOR SALE ITEMS FOR SALE

RV FOR SALE

RV Motor Home, 1981 HolidayRambler 28 Footer. 52,600 originalmiles, Chevy 454 Engine, ExcellentCondition. Asking $8,000.00 Call Cesar at 921-1601 inAlamogordo, New Mexico.