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Last modified: October 1, 2008

…Late winter snow for Organs

Last week’s snow storm dusted the majestic Organ Mountains in Las Cruces.  For a closer look up the mountain, click on photo.
Photo by David Pierre

…Snow White Beauty

A snow storm swarms over the Organ Mountains while a break in the clouds allows sunlight to expose the west face. Photo by David Pierre  

Environmentalists responsible for Diamond

Bar fight, Catron County Commission says

RESERVE - In the wake of the arrest of Kit Laney of the Diamond Bar Ranch, the Catron County Commission has chosen to speak out for the first time on the actions of the U.S. Forest Service and the effects of those actions upon the county at large.

The history of the Laney situation provides a key to understanding Catron County's position.

Kit and Sherry Laney invested their life savings, their inheritance and lives on a cattle ranch that was largely dependent upon a U.S. Forest Service grazing permit.

The Forest Service originally made promises, commitments and agreements in writing with the Laneys, who would not have invested in the Diamond Bar without those commitments.

Due to pressures brought to bear on the USFS by environmental groups, the Forest Service later reneged on those promises, reducing cattle numbers on the Diamond Bar to the point of financially ruining the Laneys.

In the past 10 years Catron County ranchers have lost grazing rights for over 25,000 head of cattle, causing the county to lose over one million dollars per year in revenues.  This, combined with the virtual extermination of any forest thinning, has devastated Catron County, causing not only financial ruin, but loss of custom and cultures.

"For the past 20 years the U.S. Forest Service has been held hostage by extreme environmental groups in the name of protection of the environment, whereas ranchers are the actual stewards of the land and have been for generations," said Rufus Choate, commissioner for District 1.

"These groups who claim to be champions of the environment are slowly destroying our public lands," he said.

In the past two years alone well over 200,000 acres have been destroyed by catastrophic wildfires in Catron County.  These fires, with temperatures of over 2000° F, sterilize the soil, destroy habitat for wildlife and endangered species, pollute streams and watersheds, and take a century to come back.

Fires have reached catastrophic proportions because environmentalists have halted forest restoration work in Catron County, filing lawsuits against the very forest restoration programs that would save the forests.

"Environmentalist are trying to make our public lands one use only - their use," said Ed Wehrheim, chairman of the commission.

"The Catron County Commission feels that the Laneys and other Catron County ranchers are victims of this power struggle between environmental groups and the American public that has the right to use these lands," Wehrheim said.

Catron County intends to take every legal means possible to defend multiple use of public lands.

"We are the true environmentalist here," Wehrheim said.  "We are here to protect the environment now and for generations to come."

<<<   >>>

(posted 3-30-04)

Feds arrest NM rancher in land dispute 

…Camp Barney Fife

Home of F-troop.  Sorry about the resolution but my camera was not the best.  This is how many government workers it takes to do a fraction of the work of one ranching couple.  There are at least five more vehicles out on the road "guarding" the circus.  The chopper pad is below the picture and it is gone in these.  This was about 9:30 a.m. and on our first pass about six of them came out to see who we were.  They looked like they were coming from the brunch table.  I suppose they were getting our number also.  Photo by Al Schneberger 

Forest Service officers throw Kit Laney 

in jail by after alleged scuffle

By Henry Lamb

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com - A rancher who is fighting for his right to continue grazing cattle on disputed land in New Mexico was arrested Sunday evening by Forest Service law-enforcement officers, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court Monday.

Kit Laney's 147,000-acre Diamond Bar Ranch was closed by the Forest Service on Feb. 29 to prepare for the removal of nearly 400 head of cattle in compliance with a federal court order.  Forest Service contractors had rounded up and corralled about a hundred head by Sunday.

Reports reached Laney that the cattle were being mistreated, that calves were being separated from their mothers.

"He simply wanted to check on his cattle," a neighbor told WorldNetDaily.

At about 7:25 p.m. Sunday, Laney approached a temporary enclosure to the Beaverhead Work Center where officers Christopher Boehm and DeWayne Ross were among the Forest Service personnel working Laney's cattle.

Kit and Sherry Laney are captured in a warm moment together after they moved back home with their cattle in a happier, more relaxed time of their ranching careers.  Photo by Laura Schneberger of www.cowboysandcattlecountry.0catch.com

Patrol Capt. Mike Reamer recognized Laney and greeted him at a distance of about 40 feet, according to the complaint.  At about 25 feet from Reamer, Laney is said to have "spurred his horse to a fast gallop, charged Officers Reamer, Ross and Boehm," while yelling profanities.

Laney's horse struck Boehm on the left arm and knocked him into a cattle guard.  Laney then guided his horse to the side of the temporary cattle enclosure and tried to remove the fencing.

He "struck contractor Isaiah Baker with the leather reins," the complaint says.

Laney was advised to stop and told that if he did not stop, he would be arrested.  Laney dismounted and continued to try to pull down the enclosure.

Laney scuffled with Reamer and Boehm while continuing to try to pull down the fence.  The rancher was subdued with a one to two-second spray of mace and was handcuffed and removed to the Dona Ana detention facility in Las Cruces, NM.

Catron County Sheriff Cliff Snyder said he knew nothing of the arrest until Monday morning, when he was told that Laney had been charged with "four or five counts," including assault, resisting arrest and trying to release cattle.

U.S. Attorney John Crews said one count of assault and one count of resisting a court order would be filed.

This action is only the latest episode in a ten-year legal battle between the Laneys and the Forest Service.

The Laneys contend they own the water and grazing rights on the land where their cattle graze and have recorded an exhaustive, uncontested "chain of title" with the recorder of deeds.

The Forest Service says Laney is following an "obscure" legal theory, that the land belongs to the federal government and that the Laneys have no right to use the land without a permit, which the Forest Service has refused to renew.

Tensions mounted last week as the Forest Service moved in 14 law enforcement officers, armed with semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and side arms, and about a dozen other personnel to confiscate the cattle that four members of the Laney family have tended for years.

Laney's first encounter with the law-enforcement officers came shortly after the closure when, after returning from a public meeting, he was issued a citation for traveling on a public road through federal land without a permit.

While leading horses along the same road, from one work center to another, Dale Laney and his 14-year old son, Albert, were approached by law-enforcement officers and ordered to display a permit.

They had no permit and continued to lead their horses when the officers were joined by two more enforcement vehicles, with lights flashing and sirens wailing.

In a letter to the Forest Service, Sheriff Snyder said he and the public at large are "beginning to believe that the law-enforcement officers' only reason for being in the area is for the purpose of harassing the Laneys."

The Laneys have announced repeatedly that they would not interfere with the confiscation process, but that they would document the activity and file charges in state court against the Forest Service contractor and Forest Service employees for any violations of state law.

Reamer confirmed last week there had been no interference from the Laneys or anyone else.  Circumstances changed Sunday evening.  Laney could not be reached for his version of events - by reporters or his family.

He was arraigned Tuesday before Judge Molzen in the federal district court in Las Cruces.

Previous stories:  Feds confiscate rancher's cattle Feds seize family's ranch

About the author:  Henry Lamb is the executive vice president of the Environmental Conservation Organization and chairman of Sovereignty International.

<<<   >>>

(posted 3-18-04)

Kit and Sherry Laney are shown among friends on July 4 at a neighborhood party, right after the star spangled banner was sung where Kit took his hat off and bowed his head. Hardly anti-American.  Photo by Laura Schneberger of www.cowboysandcattlecountry.0catch.com  

Paragon Foundation sues NM Livestock Board

ALAMOGORDO - Attorney Paul M. Kienzle of Scott & Kienzle, P.A. in Albuquerque, filed for injunctive and declaratory relief and damages on behalf of the Paragon Foundation Inc. and ranchers Kit and Sherry Laney against the New Mexico Livestock Board and Dan Manzanares, executive director of the Livestock Board.

On Feb. 20, Mr. Manzanares signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Forest Service.  The purpose of the MOU is to implement the United States District Court order that authorizes the Forest Service, pursuant to its regulations, to impound, remove and sell the subject livestock from National Forest System lands.

Plaintiffs believe that Defendant Manzanares did not have statutory authority, rule, regulation authority or authority from the Livestock Board to approve the MOU on behalf of the Livestock Board.  Upon information and belief, some members of the Livestock Board were not aware of the MOU until after its execution.

To this day, the MOU has not been ratified by a vote of the Board.  Plaintiffs believe the actions of Defendant Manzanares were made without authority and are therefore void.

Plaintiffs believe the Livestock Board does not have authority or regulation to enter into the MOU with the Forest Service.  The action taken in the name of the Livestock Board regarding the MOU and its terms contravene the laws, rules, regulations, provisions and authority of the Livestock Code, NMSA 1978, Chapter 77, that the Livestock Board is charged with administering, and was “ultra vires” - made without authority - and is therefore void.

The Open Meetings Act applies to the subject matter of this complaint.  NMSA 1978, § 10-15-1 requires that actions and other matters within the authority of the Livestock Board be taken in meeting open to the public at all time unless an exception applies.

Pursuant to NMSA 1978 §10-15-3(A), "No resolution, rule, regulation, ordinance or action of any board, commission, committee or other policymaking body shall be valid unless taken or made at a meeting held in accordance with the requirements of 10-15-1 NMSA 1978."  No exception to the Open Meetings Act applies to the MOU.

Plaintiffs are entitled to their attorney's fees and costs pursuant to NMSA 1978, §10-15-3(C).

Defendants' conduct, actions and omissions were engaged in under color of state statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage and that such conduct, actions and omissions have subjected Plaintiffs to the deprivation of rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the Civil Rights Act of 1871, according to the plaintiff’s attorney.

Plaintiffs Kit and Sherry Laney are entitled to damages, including punitive damages and attorney's fees for the actions and omissions described above.

<<<   >>>

(posted 3-18-04)

Natl. Endowment for the Humanities awards

grant to El Camino Real Intl. Heritage Center  

SOCORRO - The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a $40,000 grant to El Camino Real International Heritage Center between Socorro and Truth or Consequences, NM.

The grant will support the inaugural exhibition, Traveling el Camino Real, in 2005.

The award will fund the final design and exhibition content, provide bilingual text translation, visitor studies evaluations, interpretive plans for both on-site and outreach public programs, and collaborations with Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Mexico and with the respective institutions along the National Scenic Byways and Historic Trails.

The Camino Real International Heritage Center will interpret the 400-year history of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, or the Royal Road of the Interior Lands, a route once linking New Spain (Mexico) to its northern frontier, New Mexico.

To this day, a similar trade route exists: Interstate-25.  One can still follow portions of the traditional El Camino Real from San Juan Pueblo south to Mexico City.

The exhibition, Traveling el Camino Real, will feature places rich in trail history, culture and topography.

The route was defined by the environment from the low-lying flatlands of southern New Mexico to the soaring peaks of the northern mountains.

The Royal Road of the Interior Land follows the Rio Grande from the United States-Mexico border through Santa Fe to San Juan Pueblo in Española, passing several former Spanish colonial and Mexican villages, two U.S. territorial forts and five Pueblo Indian Villages.

"This generous grant is exciting because it will allow us to provide visitors with a multi-cultural educational experience, and brings us one step closer to the grand opening of El Camino Real International Heritage Center," Poole said.

"As we continue the planning process, the Center is seeking to locate artifacts and objects associated with the trail from museums, libraries, archives and private citizens for the inaugural exhibition," Poole added.

Traveling el Camino Real is made possible in part by $1 million allocation by the New Mexico State Legislature, and with design support by the Museum of New Mexico Exhibitions Department.

New Mexico's State Monuments include Coronado, Jemez, Lincoln, Fort Selden, Fort Sumner and now El Camino Real International Heritage Center.

The Bosque Redondo Memorial, a tribute to the forced internment of thousands of Navajo and Mescalero Apaches during the period of 1863-1868, is currently under construction at Fort Sumner and scheduled to open in September 2004.

For more information on El Camino Real International Heritage Center or other New Mexico State Monuments, please visit: www.nmmonuments.org.

<<<   >>>

(posted 3-15-04)

Ruby Ridge in New Mexico?

By the Paragon Foundation

Are developments in Southwestern New Mexico tumbling out of control and setting up a situation like the one at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, where three innocent citizens were gunned down by federal law enforcement officials?

If one looks at the preparations of the Forest Service and the size of the force they have brought into the area, it might appear so.

This question goes to the recent announcement by the Forest Service concerning the impoundment and removal of the Diamond Bar cattle.

With 16 law enforcement officers, roadblocks, attack dogs, and an apparent distrust of law-abiding citizens that would rival border guards in the old Soviet Union, one wonders why the gathering of alleged trespass cattle would require such warlike tactics?

With no threat of violence by the Laneys, who, in fact, have declared they will not interfere with the seizure of their cattle, the Forest Service has bulled ahead closing the only road in the area, declaring the public forest off limits to law abiding citizens and intimidating anyone who comes near or opposes their tactics.

Furthermore, they have caused a jurisdictional crisis between the Forest Service on one hand and the Catron County Commission and the Catron County Sheriff on the other.  And, if that's not enough, they have precipitated legal confusion on the New Mexico Livestock Board as they have attempted to circumvent, misuse and confuse what were once called the best livestock laws in the country.

All this is being done with the apparent blessing of Governor Bill Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid.

Clint Wellborn, District Attorney for Catron County, at a meeting of the Catron County Commission, said, "We can't ask the Sheriff to go out there and confront these armed federal officers."  This was stated in an open meeting in an attempt to dissuade the Sheriff from going out to assert jurisdiction in Catron County as the legal chief law enforcement authority.

Presumably, DA Wellborn believes it is better for defenseless citizens to confront armed federal officers.  Wellborn also stated in a letter, "If you or your department should attempt to intervene you risk the possibility of being arrested by Federal Marshals and held in contempt of court and possibly jailed."

Wellborn said this even though the federal law enforcement contingent's operation in New Mexico and Catron County is conditional on the consent of both the Sheriff and the Chief of the State Police.

Of course, this would be comical if it weren't tearing at the fabric of New Mexican institutions and law.

The Laneys, while moving horses along old State Highway 61 from one private land holding to another, were accosted by the Forest Service.  The Officers tried to pull the horses over, using emergency lights and sirens and shouting through loud speakers, "This is law enforcement.  Stop your horse and get off."

Of course, this only caused the horses to speed up.  At this point Dale and Albert Laney had no choice but to try and control the horses.  In no way could they allow them to trod upon the forest.

Picture two full-blown patrol units with sirens blaring, lights blazing, attack dog inside barking frantically, loudspeaker roaring commands to "pull over them runaway horses."

Matt Schneberger, local rancher, says, "Barney Fife is alive and well in the Gila.  Only in this case he don't just have a bullet in his pocket, he's got a large capacity auto pistol and all the back-up in the world.  We've got terrorists coming across the Mexican border to kill Americans and here we are guarding against a small family ranch trying to protect their private property."

The Forest Service is not only callous about their treatment of the Laneys but they are completely oblivious to the harm they cause others.

Doug Osborn, wrote, "I just got back from the Cattle Guard Restaurant up at the Fowlers.  There were six folks from Minnesota in there eating.  They had come down here to hunt lions, but the road is closed.  There go their plans (and lots of money).  I wonder how the Forest Service would feel about reimbursing those folks.  Lots of luck!"

Ray Fowler, another local rancher, said, "I went to get a bull and when I got back there was a roadblock up and they wouldn't let me in.  There were guys running around demanding a permit.  I didn't have one.  I still don't have a permit.  They finally let me through after they took down my license plate like I was going to rob a bank or something.  They tell me nobody from the outside can come in to see me."

To justify this ridiculous circus Steve Libby of the Forest Service intimated that Kit Laney had threatened a gentleman who was delivering feed to the Forest Service.

But, when he was asked about it, the man delivering the feed said he had never met Kit Laney.  Then Libby said there were threats that the greens might get involved if the cattle weren't removed quickly enough.  No evidence was ever presented for this assertion.

It is a sad day when Smokey the Bear goes on the rampage.  The Forest Service by its actions in the Diamond Bar Ranch controversy is either exhibiting paranoia or an inclination to intimidate.

Either way, the Forest Service no longer deserves the trust of the public and the state of New Mexico.  They have no business employing a small army of quasi-military, trained to a fever pitch. Barney Fifes.

<<<   >>>

(posted 3-8-04)

AG’s Office abandons New Mexico, says Paragon

Opinion statement from Bob Jones

President of the Paragon Foundation Inc.

ALAMOGORDO, NM - In observing the actions of the Attorney General's Office, one can only form the opinion that it has contempt for the rights of the citizens of New Mexico and the laws it is sworn to uphold.

Through the Attorney General's Office and it is believed with the support of Governor Bill Richardson, the Attorney General apparently has brushed aside state water, property and livestock laws, and decided that the federal government can seize control of state institutions and they should cooperate.

She does this in spite of clear Supreme Court decisions that contradict her legal positions.

As the saga of the Diamond Bar Ranch unfolds it becomes clear that the system of dual sovereignty, which has served our country and our state so well in the past, is seriously broken.

In Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997) the Supreme Court stated, “Congress cannot compel the States to enact or enforce a federal regulatory program.  Today we hold that Congress cannot circumvent that prohibition by conscripting the States' officers directly.  The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the State's officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer, or enforce a federal regulatory program.  It matters not whether policymaking is involved, and no case-by-case weighing of the burdens or benefits is necessary; such commands are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty.”

A long history of case law clearly supports the principle that without a specific grant of jurisdiction from the State, the federal government is no more than a mere proprietor (owner) like any other proprietor that has neither legislative sovereignty, police power, nor dominion.  See Fort Leavenworth Ry. Co. v. Lowe 114 U.S. 525, 5S.Ct. 995(1885), Camfield v. United States 167 U.S. 518 (1896), Woodruff v. Mining Co., 18 Fed. 772, and others.

This is not rocket science, nor should it be.  The Court in the Laney case cites no authority for co-opting the forces of New Mexico State government to serve the selfish ends of the Forest Service.

The Forest Service's "regulatory program" should not be "enforced" by New Mexico State government under the ruling and language of the Supreme Court's decision in Printz.

The question then is why are the Attorney General's Office and the New Mexico Livestock Board bending over backwards to cooperate with the Forest Service?  Could it be that the "letters of resignation in advance" required by the Governor is what has brought the Livestock Board to heel?

The Attorney General's office needlessly injects itself into the fray to find a solution for a lawless, bullying Forest Service.

The AG's office has actually facilitated an agreement between the New Mexico Livestock Board while keeping some Board members in the dark, and the Forest Service has been allowed to seize a citizen's private property under color of law.

While the Attorney General's office fiddles, New Mexico's sovereignty and the peace and property of her citizens are destroyed.

<<<   >>>

 (posted 3-10-04)  

Family emergency changes 

operational plans of DJ Online

A family emergency requires the editor, publisher and webmaster of Desert Journal Online, Bill Johnson, to move to Albuquerque to care for his mother who broke her hip in a car accident Feb. 22.

The operations of Desert Journal Online will continue, although there may be a brief period of inactivity to allow for the operational transition of New Mexico’s premiere award winning website. 

Johnson said his customers can contact him by sending e-mail, which is always his preference, to desertjournal@hotmail.com until the phone number of Desert Journal Online is changed.  He also encourages all of the website’s user groups - especially those from throughout the state of New Mexico - to continue sending their press releases and letters. More information will be released after Johnson has re-established his presence in Albuquerque.

<<<   >>>

 (posted 3-1-04)  

VA launches new website on Hepatitis C

WASHINGTON, DC - A new, comprehensive website on hepatitis C - www.hepatitis.va.gov - will be formally launched today (Feb. 25) through a collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the University of California at San Francisco's Center for HIV Information (CHI).

"Hepatitis C is another reminder that veterans rely on VA to care for a wide variety of illnesses and battlefield injuries," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi.  "This website will help both veterans and medical practitioners to understand this complex, long-term illness."

Hepatitis C is the most common blood borne infection in the United States, affecting 2 percent of the population.

VA cares for more hepatitis C patients than any other medical system, with more than 200,000 patients since 1996.  The department has the largest screening, testing and care program for hepatitis C in the nation.

The new hepatitis C website has a section for veterans and non-medical employees that includes general information and links to other websites.  It also offers information for health care providers that is searchable by topic and includes best practices, guidelines and slides.

"Hepatitis C is an important public health issue for our nation," said Dr. Lawrence Deyton, VA's chief consultant for public health, who oversees VA's hepatitis C programs.  "VA is pleased to join with CHI, a world-class medical website developer, to provide a user-friendly resource on hepatitis C for providers, patients and public health authorities."

CHI, based at the San Francisco VAMC, is directed by Dr. Laurence Peiperl, a medical staff member of both the university and the San Francisco VAMC.

Dr. Paul A. Volberding, chief of the medical service at the San Francisco VAMC, chairs the CHI Advisory Board.

<<<   >>>

 (posted 2-25-04)  

Diamond Bar livestock removal date

changed and area closure rescinded

SILVER CITY - The tentative date of mid-February for the Diamond Bar livestock removal has been temporarily postponed and the area closure rescinded.

"We had hoped to meet our tentative mid-February date but as it stands," we will not be able to.  We do not have a contractor to conduct the livestock removal at this time and are in the process of advertising for bids," said District Ranger Annette Chavez.

The contracting process may take a few to several weeks.

The area closure for the Diamond Bar allotment was rescinded as of Feb. 14.  Public access is now possible along Forest Road 150 (also known as the Beaverhead or North Star Mesa Road).

The area closure will be re-implemented at the time the livestock removal starts.

Please contact Andrea Martinez for any information at (505) 388-8211.

<<<   >>>

 (posted 2-17-04)  

The Truth or Consequences Desecrator

By Fender Tucker

I'm guilty. I admit it. I'm the Truth or Consequences Desecrator and it's time my story was told.

But first, let me tell you how I came to Truth or Consequences.

In 1975 I finished up a couple of years of college at a branch college in Farmington NM and transferred down to the main campus in Las Cruces, sixty miles or so south of Truth or Consequences NM.

I was 28 years old and lived on the GI Bill and a few bucks I picked up playing guitar at a local nightclub.

One day I decided to drive up to TorC and see what the town was all about. I found a pleasant little burg with several hot spring spas -- the town used to be called Hot Springs before changing its name back in the 50s.

So I decided to see what goes on inside a hot springs spa. It was very peaceful, wallowing around in a room filled with natural rock and hot, bubbling water, so I decided to spend a few extra bucks to have a massage. First time I ever had one.

I got up on a massage table and the masseur came in. He was a 70-year-old man who used a cane to walk. He put the cane aside and, leaning against the table for support, gave me an excellent massage.

He had very strong hands but I could tell that it was painful for him to stand while giving me the massage.

All I could think about was: "What kind of world is this where a young, strapping, lazy man of 28 gets to lay around getting massaged by an old man in pain, who has undoubtedly paid more than his share of dues?

If there's any justice in this world, I should be giving this old man a massage."

So I left town feeling a little depressed. And on my way out of town I looked back to see a large billboard that said:

MINERAL BATHS - MUSEUM - GOLF - WATER SPORTS TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES   NEXT 2 EXITS

And an idea bubbled up in my brain.

Now this was 1975, when the country was in the throes of an unusual shift towards tolerance and liberalism. Nixon had just been revealed as a vengeance demon from hell and the country was getting used to the proposition that we didn't rule the world after all.

There was sex all over the place -- in the bedrooms, in the movies, in the magazines -- everywhere but in the White House, it seemed. I too was caught up in this refreshing zeitgeist, and was conversant with the feelthy magazines of the period, like Larry Flynt's Hustler and Al Goldstein's Screw.

I knew all the buzzwords and when I saw that big billboard with the advertisements for TorC's "water sports" I knew I had to do something about it. So I made my plans.

I got some black contact paper and cut out two apostrophes, each about three inches tall. Then one night I drove up to TorC and parked my 1969 Volkswagen Squareback by the side of the interstate and hiked the 100 yards or so to the billboard.

There was a ladder up the back to a platform. I stood on this platform and was able to reach over the top of the billboard and strategically place an apostrophe before the word "water" and after the word "sports". Then I quickly hied back to my car and drove home.

The next day I drove back up the interstate and took this picture:

But I was disappointed in my efforts. The quotes weren't visible enough. I should have made them larger -- or, I should have used double quotes instead of single quotes. At the time I was not the crack editor I am now.

So I drove back that night with two more apostrophe-shaped pieces of contact paper, climbed up the billboard and added an extra apostrophe to each side of "water sports". Much better!

Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the new sign. Instead, for the next few months I wondered what people driving north on Interstate 25 thought if they glanced over at the big billboard.

"Gosh, Martha, I wonder why there are quotey marks around 'water sports' on that there sign?" or better yet, "Mommy, daddy, why are there quotey marks around 'water sports' on that there sign?"

Now that I've read Satan's Den Exposed, I realize that TorC was a hotbed of wife-swapping and satanic ritualism and that there were probably many local residents who, if they knew about the sign, would have gotten a kick out of it.

I was too lazy to check the TorC newspaper to see if a stink was ever raised. But as I remember it, the sign stayed there with the double quotes around "water sports" for many years.

I haven't been back to the area in many years but I think the sign was eventually replaced with a much larger and colorful billboard sometime in the 90s.

Is there a statute of limitations on "sign desecration"? I sure hope so.

After the events described in Satan's Den Exposed I wouldn't want to be seen in that town linked to anything un-Christian or non-Godfearing.

But now that I live in a faraway Bible-Belt state with little or no good Mexican food I miss southern New Mexico and would love to visit TorC, have some stacked green enchiladas made with Hatch Big Jim #6 chilis, and maybe even take in a massage.

Now that I'm a rickety old man of 56, perhaps a lazy, 20-something masseur will make my bones feel better, and I can reminisce about the old days when Truth or Consequences was the only town in the world known for its "water sports".

Editor’s note - The above story by Fender Tucker, Publisher of Ramble House Books in Shreveport, LA, will appear in a limited print edition of Satan’s Den Exposed – The David Parker Ray Story that Ramble House is publishing for the author, the Desert Journal of Truth or Consequences, NM.

<<<   >>>

 (posted 2-10-04)  

Conservationists protest drilling in Otero Mesa

BLM seeks to roll back environmental protections;

Oil and gas interests eye delicate desert
ecosystem for development

WASHINGTON, DC- Earthjustice filed a formal protest with the federal Bureau of Land Management on Monday to object to the government's plan to allow oil and gas development in the Otero Mesa and Nutt grasslands in New Mexico.

The public-interest law firm for the environment submitted comments on behalf of six conservation groups claiming that BLM has failed to include adequate environmental protection measures in its proposal.

"The Bureau has done a complete about-face in choosing to overlook the threat extractive industries would pose in Otero Mesa," said Earthjustice attorney Mike Harris. "This is a fragile desert ecosystem - home to sensitive species of plants and animals - and BLM's plan would open it up to harmful types of development."

The grasslands at risk comprise more than a million acres of Chihuahuan Desert between Carlsbad, NM, and El Paso, TX.  The BLM has attracted the ire of conservationists for proposing to open more than 90 percent of the area to oil and gas drilling.

The groups, which include New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, Southwest Environmental Center, The Wilderness Society, World Wildlife Federation, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, and Sierra Club, also contend that the proposed plan neglects to require leasing conditions to protect plants and wildlife in the most environmentally sensitive areas.

"Responsible management of public lands in New Mexico requires protection of these unique desert grasslands," said Harris.  "What the BLM is proposing is anything but responsible.  We hope they'll take this one back to the drawing board to ensure that oil and gas development does not destroy these grasslands and devastate the pronghorn sheep, mule deer, and Aplomado falcon populations that rely upon this habitat."

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson formally opposed BLM's proposed management plan for Otero Mesa last week in an executive order that also directs the state to draft its own plan to propose to BLM and to establish stricter state rules for oil and gas drilling.

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 (posted 2-10-04)  

Drug Court bill clears 

House Judiciary Committee

Appropriation for NM's 7^th Judicial District

House bill 274 to establish a drug court cleared the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee in Santa Fe on Friday, and moved a step closer to becoming law.

Representative Don Tripp, (R-Socorro), introduced the Bill at Socorro attorney Lee Deschamps' request, and with the approval of presiding 7^th Judicial District Judge Thomas G. Fitch.

The legislation would add nearly a quarter of a million dollars next fiscal year to the budget of the District Court in order to establish a Drug Court in the 7^th Judicial District, which includes the counties of Catron, Sierra, Socorro, and Torrance.

Tripp and Lee Deschamps (a former District Attorney from 1989-1992), who also does contract Public Defender representation as part of his general practice in Socorro, testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Friday afternoon regarding the need for such a program and presented a breakdown to the Committee of the proposed allocation of the funds, should they ultimately be appropriated.

Deschamps said Judge Fitch stands firmly behind the establishment of a drug court program, which frees up substantial resources in the criminal justice system and diverts addicted substance abusers from the traditional criminal justice system by giving them the opportunity to treat their addiction instead of going to prison.

At a cost of about $2,500 per year per defendant, compared to about $25,000 per year for incarceration, the program not only saves substantial tax payer monies, but also gives defendants a chance to escape the all too-often inevitable cycle of crime, prison, crime, prison, crime, prison that is all too often associated with addiction, Deschamps said in a press release.

With daily drug testing and counseling tailored to drug addiction, the program quickly weeds out "pretenders" and offers serious treatment and a serious chance of recovery to those who are serious about terminating their addiction.

Such programs already exist in Taos, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, where they have been very successful, according to Deschamps.

"It is even more important to establish such a program in our District," Deschamps told the Committee, “where the general population does not have the economic resources for private treatment, and because of the smaller population densities, there are treatment facilities and programs readily available.”

"Every community has a drug problem, but in smaller communities like Truth or Consequences, Moriarty, Estancia, or Socorro, addiction tends to affect a much larger percentage of people who know a friend or relative who has an addiction," Deschamps said.

After Deschamps remarks, officials from the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Chief Public Defender each told the Committee that they were strongly in favor of the bill.

Representative Tripp said the Bill faces an uphill battle in the Appropriations Committee, where the Bill goes next, due to limited funds in the budget.

“But when Lee [Deschamps] came to me with the idea this year, I introduced the bill anyway because of the tremendous need for such a program.  If it does not succeed this year, it will have a better chance next year, and the Administrative Office of the Courts has assured us that they would include it in the unified budget next year, which will greatly increase the chances of making Drug Court a reality,” Rep. Tripp said.

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 (posted 2-3-04)  

Kucinich says he was right; there

were no weapons of mass destruction

Invasion of Iraq based on manipulation

of American intelligence community

Democratic Presidential Candidate Congressman Dennis Kucinich says weapons inspector Dr. David Kay, was mistaken in saying, "We were all wrong about believing there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

The four-term U.S. Congressman and co-chair of the powerful Progressive Democratic Caucus says the testimony from the Bush-appointed weapons inspector to the United States Senate this week fails to acknowledge manipulation of the American intelligence community, which resulted in a false premise for invading the oil-rich nation.

On this matter Dennis Kucinich was right.  "I am the only Democrat running for President of the United States who voted against the Iraq War Resolution," says Kucinich, who led 126 house members to vote against the invasion, an invasion which violated international law and left the United Nations in the weakest position since World War II.

In a powerful detailed report released Friday by the Ohio Congressman, there are quotes from several other Democratic candidates revealing they all believed there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.  Only Kucinich stood firm in the belief that the rhetoric of fear from the Bush administration about the threat from Iraq was baseless.

Campaigning in states holding primaries on Feb. 3, Kucinich on Saturday held a major news conference in Albuquerque, where he gave his first speech about this report.  Kucinich says he had chosen New Mexico to first release his report because it is a state where opposition to the war in Iraq is strong and environmental concerns about America's nuclear waste disposal are paramount in the minds of voters going to the polls today (Tuesday, Feb. 3).

At the Jan. 31 news conference, Kucinich discussed how the information revealed in his report led him to take a leadership role in opposing the invasion of Iraq in Congress and in the Presidential campaign.  He expounded on his now-validated belief that there were no weapons of mass destruction in that country.

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 (posted 2-3-04)  

USFS to impound Diamond Bar’s livestock

Sierra County ranch faces losing 300 head

By Laura Schneberger

WINSTON, NM - The U.S. Forest Service will begin to impound Diamond Bar Ranch’s livestock by Feb. 7 - that is - if local law enforcement in Sierra County will allow the impoundment of some 300 head.

What the USFS doesn't seem to recognize is that they do not own the land, they have a certain jurisdiction to manage certain parts of the land.  That does not include managing access to the water nor does it give them the right to revoke others rights on that land through an arbitrary administrative process.

…Background

In the early 1900s, all forest grazing allotments were open range where settlers could run livestock.  The USFS partnered with settlers who had substantial private land patents from federal claims that had been proved up on and created these ranches and the grazing system.

The ranchers voluntarily entered into this partnership and provided funds to fence off the allotments now used for grazing on national forests.  The USFS in effect created a perpetual easement to access the forage and water rights on those allotments by creating those boundary fences and individual ranches.

They used ranchers’ money to survey boundaries and provide fencing.  The allotments were attached to larger tracts of private land to be used as commensurate property for a reason.

The bigger the landholder the more likely he would stay and create economic stability for a growing community.

Without these allotments, the value of the private lands connected to them is substantially diminished.  Loss of these allotments leads to subdivision of what is now worthless and highly taxable private land.

In return for that early partnership, the ranchers provide a basis for a developing economy, jobs, improvements that benefit people and wildlife, as well as allow recreation to occur on these lands.

The Diamond Bar Ranch:
Grasslands Means
Grazing Land

…The problem now

To continually state there is no right associated with federal grazing allotments is to continually give a false statement.  One would think the USFS had forgotten all about those old partnerships the way they treat ranchers on federal lands these days.

Because they owned the largest wilderness based allotment, the Laney's attracted the attention of the environmental community in the west - the same fo