|
FREE WEBSITE
THROUGHOUT
Welcome to Desert Journal Online, established in May 2001 in New Mexico. Our website
offers our true crime book,
Satan's Den Exposed - The David
Parker Ray Story, and poetry and photo collections,
Bombshell
Liberation and
Interference, and provides free access to
our featured columns, photos and news archives.
Directory Page
Site Map |
|
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ THESE!
|
|
2012 began in 1999
by Peter Appleseed
of the Kyyboa Tribe
Book about true revolution, civilogy and creating positive alternatives. |
|
Satan's Den Exposed
The David Parker Ray Story
True crime book about a
criminal sexual sadist and cohorts busted in kidnap, rape and sexual
torture cases in New Mexico
By the Desert Journal's award winning investigative reporting team of Bill
Johnson, Fred Mramor & David Pierre
SPECIAL OFFERS EXTENDED
CLICK
HERE
FOR DETAILS!
|
|
CLICK ON THUMB TO SEE LEO DAILEY PERFORM
HIS NEW ROCK SONG, rallytime!
ALSO, SEE OUR NEW WEB PAGE
ANTI-WAR SONGS!!!
VISIT LEO DAILEY'S NEW WEBSITE -
www.LeoDailey.com |
|
BOMBSHELL LIBERATION
&
INTERFERENCE
Poetry & Photo Collections
By Leo Dailey
NEW RELEASES OCTOBER 2006!!!
Electronic Books - $2.95 each ($2 off)
For details, click
HERE!
 |
|
 |
|
FOR FREE CLASSIFIED ADS, CLICK
HERE! |
|
Desert Journal Online
Contact Information
Bill Johnson
Editor, Publisher & Webmaster
Vic Arvizu
Honorary Web Guru
-
-
Electronic mail
-
desertjournal@hotmail.com
desertjournalonline@yahoo.com
poet@leodailey.com
-
Location
-
We are an electronic
submissions only website located in Albuquerque, NM, and have no
physical business address.
-
-
Copyright ©
2001-2008 Desert Journal Online
-
Last modified:
October 1, 2008
|
| |
|
|
|
…The
Leaning Snowman
It
took two and a half hours Monday morning for the Hatcher family to build
The Leaning Snowman in the back yard of their residence in the Hot Springs
Landing area of Elephant Butte. With some creativity, the Hatchers gave
their special snowman poker chips for teeth, tops off glass containers for
buttons, a scarf made of gift wrap ribbon, a yucca hat, not to mention its
lean, which must be a hereditary thing they all inherited. Or perhaps the
leaning disorder was acquired from Tom Hatcher’s surfing days at the
beach and passed onto his two sons. Anyways, The Leaning Snowman’s
creators are (from left) James, Tom and Chris Hatcher. They couldn’t
resist taking to the cold, wet snow as the area hasn’t seen much of the
white stuff accumulate on the ground for several years. Click on photo for
another snowy shot for the area.
DJ
photo by Bill Johnson
|
 |
|
...Let
it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
Paris
gets into the snow action in Truth or Consequences Monday morning by first
sharing a smile (above), then tossing a snowball at Papa, the camera guy.
Happy New Year!
DJ photo by Bill Johnson |
|
|
|
Gang
leader pleads no contest
in
Elephant Butte murder case
Jeff
Padilla
DJ
file photo by Bill Johnson
Also
takes rap for ordering
death
of witness in Albuquerque
By
Bill Johnson
of
the Desert Journal
Los Padillas gang
leader Jeffery Larry Padilla last week pleaded no contest to two counts of
murder in connection with the slaying of an alleged rival drug lord at
Elephant Butte Lake four and a half years ago and for ordering the
execution of a gang member who was a witness of the campsite shooting.
As part of the terms of the plea and
disposition agreement worked out in state district court in Albuquerque
last Friday, Dec. 20, the prosecution agreed to dismiss its case against
Padilla’s brother, Johnny Lee, who was a co-defendant in the murder
case.
“It’s unusual for someone to plea
in one of our cases in a different county or jurisdiction,” said
District Attorney Clint Wellborn of the Seventh Judicial District during a
phone news conference last Monday. “But it can be done with our
agreement.”
“I agreed to it and last Friday
morning they went before the judge in Bernalillo County and the judge
accepted Padilla’s plea,” Wellborn said.
On Dec. 20, Jeff Padilla, 31, of
Albuquerque’s South Valley, plead no contest to the second degree murder
of Fernando Velasquez of Albuquerque on May 24, 1998, at the state park in
Sierra County, and to conspiracy to commit first degree murder of Julius
“Slick” Sanchez on July 28, 1998, in Bernalillo County. The conspiracy
charge in this case is also a second degree felony.
Jacob Chavez, 26, already is serving a
25-year prison sentence for killing his best friend, Sanchez, who was a
witness in the Elephant Butte murder case.
Lastly, Padilla also plead no contest
to the second degree felony of accessory to trafficking (by distribution)
occurring in Bernalillo County on April 22, 2000.
With two prior convictions for
residential burglaries occurring in 1989 and 1990 in Bernalillo County,
Padilla will be sentenced as an habitual offender with one prior
conviction for enhancement purposes, and Padilla’s sentence will be
enhanced by one year of mandatory incarceration, according to the repeat
offender plea and disposition agreement.
The court ordered Padilla to undergo a
60-day diagnostic evaluation for sentencing purposes, Wellborn said, but
according to the terms of the plea and disposition agreement, Padilla is
exposed to a prison term from two to 41 years with a 25-year incarceration
cap at the initial sentencing.
Also, Padilla agreed to waive venue
from Sierra County to Bernalillo County and admit identity to his prior
convictions for a one-year enhancement at initial sentencing.
The maximum penalties Padilla can
receive includes:
Second degree murder - a basic sentence
of 15 years but not less than 10 years nor more than 20 years imprisonment
and not more than a $10,000 fine, followed by two years parole;
Use of firearm alteration to basic
sentence – a basic sentence of imprisonment increased by one year for
the first offense in which a firearm is used and three years for
subsequent offenses in which a firearm is used.
Conspiracy to commit first degree
murder – Same as the second degree murder charge.
Accessory to trafficking (by
distribution) – Basic sentence of nine years, but not less than six
years nor more than 12 years imprisonment and not more than a $10,000
fine, followed by two years parole.
DA Wellborn said he believes that drug
dealings in Albuquerque were the primary motive for the Elephant Butte
murder and not the fact that his victim, Velasquez, was dating and living
with Johnny Padilla’s ex-girlfriend, Angela Sedillo.
According to the October 2001 testimony
of Jeff Padilla’s estranged wife, Monica Padilla, Jeff and Johnny
Padilla were going to collect some $20,000 to $30,000 in monthly
“taxes” they thought Velasquez should be paying for being allowed to
do drug business on the gang’s home turf.
Also at the preliminary hearing in the
Sierra County Magistrate Court 14 months ago, testimony revealed that
Johnny Padilla allegedly handed over his 9-m.m. semi-automatic gun to
brother Jeff for the purpose of gunning down Velasquez.
The execution occurred in the campsite
of Velasquez and Sedillo, among others, and in the presence of Sedillo,
hers and Johnny Padilla’s son, Johnny Jr., now 11 years old, and a
neighboring camper from El Paso, TX, Frank Cordova who identified both
Padilla brothers in a photo array with Jeff Padilla being the shooter. At
the time of the shooting, Johnny was playing with his son nearby.
The murder occurred shortly after both
Padilla brothers, Chavez and Sanchez arrived at Velasquez’s campsite at
Cow Camp at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
“I heard
one pop, then went to the door (of the RV) and I saw Jeffery standing by
the tree with a gun in his hand. I saw the gun flash. Jeffery was firing
the gun,” Angela Sedillo testified at the preliminary exam before
Magistrate Thomas Pestak.
“When
Jeffery fired the gun, he shot at Fernando. He was running and fell. He
was shot. I saw all this blood. I was at the door where I could see it.
The door was open and the screen (door) was open. I saw the second
gunshot,” Sedillo said.
“I was at
the door when I saw Fernando fall to his knees and he was trying to
crawl,” she said.
Sedillo
said she had told a state police agent she didn’t know why the two
Padilla brothers would shoot her boyfriend.
Sedillo
testified she was Velasquez’s girlfriend for three years prior to his
slaying in 1998. She said she and Johnny Padilla, 26, are parents of their
son, Johnny Jr. She said she lived with Johnny Padilla three years.
Sedillo
said that forgery and fraud charges, in which she and her brother
attempted to forge a $11,000 check on Velasquez’s account a few days
after his homicide, was dropped for her testimony before a federal grand
jury.
“I was arrested at Fernando’s bank.
I had thought I was on the signature card and that I could withdraw money
on his account. I was there with my brother,” Angela Sedillo said.
Defense
attorney Roger Bargas of Tucumcari said Sedillo had said she “did it for
funeral expenses.”
DA Wellborn
said his former deputy assistant, June Stein, had worked two years on the
Elephant Butte murder case, which was set for trial on Jan. 16, 2003.
“After
June left (for Alaska recently), we started to prepare for trial and then
realized it was too big with 18 volumes of three-inch thick binders and
over 250 tapes,” Wellborn said.
Ray
Montano, special prosecutor of the Attorney General’s Office in
Albuquerque, agreed to prosecute the case and so both the Albuquerque and
Sierra County cases were consolidated, also with the defense’s approval,
according to Wellborn.
“Last
week on Wednesday we did additional interviews and gang members turned
over state’s evidence,” Wellborn said.
Wellborn
said the plea and disposition agreement was the same one that the court
had rejected earlier in the year. As a result of the court proceedings in
Albuquerque, Wellborn said he had to dismiss all of the charges in Sierra
County so that the two murder cases could be consolidated and venue for
the Elephant Butte case could be moved to Bernalillo County.
He said
sentencing of Padilla will be two to three months from now or after the
court receives the results of the diagnostic evaluation.
“Although
[former deputy DA] June Stein isn’t here any longer, she deserves a pat
on the back because she put the case together. Without her work and hard
effort, this case wouldn’t have come about,” Wellborn said, adding,
“Also, Ray Montano did a good job on his end.”
<<<
>>> |
|
|
|
|
|
Even
though it wasn’t a white Christmas on Wednesday, it was a “White
Cactus” on Christmas Eve Tuesday in T or C as these prickly pear cacti
will attest.
DJ photo by Bill Johnson |
|
H.R.
706 authorizes process to convey
lease
lots at EB and Caballo Reservoirs
President of the
United States George W. Bush signed into law H.R. 706 on Dec. 16.
The Elephant Butte Lease Lot Transfer
Act directs the Secretary of the Department of the Interior to sell 403
leased lots located at Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs for fair
market value to the Elephant Butte-Caballo Leaseholders Association.
Individuals leasing the lots may choose
to purchase their lots from the EBCLA or to continue leasing their lots.
In the early 1900s, the Bureau of
Reclamation was authorized to build the Rio Grande Project, including
Elephant Butte Reservoir, to store water for irrigation purposes and to
meet treaty obligations to the Republic of Mexico. The beneficiaries of
this project are Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID), El Paso County
Water Improvement District No.1 (EPCWID), and Mexico. Caballo Reservoir
was constructed to provide additional storage for the Rio Grande Project
and for flood control purposes in the 1930s.
Recreation at these reservoirs is an
added benefit which was authorized by Congress in 1962. In the 1940s,
Reclamation began leasing one-quarter and one-half-acre lots along the
shoreline of Elephant Butte and Caballo reservoirs to individuals on a
short-term basis.
Individuals were allowed to place
tents, campers and temporary shelters on these lots for part-time
recreational use. In 1973, management of all recreation at these
reservoirs, including the leased lots, was transferred to the New Mexico
State Parks Division. Since that time, the Division has used the lease
fees, about $250,000 annually, to help cover its costs of operating and
maintaining Elephant Butte and Caballo State Parks.
Over time, as the leases were renewed,
many individuals replaced temporary structures with permanent ones that
are now used as full-time residences.
Reclaination performed environmental
and realty assessments and determined that most of these lots were no
longer needed for project purposes.
EBID and the EBCLA prepared the initial
legislation that was introduced in the House by Representative Joe Skeen
(R-NM). That legislation would have directed the proceeds from the sale of
these lots to EBID and EPCWID.
During the normal legis1ative process,
the Department of the Interior and others were asked to give testimony on
H.R. 706. On Dec. 10, 2001, Reclamation Commissioner John W. Keys III
testified before the House Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power.
In his testimony, Keys said Reclamation
had concerns with the legislation as originally written and he offered
assistance to properly address the concerns on the appraisal process and
disbursement of revenue from the sales.
The House chose to amend H.R. 706,
voted on it, and passed the amended version of H.R. 706 on March 19, 2002.
The Bill was forwarded to the Senate on
March 20, 2002. Mark Limbaugh, Director of External and Intergovernmental
Affairs for Reclamation, provided a statement to the Senate supporting the
amended Bill.
On Nov. 20, 2002, H.R. 706 passed the
Senate by unanimous consent. H.R. 706 was presented to the President for
signature on Dec. 4, 2002 and signed on Dec. 16, 2002.
As the bill now stands, fair market
value of the lots will be determined by a mutually agreed-upon appraiser
in accordance with the Uniform Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions.
Since H.R. 706 has no expressed
provisions for revenue crediting, the proceeds of the sale will be
collected and credited as directed under existing law.
Therefore, proceeds from lots located
on lands, which were already owned by the U .S. government when the Rio
Grande Project was authorized, referred to as withdrawn lands, will be
credited to the U.S. Treasury.
About 57 percent of the leased lots are
located on withdrawn lands.
The remaining 43 percent of the leased
lots are located on acquired lands. These are lands that were acquired
from private landowners at the time the Rio Grande Project was authorized.
The proceeds from the sale of lots located on acquired lands will be
placed in the Reclamation Fund.
Neither EBID nor EPCWID will receive
revenues from the sales of these lots.
In 1937, legislation was passed which
provided that EBID and EPCWID no longer had to pay the costs for acquired
lands and construction of Elephant Butte Dam and Reservoir.
All of the payments that the two
Districts had made on this part of the project were returned to them as
credit on their remaining repayment obligation for canals, ditches,
laterals and drains.
Costs for constructing Caballo Dam and
Reservoir were charged to flood control and power paid by the federal
government and power users.
<<< >>> |
|
|
 |
|
Elephant
Butte Lake State Park got a share of snow Monday but as can be seen, it
slowly melts in the parking area of the main boat ramp off Marina Del Sur
and slides down the culvert.
DJ
photo by Bill Johnson |
|
|
|
BLM
transfers original
town
site to City of T or C
The U.S. Bureau
of Land Management has deeded the site of the Geronimo Hot Springs Park to
the city of Truth or Consequences, according to Amy Lueders, BLM-Las
Cruces field office manager.
The near quarter-acre parcel on Main
Street is the original town site. It is the site of the Geronimo Hot
Springs, where Native Americans and early settlers came to bathe in the
mineral water.
Last March the land was developed into
a park adjacent to Geronimo Springs Museum.
Since 1957, the city has leased the
site from the BLM under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, which
allows the BLM to lease lands to a state or local government. Once such
land is fully developed, the BLM may sell the property.
The city of Truth or Consequences paid
the BLM $50 for the park site. The land is valued at about $3,000 -
$5,000, according to City Manager Richard Ramsey.
The BLM, an agency of the U.S.
Department of the Interior, manages about 13 million acres in New Mexico.
The BLM's Las Cruces field office is responsible for about 5.4 million
acres of that total in six southwestern New Mexico counties.
The agency manages such resources as
outdoor recreation, livestock grazing and energy and mineral development
that helps meet the nation's energy needs and by conserving natural,
historical, cultural and other resources on the public lands, Lueders
said.
<<< >>> |
|
|
|
Snow
covers the shoreline of Elephant Butte but Rattlesnake Island seems to be
insulated from the snow, although appearing dreary with wet weather.
DJ
photo by Bill Johnson
|
|
Chamber
seeks to make Veterans Home
final
resting place for the Wall that Heals
The
Truth or Consequences/Sierra County Chamber of Commerce recently decided
to be the fiscal agent on a $60,000 loan from State National Bank to
acquire the original Traveling Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall that is
also known as “The Wall That Heals.”
The
chamber intends to purchase the wall, that is if it’s still for sale and
if so for what price, and place it in a final resting place at the New
Mexico State Veterans Home in T or C.
The
Wall That Heals was displayed at the Veterans Home in November 2001.
According
to Chamber correspondence on the acquisition project, the Chamber earlier
this month told Sarah Preston of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in
Washington, DC, of its interest.
“Our
funds are available and a cashier’s check will be issued upon receipt of
a sales agreement from the VVMF,” said Administrator Heidi LeTourneau
and board chairman Bobby Allen in a Dec. 5 letter to Preston.
The
chamber also inquired as to the physical condition of the Wall,
replacement needs for panels and whether the price has changed.
“Our
intent is to utilize a knoll, overlooking the City of T or C on the
grounds of the New Mexico State Veterans Home for the permanent placement
of The Wall That Heals,” LeTourneau and Allen wrote to Preston.
The
Veterans Home is the only one of its kind in New Mexico and provides care
for veterans of every war and conflict. “Our state and our community is
rich with veterans and this was evidenced by the enormous amount of
visitors who came to see and pay their respects when The Wall That Heals
was here in [2001],” Allen and LeTourneau said.
“The
permanent placement of this memorial at the Veterans Home would provide
protection for the ongoing operations of the facility as well as boost the
moral of those veterans being cared for there and those visiting. We are a
retirement community as well as a recreation destination and we feel an
appropriate home for the Wall is here in T or C,” the chamber leaders
wrote in their letter to Preston.
<<< >>> |
 |
Large
snowflakes fall from the sky early Monday morning in Truth or
Consequences.
DJ photo by Bill Johnson |
|
Ignition
interlock law
becomes
effective Jan. 1
DWI
offenders required
to
have device installed
In
the hands of a drunk driver, a car is a deadly weapon. But it can’t be
deadly if it won’t start.
As
of Jan. 1, drivers convicted of aggravated DWI and repeat DWI will be
required to have an ignition interlock device installed and operating in
their vehicle for at least a year.
The
New Mexico Traffic Safety Bureau worked with many people and state
agencies to make sure the legislation was passed and has recently
completed securing the interlock providers and the rules and regulations
governing interlock installation.
"The
ignition interlock law will save lives in New Mexico," said Virginia
Jaramillo, Bureau Chief of the Traffic Safety Bureau. "We can't just
wait until someone is on the road driving drunk - by then it may be too
late. An interlock device has the potential to stop a tragedy before it
even starts."
New
Mexico judges will also have the discretion to order interlocks on
non-aggravated DWI offenders. An aggravated DWI offender is someone who
causes bodily injury to a human being during an alcohol related vehicular
crash, refuses to submit to chemical testing for blood alcohol or has a
Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of twice the legal limit or higher (.16
or above).
An
ignition interlock is a breath alcohol analyzer that is connected to a
vehicle's ignition system.
Individuals
with ignition interlocks must first blow a deep lung breath sample into
the interlock prior to starting the vehicle.
The
interlock measures the alcohol concentration in an individual's breath and
prevents the vehicle from starting if the alcohol exceeds a .025 BAC.
The
TSB has currently licensed eight contractors statewide to install, service
and train offenders on usage of the interlock. Offenders who re required
to have an ignition interlock installed on their vehicle will be monitored
by contractors after the first 30 days of installation and then at least
every 60 days.
The
device records critical data each time the offender breathes into the
interlock, including how many times the offender tries to start the
vehicle, BAC levels and any attempts to tamper with the device.
The
interlock device will also conduct rolling re-tests, requiring the driver
to periodically blow into the device while driving to ensure that the
person driving is the same person who blew into the device to start the
car.
The
contractor is required to electronically transmit the data to New
Mexico’s courts and other entities, where probation officers will
monitor their assigned offender’s record.
Offenders
will also be responsible for paying for the interlock device, which
consists of a $150 to $175 installation fee, and a monthly leasing fee of
about $2 a day.
The
New Mexico Traffic Safety Bureau served as the primary force behind the
passage of the legislation, encouraging NM legislators to approve the
ignition interlock program into law. Senator Kent Cravens (R-Albuquerque)
introduced the legislation.
<<<
>>> |
|
Free
rides for New Year’s partiers
Dorothy Michelis
and her son, Don Michelis, will be offering free rides to keep motorists
safe from would-be drunken drivers on Truth or Consequences’ area roads
during New Year’s Eve and into the wee hours of New Year’s Day.
Dorothy is the owner of the Red Haven
Motel on North Date Street in T or C and she will be answering the phone
while Don picks up those who party too much – those who are too
inebriated to safely, or legally, operate a motor vehicle.
Rides will be confined to the T or C
area. To request a free ride during New Year’s Eve night this Tuesday
call 894-2964 or 894-4468.
Dorothy and Don are providing the free
rides as a community service.
<<< >>> |
|
2003
3AAA All District Football Team
HSHS
players named
Several members
of the Hot Springs High School Football Team have been named to the 2002
3AAA All District Football Team.
The All District Team selections were
made based on the best football players in the district.
First Team Selections – Zach Gerleve,
quarterback; Roman Sanchez, running back; Carlos Trujillo, linebacker;
Greer Goetz, linebacker; Ralph Crispell, center; Chad Spitzer, tight end.
Second Team Selections – J.T.
Terrazas, linebacker; Michael Sanchez, defensive back; Eric Luna, running
back; Rocky Starr, guard; Chris Tayfel, tackle; Juan Garcia, guard.
Honorable Mention – Justin Williams,
defensive back; Chas Powers, tackle; Joe Baca, wide out.
Other first team selections included
eight players from Cobre, four from Grants, and three each from Bernalillo
and Socorro.
<<<
>>>
|
|
The
Wildlands Project Comes
to
Hidalgo County (Part 9)
The
Nature Conservancy
-
Strategy for the 1990s
A
Country Girl's Musin'
By
Judy Keeler
My research on
The Nature Conservancy began in 1989 when TNC bought the Gray Ranch with
the intent of selling it to the federal government for a wildlife refuge.
At that time, Larry Woodard was the New
Mexico State Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). He also
served on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico State Chapter of The
Nature Conservancy.
Woodward would later resign this
position due to a conflict of interest, but only after a great deal of
controversy had been created. During this time a very questionable land
exchange took place between TNC and the BLM in Las Cruces.
It was also during this time the BLM
contracted with TNC to do a biological inventory of the federal lands in
the southern portion of New Mexico under a "challenge cost-share
agreement."
Their "inventory" would serve
as a basis for a new Resource Management Plan for the Mimbres Resource
Area, now called the Las Cruces Resource Area. Thus began a very
contentious process that had everyone frustrated and defensive by the time
the plan was finalized in October of 1992.
Many of the public comments on the plan
appeared to center around TNC's bias against the multiple use of the land,
with grazing and recreational uses viewed very negatively in the report.
Discussion of private stewardship, also
appearing in several places, was considered to negatively impact the
lands. However, TNC's own reports would conclude that more endangered and
special status species were found on private lands than on federal lands.
They would also later conclude grazing
could be a compatible use of the land. How and why did they change their
course?
Upon closely examining TNC, I've
concluded the organization is very astute. They tend to learn from past
mistakes. They are also extremely resilient.
Surrounding themselves with highly
educated professions they incorporate their philosophies into their
agenda, making the organization appear well-balanced and providing a great
deal of flexibility.
Because TNC has tremendous financial
resources, they can well afford to hire some of the outstanding
biologists, conservationists, environmental lawyers and social ecologists
of our day.
This gives them access to some of the
newest and most current information. They also have a close working
relationship with our elected officials and federal land management
agencies at a national level.
So close do they work with our federal
agencies that they have become synonymous with land use planning. On the
cutting edge of technology and conservation biology they promote their
concepts with great dexterity.
By the early ’90s TNC had a new
executive director, John Sawhill, who promised an even cozier relationship
with big government.
Sawhill took the helm proceeded by a
whole host of successes. Former Secretary of Energy under the Carter
administration, Sawhill also sat on the Board of Directors for several
prestigious companies, including RCA, Pacific Gas and Electric,
Consolidated Edison, Philip Morris, Crane Corporation and General American
Investors.
He also served as trustee at Princeton
University, Chairman of the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research in
Massachusetts' Institute of Technology and the Manville Personal Injury
Settlement Trust.
In TNC's "Conservation Strategy
for the 1990s," John Sawhill stated that the Conservancy was going to
change the way it was doing business. They would continue their
non-confrontational approach to government, and at the same time
"increase resources" devoted to promoting government actions.
Additionally, it was their intent to
increase the level of government funding for conservation, step up
activities to influence the management of public lands, and empower
government agencies.
Sawhill soon found himself appointed
during the Clinton Administration to the President's Council on
Sustainable Development, as well as the President's Council on
Environmental Quality.
According to TNC's new strategy, it was
also their intent to establish more bio-reserves and assemble regional and
national Heritage data bases designed to strengthen the Endangered Species
Act.
According to an article, published
Sept. 18, 1995, in the Albuquerque Journal, "John Sawhill,
president of The Nature Conservancy, had an idea, five years and $300
million ago, on how better to protect some of the nation's most precious
ecosystems – “the last great places,” he called them.
His vision has turned to reality as the
conservation group marks the success today of its most ambitious
environmental rescue mission ever, the preservation of 75 unique prairies,
watersheds, streams, islands and forests…
Long before federal agencies considered
managing for ecosystems, wildfires and watersheds, TNC had already
established itself as the "expert" on these subjects.
Today, as our nation moves toward
managing our lands, both private and public, for their intrinsic value to
benefit endangered species, we find ourselves being guided by the
principles and standards developed by TNC. Their plan is being implemented
at an incredible pace.
Next week: The Heritage Data Base - The Rush for Technology Related
Articles: A Status Report on the Endangered Species Act.
<<<
>>> |
|
OBITUARIES
John R. Dudley, 71, a former longtime resident of Las Cruces, died
Monday, Dec. 23, 2002, at the New Mexico State Veterans Home in Truth or
Consequences. He was born Sept. 3, 1931, in Hereford, Texas, to James and
Beulah (Singletary) Dudley. He had served in the U.S. Air Force during the
Korean Conflict. He moved to Caballo, NM in 1999 and was a retired mobile
home service repairman.
Survivors
include his daughters, Clarissa Dudley of Mesilla Park, Ginger Houghten of
Florida, and Terri Crain of Alamogordo; his sons, Ray Dudley of Altamonte,
FL; Stacey Dudley of Florida and Shawn Dudley of Croton, NY; and a sister,
Izetta Radene Bell of Caballo.
Private Interment will be held in the Ft. Bayard National
Cemetery. Arrangements are by French Mortuary of T or C Inc.;
505-894-2574.
<<<
>>> |
| |
|
