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Last modified: October 17, 2008

Headline News From Feb. 8, 2002 Issue

  Arizona’s Elite Shutters Inc. (AESI), a Phoenix-based manufacturer of shutters, furniture and other home wares, may soon make Truth or Consequences its new home.

Voters say why school tax fails 

  Sierra County voters on Tuesday, Feb. 5, said “No” to the Truth or Consequences Municipal School District’s request for a two-mil tax to be levied against property owners.

Cities respond to county's plans 
to stop housing municipal prisoners 

  The cities of Truth or Consequences, Elephant Butte and the Village of Williamsburg will have to find other accommodations for their offenders after June 30.

City considers imposing fees 
on returned checks & red tags 

  Truth or Consequences city commissioners in a special meeting Tuesday approved for publication several amendments to the city’s utilities ordinances.

  In response to a Desert Journal reader’s question, “What are the nine rattlesnakes in New Mexico,” those species are listed here as found in the National Audubon Society Nature Guides book “Deserts” compiled by James A. MacMahon in 1985.

Mobile EITC Awareness Initiative rolling into southern NM  

  A helping hand from the Internal Revenue Service may be as close as your neighborhood, as the agency's New Mexico Mobile EITC Awareness Initiative rolls into Carlsbad, Lordsburg, Silver City, Truth or Consequences and Deming to offer service in locations convenient to its customers.

The Rio Grande turns choppy after flowing over the rocks and boulders of a temporary dike structure, used to back up winter’s low flow and to keep pressure on the hot water table that makes Hot Springs (changed to Truth or Consequences in 1950), NM, so famous. Note how the downtown water tank seems to be so close to the river, yet it’s at least a mile away from the camera.
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson

Maquiladora may come to T or C

By Fred Mramor of the Desert Journal

Arizona’s Elite Shutters Inc. (AESI), a Phoenix-based manufacturer of shutters, furniture and other home wares, may soon make Truth or Consequences its new home.

“From what we were able to see on our short visit, I believe the benefits and amenities of your town are compatible with our company’s needs,” Raven Padgett, owner of Maderas Azteca that manufactures for AESI, said in a Jan. 11 letter to Lane Pack, administrator of the Sierra County Economic Development Organization (SCEDO).

“I hope in the next few weeks we can come to an amicable arrangement for your town and our company,” Padgett said.

Currently manufacturing in Mexico, Padgett further said, “We have become disenchanted with the uncertainty of the Mexican government, their business programs and our failure to reap the rewards of our heavy financial investments in their country.

“We are committed to the next phase in the expansion of our company. This requires that we locate a cooperative and cost-effective community to accept the jobs we offer and share in our growth and prosperity.

“We feel your community is exactly what we need. How fast all this happens is directly related to the speed at which your community can react and the amount of support you can give,” Padgett said in the letter to Pack.

Truth or Consequences city commissioners, eager to attract a light manufacturing business that will create 57 local jobs initially and perhaps another 140 more after a couple years, apparently are willing to lend a great deal of support to AESI.

City commissioners at their special meeting Tuesday indicated they will be willing to lease 10 acres or more at $1 a year near the Sierra County Fair Barn where AESI may construct a 42,000-square-foot concrete pad and metal building.

The city also is willing to provide in-kind services for land preparation and bring city utilities to the site. And AESI can take advantage of a recently adopted city ordinance providing discount electric rates to businesses that create 10 or more new jobs within the city.

City officials also will ask Sierra County to give AESI a property tax break on its building.

And if all this wasn’t enough to entice AESI to come to T or C, SCEDO can provide $40,000 toward site preparation and construction.

AESI representatives met with Lane Pack and other local officials and business people to take an additional tour of the area Thursday morning followed by another meeting in the evening.

Details of the tour and meeting were not available by press time Thursday.

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…And they call this home

Graffiti and trash disgrace the pathway along the beautiful Rio Grande in Truth or Consequences, NM. Perhaps a Trash Bash, along with a fresh coat of paint for the structure, is in order for this neck of the woods in our rustic town?
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson

Voters say why school tax fails

By Carol Main of the Desert Journal

Sierra County voters on Tuesday, Feb. 5, said “No” to the Truth or Consequences Municipal School District’s request for a two-mil tax to be levied against property owners.

The two-mil levy lost by 170 votes, with 572 votes against and 402 votes for the levy of the 974 ballots cast.

There are 7,047 registered voters in the county, but fewer than 1,000 of them, or 13.82 percent to be exact, exercised their voting rights on this issue.

Sierra County Clerk Janice Sanchez said this is an unofficial tally, and the official election results will be available after a full ballot canvas has been completed this week.

The defeated two-mil levy would have been a continuation of a school tax property owners began paying in 1983.

Opposition to the tax came from many sources and for many reasons, one of which was the wording on the ballot.

As one voter said during an election day survey, “If I didn't know how to read I would have voted yes because the community is responsible for the children. But it looked just like the ballot for last year’s bond issue. You know, to buy land and erect and furnish buildings, and get some more vehicles for extracurricular activities. We are already paying for that from last year.”

In August 2000, voters said “No” to a two-mil levy school tax, and they also said “No” to a $4.5 million school bond issue.

Then in Feb 2001, the bond issue was dropped to $4 million and voters approved it by a margin of 32 ballots out of 1,474 votes cast.

That bond issue raised school taxes in Truth or Consequences from 4.413 mils in 2000 to 7.811 mils in 2001. This two-mil levy defeat lowers the school tax to 5.811 mills for 2002.

However, as a retired accountant said, “Two years ago they wanted a mil levy and a bond issue and we told them no on both. So they came back at us last year for the bond issue and they got it.”

“Now they are back for the mil levy and if they don't get it they will be right back at us again for it,” the accountant said. “The school administration does not care about kids, they just care about power and money in their pockets.”

On coming back at the voter, a T or C businessman said, “They sure slipped this one right in on us, didn't they? No publicity, no fan fare, nothing. They just slipped it right in on us.”

“I have been asking people all morning if they are going to vote and they are all saying, “For who? For what? People don't know about this one,” the businessman said.

And this from a senior citizen, “When our children were in school if there wasn't enough money for everything the schools wanted, they cut something out, like sports or other unimportant stuff.

“Now they just keep asking for more money,” the senior said.

From a former Washington state school food service director on checking how mil levy monies were spent during the past four years, “Look at how much more money they spent on athletic equipment, $17,371.65, than on food service equipment, $2,100. Oh yes, we need to buy them some more vehicles so they can go to ball games.”

And from a World War II veteran, “I paid over $50 in school taxes alone last year, and I don't even have any kids. It is not fair.”

Parental concerns touch other areas. As one mother said, “We need some changes. The district’s school suspension policy alone is a disgrace, and it is not being executed fairly, not even as it is written.”

A primary concern for teachers is the vacant high school principal’s position. One teacher said, “Now that there is no principal for the high school, and Bruce Hegwer is acting principal as well as school superintendent, where did the principal's salary go? Back into the budget? I don't think so.”

And from another teacher, “Those are supposed to be two separate positions, nobody can do both of them and do either one right. We need a principal in the high school every day.”

About the two-mil levy, Hegwer said, “In order to receive critical capitol outlay money from the state we must have a two-mil levy in place and also be bonded at 65% of our capacity.”

School Board member Sandra Whitehead, however, said, “From what we hear there won't be any capitol outlay money from the state for any of the school districts this year.”

In keeping with the tradition of a secret b allot, the voters surveyed were assured they would not be named.

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…White goods sale down by the river?

No, just a heap of junk that obstructs the beauty of the scenic Rio Grande that passes by this unsightly dump behind Carrie Tingley Hill in Truth or Consequences, NM.
Photo by Bill Johnson

Cities respond to county's plans

to stop housing municipal prisoners

By Fred Mramor of the Desert Journal

The cities of Truth or Consequences, Elephant Butte and the Village of Williamsburg will have to find other accommodations for their offenders after June 30.

Sierra County officials have notified the three municipalities that the county will terminate its contracts to house municipal prisoners at the county jail at the end of this fiscal year, County Manager Adam Polley announced at a press conference this week.

Polley said he has no suggestions to offer the municipalities as to what they can do with their prisoners.

While the Sierra County Detention Facility is old and meets no currently accepted standards, the greatest problem is the jail’s overcrowding, Polley said.

Built in the 1930s and designed to house only about 30 inmates, the county jail often holds 50 or more prisoners a day.

Polley said that as relatively few of the jail’s inmates are being held for violation of municipal ordinances, he doesn’t expect the jail’s daily population to be reduced significantly when the county no longer houses the municipalities’ prisoners.

“But we have to start somewhere,” the county manager said.

Polley said Sierra County Commissioners have authorized the formation of a county task force to address the problems of an old, deteriorating and overcrowded jail.

Polley will invite municipal officials to participate in a joint task force which hopes will meet Feb. 19 so that the county and the municipalities can work toward replacing “a facility that doesn’t work anymore.”

T or C Mayor Everett Banister this week said he recognizes that the county needs a new jail but said he doesn’t know how it will be funded.

Banister said city and county residents - himself included - have had enough of recent tax increases.

City Attorney Jay Rubin on Wednesday said he has not found anything in the state statutes requiring the county to house T or C’s municipal prisoners.

Rubin said he has examined statutes only from his own interest as city commissioners have not yet asked him to look into it or otherwise consulted with him.

Municipal Judge Tom Hawkins said it will be difficult for his court when the county no longer houses the city’s prisoners, especially because of mandatory holding periods for drunk driving and domestic violence offenders.

Hawkins added that he doesn’t have the option of making these offenses state cases and thereby obligating the county to house the offenders.

Williamsburg Mayor Sue Jackson said she isn’t sure if the county’s unilateral decision violates the county and village’s contract for the care, housing and transportation of its adult prisoners for which the village paid the county $30,000 in April 1999.

Jackson said wording included in the ambiguous contract read as “will terminate upon completion of the agreement herein stated but no later than June 30, 2004.”

Jackson said she is not sure if the county under the terms of the contract as written is obligated to house the village’s prisoners until June 2004 or if the county may at its discretion terminate the agreement at any time before then.

Jackson said she objected to the contract because she thought the village should get much more for its money.

She said the village has had no prisoners the last three years. Village officials will discuss the issue at their meeting Feb. 14.

Elephant Butte Councilor Chuck McBryde said the city council only having received the county’s notice Tuesday have not fully examined or officially discussed the issue and will probably do so when they meet on Feb. 13.

The City of Elephant Butte had only a prisoner and a half in the last year and a half, McBryde said, adding that it may be much cheaper for Elephant Butte to contract with Dona Ana County for the housing of its prisoners.

But the biggest problem, the county manager said, is not with the number of county or municipal prisoners but with the number of state prisoners.

Polley said state statutes require the county to house inmates charged with violating state laws regardless whether they are arrested in the county, or in one of its municipalities, or by either a state, county or municipal law enforcement agency.

County officials have met with the New Mexico Association of Counties that will form a statewide task force to address the problem of housing state prisoners at county facilities and expense, Polley said. He termed the obligation an un-funded mandate.

Polley said Sierra and other counties need state funds to house state prisoners but that Sierra County has no leverage to pry such funds from the state legislature.

State funds are available to build a new county jail but funds are not available to run it, Polley said.

The county manage said other counties have gotten into trouble by building two- or three-hundred-bed jails without having adequate funds to operate the new facilities.

The mistake counties have made, Polley said, is thinking that a new facility can be run more cheaply and efficiently than an old one.

One option the county can investigate is building a facility large enough to house federal, as well as state and local prisoners, for which the federal government will compensate the county, Polley said.

The county manager said such a facility could also be used for the temporary detention of illegal immigrants.

But Polley said he doesn’t think housing illegal immigrants would be a good alternative for the county because it will bring other people, such as family members and other visitors, into the community.

<<<   >>>

The T or C Municipal Swimming Pool gets new shower rooms to replace the old, dingy ones in the building on the east side. The new building is on the north side of the pool. Incidentally, the water looked very inviting despite the cool February climate.
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson

City considers imposing fees

on returned checks & red tags

By Fred Mramor of the Desert Journal

Truth or Consequences city commissioners in a special meeting Tuesday approved for publication several amendments to the city’s utilities ordinances.

If adopted by commissioners in about a month, amendments to Ordinance No. 14-36 will impose a $25 returned check fee on utility customers, provide for calculation of all first and final billings on a pro-rata basis, and impose twice the normal fee for connecting or disconnecting city utilities if customers insist on these services being performed after hours.

The ordinance also will impose a $25 fee when the city issues red tags (notices to customers that their services will be cut off in 24 to 48 hours if they don’t first pay their bill or make other arrangements with the utilities office).

Utilities Director Neil Knott said to commissioners some utilities customers are in the habit of waiting until they are red-tagged before paying their bills.

Mayor Everett Banister said a $25 fee will get customers to pay their bills and Commissioner Cookie Johnson said the fee will be in line with commissioners’ efforts to get tough with customers who aren’t paying their bills.

An additional amendment to Ordinance 14-36 will establish a procedure for city management and staff to place liens against properties to collect on past due utility bills.

Property owners should be aware that liens can be placed against their properties when it is their tenants who are the actual utilities customers, but Neil Knott said property owners can notify the city that they will not be responsible for their tenants’ utilities bills and the city will not place liens against those properties.

Knott added that the city probably will not go to the trouble and expense of filing liens in pursuance of past due utilities bills under $1,000.

An amendment to Ordinance 14-37 will require a minimum $50 deposit on all new utilities accounts for which a deposit is required.

The utilities director said that per the current code utilities customers with good payment histories can establish new accounts without deposits.

If an amendment to Ordinance 14-51 is adopted, the city will charge a one and a half percent per month penalty on utilities bills not paid within 45 days.

An amendment to Ordinance 8-79 will add that larceny shall include the unauthorized taking of city utilities, as when customers illegally reconnect utilities that the city has disconnected.

Ordinance 12-9-10 will make it unlawful and subject to a $50 fine to park a motor vehicle in a manner that would inhibit city collection vehicles from having access to city-owned dumpsters.

Knott said stickers will be placed on the city’s dumpsters advising people not to park too close.

Amendments to Ordinance 11-10 will restructure solid waste removal fees for T or C businesses, primarily motels, apartments and RV parks.

Business owners and other interested persons are advised to read the published ordinance for details.

<<<   >>>

…Solitude, alas!

This photographer finds respite Wednesday afternoon in the calm flow of the Rio Grande in a quiet place where boulders crop out of the ground and where one may see the “Turtle” rise above the occasion. Click photo for a "choppy" ride down the river.
DJ Photo by Bill Johnson

Area rattlesnakes identified

By Carol Main of the Desert Journal

In response to a Desert Journal reader’s question, “What are the nine rattlesnakes in New Mexico,” those species are listed here as found in the National Audubon Society Nature Guides book “Deserts” compiled by James A. MacMahon in 1985.

The book describes a total of 12 separate rattlesnake species in the United States plus 27 subspecies.

According to MacMahon, the aggressive Mojave rattler's venom is extremely toxic and causes more distress if a person is bitten than does that of any other rattler.

The Mojave, a mid-size snake, 24 inches to 51 inches long, has brown diamonds surrounded by white scales on a tan skin and ranges over desert flatland and rocky hills to 8,300-foot elevation.

The largest rattler in New Mexico is the Western Diamondback, 34 inches to 84 inches, with a heavy body and a large triangular shaped head. Its habitat ranges from sea level to 7,000 feet.

This rattler is more gray than tan with light bordered dark diamonds and, along with the Mojave, is often called coon-tailed because they both have black and white rings around their tails above the rattles.

Another rattler with distinctive tail rings above the rattles is the Speckled rattler, growing to 52 inches, that has pink diamonds on a tan skin and is sometimes confused with the smaller, to 36-inch, pinkish gray Tiger rattlesnake.

The Speckled rattler loves rocky canyon walls up to an 8,000 foot elevation but the Tiger rattler usually stays below 5,000 feet.

According to records, the Speckled and Tiger rattlers are supposed to stay west of New Mexico, but people living in the Western half of the state know snakes cannot read border signs.

The Western rattler, distinct from the Western Diamondback, grows to 64 inches long and is listed as excitable and aggressive. This rattler, along with two of its nine sub-species, is very prolific throughout the state.

The Western varies in color from reddish brown diamonds on tan skin with brown rattles to black diamonds on gray skin with black rattles.

In high elevations the Western rattler becomes a den snake during the winter and large numbers of them often over-winter together in a common den.

The Rock rattlesnake is small, from 16 inches to 33 inches, and ranges up to a 9,600-foot elevation, preferring rocky streambeds, talus slopes, and rim rock areas. The markings of the Rock rattler resemble irregular black or dark brown bands encircling a green-gray to blue-gray slender body.

A distinctively marked New Mexico rattlesnake is the Blacktail rattler with definite dark brown diamonds on tan skin with brown stripes angling back from the snout to the back of the head and black rattles.

The Blacktail is mid-size, 28 inches to 50 inches long, and also prefers rocky mountain areas over the desert.

<<<   >>>

Mobile EITC Awareness Initiative

rolling into southern New Mexico

A helping hand from the Internal Revenue Service may be as close as your neighborhood, as the agency's New Mexico Mobile EITC Awareness Initiative rolls into Carlsbad, Lordsburg, Silver City, Truth or Consequences and Deming to offer service in locations convenient to its customers.

During February, taxpayers can get tax help and problem-solving assistance from the IRS. Those who qualify can also take advantage of courtesy basic income tax return preparation.

The State of New Mexico Department of Taxation and Revenue will be at many of these sites to assist with state tax issues.

In addition, IRS representatives will discuss and determine eligibility for three important tax credits, which can reduce federal income taxes for working parents. The Child Tax Credit can shrink tax bills up to $600 per child. The refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit can put extra money in people's pockets.

Free EITC information and trinkets will be given away.

"You don't need to come to us, we're coming to you," IRS spokesperson James Walsh said. "Taxpayers want convenient services. That's what we're trying to offer - the right service at the right times in the right locations."

Help includes tax forms, answers to tax questions, face-to-face help solving federal tax problems, information about three important tax credits that can reduce federal income taxes for working parents - such as the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit and courtesy basic return preparation for lower-income taxpayers, generally those with incomes of $33,000 and less.

Walsh said he encourages those intending to take advantage of the courtesy return preparation to bring all relevant information with them, including photo identification for themselves (and their spouses, if applicable); Social Security cards for each person listed on the tax return; their tax booklets; all wage and earnings statements (Forms W-2); interest and dividend statements (Forms 1099); copies of last year's tax returns and any other information concerning income and expenses for the year 2001.

If filing jointly, both spouses must be present to sign the required forms for electronic filing.

The IRS Mobile Tax Assistance schedule for Truth or Consequences includes from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, and between 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, with both days’ sessions at the Civic Center, 400 W. Fourth Ave.

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