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Desert Journal Online
Contact Information
Bill Johnson
Editor, Publisher & Webmaster
Vic Arvizu
Honorary Web Guru
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Electronic mail
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desertjournal@hotmail.com
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Location
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We are an electronic
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physical business address.
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Copyright ©
2001-2008 Desert Journal Online
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Last modified:
October 1, 2008
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Headline News From Dec. 7, 2001, Issue
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Click Photo To See Cause Of
Accident
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This
rig went into a skid and tipped over on its side at Highways 52 and 181
several miles north of Truth or Consequences Thursday morning.
Photo
by Vic Arvizu
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Property
taxes due in
January
Property
owners have until Jan 10, 2002, to pay the first one half of what they owe
in taxes for 2001 due to a computer glitch in the Sierra County
Treasurer’s Office.
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Seven
murdered and
three arrested
The
spiraling Sierra County murder rate, reported in the Desert Journal Sept.
28, crashed to the ground with three arrests and one suicide.
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T
or C – Tularosa road rave spreads
to City of Deming and Grant County
The
movement to reopen the highway from Truth or Consequences to Tularosa,
crossing highly restrictive White Sands Missile Range in south-central New
Mexico, has gained the support from officials of the City of Deming and
Grant County.
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DJ
holiday greeting card
contest entries due Dec. 10
Deadline
for submitting entries for the Desert Journal’s annual High School
Holiday Greeting Card Design Contest is at 5 p.m. this Monday, Dec. 10.
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Morgan
Street closed for
flood project
Morgan
Street from Sixth and Sierra Vista streets to Morgan and Broad streets
will be closed from Dec. 10 to Jan.14, said Jack Baker, construction
coordinator for the City of Truth or Consequences.
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…All
State Honors
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These
four students of Hot Springs High School were named best of the best in
New Mexico, earning All State honors this week in Band and Choir. Below,
Beth Baray, 15, sophomore, earned the highest marks as All State First
Alto in the Treble Choir. HSHS Tiger Band members winning All State Band
honors were (above from left): Stephanie Duffy, 15, freshman, in Flute;
David Amin, 17, junior, in Saxophone; and Cody Haver, 16, junior, in
Trombone. These honors reflect the students’ excellence in Band and
Choir, all under the direction of HSHS Music Teacher Gary Shaver.
Photos by Bill Johnson
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Skid
marks from the tires of this semi-tractor trailer dump truck, registered
to Bartoo Sand & Gravel Co. of T or C, indicate that the rig turned
left too sharply or too fast from northbound Highway 181 onto westbound
Highway 52 about six miles north of Truth or Consequences. The rig,
partially loaded with debris and apparently on its way to the county
landfill, skidded as it turned and tipped over onto its side, coming to
rest on the shoulder of the roadway. State police investigated the
accident Thursday morning.
Photo by Vic Arvizu
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Property
taxes due
in January
Expect
tax rate hike from
16.4% to 23.8%
By
Carol Main of
the Desert Journal
Property owners
have until Jan 10, 2002, to pay the first one half of what they owe in
taxes for 2001 due to a computer glitch in the Sierra County Treasurer’s
Office.
County Treasurer Sandi Chatfield said,
“During the move from our old location we experienced a computer glitch
and our tax bills were late in getting mailed out so we are extending the
first deadline by one month.”
“People are coming in to pay their
taxes without their bills and then blaming us for this year’s increase
when we don't set the rates, we just collect the money,” Chatfield said.
According to the Sierra County
Certificate of Tax Rates all taxes; state, county, city, hospital and
school district are higher than in 2000.
The school bond initiative alone that
voters approved this year increased taxes by 3.398 mills – going from
4.413 mils in 2000 to 7.811 mils in 2001 for all residential properties in
the county, for a 77% increase in the school district tax rate. For all
non-residential properties, the increase was by 3.386 mils, or by 75.7%
(from 4.471 mils in 2000 increasing to 7.857 mils in 2001).
Overall, the property tax rate in
Sierra County increased anywhere in the range from 16.4% to 23.8%
depending on place of residence or non-residential property.
In Truth or Consequences, the
residential tax rate increased from 16.935 mils in 2000 to 20.725 mils in
2001, for a 22.4% increase. For the city’s non-residential property, the
tax rate went up from 22.075 mils in 2000 to 25.697 mils in 2001, for a
16.4% increase.
For Village of Williamsburg residential
property, the overall tax rate increased from 17.018 mils to 20.759 mils,
for a 22.0% increase. For non-residential properties, the rate went up
from 22.075 mils in 2000 to 25.697 mils in 2001, for a 16.4% increase.
For residential properties in both the
City of Elephant Butte and unincorporated county, the tax rate went up
from 15.763 mils in 2000 to 19.518 mils in 2001, for a 23.8% increase. And
for non-residential properties, the rate went up from 19.85 mils in 2000
to 23.472 mils in 2001, for an 18.25% increase in the overall tax rate.
On the county's side Assessor Sandra
Whitehead said 2001 is a re-evaluation year.
"This year,''Whitehead said,
"we raised taxes across-the-board county wide by 3 percent. By state
statute guidelines we must re-evaluate all property every two years and
that is what happened, except for the mobile homes. This year we
re-evaluated the land the mobile is on and any improvements but not the
mobile itself because mobiles depreciate like automobiles and we decided
that leaving the mobiles with their former rates was depreciation
enough.''
Whitehead said there are also two
fulltime appraisers who travel the city and county constantly checking on
property additions and deletions.
<<< >>>
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Heavy
equipment and a crew from Salls Brothers Construction Inc. of Albuquerque
install the outlet foundation for the new 30-inch storm drain on Morgan
Street as part of the flood control project underway there Wednesday
morning.
Photo
by Bill Johnson
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Seven
murdered and
three arrested
Prosecutors
Aiming For
100 % Clearance
By
Carol Main of
the Desert Journal
The spiraling
Sierra County murder rate, reported in the Desert Journal Sept. 28,
crashed to the ground with three arrests and one suicide.
If all remains quiet through the end of
the year Sierra County, having a shameful homicide rate at least 10 times
the national average in the first year of the new millennium, may also
boast of its 100 percent clearance of seven cases, pending possible
convictions of two suspects in unrelated murder cases.
The suspect in the black powder handgun
shooting death of Jeff Connor on Jan. 5 is in jail awaiting trial.
John Wasilowski, 45, (also known as
Carpet John with his trade being a carpet layer) is charged with first
degree murder with firearms enhancement and tampering with evidence.
Wasilowski pled not guilty to both
charges at his arraignment on March 16 and has been held without bail
while his attorney fought for and lost a change of venue battle. His jury
trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 17.
Sam Andregg, 24, a suspect in the
screwdriver multiple stabbing death on April 21 of Dave Johnson, is in
jail awaiting trial.
Andregg is charged with first-degree
murder, auto theft, larceny over $250, tampering with evidence and
conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence.
Andregg pled not guilty to all charges
during his first court appearance Sept 17 and is being held without bail
for jury trial.
The remaining five homicide cases in
Sierra County this year have been cleared by means of either conviction or
death.
In the Jan. 29 claw hammer beating
death of Jeanine Uecker, her estranged husband Lee W. Uecker pled guilty
July 6 to second degree murder and was sentenced to 29 years in prison.
The Snyder family tragedy that struck
on July 8 resolved itself with the gunshot suicide of Wesley C. Snyder,
42, after he killed his wife and three daughters.
Should Wasilowski and Andregg both be
convicted, and Sierra County tempers stay cool for three more weeks, the
local police will achieve a 100 percent solve rate for murders in 2001.
<<< >>>
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Morgan
Street is ripped up as crews install a 30-inch storm drain as part of the
Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Morgan Street Flood Control
Project being built under an agreement with the City of Truth or
Consequences.
Photo by
Bill Johnson |
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T
or C – Tularosa road rave spreads
to
City of Deming and Grant County
By
Bill Johnson of
the Desert Journal
The movement to
reopen the highway from Truth or Consequences to Tularosa, crossing highly
restrictive White Sands Missile Range in south-central New Mexico, has
gained the support from officials of the City of Deming and Grant County.
Ronald Sullivan, mechanic of T or C, is
leading the effort to increase tourism and economic opportunities for
southern New Mexicans who stand to benefit from the reopening of the
east-west corridor that would cut travel distance and time in half.
In fact, folks beyond south-western and
south-central New Mexico may also jump on the bandwagon to support the
reopening of Ranger Road 6, as it is called on military maps that keep the
road closed between T or C and Tularosa.
The Deming City Council and City of
Deming agreed Nov. 14 to support Sullivan’s efforts to open the highway.
“We agree that the reopening of the Tularosa Road would provide another
East-West travel corridor for economic development opportunities between
the two sides of this great State of New Mexico,” said Deming Mayor Sam
D. Baca in a Nov. 27 letter to “Whom It May Concern.”
“The advertisement of the scenic
corridor with a map of southern New Mexico showing all points of interest
could attract more people to our beautiful, historic, and rustic
sights,” Mayor Baca said.
“We appreciate the opportunity to be
part of the ‘Scenic Corridor’ effort that will become a reality
soon,” Baca said.
Likewise, the Grant County Commission
approved a resolution “in support of opening a scenic corridor from
Texas to Arizona to promote tourism and commerce,” according to a Nov.
30 letter to Sullivan from Horace Jaramillo, interim county manager for
Grant County.
The Grant County resolution seeks to
reopen the road that has been closed more than 50 years: “Reopening this
road would promote a scenic corridor from Texas to Arizona and encourage
travel between eastern and western New Mexico.”
The resolution says the economic
situation in southwestern New Mexico is in serious decline due to layoffs
in the mining industry.
“Promoting tourism by recognizing the
rich history, beautiful scenery and unique environment of Southern New
Mexico is in the best interest of the citizens of Grant County,” the
resolutions states, adding that the Grant County Commissioners request
“that WSMR reopen the Tularosa Road.”
Besides Deming and Grant County,
Sullivan earlier in November gained support for the road opening effort
from officials in the villages of Hatch and Tularosa and Town of Silver
City, as well as from the Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of
Directors.
Sullivan said the petition drive is
sure to spread like wild fire over dead grass and that he plans to visit
soon with City of Las Cruces and Dona Ana County officials to enlist their
support too.
<<< >>>
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DJ
holiday greeting card
contest
entries due Dec. 10
Deadline for
submitting entries for the Desert Journal’s annual High School Holiday
Greeting Card Design Contest is at 5 p.m. this Monday, Dec. 10.
Open to all high school students in
Sierra County, the contest offers cash prizes to the top three contestants
in two categories: hand drawn and computer drawn.
Also, the Desert Journal reserves the
right to publish any or all of the entries at its discretion in a special
supplement to be released Dec. 21.
The contest judge this year will be
Aspen ni Wood of the Turtleback Center for the Arts. The judge’s
decision will be final.
Entry forms with rules are available
from Geronimo Trails High School, Hot Springs High School (Art Teacher
Ernie Rodgers and Computer Arts Teacher Jim Griebel), and at the Desert
Journal’s office, 111 N. Date St. in T or C.
All entries must be in the hands of the
Desert Journal’s office no later than 5 p.m. this Monday.
<<< >>>
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A
front-end loader scrapes a bucket full of dirt off this large mound inside
the excavation pit of the Morgan Street Flood Control Project (above
photo) and then dumps it into the dump truck for disposal elsewhere
(below). “The dirt from the project area is filling up arroyos in the
north part of town,” said a city worker observing the project in
progress Wednesday.
Photos by Bill Johnson
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Morgan
Street closed for
flood control project
Morgan Street
from Sixth and Sierra Vista streets to Morgan and Broad streets will be
closed from Dec. 10 to Jan.14, said Jack Baker, construction coordinator
for the City of Truth or Consequences.
The road closure is due to work to be
performed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service on the Morgan
Street Flood Control Project under an agreement with the City of T or C.
In addition to stabilizing ditch banks
and improving flood conveyance, the project will involve the excavation of
a flood-retention pit north of Sixth Street.
<<< >>>
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KING
OF THE HILL – This grader declares itself king on a hill that overlooks
the Caballo Mountains in the background. Hills literally are being leveled
for the Morgan Street Flood Control Project.
Photo by
Bill Johnson
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This
huge piece of heavy equipment can scrape off the top or the side of hills
(or large dirt mounds) in seconds flat, as is the case with the Morgan
Street Flood Control Project.
Photo
by Bill Johnson |
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A
blade cuts into the top of a hill but dirt begins to escape from the
scraper bucket. The silhouette was captured at the Morgan Street Flood
Control Project in Truth or Consequences Wednesday morning.
Photo by
Bill Johnson
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Rocks
already have been installed to stabilize the banks of arroyos leading into
the Morgan Street Flood Control Project area off Sixth and Morgan streets
in T or C.
Photo by Bill Johnson
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Salls
Brothers Construction Inc. is the contractor for the Morgan Street Flood
Control Project in T or C.
Photo by Bill Johnson
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A
water truck dampens the ground to keep pollution to a minimum in the
Morgan Street Flood Control Project area.
Photo
by Bill Johnson
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