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TABLE
OF CONTENTS
FEATURES
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The
Pecos River Gazette Mission Statement
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To provide a newspaper, in print and online, that chronicles events and provides information without bias, bridging all communities in the Pecos River Valley.
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Cindy Bellinger
Managing Editor
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Jude Roberts
Online Editor
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Ginger Peters
Staff Writer/Advertising Sales
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All Rights Reserved by
The Pecos River Gazette; published monthly with free distribution.
Mailing address is
HC 74 Box 638
Pecos, NM 87552.
Phone (505) 757-2221 or (505) 757-3741.
Email: cindy46@cybermesa.com (put PRG in the subject line)
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judesroberts@wildblue.net
(put PRG in the subject line)
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For advertising:
Call (505) 470-0048 or
Email:gingypie@yahoo.com
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We welcome all article and photo submissions.
Please have June editorial and ad space reservations
in by May 15.
Writer's guides upon request.
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SHARE THE NEWS
Please submit any
Community Announcements
and
Local Meeting Times
to
cindy46@cybermesa.com
by the 17th of
each month for the
following issue.
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Pecos River Gazette
is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
All donations are welcome, appreciated and fully tax deductible. Please make checks payable to
Pecos River Gazette and mail to:
Jude Roberts
HC 74, Box 638
Pecos, NM 87552
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2009 GRADUATES
EVERYWHERE...
The Pecos River Gazette
CELEBRATES
YOU!!
CONGRATULATIONS!
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Classifieds
Plaza Antiques in Las Vegas has dealer space available. We take quality consignments. 505.454.9447
Deborra's Mobile Dog Grooming in the comfort and safety of your home. Serving fragile animals since 1998. Small dogs only. 505.670.4215
Land Rejuvenation 21st Century Eco Agriculture, edible gardens, growing frames, firescaping, hornos, erosion control, straw bale greenhouses, sustainable living advisor. For advice, planning or building call 575.421.2794
E-ccasional Promotions Email promotions for all occasions: newsletters, events, announcements, business & personal promotions. Contact Jude Roberts, 757.3741 or email judesroberts@wildblue.net
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Classified Ad Rates: 30 cents per word; phone, number clusters = one word, Bold, italic, underline = 50 cents. Type or print your ad; seal in envelope with your correct cash, leave with receptionist at the Pecos Valley Medical Center. E-mail to cindy46@cybermesa.com or judesroberts@wildblue.net or call 757.2221 or 757.3741. |
The Pecos River Gazette thanks all of our
advertisers and readers for your support!!!
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Submit Letters to the Editors
by June 15 via email to cindy46@cybermesa.com
or type/print and send to
HC 74, Box 638,
Pecos, NM 87552
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Letters To The Editor
Dear Editor,
I look forward to the PRG every month. I find the articles informative, fun and useful. The printed version is a way, when I have time to browse, I can pick it up and get in touch with this beautiful community. On the other hand, the e-version is way fun!!! The colorfulness, the little caricatures, brings this version to life. What a choice, and I can have both!!!!
Betty Weseman,
Branch Manager, Bank of Pecos
Dear Editor,
Another great looking [May] issue packed full! Interesting story about counterfeit money. I had no idea it's so common, or that bills are made from denim! One thing: I agree with the person who said the dancing butterflies are a bit distracting [on the online version. I prefer my reading to be stationary. It's easier on the eyes.
Gussie Fauntleroy,
Santa Fe
Open Letter to the Family Dollar Store:
Why do you continue to burn energy by having your lights on all night? Perhaps this is OK along the highway through Pojoaque or Espanola, but not here in Pecos. Light pollution doesn't make it here. Kindly remedy this situation; meanwhile, I shall shopelsewhere.
Dan Winston,
Pecos
Dear Editor,
I want to let you know how much I enjoyed every single article in the May issue of your community newspaper. Everyone who makes the paper interesting is to be commended.
I was particularly drawn to the article pertaining to roadside crosses or "descansos," which we see alongside our roads. As I see them while traveling back and forth, I am reminded of how fragile life is, and they always prompt me to say a small prayer for whoever lost their life at the sites.
It is hard to believe that a group in Utah is trying to ban our traditional belief of descansos in our state, and I hope our Attorney General continues to challenge their allegations and not let that group, or any group, dictate our laws.
Thank you for your hard work in putting out such interesting articles in your newspaper, and I look forward to future issues.
J.M. Rivera,
Pecos
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Guest Commentaries
You see them everyday. Dogs chained to their doghouses. Most chained for life. These dogs are victims of ignorance, apathy, and perhaps even cruelty on the part of their "caretakers."Across the
country people are starting to become aware that chaining dogs is wrong for many reasons.
Dogs are pack animals and need and want to be inside with the family or the rest of their "pack." To chain a dog is to prevent it from feeling needed and wanted. These dogs live as prisoners, yet long to be pets.
Chaining a dog is also dangerous to neighborhood children. Last year, according to the nationwide animal advocacy group Dogs Deserve Better, 257 children were killed or seriously injured by chained dogs. Chained dogs that are unsocialized become very territorial and are 2.5 times more likely to bite. Any unsuspecting child venturing near a chained dog can easily fall victim to being attacked.
Currently chaining a dog is not against a law in NM. Five states, however, including California and Texas now have state laws against chaining dogs. Albuquerque has a law limiting the amount of time a dog can be on a chain. Change is coming, although slowly.
What can you do if you have a chained dog?
First of all explore other ways of containing an animal such as fencing or runs. Also your dog is much more likely to behave if s/he
is spayed or neutered. Bring them inside when the weather is
extreme and at night. If you absolutely must have your dog chained, attempt to make it for as short a time as possible. Be sure your animal has a proper dog house, plenty of food, water and shade. If you know of a dog that is chained, talk to your neighbor about it.
Education is the key here. Don't fall for the old excuse about it being a "cultural thing." Culture is no excuse for cruelty! Ask your neighbors if they would like to exchange places with the dog. Call animal control if you suspect it is a case of abuse.
Thank you for helping to make these dogs life's less like a life sentence without parole. For more information please contact
Peace and Justice for Animals @www.foranimals.org or
Dogs DeserveBetter @ www.dogsdeservebetter.org.
Don Kimball, CoordinatorPeace and Justice for AnimalsGlorieta, NM Someone once said, "A person's point of view depends upon that person's viewpoint." From my experience at the Family Dollar Store, I have found my reception to be quite different from the May issue's "Guest Commentary." My greeting was more than cordial. (I have been hugged three times!) More than once I have not just been pointed toward but taken to the item. At check out, I've been asked, "Did you find what you were looking for?" When we first moved to Pecos, someone told us people are not very friendly here. We have found it quite the opposite. The person who told us that has moved on. We plan to stay. Another Pecos Resident
What an adventure. From The Pecos River Gazette advertisers, we are trying new businesses we did not know existed--a double reason to enjoy the local paper. After enjoying the Plaza Hotel story, the
Landmark Grill was our lunch spot in Las Vegas. The food was terrific and Patti served us well. The beautiful new ballroom only makes me wish for a very special occasion to be able to use it.
The PRG story reminded me of the Mystic Rose right when I needed a special gift, a much broader assortment than flowers. A massage
in our home by Jo Ann Sullivan removed the aches of splitting and
stacking wood. What a grand way to help the economy, starting close to home.
Linda Long, Pecos
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If you want to submit a piece of writing for The Pecos River Gazette or any publication, join a two hour workshop and learn what an editor needs.
Learn to:
- move from idea to writing
- differentiate between articles and columns
- create authority in your writing
- write within word count
- use correct formats for submitting pieces
Taught by Cindy Bellinger,
managing editor of
The Pecos River Gazette.
For 35 years she's written and published, winning national and
state awards for articles, photos, columns and books.
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Date: Saturday, June 13
Time: 1 to 3 p.m.
Place: PVMC Board Room
Call by June 9 to register
(505) 757-2221
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BOOKMOBILEThe following are the stops and times for May; TUES. June 9 Bernal - Store 10:45 - 11:45 WED. June 10 Ribera - Post Office 10:00 - 11:30 Pecos - Paradise Inn 1:30 - 4:00 Rowe - Frontage Road 4:15 - 5:30 For more information call (575) 376-2474, (800) 395-9144 or email: rbmne@state.nm.us (Table of Contents)
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. FIRE
Season
Begins
On Sunday, May 10 fire season began with a blaze that consumed 144 acres. Named the Soldier Fire, though not near Soldier Creek, it was five miles northeast of the Village of Pecos on the Cow Creek Drainage side of the mountains. The cause is still under investigation.
Lanier Watson, manager of the Cow Creek Ranch, said she called fire officials after spotting smoke. "They told me someone had already called and that they were on it," she said. Watson commended the quick action of the Forest Service that eventually deployed a helicopter carrying a bucket. It scooped water from nearby lakes. Three red and white slurry bombers also worked the area dropping chemical retardants on the fire.
The fire began on private property; on the north side the fire burned into the area where the Viveash Fire burned nine years ago. That fire began May 29, 2000 and burned approximately 29,000 acres. After burning 100 acres, a fire is termed Type 3.
About the Soldier Fire, "At first it was heading toward our ranch," said Watson, who's managed the ranch for the past seven years. "The fire fighters were having a very hard time because the winds were so bad. At one point I was watching flames 20 feet high. At night it got really intense. Since I've lived here, I've had to evacuate four times." Cow Creek Ranch began operating in the 1920s and became a guest ranch in the '30s and is a fish camp today.
The fire threatened two homes in the area but none burned. No one had to evacuate. However a roadblock was put up at FSR 92 and 86 to keep people out. A hot-shot crew was on the scene at the Soldier Fire along with one bulldozer and five fire engines.
"The fire had to have been man-made," said Watson. "There hadn't been any lightning. If the Forest Service hadn't responded as quickly as they did, it could have been really bad."
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The Battle of Glorieta Saturday & Sunday, June 13th & 14th
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New Trail Dedication 
A few weeks ago ten people set out for a hike that was also a tour of the Civil War Battle of Glorieta. Creating a trail through this historic area near Pecos has been a project of the Pecos National
Historical Park for a number of years.
Many on this first walk called themselves "Road People." They live along the road that is the entrance to the trail.
The road has become an issue because to keep the public heading for the trail and off private property, it needs to be divided down the middle. Kathy Billings, Park Superintendent, says she's been in touch with the residents, but again took down complaints and suggestions before the hike started. Also there are legal considerations for emergency vehicles.
"There won't be a lot of traffic on the road because people need to get permits to walk the trail," Billings said. It's a way the Park can monitor the number of people using the trail.
The trail is 2.25 miles long with 14 interpretive markers and a brochure that explain key points in the battle between the Union and Confederate armies.
The trail officially opens June 13-14. As part of the grand opening, live demonstrations of the Civil War period will take place at the Forked Lightning Ranch.
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June 13-14, Pecos National Historical Park $3/person; all National Park Service passes accepted. For information call (505)757-7241 or visit www.nps.gov/peco
Saturday, June 13, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
· Public tours of Civil War Living History Camp at Forked Lightning Ranch
· Demonstrations by Civil War living history demonstrators, including antique
firearms, canons, medical and surgical information, and camp life
· Cavalry demonstrations featuring a dozen horses, living history demonstrators
and authentic Civil War drills
· Civil War-era music by the New Mexico Territorial Brass Band
· Discussions of the Battle of Glorieta Pass and Civil War medicine by historians/
authors Don Alberts and John Taylor
Sunday, June 14, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
· Flag Day Ceremony: 10 a.m.- noon
Presented by the Santa Fe Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars
(MOWW) and the New Mexico National Guard
· Public tours of Civil War Living History Camp at Forked Lightning Ranch
· Demonstrations by Civil War living history demonstrators, including antique
firearms, canons, medical and surgical information, and camp life
· Cavalry demonstrations featuring a dozen horses, living history demonstrators
and authentic Civil War drills
· Civil War-era music by the New Mexico Territorial Brass Band
· Discussions of the Battle of Glorieta Pass and Civil War medicine by historians/
authors Don Alberts and John Tayler
· Tours of the new Civil War Battlefield Trail in Glorieta, led by rangers and trail guides
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Your Community
Bulletin Board
Inside Adobe Walls
First annual juried regional show and sale of art and artisanry. The event is on the grounds of the Inn on the Santa Fe Trail in Las Vegas. Saturday and Sunday, June 17-28 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Attention Gardeners and Wannabe Gardeners
New Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) now forming. Join us to plan, plant, nurture and harvest two gardens located along the Pecos River. Both will serve our community with organically grown fruits and vegetables. For details call (505) 757-2207.
Updates on the Proposed Wind Farm
New Mexico Care Community Meeting is June 13 and June 27 from 10 a.m. to noon at the San Miguel Senior Center, Hwy 3 in San Miguel.
San Miguel County Commissioners meeting is June 9 at 1:30 p.m. at the West Las Vegas Board Room, 179 Bridge St. Commissioners to approve amendments to San Miguel Wind Ordinance.
San Miguel County Commissioners meeting July 14, 2009 at 1:30 pm, at the West Las Vegas Board Room, 179 Bridge St. Adoption of amendments to San Miguel Wind Ordinance.
Check www.smcounty.net for ordinance for comments and change of meeting location.
Mora-San Miguel Electric Co-op to Vote in Pecos
The annual meeting of the Mora-San Miguel Electric Cooperative is June 27 in the Pecos School Gymnasium. A vote will be taken to amend the bylaws that will allow alternating monthly and annual meetings to take place in Pecos and Mora.
Diego Quintana, a former board member, said meetings and votes have always been in Mora. "Last year, I along with some other people, pushed to at least have a voting booth in Pecos so people wouldn't have to make a 200-mile round trip to Mora just to vote," he said. The voting is from 8 a.m. until noon.
Eldorado Country Pet Moves
Tina Carr, owner of Eldorado Country Pet, has moved to a larger space in the Agora Shopping Center, across from Las Chivas Coffee Roaster. New items include horse products, bird foods and supplies for small mammals and fish.
PBA Assisting in Sustaining Ambulance Service
Pecos Business Association members are working with the County, Village and Medical Center to support and ensure continuation of the locally run ambulance service. If you are interested in helping, let the mayor, county manager or medical center know.
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 ObituaryBenjamin Augustus "Ben" Dillard 4/12/1928 to 4/8/2009
Pecos recently lost a brilliant fabricator, Benjamin Augustus "Ben" Dillard.
The last year, due to health issues, he and Wilma, his wife and life companion, moved from their County Line home on Hwy 50 to
reside in Albuquerque.
Ben's childhood was spent following his daddy around the farm near Kansas City, Missouri. He was always learning and working. At 12 years old when his daddy died, Ben knew he had to get a job. He rode his bicycle to Houston, Texas to join his Uncle Walter, an oil wildcatter with Glenn McCarthy.
From offshore drilling in Bolivia to the Merchant Marines, by the age of 16 Ben had already been around the world. A self-taught man who could improvise and solve mechanical problems, Ben was never afraid of hard work and a dirty project.
Ben entered the U. S. Army and served his country for 12 years, some of which was in the Korean Conflict. While on leave in San Francisco, he met Wilma, the sister of his Army buddy, "Hutch." Two months later, Wilma arrived at the Las Vegas airport and waited six hours for Ben to arrive. It was their wedding day. Without explanation, Ben arrived dusty from the trenches, straight from Camp Dessert Rock, Nevada where he and Hutch were working at the atomic testing grounds.
Ben and Wilma were married 56 years; for seven of those years they
lived in Southeast Asia where Ben did construction work and served as a military base advisor.
While visiting Wilma's uncle, Harold Mounds, here in Pecos, Ben
decided he wanted to live near Harold who was an old timer fix-it man, a genius at welding and a mechanic. According to Ben, Pecos was the place to be.
If you knew Ben, you would know he never met a stranger and loved
all people. He enjoyed his work and helping others. Ben had a brilliant
mind and was a great historian. Pecos is a richer place because of him and his sharing of many interests.
Wilma survives him and lives in Albuquerque.
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Update from the Mayor of Pecos
Treatment Plant
According to Mayor Tony Roybal, the new Senior Center in Pecos
continues to be on schedule.
"We're hoping it'll be complete at the end of August," he said. "It'll be
done this fall for sure. It's taken five years to get it."
The new center is 4,700 square feet and includes a kitchen and meeting rooms. The cost is $1.2 million, which has come from state grants.
Currently about 70 seniors meet in the old school house that's served as the Senior Center for a number of years. Roybal said the Pecos School District still owns the facility.
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"We're hoping to let out the bids for the the second phase of the Water Treatment Plant," the mayor said. This phase involves placing the units that purify the water before it returns to the river.
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BUSINESS PROFILE 
A Las Vegas Find
Tome on the Range
In May, Tome on the Range--a full-service independent bookstore in Las Vegas--turned 13 years old. And owner Nancy Colalillo says her motto has never varied. "Once the door opens, the focus is on the customer," she said.
Local resident Werner Muller, a retired science professor at
Highlands University, counts on that customer service. "They'll find books on any topic for me. Besides that, the store has a great
ambiance. It invites browsing," he said. "I rarely get out of there without buying a book."
Colalillo first visited New Mexico in 1986; in 1994 she moved here from New Jersey. "Albuquerque was too big and too hot. I didn't like Santa Fe, but Las Vegas was a real hometown community," she
said. Her family owned the Shop Rite supermarket chain and she swore she'd never go into retail. But it was second nature and
after getting a degree in International Relations and Economics, she returned to help run the family business for 16 years.
When she moved to Las Vegas she decided to open a bookstore because with books you're "selling magic and ideas," said Colalillo, who understands very well the difficult spot bookstores are in now. As the world leans toward digital books, Tome on the Range is holding its own. She admits, though, that Amazon has cut into the book selling market. "People need to understand that when you buy locally the taxes you pay go back into the local economy," she said.
In the start-up phase she bought a building, redesigned it, and not long ago redesigned it again to make a large children's department and incorporate a used book section. Colalillo said she actually broke even very quickly and did well until 9/11.
"If I didn't have a dead father, Las Vegas wouldn't have a bookstore. I put in a substantial amount every year of my own money," said Colalillo. She has eight employees, not all full-time but all are paid above minimum wage.
She says no other industry receives inventory that is already priced, "Books come in priced and I have to work with that."
Tome on the Range holds many literary events at the store as well
as special breakfasts and teas for children. "It's important for kids to be comfortable in a bookstore," Colalillo said. Long-time customer Tish Garcia recalled, "Those teas were so much fun for my kids when they were young."
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Flower Pots for Carrots? Yup.
Growing veggies in containers has all kinds of advantages:
- You don't need to amend large plots of ground soil. Just use compost or potting soil.
- The soil doesn't dry out as quickly.
- Using containers is a good way to see where different plants do best--full sun or partial--if you plan to make a larger garden at ground level sometime in the future.
A "pot garden" is moveable--just slip the containers onto the blade of a dolly and roll them to more accommodating locations. Or put them on small frames with wheels (you can buy or make them).
Whether you make wooden boxes or re-use large nursery containers--the kind that large shrubs and trees come in--fill the bottom third with straw. This makes the containers lighter and easier to move. Plus not as much potting mix is needed.
The size of containers depends on the plants you want to grow. Root depth differs. Young lettuce and spinach leaves grow well in a wooden
box or flower pot 6 inches deep. Full heads of lettuce need a container for at least 8 inches of soil.
Plant corn in big wooden containers to accommodate the mass of roots that keep the stalks upright. The tap root often reaches down 12 inches with a dense clump of lateral root hairs spreading 8 inches or more. Make a big box 3 feet square all the way around to accommodate four corn stalks.
Cucumbers and squash vines have roots that really grab for soil, sometimes reaching down 18-inches and spreading a foot or more. If you use wooden boxes, at the end of harvest you may find that a solid mass of roots had been growing into the box itself.
Growing veggies in containers is a rally easy and economical way to go. And if you move, you can literally take your garden with you.
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 If you're a gardener, you sometimes do crazy things. Like the other day. Hopefully no one was watching, but there I was hopping around my trees when the first blossom appeared.
This happened middle of last month. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't normally dance at the season's first bloom. But this flower was special. The first, ever. Let me tell you about my apricot trees.
Twelve years ago a friend lived in the village and her apricot trees just dripped with fruit. I baked pies and cobblers for weeks. Then on a whim I decided to plant some pits. Was it the next year? I wasn't keeping track because their sprouting was such a long shot, but one summer day it happened. Three pits out of eight had germinated.
Oh, how I fussed over those babies, watering them, tidying the dirt around their slim little trunks. Each year they came back a little bigger, a little stronger. I never separated them so the roots intermingled. Transplanting meant doing it as a group, and they went together from container to container.
Then two years ago they'd clearly out grown container homes. My neighbor has a handy-dandy mini-backhoe and offered to dig a hole, which I lined with metal lath to keep out the gophers.
I nearly cried when two branches broke during the
transplant.
The following spring something nibbled a few of the branches down to nubs, no telling what. But I made the biggest cage you've ever seen. The trees perked up and put out new growth, their deep green leaves a clear sign of health.
I've never protected anything as much as these little trees. I water them during the winter, prune them in the fall, fertilize and talk to them. The fretting I've done is embarrassing. So when the first blossom appeared this spring, I went wild. Of course, come harvest time I expect to tell you all about making the world's tiniest apricot pie.
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Farmers Market Fun By Reina Nelson, age 10
Last week I went to the Farmers Market as I do every Sunday expecting nothing out of the ordinary. I set up my stand as usual. I was selling a delicious rhubarb pie, mint tea bags and pecans.
A few minutes later my friend Hiroshi arrived with his usual choke cherry jelly and chocolate chip cookies.
It was a slow day; not many people came. Finally a woman came in carrying a wicker basket. "Oh, at last we have some customers," I thought. But I was wrong. She was giving away the cutest kittens you ever saw! There was one pitch black one and two tiger striped ones. Then I noticed a beautiful grey one sitting at the bottom of the basket
looking sad. I ran over to my mom and asked if I could have a cat. She said, "No." I pleaded and pleaded until she said yes. I ran back to woman with the basket and asked about the grey one. She said no
one wanted it because it was so plain. I thought that was sad so I took it. My mom seemed very grumpy on the way home, but later I caught her with the cat on her shoulder.
The next day, my father came home from work and told me to look in the back of the car. There were two tiny yellow ducklings that he'd found in the middle of the road. We put the ducks in our bath tub and later I took a shower with the ducks. Then I got a towel and dried them off. They were freezing. I put them in front of the fire, but that
didn't help. My mom ran up stairs and got the blow dryer and we blow dried them until they were all puffy.
Just think, all this started with a normal day at the Farmers Market. I wonder if there's a market for duck eggs.
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 THE GREAT OUTDOORSThe Magic Cup Game:
Our Last Morning on the
Santa Barbara Divide
by Cinny Green; Illustration by Maureen Burdock
(Part Three of Three)
Jicarita means little cup in Spanish, and in the case of mountain peaks, an inverted cup. At 12,835 feet, Jicarita Peak, the northernmost summit on the Santa Barbara Divide, earned its name from its distinctive smooth round top. Because there are at least eight such peaks along the ridge from North Truchas to Ripley Point, the divide resembles a series of jicaritas. They reminded me of the Magic Cup game where a magician hides a ball under one of three cups, shifts them around with mesmerizing speed, and a chump tries to guess which cup covers the ball.
On two early mornings of our three night hike, my partner Maureen and I tried to see the sunrise on the divide. Patroness of explosives, Saint Barbara, had provided a fiery sky. But like the cup game, both times hid our coveted ball of flame. The third morning was our last chance to see the sun. Would Jicarita play the game? Would the cosmic magician foil our hopes again?
At the end of the third day, we descended a switchback to Serpent Lake for our last night. The next morning, we had the drill down pat: Hot mocha. Pack. Hit the trail. Get lost and found. Sing a robust Irish song to warn away phantom predators: "What shall we do with the drunken sailor, err-lie in the mornin'!"
Up on the divide, the trail junction was bracingly cold and windy, but we arrived in time for sunrise with no cup to hide the red ball. The sun rolled above the horizon, molten and painful to look at for more than a second. Our eyes turned away, squinting through slits between scarves and hoods. Mission accomplished, however brief the glory, Mo tipped her head toward the trail. I nodded my agreement.
We followed the path that wrapped around Jicarita Peak like gold trim around porcelain. To the south lay the whole panorama of the Santa Barbara Divide and its watershed. Each cirque was in front of us, each meaningful point of the journey: the three forks of the river, Chimayosos Peak, Trouble Peak, the marmot dens, and the thread-like trail connecting one to the other. And all of it through the ancient wild country I had come to love.
This three-part series on hiking the Santa Barbara Divide was excerpted form from The Trail Writer's Portable Guide: The Southern Rockies, forthcoming from Western Edge Press in spring 2010. Written by Cinny Green, illustrated by Maureen Burdock, edited by Cindy Bellinger.
If you're interested in having Cinny speak to your hiking group about trail writing, view www.trailwriters.com or call (505) 988-5185.
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Summer Camp for Girls
By Ginger Peters
 As a child, Jane Hatch's parents separated and her mother left. She was raised in rural Massachusetts by her father and a nanny.
However, neither of them saw much of Jane. From dawn to dusk, she rode her Appaloosa through the woods and spent all her time in nature. She gained strength and confidence from the earth. Now she wants to empower girls by giving them experiences with nature.
Enrichment activities include: writing, swimming (lessons with
certified lifeguard optional), dancing, outdoor cooking, organic gardening, creating health and beauty products using natural herbs, hiking, arts and crafts, a dash of French and Spanish, and homemade meals twice a week. Girls may join at any point during the summer.
The cost is $159 per week.
"I really feel women are moving into leadership roles at a much faster rate than ever before. I would love to see these new leaders be conscious of how all our decisions affect the earth," said Jane, whose work experience includes camp counselor at Eldorado's Melody Ranch, substitute teaching and tutoring for Santa Fe schools. She's also raised three daughters.
She holds degrees in journalism, art and is a Shamanic Practitioner. She's been in Santa Fe since 2005.
Debbie McFarland of Rowan's Leaf Herbal said, "I worked with Jane at the Melody Ranch. She was wonderful and encouraging of each child. She held drumming ceremonies that gave them a different outlook into the world. Jane has many skills to help empower girls," said McFarland, who is teaching herbalism atthe summer camp.
Everyone from Eldorado, Santa Fe, Glorieta, Pecos, Ribera and beyond is welcome at the new camp. "The younger we start forming a bond with the earth, the more we trust the earth in difficult times," she said. For more information about Girls' Green Earth Camp, call Jane Hatch at 505-466-4356.
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Snake
Removal
Service
"Don't kill them - Call me and I will remove them for you."
By Ginger Peters
A few years ago a friend gave him a special tool made by Ford Motor Company to reach and grab things from your car on the road. The tool also works to remove snakes.
"Actually, snakes work for the good of people. Bull snakes and rattlesnakes catch and eat mice, rats and other disease-ridden rodents," he said. But Roark also knows it's dangerous to have rattlesnakes near houses. So he started a snake catching business.
Charlotte Taft and Shelley Oram had to call on Roark recently when they had a prairie rattler on their front porch. "This is the third time we've had to call on him," said Charlotte. "He arrives right away, uses the snake catching tool and takes it away." They always give him a donation for his time and gas and love spreading the word about his snake catching service.
Roark catches a snake behind the head, puts it into a pillow case, ties the top up and hauls it off to an unpopulated area, usually to Rowe Mesa.
He became fascinated with wildlife as a young child growing up in Albuquerque and Cuba, New Mexico. In high school he developed an interest in birds of prey--falcons, eagles and hawks. Once he became involved in falconry, he realized he also wanted to draw and paint the birds.
Today, besides being a snake catcher, he's also an artist with much of his work displayed in the Kiva Art Gallery in Santa Fe. The paintings depict the area's rugged landscapes and birds of prey.
Not only is he an artist and a snake catcher, but a well-known local musician. Roark's father was a disc jockey in Albuquerque for one of the first country and
western radio stations.
"I listened to my father everyday and met many of country's greats as they passed through in the late ΄50s," said Roark. In 2008 a song he wrote, "Ridin' the Trails of New Mexico," won a contest sponsored by the New Mexico Music Commission. 
He plays at Canelas every Friday night and at the Cowboy Church every Sunday morning. Both gigs are in Pecos.
Besides having an affinity for birds and snakes, he and his wife have seven dogs, four cats, two cockatoos and a talking parrot named Banana. He also has an atrium that houses 30 domesticated doves.
To have a snake removed call Roark Griffin at (505) 757-6937.
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H E A L T H  W A T C H
Bug Biting
Season is Here
Summertime means children playing and riding bikes. It's a time for abundant gardens with blooming flowers. It's also a time for buzzing bees, swarming mosquitoes and marching ants. Then if you spend anytime at all outside, an insect bite is inevitable.
Most bites are a minor and may cause pain, redness, swelling and itching. According to Dr. Troy Watson of the Pecos Valley Medical Clinic, "Minor insect bites are a part of outdoor life and usually pose no serious problem. If you get bitten, clean the area with water and apply Cortisone Crème or Calamine Lotion with Benadryl. This aids in healing and soothes the itching."
Wasps, bees, yellow jackets, mosquitoes and ants do not hunt humans to bite them. Usually they bite out of defense.
"Ticks are occasionally found in our area, but they do not carry Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever," said Watson. "Fleas are another problem in the lower elevation areas." These can cause serious infections. Stay away from dead animals, especially rodents. The fleas on them are looking for a fresh blood source and the diseases they carry are sometimes fatal.
About spider bites, Watson said they don't occur as often as we think, and many bites are blamed on the Brown Recluse Spider. "But this spider doesn't live in our area," he said, explaining that the only way one would get here is if imported, like under the hood of a car or in a suitcase. These spiders are found near El Paso and other warmer border towns.
Black Widows do live here and are poisonous. Thy rarely cause fatalities among adults, who can experience muscle spasms and possibly nausea and vomiting. It's a different story with children. Sometimes the poison affects their respiratory system. Whether an adult or child is bitten, find medical attention quickly.
Watson advises everyone to protect themselves with Deep Woods Off (containing Deet) or Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard, which works well against mosquitoes.
Also, if anyone has ever had an allergic reaction to a bite or sting from an insect in the past, they should carry an EpiPen. This is an auto-injector of epinephrine or adrenalin that's used to treat anaphylactic shock.
"If anyone receives a bite from an insect that causes severe swelling or feels sick, seek medical attention as soon as possible. And, if you can bring the insect to the medical facility, whether it is smashed or dead, usually the insect can be identified. This may aid in the treatment," he said.
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Eye Movement for Personal Healing
Rose slowly opened her eyes, and I could see by her relaxed body and facial expression that she finally felt at peace with the trauma she experienced at the hands of her attacker. "The attack and robbery feel like a distant memory. It's like I'm on a train going forward and the traumatic memory is being left behind. I feel safe now," she said.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is another powerful form of psychotherapy. When a person is traumatized, the trauma gets locked in the brain and the brain cannot process information as it normally does. Remembering the trauma can feel as bad as going through it for the first time because images, sounds and feelings haven't changed. EMDR seems to have a neurological effect on the brain. Through measuring the level of disturbance of the trauma from 0 to 10, where 10 carries the most disturbance and 0 the least, the client brings up the trauma.
As she/he begins following the therapist's fingers with his/her
eyes, the brain begins to process the trauma differently.
Sets of eye movement continue until the disturbing memory goes down to 0. After this occurs, a positive statement is brought up such as, "I feel safe."
Sets of eye movement are repeated until it feels totally true. Rose came to see me two weeks after being attacked in a parking lot at night. The attacker held a knife to her throat and demanded her pocketbook. Terrified she immediately dropped the bag. The attacker then pushed her to the ground and began to hit her. He fled when a car entered the lot.
Rose began having nightmares, flashbacks and was afraid to leave the house. I diagnosed her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
She attended three sessions of therapy then we began EMDR. Rose remembered the memory of that night, the emotions she felt. She also remembered what thoughts and beliefs she had about the attack.
Holding my fingers at a slight distance from her, I asked her to follow my fingers with her eyes. It is important to note that there is
no way for the client to do EMDR incorrectly.
Rose kept a journal about disturbing thoughts that arose between sessions. I reminded her that traumatic memories may intrude, but to remember this is a past memory and the brain is doing the kind of processing it needs to do so healing can take place.
EMDR has helped the following conditions: phobias, panic attacks, stress reduction, addictions, irrational negative beliefs about oneself; sexual and physical abuse.
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From The
Front Porch Swing
--Cindy Bellinger, Managing Editor
After the road clean-up a few weeks ago, everything looked so spic and span. At least for a day. Then trash began appearing again. Why is that? If you're prone to tossing cups, cans and bottles from your car, call me. I want
to understand the mentality of trashing out our roads. I want to know why it's so difficult taking your trash home and throwing it away there.
Same goes for graffiti. Some new "paint jobs" on walls and signs have sprouted up in the area. If you're one of these street artists, call me. I need to understand the thrill behind defacing property.
And heading into fire season brings up another point. As I pick up trash along my stretch of road, I constantly see cigarette butts. If you do this, call me. I want to know why you'd rather burn a forest than put your butts in your ashtray?
Lucky for now, it's raining as I write this. But we all know it won't last. When the Soldier Fire broke out, I began gathering my things. I've lived through several fires here, evacuating a few times and staying other times. Either way it's nerve wracking.
So now I'm asking everyone: cross your fingers that our homes and our forests make it through fire season unscathed.
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Book Review By Nancy Henry
The Hour I First Believed
By Wally Lamb
HarperCollins Publisher, 2008; 728 pages.
Caelum Quirk, the narrator of this novel, is a 47 year-old high school English teacher, and his story really has two major themes. One concerns his wife, Maureen, in the months and years after she is a witness to the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. This trauma leaves lasting and devastating effects on Maureen and on their relationship. The second theme is the history of Caelum's family and their ties to the women's prison in the small Connecticut town where he grew up.
Both themes provide fascinating reading and the two are woven together after Caelum and Maureen move back to the Quirk family farm in Connecticut. A 'story within a story' is also in the book, and
involves the history of the life of Caelum's great grandmother, Lizzie.
This is a very long novel. Mr. Lamb says in his notes that he spent ten years writing it. One wonders if he wanted to write a book about the history of an interesting and rather dysfunctional family, and in the process was shaken up and influenced by the Columbine shootings and decided to "spice the book up" a bit by weaving this event and its aftermath into his original saga. It works somewhat, but why not just write two separate books?
The connections between the two themes seem a bit tenuous and, unless the reader likes really big books, a bit unwieldy. The additional story of Lizzie seems quite superfluous to the integrity of the novel and seems an unnecessary distraction.
Still, both themes are quite interesting and Lamb writes excellent description and dialogue. If you get excited about tackling a 700+ page novel, go for it. If, on the other hand, 700+ pages seem
daunting, don't bother.
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