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What’s
happening August 18-21 All American trials at the Ruidoso Downs Race Track One of the most anticipated racing weeks of the season with races for a chance to be in one of the richest races in the world—the All American Futurity. Futurity trials Thursday, post time 9 a.m. and All American derby trials Friday, post time 12 noon. Sat. and Sun. post time 1 p.m. Plus the RRCA Art Show under the grandstand. Free. (575) 3784431.
August 16-18 The Pecos League championship at Roswell The Ruidoso Osos are in the Pecos League championship series, which begins today in Roswell at 7 p.m. All games of the best-of-3 series will be played at Roswell’s Joe baumann Field.
www.ruidosofreepress.com
TueSdAY, AuGuST 16, 2011 • w w w . R u i d o s o f R e e P R e s s . C o M • VOL. 3, NO. 33
A property of
Riders, drivers value transit service
By Todd Fuqua Reporter todd@ruidosofreepress.com Emma Martinez knows a little something about Lincoln County Transit and what it can mean to some. Martinez, one of three full-time drivers for LCT, has seen the difference the service has made in the lives of local residents needing safe transportation to work, the store or the doctor’s office. But before she was a driver, she was a resident in need of a ride. “When I first moved here I didn’t have a car and was walking to and from work. It was dangerous,” Martinez
said. “Now that I’m driving, I don’t just look at this as a job, I look at this as a way of serving the community.” Martinez said she’s seen a lot of riders in her time as an LCT driver, and the riders have grown to know each other as well as they know her. “They’ve become more than just people to transport for me,” Martinez said. “When someone that usually rides doesn’t get on the bus, I start to wonder where they are.” Among those who use the service is Sharon Monk, who lives about four miles see TRANsiT, pg. 5
Osos in the championship
Todd Fuqua/Ruidoso Free Press
Ruidoso Downs resident Sharon Monk, right, gets her card punched by driver Emma Martinez as a regular rider of Lincoln County Transit Friday morning.
This story and more now translated into Spanish, see page 16 and online at www.ruidosofreepress.com
August 19-21
It’s back to school time!
USSSA Baseball at Eagle Creek Sports Complex Great games to cheer on-both competitive and recreational. Mountain doubleup Slow Pitch Tournament. Free admission to watch. Concessions available. Off hwy 48 on Ski Run Road.
August 20 The Singing Chef Andy Lo Russo at the Spencer Theater delight in the solution of a New Jersey raised chef torn between his love for italian food and his passion for singing at a truly unique dinner on the stage at Spencer Theater. 6 p.m. $85. 1-888-818-7872.
August 20 Survivors of MC Lottery Benefit Bike Run Car & bike show, bike washing, door prizes, bike games, Lottery Poker, jumping balloons for the kids and live music with proceeds benefi tting the Ruidoso Community Youth Warehouse. Register to ride at 9:30 a.m. ($15), enjoy the festivities until bike run start at 11 a.m., and join the after party at Lucy’s at 1 p.m. 200 Church drive. (575) 808-3267.
August 21 Sunday Under The Stars at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino Music by Steve Guilez and the movie Pretty Woman. enjoy summer every Sunday night with live music at 6 p.m., followed by a movie! Free. bring chairs and blankets. Weather permitting. www.innofthemountaingods.com
Todd Fuqua/Ruidoso Free Press
Ruidoso starter Chris Welborn celebrates after he struck out White Sands’ Ruben Sanchez to finish a complete game shutout of the Pupfish in the Pecos League playoffs Saturday at Alamogordo. Ruidoso advanced to the championship series with the victory. For the full story on the Osos, turn to sports.
Photo by Ty Wyant
Ruidoso Downs Racetrack Chaplain Darrell Winter distributed donated school supplies and back packs to local students at the track chapel on Saturday, Aug. 6. The annual drive for donations helps young students prepare for the new school year with school supplies they otherwise would not be able to afford.
Code Enforcement crashes mid-town celebration By Eugene Heathman Editor eugene@ruidosofreepress.com On Aug. 5, Michelle O’Brien, owner of Michelle’s, an established Mid-town fashion boutique, celebrated the store’s 20th anniversary, with catering, prizes and an appearance from Miss New Mexico. But just one hour and 15 minutes into the three-hour celebration planned from, 4-7 p.m.,village building official Shawn Fort, accompanied by a Code Enforcement/Animal Control officer, ordered O’Brien to immediately shut down the event. “I was wondering, what on earth is going on here?” O’Brien recalled. “To our best knowledge, we did all the right things to prepare for the celebration.” O’Brien hired Lynn Crawford, a licensed food service operator and caterer to manage the food service, and Debbie Haines-Nix
of the Sanctuary on the River to assist with event planning. “When Debbie asked Shawn (Fort) to allow us to finish the celebration, which would be over in just an hour and one-half, Fort denied the request citing Michelle’s was in criminal violation and to shut the party down immediately or face possible arrest,” O’Brien said. O’Brien contends Ford would not produce the list of criminal violations she was accused of, and said Mayor Alborn and Ford came to her business a couple of days later to apologize, yet still hasn’t produced the list of alleged criminal violations. According to O’Brien, a list of violations will be produced by village officials early this week. “This could have been handled much differently without the heavy handed approach,” O’Brien said. “They went right after Lynn (Crawford) when they arrived for serv-
ing food without a license but all of his food servers are licensed. They were looking for anything to shut us down. I believe we were totally within our rights to have this event.” During a village council meeting on Aug. 9, Councilor Angel Shaw questioned Ford regarding the incident. “I would like to know how an event at Michelle’s can be entirely shut down in just over one hour, but an improperly permitted hot dog cart in front of the IGA grocery store can continue operating for several days,” Shaw said. Mayor Alborn interjected, saying,” We have been in contact with Michelle and are working on smoothing things out.” Big D’s Hot Dogs was issued a permit by acting Planning Director Bob Decker in error and given an alleged verbal deadline of Aug. 20 to either stop vending or fulfill certain conditions required of the proper permit.
Capitan village council debates developers plans By Patrick Jason Rodriguez Reporter patrick@ruidosofreepress.com A group of Capitan residents last week reiterated their disdain for a planned development site on land within the village. They say plans by Conquest Investments, a developer based out of Santa Barbara, Calif., to build a nearly 16-acre commercial development along Highway 380
could cause a severe strain on the village’s natural resources. Residents took turns voicing their concerns about the proposed development site during a village council meeting on Tuesday, saying that there isn’t enough water to sustain the idea. Further irking some residents is a plan by Conquest to include an additional 1,300-acre residential development adjacent to the proposed commercial site.
Both plans by Conquest call for the developer to receive annexed land in the village for the projects, which some locals have been fighting against for some time. Ever since Conquest first introduced the idea for developing in the area, residents have stressed that construction sites as large as the ones proposed would hurt the village’s main water supply for future generations, see CAPiTAN, pg. 5
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