Give Thanks
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to a beautiful You!
See our ad on pg. 7 in the Zine for November Specials Like us on Facebook and receive Free .5 ml Jane Iredale Pure Lip Gloss Dr. Stephen Rath, MD, DABA is the owner and medical director of Fusion Medical Spa.
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What’s
happening November 27
Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club at IMG
Live Stand-Up Comedy Series with professional comedians performing every Wednesday night at Inn of the Mountain Gods. 7 p.m. 575-464-7053, Innofthemountaingods.com. $5 admission, must be 21 or older.
November 28 Happy Thanksgiving Ski Apache opens
Weather conditions permitting. 575-464-3600; visit www.skiapache.com for ticket information.
Ruidoso Winter Park opening day
Ski Run Rd., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ruidoso Winter Park will have new lifts, chutes and much more this upcoming season, including a new zip line. A third Magic Carpet Lift has been installed. The new lift will whisk riders directly to the top of our largest hill where riders will find two additional chutes. 575-336-7079; www.ruidosowinterpark.com.
Grindstone Stables Sleigh Rides opening day 523 Resort Dr., 5:30 - 9 p.m. Enjoy a horse-drawn sleigh ride through historic Upper Canyon. Sleigh Rides depart from Martha’s Fabrics parking lot. Located at the top of the “traffic circle”, at the west end of Sudderth Dr. Blankets are furnished for all riders. 575257-2241; www.grindstonestables.com. $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under.
November 29
Humane Society of Lincoln County’s Black Friday Blowout Event Humane Society Resale Shop, 413 W. Highway 70, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Save on Christmas shopping and help homeless animals at the same time. Choose from a large selection of holiday gifts, Christmas decorations, new and gently used items, and name brand clothing. 575-808-8540. Free admission.
Jim Curry’s John Denver Tribute
Spencer Theater, 108 Spencer Rd., Alto, 8 - 10 p.m. Join acclaimed performer Jim Curry for this tribute to the music of one the most beloved singer/ songwriters ever to grace the stage. There will be a preperformance crispy cod buffet ($20) at 6 p.m. 575-336-4800; www.spencertheater.com. Performance is $76 or $79.
December 2
Santa’s Workshop Opens
First Christian Church, 1211 Hull Rd. Santa needs helpers to wrap the presents. We are looking for volunteers. The deadline to turn in an application for toys is Dec. 11. Toy delivery date is Dec. 19. Contact information: before Dec. 2, 575-336-4629; after Dec. 2, 575-258-2446.
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WEDNESDAY, NOV. 27, 2013 • W W W. R U I D O S O F R E E P R E S S . C O M • VOL. 5, NO. 47
50 cents
Fresh powder means snowtime for Ruidoso By Eugene Heathman Editor Eugene@ruidosofreepress.com As if on queue, Mother Nature delivered cold temperatures and a winter storm to kick off the much anticipated winter tourist season in Ruidoso. Merchants were bustling to get their stores ready for the signature weekend and village crews began decorating the light poles on Sudderth Drive as midtown merchants prepare for the calm before the real storm, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Advance reservations from area lodgers are a strong indicator of what Ruidoso can expect for the holiday season and if phones ringing off the hook at Condotel property Management Company are a sign of what’s to come, people should not hesitate in making vacation plans. Front office employee Lisa Romero said,” We are pretty much booked solid for the Thanksgiving weekend, there are a few slots left but now that people know the mountain is opening on time and we have snow, rooms are filling up fast.” Romero also reported that advance reservations for the Christmas holiday break are up from last year. Condotel manages several nightly rentals and even have a retail ski shop in the same building on Mechem where guests check in. “The store is fully See SNOWTIME, pg. A3
Eugene Heathman/Ruidoso Free Press
With a pristine snow covered Sierra Blanca in the background, utility workers from the Village of Ruidoso adorn the light poles along Sudderth Drive with traditional lighting for the holiday season.
Former Sheriff candidate tangles with police Dashcam video shows Seidel being tackled during traffic stop
recorded by a dash cam in state cop Corey Crayton’s car shows the officer pull over Seidel in a gold Lexus SUV for going 69 in a 55 just outside Ruidoso. By Caleb James “Next thing I know, looks like KOB Eyewitness News 4 he’s headed over that way,” said KOB Eyewitness News 4 has Seidel. Seidel sees the officer obtained exclusive dash-cam approach - on the passenger side video showing a state cop making - which struck him as strange. He a stop outside Ruidoso. said there was more than enough It quickly escalates with Ruroom on the driver’s side, shown on the video. He says the car was new to him, and he was trying to figure out how to roll down the passenger window. “All of a sudden I hear the door open, my wife’s yelling, ‘Don’t open the door! Don’t open the door,’” he said. That’s when Seidel got out of the car. “I met him at the back of the car, and he had his 9mm pointed at me yelling at me,” he said. With the officer out of view of the dash camera – we can’t see him pointing a gun. But what unfolds next shows the situation escalating quickly. The officer repeatedly tells Seidel he’s under arrest, Erik LeDuc/Ruidoso Free Press and to “drop his weapon.” The Capitan Tigers break through the banner as the band and fans cheer them on before the start of Seidel is wearing a handgun on Saturday’s Class 1A state championship at Tiger Field in Capitan. idoso Doctor and former candidate for Lincoln County Sheriff Ray Seidel who was pulled over being tackled and arrested. Dr. Ray Seidel sent KOB the dash cam video and compares what happened in it to that recent controversial traffic stop near Taos. Seidel admits he’s firmly against the federal government, and admits he has stopped paying taxes in protest of the IRS, but he
says, regardless of his views, what happened in this tape is wrong. “Never been in a situation like that where I’ve ever ever been threatened at this level,” said Seidel. “I come around the corner and this guy’s pointing his 9mm right at me.” When Seidel watches the video, he can’t explain why what started as a traffic stop turned into his dramatic arrest. The Sept. 10 video
Bursting through
See SEIDEL, pg. A3
Future of Lincoln County Transit in doubt By Todd Fuqua Reporter todd@ruidosofreepress.com Uncertainty over the future of Lincoln County Transit colored Monday’s Ruidoso Downs Council meeting, as the governing body discussed what to do about the director’s vacancy. LCT has been without a director since the end of October and has run consistently in the red for much of its five-year existence.
The city has had to subsidize it from the general fund, and outgoing Finance Director Terri Mosley stated the transit system is currently $18,341 in debt. The options for hiring a new director are few, as City Clerk Carol Virden pointed out the obvious lack of funds to even advertise the open position. Virden stated the biggest reason LCT has been running in the red for so long was a lack of R MAKE RAIN
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reimbursements from the state or federal governments – reimbursements which had been turned in late by the previous director. With no immediate answers, Mayor Gary Williams asks to postpone the discussion and give city staff time to come up with ideas to keep the operation afloat without placing undue hardship on the city’s coffers. “The lack of reimbursements bothers me,” said City Councilor
Dean Holman. “But then the whole thing bothered me this whole time. Councilors also unanimously approved $10,000 be moved from the Lodger’s Tax non-promotional fund to the Hubbard Museum of the American West to purchase items for the gift shop. The museum has also had financial difficulties in the past, but Mosley reported this institution is actually in the black, with more than $88,000 currently in the fund.
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