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What’s
happening July 20-22
Last Chance Qualifier, USSSA Slow Pitch Tournament
Men’s & Women’s Open, Men’s D & E/E REC at the Eagle Creek Sports Complex, hwy 532, Alto. Parks and Recreation 575-2575030, www.usssa.com. Free for spectators.
July 20-21
‘Harvey’ presented by the Lincoln County Community Theater An unforgettable comedic story of elwood P. dowd and his imaginary 6-foot tall white rabbit companion, revealing the importance of family with a combination of wonderful characters including the zany sanitarium’s doctors, nurses and custodians are all brought together by the most unlikely of folks - the cab driver. Mountain Annie’s Center for the Arts, www.lcct-nm.com, 575257-7982. Tickets are $20 and are sold only at the door.
TuesdAY, JuLY 17, 2012 • w w w . r u i d o s o f r e e p r e s s . c o M • VOL. 4, NO. 29
A property of
On the forefront of cleaning up horse racing
Two-time All American By Eugene Heathman Futurity winning trainers Editor Carl Draper and John Bassett eugene@ruidosofreepress.com and two other well-known Ruidoso Downs Racetrainers, Jeffrey Reed and track has been the subject Carlos Sedillo, are accused of increased scrutiny due to of doping their horses with recent allegations of trainillegal drugs to help win ers doping horses. Racetrack races during the trials for the chairman of the board and $600,000 Ruidoso Futurity horse owner R.D. Hubbard, and the $679,000 Ruidoso in conjunction with the New Derby at Ruidoso Downs on Mexico Racing Commission, June 9. is cracking down on wouldFollowing the races, the be violators by increasing the horses tested positive for the amount of and scope of testbanned substances of dering performed on racehorses. morphin, ractopamine and The move is being Photo courtesy of Ty Wyant stanozolol. All the horses ran celebrated by ethical horse The highly-competitive sport of horse racing is undergoing massive in either the trials for the fuowners in the racing industry reforms in the wake of rising doping allegations by increasing testing turity or derby. The futurity who have been continually of horses at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack. included approximately 250 been at a disadvantage with horses, which were held May 25. The derby the nationwide problem of horse doping as a negative or a black eye but this is crucial trials were held on May 26. for increased speed and performance. The in making a statement to our fans and horsecrackdown began with the season opener on man that the illegal use of drugs will not be Testing ordered by track officials May 25, resulting in positive drug tests on tolerated. We are grateful to the racing comIn a bold move to clean up the sport on several horses. mission and the local Horsemen’s Committee see rAciNG, pg 3 “Some might think of these positive tests for supporting these efforts,” Hubbard said.
White powder discovery shuts down City Hall only certified team in the state used by New Mexico State Police. “Anything that comes through the mail like this has to be considered suspicious,” Williams said. “That’s why they took all the precautions, and it took them about an hour to analyze it once they got here.” In the entire time it took the team to travel to Ruidoso Downs, set up and finally isolate and analyze the substance – which turned out to be talcum powder – several city employees were locked in the building until 1 a.m. That included Ruidoso Downs Police officers and dispatchers, as well as Police Chief Doug Babcock.
Williams, who arrived shortly after the substance was discovered, was also among those trapped by the quarantine. “It was a relief to find it was just talcum powder, but you never expect this type of thing to happen to you,” Williams said. “I really was disturbed by this, even if it was a prank.” Because the substance was sent through the mail, Williams said the Postmaster, as well as the FBI, are actively seeking whoever it was that sent it. “This scared a lot of people, but I was quite impressed with the law officers involved,” Williams said. “It was a great effort all the way around.”
Christmas in July Bazaar
By Todd Fuqua Reporter todd@ruidosofreepress.com The end of a regular workday turned into a long night for city employees in Ruidoso Downs, as all of City Hall was locked down for seven hours Thursday thanks to a suspicious envelope. The envelope, addressed to the City of Ruidoso Downs and received in the municipal court office, contained a small bag of “white substance,” according to Mayor Gary Williams. As a result, the building was closed and quarantined, and a special HazMat team had to be called in from Rio Rancho – the
Free movie, ‘Buck’
No legal funds for embattled school board members
July 21
All-out bazaar with a little bit of everything: garage sale, bake sale, candy sale, crafts, boutique, silent auction and luncheon at the episcopal Church, 121 Mescalero Trail. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 575-257-4156. A documentary-styled examination of the life of acclaimed ‘horse whisperer’ Buck Brannaman, who recovered from years of child abuse to become a well-known expert in the interactions between horses and people. sacred Grounds, 2825 sudderth dr. www.sacredgroundscoff eeshop.com, 6:30 p.m.
July 22
Sundays Under the Stars at Inn of the Mountain Gods
The live music is by sK Band and the movie after sunset is “up.” Bring your comfy folding chair or blanket and enjoy live music and a free movie. www. innofthemountaingods. com, 575-464-7777. Next to the lake at the inn of the Mountain Gods, 6 p.m. Free.
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By Eugene Heathman Editor eugene@ruidosofreepress.com The one action item stemming from the most recent RMS school board pertains to recalling embattled member Curt Temple and President Devin Marshall whose legal fees will not be paid by the district, at least for the time being. The board voted July 10, to disallow payments at least until the recall petition advances. Temple protested the vote stating it was against policy to re-vote against an item that had previously been voted on. “Someone from the defeated side cannot put an item back on the agenda. That’s in all the Robert’s Rules of Order,” Temple said. Vincent defended the action by referring to a July 10 opinion by attorney John F. Kennedy, with Cuddy & McCarthy stating, “Here, the very grounds for a recall demonstrate that the members are being challenged based on performance of their official duties. As a result, it is our opinion that the recall proceeding varies greatly from the circumstance outlined in Attorney General’s Opinion No. 07-03 and the board has the discretion to authorize payment of the cost to the board members targeted for recall to defend it. There is clearly no impartial official or body who can make this decision for the board, since the board members here are both
proponents and targets of the recall effort.” Kennedy concurred the board can decide to defer payment of legal fees until the results of the recall process are determined. The opinion further
Photo courtesy of Dan Jones
This photo was likely the last taken before the Little Bear Fire burned out of control, looking approximately west from the intersection of the Southfork/Bluefront Trails with the Crest Trail. The fire did not appear to be burning in Little Bear Canyon, but at the head of Three Rivers Canyon. Pictured are Dan Jones, his wife and a USFS Sacramento Hot Shot. See story, pg. 10.
REAL ESTATE TEAM
(575) 258-5008
(575) 257-5111 ext. 117 307 Mechem Dr, Ruidoso, NM
enabled them to re-vote since two of the members approving the previous vote to approve the use of district legal fees were recipients of the financial benefit. Temple vehemently see LeGAL fuNds, pg 3
Last photo of Crest Trail
T ER LO CORN
SDC, REALTORS®
states, “When board members Gladden and Vincent did not participate in the vote indicated under board practice, the result of a ‘non-vote’ is an affirmative vote.” Gladden and Vincent argued that their non-vote also
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