Santa Fe New Mexican, March 21, 2014

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Behind closed doors: Art in the Spanish American Home Inside The New Mexic an’s Weekly Maga of Arts, Entert zine ainment & Cultur e March 21, 2014

Friday, March 21, 2014

Locally owned and independent

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MARCH MADNESS u Lobos look to overcome daunting teams to advance.

Panel strikes down La Bajada mine Dozens gather to speak in protest of proposed basalt aggregate mine

u Aggies fall to SDSU. PAGE B-5

By Staci Matlock The New Mexican

Dozens of people shouted in triumph Thursday night as a Santa Fe County committee voted 5-2 to reject a basalt aggregate mine proposed for La Bajada mesa, east of Interstate 25

Sanctions target Putin’s inner circle Russia retaliates with ban on American lawmakers. PAGE A-3

Shipping nuke waste With WIPP shuttered, LANL nuke waste may go to Texas. PAGE B-1

off Waldo Canyon Road. Buena Vista Estates and aggregate company Rockology, both based in Albuquerque, had applied to turn a 50-acre parcel on the mesa into a mining zone. Their plan was to dynamite and dig out the basalt from open pits. But the committee said the mine south of Santa Fe would have countywide impacts. Frank Katz, one of the five members of the County Development

Review Committee who voted against the mine, said he knows aggregate is needed for construction. The crushed rock is used in asphalt, roadway base coarse and ready-mix concrete. “This is just not the place to do it,” Katz told the mine applicants before voting no. “La Bajada is incredibly prominent. It is in everyone’s backyard.” Residents of the villages of Cerrillos and Madrid, and elsewhere in Santa Fe County, filled the County

Memories and tears flood mission to heal

Report ties steep drop in patients to shake-up

Emotions run high at Vietnam War memorial as hundreds honor the 398 New Mexicans who died during the conflict

Feds claim number of people receiving services down by 23 percent By Patrick Malone The New Mexican

Chaos from the state’s sudden suspension of Medicaid funding for behavioral health care providers last year befuddled patients and led them to abandon care, while caregivers employed by the firms lost years of seniority in their transition to out-ofstate companies, a federal report says. The newly released report offers the first outside review of the turmoil that mental health advocates say ensued after the Martinez administration halted funding to 15 providers across the state last June and replaced them with Arizona companies. State Human Services Department officials made the move following an audit they said revealed allegations of Medicaid fraud and overbilling. The audit has not been released to the public, but it has come under fire by the State Auditor’s Office for the way it was conducted. And some of its results have been contradicted in an ongoing investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, which already has cleared one of the New Mexico providers. The federal report, by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, claims the number of patients receiving mental health services declined by 23 percent in the four months

Mayor Gonzales wants housing incentives to benefit newer officers By Chris Quintana The New Mexican

Please see RENT, Page A-4

Index

Calendar A-2

Classifieds C-2

Please see MINE, Page A-4

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Cop’s cheap rent prompts city to revisit lease policy

Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales said it may be time to re-examine a practice that allows employees to reside on city-owned property for minimal cost. Gonzales was reacting to an article in Thursday’s New Mexican stating that the police department’s Deputy Chief John Schaerfl is paying $50 a month to lease a space for his mobile home at Ashbaugh Park, which is near Second Street and CerJohn Schaerfl rillos Road. Whatever program the city had in place that allowed Schaerfl to pay so little, it’s clear that it was loosely managed. City spokeswoman Jodi McGinnis Porter said that as of Thursday afternoon, the city had yet to find the policy that allows Schaerfl live at the park for that rate. She said Schaerfl’s contract with the city also was unavailable. “It’s a golden opportunity to look at what we’re doing and make it better,” McGinnis Porter said. She also said the mayor wants to make sure such housing incentives benefit newer officers, who have lower wages than higher-ranked officers. Schaerfl, a 17-year department veteran, earns $98,987 per year. A new officer with the police force starts at $19.11 per hour, or $39,748

Commission chambers to protest the 50-acre mine. “We’re not talking about some little backwater part of the county that no one cares about,” said Diane Senior, a Madrid resident who spoke against the mine. Residents said the mine would use too much water, create dust and noise, and increase traffic in the rural area. They said it is the wrong industry for an iconic escarpment that

Shelley Waxman of Santa Fe finds names of friends on The Wall That Heals during the welcoming ceremony Thursday at Fort Marcy Ballpark. For more photos and to read additional stories about The Wall That Heals, visit www.santafenewmexican.com. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

By Robert Nott The New Mexican

alph Montez of Santa Fe went to see The Wall That Heals at Fort Marcy Ballpark on Wednesday to find the name of an old friend. He found it, etched among the thousands of names on the granite facade: Joseph F. Trujillo. The visit brought up such a torrent of memories that Montez could not bring himself to return Thursday, when an opening ceremony was held for the traveling monument to the men and women who died during the Vietnam War. Even before The Wall That Heals arrived in Santa Fe this week, Montez had been waking up with the image and voice of Trujillo in his mind. The two used to hike together in the hills outside La Puebla in northern Santa Fe County in the 1950s. “He taught me how to find arrowheads,” Montez said. He recently visited a memorial marker with Trujillo’s name on it in the Santa Fe National Cemetery. Next to that monument is a cross that says “POW-MIA.” Trujillo isn’t missing any longer. He was killed by a mine on Sept. 3, 1966, and 10 days later was listed as missing in action. But his remains were

R ABOVE: Veteran Joseph F. Trujillo’s name is shown on the wall Thursday. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURN THE NEW MEXICAN

RIGHT: Ralph Montez looks at Trujillo’s memorial at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. CLYDE MUELLER THE NEW MEXICAN

Comics C-12

Crosswords C-3, C-11

Please see PATIENTS, Page A-4

Obituaries Rebecca Jocelyn Henderson, 70, March 4 Thomas Paul Hill, March 14 Marin L. Mier, March 18 Michael Romero, 59, Santa Fe, March 17

Opinions A-7

Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010 News tips: 983-3035

Sports B-5

Time Out C-11

BREAKING NEWS AT WWW.SANTAFENEWMEXICAN.COM

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PAGE B-4

Three sections, 38 pages Pasatiempo, 56 pages 165th year, No. 80 Publication No. 596-440

Gen Next C-1

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