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Locally owned and independent

Sunday, June 2, 2013 www.santafenewmexican.com $1.25 Santa Fe Real

Message to grads

Find your home

Rep. Ben Ray Luján delivers a special congratulations to Pojoaque Valley High graduates. PAGE C-1

Your guide to the best real estate in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico. HOME, INSIDE

Estate Guide

Jun e 2013

Weather aids wildfire fight By Chris Quintana The New Mexican

The Tres Lagunas Fire in Pecos Canyon remained zero percent contained Saturday but had slowed its rate of consumption. The fire, which officials believe was sparked Thursday by a downed power line, had grown to 6,200 acres by Saturday after-

An air tanker drops fire retardant on the Tres Lagunas Fire in Pecos Canyon. COURTESY PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GENEROUS

noon, said Denise Ottaviano, an information officer with the Type 2 Incident Management Team in charge of the firefighting effort. Ottaviano said the wind had eased in the area, which allowed helicopters to drop water and air tankers to drop fire retardant on the blaze along N.M. 63. A

Please see WILDFIRE, Page A-5

Uphill battle for well water rights

James Rochford, 42, a state employee and father of three, died Jan. 18 following a barroom brawl at Tiny’s Restaurant & Lounge. COURTESY PHOTO

DEATH AT TINY’S

Tres Lagunas Fire in Pecos Canyon at 6,200 acres, zero percent contained Thompson Fire in Jemez Mountains burns 1,200 acres

Aamodt case Three well owners protest water-use limits proposed by state engineer

Police report reveals new details of fatal incident at bar; DA to decide whether to prosecute By Nico Roesler The New Mexican

The four men who held James Rochford facedown on the floor of Tiny’s Restaurant & Lounge following a barroom fight in January had urged the man to relax until police arrived. While Rochford continued to resist, witnesses said, the men never punched him or tried to hurt him. But one witness did say that someone had sat on him. Those were among the many details disclosed in a 294-page report by New Mexico State Police officers who investigated Rochford’s death that evening from traumatic asphyxiation. The investigation included interviews with 13 witnesses, Santa Fe police officers who responded to the disturbance and Rochford’s family. It is now up to District Attorney Angela “Spence” Pacheco to decide whether to prosecute anyone for the Jan. 18 death of Rochford, 42, a state employee and father of three who had recently moved to Santa Fe from Corrales. According to the police report, Rochford had started a new job with the state Taxation and Revenue Department in December. On the day of his death, he arrived at work at about 8:30 a.m. His supervisor said nothing seemed amiss. At about 10:30 a.m., Rochford texted his girlfriend, telling her he had been late for work because he had been drinking at a friend’s house the night before. That friend later told police Rochford had been crushing and snorting his prescription pills. The friend said Rochford felt as if he had two personalities, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” and that he had trouble controlling them. Rochford’s father, James Rochford Sr., told investi-

Arsenio Trujillo opens the lid to his well pump in Nambé. CLYDE MUELLER/THE NEW MEXICAN BY STACI MATLOCK THE NEW MEXICAN

T

he piles of legal papers stacked in the windows of Arsenio Trujillo’s custom adobe house overlooking the Nambé Valley all relate to an expensive, time-consuming water-rights battle that he’s pretty sure he’ll lose.

Please see DEATH, Page A-6

An environmental mess in Hanford

Marian G. Barnes, 65, Nambé, May 24 Carl Chunko, 58, March 23 Anthony Vicente Hurtado, 78, Santa Fe Peggy Johnson Myers, May 14 Darragh E. Nagle, 94, April 22 Victoria M. Santana, 89, May 29 Donald Tishman, 86

Catholic Church losing its influence on politics? Rhode Island lawmaker says fear of God is losing sway as public support for gay marriage grows across the United States. PAGE A-9

Calendar A-2

Classifieds E-6

Lotteries A-2

Neighbors C-7

Opinion B-1

PAGE C-2

Police notes C-2

Editor: Rob Dean, 986-3033, rdean@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Brian Barker, bbarker@sfnewmexican.com

Real Estate E-1

BY THE NUMBERS Domestic wells in the NambéPojoaque-Tesuque basin Adjudicated pre-1983 wells: 1,299 Post-1983 moratorium wells: 915 Cost of regional water system (2006 dollars): $177 million Santa Fe County portion: $21.4 million New Mexico portion: $49.5 million Federal portion: $106 million

Please see WATER, Page A-4

Obituaries

Officials and watchdog groups grapple with a legacy of radioactive contamination at the storied Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state. PAGE C-4

Index

But he’s fighting anyway. He says he has to. “What would our future generations say if I didn’t?” Trujillo said. “Grandpa just rolled over and played dead?” Darren Quintana, a Cuyamungue resident, and Mary Habeeb of Tesuque are joining him in the uphill fight. All say it is about fairness. They are protesting the permanent limits proposed by the State Engineer’s Office on the amount of water they can use from their private wells. They claim their well permits

Sports D-1

Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com

Today Afternoon and evening storms. High 85, low 54. PAGE C-8

Time Out/puzzles E-16

Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010

Santa Fe Community Orchestra Season finale features music of Brahms, Grieg, and Rimsky-Korsakov, 2:30 p.m., St. Francis Auditorium, New Mexico Museum of Art, 107 W. Palace Ave., donations appreciated, 466-4879 or sfco.org.

Six sections, 76 pages 164th year, No. 153 Publication No. 596-440


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