Unconventional treatment helps dog recover after eating toxic Xylitol Page A-6
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Power line threat poses challenge WIDER EASEMENTS COULD HELP PREVENT WILDFIRES, BUT PROCESS COMPLICATED By Staci Matlock The New Mexican
Wider power line easements could help prevent wildfires like the two large ones burning in the Santa Fe National Forest, say three rural electric cooperative officials. “Wider easements would be better,” said Luis Reyes, general manager of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative in Taos. “The better, clearer right of way we could have would prevent trees
THOMPSON RIDGE FIRE GROWS TO 10,400 ACRES; STRIKE CREWS IN NEW MEXICO
from falling into lines and could create a better fire break.” But getting wider easements approved is complicated, expensive and a slow process, say the electric co-op officials and the Forest Service. Downed power lines sparked the Thompson Ridge Fire in the Jemez Mountains and the Tres Lagunas Fire in Pecos Canyon last week, according to preliminary reports. Both fires have
Please see POWER, Page A-4
By Susan Montoya Bryan The Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez introduces the first of three out-of-state strike teams that will help with future fires Wednesday in Rio Rancho. SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RIO RANCHO — Some residents were allowed to return home Wednesday as firefighters shored up lines around one of two wildfires that have raced across thousands of acres of dry forest in Northern New Mexico. The Tres Lagunas blaze has charred more than 14 square miles north of Pecos since being sparked last Thursday by a downed power line. Fire
officials said the fire is now 15 percent contained and they’re assessing the evacuation area to determine when more evacuees can return. With fire season in full swing in drought-stricken New Mexico, Gov. Susana Martinez announced the arrival of three out-of-state strike teams to help if new fires break out. The teams will be positioned in Rio Rancho, Socorro and Las Vegas.
Please see FIRE, Page A-4
FBI links Democratic consultant to stolen emails
New Mexico School for the Arts students march over music head’s ouster
Home of Martinez’s former assistant searched during inquiry By Steve Terrell The New Mexican
Catherine McDonald, 18, of Santa Fe leads a group of New Mexico School for the Arts students and graduates on a march Wednesday in support of music department chairwoman Melinda Russial, whose contract was not renewed. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN
Turnover spurs protest By Robert Nott The New Mexican
A
bout 35 New Mexico School for the Arts students, backed by about a dozen watchful parents and adult supporters, organized a protest against the charter school’s decision to not renew the contract of a popular music teacher. The students gathered Wednesday morning outside the Main Library downtown before walking through the Plaza carrying signs that read “Let Melinda Teach,” “Art, Not Politics” and “Stability for NMSA.” They eventually staged a sit-in on the lawn of the school, located on the corner of West Alameda Street and Paseo de Peralta. School officials declined comment on the matter, noting that the decision to let go of music department chairwoman Melinda Russial
is a personnel matter. Russial, 29, also declined comment. By most accounts, Rise Gonzales, head of the school’s Art Institute, a nonprofit that oversees the arts-related classes at the school, announced the news about Russial early Tuesday. Students and parents involved in the protest mostly seemed upset by the school’s lack of communication with them over the matter and by the fact that Russial was the third head of the music department over the past three years. Students Heather Doyle, Allie Norris and Sam Stallings, for instance, all said that the loss contributes to a lack of continuity in the music department. “We love NMSA, we love the board, and we love Rise,” Stallings said. “We know they are doing what they think is right, but what they
Please see PROTEST, Page A-4
“
We love NMSA, we love the board, and we love Rise. We know they are doing what they think is right, but what they think is right may be different from what we think is right.”
The Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A 66-year-old Santa Fe man was killed Tuesday when a small sightseeing plane in southeast Alaska crashed on the side of a steep mountain, Alaska State Troopers said. Thomas L. Rising, a Los Alamos National Laboratory research and design engineer, was among a group of cruise ship passengers in the Pacific Wings de Havilland Canada
Index
Calendar A-2
Classifieds B-7
DHC-2 Beaver that went down near the town of Petersburg with seven people on board. Rising’s body was trapped in the plane and was not recovered because of the hazardous location near a precipice, nightfall and worsening weather, troopers said. A recovery effort was planned for Wednesday at the site, described by Clint Johnson, head of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska regional office, as very treacherous, unstable and steep. “It is a very challenging area,” he said. Johnson said efforts to recover the body began Wednesday afternoon. The other five passengers on board
Comics B-12
Lotteries A-2
Opinions A-11
the single-engine float plane were members of the same family and also traveling on the same National Geographic cruise ship, according to Clint Johnson, head of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska regional office. He didn’t know the family’s hometown or age range. Two of the family members were seriously hurt, one with a broken back and one with a broken leg. The four others, including the pilot, had minor injuries. A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued the survivors and flew them to Petersburg, 13
Police notes A-10
Editor: Rob Dean, 986-3033, rdean@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Brian Barker, bbarker@sfnewmexican.com
Please see CRASH, Page A-5
Sports B-1
Time Out A-8
Please see EMAILS, Page A-5
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Santa Fe Clay 545 Camino de la Familia, 984-1122. Works by potters Adam Field, Ben Krupka, and Lorna Meaden, reception 5-7 p.m., through July 20. More events in Calendar, Page A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Sam Stallings, NMSA student
Santa Fe man killed in Alaska plane crash Los Alamos lab employee was on sightseeing flight
A Democratic political consultant communicated regularly with Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s former campaign manager and her former personal assistant, according to documents unsealed Wednesday by federal authorities. The FBI says the three also shared Martinez emails that allegedly were intercepted illegally. The affidavits are part of the federal government’s case against Jamie Estrada, Martinez’s former campaign manager, who was indicted last week on charges that he illegally obtained Martinez emails and lied to the FBI. Estrada, who is scheduled to be arraigned June 17 at the federal courthouse in Albuquerque, has said he didn’t break any laws. Jason Loera, the Democratic consultant, was arrested this week on three counts of possessing child pornography. An affidavit unsealed Wednesday confirmed that authorities found pornographic images of young children on computer discs at Loera’s home after confiscating his computers and other equipment in November while searching for evidence in the hijacked-emails investigation. Loera’s lawyer, Brian Newman, told The Associated Press he had no comment and hadn’t seen the unsealed affidavits. FBI agents in November also searched the Rio
Back to the mound Questa baseball coach and pitcher to take the field one more time in Class A-AAA North/South All-Star Game. SPORTS, B-1
Scoop A-9
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Obituaries W. Scott Andrus Joe Marino Leyba Sr., 75, Alcalde, May 31 Charles “Chuckie” B. Marsh IV, 38, May 25 PAGE A-10
Today Afternoon storms. High 81, low 53. PAGE A-12
Two sections, 24 pages 164th year, No. 157 Publication No. 596-440