Cougars spoil Storm's stadium debut

Cibola senior David Vargas rushed for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cibola Cougars to a 31-14 over the Cleveland in a high school football game at the Storm’s new stadium.

Cleveland, playing mostly sophomores in its first year of existence, led 14-10 at halftime in its bid to upset the established Albuquerque school. But the Cougars intercepted a Travis Lonergan pass on the first play of the second half to set up the go ahead score, a three-yard run by Vargas, and never trailed again.

The Cougars would score on three of its first four possessions of the second half. Vargas raced around end for a 65-yard score with 2:40 left in the third quarter, and quarterback Hayden Schaap capped the scoring with a nine-yard keeper on the second play of the final quarter. Cibola also kept the ball for the final 6:56 of the game, racking up seven first down in moving from its own 13 to the Cleveland 13 before taking two kneel downs to end the game.

MORE TO COME

xxx




Judge: City violated Open Meetings Act

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

Rio Rancho government officials violated the state Open Meetings Act as part of the termination of former city manager Jim Palenick, a district judge ruled Tuesday.

In reversing his previous ruling, Judge George Eichwald did not grant a request by Palenick’s attorney, Daniel Faber, for a new trial. Eichwald also re-affirmed his previous decisioin that Palenick was not due 11 months in back pay from December 2006 to November 2007, a ruling Faber plans to appeal.

The OMA complaint, which was submitted to the Attorney General’s office by former Mayor Jim Owen, alleged that then-Mayor Kevin Jackson met with city councilors Mike Williams, Patty Thomas, Delma Petruilo and Howard Balmer as part of a “rolling quorum” to decide Palenick’s fate in advance of a public meeting.

The council unanimously upheld Jackson’s recommendation to fire Palenick at its regular meeting on Dec. 13, 2006.

The AG’s office wrote a letter on Sept. 21, 2007, to the city stating it believed the council had violated the OMA. While the city disagreed with the interpretation, the council did take a second public vote on Nov. 19, 2007, to “cure” any violation and confirm Palenick’s termination.

The former city manager, who now holds the equivalent position in Gastonia, N.C., then filed suit against the city, contending his first firing was illegal and that he was due 11 months pay plus court costs and legal fees. The city filed a counter claim, saying since Palenick accepted a severance package that the city had completed its financial obligations.

Tuesday’s brief hearing may have raised more questions than it provided answers. Randy Bartell, the attorney contracted by the New Mexico Municipal League to represent the city, said he believes that “nothing has changed” with Eichwald’s ruling. Faber, however, said Eichwald’s action would allow Palenick to collect court costs and legal fees under the OMA.

Under section 10-15-3 (subsection C) of the OMA, “The district courts of this state shall have jurisdiction, upon the application of any person to enforce the purpose of the Open Meetings Act, by injunction, mandamus or other appropriate order. The court shall award costs and reasonable attorney fees to any person who is successful in bringing a court action to enforce the provisions of the Open Meetings Act.”

Faber believes this entitles his client to recover court costs and attorney fees.

But under subsection B of the same clause, “All provisions of the Open Meetings Act shall be enforced by the attorney general or by the district attorney in the county of jurisdiction.  However, nothing in that act shall prevent an individual from independently applying for enforcement through the district courts, provided that the individual first provides written notice of the claimed violation to the public body and that the public body has denied or not acted on the claim within fifteen days of receiving it.”

Since Owen’s original complaint to the AG was not filed within 15 days of the Dec. 13, 2006 hearing, Bartell contends Palenick and Faber cannot recover court costs and attorney fees. Bartell points out that Faber’s original filing had a separate claim for those costs, and said he believes that separate claim was been thrown out when Eichwald ruled against the original lawsuit.

Lynn Southard, the Deputy Director of Communications for the Attorney General, replied to an e-mal inquiry that, “It is up to the judge to decide costs.The OMA only says prevailing parties can recover costs. (It) does not spell out beyond that.”

Whether either side will have to address the issue to the Court of Appeals won’t be determined until Eichwald issues his written ruling on the case, which could come by the end of the week.
 

Movie complex part of development
approved by Rio Rancho City Council

Rio Rancho city councilors took the first step toward bringing a movie theatre complex to the city Wedneday night by conducting a public work session on a proposed development along Unser Boulevard.

The 75.8 acre, $103 million development would be north of the proposed Presbyterian Hospital. The project also includes office and retail space and a hotel, said Jill Sweeney, a representative of property owners Sandia View LLC.

Though project details and artist renderings were not included in the 45-minute meeting, Sweeney said after the meeting that a 2,400 seat multiplex theatre is one of the items planned for one of the first two stages of construction. The entire project is planned for five construction stages through 2018, with the first three levels being constructed from 2010-2013.

Sweeney said the completed project is estimated to generate $4.665 million in gross receipts taxes and 795 permanent jobs. Another 700 jobs may be created during the actual building of the project.

City manager James Jimenez said Sandia View has shown its commitment to the project by already paying $75,000 in required fees for legal and economic analysis required under the city’s Tax Increment Development District policy.

Sandia View will be seeking a TIDD, which allows the developer to be reimbursed for much of the cost for new infrastructure on the land. Under a TIDD, a developer can seek up to 75 percent of the gross receipt taxes generated to help pay off the costs of the infrastructure.

Jimenez said the council would likely consider a non-binding resolution of intent at its Sept. 9 meeting. From there, a resolution creating the TIDD would be considered on Oct. 14.

Peter Franklin, the city’s outside legal counsel from the Modrall Sperling law firm, compared the project to the Uptown development in Albuquerque along Louisiana Boulevard.

 During the regular council meeting, the council approved the hiring of Rebecca Sanford as its new director of human resources. Jimenez said Sanford emerged from a field of 85 candidates after three interviews.

Sanford has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector. She holds a Bachelor of Sciences degree in business and a masters in organizational psychology from Tennessee-Chattanooga.

Sanford, who has been in the metro area for about nine years, will start in September. She currently works for Hub International, an insurance  brokerage firm. She held the same position with Talbot Financial Corporation from 2001-05 before it was acquired by Hub International.

She previously worked for Shaw Industries in Dalton, Ga., from 1990 to 2001 and for ACCU-CAST in Chattanooga, Tenn. She received a bachelor of sciences degree in business management and a masters degree in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

In other business, the council:

• Approved a resolution setting the final interest rates for Special Assessment District 8. The tax-exempt rate was set at 5.35 percent and the taxable rate was set at 6.46 percent, including the city’s one percent administration fee.

• Learned in a report from development services director John Castillo that the long-promised department manual is almost complete and a draft will be posted on the city’s web site in about a week for public comment.

• Approved a resolution approving a city center master plan for the downtown area.

• Reversed a planning and zoning commission decision denying a setback variance requested by resident Gerald B. Catron.

• Accepted a $3,400,346 grant from the state’s department of finance for the regional communication center.

• Accepted the reappointment of Randy McNicholas and appointment of Christopher Harrington to the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Opponent wants sheriff to resign
over handling of Harris stakeout

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

A former member of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department and political opponent of the current administration is calling for Sheriff John Paul Trujillo’s resignation over what he believes was inappropriate management surrounding the recent death of Sgt. Joe Harris.

By The SCOREA former member of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department and political opponent of the current administration is calling for Sheriff resignation over what he believes was inappropriate management surrounding the recent death of Sgt. J.

By The SCOREA former member of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department and political opponent of the current administration is calling for Sheriff resignation over what he believes was inappropriate management surrounding the recent death of Sgt. J.

 

By The SCOREA former member of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department and political opponent of the current administration is calling for Sheriff resignation over what he believes was inappropriate management surrounding the recent death of Sgt. J.

 

By The SCOREA former member of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department and political opponent of the current administration is calling for Sheriff resignation over what he believes was inappropriate management surrounding the recent death of Sgt. J.

 

By The SCOREA former member of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department and political opponent of the current administration is calling for Sheriff resignation over what he believes was inappropriate management surrounding the recent death of Sgt. J.

 

By The SCOREA former member of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department and political opponent of the current administration is calling for Sheriff resignation over what he believes was inappropriate management surrounding the recent death of Sgt. J.

 

By The SCOREA former member of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Department and political opponent of the current administration is calling for Sheriff resignation over what he believes was inappropriate management surrounding the recent death of Sgt. J.

In a letter to major media outlets, 10-year department veteran Doug Wood is critical of Trujillo and Undersheriff Tim Lucero’s role in authorizing a stakeout that led to Harris’ death on July 16. Wood, who narrowly lost to Trujillo in the 2006 election, has launched a web site for the 2010 campaign, where he could face Lucero in the general election.

For the full text of the letter, click here.

“Sergeant Joe Harris died a hero, saving the life of his partner and protecting the citizens of Sandoval County whom he had sworn to protect and serve,” Wood writes. “It is unfortunate that Sheriff John Paul Trujillo and Undersheriff Tim Lucero (along with the rest of the Sheriff’s upper-level administration) do not take their oath as seriously.

“Due to this display of incompetence, blatant deceit, and lack of care and safety for his own officers, Sheriff Trujillo should immediately resign. Undersheriff Lucero, who has been hiding silently behind Sheriff Trujillo’s cloak for seven years, is next in line to assume the position. Since Lucero has stood by Sheriff Trujillo in silent compliance while having complete intimate knowledge of everything that has occurred, and because he has not once displayed the moral courage to stand up as a leader and intervene, he should not be allowed to be sheriff.

“As this matter is still being actively investigated, new details are emerging each day. Based on what has been released up to this point, it is evident that the actions displayed thus far by the current leadership of the SCSO have been nothing less than negligent.”

Lucero responded by e-mail Tuesday afternoon, noting that Trujillo was out of town until Friday.

“The only statement I agree with in this unjustified letter written by Doug Wood is ‘Sgt. Joe Harris died a hero, saving the life of his partner and protecting the citizens of Sandoval County whom he had sworn to protect and serve,’ “ Lucero wrote. “It’s unfortunate Doug Wood would use the death of a Sergeant Joe Harris as a political platform.

“Doug Wood is in no way involved with the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office and had no part of the investigation. Therefore his thoughts and beliefs are just that, his own thoughts and beliefs, because he has no factual knowledge of the case.

“Doug Wood was a part of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s administration from 1998 to 2002. During that administration the burglary of cabins were reported and that administration took no action whatsoever to investigate the cases. Since 2003, the Sheriff Office has actively and diligently worked on these cases managing many operations to solve the burglaries.”

Wood is upset that “the Sheriff’s Administration downplayed the true nature of Joseph H. Burgess by stating he had NEVER done anything prior which would indicate that he was this violent. Burgess’ known propensity for violence was minimized by the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, which dismissed him as ‘the Cookie Bandit’ who merely broke into homes and stole nothing more than food and clothing.

“As this matter is still being actively investigated, new details are emerging each day. Based on what has been released up to this point, it is evident that the actions displayed thus far by the current leadership of the SCSO have been nothing less than negligent.

“As the truth was revealed, we learned of Burgess’ extensive sadistic criminal past.  Now we know the SCSO was aware of the two previous incidents involving two Jemez area residents who reported they had been threatened with a deadly weapon by Burgess.”

Wood goes on to write that Lucero “knew the ‘Cookie Bandit’ had previously tried to kill someone when he made the decision to send the two deputies into that Jemez cabin without a backup team. He knew of the previous incidents by the residents in the area, and he knew this from the previous shooting of Reserve Deputy Luke Dienlin.”

Wood questions why the public and other law enforcement agencies were not involved in attempting to capture “the Cookie Bandit” after he was identified as the only suspect in the Dienlin shooting.

“As supervisor and sheriff, Trujillo is vicariously and 100 percent culpable and accountable,” Wood writes. “He made the executive decision to execute this stakeout operation while fully knowing that this operation occurred contrary to and directly against established, tried-and-proven proper police operations, tactics, and strategy, and without any hint of a secondary contingency plan.”

Lucero countered: “It was easy for Doug Wood to sit back and do nothing when he had the opportunity and it’s obvious that it is very easy for him to sit back and criticize our actions after the fact.  If Doug Wood had any respect for Sergeant Joe Harris and his family, he would only speak after knowing the true facts.

“Rather than using this highly unfortunate situation for political posturing which Mr. Wood appears to attempt, the New Mexico State Police and the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office will continue their investigations on the case.  Upon completion of both investigations the facts of the case will be released.”

Burgess, who was also killed in the stakeout struggle, has been linked to the murders of a young couple in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1972, and may have been involved in the deaths of a northern California couple.

One of the guns found at the scene was registered to David Eley, who has been missing for three years and may have also been killed by Burgess.

Wood said he planned to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for sheriff the weekend after Harris was killed but delayed the launching of his web site out of respect for his former colleague and his family.

“I want everyone to understand that I am not going to exploit this tragic incident for political purposes,” Wood said in a telephone interview. “I really didn’t want to say anything at all about it right now, but I can’t tell you the number of people who have called me and said I had to speak out.

“I do believe this tragedy demonstrates the current lack of administrative ability in the Sheriff’s Department, and that will be one of many issues in the coming campaign.”

Wood, who lost to the incumbent Trujillo by 380 votes out of more than 7,000 cast, would be facing a new candidate as Trujillo is term limited. Lucero is thought to be the favorite for the Democratic nomination.

Wood’s web site is http://www.dougwoodforsheriff.com/.

Wood and Trujillo worked under previous sheriff Ray Rivera. After Trujillo was elected, Wood was charged in a vehicle registration scheme but all charges were dismissed.

Trujillo later blamed Wood before the election when a Bernalillo police officer filed a report stating the sheriff was in the back of his vehicle at the Bernalillo Park and Ride with a woman in the back seat and his zipper undone. Trujillo denied the allegations and later filed suit against the police department.

Wood left Sandoval County to work as a special agent for the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Division as a criminal investigator. He currently works for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.


7/27/09
High schools to open 2 days late

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

Sorry kids. School is going to start on time for most of you after all.

The Rio Rancho school board voted 3-0 Monday morning to delay the start of high school classes by two days to provide some extra time to make sure things are ready at the new Cleveland High. Elementary and middle school students will start as scheduled.

The school district found out Thursday that sewer connections might not be completed on time to open the new school on Aug. 13 as scheduled. But after learning that everything might actually be ready ahead of schedule, the board still decided to delay the opening for both Rio Rancho High and the new school until Monday, Aug. 17.

The starting dates for all teachers will remain the same. Teachers will begin their year with three days of staff development from Aug. 10 to Aug. 12.

Thursday, Aug. 13 had already been designated as a planning day at the middle school and elementary levels. School will start on Friday, Aug. 14 at the middle school as planned; elementary students will begin three days of testing on the same day school and begin classes on Wednesday, Aug. 19.

High school teachers will still be working on on the two days where there will be no students, especially at Cleveland where they will be preparing classrooms it time to open the following Monday.

The two days in the classroom will not be made up. Superintendent Sue Cleveland said the district had scheduled more than the state required number of hours of instruction, and the district would still be above state requirements even losing 13 hours (6.5 hours for two days).

Cleveland said the district would return to the extra hours for the 2010-11 school year.

District human resources director Sue Passell said high schools are required to have 1,080 hours of classroom instruction statewide, and the RRPS had 60 extra hours scheduled before the changes approved Monday.

MORE TO COME

RRPS may delay school start

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

The start of school for the entire Rio Rancho district will likely be delayed at least 10 days because of construction problems at the new Cleveland High School.

Superintendent Sue Cleveland said Thursday sewers to the facility won’t be connected by the end of the month as expected, preventing the district from getting a certificate of occupancy in time to start the school year as scheduled on Aug.13.

Also, a water main break damaged the only entrance road to the school. A temporary road behind the facility being used by construction crews is not included in the budget for the school.

Facility director Al Sena said the city had not formally informed the district the sewers would not be connected by July 31, but the contractor of the project had told the district of the delay. That means that even without the road issue the school was unlikely to be able to open on time.

Cleveland said the district just learned of the issue on Thursday, barely in advance of a regularly-scheduled school board meeting. Because of state open meeting laws, the board could take no official action but agreed to meet again Monday at 8 a.m. – the earliest it could to meet posting requirements – to consider a new school year calendar.

Cleveland said the new target date for the opening of school is Monday, Aug. 24. The delay would be for all schools, Cleveland said, because it would not be possible to change things such as bus schedules for just one school.

The current calendar has school beginning on a “staggered start,” with high schools (grades 9-12) opening on Thursday, Aug. 13; middle schools (grades 6-8) on Friday, Aug. 14 and elementary schools (kindergarten through fifth grade) on Wednesday, Aug. 19, though the elementary students were schedule to begin testing on Aug. 14.

District spokesperson Kim Vesley said the district had not decided on what changes, if any, would be made to the staggered start concept.

WILL BE UPDATED AFTER MEETING ENDS.

Click here for our
current specials.



Click here for
our specials.

 
Todd R. Hathorne
2601 Wyoming N.E. Suite 210 Albuquerque, N.M. 87111
(505)292-9150 www.foundationfinancial.net


 



www.JoeMonahan.com

Click here for more information
about our campus and programs.

Paseo construction gets final approval

By Eric Maddy
The SCORE

The long-fought battle over Paseo del Volcan through Enchanted Hills ended Wednesday as the Rio Rancho Governing Body awarded a contract to build the stretch of road from U.S. 550 to Iris Boulevard.

Residents of the northern end of town have protested the construction of this leg of the project because it will divide the housing development by what could eventually be expanded to a six-lane highway.

The $16,542,718.29 contract went to Mountain States Construction Inc. Construction is expected to begin in October and the project is scheduled to be completed by February 2011.

Enchanted Hills residents did get some good news, however, as the city council approved a contract for the first phase of Sports Complex North. The project is a scaled-back version of a proposal that voters turned down in a special election in the fall of 2007, with Phase I primarily going to construct two Little League baseball fields and landscaping/parking in the surrounding areas.

The $885,752.90 contract was awarded to Mountain West Golfscapes Inc.
 
Parks director Jay Hart said the fields should be completed in time for use next season.
The city is actually spending only $135,000 on the project. County commissioner Dave Bency contributed $600,000 and another $150,000 came from a state grant.

As part of a busy agenda, the council also adopted the fiscal year 2010 budget and the Infrastructure and Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) for the years 2010-2015.

It also approved a revised development plan that will allow for the construction of a 14,000 square foot CVS Drug Store and 17,000 square foot office building on the northwest corner of N.M. 528 and Northern Boulevard. Six residents who live on Monterey Road behind the proposed site objected to the plan that calls for three access points from in front of their homes, fearing additional traffic and safety issues.

After their input, the council approved an amendment proposed by councilor Larry Naranjo making the northern-most of the Monterey access points “right-in” only, preventing customers from driving further north in front of established residences.

The plan has only one entrance from N.M. 528 and none from Northern, though a third turning lane will be added to allow for access to Monterey.
David Campbell, an attorney for the developers, said he hoped construction could begin by the end of the year.

The council also denied a resolution creating a schedule of permit fees that the fire department will be allowed to charge, mostly for required inspections of commercial buildings.

The schedule would have included:

• $15 to $520 for fire inspections of buildings without hazardous materials, based on the size of the building.

• $40 to $620 for fire inspections of buildings with hazardous materials, based on the size of the building.

• $25 to $150 for tent inspections, based on the area covered.

• $25 to $100 for canopies, based on the area covered.

• $25 to $75 for other fire inspection fees.

The city estimated the fees would raise $35,000 initially, but speakers called the proposal a “fire tax” targeted at businesses and said the fees would discourage business development in Rio Rancho.

In other business, the council:

• Awarded a $1,471,718.29 bid to Sundance Mechanical and Utility for pavement reconstruction of Cherry Road from 10th Street to Unser Boulevard.

• Authorized the increase of judicial education fees associated with traffic violations from $2 to $3.
• Approved a budget amendment allowing the transfer of $60,000 to provide a 25 percent match to qualify for funds  from the New Mexico Department of Transportation’s Municipal Arterial Program Cooperative Agreement. The grant money will be used to study the possibility of a traffic light or roundabout s at Enchanted Hills Boulevard and Sprint Boulevard and King Boulevard and Wilpert in Northern Meadows.

• Acknowledged the receipt of Pinon Awards, part of the New Mexico Quality Awards program, to three departments – building inspection, recreation and public utilities.

• Approved reappointments of Alois Weber and Magdalena Graham to the Senior Services Advisory Board and Donna Rupp to the Library Board of Trustees.

• Approved membership of the intermodal bike/pedestrian transportation advisory task force. Members are Martha Dunn, Alfred “Greg” Smith, Jeffrey Bronstein, Trevor Alsop, David Hanauer, Ron Jarrett and Christopher Mars