Letters to the editor

Shouldn’t county benefit from power plants in our midst?

Editor:

Peoples Energy needs Valencia County’s resources (air, water, scenery) to operate an electric generating station. The generating station will make money for People’s Energy’s stockholders.

The people of Valencia County should be paid cash and stock options by Peoples Energy. The electric company uses our resources. We should be paid fairly for those resources.

If Peoples Energy wants to do business in Valencia County, they must bring their checkbook. I will wait for an offer.

Paul Romero

Belen

Attend planning meeting

Editor:

The successful future of Valencia County is dependent upon a decision the (county) planning and zoning commission will make on 13 Aug, 2002!

If the commission says yes to the Rio Communities power plant, our air quality will deteriorate! The already-overextended water supply will be decreased by 32,600,000 gallons of water per year (this amount would support 1,350 households in the Rio Grande Utilities system (owned by a California company). The county would be required to provide expensive services (road, fire, etc.) with only minimal property taxes in return. The power will be sold out-of-state with no sales taxes paid to the state or county!

This power plant is not needed.

PNM tripled the power delivered to southern Valencia County from 46 KV to 161 KV in June, 2001. (The county commission has this data). New Mexi-co already produces more energy than needed, over 63 percent is sent out of state.

The citizens of Valencia County will have the opportunity to voice their concerns at the planning and zoning commission meeting. A large turnout will indicate the desires of the people.

Please attend.

The planning and zoning commission meeting will be held at the Valencia County Courthouse in Los Lunas at 2 p.m. Aug. 13.

This is important.

William A. Dean

Los Chavez

Your blood could save lives

Editor:

I am writing to you in regards to the upcoming blood drive.

The last time the United Blood Service had a blood drive here was on May 8, that I’m aware of.

At that time, 27 people gave blood (18 of those were residents of Belen). There was talk at the time that they might not come to Belen on a regular basis due to the small turnout.

There was an article on the front of your paper on Aug. 3 telling the public of the need for volunteers for the Rio Grande Estates Fire Department. The article stated that the fire department — and I quote — “we’re probably getting between 80 to 100 rescue calls a month.” What if they all needed blood? Who would qualify to receive one of the 27 pints of blood that was donated two months ago?

Giving blood takes very little of your time. The benefit of giving blood is that you could save another person’s life. Last May, there was a person who came in to get her pin for giving 80 pints of blood — just a normal person who has a heart toward other people.

Please consider giving blood this month in honor of Ermilo Carrillo at the Presbyterian Family Healthcare from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Pauline R. Hilton

Blood donor

Rio Communities

Volunteer for RGEVFD

Editor:

As a retired fire chief of the Rio Grande Estates Fire Depart-ment, I hope and strongly urge the young men and women of the Rio Grande fire district to respond to Chief Rubin’s request for volunteers to join that department. I realize that there are a lot of hours required for training, whether for fire suppression or medical, but the rewards for a job well done and knowing you have helped your community and your neighbors make up for time missed from some other activity. After you do some of the things that firefighters and EMTs do, then you will understand the bond that is between them. I can not begin to tell you how important it is to keep your ISO rating and to improve on it. I was a Captain with RGEVFD when we got our seven rating and it really brought the insurance rates down. I do not know Lt. David Millar, but, if memory serves me, Chief Ruben was a paramedic with the department when I was assistant chief. People of the Communities, please respond and join up and help a good department get even better. We always strived for excellence.

John H. Shattuck Jr.

Fire Chief (Retired)

Rio Grande Estates Volunteer Fire Department

Louisville, Ky.

Darn that fly, anyway!

Editor:

I did a simple little thing like swatting a fly. It got so funny — it took a long time, for one thing.

The neighbors, if they were looking at me, must have wondered what I was doing in my kitchen and dining room, looking like I was staring into space.

The fly drove me crazy. That is easy to do. He seemed to only land on me. I could not very well swat myself now, could I?

I thought of letting the fly live out his opulent life, to enjoy his voluptuous life.

If he liked me, I thought of taking off my shoes and let him land on me, then getting him.

But, with my luck, he would have gone inside and taken a nap, a full-time job, I thought. I wondered if the pay was good.

He could have landed on the hubcaps I have on the wall; I could have got him there. The hubcaps would have fallen, but, oh well, time to sell them, a dollar apiece.

I finally got the fly and hence this letter.

Martin Frank Kirtley

Los Lunas