Letters to the Editor (Dec. 17)

Thank you for giving

Editor:

Every Thanksgiving Day the Mid Rio Grande chapter of RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) in Belen serves as a clearinghouse to provide food baskets for needy families in the area of the Belen school district.

 

This year that need is critical due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the generosity of a variety of individuals, businesses, and organizations, we were able to provide 70 baskets so local families could enjoy a Thanksgiving Day dinner.

We wish to thank the following for their generosity: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad in Belen, St. Vincent de Paul of Belen, Loyal Order of Moose Belen Lodge, Rio Communities Optimist Club

Sen. Greg Baca, First Presbyterian Church of Belen, Belen Area Food Pantry, Valencia County Senior Olympics, Belen High School Staters, Clara Garcia at the Valencia County News-Bulletin, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Cultural Commission.

We gratefully acknowledge donations from these individuals: Helen Abeyta, Rudy and Rhona Espinoza, Pearl and Herman Lucero, Arlan and Orlinda Duree, Thomas and Rose Meier, Marvin and Myung Hayes, and Abram and Patricia Torres.

RSVP, with more than 250 volunteers in Valencia County, cooperates with various nonprofit organizations to assist them in serving the community.

For more information about RSVP please contact director Bertha Flores at 966-2567 or at [email protected].

We hope all of you can celebrate a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah. Please remember the less fortunate among us.

Bertha Flores

 

RSVP Director

Mixed-up priorities

Editor:

“We don’t really see any options that county commissioners can pursue to stop it. But commissioners wanted to be on the record that they stand with county residents who oppose the project. We want to make sure our citizens’ voices are heard.”

This statement was made earlier this year on behalf of the Valencia County Commission, and was referring to their opposition to the Western Spirit line. This project, a transmission line that could bring 1,000 MW of clean, renewable energy online, hundreds of jobs, and millions in tax revenue to ours and surrounding counties, was opposed because of concerns over potentially ruining some views.

However, when double the amount of concerns were voiced about risking the safety of residents, of the environment, and economic costs regarding allowing nuclear waste to be transported through our county and stored in the southeastern part of New Mexico, suddenly our commissioners didn’t feel obligated to take action, symbolic or otherwise.

The company Holtec is seeking to build a facility to store thousands of tons of radioactive waste near Carlsbad — waste that will be transported by rail through our communities.

On Sept. 2, our commissioners voted against a resolution that opposed the transportation of this radioactive waste through our county, claiming they would prefer seeing statewide action before voicing their own support.

I’m disappointed to see where the priorities lie with those we elected to represent us. I hope to see our leaders stand up for the wellbeing and safety of their communities without waiting for the rest of the state to do something first.

Clara Sims

Los Lunas