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and the courage to defend the public's interest."
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Lincoln County Commission Meetings - Archive: To be updated in 2011

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New Mexico Fire Information: Click Here

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FINAL Donaldson Fire

UPDATE

For Immediate Release:

Saturday, July 9, 2011 PM.

Detected: June 28^th 2011
Cause: Lightning

Containment: 95 percent
Location: 6 miles south of Hondo, NM

Fuel Type: Pinion juniper, brush and grass
Terrain: Steep and Rugged

Personnel: 60

Rehabilitation Efforts Have Been Completed

On the Donaldson Fire

Transition from the Pecos Zone Type 3 team to a local Type 4 organization will occur at 6:00 am tomorrow. Resources that are staying with the new organization will be six engines, a hand crew and miscellaneous overhead.

In addition to visible smoke from unburned fuels, the public may see dust devils that could be mistaken for a smoke column. These dust devils happen when crosswinds gust through burned areas and collect ash. The ash makes the dust devil appear like a smoke column.

The Donaldson fire Information line will be disconnected tomorrow, July 10^th, when the team leaves the Hondo School at noon. For information, contact the USFS-Smokey Bear Ranger District at 575 257-4095 or the NM State Forestry-Capitan District Office at 575 354-2231.

The remaining resources will continue to monitor and patrol the fire for any visible smokes.

For Public and Firefighter safety, please be cautious of fire equipment and personnel in
and around the burn area.

For additional information, on the fire please visit www.inciweb.org and www.nmfireinfo.com.

For more information including maps of the Donaldson Fire please visit www.nmfireinfo.com or www.inciweb.org.

MESCALERO TRIBE FIRE CLOSURE: Click Here

Archival

Donaldson Complex Fire Update: 9:20pm
6-30-2011 21:53hrs Hear It
Thursday Night Update: Click Here

Donaldson Fire

FACT SHEET

For Immediate Release: Donaldson Information – Tuesday, June 30, 2011 10:00 p.m. Team PIOs Jennifer Myslivy or Joel Arnwine

Detected: June 28^th 2011 Cause: Lightning

Containment: 10 percent Location: 6 miles south of Hondo, NM

Fuel Type: Pinion juniper, brush and grass Terrain: Steep and Rugged

Personnel: 326

Smoke from the fire is impacting the communities of Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs, Capitan, Lincoln, Hondo, Fort Stanton, Picacho, Tinnie, San Patricio, Glencoe and other surrounding areas so please take precautions if you have any health or respiratory issues.

Transition from the Pecos Zone Type 3 Team to John Pierson’s NM Type 2 Incident Management Team will occur tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m.

Once again, fire activity remained to be extreme throughout the day with the fire pushing northwest through grass and pinion juniper. Around 2 pm this afternoon, the winds picked up due to thunderstorm development to the northwest, increasing fire activity in all divisions. Multiple aerial resources assisted ground resources in holding the fire and keeping it south of HWY 70, east of the Forest Service boundary or FS Road 443, west of the Pichaco Road and north of Pine Tree Canyon.

A public meeting was held this afternoon at the San Patricio St. Jude Community Center with approximately 50 residents attending. They were briefed on the current fire situation, 24-hour plan and introduced to the incoming Type 2 Incident Management team.

A structure group has been established to work from Alamo Canyon to Coe Canyon to monitor the fire situation, protect structures in the Hondo, San Patricio and Glencoe area and to keep the residences informed.

Today fire crews used both direct and indirect suppression tactics trying to keep the fire from progressing out of the containment area.

Current Size: 72,650 acres

Summary: The fire is actively burning in steep, rocky, inaccessible terrain in private, Lincoln National Forest and Mescalero-Apache Tribal lands south of Hondo, NM. The fire is approximately 10 miles NW of Ruidoso Downs, NM.

Air Resources: 1 Air Attack, 1 Lead Plane, 4 Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT), 2 heavy Air Tankers and 1Module Aerial Fire Fighting Support (MAFFS) #7 C-130 worked the fire for most of the day with the help from Type 2 and Type 3 helicopters.

Fire Behavior: Extreme fire behavior (running)

Structures Threatened: 80 structures threatened within the Alamo Canyon and the Hondo Valley; 6 outbuildings destroyed and 1 primary residence.

Is Shaver Out as RHS Band Director for 2011-12?
By Harv Twite - KEDU

(Ruidoso, NM) MUSIC STUDENTS IN RUIDOSO ARE JUST NOW FINDING OUT
THAT THE 2011-2012 SCHOOL YEAR WILL NOT HAVE A FIELD MARCHING BAND,
FOR MAYBE, THE FIRST TIME IN THE SCHOOL'S HISTORY. THIS REVELATION WAS
ANNOUNCED IN CLASS ON WEDNESDAY OF THIS WEEK, NOT BY THE CURRENT BAND
DIRECTOR, GARY SHAVER, BUT BY DANNY FLORES, RHS CHOIR DIRECTOR. FLORES HAS BEEN A PREVIOUS BAND DIRECTOR FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL.
THE CURRENT BAND DIRECTOR GARY SHAVER IS APPARENTLY OUT.

AFTER BEING CONTACTED LATE YESTERDAY EVENING BY KEDU, SHAVER STATED THAT HE HAD BEEN TOLD HE WOULD NOT BE THE HIGH SCHOOL BAND DIRECTOR NEXT YEAR.

Click here for his statement More

HE ALSO STATED THAT HE DOES NOT KNOW IF HE WILL BE MOVED TO ANOTHER POSITION OR NOT. SHAVER ALSO STATED THAT HAS NOT RECEIVED ANY OF THESE DETAILS IN WRITING. SHAVER ADDED THAT NO ONE HAS TOLD HIM NOT TO SPEAK ON THE ISSUES SURROUNDING THE BAND DIRECTOR'S JOB. HE SAID IT APPEARS THAT HE IS OUT OF A JOB AFTER THE SCHOOL YEAR.

ATTEMPTS TO REACH RUIDOSO SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT, DR. BEA HARRIS WILL
CONTINUE TODAY. A MESSAGE WAS ALSO LEFT AT THE HOME OF DANNY FLORES LATE WEDNESDAY EVENING.

THE PUBLIC REVELATION OF GARY SHAVER BEING REPLACED AS RUIDOSO BAND DIRECTOR CAME FROM AN ACTUAL ANNOUNCEMENT TO MUSIC STUDENTS, IN CLASS, ON WEDNESDAY. CONCERNED PARENTS BEGAN CALLING, TRYING TO VERIFY THE INFORMATION DISCUSSED IN SCHOOL. MANY PARENTS HAVE CALLED KEDU TO VERIFY ANY NEWS OR PRESS RELEASES. SO FAR, THERE HAS BEEN NO HAVE COMMENTS FROM THE ADMINISTRATION ON THIS ISSUE. WE WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DETAILS AS THEY ARE MADE AVAILABLE.

Updated:
Ruidoso Superintendent denies decision about band director's job - More
Dr. Bea Harris says no decision has been made. School waiting on enrollment.
(Ruidoso, NM) In an interview with KEDU Radio late this afternoon, Ruidoso School Superintendent, Dr. Bea Harris, stated this afternoon "that program (Gary Shaver's HS Band Class) had not been cut to the best of my knowledge. We will have band next year and who teaches it will depend on the numbers." Dr. Harris stated that she is waiting to form any decisions until she sees the 8th enrollment numbers. Dr. Harris was unaware that an announcement was made about a change in the RHS Band department, and stated that "someone has jumped the gun" on that. The superintendent did confirm that she will be contacting the Ruidoso High School Principal, Pauline Staski about the issue. Hear Dr. Harris

Harv Twite - KEDU News

Doth, Minter, upset winners
(Lincoln County, NM) Two county commission races close but unofficial with "very unofficial numbers," because of some possible confusion in machine totals, it appeared about two hours after voting ended Tuesday that two Republican incumbent Lincoln County commissioners were unseated by their challengers. Full Story

(Sante Fe, NM) New Mexico HB-119 pertaining to a special "GRT - Gross Receipts Tax" increase in the state has passed this afternoon, on a vote of 34-32. Every Republican and several Democrats voted against the bill. To see the bill: Click Here. Overview

New Tack On Saving Racino
by Deborah Baker - Albuquerque Journal

Update:

1-29-10
Ruidoso Chamber needs questions for candidates
(Ruidoso,NM) The Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Candidates’ Forum for the Village of Ruidoso on Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 6:00-8:00-pm at the Ruidoso Convention Center. This meeting will enable the public to meet the 4 mayoral, 8 council and single judge candidates. The candidates will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and answer questions from the public. Full Story RVCC

Archived Stories:

Ruidoso Council Meeting Set for Tuesday, Jan 31st
See the Agenda - - Click Here

Audit Rocks Village
Ruidoso News - Read More

State Auditor returns 30 findings for possible prosecution
Ruidoso News - Friday January 20, 2006
Editor's note: The Ruidoso News has obtained a copy of the long-awaited state special audit,
along with permission from those in a position to decide, to publish its findings. (More)

Albuquerque Journal News Blog - Ruidoso Audit Unveiled (More)

Air Express Gets A Second Chance in Alamogordo - More

Lincoln County Issues Fire & Burning Restrictions
Lincoln County is under a “Fire Danger Emergency” through Feb 12th - More

Ruidoso At A Glance...: Click Here