Christmas Tree permits available

BE AWARE: More houses broken into

More break-in attempts have taken place on Sun Mountain Loop in the last couple of weeks. A house on Sugar Bush was also broken into sometime between July 31 and October 31. If you have any information about these incidents, like noises you may have heard in the early morning hours, suspicious cars in the area, or security tapes, etc., please inform the Lincoln County Sheriff Dept. at 575-648-2341 or 800-687-2419.  In the future, keep aware of unusually activities on your street.

Proper Disposal of Hot Wood Ashes

Greentree Solid Waste Authority

Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico 88346

www.greentreeswa.org

Phone:     (575) 378-4697       FAX       (575) 378-4896

Out.  Dead.  Cold:

Proper Disposal of Hot Wood Ashes

Improper disposal of hot wood ashes is causing continuing problems for local fire departments and solid waste collection operators. Emergency fire calls involving either hot wood ashes in trash collection or outside local residences have been answered north of Ruidoso recently by area fire departments.  Several dumpster or compactor fires also occurred recently due to improper disposal of hot ashes. Improper placement of hot wood ashes in trash collection dumpsters or compactors has resulted in lingering trash fires inside of solid waste collection and disposal equipment.

What can you do to prevent truck, forest and field fires from igniting from hot wood ash?

• Dispose of wood ashes in a metal container that can be tightly closed, douse with water, place the closed container outside your home away from combustible materials and leave in the container for several days before disposing of them. (Did you know that many people dispose of their wood stove ashes in garbage containers that are often plastic or even paper bags? It doesn’t take much heat for these types of containers to burst into flames, causing trucks, dumpsters or compactors to catch fire)
• Teach other family members about the dangers associated with hot ash disposal
• Be careful with ashes around areas you might not consider as combustible during wetter times such as mulched flowerbeds and lawns that are drought stricken.
• Do Not Place hot ashes in a trash or recycling dumpster or compactor where there are certainly other combustible materials
• Do Not Dispose of ashes in a paper, plastic or cardboard containers
• Do Not Assume the ashes are cold and pour them onto the ground (even into a hole) where leaves can blow onto them or the wind can stir up sparks.

Once you are POSITIVE your container of ashes is “Cold”, place them in a pile and prepare your container for the next load. Tourist visitors to the area should take no chances by simply drowning their wood ashes before leaving the area.

A limited number of specially marked wood ash collection dumpsters are located at the following waste collection sites: Sun Valley; Cedar Creek; and Ranches of Sonterra.

The typical wood stove or fire place used most of the heating season will generate about

50 pounds of wood ashes. Cold ashes can be spread around the base of trees to provide a quality tree fertilizer.

For more information on proper wood stove and fireplace ash disposal, contact the Solid Waste Authority office at 378-4697, toll free at 1-877-548-8772, via email at gswa@greentreeswa.org or contact your local Fire Department.

Monies available for landowners to clean property

"Lincoln County is looking for landowners who are willing to participate in a wildfire threat reduction/forest health improvement program funded by FEMA for forest thinning and forest waste disposal on private property. FEMA will pay 100% of project cost. The landowner must own property in the area(s) described in the attached instructions. The Sun Valley Water District is included as one of the County's high priority areas. The attached form must be completed and returned to the County as soon as possible. Call the County Planner at 258.5834, ext. 1 if you have questions."

N.M. Forestry in Capitan also now has cost-share money available for thinning on a 70/30 basis. Local folks can apply by calling State Forestry in Capitan.

FEMA HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM

*100% paid by FEMA and Lincoln County
*Project goal - 4,000 acres
*Monies available - $4.5 Mil
*Based on PROPERTY OWNER PARTICIPATION
*Designed to protect all local water systems
*Proposed treatment areas: Brady Canyon, Carrizo, Eagle Creek, Lakeshore/Flying J, Nogal, Southside of Highway 220, Sun Valley, Upper Cedar Creek, West Gavilan.

Partners: U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA, Lincoln County, South Central Mountain RC&D Council, U.S. Forest Service, New Mexico State Forestry, New Mexico Emergency Management/Homeland Security and Little Bear Forest Reform Coalition.

Project Coordinator: Justin King / King Industries
(719) 510 0026
justin@king-projects.com

Mail the application to: 

Lincoln  County Manager
Attn: Hazard Mitigation Grant
P.O. Box 711
Carrizozo, NM 88301

Please call or email the Sun Valley Office to get an application sent to you.  575-258-5240 or sunvalleywater@valornet.com 

New Water Rates go into effect Dec. 23, 2014

Attorneys Give Free Legal Help in Lincoln County on Oct. 18

A free legal fair will be held in Ruidoso from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 18, at the Ruidoso Community Center, 501 Sudderth Dr., Ruidoso.  State Bar of N.M. Attorneys will be available to provide free consultations on a first-come, first serve basis on a variety of civil legal topics.

This clinic presented by the 12th Judicial District Pro Bono Committee.  For more information, contact Aja Brooks at 505-797-6040 or abrooks@nmbar.org

2014 Fall Lincoln County Electronics Recycling Day

Date: Saturday, November 1st, 2014

Time: 9 AM – 12 Noon Cost: FREE!!!

Where: All American Park, Ruidoso Downs

   What: Eligible Electronic Devices (EEDs) (see list below)

No large kitchen appliances of any kind or size!

Please drop off your obsolete, outdated and replaced electronic items during this 3-hour E-cycling event. Acceptable items include:

COMPUTERS/PERIPHERALS OFFICE EQUIPMENT SMALL and 

Circuit boards Computer workstations HOUSEHOLD ELECTRONICS

Desktop towers & laptop computers Calculators Gaming hardware

Hardware Audio/visual equipment Cell Phones

Monitors, Keyboards, & Mice Pagers Satellite Receivers and Dishes

Network hardware Fax machines Radios

Modems Telephones CD & DVD ROMs

Printers and toner cartridges  Wireless devices & plotters Televisions

Toner Cartridges  And other consumer electronics

Sponsored by:

Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce

Keep Ruidoso Beautiful

Greentree Solid Waste Authority

Lawrence Brothers IGA

 Ruidoso Downs Parks & Recreation 

                   Schlotzsky’s  

Keep Ruidoso Downs Beautiful

In Conjunction with:

Keep America Beautiful New Mexico Recycling Coalition

For more information or to volunteer to help at the E-cycling event, please call 

GSWA at 378-4697 or Toll Free at 1- 877- 548 - 8772.

Appliance Recycling/Tire Disposal Roundup

Free drop off recycling event for old major appliances and discarded tires will be held from 8 am to 4 pm on Thursday & Friday, September 25 & 26, and from 8 to Noon on Saturday, September 27, at All American Park in Ruidoso Downs for all Lincoln County and Mescalero residents.

Old damaged or discarded furnaces, hot water heaters, dryers, washing machines, refrigerators, stoves and freezers will be accepted. Other types of scrap metal will also be accepted except for (Chain Link Fence) wire. No trash of any kind should be in the appliances.

Passenger vehicle, SUV and light truck tires with less than 20” rim diameters will also be accepted at no charge. No heavy equipment, tractor or large semi-truck tires will be accepted, but tires on rims or just rims will also be collected.

Commercial tire companies are no longer eligible to participate in the amnesty event.

For more information, contact the Solid Waste Authority office at 575-378-4697, extension 10 or toll free at 877-548-8772, via email at gswa@greentreeswa.org or at www.greentreeswa.org.   

Give away your dead tree wood & get ready for WINTER!

Just a reminder to keep cutting down those dead trees. Cut the larger wood into stove size and stack next to the road with a simple sign stating "FREE WOOD". People WILL pick it up and you won't have to pay for disposal. ALSO - with winter coming early this year -- it's not too early to winterize your house. TURN OFF your water shut-off valve if you don't intend to be back before winter sets in. Thank you from your Directors of the Sun Valley Water Board

Beware of Lightning

On July 31 when lightning hit this tree on Rialto Dr. in Sun Valley, it made everyone jump!  Blew large chunks of tree to the houses on both side and across the street.  If you don't get hit by lightning-you could get hit by flying wood. This web page shows where lightning strikes occur.  Too bad it wouldn't show us July 31 strikes.

http://www.intellicast.com/Storm/Severe/Lightning.aspx

Summer 2014 ECHO Newsletter

Learn about the Bark Beetle killing all of our trees

Forest Health Speaker Series - August 5th, 2014, 6 - 7:30pm Room 103 ENMU-Ruidoso

Dr. Carol Sutherland, Extension Entomologist at NMSU and New Mexico State Entomologist will speak on bark beetles during the monthly Forest Health series at ENMU-Ruidoso. She will discuss the habits and misconceptions concerning the beetles including their part in our pine tree die-off, whether they can invade homes and what to do about them. The talk will take place Tuesday, August 5 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in Room 103 and is free and open to the public.

The talk is a collaborative outreach effort between USFS, Lincoln National Forest, NM State Forestry, Village of Ruidoso Forestry, Lincoln County, SCMRC & DC, Mescalero/BIA, Little Bear Forest Reform Coalition, ENMU-Ruidoso Community Education and private citizens. The purpose of the program is to offer objective and scientific information to the residents of Lincoln County by local experts. Time is allotted for questions after the presentation and complimentary handouts are available on various topics in the foyer of the college.

Ordinarily, area restaurants donate food, but this time, members of the coalition will be bringing snacks and light entrees for attendees. Anyone wishing to may bring food, but it is not required. Registration is requested, however, and may be made by calling ENMU-Ruidoso Community Education at 257-3012.

 

Little Bear Forest Reform Coalition
Email: lbfrc_news@lbfrc.org
Web: www.LBFRC.org
102 Buena Vista

Alto, New Mexico 88312

WHOA! Wild Horses of Alto. Save the Herd!

Your help needed. Go to the blog for more information.  http://wildhorsesofalto.blogspot.com/

Wild Horses in Trouble

To anybody interested in saving the wild horse herd in the Alto area, please come to the meeting Monday, July 14, at 10:30 at Alto Bonito Fire Dept. A few of the horses have been caught and sent to auction/slaughter and we have to speak up now before they are all destroyed.
 


Also Diane Stallings is wanting to talk to anyone regarding this issue (575)257-4002

 

Firewise Community

Brochures available from Sun Valley Water (just call 575-258-5240, leave a message & I'll deliver it to you)

1. How to have a Firewise Home
2. Firewise Guide to Landscape and Construction
3. Fire Adapted Communities

      You can also go to:  www.fireadapted.org.  While there, be sure to download a free home wildfire risk assessment and checklist.

Available DVDs to borrow from Sun Valley Water:

1. Introduction to Firewise Principles & Assessing Homeowner Properties
2. Using Water Effectively in the Wildland/Urban Interface
3. Making Your Home Firewise
4. WILDFIRE! Preventing Home Ignitions
5. Home Improvement: A Firewise Approach
6. Firewise Landscaping Series
7. Creating Fire Adapted Communities
8. Safer from the Start: Developing a Firewise Community
9. Firewise Communities: Becoming a Recognized Firewise Community
10. Before the Smoke-Preparing Your Community for Wildfire
11. Examining Home Destruction in the Wildland/Urban Interface

These brochures and DVD are courtesy of NFPA-Wildland Fire Operations Division.
 FIREWISE is a copyrighted name.

With all this talk about FIRE ---
!!!!REMEMBER to remember our fantastic Bonito Volunteer Fire Department.  They take donations to help with equipment and supplies.  P.O. Box 135, Alto, N.M. 88312.  
Phone: 575-336-4308 (Not for emergencies)

Check out the video, pictures and article about our Bonito Fire Dept. awesome firetruck -
  http://www.internationaltrucks.com/trucks/experience/internationalfirebrigade

Keep an eye out for suspicious people in the neighborhood

Over the course of the last 10 days, two break-in attempts have taken place on Sun Mountain Loop. We know one took place in the early morning hours at about 3 a.m. We assume the other occurred about the same time. Both attempts were to unoccupied homes. Neither attempt was successful. The perps seemed to be on foot and ran off into the woods towards Sugar Bush. If you have any information about these incidents, like noises you may have heard in the early morning hours, suspicious cars in the area, or security tapes, etc., please inform the Lincoln County Sheriff Dept.

News report from 2012 that tells about our solar system that ran Well #6 during Little Bear Fire

Just found this on the web.  News from 2012 - El Paso/Las Cruces Channel 4

Solar Photovoltaic System Keeps Water Running for Firefighters

Friday, June 15, 2012 - 6:21pm

Bianca Delilah Cervantes Web/Social Media Producer

RUIDOSO, N.M. — A solar photovoltaic system installed by the Sun Valley Water and Sanitation District kept the water pumping to volunteer fire fighters fighting the Little Bear Fire when all other power in the area was lost.

“This is a great demonstration of how solar energy can benefit rural communities in an emergency,” said Louise Martinez, Division Director for the Energy, Conservation and Management Division. “Solar energy also provides great energy electric utility savings.”

Thanks to a grant from the Energy, Conservation and Management Division, the Sun Valley Water and Sanitation District in Alto, N.M. installed the system this past Spring of 2012. It is an 11-kW grid-interconnected, single-axis tracking, and pole-mounted solar photovoltaic system to generate electricity used by the community water system, a few miles north of Ruidoso. The system cost $75,000.

The State Energy Program provided the grant to Sun Valley Water and Sanitation District using remaining American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, to demonstrate that a rural water coop could benefit from the use of solar to offset pumping expense. It is the first rural water coop in New Mexico, if not the nation, to incorporate solar.

The power provided by the system has enabled the Sun Valley Water and Sanitation District to obtain all the electricity it needs for pumping water in the hilly service territory.

When the Little Bear Fire spread, several communities and neighborhoods in the path of the fire and surrounding areas were ordered to leave. The area has been continuously suffering from power outages and many power surges.

Roads to be paved in La Junta subdivisions

Carl Palmer, Lincoln County Road Department Manager, announced paving of Rose Wood, Woodward, and Neill roads will begin June 1.  With short notice, our awesome system operator, Joe Buchanan, and Jack Johnson Excavating crew got a new  6" water line in the road up to the tanks just before the county road crew showed up to start paving. 

Water Restictions now at Level 1

The Board voted to lower the water restrictions to Level 1, which means you are no longer restricted to only watering for one hour in the morning and the evening.  BUT, we continue to request that you water responsibly:  Don't water in the heat of the day.  Don't water when the wind is blowing strong.  The best time to water is in the evening, so your plants have all night to soak up the water before it gets evaporated the next day.  Continue to think CONSERVATION.  Water is a VERY valuable resource - so don't ever waste it.  May 12, 2014 Board meeting

Be sure to sign up with Lincoln County Fire & Emergency Services - CodeRED.  This is a reverse 911 calling system to get phone calls on impending dangers, such as fires and floods.  You get calls when evacuation is necessary.  You may give your land line or cell phone number.  It even calls out-of-state phone numbers. For CodeRED registration or to get a CodeRED Mobile Alert app
 go to:    http://www.lincolncountynm.gov  (click "read more" on the last paragraph in the center column)

Fire and Emergency information is also available at: 
http://www.lincolncountynm.net/services/fire_and_emergency_services/index.php
The above internet address tells you of fire danger and restrictions for Lincoln County.
Keep up-to-date on fires in New Mexico at http://www.NMFireInfo.com