Do you know people from the past ?

So many people in the Carmen Phillips Photograph collection are unidentified.  Help Lyn Kidder put names with the faces on Aug 20 at the Ruidoso Library

Wildlife - Beware - Always "be aware" of your surroundings

We love our wildlife here, but just always be cautious and alert when near wildlife.

Photo by Mark Stambaugh

Be Deer Aware:  Momma deer can be very protective of their fawns.  Past years here in Sun Valley, one small dog was killed just peeing in her front yard, another dog was seriously sliced open by deer hooves AND a neighbor broke her hip while walking her dog when the deer chased the dog and knocked the woman down.



Be Bear Aware, too.  The bears have been sighted around here this year.  You all know the worse place to be is between a momma bear and her cub. Here's a photo taken last year of a fairly large bear in La Junta Subdivision.

Photos provided by G, Pfirman

Other wildlife:  A mountain lion was seen Feb/Mar this year around La Junta Subdivision.  If you walk early in the morning or in the evening, be especially aware of your surroundings.

Foxes - foxes are a protected game species.  When they are having their kits, it is illegal to shoot them because they are out of season, which means you must have a license to kill them anyway.  (I only say this because someone shot a fox in Sun Valley last year.)  Plus shooting a gun in a subdivision is dangerous - be sure you read the Lincoln County ordinances on shooting in a subdivision.

And we all know the skunks are on a prolific rampage.  PLEASE, DO NOT THROW DEAD SKUNKS IN THE COMPACTOR.   Eewww!!!  You make everyone's life miserable by doing that.  Please dispose of elsewhere. (Bury in the Wilderness area or woods that surround us?)

Share your wildlife photos with me so I can post them.   Better to shoot through a lens keeping your distance and without causing harm to the wildlife or you.

Excellent play by LCCT

I never laughed so hard. I highly recommend this as a must see.  Dog owners REALLY understand this play.  This weekend is the last run - don't miss it! Sharon

Available at your local libraries

Take a NM FamilyPass with you to tour museums or historical sites for FREE!

  The Capitan Library and Ruidoso Library checks out the NM FamilyPass, which provides free admission for up to six people to any of the Department of Culture Affairs museums and historic sites.  Any Library card holder in good standing may borrow the pass for one week.  Passes available until 8/30/16.

The FamilyPass may be used at the following locations:

• 7 New Mexico Historic Sites, Statewide
• New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors, Santa Fe
• New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe
• Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe
• Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe
• New Mexico Museum of Space History, Alamogordo
• New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque
• New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, Las Cruces
• National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque

Firewise Virtual Workshops - Experts answer most asked questions

Rainfall in Sun Valley report from Sarah Mazur. (Rainfall? - what's that?)

Bonito Fire Department and Sun Valley Water get a better ISO grade

     Per the letter below, at the ISO gave Bonito Fire Department a grade of 6, from its previous grade of 8.  Fire departments and the serving water systems are graded because insurance companies that sell property insurance to residential and commercial property customers need a means of determining property insurance rates. 

     Most insurance companies that sell property insurance throughout the United States utilize the Insurance Services Office (ISO) to provide that grading. ISO, an independent grading organization, provides a report on fire protection for communities under its Public Protection Classification Program for insurance companies that purchase their services. 

    Ratings are done on a scale of one to ten, with a one being the best rating a fire department can receive. In general, according to ISO, the price of fire insurance in a community with a good Public Protection Classification is substantially lower than in a community with a poor rating, assuming all other factors are equal.

    Next time your home insurance comes up for renewal, ask your agent if you can receive a discount for a better ISO grade in your community.  We were only given the written graded part that covers Sun Valley Water, which is: fire hydrants, supply system and inspection/flow test.