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VALENCIA
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Vol. 104, No. 47
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News-Bulletin
SERVING VALENCIA COUNTY SINCE 1910
WEEK OF
NOVEMBER 20, 2014
Copyright © 2014, Valencia County News-Bulletin
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Opinions vary
on naming
Belen stadium
LL man faces
nine counts of
embezzlement
By Julia M. Dendinger
By Clara Garcia
Belen
Belen
NEWS-BULLETIN STAFF WRITER
jdendinger@news-bulletin.com
About a dozen people who showed
up to speak at the special meeting of
the Belen Board of Education meeting Tuesday weighed in on what they
thought about naming the Belen High
School football stadium after a former
coach.
The idea of formally naming the stadium came up earlier this month when
board member Larry Garley sponsored
a resolution to name the stadium in
honor of Evisalio “Bull” Padilla, who
led the Eagle football program from
1962 to 1971. His 10-year run is the
longest of any coach in the history of
the Eagle program.
The board members decided to table
the resolution until they could gather
input from the community.
Tuesday evening, George Trujeque,
a graduate of the class of 1969, called
Coach Padilla a mentor.
“Everything I learned about life I
learned from him. I have the utmost
respect for him for what he has done
for my class, my friends, the community,” Trujeque said. “He is not one to
like limelight but he is very deserving
of that honor.”
Trujeque added that he had a lot of
respect for current Eagles coach John
Lerma, and that Lerma reminded him
a lot of the former coach.
Former coach and school administrator Jim Danner said he began working for Padilla when he was 13 years
old, helping him coach Little League.
“I have had some good mentors;
he was the original,” Danner said.
“Coach Padilla spent his life with the
Belen Schools. Naming this for him is
probably as great an honor as he ever
NEWS-BULLETIN EDITOR
cgarcia@news-bulletin.com
Deborah Fox-News-Bulletin photo
SCHOOL OF DREAMS ACADEMY students participated Saturday in the filming of ‘Lyra,’ a science-fiction movie
by UNM filmmakers Alex Deeds, at the back wall third from left, and Djochoua ‘Joshua’ Belovarski, at the back
wall second from right.
ACTING OUT AN ADVENTURE
SODA students help in the filming of sci-fi movie
By Deborah Fox
NEWS-BULLETIN STAFF WRITER
dfox@news-bulletin.com
Los Lunas
A handful of students from the School of Dreams
Academy were actors in a local film Saturday.
The movie, “Lyra,” is a science-fiction story about
the first humans to leave the solar system. It is codirected by Djochoua “Joshua” Belovarski and Alex
Deeds, both from the University of New Mexico
Cinematic Arts program.
The story’s theme began from a short film by
Belovarski, who is currently a senior in the Cinematic
Arts program at UNM. Deeds is a graduate from the
program.
“The astronauts are on a mission to visit a planet in
the Lyra constellation, where life might be sustained,”
said Belovarski.
The SODA teens played students in a classroom setting, attending an educational publicity presentation
by visiting astronauts. The astronauts, all played by
local actors, talked about space travel outside the solar
system and what it might mean to leave home, never to
return.
See Movie, Page 6A
See Stadium, Page 6A
A former manager of Craig Tires
has been arrested and charged with
taking more than $25,000 worth of
tires and reselling them for his own
personal gain.
Victor Carrasco, 41, of Los Lunas,
was arrested by New Mexico State
Police, and is charged with a total of
nine counts of embezzlement, six of
which are fourth-degree felonies and
three are third-degree felony counts.
State police agents initiated their
investigation on May 30 and arrested Carrasco on Friday. Police say he
embezzled a total of $25,963 worth of
tires from the local business.
According to a criminal complaint
filed in Magistrate Court in Belen,
Carrasco told John Craig, the owner
and operator of Craig Tire, during a
videotaped interview in February that
“he is bothered by the whole thing
(and) that he screwed up and needs to
fix it.”
During the February interview,
which was taped before law enforcement became involved, Craig told
Carrasco that he was seen on surveillance tape on two different occasions
on Nov. 5, 2013, and Nov. 19, 2013, at
two tire distributors in Albuquerque
picking up a total of 24 tires while in
his personal vehicle.
Carrasco told Craig, according to
the complaint, that he had sold the tires
because he had family in Mexico and
they needed help. Carrasco, during the
interview, promised Craig he would
pay him back. Craig gave him a week
to repay the company, which he never
did.
When state police did become
See Embezzlement, Page 6A
Bosque thinning project begins in Jarales to help with wildland fires
By Julia M. Dendinger
NEWS-BULLETIN STAFF WRITER
jdendinger@news-bulletin.com
Jarales
The angry buzz of chain saws echoed
through the Jarales bosque Wednesday morning as a multi-agency bosque thinning project
got underway.
In an effort to reduce the threat of wildfires
in the Valencia County bosque and give native
vegetation a fighting chance, the Valencia
County Fire Department, Middle Rio Grande
Conservancy District and New Mexico State
Forestry have teamed up to clear out nearly
40 acres.
The thinning will be done by a six-person
crew, recently hired by the county for the
project. Valencia County Fire Chief Steve
Gonzales said the hope is to increase the crew
to 12 members.
“We are excited to be able to do this, to
take preventative measures,” Gonzales said at
a Wednesday morning press conference deep
in the bosque. “We are the third department in
the state to implement this program with our
own personnel.”
The project is funded by state severance tax
dollars through the state forestry department
and is on land managed by the MRGCD.
“This project will also increase our training
and skills in wildland fires,” Gonzales said.
With more than 150 miles of river bosque
land to manage, MRCGD spokesman Tom
WEATHER
5827
Julia M. Dendinger-News-Bulletin photo
TWO MEMBERS OF the new Valencia County Fire Department’s bosque thinning crew, Shane
Larson, left, and Daniel Montano, right, work to clear invasive, nonnative species from the bosque in
Jarales. The crew will work through the winter, and hope to clear nearly 40 acres of undergrowth.
Thorpe said the district enjoys welcoming the
public into the bosque and is glad to assist in
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INDEX
making it a safe place for visitors.
“I would like to thank the Valencia County
Classified ...... 4B
Editorial .........4A
Databank .......2A
News Digest...2A
Deaths............8A
La Vida .......... 1B
Fire Department for taking care of this area,”
Thorpe said.
The management plan for the thinning was
created by the district and NMSF.
“As one of three departments using their
own personnel, these guys are stepping up and
are going to bring more professionalism into
their department,” said Todd Hains, Bernalillo
District Forester. “As they get more and more
training for wildland fires, they will be able to
assist us in incidents in the state and across the
region.”
George Smithson, the Bernalillo district
timber management officer, said thinning of
the bosque was critical to its health. Removing
invasive species such as salt cedar, Russian
olive and mulberry not only reduces the fuel
load in a fire, but gives native trees and plants
a better foothold.
“This project meets State Forestry’s longterm goals for the bosque,” Smithson said. “It
helps reduce vertical fuels for future suppression and allows for the restoration of native
species.”
County Commission Vice Chairwoman
Alicia Aguilar said over the years, she has seen
the bosque get more dense with undergrowth.
“This project is very important. This helps
protect not just the bosque but the homes on the
east side of the ditch,” Aguilar said. “This is a
huge protection for the community and serves
the public well.”
Noticias ......... 3B
Record............8A
Sports.............9A
See Bosque, Page 6A