Current headlines
Convention
confusion
County GOP event leaves
faithful shaking their heads
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
The Sandoval County Republican Party Convention disintegrated into chaos and confusion Saturday, with larger than expected crowds leaving party officials unwilling to confirm the 30 delegates selected to the state convention and facing possible challenges from campaigns disgusted with the process.
Click here for more of this story.
Scorpions fall at Amarillo,
play at home today
AMARILLO – To combine a couple of old country western lyrics, happiness for the New Mexico Scorpions is Amarillo by evening in its rear view mirror.
The Gorillas pounded New Mexico 7-2 Saturday night at the Amarillo Civic Center, scoring four power-play goals and outshooting the Scorpions 42-31 only a week after allowing 60 New Mexico shots.
The good news is that New Mexico stayed tied with Odessa in second place in the Southwest division in the Central Hockey League after the Jackalopes fell at Corpus Christi 3-2. The bad news is that both teams fell four points behind Arizona, which defeated Rocky Mountain 5-4 on Saturday.
The Scorpions, losers of two straight, will attempt to rebound today with a 3:15 p.m. contest against Colorado. He streaky Scorpions have lost two straight after winning six straight home games.
The game will be aired on 1050-AM KTBL.
avid Nimmo had three goals and three assists and Bill Vandermeer added two goals and three assists to take care of most of Amarillo’s scoring. The Gorillas broke a scoreless tie with three goals n a 3:13 span in the first period and New Mexico was never within three again.
Konrad Reeder scored both New Mexico goals, his first coming 6:56 into the second period to narrow the margin to 4-1. But it took Amarillo less than two minutes to respond, with Nimmo scoring on a power play to rebuild the cushion to four goals. Reeder’s second goal brought the Scorpions within 5-2 with 8:36 left in the period, but New Mexico was blanked the rest of the way by Amarillo goalie Dan McWhinney.
Austin Sutter and Nimmo added third-period goals, with Vandermeer getting assists on both.
Amarillo finished 4-for-9 on the power play, while the Scorpions were blanked in nne attempts.
The rugged game included a combined 37 penalties, including 19 for 55 minutes by the Scorpions. Amarillo was whistled 18 times for 45 minutes.
The two teams had two fights in the final period, with Aaron MacInnis and Kevin Harvey drawing penalties for interference and Vandermeer and Gran Selinger being sent to the box for Amarillo. MacInnis drew 17 minutes alone for two fighting instigator/misconduct penalties and a fighting major.
Vandermeer and Harvey resumed the battle with two seconds left in the game, with both being sent to the showers with slashing and fighting major penalties to the delight of 4,912 fans.
The loss was New Mexico’s fifth straight on the road.
Fans can “Skate with the Scorps” after today’s game, with free skate rentals provided courtesy of Blades Multiplex Arena. The team is continuing its “all you can eat weekend special,” with a corner seat ticket and unlimited hot dogs, sodas, nachos and popcorn for $20,
For ticket information, go to www.ScorpionsHockey.com or call 881-PUCK. Complete statistics and standings are available at www.CentralHockeyLeague.com.
Saturday headlines
By Eric Maddy Hillary & Bill By Eric Maddy Thursday was an afternoon dominated by political news, as Hillary Clinton was declared the winner of the New Mexico Democratic Presidential Caucus and Gov. Bill Richardson said he would call a special session of the Legislature after it adjourned without passing a health care reform package he wanted. Click here for more of this story. School boundaries Parents to get two more chances to voice opinions on proposed elementary school boundary changes. Click here for the story. A tough night The Rio Rancho Governing Body dealt with several controversial issues Wednesday night in marathon session of 5 1/2 hours. The meeting is covered in three separate stories below. City shuns Refuses to add Click here for more of this story. SAD-7 SPLIT Wednesday's headlines FIRST Click here for more of this story. Scorpions need victory The New Mexico Scorpions could gain a share of first place with a home victory tonight over Amarillo. Game time at the Santa Ana Star Center is 7:15 p.m. The Scorpions, who have won five straight home games, are tied for second in the Southwest Division with Odessa, two points behind Arizona. Tonight concludes a season-long seven-game homestand. New Mexico is 5-1 so far. On Monday the Scorpions lost rookie defenseman Dave Simoes to Youngstown to complete a trade for Erik Johnson. The Steelhounds chose Simoes from a list of eight players head coach Randy Murphy had to make available under league rules. Simoes played in 45 games this season, scoring six points on one goal and five assists. He had 146 penalty minutes and a +8 plus/minus rating. In comparison, Johnson has 17 points and a +3 rating in 20 games since joining the Scorpions in late November. "Even though we lost Dave in this trade we feel very happy to have gotten a player like Erik," Murphy said. "Erik has played well for us and we expect him to have a great finish to the season." Tonight is "two-for-one Tuesday," with ticket specials available. For t information game, call 881-PUCK or go to www.ScorpionsHockey.com. Monday's headlines For the better part of a week New Mexico has been the laughingstock of the political world as the state’s Democratic Party has struggled to count ballots from the Feb. 5 presidential preference caucus. While much of the focus was on more than 17,000 provisional ballots that needed to be verified and hand counted, four other voting stations came into question as well. Three from Rio Arriba County were included in state totals on Wednesday but a fourth, from Sandoval County, were not posted on the party’s web site until Friday. And Bill Sapien doesn’t know why. “I called my numbers in at 10 minutes after 10 p.m. on Tuesday night,” said Sapien, a former Sandoval County Commissioner. “I don’t know why they weren’t included (in the initial totals).” By Eric Maddy Zoning vote signals By Eric Maddy Click here for more of this story. Wednesday's headlines Scorpions beat Missing voting totals from the town of Bernalillo and Rio Arriba County, along with a large total of provisional ballots, prevented the Democratic Party from having a clear-cut winner of New Mexico's presidential preference caucus Tuesday. After standing in line to sign the voting roster, voters were seated inside the PAC and called by rows to vote at one of nine stations provided by the party. The wait grew to 2 1/2 hours by the end of voting. In order to get more people out of the cold, party officials encouraged voters to double and triple back in lines. One voter compared the crowd to a line at a theme park. "Is there a roller coaster in there? Is there a ferris wheel?" she said. The 650-seat PAC was about 2/3 full with people waiting to vote and another 300 or so were standing in line at 2:30 p.m. City and county police were on hand to provide crowd and traffic control, which was further crowded by buses arriving for their afternoon pick-ups and students and faculty attempting to leave the campus at the end of the school day. Monday's headlines The daytime forum was delayed almost a week after weather conditions forced the district to cancel classes and reschedule other activities last Tuesday. The district did go ahead with a forum that evening but wanted to offer a setting for input during the day. Ironically, it began to snow Monday morning as well. A handful of parents attended both sessions, and only one man raised his hand when asked if anyone present had particular concerns about middle schools. Columnist joins The SCORE Click here for details. GLENDALE, Ariz. - Eli Manning hit Plaxico Burris with the game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left as the New York Giants stunned New England 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII, ending the Patriots run at a perfect season. Manning, voted the game's most valuable player a year after his brother won the award in guiding Indianapolis to the NFL title, took the Giants on an 11-ply, 83-yard drive after the Patriots had regained the lead earlier in the fourth quarter. New York's rally was the third lead change in the fourth quarter, a Super Bowl record. Click here for more of this story.
The SCORE
Now that the New Mexico Legislature has adjourned, one political season has closed and another has begun.
Barring a special session threatened by Gov. Bill Richardson, legislators are now candidates for the June 3 primary and Nov. 4 general elections. All 42 senators and 70 members of the House of Representatives are up for election.
Most of the Sandoval County legislative contingent won’t face an opponent until November, and some may go unopposed for reelection. But at least one representative, Kathy McCoy, will probably face at least one primary challenger.
Party officials who are not satisfied with McCoy’s stance on social issues, including domestic partnership rights, have been quietly recruiting candidates for McCoy’s House District 22 seat. One name that has surfaced is Dan Salzwedel, the longtime executive director of the New Mexico Activities Association.Click here for more of this story.
making news
once again
The SCORE
open for discussion
at the council
media outlet
online newspaper
to mailing list
The City of Rio Rancho has refused a request to add The SCORE to its media distribution list, saying it doesn’t recognize the online newspaper as an “established news outlet” even though it has amassed almost than 110,000 hits and more than 2,200 unique readers in less than four months of operation.
60-day delay
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
The Rio Rancho Governing Body voted to split Special Assessment District 7 Wednesday night, delaying action on property in Units 17 and 20 for 60 days.
Click here for more of this story.
Early start,
late finish
Citizens speak out
on other issues
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
The Rio Rancho Governing Body moved the starting time of its Wednesday meeting back an hour in an attempt to clear its agenda for discussion on Special Assessment District 7.
But citizens had other things to talk about that waylaid that plan.
A discussion on Ordinance 8 that would amend the city’s definition of special use zoning districts took up most of that extra hour, and public response to the LaPlazuela Master Plan and related zoning issues also delayed discussion of the SAD until 9 p.m.
Click here for more of this story.
PLACE
Scorpions tie Arizona
for division lead
by beating Amarillo
By Eric Mady
The SCORE
It's been a season-long climb, but finally the New Mexico Scorpions have made it to first place.
Vladimir Hartinger's power play goal with 15:38 left was the game-winner in the Scorpions' 3-1 victory over Amarillo, moving New Mexico into a first-place tie with Arizona in the Southwest Division.
Tuesday's victory at the Santa Ana Star Center gives both New Mexico and Arizona 57 points. Odessa is two points back.
The Scorpions, however, still need some help from other teams around the league. New Mexico has accumulated its point total in 41 games, while Arizona has played 40 games and Odessa only 38.
New Mexico has 18 games left in its season, 12 of which are on the road. The Scorpions have six games left with Arizona (four on the road) but only one road game left against Odessa.
Both Arizona and Odessa were idle on Tuesday.
The Gorillas' Jason Chafe and New Mexico's Chris Robertson scored less than three minutes apart in the opening six minutes of the game, but the Scorpions couldn't score any more despite 37 more shots through two periods on Amarillo goalie Dan McWhinney.
Robertson's empty-net goal with three seconds left closed out the scoring.
Click here for more of this story.
Tuesday's headlines
Boundary
proposals
face minor
revisions
Board wants different plan
for northern elementaries
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
The Rio Rancho school board took two major steps in an attempt to deal with continuing growth in the district on Monday, approving most of recommended boundary changes for elementary and middle schools and voting to go off a block schedule at the high school for the first time ever.
for first-place tie
BLAME GAME
Sapien, state Dems
disagree on process
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
Sapien was in charge of the precinct in question, which was located at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Bernalillo.
Despite characterizations by state party chairman Brian Colon that there were problems with “identification” of ballots from Bernalillo, Sapien said he and his poll workers did nothing wrong.
Click here for more of this story.
Water main
breaks again
About 25 Rio Rancho homes were without water for five hours Sunday after an aging water main broke for the fourth time in nine months
The break, on Ninth Avenue near Pyrite, sent a muddy flood through the neighborhood. Pipes that serve the area are more than 20 years old.
Neighbors say the breaks have happened within hundreds of feet of each other. This time it blocked the driveway of a home owned by Marlon Schaus, who says he’s now on a first-name basis with workers who come to do repairs.
"I know the routine. I know the guys that come and do it,” Schaus told KRQE-News 13. "They are nice guys; they do a good job. They come in, get the break fixed and get the water back on."
Sunday's headlines
Scorpions
rally to win
5th straight
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
It's been said that the mark of true champions is how they respond when they are down.
If that's true, it could be a special year indeed for the New Mexico Scorpions.
Craig Macdonald's slap shot with 7:57 left in the game gave New Mexico the lead for good in a 5-2 victory over Corpus Christi in Central Hockey League play Saturday nigtt at the Santa Ana Star Center.
Click here for more of this story.
Friday's headlines
Scorpions
in 2nd place
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
Finally you don't have to say "third place New Mexico Scorpions."
At least for one night.
The streaky Scorpions moved into a tie for second place in the Southwest Division by beating Corpus Christi 5-3 in Central Hockey League play Friday night at the Santa Ana Star Center.
Click here for more of this story.
Council meeting
time changed
The SCORE
The starting time for Wednesday’s Rio Rancho city council meeting has been pushed back one hour to 5 p.m.
Councilor Howard Balmer said Thursday he received an e-mail informing him of the change but no explanation was included. The city’s web site also reports the earlier starting time as part of its link to Governing Body agendas, but no reason is given.
City spokesman Peter Wells did not return telephone calls Thursday, including one to the cell phone number on his city-issued business card, seeking an explanation for the change.
Wells did respond by e-mail at 7:46 Friday morning, long after information had been made available to other media outlets.
“The time was changed to allow more time for the meeting,” Wells wrote. “This was done as there is a SAD 7 meeting agenda item.”
The council is expected to delay the timeline on Special Assessment District 7 for 60 days as proposed by Mayor Mike Williams last week. Three councilors have told The SCORE they would support the delay, which coupled with a potential tie-breaking vote by the mayor means SAD-7 would be delayed.
The council used to meet at 7 p.m., but moved its start time back one hour a few years ago at a councilor’s request. By pushing back the start time another hour, opponents of Special Assessment District 7 say they fear the city might try to act on the issue before many people can get off work and make the meeting.
The last time SAD-7 was on the council agenda on Jan. 9, more than 1,200 people crammed into City Hall, filling the council chambers, an overflow room, the lobby and a second-floor balcony. Though police chief Robert Boone said at the time nobody was officially turned away, there have been anecdotal reports of many people not even trying to enter once they saw the crowd
“People are expecting to be able to hear for themselves the results of the protest letters (submitted at and before the Jan. 9 meeting) and what the council has to say about Resolution 3, whether it’s going to be postponed or not,” said Cheryl Ganch, a vocal critic of the SAD 7 process, who only found out about the change when a friend called her Friday morning. “Everybody’s expecting that’s going to be a 6 p.m., because that’s what it has been for the past two years or so since I’ve been going to council meetings.
“What possible reason is there to change it from 6 p.m. to 5 p.m.? It’s certainly not in the public’s interest. It’s certainly not in the citizen’s interest.”
Ganch said the Citizens Against the SAD group had filed a formal request asking the city for a larger venue for future meetings where the SAD would be considered, but Williams has repeatedly said relocation was not possible because equipment used to telecast the meetings on cable and provide video coverage through the city’s web site could not be moved.
Because an agenda had not been posted on the city’s web site as of 11 a.m. Friday, it was not clear at what time the SAD-7 discussion would likely come up. The council could consider other business before beginning discussion on SAD-7.
shift in direction of
county commission
The SCORE
A shift in direction in the Sandoval County Commission became more apparent Thursday night with a 3-2 decision to start over on a planning and zoning case in Placitas.
The commission did unanimously agree on everything else on the agenda, including a $144,000 management contract to advance a new path in an attempt to provide broadband internet service county-wide. But it was the final item of the night, a re-hearing on the final platting of the Wild Horse Mesa Subdivision as order by 13th Judicial District Court Judge George Eichwald, which demonstrated the new direction of the commission.
1st-place Odessa
to close in on
division lead
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
There's power in the power play after all.
The New Mexico Scorpions scored on its first two shots and were 3-of-5 on the power play through two periods, then coasted to a 7-1 lead over division-leading Odesssa on Wednesday in a Central Hockey League game at the Santa Ana Star Center.
Click here for more of this story.
Tuesday's headlines
County total
for caucus
not available
Clinton leads by 117 votes
in state-wide voting
with provisional ballots
to be counted Wednesday
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
Hillary Clinton led Barak Obama by only 117 votes, with the Bernalillo site, three in Rio Arriba County and 16,871 provisional ballots still left to be tallied as of 1 a.m.
State party chairman Brian Colon said the inability to get totals from the Bernalillo site at Our Lady of Sorrows Church was due to ballots from Congressional District 1 and Congressional District 3 not being counted separately. The distinction is important because delegates to the national convention are based in part on turnout within the state's three congressional districts.
The Bernalillo site was not the only Sandoval County location to cause party officials a headache. Rio Rancho's only location was the last in the state to finish voting, at appoximately 9:30 p.m., due to a heavy turnout.
Many voters in the city had to wait at least two hours to cast a ballot.
The city's only polling place the Perofrming Arts Center at Rio Rancho High School, was jammed from the moment the polls opened at noon.
"It's a nightmare. We never expected this," said Sandoval County chairman Jim Moran at 2:30 p.m. "It's been like this since we opened. We could be here to midnight."
Complete results will be updated throughtout the day at the party's website, www.NMDemocrats.org.
Within Rio Rancho, Barak Obama beat Hillary Clinton by eight votes, 1278 votes to 1270. In the county, Obama's margin was bigger, 2882 to 2491.
Statewide, Clinton had 65,845 votes compared to 65,728 for Obama.
Colon said party officials would start counting the provisional ballots today at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Colon said he was not sure final totals would be available by the end of the day Wednesday, meaning a winner not be known until Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Rio Rancher voter Kevin Whitley was interviewed just as he was approaching the door of the PAC. He said he had spent at least a half hour in windy, blustery conditions and wasn't even inside the Performing Arts Center, where voting took place.
"I can't tell you how I feel, because I feel frozen right now," said Whitley, who declined to state his preference. "Whomever wins, it will be better than what we've got going now."
Parents
question
boundary
proposals
By Eric Maddy
The SCORE
Parents got another chance to question proposed boundary changes for elementary and middle schools in Rio Rancho on Monday, expressing particular concerns about new schools being opened and the use of portable buildings.
Click here for more of this story.
Sunday's headlines
Giants win
Super Bowl