Letters to the Editor
The Plaza flower caper
Editor:
On the Socorro Plaza, in front of Sundance Gift Store on the sidewalk, there are large flower pots with flowers and plants in them to help keep the Plaza looking nice. The people of Socorro and Socorro visitors enjoy them also.
We want to make Socorro proud and someone else must like the pots and flowers because they keep going away!
Please leave them where they belong so we can take care of them, so everyone can enjoy the flowers and plants!
The city is making the Plaza beautiful and we would like to do our part in keeping Socorro beautiful around the Plaza.
MiRan and Don Brown
Socorro
It’s time for some action
Editor:
Now that the Socorro Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees has made it clear they are not going to implement the changes voted by the co-op members, it’s time to consider options.
It’s clear that the board’s attorney, Mr. (Dennis) Francish, is being paid to oppose the wishes of the membership and to defend the trustees’ right to collect as many checks as possible for so-called “expenses.” His fees are paid by the co-op members, but he has the proverbial “Bird in the Hand” with the present board. How can we change that?
The bylaws. Articles 5 and 7 both list methodologies for obtaining removal of board trustees and officers by petition. Members can remove trustees with a collection of signatures on a petition from 10 percent of the members in the trustee’s district.
I suggest all members read their bylaws and pay close attention to Article 5ive, Section 5ive, “Removal of Trustees.” Also in Article 7, Section 3, “Removal of Officers and Agents by Trustees,” similar language outlines the process. The charges could include obstructing the implementation of duly voted changes and fiscal disregard for the co-op.
I suspect Mr. Francish would relish such action by the members. He’s getting paid either way. A court fight would allow him to bill even more hours and that’s the name of his game, right? The members will need to organize closely to consider this and prepare for a legal battle.
My efforts to get direction from the office of U.S. Rep. Harry Teague’s office have met with no reply. I ask other sympathetic members to seek guidance from officials in Washington, D.C., to pursue investigation of the co-op and its finances. Additionally, perhaps Larry Barker of Albuquerque and his investigative reporting can be a resource to us.
Sunlight is a purifying agent, so we must shed as much light as possible on this debacle. With elections coming up, perhaps one of our politicians will have the courage to use this as a vehicle for campaigning — helping the common people … fighting the fat-cats and their connivances.
Herbert Myers
Socorro
Flowers in bloom
Editor:
After our El Nino winter and 3-2/3 inches of rain since Jan. 1, there are spring flowers almost everywhere right now.
Down at Bosque del Apache on the Canyon Trail and on the Chupadera Trail there are blooms galore in colorful diversity.
Up at Sevilleta there is a handicapped-accessible trail and also a 1-mile trail from the Visitor Center. Both of those trails have labels for the blooming wildflowers and the shrubs so it’s a great place to learn their names.
Bob Merkel
Socorro