Letters to the Editor
Thanks for help with Torch Run
Editor:
This year’s Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit the Special Olympics was a huge success!
We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to everyone that helped us out with donations: First State Bank-Quatro Bursum, Don Tripp’s Storage, Braswell Roofing, Peter Trujillo, Donald Monette, and Leseberg’s Auto for the monetary donations.
Thank you to Smith’s, Walmart and Sonic for the food and drinks donated; Kicks 66 for the ice donation; the Santa Fe Diner for breakfast and beverages on Sunday morning; and Bernice Wheeler and Martha Garza for breakfast on Monday morning.
We would also like to express our appreciation to New Mexico Tech for helping escort the runners; the county of Socorro for lending out the command center R.V with driver; the city of Socorro Police Dept.; the Socorro County Sheriff’s Dept.; and the New Mexico State Police for supplying escort vehicles.
We’d also like to thank the Socorro Fire Department for escorting the runners into town Sunday afternoon, and the State Highway Dept. for supplying the message boards.
Finally, we would like to thank all of the participants who ran or biked. This event wouldn’t have been possible without all of you!
We would also like to wish all of the Special Olympians good luck in their upcoming events.
Marc Wheeler, BLM Ranger
Brandy Perkins, Socorro Police Dept.
Co-op not meeting its commitments
Editor:
As a member-owner/customer of Socorro Electric Cooperative since January 2006, I have become used to the poor customer service and lack of response that the SEC business office exhibits. Upon my arrival in Socorro, I was asked to pay a refundable security deposit in order to get electric service established. When it was time to get my deposit back, it took three phone calls and nearly two months before I was finally given a credit on my bill.
As time went on, I was aware of the irregularities being reported in the newspapers and the actions of member-owners and some board members to reform SEC’s practices. In particular, I was pleased that the member-owners were successful in getting some necessary bylaw changes passed at the 2010 annual meeting. I took a wait-and-see approach to find out if these changes were sufficient to reform SEC in favor of better service to its member-owners.
Instead, the surprise result was the infamous lawsuit against the member-owners that was instigated by the board and their attorney. I never imagined that I would be sued for dutifully paying my electric bill!
Business governance and management is not a one-way relationship in any organization. It applies even more so in a cooperative where the customers are member-owners. In addition to the lawsuit, we later found out that business office personnel were causing financial audit discrepancies and that we had been overcharged for about five years due to incorrect rates.
We were told that the overcharges would be resolved promptly and that a refund would be issued by the end of 2010. The deadline was later modified to the first quarter of 2011. I decided to attend the 2011 annual meeting and bring this up. Unfortunately, that meeting was adjourned due to an insufficient quorum. I attended the April board meeting and asked for an update. The new GM, Mr. Herrera, stated that they were trying to get the refunds out by the end of April or early May. I called the business office on May 10th for another status report. I was informed that they might be sent out by the end of May.
I rely on Social Security disability as my primary source of income. Social Security has not issued a cost-of-living adjustment for the last two years. I don’t have to tell anyone that prices on almost everything have gone up substantially and I need every dollar to make ends meet.
I was shocked at the last SEC board meeting to see how they cavalierly approved tens-of-thousands of dollars for various pipe-dream projects and boondoggles. Does anyone on the board or in the SEC office believe in meeting commitments? At this point, I have come to believe that the best thing for the SEC and the member-owners is for it to be taken over or sold to some other entity that will hopefully clean house, actually run it like a business and meet its commitments to the member-owners.
Paul Stoehr, Socorro