Socorro Police Chief George Van Winkle said a passerby discovered the body about 6/10 of a mile south of where Otero Street ends at Otero Park in the Riverine Parks system, on the west bank of the river. The man is believed to have been there for several months.

Detective Richard Lopez was dispatched to the scene in response to the 911 call from the passerby, and found the body underneath a sleeping bag, inside a tent.

“The tent was still up, but it was starting to fall over, and the tent flap was open,” Van Winkle said. “There were signs that he may have been camped there for a week or so before his death.”

Based on observations made at the scene, the man appeared to be between 40 and 60 years of age, about 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10 inches tall, and wore pants size 32 or 34. There was no identification on or anywhere near the body, and no wallet was found.

One item that police hope could offer a clue to the man’s identity may be the green Redhead brand jacket he was wearing.

The cause of death has not been determined, but based on the extent of decomposition, police believe the man may have died as long ago as last October.

“We’re trying to narrow some things down,” Van Winkle said. “There was a receipt in the tent from Walmart dated Oct. 10, and empty Gatorade bottles were in the tent with him.”

The receipt shows that the man paid cash for his purchase.

The body has been turned over to the state Office of the Medical Investigator, and the police are waiting for any kind of evidence that could help to identify the man and learn something about his death. OMI may be able to provide missing pieces of information that were not possible for police to determine due to the state of the body and the fact that it had been disturbed by wildlife and insects, such as the man’s weight and ethnicity.

“We’re waiting on any kind of DNA or fingerprints or dental records that we might be able to cross-reference with reports of missing persons,” Van Winkle said.

The man is not believed to be a local, or to have local connections. Lopez has been in contact with Duane Baker of Puerto Seguro, Socorro’s drop-in homeless shelter.

“We don’t appear to be missing anybody, but we’re putting feelers out through the community,” Assistant Chief Mike Winders said. “That he might be homeless is just a guess.”

Winders said the tent was well-hidden in a thicket, and not easy to find.

Van Winkle said there is no sign of foul play, and said he believes the man may have died of a heart attack or illness.

“We still treat it as a suspicious death,” he said.

Anyone who may have information is asked to contact the Socorro Police Department at 575-835-1883.

Billy Silva, 37, of Socorro, was arrested at Walmart by officers of the Socorro Police Department on Feb. 7. He is charged with one fourth-degree felony count of embezzlement, one fourth-degree count of conspiring to commit a third- or fourth-degree felony, and one fourth-degree felony count of tampering with evidence.

According to the criminal complaint, Officer Dennis Sedillo was dispatched to Walmart at about noon Feb. 7 to meet with a store investigator out of Las Cruces. The investigator, David Quintana, told Sedillo that Silva had been caught on camera removing a T-Mobile cell phone from its packaging while working the night shift on Jan. 30, then replacing the empty packaging where he had found it.

The store’s security footage from that evening also appeared to show Silva walk through the store’s garden center and throw a white box containing a home entertainment center over the fence. The tape showed the box was later retrieved by someone driving a white car.

The criminal complaint describes an interview between Sedillo and Silva in which Silva allegedly admitted taking the cellphone, and also admitted taking not only the home theater system but a Sony amplifier, too.

According to the complaint, Silva confirmed throwing the items over the fence and told the officer he came back later to pick them up. He allegedly told Sedillo that the phone and amp were at his home, but that he didn’t know where the home theater system was.

The value of the items taken without authorization from the store comes to $1,085.

Based on Sedillo’s interview with Silva, a second man, James Vaughn, 19, of Socorro, was also arrested. Vaughn is also charged with one fourth-degree felony count of embezzlement, one fourth-degree count of conspiring to commit a third- or fourth-degree felony, and one fourth-degree felony count of tampering with evidence.

A print-out from Socorro Magistrate Court shows Silva waived a preliminary hearing and was released on his own recognizance on Feb. 15. His case has been bound over to be heard in District Court.

Vaughn was released on a $31,000 cash or surety bond on Feb. 7. He is scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 29.

Charges of Copper Theft

Due to his arrest on Feb. 7, Silva is now facing prosecution for the charges brought against him last February, when he and his brother Tony Silva, 48, of Socorro, were accused of stealing about 200 pounds of copper wire from New Mexico Tech and selling it for scrap to Salome Recycling on McCutcheon Street.

The brothers were caught on film, in a city of Socorro vehicle, in a property yard on the Tech campus between noon and 1 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2011.

The two men were each charged with one misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property, one petty misdemeanor count of tampering with evidence, and one petty misdemeanor count of larceny less than $250.

Tony Silva signed a plea and disposition agreement in Magistrate Court, agreeing to plead guilty to the larceny charge, and the other two charges against him were dismissed. He was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and 180 days of unsupervised probation, and ordered to stay off the Tech campus for the period of his probation.

Billy Silva applied for and was accepted into the county’s pre-prosecution diversion program in November 2011. The program is designed for first time offenders of certain types of crime. Per state statute, it’s intended “to remove those persons from the criminal justice system who are most amenable to rehabilitation and least likely to commit future offenses, to provide those persons with services designed to assist them in avoiding future criminal activity, (and) to conserve community and criminal justice resources.”

Billy Silva’s pre-prosecution diversion period was to have been six months. At the time of his arrest this February, he had not completed the supervised six month period, so, per the terms of the program, he is required to face trial for the charges.

A non-jury trial on the copper theft charges is scheduled in Magistrate Court for March 28.

Martinez, a Republican in her second year of a four-year term, has tried three times now to get legislators to change the law that allows illegal aliens to obtain New Mexico driver’s licenses. A bill that would do so made it through the House, but the Democratic-controlled Senate pushed for an alternative bill, which it passed. Neither bill made it to the opposite chamber before time expired on the 30-day session last Thursday.

Several measures heralded by Martinez dealing with education also got shut out. The Senate passed a bill that would have required third-graders to meet reading proficiency levels before advancing to fourth grade, but House Democrats blocked the bill from moving forward.

A last-ditch effort led by Republicans to pass the student retention bill made it to the House floor just before the clock struck noon, marking the end of the session, but no vote was taken.

A Martinez-backed bill to evaluate teachers was passed by the House but did not make it through the Senate.

“I think that, just like anything else, with a lot of those (education) bills it was their first time introduced,” said Sen. David Ulibarri (D-Grants), whose district includes a part of Socorro County. “They got stalled up in committees. They just got bogged down with other stuff.”

Also left by the wayside were bills that would stabilize the state’s public retirement system, fix protections against sudden property tax increases, ease liability for spacecraft manufacturers and improve government transparency.

Education

While there was a lot that didn’t get done, lawmakers were able to get some significant legislation passed. And though some of the education measures Martinez asked for didn’t get through, a few did.

Rep. Don Tripp (R-Socorro) said public education will see about a $90 million increase, $14 million of which goes to support the governor’s new initiative for early childhood development and reading intervention.

“There was money in the budget to allow for intervention to help students to read, and also money for intervention for the D and F schools to help with their improvement,” he said.

In Socorro County, Socorro Consolidated Schools’ Midway and San Antonio elementary schools received a D and Zimmerly was saddled with an F, and Magdalena’s elementary and middle schools received a D.

Tripp said there is added money for early childhood that’s “below the line,” where the secretary of public education can allocate funds to where they are needed most.

Higher education also should see a boost of about $29 million. The first phase of a new funding formula for higher ed will go into affect this year. The formula, largely on square footage in its current form, will be altered to focus on outcome — percentage of students graduated and able to find jobs.

“The idea is to have schools like New Mexico Tech rewarded for quality education,” Tripp said. “So in the long run, Tech should be a major winner in the way that it’s designed.”

Tripp said it will take about three years for the formula to be fully implemented.

Balanced Budget

Most important, the Legislature sent a $5.6 billion budget to the governor that included some of the provisions she asked for at the outset of the session.

“For the second year in a row, we came together to balance the budget and we did it, once again, without raising taxes,” Martinez told reporters shortly after the session ended.

The budget includes some tax breaks for small businesses that are intended to stimulate the economy.

“I’m thrilled at the bipartisan work that was done in each chamber to help New Mexico small businesses grow and better compete so that we can get New Mexicans back to work,” Martinez said.

Among them is a measure that allows manufacturers and contractors to make deductions from their gross receipt taxes. The aim is to lessen the impact of “tax pyramiding,” where goods and services are taxed once and then levied again on the final product.

Another bill provides a $1,000 tax credit for businesses that hire Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. And another bill, endorsed by Sen. Ulibarri, gives a 10 percent preference to contractors who are veterans bidding on state projects.

Ulibarri introduced an identical bill in the Senate, but it was House Speaker Ben Lujan’s bill that passed.

“My bill got sent to the finance committee, which made it pretty hard to pass through,” Ulibarri said. “The speaker’s bill got redesigned and compromised — they took away the in-state preference — but there’s a 10 percent preference based on the volume of sales, and it scales down to an amount based on gross dollars.”

Though it wasn’t his bill, Ulibarri said he was happy to see it go through.

“The main thing is we got something done for the veterans that gives them a little edge. I just hope the governor signs it because it gives a little piece of the pie to our veterans, and that’s what we need to do,” he said.

The governor gets a budget that includes a 4 percent increase in spending, which translates to about $220 million. Most of the spending increases go to public education and Medicaid.

Capital Outlay

The budget left room for some capital outlay spending — something that hasn’t happened the last two years when the Legislature was faced with a budget deficit.

About $30 million goes to the Paseo del Norte/Interstate 25 interchange project in Albuquerque. Ulibarri said he wished there were more to go around.

“I had over $20 million for capital outlay in my district alone,” he said. “That tells us there are a lot of needs in our communities, and we need to start addressing those.”

Tripp said it will be up to the governor to decide which projects get approved. Some of the projects in socorro County include:

• $290,000 for rodeo grounds and soccer complex

• $100,000 to complete Sabinal Community Center

• $150,000 for a mutual domestic water system in San Antonio

• $200,000 for capital infrastructure at New Mexico Tech

A separate bill offers money through General Obligation Bonds, which will be voted on during the November elections.

Tripp said about $12 million is available for libraries across the state, and $22 million that can be allocated to senior centers.

There’s $18 million for universities and Tripp said he was hopeful that some of that can go toward refurbishing the Bureau of Geology at New Mexico Tech.

PRC Reform

Another significant accomplishment was getting three bills passed that are designed to reform the much maligned Public Regulation Commission.

“We’ve all been a little embarrassed with what goes on there,” Tripp said.

Two of the bills came through in the final minutes, after House Republicans abandon a filibuster that was in retaliation for Democrats’ holding up the vote on student retention.

Gov. Martinez said she was glad to see her party’s House delegates back off to allow the changes to be made.

“We need the reform because the business as usual at the PRC isn’t helpful for businesses in New Mexico and it needs to change,” she said.

The changes include shifting regulation of corporations to the Secretary of State’s Office, moving insurance oversight to an independent entity and setting minimum qualifications for commissioners elected to the utility and insurance-regulating panel.

The reform measures for the PRC are constitutional amendments that require voter approval and will be on the ballot in November.

A Fond Farewell

The end of the legislative session also marked the end of the 37-year career for House Speaker Lujan (D-Nambé).

Lujan, who is suffering from lung cancer, announced he would not seek re-election at the beginning of the session and was given special recognition by legislators on his way out.

Originally, Charlie Wagner, a member of the co-op’s board of trustees, was listed as the class representative in a countersuit which names the nine other trustees, four former trustees and the co-op’s former general manager as defendants. The countersuit charges the cross claim defendants with breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.

“Counsel anticipates that an amended complaint on the class action portion of this litigation (the cross claim) will be filed shortly, removing Mr. Wagner as proposed class action representative and thus as cross claim plaintiff,” reads a response to the co-op’s motion for a protective order against Wagner.

In the co-op’s motion for a protective order filed Feb. 1 in 13th Judicial District Court in Los Lunas, it asserts that Wagner has been attempting to sidestep rules of discovery by requesting information by way of the Inspection of Public Records Act.

Wagner says he was doing no such thing. He told El Defensor Chieftain that his requests for information regarding records of payments made to the Kennedy & Han, the law firm representing Socorro Electric in defense of the countersuit, was done in his role as a trustee, he said.

In the response to the motion for a protective order, Stephen Kortemeier, of Socorro’s Deschamps & Kortemeier law firm, wrote that counsel was “absolutely unaware” of Wagner’s requests for information and that it had not received any information or documents from Wagner as a result of his requests.

“It appears … that Mr. Wagner has been merely exercising his rights as a trustee to inform himself on matters affecting the financial well being of the cooperative: a responsibility clearly within his fiduciary obligations to the membership, in which he may be remiss if he doesn’t,” Kortemeier wrote.

The response asks the judge hearing the case to deny the co-op’s request for a protective order in that the matter will become moot once the amended complaint is filed. It further argues that a protective order would infringe upon Wagner’s obligations a trustee.

The filing suggests an arrangement be worked out where documents provided to Wagner in his role as a trustee and those furnished through discovery could be marked to distinguish the difference. It also asked that the judge reaffirm Wagner’s right to access information in his capacity as a trustee.

The response came in the wake of a flurry of filings by Kennedy & Han in recent weeks, including four motions to dismiss the countersuit and a motion to stay discovery.

Citing a heavy workload, Deschamps & Kortemeier asked for a one-week extension to respond to the co-op’s motions.

Tenth Judicial District Court Judge Albert J. Mitchell Jr., assigned to preside over the case by the New Mexico Supreme Court chief justice, last week granted a request for hearing to address the motions. That hearing will be held by phone next Monday morning.

The countersuit came in response to a lawsuit Socorro Electric filed against all of its approximately 10,000 member-owners in June 2010. The co-op was challenging the validity of new bylaws that require it to operate with greater transparency.

Judge Mitchell ruled against the co-op last May, saying bylaws that compel it to follow the Open Meetings Act and Inspection of Public Records Act were properly adopted and members were within their rights to impose them on what is a democratically controlled cooperative.

Dec. 29
• About 10:30 a.m., an officer met with a suspect who had an active warrant. Suspect was arrested and booked in the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 1:15 p.m., an officer served a suspect with an arrest warrant at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 4:45 p.m., an officer located a suspect highly intoxicated in full public view. The officer placed the suspect under arrest for his/her safety and the safety of others. The suspect was booked and incarcerated at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 7:51 p.m., an officer was called to a local motel and met with an intoxicated woman who claimed her husband had sexually assaulted her approximately one hour prior to the officer’s arrival. A witness said she located the woman naked in her room covered in her own feces. The witness said that she had not seen anyone at the complainant’s room. Detectives were called in to assist. The officer made contact with the husband who said that he had intercourse with his wife that morning but had not seen her since. The complainant refused medical treatment and a sexual assault exam. The complainant also stated she did not want to press charges.

Dec. 30
• About 10 a.m., a victim advised having visitors overnight, and after waking, noted her purse was missing. The victim said she believed one of the visitors took her purse. The officer was provided with the visitors’ phone numbers. No contact was made with the visitors. A hand wallet, $50 in a cash, social security card and debit card were missing.
• About 2:49 p.m., a woman reported that a male suspect was at a residence on Spring Street 10 days earlier, and took three rings and $50 cash from her. The victim provided a description of the rings to the officer. The victim said she did not see the suspect take the property but heard him in her drawers prior to the leaving the home. The rings’ total worth was $579.
• About 3:15 p.m., a suspect was contacted for driving on a suspended license. The suspect confirmed the license was suspended. A National Crime Information Center check also showed the license revoked. The suspect was arrested and booked at Socorro County Detention Center.

Dec. 31
• About 2:30 a.m., an officer located a suspect highly intoxicated in full public view at the Socorro General Hospital. The officer placed the suspect under arrest for his/her safety and the safety of others. The suspect was booked and incarcerated at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 9:55 a.m., a victim advised a suspect arrived at her home, kicked her door open and entered her home. The victim said during an argument the suspect pushed her. She was armed with a bat and threatened to hit him. The officer noted damage to the door and foot prints on the door. The man fled when police were called. The officer located him, and he told the officer he was visiting with his children when the victim closed the door. The suspect then kicked the door causing damage. He said the victim struck him with a bat, and denied pushing the victim. He was arrested and booked at the jail.
• About 4:45 p.m., a victim advised that a male suspect was visiting in the area. The victim advised being a witness in a recent incident involving the suspect. The suspect sent messages to the victim advising victim not to testify in a trial or there would be consequences. While the suspect was visiting he began arguing with the victim. Suspect approached the victim striking the victim in the face. Victim and suspect fought prior to the suspect leaving. The suspect was not located.
• About 9:30 p.m., a suspect was contacted on a traffic stop. A National Crime Information Center check showed a valid warrant for the suspect. The suspect was arrested and booked at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 9:34 p.m., A suspect was contacted on an outstanding warrant. A National Crime Information Center check confirmed the warrant and the suspect was booked at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 10 p.m., a suspect was contacted for a traffic violation. During contact with suspect the officer noted signs of intoxication. The suspect was given field sobriety test and failed. The suspect was arrested and advised of implied consent. The suspect refused testing. National Crime Information Center showed the suspect to have a suspended/revoked license. The suspect was processed and booked at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 10:13 p.m.,  a vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation. During contact the officer noted a odor of alcohol. One person was given a field sobriety test and was arrested. The suspect provided breath test results of .10 and .10. The suspect was arrested and booked at the Socorro County Detention Center. Another person in the vehicle also showed signs of intoxication, and admitted to drinking. An National Crime Information Center check showed outstanding warrants. The suspect was booked at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 10:30 p.m., an officer located a suspect highly intoxicated in full public view. The officer placed the suspect under arrest for his/her safety and the safety of others. The suspect was booked and incarcerated at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 11:05 p.m., a suspect was contacted at the local Motel 6. National Crime Information Center showed a valid warrant and the suspect was arrested and booked at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 11:44 p.m., a suspect was stopped for  a traffic violation and appeared intoxicated. The officer administered a field sobriety test and the suspect performed poorly. Suspect was arrested and submitted to blood test. Suspect was also in possession of a syringe. Suspect was booked at the Socorro County Detention Center.

Jan. 1
• About 1:30 a.m., an officer observed an altercation on Abeyta Street. The altercation was stopped, and victim #1 reported that the suspect battered him. Victim #2 and #3 reported that the suspect assaulted them with a knife. A knife was located near the scene. The suspect denied the allegations stating that victim #1 battered him. Suspect was arrested and transported to the hospital by ambulance due to injuries. No action taken.
• About 2:08 a.m., a suspect was stopped for a traffic violation. The suspect appeared intoxicated. The suspect refused a field sobriety test and was arrested. The suspect also refused chemical testing. Suspect was booked at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 4:09 p.m., an officer responded to a call on Highway 85 regarding a female having a hard time getting into a vehicle and possibly intoxicated. The officer observed the suspect drive away from location going against traffic. The vehicle was stopped and the suspect showed signs of intoxication. The suspect was given field sobriety test. The test results were .22, .21 BAC. The suspect was booked into the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 5:30 p.m., an officer located a suspect on Grant Street highly intoxicated in full public view. The officer placed the suspect under arrest for his/her safety and the safety of others. The suspect was booked and incarcerated at the Socorro County Detention Center.
• About 7:15 p.m., at a local restaurant an officer located a suspect highly intoxicated in full public view. The officer placed the suspect under arrest for his/her safety and the safety of others. The suspect was booked and incarcerated at the Socorro County Detention Center.

Jan. 2
• About 11:52 P.M., an officer was given a description of a possible drunk driver on Highway 85. The officer located the vehicle and observed suspect fail to maintain lane. The vehicle was stopped and the suspect was not able to provide license and registration or insurance. The officer observed an open container of an alcoholic beverage in the vehicle. The suspect refused field sobriety test and was arrested. The suspect submitted to a breath test with results of .17 and .17 BAC. The suspect was booked at the Socorro County Detention Center.

Jan. 3
• About 9:45 a.m., a victim reported that an ex-boyfriend swerved and nearly struck her vehicle with his truck. The officer was unable to locate the suspect.
• About 10:45 a.m., a complainant stated that someone caused damage to the tennis courts at Sedillo Park. Suspect(s) unknown.
• About 11:58 a.m., a complainant stated that subjects caused heavy damage to a room at a local motel. Officer was unable to locate the suspects.
• About 5:18 p.m., a vehicle was stopped on El Camino Real for a traffic violation. The driver showed signs of being under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or drug. The driver failed field sobriety test. Driver was arrested and refused a blood test.
• About 6:30 p.m., an officer was dispatched to Socorro General Hospital in reference to a female acting crazy and stating she wanted to kill herself. The female refused to be treated. She was fighting with the hospital staff and bit the officer on his hand. The female was transported to Albuquerque to be seen.

Legal maneuvers out of control
Editor:
It seems that the legal maneuvering by a group of trustees of Socorro Electric Cooperative is spiraling out of control!
Whose idea is this? Are the attorneys initiating it? Is it to increase the amount of the bill they’ll send us? Are a number of trustees doing it as “punishment” for co-op members who would dare to object to their freely spending our money on themselves? They’ve been doing it for so many years, I guess they think it’s their right.
Has it ever occurred to them that they could lose this case? The first decision the judge made was not in their favor. Could they end up paying the bills they are incurring? Have they even thought about that? It just keeps getting uglier and more confusing.
Yet they could easily do the right thing and have an annual meeting without trying to outsmart or obstruct the will of the members. We hope for the best but should probably expect the worst!
Everybody needs to make every effort to come to the annual meeting in April!
Barbara Moore
Magdalena

Her detective, V. I. Warshawsky, once again solves the puzzle and makes criminals repent. Her wisecracks with police and reporters are especially fun.

She is involved with a poor family, whose daughter, Consuelo, gets pregnant by a boy, Fabiano, that the mother considers a bum. When he finds a job — finally — Warshawsky drives him and Consuelo to see the plant.

Consuelo soon collapses, and Warshawsky asks inside the plant for a hospital. The receptionist finally helps, and Warshawsky takes Consuelo to the nearby hospital and calls a doctor she knows.

The premature baby dies, Consuelo isn’t too well, and the doctor is murdered. Is it relevant?

Another friend, Lotty, a friend of both the detective and the doctor, insists that the detective find the murderer. Since she thinks it might be gang-related, she visits a gang leader that she once had befriended. Sorry, he is no longer grateful and cuts her face!

After becoming intimate with a new doctor, she catches on that there is something spooky about the clinic that she had taken Consuelo to and that her new boyfriend works in. She steals files, which are then stolen from her! Wonderful intrigue.

Her ex-husband is also involved. He is her ex because he is always right. She enjoys beating him in court. He, of course, is defending an indefensible crook.

You will enjoy the detective’s unraveling of the mystery.

Waterland

In “Waterland,” by Graham Swift, the location is a character, as in Thomas Hardy’s novels.

It is the water of England’s fens, with swamps, canals, dredges and sluices. The author makes the atmosphere so powerful as to dominate the story.

The Crick family had managed the canal, the sluice, the dredge, the locks for years such that the family members knew no other occupation. One son, Henry, however, is a history teacher. The author uses this character to explore the nature and uses of history.

Henry is patient and kind and tolerates the student, Price, who constantly interrupts to ask whether history really matters.

Along with all this philosophical discussion, the author tells the story of the family, wonderful love matches and sad losses of loved ones. World War II goes on in the background with Henry wounded and then nursed by a lovable, future bride.

There’s also comedy when the brewery makes coronation ale in honor of the new queen, and everyone gets silly drunk. Helen, Henry’s daughter, is so beautiful that the parade soldiers look at her and fall over their feet and drop their rifles, bumping into each other.

It turns out that Henry had made the new ale extra strong. The family had always had a brewery because of the wonderful English water.

The teacher loves to tell stories. Part of his nature is to tell stories, thinking that that’s what history is, stories. Regardless of your agreement with him, you will delight in this story.

A Finders-Keepers Place

Esther and Ruth are the young daughters in “A Finders-Keepers Place,” by Ann Haywood Leal. Their mother, Valley, neglects them terribly while she chases her “notions,” such as gardening indoors (which gave Esther piles of dirt to move out), living simply like the Amish (which forced the girls to hide their radios), and finally redecorating, which brought the ceiling down to the floor.

Their teachers worry about them, sending notes home, which the girls do not pass on. Ruth is in especial trouble for starting to steal, for example, a library book. A friendly neighbor, Ford, lets them play finders-keepers in his cluttered yard and worries about their care since he was warned that Valley is not a good mother.

All Esther can think of is her father. He left when she was about 4 years old, so she has little memory of him. Valley says he’s gone and refuses to talk about him. Ruth can’t remember him at all, but Esther talks about him all the time to keep him in their minds.

They visit a different church each Sunday to find him because they think he was a minister. The reader hopes that Ford will straighten out their mother and give them a happy life.

Professor Kent Condie's book, the second edition of "Earth as an Evolving Planetary System," originally published in 2005, highlights the most important and recent research in the field. It has extensive new material with the discoveries in the discipline.

This edition features new information on our planet, its evolution and takes a look at earth as a unified whole — mantle, core, atmosphere, oceans and life, and the myriad ways these have worked together and changed over time.

Condie synthesizes data from the fields of oceanography, geophysics, planetology and geochemistry to provide a holistic vantage point. The book is geared to academics and students, but Condie wants people to know that the studies involved have clear-cut and direct implications. This area of study is significant because how we interact with the environment has deep consequences.

"Earth is a system," he said. "You can't take a static look at planetary bodies."

Condie also makes the case that anyone interested in evolutionary theory needs to go further back than the first microorganism, back to when the earth itself was in its infancy, to the time when volcanic activity and the movement of tectonic plates formed the continents.

"Those formations were the necessary conditions for life evolving" said Condie. "Higher forms of life will never develop without it."

In the case of the earth, there are currently seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates. These plates are in continual motion, most of the time, imperceptible to us. They move in relation to one another causing one of three types of plate boundaries: convergent, or collisional boundaries; divergent boundaries, also called spreading centers; and conservative transform boundaries. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building and oceanic trench formation are the "big time" manifestations of this constant activity.

Despite a long teaching career, Condie remains excited about both teaching and research.

Wrapping up assisting a student in identifying mineral samples with unusual names, such as muscovite and hornblend, it's clear that Condie has an infectious enthusiasm and a genuine warmth he brings to instruction as well as a discussion of other areas of his work.

He recently organized a mini-conference at New Mexico Tech, which attracted scientists from a variety of scientific backgrounds to discuss geologic research and trends in earth science.

"We were expecting 30 or so, and we got 70 people instead!" laughed Condie. "And by the end of it, after scientists from different disciplines compared notes, shared information and research. By the end, 30 percent of the attendees changed some of their theoretical perspectives. That says a lot about how fluid this field is."

He also sees the applied use of his and other scientist's research as a part of stewardship of the planet.

"What we do to the water, to the atmosphere, will effect the crust of the Earth, effects that have real consequences to life on the planet," he said. "The idea that the Earth is alive, is one unified whole is an old belief. Native Americans have said this all along."

]]> http://www.dchieftain.com/2012/02/22/condie-digs-deep/feed 0 http://www.dchieftain.com/2012/02/22/irish-american-music-at-macey http://www.dchieftain.com/2012/02/22/irish-american-music-at-macey#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000 Valerie Kimble http://www.dchieftain.com/2012/02/22/irish-american-music-at-macey Singer-songwriter Cathie Ryan, named one of the top-100 Irish Americans by Irish America Magazine, will bring her “honey-pure” soprano sound to New Mexico Tech’s Macey Center on Friday, Feb. 24.

Courtesy photo: Cathie Ryan performs at New Mexico Tech’s Macey Center this Friday night.

The Performing Arts Series (PAS) concert is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., coinciding with two premier events in Socorro — the New Mexico Science Olympiad and the Civil War Re-enactment, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Valverde.

Fellow Irish band, McPeake, originally scheduled to appear with Ryan in a double-bill, have canceled.

Ryan has been called a captivating and deeply affecting performer who has built a loyal following throughout Europe and North America by touring steadily and singing songs of the heart.

A reviewer in the Irish Echo wrote, “Cathie Ryan certainly knows how to communicate with her audience, and what she communicates through song are the enduring values of home, family, memory, and spirit …”

“Cathie is a gifted performer who connects with her audience on many levels,” said PAS Director Ronna Kalish. “Her voice is mesmerizing, and her songs stay with her audiences long after she leaves the stage.

“We are hoping that visitors to Socorro for the Civil War Re-enactment and Science Olympiad will join us for an evening of entertainment the entire family can enjoy,” said Kalish.

Since Ryan’s acclaimed seven-year tenure as lead singer of Cherish the Ladies, the Detroit native has earned a reputation as one of Celtic music’s most popular and enduring singer-songwriters.

A review in the Boston Globe praised Ryan as a “thrilling traditional vocalist whose honey-pure soprano is equally at home on probing original ballads about a woman’s place in the modern world.”

Ryan has released four critically acclaimed CDs on Shanachie Records, including “Cathie Ryan,” “The Music of What Happens,” “Somewhere Along the Road,” and her latest, “The Farthest Wave.” She also is featured on more than 40 compilations of Celtic music.

Ryan has performed on national and public television in the U.S. and Europe, and she has accrued accolades from both sides of the Atlantic, including being named “Irish Female Vocalist of the Decade” by Chicago’s Irish American News.

Backing her are two excellent and versatile musicians — Patrick Mangan on fiddle and Patsy O’Brien on guitar, banjo and vocals.

Mangan, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., has twice earned the all-Ireland fiddle championship. At 16, he was invited to appear in “Riverdance” on Broadway, becoming the youngest fiddle player in the show’s history.

Since that auspicious beginning, Mangan went on to dazzle audiences across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Germany, France, South Africa, Japan, China, and Taiwan as the show’s featured soloist.

He is on break from “Riverdance” to tour as a member of the Cathie Ryan Band.

O’Brien was born in County Cork in Northern Ireland, and has performed in clubs throughout his native country. He then took his music to the U.S., where his songs began to win awards and acclaim, including a feature on NPR’s “All Songs Considered.”

O’Brien’s playing ranges from driving rhythm to delicate and melodic finger picking. He has performed with The Cathie Ryan Band for the past five years, and his interpretive skill and great wealth of talent shine out in Ryan’s concerts.

Sponsors for this performance are the New Mexico Tech Graduate Student Association, Socorro Springs Restaurant and Brewery, SAIC, Holiday Inn Express, KUNM 89.9 FM and Dr. Robert and Kathy Markwell.

Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for senior citizens 65 and over, and $8 for youths 17 and under, and are available in Socorro at the N.M. Tech Cashier’s Office (second floor of Fidel Center), Brownbilt Shoes and Western Wear, Burrito Tyme Drive-up, over the phone at 575-835-5688, or at the door.