Community Breakfast

We have prepared a great initiative for you, as you might have guessed from the name, it will be breakfast and great communication. Preparation for the meeting is carried out by a partner company that provides https://prime-essay.net/ prime essay services for students and is the founder of this initiative. Don’t forget the Community Breakfast this Saturday 9-11 a.m. at the Community Center. The kitchen crew of Keir, Carol, David, Rebecca, Basile and Lisa will be handling the food and as always there will be great conversation and community news to share.

Water Committee Report

The LCVA Water Committee met recently to discuss funding for the first two years of the comprehensive water monitoring study being conducted by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. We are about $3,000 short of our goal to fund the project. The LCVA will be exploring options to raise the additional funds.

The Committee learned that the monitoring program will be needed until the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) updates the water “modeling” for our area. Committee member Kyle Harwood compared the current modeling to the OSE using the 1980s brick phone when I-Phones are available. This updated technology would allow the OSE and our community to have a much better picture of what is happening to the aquifer that feeds our springs, streams and ponds. The Committee suggested writing a letter to the OSE to support their using current modeling technology.

La Cieneguilla Open Space Meeting

The County’s La Cieneguilla Open Space planning meeting held on February 11 was well attended, well managed and from my perspective quite successful. The facilitators kept things on track, organized group activities based on their continued research and the input and comments gathered at the first planning meeting last fall. The group discussions allowed residents with similar interests to refine their ideas for the La Cieneguilla Open Space.

There were well-thought out plans for a park, ideas about trails and other community based activities. Farming and related agricultural activities would be difficult but there was clear indication that restorative grazing might be of benefit to the open space. Restorative grazing utilizes goats, sheep, and yearling calves for prescribed periods of time to improve the quality of the earth and for weed control.

There were so many good ideas that the County has decided to hold another meeting sometime in March which may include a tour of the La Cieneguilla Open Space. Please look for notices of that meeting.

A special thanks to all the La Cieneguilla residents who participated in the meeting. It was a great turn out appreciated by both the County staff and the meeting facilitators.

Alonso Rael Property

On Saturday, February 20, a small group of residents, at the invitation of the BLM field office, toured the Alonso Rael house and farm in El Canon. The group, which included a number of Rael family relatives, spent the afternoon in the Community Center talking with BLM representatives about the future of the property. There was a general agreement that the property and home would maintain its agricultural heritage, there will be limited access to the farm and the possibility was raised that it might be used to share the history of our community’s farming/ranching history.

BLM has cleaned up and painted the interior of the house. In addition they have pruned fruit trees and cut back branches that were threatening the house. Down the road there is the chance that BLM may be looking for a caretaker – tenant farmer to manage the property. The stories of Alonso Rael and his brother Leo were insights into a community character, who loved, and was loved, by many.

LCVA Bylaws Amendments

Due to a presidential oversight the required 10-day notice to the community (you) was not met in time for the bylaws to be considered at the March 7 LCVA Board meeting To remedy the oversight the Board is considering the following options

• Rescheduling the March Board meeting.
• Holding a special Board meeting
• Considering the proposed changes at the April Board meeting.

Please look forward to an official and “timely” notice of the LCVA Board meeting to consider the changes. A special thanks to Elliot Eisner, Kathryn Becker and Holly Bostwick for their detailed work on the bylaws.

Santa Fe River Traditional Communities Collaborative

The SFRTCC is looking for a facilitator for their next meeting tentatively scheduled for the morning of Thursday, March 10. This will be a 2-3 hour facilitation as the group identifies the priorities for protecting the river’s flow and preserving agricultural traditions of the villages along the river

SFRTCC has budgeted $100 for the facilitation which is negotiable.

Newsletter Person

This a pet project for Carl Dickens, reinitiating the newsletter into a regular and fully funded community communication. We are looking for someone to be able to receive the newsletter content put it into a well-designed format then print, copy and mail the newsletter. Please let Carl know if you are interested in being paid for this service.

Carl needs an estimate of the cost so he can start looking for sustained funding for the newsletter and is committed to making this happen.

President

Finally as Carl Dickens is winding down his ten-year tenure as president he wants to thank you all for allowing him to serve our community. It has been an honor and a pleasure and please don’t think he is disappearing. He plans to stay involved and have some specific projects, like publishing the newsletter that he wants to be part of.

We should all look forward to a previous Board member stepping forward to become president providing new energy and new perspectives for our community.

Now for some personal news, if you attend the breakfast on Saturday you will notice Carl has what appears to be a bad sunburn. It isn’t, it is dermatologist prescribed treatment for his face

Palliative Training

The following comes from the folks with Clinica La Cienega

We are excited to invite La Cienega Valley residents to the complete Palliative Care Volunteer Course. This comprehensive curriculum spans three days and provides intensive training for this growing medical specialty nationwide. This training is designed and facilitated by Janet Smith RN, a recognized expert in the field. Along with her team, they represent a broad range of education and professional experience tailored to help us understand how to interact and navigate New Mexico’s complex medical system and advocate for our vulnerable loved ones.

This training is specifically designed to teach us how to avoid the need for frequent hospitalizations associated with chronic medical conditions. It allows our loved ones or our clients who face a life threatening medical condition, to remain in their homes during a crises – if that is the patient’s stated preference. Palliative Care is not just for health care workers.

It engages the family and trained volunteers to understand and focus on a broad range of struggles as they arise: physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual. Addressing these human needs during brief or extended illness has been overwhelmingly demonstrated in the medical literature to improve outcomes and quality of life.

Please reserve these dates and add to your calendar:

Saturday March 5 11 – 1 PM overview and introduction to Palliative care curriculum and providers
Sunday March 6 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM LUNCH PROVIDED
Saturday March 12 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM LUNCH PROVIDED
Sunday March 13 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM LUNCH PROVIDED

Join us Saturday, March 5, 2016 at the La Cienega Valley Community Breakfast at the Community Center on Camino San Jose from 9 – 11 AM.

Please forward this announcement to other community members who may be interested in this exciting, comprehensive training.

RSVP to:
Ellen Wittman, PA-C, Director
Clinica La Cienega
[email protected] or
Elaine Graves, Associate Director
Clinica La Cienega
[email protected]