La Cienega Valley Association

Protecting and preserving our acequia culture and agricultural traditions…

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LCVA News – October 30, 2014

Halloween and Harvest Festival

The Halloween and Harvest Festival Event was a huge community success and a measure of who we are as a community. A sincere thanks to the almost 280 residents who attended the event, it was a lot of fun. The LCVA and museum are already thinking about next year.

The following comes from Committee member and leader Carol Cooper who became the event coordinator and managed the volunteer efforts. We owe Carol a deep sense of appreciation and those of us, who were involved as volunteers, all recognized Linda Grill’s tireless work for the event. It seemed like there wasn’t a day that went by when Linda wasn’t involved in something that contributed to its success.

From Carol Cooper to the Committee

Greetings and cheers to all for your spirit and dedication to task (and fun). Sunday’s festival treated about 278 community residents, young and old – wow! A special thanks to El Rancho de las Golondrinas’ director Dawn St. George, and to Madeline, Sean, Dolores and the other folks behind the scene at the museum for welcoming and hosting this partnership. What a stunning setting for the day’s events.

Thanks, Ele Harwood. Your email summed it up, and a team it surely was! I echo that grateful feeling, and there certainly is ‘muscle’ in this lovely valley. Thanks to Carl for being at the helm and for absolute devotion to community (including a mad hot dog run). A big thanks to Linda for hosting the committee’s dinner meeting and caramel apple making, plus securing amazing donations (including grandson Joshua Gonzales’ fabulous flyer – please thank him).

To you, THE Halloween and Harvest Festival Committee – a big thank you for hosting the wildly successful kids’ activities; cooking and serving the food and treats; creating the harvest and altar offerings, and bake-off fun; for recruiting other volunteers, including your invaluable and significant others, Robert, Keir and Elliot; for decorating and cleaning up; for all other donations and of course, for doing it all in classy costumes. You individually and collectively are awesome!

MORE THANKS TO!
Iska Sargent for hosting pumpkin decorating and painting kids’ beautiful little faces;
Becky Dickens for hosting mask making;
Katherine Ranck for magical storytelling, and to
Ellie Dickens for bringing Katherine back;
La Cienega Fire Department for bringing the fire truck out, thanks to Linda;
Lisa and Robert Gosper-Espinosa for Squash Bakeoff judging;
Louise Williams for chair massages;
Elaine Graves for flyer distribution and food donations;
Carolyn Kavanagh for food supplies;
Ellen Wittman for health center information and all-around help;
Bob DeYoung for communication from and about the website and Nextdoor;
and to the LCVA Board for support of the project.
Silas Garcia for a sizeable donation
Sunrise Springs for buying the hot dogs and buns and to
Walmart for their donation and to New Mexico Algae and the many residents and friends who made financial contributions.

The amazing committee members included:

Carol Cooper, Linda Grill, Kathleen McCloud, Mary Dixon, Susan Reid, Mary Winter, Ele Harwood and Kathryn Becker. Yes it was an all-woman crew that pulled this event off. Congratulations to them all.

Community Breakfast

This Saturday, 9-11 at the Community Center is a time to gather with neighbors and friends. Please join us for breakfast burritos, great conversation and community updates. Keir, David and Basile will be manning the kitchen but we need volunteers for the set up and cleanup crews. Baked goods are always welcomed.

LCVA Issues and Concerns

A County water committee has proposed injecting treated waste water into the aquifer to address some of our area long-term water issues. What does this mean to our spring-fed communities?

The cost of Las Lagunitas creating a County Improvement District to connect the subdivision to the County’s waste water treatment system has gone from an original estimate of $1,000,000 to over $3,000,000. Can our community do anything to help bring that cost down?

There is a strong and stronger rumor that an individual will be making an offer to lease-purchase the county owned La Bajada Ranch that would include plans for a community farm, a strong conservation component and as a possible location for local businesses. What do you think?

The Santa Fe Airport has announced they will be creating a master plan for future development. What type of development and what impact to our community? And now that the community oriented airport manager has been fired, what does this mean?

Can the LCVA Board work with the United Communities of Santa Fe County to proactively address the County’s proposed zoning map that would have a devastating impact on our community?

Our community that has no established trails and could use a few. In fact the LCVA is requesting funding to develop a community master plan for trails. Where do you think trails would be of most benefit to residents and what if anything should they connect to?

These are some of the issues the LCVA Board will be addressing at their meeting this Monday, November 3.

Other Community News

Beginning with the November Board Meeting, a group working to establish a Low Cost No Cost Health Clinic in La Cienega, will be meeting from 6-7 p.m. at the community center, the night of the LCVA Board Meeting. Please join Ellen Wittman and her group if you are interested in bringing this great resource to our community.

After a five year run, The Flea is closing. Walt Borton, The Flea owner and operator tried a variety of different ways to make a go of it but in the end it just didn’t work. The LCVA would like to thank Walt for his effort and for his sustained support of our community.

Questions are periodically received about how to enforce community covenants especially from residents La Cieneguilla Neighborhood Association. Covenants can only be enforced through active neighborhood or homeowners associations with established boards and dues paying members like the La Lagunitas Homeowners Association. In the case of La Cieneguilla, at one time there was a neighborhood or homeowners association that could be reconstituted if residents in that area chose to do so. Absent an active association all land use decisions fall to the County which can allow for smaller lots and can approve variance requests..

Please don’t forget the annual Gretchen Dickens Blood Drive noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 16th at the community center. Gretchen was a child of the valley, who passed in 2003. The blood drive is in her memory and recognizes the benefit Gretchen received from transfusions during her illness. If you would like to donate please contact Carl Dickens or his former wife Becky Dickens.

Finally, a reminder to everyone to vote this coming Tuesday. This is your most important civic duty so please take advantage of this right. There is a rumor that the lack of campaigning in our area is a subtle attempt to diminish our voter turn-out. Don’t let that happen.