Richardson pays visit to Grants
Residents present governor with varied local concerns

By Jim Tiffin
Staff Writer

GRANTS — Gov. Bill Richardson was in the neighborhood Tuesday afternoon; so, he decided to drop by Grants to hear from the residents of Cibola County.

"I am going to the rural parts of the state, the parts that don't get the attention the rest of the state does, to hear from you, what you want and need," he told about 180 people.

The Town Hall forum was held at the Cibola County complex at 515 W/ High St., and included local and state dignitaries.

The introduction by Grants Mayor Ron Ortiz was appreciative and praised Richardson for being in a position to help the people of New Mexico and specifically Cibola County.

"It's not election time, it's early, but I wanted to come here and hear from you what kinds of capital projects you need," Richardson said.

The state is doing well, revenues are up because of gas and oil income and there should be a higher dollar amount available for the state's rural counties for capital improvements next year, he said.

Cibola County is a huge county, it's sizable and the officials of the county and Grants are working together and that's good, he said.

Opening up the 45 minute meeting to questions and comments, Richardson said mining is coming back, pot ash, bedrock, gypsum and uranium mining are coming back but that the state needs to do it in an environmentally sound way.

Only a few people spoke and most did not give their names.

Veteran's benefits

One man, a veteran, said he wanted the state to increase benefits to veterans, such as tax incentives for food, free vehicle registration and free hunting and fishing licenses.

Richardson said he was proud to be the first governor in the United States to provide free life insurance to all 4,200 National Guardsmen in his state.

He said the legislature also passed a veteran's resident tax that has been in place for a couple of years.

"We need to not just honor our veterans and give speeches but do something to help them," Richardson said.

Larger libraryHenry Cabrera seemed to hit a positive note with Richardson and the crowd as he said Grants needs a bigger and better library.

"We need a larger facility for our library," Cabrera said.

Richardson asked how many books the library had and if the library had technological items like computers.

"We have about 10,00 books and yes it does have computers," Cabrera replied.

Richardson said Cabrera should work with his legislators to bring a specific proposal to him and he will work with them to see what can be done.

When he said he would see about getting some funding and asked if the rest of the people present felt the same way, the audience broke into a spontaneous applause resulting in a positive nod from Richardson and a smile.

Small communitiesRep. George Hanosh told Richardson that there are many small towns, villages and communities that need $10,000 to $20,000 in improvements, but that they do not have the administrators to write the grant requests.

"This year started off bad and we were told that any grant less than $50,000 would be vetoed," Hanosh said.

Richardson seemed surprised and interested in that comment.

TourismTourism was brought up and Richardson was asked what his vision for the future of tourism for Cibola County was.

"We have opened more dollars to advertise the state in the state," Richardson said. The state has advertised tourism for the Rio Grand corridor, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Taos out of state, but the rest of the state has not been advertised well for tourism, he said.

"We want to get New Mexicans driving in-state, maybe for a day or two and see the rest of the state," he said.

Richardson said the possibility of bike trails, and other tourist oriented projects is feasible, but someone has to bring him the proposals, and to be specific.

His message to the audience was the same: "Bring me a specific proposal through your state legislator and I will work with you."

JobsStar Gonzales-Elkins, executive director of the Grants-Cibola Chamber of Commerce asked that expansion of the El Segundo project not be left on someone's desk for a month, that that project and others that will bring hundreds of jobs to the area be fast tracked.

A man asked for Richardson to reconsider his position on drilling in Otero Mesa.

Richardson said he will not and disagrees with the man's statement that drilling needs to proceed rapidly.

"Oil and gas are doing very well in the state and the state has done well because of you," Richardson said, directing his comment troward the speaker.

"There are some parts of New Mexico that I believe should not be allowed to have unlimited drilling, and Otero Mesa is one of those," Richardson said.

"There is wildlife, and grasslands and our heritage there that needs to be protected.

"I want to see responsible drilling and some in your industry want to see unlimited drilling everywhere," Richardson said.

EducationA woman asked about education and commented that test scores and the achievement gap in Cibola County were not good.

"I've spent more time on education as governor than any other area," Richardson replied.

Teachers salaries have increased and the pay for bus drivers and others in school districts needs to be higher.

"We spend too many dollars on administration and not enough in the classroom" he said.

There is now a pre-kindergarten school for 3 and 4 year olds and an all day kindergarten, he said.

One of the major issues he will bring to the legislature in January will be higher wages for teachers and school employees, he said.

The local colleges need money too.

Richardson told the crowd, "I want people to go to schools in their own counties and get training for mining, high-tech, agriculture and eco-tourism.

"Branch colleges cannot do that if they are too small and one problem is that they received money based on their enrollment and not how many people graduate.

"Making schools better is a big part of the next session," he said.