Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 27

Albuquerque Journal NEW MEXICO Saturday, September 27, 1997 C3 ate Privatizing Roadtripim Move Eases Planning, Could Save Money believes the state can get a reasonable price for the equipment, which he said is in good condition. If the State Personnel Board approves the layoffs on Oct. 10, Roybal said, the striping jobs will be eliminated on Jan. 2. "When the decision was made, we notified our employees immediately," Roybal said.

"I feel extremely confident that we can place every one of these people." If a displaced employee finds a vacant position of interest that pays the same or less and they meet the minimum qualifications, they have "first right of refusal," Roybal said. That means they can get the job without an interview. He said there are many open positions in highway department's maintenance and equipment operations and that no new jobs will be created. "I don't know whether saving money, is the only thing in the overall scheme of things," said Lou Gallegos, the Governor's chief of staff. "You have to ask, what is it the private sector can do well.

"If they can do it as well or better for a good price, let them do it." Gallegos said the changes support small business and as competitive forces take over, the price will drop. "It's a small step for the highway department but it's a big step for small businesses," he said. However, Johnson said in a telephone interview Friday that he expects to save money. "Why do it if we're not going to save money?" the governor said. "That is something that would be reasonable right out of the chute, that was my understanding." "It's an area we feel we can privatize because we can plan so far ahead," said Benny Roybal, the highway department's deputy secretary of operations.

"We are already doing some (striping) privatization. We've done a lot around the Albuquerque area." The department will request bids on the operation from private businesses sometime in October, Roybal said. Each foot of striping done by the state costs about 4 cents to 4.5 cents a foot, said Steve Rodriguez, a state maintenance engineer. The state pays about 3.5 cents a foot for contractors in Albuquerque. Jobs outside the city cost about 4.5 cents a foot because the state pays for the transportation, Rodriguez said.

The state does about 12,000 miles of striping each year, he said. "Because we're doing this statewide I would expect the price to go down," Roybal said, of the expected economies of scale. "Of course I'm interested in saving money, that's my ultimate goal. "But because the (request for bids) hasn't gtme out yet it's hard for me to say it's going to save money." Roybal said there are "a lot of contractors around the country that do this kind of work." The state owns four striping machines that the private companies will be able to use, Roybal said. If they do, however, the state will expect a break the bill, he added.

"We would prefer a contractor come in with their own equipment," he said. The stripers, worth about $200,000 each, could be auctioned off, Roybal said. He By Chris Roberts Journal Capitol Bureau I SANTA FE The stripes down the mid-Idle of New Mexico's roads soon will be painted exclusively by private companies I as a part of Gov. Gary Johnson's effort to 'slim down state government and save mon-ey. i However, the effort at privatization, i which will eliminate the equivalent of 2212 jobs in the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department's signing oper-ation, may not save the state any money.

Wilson Considerim FESTIVAL PREPARATION Hurricane jNora Misses INew Mexico -Law Changes jy My Bv John Fleck Journal Staff Writer The remnants of Hurricane Nora largely bypassed New Mexico Friday after soaking parts of Arizona. forecasters had predicted heavy rain in the Four Corners area, but Nora steered farther west than expected, leaving a blanket of airborne moisture but very little rain over New Mexico's northwest corner. "About all we got were light rain-showers," said Charlie Liles, head of the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque. i --Parts of Arizona were hammered by tne storm, which dumped as much as 5 inches of rain in Wicken-bu'rg and flooded the tiny hamlet of Aguila in the western part of the sstate, according to The Associated Press. I Humidity from Nora did leave Wice the normal moisture in the air over the Four Corners, Liles said, 'but little of that moisture con-'densed into rain-producing clouds.

Nora posed a difficult problem Jfor forecasters, according to Liles. 'A Pacific hurricane reaching land North American continent is rare event, so there is little histo-Jry to refer to, he said. I In addition, while satellite pictures can show the general shape of storm, a lack of ground-based stations and weather balloon data in Mexico hampered to predict the storm's track, said. Police still could pick up the youngsters and hold them until their parents pick them up, she added. Wilson said that court rulings against local curfews also have involved constitutional issues, and this law change would not address those.

Among other changes Wilson may ask lawmakers to consider are those that would: Treat a youth as an adult on subsequent offenses if he or she already has been sentenced as an adult and committed to the Corrections Department. She said she has had three men, 18 and 19 years old, who served time at the New Mexico Boys' School at Springer for delinquent offenses after already serving time in adult prison. Forbid anyone 18 or older to be held in pretrial detention facilities intended for children. Some counties have held people as old as 20 or 21 in the children's detention area because they had violated parole on an old offense committed as a juvenile, Wilson said. Relieve the Children, Youth and Families Department of liability for criminal acts committed by foster parents.

The department has paid financial settlements in the past when children were abused after the department placed them with foster parents. "We will be liable for our own acts or omissions," she said of the proposal. Define abuse or neglect to say a child has been harmed or is at risk for harm. Wilson said she doesn't think such a change will reduce the department's caseloads, but it may screen out some cases that workers won't have to investigate. Wilson gave an example as "educational neglect" when parents don't get kids out to the school bus stop on time, but the kids are not likely to be harmed.

"I hope to shift (resources) from investigating to responding to actual abuse," she said. Gov. Would Have To Add Bills to List for Session By Jackie Jadrnak Journal Staff Writer SANTA FE Some changes in laws affecting delinquent or abused kids might surface in the next legislative session, but Heather Wilson has to get the OK from her boss first. Wilson, secretary of the Children, Youth and Families Department, has outlined a series of changes that she would like to see in state law, including registering juvenile sex offenders and paving the way for local curfew laws. She presented them this week to the interim legislative Courts, Corrections and Criminal Justice Committee.

"They all are initial ideas. They're not approved by anyone yet," Wilson said in an interview Friday. "They're things we are thinking about." Since the next legislative session is dedicated to budget issues and a few other items, Gov. Gary Johnson would have to add the bills Wilson is interested in to an official list of topics before the Legislature could consider them. Wilson said her idea to require juvenile sex offenders to register so the public would know where they are located likely would be the most controversial proposal on her list.

Another proposal would clear up language in state law that now appears to prevent local communities from enforcing curfew laws. Right now, state law says only juvenile courts can deal with children, and they can be sent there for delinquent offenses. Curfew violations are not included in those offenses, she said. A change in the law to let municipalities enforce ordinances such as curfews, as long as penalties don't involve imprisonment, could take care of that problem, she said. i Jim- JOSH STEPHENSONFOR THE JOURNAL Irvln Johly, right, ties off a rope as Alfred Crumbs helps raise a tent Thursday at 1-25 and Paseo del Norte for the 9th Annual Rio G'ande Arts and Crafts Festival In Albuquerque.

The festival Is the largest Juried art show In the state and will run Oct. 3-5 and Oct. 10-12 and will feature more than 200 artists from around the country as well as Official World Class Balloon Coins. Different artists will be featured each weekend. Organizers are hoping for a turnout of more than 55,000.

Businessman Faces Sex Charges Involving 15-Year-Old They took vacuum samples from the floor, the couch and the top of a pool table. Crimmins was summoned to the sheriffs office later that day, where he was arrested. He arrived at the station with a friend and immediately posted a $5,000 bond. He did not spend time in jail. Crimmins is charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration, a second-degree felony, and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a fourth-degree felony.

The prosecutor in the case is Assistant District Attorney RoxeAnne Matise of Alamogordo. Criminal sexual penetration is punishable by nine years in prison and a $10,000 fine for each offense. Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is punishable by 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Matise said she wished details of the case would not be released. "I don't want to have a change of venue because of publicity and news accounts," she said in an interview.

"I want to try him before an Otero County jury." Lee said Crimmins is "a prominent businessman and he takes part in a lot of community organizations." Mario Esparza of Las Cruces, the lawyer representing the alleged victim, has filed a civil suit against Crimmins on behalf of the girl, alleging unspecified actual and punitive damages. Through his attorneys, Crimmins pleaded innocent and waived a preliminary hearing in magistrate court. His case will now go before District Judge Frank K. Wilson, although District Judge Robert Doughty will probably handle the arraignment at 9 a.m. Monday.

"My best guess is that we'll go to trial sometime in January," Matise said. video tape on the television." Crimmins' daughter "passed out," and Crimmins went to Jane Doe and "pulled down her pajama bottoms and underwear" and performed a sex act. Jane Doe managed to push him away, and he "told her that he was sorry and not to tell anyone." According to the affidavit, Crimmins then "took her pajamas and underwear off and he performed sex acts on her. "Jane Doe stated that she kept telling him no and was crying," the report says, "but she just could not move because she was drunk." A search warrant for Crimmins' home was issued by magistrate court the morning after the alleged incident. An inventory shows investigators found a video cassette with six titles, including "Busty Cheerleaders," "Ginger Pie" and "More Dirty Talk." ed from returning to his home in Alamogor-do.

He could not be reached for comment. Crimmins' attorneys, Tom Overstreet of Alamogordo and Gary Mitchell of Ruidoso, declined to discuss the case. Crimmins is vice president of White Sands Construction Inc. in Alamogordo. The alleged incident occurred Aug.

3 at Crimmins' home, according to sheriffs office investigator Norbert Sanchez. An affidavit for an arrest warrant says the alleged victim, referred to as Jane Doe, told Sanchez that Crimmins "started giving them (Jane Doe and Crimmins' 15-year-old daughter) shots of several types of whiskeyalcohol." According to Sanchez's affidavit: Jane Doe and Crimmins' daughter "did drink enough alcohol that it made them buzzed." The defendant started showing "a rated JBy Fritz Thompson Journal Staff Writer ALAMOGORDO Prominent business- jman Dennis Crimmins faces arraignment in District Court on Monday, charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration involving a 15-year-old girl. Crimmins has denied wrongdoing. Otero County Sheriff John Lee says Crim- jmins has no criminal history. The sheriff said he has heard rumors of a possible cover-up, and vows there will not be one.

"We've heard rumors on the street that is going to be swept under the rug or covered up because of Crimmins' standing in the community' Lee said. "That's not going to happen. We'll treat this case just like we would treat any criminal case, no matter who's involved." 1 By court order, Crimmins, 36, is prohibit AROUND NEW MEXICO N.M. Top in Funds In Lieu of Taxes New Mexico will receive more than $11.1 million in 1997 Payments in Lieu of Taxes the highest amount in the United States, said Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. The U.S.

Bureau of Land Management distributes the payments to local governments each year. They are intended to offset the loss of tax revenue to states due caused by the presence of tax-exempt federal land in their jurisdictions. PILT funds help governments cover such services as fire and police departments, construction of schools and roads and for search and rescue operations, said BLM Director Pat Shea. are from Los Angeles. Alfred De Carolis, 40, of Las Vegas, a former Santa Fe resident, pleaded guilty to one count of commercial gambling and received a deferred sentence and 18 months' probation and was ordered to pay $200,000 in taxes, penalties, fines, interest and reimbursement for the cost of the investigation and prosecution, Attorney General Tom Udall said.

James Gordon O'Shea, 35, and Barbara Jean Patten, 31, both of Los Angeles, were each ordered to pay $17,340 in taxes, penalties, interest, fines and reimbursement. Michael Joseph McCarthy, 31, Wallace Nakano, 32, and Tsuyoshi Wells, all of Los Angeles, and Randall Jay Johnson, 38, of Santa Fe were ordered to pay income tax based on their earnings from the enterprise, Udall said. Nine people were arrested early Thursday in Carlsbad, while five others were picked up in Artesia. Charges lodged against those arrested included possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamines, distribution of marijuana, conspiracy, possession of crack cocaine and trafficking in cocaine. 7 Plead Guilty In Bookmaking Ring SANTA FE Seven members of a national sports bookmaking ring pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of accepting and placing bets on college and pro football and basketball from a Santa Fe residence.

The six men and one woman were arrested last January. Most money, will be used infrastructure items such as water lines, fire hydrants, natural gas lines, waste water mains, electricity and expansion of streets. Bingaman said the federal funds are coming from the Economic Development Administration under the U.S. Commerce Department. Bingaman said the city has proposed building the new park at an 85-acre site.

The park will help attract new businesses and jobs to Las Cruces, Bingaman said. 14 Suspects Held In Drug Operation More than a dozen people have been arrested in southeastern New Mexico in drug raids that law enforcement officers called Operation Short Sweep. pump water out of the free-flowing Animas River near Durango up into a reservoir that would be built above the city. From the reservoir, water could be released back down the Animas and into the drier La Plata river. The project has languished for decades, but in 1988 Congress tied construction of the project with settlement of water claims of the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute tribes.

Cruces Gets Funds For Industrial Park The city of Las Cruces will receive $565,000 in federal money to help it build an industrial park, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, said Friday. The federal funds, which will be matched by $376,000 in local Compiled from Journal wires $6 Million OK'd For Animas Project I Congress has approved $6 piillion for the embattled Animas-La Plata water project in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico, That's the amount requested by the Clinton administration. House and Senate conferees agreed on the figure earlier this week, although jthe future of the project remains cloudy. Supporters of the project are planning a meeting next Saturday fat McGee Park in Farmington to idiscuss a scaled-back version of the project they are now proposing.

The meeting is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The massive water project would.