Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 1

0 St. Pius Clobbers Eldorado, 28-0: See Sports on Page 5 Uu i Bernalillo Placitas Rio Rancho Corrales Alameda Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Paradise Hills Taylor Ranch Bosque Farms Los Lunas Belen Ruling Denies Class Action For Valencia Landowners By Robert Rodriguez JOURNAL STAFF WRITER -t-f Vi i 9-s. a DEAN HANSON JOURNAL A front-end loader covers pipe to divert hot spring runoff into Jemez River north of Jemez Springs on NM 4. Soda Dam is in the background. District Judge William Deaton has ruled against a group of Valley Improvement Association members in their attempts to bring to trial a class-action lawsuit against the association.

Ten VIA members had filed a class-action lawsuit against the association over two years ago, asking for, among other things, the dissolution of the association and the return of yearly assessments paid by members. The VIA is a homeowners association with more than 30,000 members who own vacant lots or homes in the Rio Communities area just east of Belen. The plaintiffs claimed in their lawsuit that the VIA reduced the marketability of their land by not making significant improvements and had no plans in the foreseeable future to do so. A majority of the land owned by the plaintiffs is in two desolate subdivisions called Canyon del Rio and Rio del Oro. In order to bring the case to trial as a class-action suit, the plaintiffs had to show that the lawsuit was, in fact, worthy of such status and that they could represent the rest of the landowners in those two subdivisions.

In a 36-page ruling filed Thursday, Deaton said the lawsuit was not an appropriate class action and that the 'plaintiffs were not adequate representatives of the class. "Because of the disparate interests of the members of the proposed class, the direct antagonisms between major sections of the proposed class, the complexity and scope of the allegations of the complaint, and the multiplicity of the forms of relief prayed for and their differing and unwanted impact on VIA's members, this case is not manageable as a class action," the judge said in his decision. Deaton came down particularly hard on three of the plaintiffs, Yates Exploration Cibola Energy Corp. and Roger Eaton. Harvey E.

Yates, who was dropped earlier in the lawsuit as a plaintiff, is the principal stockholder and president of Cibola. He also wholly owns Yates Exploration. Eaton, an attorney, also represented plaintiff Mary Messec. He was also former counsel for the Horizon Corp. Eaton and Yates split the cost of the lawsuit.

In his decision, Deaton said Yates and Eaton were themselves subject to civil liability from the association's members, because of their role in failing to MORE: See CLASS ACTION on Page 2 Keeps prings Along NM 4 esign By Donna Jones JOURNAL STAFF WRITER other two boil from the surface. "Everyone should be happy," he said. A guard rail will be added to protect visitors who dip their toes in the water. Lou Steinmasel, publisher of the Jemez Valley Voice, said the springs were important to the area's economy. "It's beneficial to the area because tourists use the spring to soak calluses from their feet.

The way things are now, we don't need anything depleting the tourist flow. The economy depends on it But Hasenohr said the small springs at the side of the road were minor in comparison to the abundance of hot springs in the area. "Even if they were redirected, I don't think it would be any great loss." filled with chunks of rock. Similar deposits of calcium carbonate formed Soda Dam, said Eastern University of New Mexico geology professor Ed Hasenohr. The dam arches about 300 feet long some 50 feet above the Jemez River.

"It's travertine," he said. He and several students were visiting the area Friday to study the volcanic rock in the Valles Caldera just north of here. Original highway plans would have all the springs along the road, but district engineer Don Arp said protests from the area resulted in saving three springs that flow still warm under the road to the river. Hot water gurgles from a crack down two lichen-covered trails on a 6-foot rock above the ground, while the beaches at ocean shores, lined a ditch Friday that spanned about 100 feet near the naturally formed Soda Dam. A non-corrosive corrugated metal pipe will channel the geothermal waters away from the road.

Card said the $1 million project, which also will widen shoulders 3 feet on either side of NM 4 for three miles, should be finished in about two months, before snow covers the popular tourist site. One lane of th road will remain open until the project is completed, he added. The high mineral content of the water that creates rock deposits is responsible for buckling in the road, he said. A nearby 12-foot corroded pipe was -f EMEZ SPRINGS A special I I highway design will allow a some hot springs to bubble XJbJ along the west side of NM 4 near Soda Dam, while diverting others to stop highway erosion. State highway inspector Gary Card said Friday that the ground beneath the current 25-year-old road is a' network of springs that are warmed to about 160 degrees by the volcanic activity farther below the surface.

"New springs continue to pop up all the time," Card said. "Nothing can tear up a road faster." A black fabric, designed to protect Reward of $4,000 Offered in Valencia No Clues Found to Teen's Whereabouts By Ed Pierce Repaying Proceeds In Paradise By Michael Hartranft JOURNAL STAFF WRITER PARADISE HILLS Road con-struction crews are more than a month into a street paving and improvement project, and are looking at an early December completion date. The work is being done through a special assessment district approved by the Bernalillo County Commission this summer. About 40 residential streets will be repaved. In addition, Paradise and Irving boulevards will be improved.

Hector Perez, project manager for contractor Wylie said the work has been under way since mid-August. He estimated about 15 MORE: See PARADISE on Page 6 Kr 5M I If I 1 A I J-U i i (V I it JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT BELEN A reward of $4,000 has been posted for information about the disappearance of a 19-year-old Belen student missing since Tuesday. Tara Calico, a sophomore at the University of New Mexico's Valencia campus, was last seen Tuesday morning riding a bicycle about four miles southeast of Rio Communities on NM 47. A bicycle water bottle was found Friday in the yard of a home a couple of streets away from where Calico lives, and at first it was thought to be hers, Valencia County Sheriff Lawrence Romero said. But it turned out she didn't have a bottle because she was riding her mother's bicycle, he said.

The only substantial clues found before Friday include a cassette tape identified as belonging to Calico which was found about 100 yards off NM 47. Bike tracks that could be from her pink Huffy 10-speed were beside the road there, along with vehicle tire tracks and an oil slick. Footprints led to what might have been the site of a scuffle, where the tape was found. Some bicycle tracks that were investigated late Friday in the bos-que in Belen turned out to be different from those along NM 47. JIM THOMPSON JOURNAL which was found by bloodhound belonging to Bill Bailey, right.

St. Pius Dedication Valencia Sheriff's Capt. Ray Flores holds water bottle, at first thought to be missing woman's, walked into the bank Friday morn- effort under the direction of the ance in investigative work, and an ing and added a $2,000 contribution Sheriff's Department to locate Cali- agent from the Albuquerque office to the reward money. co would continue, at least though was in Valencia County Friday. Romero said the total amount of the weekend.

Off-duty sheriff's deputies and reward money being offered may T. Npu; other voiunteers in four-whecl- Set Sunday Tara Calico Last seen Tuesday Nonetheless, officers looked nearby in case a bicycle had been dumped. Romero said Crimestoppers has posted a $1,000 reward for information about the case. Howard Kercheval, First National Bank of Belen assistant vice president and marketing director, said his bank also has put up a $1,000 reward and that a private citizen mcrease over the weekend. He also MexicQ Search and Rescue Team drive trucks, on horseback and on By Katherine Saltzstein uuicu uuu pulled out Thursday because of a toot continued to search hundreds pnone numoer, i-8uu-y-yi, nas iack of hard evidence and the heavy of square miles surrounding Rio JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT been established for tips in assis expenses of the search, he said.

MORE: See REWARD on Page 2 ting authorities. Romero said an all-volunteer Romero asked the FBI for assist- Memo Tells Officials To Clear Press Interviews By Virginia Mills RIO RANCHO Archbishop Robert Sanchez will dedicate St. Pius High School at its new location on St Joseph's Drive NW at 10 a.m. Sunday. The school moved in August from the site it occupied for 30 years on Louisiana NE to make way for office towers, a hotel and shops in the busy Uptown location.

Its new campus formerly was the University of Albuquerque, a Catholic college, which closed its doors in 1986. St. Pius has spent more than $5 million renovating old buildings and constructing new MORE: See ST. PIUS on Page 4 JOURNAL STAFF WRITER quoting city engineer Lowell Lester saying AMREP Southwest Inc. violated municipal law by installing a drainage system without city approval.

Lester wrote the Federal Housing Administration that day, claiming the story was misleading and asking the agency to disregard it. In the memo, Zander said, "An invrtant matter which must be adhered to is that all discussions with the press or any media should be cleared through the mayor or the temporary city administrator." Zander, who is out of town on vacation, could not be reached to comment on the notice. However, Councilor Henry Pacel-li, who in Zander's absence and the illness of Mayor Grover Nash is rv acting mayor pro tem, ques tioned the memo. "On a day-to-day basis in City Hall, I think the press has the right to talk to any employee," Pacelli said. "If there is an effort to suppress employees from talking to the media, I'm against it." Employees should have the discretion to determine whether a matter they are discussing with the press is (potentially libelous, in which case they should go the city administrator, Pacelli said.

Temporary administrator Hal Donovan said he has told employees they are free to talk to the press as long as he or the mayor is apprised after any information is released. "The way I've told the department MORE: See MEMO on Page 3 RIO RANCHO City department heads are expected to obtain clearance to talk to the press, according to a memo issued last week by Mayor Pro Tem Carl Zander. The memo went out the same day a fetro Plus article was published,.