Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 27

METRO NEW MEXICO D2 A LBUQUERQUE OURNAL ATURDAY ARCH 3,2007 Elections May Be Held Together races. Less than 1percent of eligible voters in Santa Fe elected three school board members in February. Less than 4percent of eligible voters elected three board members in Moriarty a sad state of affairs that voters do not pay a lot of attention to school board Sanderoff said. People turn out to vote in higher numbers only when angry and want change, he said. Albuquerque school board member Robert Lucero said he noticed a spike in voter turnout after the school district fired former Superintendent Brad Allison in 2002 and hired four superintendents to replace him.

People were upset and wanted change, he said. In the 2003 school board election, voter turnout reached 17percent, according to the Bernalillo County office. things are going fine and there are no real issues out there, people stay Lucero said. RAFFIC WATCH Rainbow These road construction projects could affect daily commutes in Albuquer que this week. Pr ojects marked on the map are either long-term or high impact for a shor period of time.

For more information call 242-road (242-7623) For information on I-25 or I-40 projects, call 1-877-i40-GRIP (1-877-440-4747) 528 448 Gibson Lomas Indian School Menaul Candelaria Comanche Montgomery Spain Academy San Antonio Paseo del Norte University Ventura Holbr ook Tennyson Jefferson San Mateo Tramway Southern Golf Course Ellison Ir ving Tr amway Juan abo Eubank Wyoming Louisiana San Mateo Carlisle City of Albuquerque Construction Gun Club Blake Griegos Candelaria Ellison Osuna 25 Sunpor CORRALES 25 40 40 Universe 2 miles Dennis Chavez Pajarito Raymac Los Padillas Paseo del Norte Unser State of New Mexico Constr uction Drug Futur Uncertain EFF ROCTOR Journal Staff Writer Government moneyfor a private treatment program for chronic drug offenders may be drying up. Second Chance, which uses massage, natural diet, saunas and other methods to detoxify and rehabilitate nonviolent drug offenders was billed as a new approach to long-term treatment in a lockup. A bill in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee asks the Legislature for to treat 256 offenders for an average of seven months each during the next year at Second Chance. But sponsor Rep. Anna Crook, R- Clovis, said not confident the program will get what after.

always hope, but not optimistic get the full Crook said. do hope for some funding because this is such a worthy project and a way to save money without building more Former 2nd Judicial Chief District Judge John Brennan, a consultant for Second Chance, said there are no for the program if it get the state money it is asking for. want to concentrate on state penitentiaries and he said. Crook amended the bill to pave the way for the University of New Mexico to administer any money appropriated to Second Chance. A UNM spokeswoman said the Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions handle the allocated to Second Chance.

Dr. William Miller of CASAA said the center heard about being involved. (the university) has plans for this, they told Miller said. doubt we would want to be fiscal agents for Second Chance because the treatment methods they say using have absolutely no basis in After hearing comments, UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said: (the money) go through CASAA, find someplace else CASAA was just a Albuquerque attorney Robert Desiderio, a paid lobbyist for Second Chance, said plans are in the works to have Institute for Public Research administer some state money if appropriated for a study on the program. UNM Regent Raymond Sanchez, law partner, is also registered as a lobbyist for Second Chance.

He referred questions to Desiderio. Desiderio said posts on the Board of Regents and as a lobbyist for Second Chance are not a conflict of interest. Sanchez has made full disclosure to UNM, so no he said. Since opening in September, Second Chance has been supported by a $350,000 federal grant and private donations, said Desiderio, a former dean of the UNM School of Law. Desiderio said the grant has paid for operational costs, including 65 staff members.

Private donations, primarily from one donor, have covered facility costs, he said. Desiderio would not provide operations or facility budgets. Private program uses non-tr aditional methods of tr eatment Fixes May Shorten Jefferson-Paseo Wait ARKED ON NORTHBOUND JEFFERSON AT PASEO: Donna called to report that it now takes 20 minutes to get through this intersection between 3 and 4 p.m. Did someone monkey with the signal timing? City public information officer Mark Motsko got the scoop from Michael Riordan, deputy director for the Department of Municipal Development. He says del Norte between Jefferson and I-25 is over capacity during rush hour.

A design is currently being conducted to address the traffic within this area, which will include a new interchange at Paseo del Norte and I-25 as well as a grade separation at Paseo del Norte and FYI, that means real relief is a flyover which is $110 million to $160 million and four to six years away, Donna. Riordan says the interim, the city reviewed the signal operation at the intersection of Jefferson and Paseo del Norte and revised it in order to minimize overall delays as much as possible. the green time allocated to the northbound movements was not reduced, we have increased the green time for higher-volume traffic in the westbound direction that was beginning to encroach back to the interstate and needed to be addressed. By increasing the westbound green time, the northbound traffic does have a bit longer in between green cycles, but the green time is still the same as it has been in the past. Overall the revised timings have decreased delay at the AND IN NEED OF PUPPY TRACKS: Eugene Walter called to say the turn from the northbound Interstate 25 exit ramp onto westbound Paseo del Norte and the turn from eastbound Paseo onto the southbound on-ramp are in desperate need of stripes.

In the traffic engineering world, those dotted lines that help you maintain your lane through an intersection are called puppy tracks. And this week Phil Gallegos, public information officer for the New Mexico Department of Transportation, says Eugene have read my mind. I had just spoken with our traffic engineer about the puppy tracks at Paseo del Norte. They are in need of re-striping and have been scheduled for such as soon as possible with temperatures permitting. this time we are just going to use paint for the striping, because we have a project ongoing on the frontage roads in this area.

Part of the project requires the use of thermoplastic markings (heavy arrows that last longer), and it will be applied to the intersections at the end of the Eugene also wanted to know how often the busy intersections where stripes wear out are inspected. Gallegos says of our maintenance personnel periodically report on issues such as BUCKLE UP PRIMER: The annual two-day Buckle Up New Mexico Conference starts Wednesday at the Sandia Resort. Sponsored by the New Mexico Department of Traffic Safety Bureauand hosted by Safer New Mexico, it brings child-passenger safety advocates together to go over current technical info and best- practice issues in child- passenger safety. The 160 experts registered from around the state and representing professions from law enforcement to health care will hear from featured speakers on a variety of child passenger safety topics. For more info on child- passenger safety, call Safer New Mexico Now, (800) 231-6145.

Journal editorial writer Westphal tackles commuter issues for West Siders on Tuesdays and the rest of the Metro area on Saturdays. Reach her at 823-3858 (phone), 823-3994 (fax), (e-mail) or P.O. Drawer Albuquerque, NM 87103. Check out previous columns at abqjournal.com/traffic. WESTPHAL Of the Journal Road Wa rrior from PAGE D1 and believe Sgt.

(George) testimony to the effect that Trevor-Smith has a poor reputation for truth and the ruling said. After seeing witnesses on the stand, Black wrote, he was persuaded by the statement he would never again be an affi- ant in a case where Trevor- Smith was the basis of the Trevor-Smith testified that it was so warm at 7 a.m. that he had two air conditioners running in his car, a statement Black found after finding convincing evidence that the Gallup temperature at that hour was 37 degrees. The judge doubted other testimony as well. Trevor-Smith did not stop Variste for an actual traffic violation, Black concluded.

stop was based upon inarticu- lable hunch, and was conducted for the sole purpose of again looking in the trailer. Therefore it violated the Fourth his ruling said. A phone call to Trevor- Smith was returned by Sgt. Williams, the department spokesman, who said the department was looking into the incident. Barring of Seized Pot Delays Trial from PAGE D1 PREPARING FOR BATTLE GREG From left, Josh Young, Jon Kidd, Christine Ferguson and Kevin Wright of 2 Be Announced practice in garage on Friday in preparation for Battle of the Bands in Rio Rancho.

Journal Staff Report Albuquerque Public Schools issued about 9,000 checks this year with the wrong signature, but employees have been able to deposit them anyway, the district said. The checks bore the signature of Michael Vigil, a former business officer who left the district after a drunken-driving arrest. The only employees likely to have noticed the wrong signature were those who get paper checks, rather than direct deposit notices. About 3,000 of the 12,000 workers get the paper checks, and three pay periods had the wrong signature Jan. 5, Jan.

19 and Feb. 2. District spokesman Joseph Escobedo said printing software was responsible for the mistake. Vi name was accidentally included on the checks when the software was updated around the first of the year. The district contacted local banks, which said they would accept the checks, Escobedo said.

also launched an investigation into how this happened and took action to correct the he said. Vi signature has been deleted from the computer system, and employees now check to ensure the right signature is being used, Escobedo said. Vigil resigned in April 2006 after a 15-year career He had pleaded no contest to a drunken- driving charge several months earlier. 9,000 APS Paychecks Had Vi gil Signature W. Mesa Student Fatally Stabbed Journal Staff Report West Mesa High student and former basketball standout Joshua Bean, 18, was stabbed to death late Thursday night after a fight at an Albuquerque apartment complex.

brother, Horace Bean, was stabbed multiple times, as was Paul Dickens, according to city police. Both were taken to University of New Mexico Hospital, police said. Horace Bean was initially reported to be in critical condition. Dickens was discharged Friday, Mustangs coach Shonn Schroer said Friday. The suspect, Dario Fabian Mirabal, 21, was charged with murder and two counts of aggravated battery, Metro Court records state.

An argument is believed to have led to the incident, which occurred about 11:50 p.m. Thursday in the 6500 block of Montgomery NE, Albuquerque police spokeswoman rish Hoffman said. Bean was dismissed from the basketball team in December after violating unspecified school rules. Dickens also was an athlete at West Mesa, playing football and basketball during his senior season last year. Schroer said he always liked Bean as a player, and the two continued their relationship even after playing days were over.

saw him just the other Shroer said. talked about how his life was going and what he wanted to do in the Schroer said Dickens just about every game for me the reality of this really sunk in, just like it for most of the players. A lot of them took the news pretty hard, but a healing process now. have to go through it From Journal Staff and Wire FARMINGTON A decision this week to shut down KOBF-TV has left the Four Corners area without a local television news broadcast. The NBC parent company, Minneapolis-based Hubbard Broadcasting shut down the news operation after Thursday broadcast.

The company also stopped producing its morn- ing cut-in from Roswell. the New Mexico market, national ad dollars really (have) not grown much in five or 10 KOBF-TV station manager Steve Henderson said. having to do more with less and be sharper this is a step to continue to do Mike Burgess, vice president and general manager for the KOB stations in Albuquerque, Farmington and Roswell said, just trying to centralize our news operation so we can cover the whole state Farmington and Roswell are not being abandoned, he said. a big story in Farmington or Roswell, there with my helicopter and satellite he said. Four Corners Loses Local TV News.