OK...  It's 2 days post County Commissioners' ruling.  I'm sitting here at 9:00 a.m., drinking a cup of tea and contemplating life...  the curve balls that are thrown...  etc.

It was suggested that I write about what my family and my neighbors have been through for about the past three years.  So....

We have lived in our home since December 1993. We relocated to New Mexico from Maryland. A company out here, Southwest Radiographics, recruited my husband for an engineering position here in New Mexico and they made him an offer that would have been foolish to refuse. So, we packed up the house & moved.

In our time in this home, neighbors came & went.  Roy & Yvonne owned the property below us; followed by a couple with kids who were there about a month; followed by Steve & Shirley; and then, the current neighbors - Dorothea & Andrew. The property across from us, which is currently owned by Mike & Cindy, was formerly owned by an Englishman & his wife, whose name escapes me now.

Anyway, back in 2008, Steve & Shirley divorced and put the house up for sale.  They let the home go for a song just to be rid of it. Dorothea & Andrew purchased it and moved in. Shortly after they moved in, a party was held down there and someone in the neighborhood called the Sheriff because it was after midnight and it truly sounded like there was a live band with amplifiers playing. No idea who called but I was so glad they did as the next day was a work day. That should have been a warning as to what was coming down the pike, but who would have thought it?  I certainly didn't.

Fast forward to 2010...  the neighbors got a couple of donkeys to keep as pets. The pair of donkeys were pretty quiet and they were kept in the former corral & run in barn in which Roy & Yvonne kept her horse, Capitan. Life was good.  I'd share veggies out of the garden with them: zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes....  They told us of the plans they had for the donkeys, using them for packing, etc.  The animals are interesting critters and we were pleased to make their acquaintance. Life was good...  All were happy: us, them, other neighbors, dogs, and donkeys.

Go to 2011.  In 2011, Dorothea & Andrew took in a small herd of 11 or 12 donkeys. They took them in as a donkey rescue was shutting down and they had no place to go. Now then, donkeys kept in small groups of 1 or 2 are pretty quiet but when you start bringing in herds, the noise level rises and it's quite a dramatic rise.  Rob & I approached and spoke to Andrew at our fence line about the noise. To soften the blow of our complaint, garden gifts were presented. We expressed our concerns and we were assured that it was "only temporary and that when they were gone, there would be no others."  OK...  Rob & I discussed it later and decided that as long as it was "temporary" we would just live with the noise and lack of sleep. After all, they were helping out and no one wants to see animals suffer. So, we sucked it up.

For all of 2011, we wondered when the donkeys would be gone so we could get some sleep. We didn't realize that as donkeys left, others were replacing them. Then, they got in a male named Rocky.  At least, I think that was his name.  That animal was so loud!  He sounded like the submarine dive klaxxon you hear in the old war movies.  Rob & I spoke to Andrew over the fence about him and we were assured that he would be gone soon.

Come 2012, Rocky was gone but the donkeys were still there. One weekend, we noticed that the neighbors were having a yard sale. Rob & I stopped to see what they had. Most of the stuff I wasn't interested in but I got some painted wine glasses and empty picture frames.  One always needs picture frames.  While looking around, we couldn't help but notice the two large piles of manure on the south side of the house, near the shed that the former residents had built there. The piles were huge, I'm talking something like 10 feet tall, each.  Even more distressing, Andrew & Dorothea announced to us that they were going to be placing donkeys as a donkey rescue. The "temporary" situation had turned permanent.

At this time, I still did not know that other neighbors had issues with the donkeys, until I ran into Angela at the mailboxes at the foot of the hill. We started chatting and, come to find out, Angela & Gary, who are up the hill from me were not happy about the donkey rescue either. Angela made some calls, I made some calls, and then we put our heads together to see what we could do. A call was made to Bernalillo County Environmental Health about the manure piles and an inspector came out.  Reports were filed and the neighbors were given a couple of months to clean up the place. The neighbors filed an extension as they were unable to clean up the property by the end of October. The extension gave them an additional 30 days, and then, another extension was filed giving them until the spring because of weather.



, and others on the other side of the valley on Log Cabin Lane were having their own issues with the noise, the manure, flies and odors.

The Final Chapter?

I'm hoping that last night was the final chapter in the sad, sordid drama which has rendered this neighborhood.  People who used to call each other friends, now do not speak or worse, they lie about those with whom the disagree. It's a sad, sad day.  But, perhaps, we are looking at the final chapter in this drama.

Nearly three years ago, the neighbors decided that they were going to operate a donkey rescue.  Last night, the case was presented to the Bernalillo County Commissioners.

It was an interesting proceeding. The Order of Presentation was, as follows:

1. Staff presentation - 5 minutes
2. Appellants presentation - 25 minutes
3. Opponent(s) presentation - 30 minutes
4. Appellant's summation or rebuttal - 5 minutes
5. Appellant's and opponent's questions - 5 minutes (moderated by the Chair)
6. Staff closure - 2 minutes
7. Board discussion and questions
8. Action

Nick Hamm, the Zoning Commissioner who made the initial ruling, informed the Commissioners that the 20% rule was applicable based upon a petition from the opposition. The 20% rule is an interesting thing and, to tell you the truth, I'm not exactly sure how it works. Zoning has a formula to determine if those signing the petition make enough of a force to make the rule applicable. The only ones who can sign the Petition of Opposition are those whose homes are either within 100 feet or abutting the land seeking the zoning change. In addition to the petition, a print out of the Zoning map for those properties needs to be submitted with it and on that plat, the signatories need to be indicated on the plats of land that they occupy. Of the 8 plats of land that fit the criteria, 6 signed the petition.  What application of the 20% rule does is require that a "super majority" of the Commissioners vote to overturn the decision of the Board of Adjustment.  In other words, to overturn the previous decision of denying the conditional use permit, 4 of the Commissioners were needed to vote FOR the appellants.

For more info on the 20% rule, click here!

The vote was taken and the Commissioners in a 4 -1 ballot  voted against granting the neighbors a conditional use permit. The vote was based upon testimony that has been presented at zoning meetings, in letters, in front of the Board of Adjustment, and that which was stated last night.

Hopefully now, the neighborhood can begin to heal.

HSUS: Bad to the Bone...

I'm a member of the Pet-Law email list. I get many depressing e-mails by way of this list, emails that point out how much the animal rights activists are fighting anyone and everyone who makes a living working with animals; anyone & everyone who raises animals; and anyone & everyone who owns animals.  

Normally, I don't pass on ag related emails but this one is important as it shows how the animal rights zealots, such as Humane Society of the US (HSUS), Animal Protection New Mexico (APNM), and Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM USA), among others, impact our lives with their duplicity and lies.  How they use their minions in the mainstream media to distort & promote their agenda, which is to promote animals above all others, regardless of cost, and to destroy animal ownership.  These people lie when they say they are "for the animals".  After all, don't forget it was Wayne Pacelle who said with regard to domestic animals, "One generation and out..."

For instance, the article says distinguished professor but actually AR to the bone! Rather misleading!

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2014/01/usda-pulls-meat-inspectors-to-shut-nj-veal-slaughter-after-video-shows-inhumane-practices/

January 28, 2014

Slaughter Plant Closes After HSUS Video Prompts USDA Inspectors to Leave By Dan Flynn

A New Jersey company involved in the veal and lamb business for more than 65 years was forced to shut down last Friday when USDA inspectors left the building because of alleged inhumane practices going on inside.

At least two egregious violations of federal humane handling requirements documented on a video obtained by the Humane Society of the United States (HBUS) were enough for USDA to shut down the Catelli Brothers, Inc., veal slaughter plant in Shrewsbury, NJ.

In another in a series of undercover investigations, the HSUS video depicts unconscious but living calves, one disabled and being dragged and another one on a faulty “kill” line.

Catelli Brothers, headquartered in Collingswood, NJ, outside Philadelphia, is one of the largest veal and lamb producers in the country. After being provided with a video copy and a complaint from HSUS, USDA opted to suspend the company’s operations by removing all federal meat inspectors from the slaughterhouse.

HSUS praised USDA’s action in ......

Bernie Rollin, distinguished professor of animal science at Colorado State University, wrote after watching the video at HSUS’s request, that “of all the atrocity videos I have viewed, the current video of the slaughterhouse at Catelli Brothers must be ranked among the three worst.” He called for the plant to be “closed down immediately.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So who is Bernard Rollin?

Bernard E. Rollin is an American philosopher, currently professor of philosophy, animal sciences, and biomedical sciences at Colorado State University.[1]

Rollin specializes in animal rights and the philosophy of consciousness, and is the author of a number of influential books in the field, including Animal Rights and Human Morality (1981), The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Scientific Change (1988), Farm Animal Welfare (1995), and Science and Ethics (2006). He is also co-editor of the two-volume, The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research (1989 and 1995). He published his memoir in 2011, Putting the Horse Before Descartes.[1]

In response to the article, I posted the following comment.  Last I heard, it was awaiting approval from the moderator.  Let's see if it gets published.

"You neglect to give references or credentials for Bernard Rollin. 

Bernard E. Rollin is an American philosopher, currently professor of philosophy, animal sciences, and biomedical sciences at Colorado State University.  He specializes in animal rights and the philosophy of consciousness, and is the author of a number of influential books in the field, including Animal Rights and Human Morality (1981), The Unheeded Cry: Animal Consciousness, Animal Pain and Scientific Change (1988), Farm Animal Welfare (1995), and Science and Ethics (2006). He is also co-editor of the two-volume, The Experimental Animal in Biomedical Research (1989 and 1995). He published his memoir in 2011, Putting the Horse Before Descartes. 

If you are going to present someone as "distinguished" and as a source, you really need to give the full story.  Mr. Rollin is NOT an unbiased source, as you would have some believe."

Something is really wrong in Denmark when a zealot organization, which has been linked to domestic terrorism, has such an impact in our lives.  How much impact?  Let's not forget, that under this current administration, the USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) is populated by HSUS shills in the guise of Sarah L. Conant and others.

The Dog Press has a good article up re: the power of HSUS and how much its tentacles have infiltrated everywhere.  I suggest y'all read it.

http://www.thedogpress.com/SideEffects/HSUS-Political-Power-Revealed-132.asp

It is long past time for us to take back our animal ownership rights and long past time to fight. 

Will you help me?  Will you stand by my side?

An Honor...

I have been honored.  Not by a politician; not by some public authority.  I have been honored by the men of the USS Joseph Hewes, DE 1078.

Sometime during the summer of 2013, a couple of the Joey Boat men started calling me, "The Admiral".  My guess was that it was a joke because of my direct, 'damn the torpedoes' nature.  I mean, I'm a wife, my long suffering hubby says I give good orders.  To quote Popeye, "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam."

The other night, on a Facebook forum The Destroyer Escort Sailors Association, I posted some pictures from my pop's ship during World War 2 - the USS Rinehard DE-196.  The sailors there commented on the photos, enhanced the photos, but other than those from the Joey Boat, none knew me.  So, an introduction was made and so were the usual comments & banter.  Then, Eddie Pete said something I really didn't expect.  Eddie Pete said that I was one of them.

I am truly honored and blessed to know these men.  Truly honored...

Love you guys....  God bless.