I Thursday, September 16, 2010 r ara (ount rhm Page 3 ] Marion Sena claims grid contest title Marion Sena of Fort Sumner used a 15-2 record for the week and captured the first-place prize in the De Baca County News football contest for the third week of the season. Sena was the lone contes- tant to reach the .882 win- ning percentage for the week and earned the $25 first prize without a tie-breaker challenge. He did have the Foxes winning against Capitan in the tie- breaker, 34-18, putting him 12 points from the actual score. The next two holes in the contest were the result of tie- breaker comparisons, however. Four contestants went 14-3 for the week; Richard Keever of Santa Fe, and Ezra Sena, Tom- my Roybal and Grace Roybal, all of Fort Sumner. All four also correctly predicted that the Foxes would defeat Capitan in the tie-break- er, forcing judges to consider point totals to break the dead- lock. Keever's 35-14 prediction was a mere seven points from the actual score, landing him the $15 second prize. Both Tommy and Grace Roybal had 20-point tie-breaker dif- ferentials, however, forcing them to split the $10 third prize. Tommy picked the Foxes 21-13, while Grace chose Fort Sumner, 27-7. Sena was just a point out of the money with a 21-14 predic- tion and a 21-point tie-breaker differential. Four contestants received honorable mention for the week with 13-4 records. They were Ben Segura of Raton, Helen Stinnett of Portales, Wynell Richards of Roswell and Sam Sena of Fort Sumner.  Please accept my hettrt felt thanks"  for all the prayers and support  during my recent stay in the  hospital I am home and doing welL Thank you and God Bless!  Small town papers thrc',atened by massive Postal Service hike Opinion By TOM MCDONALD New Mexico Press Association It's no secret that the nation has been riding out a deep recession for a couple of years now. At the Las Vegas Optic, where I have been publisher for nearly six years, we have faced these hard times by making tough decisions. Last year, for example, we made the move from carrier delivery of our newspaper to mailed de- livery. It saved us money. Getting our product to our customers is a costly endeavor, and we were thrilled to find a more affordable option with the U.S. Postal Service. Of course, we're not the only small commu- nity newspaper that gets delivered to subscribers through the mail. In fact, most U.S. newspapers deliver via the post office. It's a real advantage for not only newspapers, but other businesses as well, including those who depend on direct mail to reach consumers. Plus, nonprofits take advantage of the reasonable rates when sending out their newsletters and But now, the federal government is poised to hit us with a big increase. It will be tough to absorb for anyone who depends on the post office to conduct business. And, frankly, it's a bad business move for the Postal Service. Last July, the Postal Service proposed a rate hike that's 10 times the rate of inflation. That runs contrary to a 2006 law that prohibits USPS from raising the postage rates higher than the rate of in- flation. The law is based on sound reasoning - rais- ing rates should not be the way the Postal Service makes up for lost revenue; instead, it should control costs and create greater efficiencies. It doesn't take an MBA to know that when revenue drops, expenses must be reduced. That's how newspapers - and many other businesses and industries - are surviving this recession. It's not easy, but it has to be done. The Postal Service, however, zsn t thinking that way. Instead of taking a look at its existing contracts and negotiating with its workforce to reduce costs, postal officials want to use a legal loophole in the law that allows for a larger rate hike in extraordinary circumstances - arguing that the recession is just the circumstance that loophole is referring to. Meanwhile, for community newspapers that deliver through the mail, our costs would increase 8-10 percent with this latest proposal. That's going to hurt free enterprise, and it will ultimately be passed down to the paying consumer. And, yes, jobs are at stake here - hundreds of thousands at the USPS, and several million private- sector jobs that depend on the local post office to deliver their products, advertisements and cata- logues. Why is it that when government entities face financial hardships, rather than having to make the tough decisions, they pass the cost on to the pub- lic, their customers, but when a private business struggles financially, it's either cut costs or go out of business? Doesn't exactly seem fair, does it? Tom McDonald is president of the New Mexico Press As- sociation and publisher of the Las Vegas Optic. He may be reached at tmcdonald@lasvegasoptic.com A few weeks ago, the City Fire Dept., EMS and Valley Fire Dept. responded to the report of our house fire. Thanks to the efforts o four local heroes, the fire was stopped and the damage was cleaned up immediately. We sincerely appreciate the individuals that serve and protect our community. Clifford, Bev, Sis & C00lt, n Gunn TUESDAY, OCT. 5 ,h at 5 pm begins TUESDAY, OCT. 5 th Heat can affect grape varieties By DR. CURT!S SMITH Extensio  H0fficulture Specialist New Mexico State University Q. We have our first crop of grapes from two new vines that we planted a couple of years County Continued from page 1 Pettigrew listed multiple steps that must be followed, including passage of a resolution with a detailed listing of all property to be sold and the estimated condi- tion and value of each item. When the list is complete, it must be sent to the office of the State Auditor for approval, whic h requires about 30 days. Once approved by the State Auditor, the list must advertised and the auction scheduled. Pettigrew estimated that the auction would be delayed until after the first of the year. Courthouse main- tenance director Paul Gauna, who is organiz- ing the auction, said he would 6egin the pro- cess to comply with the proper steps. ago. The plants are 'Reliance' and 'Seedless Concord'. We also planted 'Flame' and 'Thompson Seedless' a year later, so we haven't gotten anything from these vines yet. As you can probably guess, we chose these varieties be- cause they are seedless. There are seeds in both the 'Reliance' See GARDEN, page 6 In other business Tues- day, the Commission: • Heard Pettigrew report that she will seek about $40,000 in legis- lative funding through State Sen. Stuart Ingle for new software for the County Clerk's office. Pettigrew said the current software package her office is using is no longer adequate and an over-the-counter version Quick Books Pro is now being utilized for payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable. The software, which she said is much easier to use, cost less than $1,000. Pettigrew said she is seeking the legisla- tive funds to purchase software from Triadic, a version which is being used in the offices of the County Treasurer and the County Assessor. She said implemen- tation of the Triadic software, which also requires a significant yearly service contract, would allow the Clerk's office staff to electroni- cally reconcile its books with the Treasurer's of- rice. That process is now being done manually, she said. • Approved the county's Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan, which prioritizes projects sought for the county. Closure of the county landfill, purchase of equipment for the solid waste transfer station, construction of a new detention center and construction of a new courthouse are the top four items on the list. ) t ql d; begins MONDAY, OCT. 18 th (during regular business hours) and ends SATURDAY, OCT. 30 th at the De Baca County Clerks Office More information, please contact the De Baca County Clerk's office, 355-2601. • The Book of Eli • The Messenger • Hot Tub Time Machine • The Spy Next Door • Changing Lanes • 13 Going on 30 • 3:10 to Yuma & many more DVD's ili € € € , €, € € €. €, , ,Addison Drug T..,. 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