FIRWORK SAFETY

On Saturday, June 27th the sale of fireworks will begin in Las Cruces. I wish to remind Las Crucens of the dangers of unsafe use and discharging of fireworks can lead to seriious injury or death.

The following safety advise is offered in the hopes of making this 4th of July a safe and injury free one.

1. Use fireworks outdoors only.

2. Obey local laws. If fireworks are not legal where you live, do not use them.

3. Always have a fire extinguisher hand or a source of water.

4. Only use fireworks as intended. Don't try to alter them or combine them.

5. Never relight a "dud" firework. Wait 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water.

6. Use common sense. Spectators should keep a safe distance from the shooter and the shooter should wear safety glasses.

7. Remember: Alcohol and fireworks do not mix. Have a "designated shooter."

8. Only persons over the age of 12 should be allowed to handle sparklers of any type.

9. Do not ever use homemade fireworks of illegal explosives: They can kill you!

10. Report illegal explosives to the fire or police department in your community.

PREPARING FOR H1N1 IN LAS CRUCES

The Dona Ana County/City of Las Cruces Office of Emergency Management will conduct an exercise from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, June 29 at the Dona Ana County Government Center, 845 N. Motel Blvd. The exercise will involve various agencies from the community including first responders and health officials. The exercise will address the possible impact on resources in the area should we experience an outbreak/pandemic this fall of the H1N1 Flu virus.

NOTE: This is by invitation only. Prior permission is needed to attend the exercise.

We hope that this will help us identify our strengths and weakness in our All Hazards Emergency Operations Plan regarding emergency medical surge capability and enhance community and hospital preparedness for public health emergencies. This helps to establish the appropriate training, preparing and mitigation of our systems.

I will be attending the exercise as I am the Secretary of the City of Las Cruces/Dona Ana County LOCAL EMERGENCY PLANNING COMMITTEE. I will report back to my readers on the exercise.

CITY COUNCIL BRIEFS

The meeting of the Las Cruces City Council yesterday including two items on their agenda of interest to the residents of Las Cruces.

The first, was the franchise agreement between the City and El Paso Electric presented to Council for it's first reading. Mr. Robert Garza, Assistant City Manager presented the agreement to City Council as its "first reading."

There are a few residents and councilors who are not in total agreement with the contract and the benchmarks for increment 5-year extensions on the contract.

Sen. Steve Fischmann who has been a critic of El Paso Electric spoke against the agreement and asked the Council to not consider it in its current form. However, members of the Ad Hoc committee who served on the negotiation team asked Council to approve the contract as is.

Mr. Clay Dole, Vice President for the NM El Paso Electric answered questions from Council and the public. Attorneys for both sides were also present to and answered legal points from both the Council and residents.

The agreement will be reviewed again on August 16th for its second reading and the changes are recommended by Council.

NOTE: As a member of the AD HOC committee for the City, I will not make any personal comments until the agreement is passed.

Second, in s special Work Session, Council was briefed by Mr. Craig Uchida, President
14 recommendations have been made in a draft report by Justice and Security Strategies Inc., of Bethesda, Md. The report included the following:

• The hiring of a police auditor who would conduct periodic audits of public complaints of the Las Cruces Police Department, reviews of police department operational policies, improving the process for community outreach; and creating greater openness of the police department.

• Results of the study have not yet been shared with police department administration.

• 74 allegations of use of force, by 37 police department employees, were made by the public from 2000 to 2008.

• Of those, one police department employee received nine complaints and another employee six.

• A city council work session to further discuss the recommendations is planned for Aug. 16.

THIS WEEK IN LAS CRUCES

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

MONDAY, JUNE 22

1:00 p.m. Las Cruces City Council: Agenda - Land Use
Immediately following will be a Special Work Session

THURSDAY, JUNE 25-28

5:30 p.m. - The Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce will have their monthly "After Hours" at the Springfield Suites off of Avenida de Mesilla.

FRIDAY, JUNE 26
The 90th Conference of the NM American Legion at Days Inn

N00N - 1:00 p.m. Las Cruces Business Network meets at Savino's Italiano for "How to Network Effectively." Cost is FREE, however a lunch is offered for $10.00 (optional)

SATURDAY, JUNE 27

NOON - The Las Cruces Chapter of the SONS THE SONS OF THE REVOLUTION will be meeting at La Posta de Mesilla. Dr. Michael Swickard will be the guest speaker. The State SAR Board will be attending this meeting and have their state board meeting immediately following. ALL SAR members are invited to attend.

If you have any local events coming up in Las Cruces, please let me know that I can include them on this column. Send information to ron@roncamunez.com. or wroncamunez@yahoo.com.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Today, we celebrate "FATHER'S DAY" in the United States. I wish to take this opportunity to extend warm Father's Day greetings to my readers and pray that they have a wonderful day with their families.

HISTORY OF FATHER'S DAY

Father's Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting, and to honour and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, special dinners to fathers, and family-oriented activities.

The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on July 5, 1908 in a church located in Fairmont, West Virginia, by Dr. Robert Webb of West Virginia at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South of Fairmont. The church still exists under the name of Central United Methodist Church.

Sonora Smart Dodd of Washington thought independently of the holiday one Sunday in 1909 while listening to a Mother's Day sermon at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church at Spokane, and she arranged a tribute for her father on June 19, 1910. She was the first to solicit the idea of having an official Father's Day observance to honor all fathers.

It took many years to make the holiday official. In spite of support from the YWCA, the YMCA and churches, it ran the risk of disappearing from the calendar.[4] Where Mother's Day was met with enthusiasm, Father's Day was met with laughter.[4] The holiday was gathering attention slowly, but for the wrong reasons. It was the target of much satire, parody and derision, including jokes from the local newspaper Spokesman-Review.[4] Many people saw it as just the first step in filling the calendar with mindless promotions like "Grandparents' Day", "Professional Secretaries' Day", etc., all the way down to "National Clean Your Desk Day."

A bill was introduced in 1913,[5] US President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea in 1924,[citation needed] and a national committee was formed in the 1930s by trade groups in order to legitimize the holiday. It was made a federal holiday when President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation in 1966. (Source Wikipedia)