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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #27
September 29, 2000
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Dear Subscriber:

Some weeks are harder than others when searching for substantive
and fresh news to report. By village standards, this is pretty
much a slow news period. That's all right by most of us, who like
the quiet solitude between the summer and winter seasons. We
get enough controversy, scandal and chaos from our DSS
broadcasts. Speaking of that...are the Olympic Games boring this
year or is it just me?

Not much in the way of organized activity in the village. Last
weekend we were visited by the bikers who had their annual
gathering at the Convention Center in Ruidoso. Many of them
travel the twists and turns of the road between Ruidoso and
Cloudcroft through the Mescalero Apache Reservation and spend
the day with us. Not one beer bottle was busted over a single
head. They just don't make bikers the way they used to.

In reality, the bikers that visit us every fall spend the
balance of their lives as professors, doctors, bankers and
merchants. The only disparaging remarks I have heard about the
bikers concerns the size of their luggage racks. It seems the
lack of carrying space on their Harleys limits the amount of
stuff they can buy from the village shops. The residents of this
resort area are always thinking in terms of commerce. I
personally love being around those big, gleaming, high-dollar
machines and the people that ride them whether they buy stuff or
not.

Look but don't touch. Bikers hate fingerprints on their chrome.

I forgot the Bears football score last week. Bringing you up
to date, they lost to Fort Sumner last Friday, 20 to nothing.
The Bears are 0 and 4. They play Lordsburg away this Friday
night.

It is a little discouraging, but for those fans outside the
area, be advised the last two games of the regular season
are the most important. They are the Bears' district games
against Capitan (October 13) and Animas (October 20). Both
games are home games.

PHOTO: Here's a spectacular photo taken by BLM firefighter
John McColgand during the Bitterroot Valley fire in Montana
that you may not have seen:

http://www.missoulian.com/bonus/elkfire.html

Don Vanlandingham
Cloudcroft.com

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
2. VILLAGE POLITICS
3. INSIDE THE SHOP -- CENTURY 21 REAL ESTATE
4. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- OPPORTUNITY CENTER GREENHOUSE
5. Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
6. COMING EVENTS
7. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
8. CONTACT INFORMATION
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LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
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Temperatures are dropping to around freezing with regularity
during the evenings as we approach October. The daytime highs
are still comfortable, usually finding the mid-sixties. This
past week was affected by a wide-spread cold front that brought
snow to Colorado. The colder-than-normal temperatures are
affecting the tree foliage and could mean an earlier-than-usual
peak season for the panorama of colors that so many look forward
to in the fall.
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VILLAGE POLITICS
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The Highway 130 project is showing signs of completion. Highway
officials are hoping to be finished with the year-old project by
January. Paving has been going on during the past month and, as
an added touch, the contractor of the project was obliged to
"seed" the work area with hopes the grass seed will have a
chance to germinate before the cold weather. There was a good
rain just a couple days after the seeding so, hopefully, much of
the rocky hillsides on each side of the pavement will show some
"flora" in due time.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- CENTURY 21 CASA REAL ESTATE
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Century 21 Casa is one of the few real estate offices in
Cloudcroft backed by the resources of a national real estate
organization. The MLS office is a part of the Century 21
Alamogordo operation but is staffed full time as an independent
office dealing specifically in mountain properties. See their
web site on Cloudcroft.com for more information and their latest
listings.
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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- OPPORTUNITY CENTER GREENHOUSE
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From Poinsettias to greenhouse tomatoes, this expansive green-
house conducts regular tours for interested individuals and
groups. Located in Alamogordo. Call 434-4260 for tour
information.
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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - What "light pollution" ordinances, if any, does the Village
of Cloudcroft have in place?

A - Light pollution is one of the most recent of "designer"
issues having its effect primarily in areas such as Cloudcroft
where both professional and amateur astronomers and other star-
gazers consider artificial light as their arch enemy. To
understand the standpoint of the anti-light pollution faction,
one only has to compare the number of stars visible to the
naked eye in the skies over Cloudcroft to the stars that can be
seen in, say, Dallas or Houston where artificial light from
street lights and commercial signs is prevalent. The
comparison is astounding.

That is why the Hubble Telescope, stationed in space away from
any interference of artificial light, has afforded astronomers
a dramatic new look at the heavens and huge strides in
astronomical science. There are few spots in North America as
"light-free" as the Cloudcroft area and there are several
individuals and organizations that are trying to keep it that
way.

Cloudcroft has a light pollution ordinance with regard to
guidelines on how business signs can be lit. Check with the
village office for specifics.
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COMING EVENTS
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September 29, 30 and October 1 -- Chubby Tire Rendezvous Bike
Rally.

September 30 -- Cloudcroft Garden Club Style Show. Middle
School.

October 6, 7 -- CLOC Melodrama. 7:30pm. Open Air Pavilion.

October 7 -- Otero County Farm and Livestock Bureau Barbecue.
6pm, Ski Lodge, Highway 82.

October 7, 8 -- Oktoberfest. Zenith Park activities. Sales and
special events in downtown Cloudcroft.

October 21, 22 -- High Rolls/Mountain Park Lions Apple Festival.
Food and Craft Booths, 9am - 5pm.

October 28 -- Harvestfest.

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For an online calendar of area events, click the Events Calendar
link in the left column of our home page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/index.html

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Dear Newsletter:

Hello, my name is Brenda Burkham-Brogdon and my family and I
live in Mineral Wells, Texas. At this point in time it seems
like the hottest place on earth, (at least to us) as on the
average our daily temperatures run in the triple digits and have
for months.

Everything here burned up months ago and now the wildfires are
ruling our lives on a daily basis. The fear of one starting is
great and once it does with all the water rationing going on
we worry about it being put out. It is very depressing here now. 

As I am originally from the Las Cruces-Ruidoso-Cloudcroft, NM
areas, I am in dire need of cool, fresh, quiet, mountain
existence. I was raised in Las Cruces all my life until retiring
at an early age in 1993 to Ruidoso. I made the move to Texas due
to my Father's terminal illness and am glad to say that he is
doing well now. As such we are ready to return back to an area
we love, with my parents in tow. My 12-year old son is ecstatic
about it and cannot wait to get back! As young as he was when we
left there, he still remembers it well. 

Since leaving the mountains of NM in 1994 I have been so very
unhappy here, but I felt I was doing the right thing by being
here for my parents. And I must say that in 1996 I met and in
1998 married my soul mate a wonderful man, so I guess things
work out okay in that respect. 

There has never been another area that I have lived in, or
visited, in my lifetime that I have ever felt about as I do
Cloudcroft. I cannot wait to return and hope to do so within
the next year. It is finally number one on our goals list. If
you know of anyone that would like to sell a mid to small
cabin/home in your area please have them contact me at the
address below, I am desperate to get home again and can use
all the help I can get in finding a place we can call home. 

I love your newsletter as it keeps me abreast of things there
and it gives me the opportunity to feel apart of the cool
mountains when I feel the pressures of things falling in
around me here. I enjoy and cherish every visit to your area
that I can fit into a year, so keep up the great job and I wish
you always the best. And everyone there please pray for us down
here in HOT-HOT Texas, and hopefully it will bring us good luck
and the much needed rain we desire. God bless you all.

Sincerely,
Brenda and Toby Brogdon and B.J.
Santo, Texas

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