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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #9
May 25, 2000
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Dear Subscriber:

For the first time in many years, the National Forest Service has
seen fit to deny admission to the public to all National Forest
Service grounds. This includes all National Forest facilities
and lands, but does NOT include PRIVATE lands and facilities
including the Village of Cloudcroft. The Arts and Crafts Show
and the other events planned for Mayfair Weekend this weekend
will go on as scheduled and there is still lodging available in
the area. Cabins, private RV camps and rented homes are the way
to go right now, since camping is restricted.

The Village has imposed strict fire ordinances like the Forest 
Service restrictions that will stay in place until the area has
received significant rainfall.

As made evident by the Scott Able Fire near Weed, the forest is
dry and full of potential fuel for a serious fire. We ask every
one that visits to do their part to prevent another fire. We
understand that fire danger is not a serious concern in areas
where many of our visitors live, but it is a very serious
business here.

Don Vanlandingham
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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
2. VILLAGE POLITICS
3. INSIDE THE SHOP -- GYPSY'S WAGON
4. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- SUNSPOT SCENIC HIGHWAY
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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It has been one of the warmest Mays that most of the full-time
residents of the Cloudcroft area can remember, exacerbated by the
low humidity and total absence of any moisture. Temperatures
have been reaching into the 80s during the day and cooling off
into the low 40s in the evening. While there have been no
restrictions put on the use of water in and around the Village,
people are urged to think "conservation" when using water. Water
lawns in the cool evening or early morning hours, etc.
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VILLAGE POLITICS
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About 500 people attended a meeting of concerned citizens in
Cloudcroft last week. The topic: The Forest Service's manage-
ment of public lands and how it is affecting the Village and
visitors. The meeting had been scheduled before the Scott Able
Fire started (May 11), but the occasion of that fire swelled
the interest and therefore the numbers in attendance at the
meeting. Max Goodwin, Forest Ranger from the Sacramento Mountain
Ranger District, said there has been significant fuel reduction
work by the NFS in the area to try and prevent future catastrophic
fires.

One person at the meeting expressed the feelings of many, saying
the problem facing the forest is not one brought on by the Forest
Service, but one brought on by Washington politics and environ-
mentalists that block attempts to clean and thin the forest.
Representatives from Senator Domenici's and Senator Bingaman's 
offices were in attendance, but nothing from the official news 
release of the meeting indicated they had anything substantive 
to add to the discourse.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- GYPSY'S WAGON
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"Unique" and "One Of A Kind" are over-used clichés, but they
describe Gypsy's Wagon best (unless you go to the Thesaurus and
pull out a word nobody ever heard). That is what a lot of people
are looking for when they come to Cloudcroft - something they
can't find anywhere else. Gypsy's Wagon is a room full of
clothes and accessories unavailable anywhere else. The idea is
to give the woman not bound by traditional fashion ideas a place
to express herself. Gypsy's Wagon is on historic Burro Avenue in
downtown Cloudcroft.
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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- SUNSPOT SCENIC HIGHWAY
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Almost 20 miles of highway run along the rim of the mountains
from New Mexico Highway 130 to the Sunspot Observatory. The
drive is brimming with beautiful vistas, camping areas and snow
play areas. Trails groomed for the "tenderfoot" or lengthy
trails to challenge the dedicated hiker. Breathtaking views of
the basin below. (Note: most of this area is closed at this
time due to fire danger, but will be open again soon. Check
Cloudcroft.com or your weekly newsletter for details on re-
opening.)
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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - Why did the Scott Able Fire near Cloudcroft get such little
news coverage? Until we went online with Cloudcroft.com, we had a
hard time finding updates on the fire.

A - The bottom line is we are not a very highly populated area.
Cloudcroft is not serviced by any radio or TV offering extensive
news coverage for our specific area. Roswell and Albuquerque
television did good jobs covering the blaze, but were spread thin
by so much fire activity in the state.

Nationally, the Scott Able Fire was over-shadowed by the Los
Alamos Fire (the worst in the history of the state).

At the risk of sounding self-serving, it could be that the
Internet will be able to fill in some gaps in news coverage for
small and under-populated areas such as ours. Thanks again to
everyone who emailed and called offering their thanks and
support for Cloudcroft.com's coverage of the fire. A day-by-
day account and photos are still available on our web site
(www.cloudcroft.com).
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COMING EVENTS
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May 27, 28 -- Mayfair (Still open to the public despite forest
restrictions). Juried arts and crafts show, food and drinks, and
horseshoe tournament...Zenith Park.

May 27 thru 29 -- G. Gordon Wimsatt Memorial Rodeo.

May 28 -- Mayfair Street Dance. 8:30pm Burro Avenue.

May 28 -- Zia Rodders Car Show -- Cloudcroft High School football
field.

Each Friday Saturday and Sunday in May -- Miniature Art Show.
Cloudcroft Community Center.

June 3 -- National Trails Day.

June 3 -- Cloudcroft Concert -- Alamogordo Community Orchestra.
Cloudcroft High School Football Field.

June 9 thru 11 -- Western Roundup.
June 10, 11 -- Melodrama. Open air pavilion. 7:30pm.
June 10 -- Railroad Days Train Display -- Cloudcroft Middle School
June 10, 11 -- Lumberjack Contest -- Zenith Park.
June 14 -- Flag Day Ceremony -- 5pm, Burro Avenue.
June 14, 15 -- Cherry Festival -- High Rolls.
June 23 thru 25 -- Bluegrass Festival. Zenith Park.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Hi Newsletter,

This is Mike and Donna Guidry from Louisiana. We visited Cloud-
croft the first week-end in May with our son, Barry. We had a 
wonderful time. We stayed in a cabin in the mountains and it was 
just beautiful. Some friends joined us and we all went shopping 
in your village.

We have never felt so welcomed any where like we did there. The 
people couldn't have been any nicer. Not just a few of them, 
everyone we met.
 
If you can, please print this so everyone there can read this: 
"THANK YOU CLOUDCROFT." 

Mike and Donna Guidry
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CONTACT INFORMATION
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