Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 22

VZ AI.Ul'QL'KUyl JOI'liNAI, rrulay. DiTemWr Hi. ml New Mexico Chief Justice Tells of Retirement Plans Magazine Filling Void, Panel Says Term Ends Dec, 31,1982 Supreme Court justices are paid $49,500 a year; the chief justice receives $50,500. Although Easley said he did not have any specific plans for the future, he said he would not enter the practice of law on a full-time basis. But, he said, he hopes to set up a service to act as a judge by agreement of the parties involved, and he may seek part-time work as a judge pro-tern appointed by the high court to hear cases.

He also said he may develop some Hobbs-area real estate his family owns, and may dapple with legal writing. Easley began his law career in Hobbs, in 1948 and has served in a variety of posts in state government. A Democrat, his public service career includes work as an assistant district attorney; a member of the state House of Representatives, where he was speaker for two years; a four-year stint as lieutenant governor during Gov. Jack Campbell's administration, and a member of the state Senate, where he was majority whip from 1969-70. He also served as a District Court judge, and was appointed to the high court by then-Gov.

Jerry Apodaca in 1976. He was subsequently elected to serve the remainder of the term to which he was appointed and became chief justice this year. al things that I want and need to do that the demands of this position will not permit." He said the rigors of campaigning and raising funds for another term were not attractive to him. Should he seek election and win, "I would not plan to serve out the eight-year term." He also said part of his decision to retire is due to his family's finances. "The Legislature has been generous in the past two sessions in trying to catch the judges up to a reasonable salary' level," he said.

"However, seven and one-half years on the bench have been a costly experience for our family." Chief Justice Mack Easley Won't Seek Re-Election Listed as Seriou Man Survives Plunge From 350-Foot Cliff I From the Journal's Northern Bureau LA CUEVA A conservationist with the state Game and Fish Department survived a fall over a 350-foot cliff and a 24-hour wait for rescue in freezing temperatures late Wednesday night near this community in the Je-mez Mountains. Jesse Williams, chief of the Game and Fish Department's public affairs division, said Thursday that David R. Lockwood, 29, who works at the Seven Springs Fish Hatchery, was in serious but stable condition in the intensive care unit of St. Joseph Hospital in Albuquerque. "Luckily, he didn't get killed," Williams said.

Lockwood suffered a broken leg, broken ribs and a chipped vertebra. Williams said the fall occurred at about 10:30 p.m. along Forest Road 604, known as Virgin Mesa Road. He said four officers in two Game and Fish vehicles patrolling for night hunters stopped to talk. They were talking outside the two vehicles "when SANTA FE(U PI) Aftera 31-year career in public service in all three branches of state government, New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Mack Easley says he will retire at the end of his current term.

The 65-year-old Easley announced his decision to retire during a news conference Thursday in the high court's hearing room. Loyce Anna Easley, his wife, sat next to him as he detailed that decision. Kasley's current term ends Dec. 31,1982. "The reasons (for retirement) are varied," Easley said.

"The most important is that there are a number of interesting and important person Lockwood just disappeared," Williams said. The road was well-lit by the lights on the two vehicles but the area was very' icy, Williams said. "They knew the only place he could have gone was over this cliff, so they got together some ropes and one of the officers, Lee Duff, rapelled down the cliff, looking for Lockwood. It took 90 minutes to find him," Williams said. He added that he didn't know yet whether Lockwood cried out when he fell or what he was doing so close to the edge.

Williams also said he did not know if Lockwood was conscious while Duff tried to find him. Williams said foul play was not suspected. While Duff searched for Lockwood in the dark, officers Ken Reynolds and Calvin Brandon called the Sandoval County Sheriff's Department. Williams said deputies "managed to work a jeep into the base of this cliff, coming in from La Cueva. They carried Lockwood from the base of the cliff to the jeep and then the jeep took him to La Cueva, where an ambulance was waiting." more of a concern to the county with the recent population increase in the area, which is close to El Paso.

"The pipeline will serve about 3,200 people," he said. Day said the project is to be funded with state and federal funds totaling about $300,000. Of that amount, $239,727 is to go to Construction for building the pipeline. The remaining money will be used to make other improvements on the water system, Day said, pointing out that specific concerns have not yet been identified. An added benefit provided by the pipeline will be improved firefighting capabilities for the communities of Sunland Park, Berino and Meadow Vista, County Purchasing Director Bob Wesel said.

Fire hydrants have been planned for the area. The fire trucks in these areas have been forced to fill their tanks from the Rio Grande, he said. Although he admitted hydrants will not be located in each community, Wesel said it would be a step in the right direction. Once the pipeline is completed, Day said, it will become part of the Sunland Park Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association, a water company that will operate the pipeline. By MARK NASSUTTI Of the Journal's Northern Bureau SANTA FE Billie Holder, vice chairman of the state Board of Economic Development, said Thursday the board feels "that New Mexico Magazine fills a void left by the New Mexico Business Journal." Holder issued his prepared statement following a stormy Dec.

11 board meeting involving the New Mexico Business Journal. George Hackler, the Business Journal's publisher, had come before the board's regular meeting in Santa Fe to ask for a statement of policy regarding New Mexico Magazine's competition with private enterprise. Hackler's appearance was spurred by recent media reports that New Mexico Magazine has expanded its advertising sales staff in order to garner more advertising from the New Mexico business community, he said. That move brought up the whole question of state-sponsored and subsidized enterprises such as New Mexico Magazine competing in the same marketplace with private businesses, Hackler has said. At the Dec.

11 meeting, neither the board nor New Mexico Magazine publisher Robert Davis denied they were competing with the Business Journal, but the board told Hackler he would have to get a policy statement from the Legislature. Hackler has said he intends to do that. In his statement, Holder said that "Our conclusion is that New Mexico Magazine fills a void left by the New Mexico Business Journal through its lack of circulation and advertising reach." He said that after Hackler's presentation, the board "voted unanimously to support the policies of the state publication, New Mexico Magazine." In another unanimous vote the board also expressed the hope that the New Mexico Business Journal would grow and prosper. "We have found that the primary circulation of New Mexico Magazine is in areas completely neglected by the Journal or that in these areas the circulation of the Business Journal is minimal," Holder said. Hackler, when asked for comment, said he had not received a copy of Holder's statement.

"The question should be 'What business does the state have entering a sector already being served by the private sector?" As for the Business Journal neglecting any circulation area, Hackler said, "Give me $200,000 interest free for promoting circulation and they won't be." He was referring to a set of three interest-free state loans totaling $200,000 made available to New Mexico Magazine for the specific purpose of increasing advertising sales and expanding circulation. According to Geneveve Hamilton, fiscal chief of the state Department of Commerce and Industry's administrative services division, the magazine has drawn two installments of $70,000 each, on July 1, 1980, and July 1, 1981, respectively. Another $60,000 is available, she said. In defending New Mexico Magazine's sales of advertising, Holder wrote, "Through advertising New Mexico businesses are able to sell their products and services to in-state and out-of-state audiences. New Mexico Business Journal offers virtually no out-of-state audience and a very' small in-state audience, located mostly in the Albuquerquearea.

(The Business Journal's paid circulation is more than 4,000, Hackler said.) "Eliminating advertising in New Mexico Magazine would deny New Mexico businesses this aduience. Additionally, this audience would be denied these advertisements, which surveys show are highly acceptable to the magazine's readers because advertisements are another reflection of what is happening in New Mexico. Las Vegan District Jurist Museum To Drop Operation Lease At Lincoln Hotel From the Journal's Capitol Bureau SANTA FE-As of Dec. 31, the Museum of New Mexico is not renewing the lease it has with Eleanor Paul and Richard Watts of Roswell to operate the Wortley Hotel in the town of Lincoln, a museum official reported Thursday. Kenn Ulrich, museum information officer, claimed that Watts and Mrs.

Paul haven't lived up to specific provisions of the lease. "The reason is the general dissatisfaction on our part with the way they had been running the hotel. We have had complaints about the food and the service. Just that it was bad," Ulrich said. Watts, contacted by telephone, contended that under the lease the museum cannot unilaterally drop the lease it had signed last June.

He said that according to his reading of the lease "it states very definitely what can and can't be done." "The lease allows us to continue operating. We hope to be in business after the first of January," Watts said. Watts said he met recently with Bill Giron, an administrative aide to Gov. Bruce King, to express his concerns that the museum would not renew the lease. Giron, he said, was conducting his own investigation into the arrangement.

Watts also declared he was barred from a meeting last week that acting Museum Director Bill Holmes had with the Lincoln Advisory Committee. The committee, composed of town residents, had been created to advise the museum staff on the Wortley and other elements of the Lincoln State Monument. "Why they held a meeting concerning the Wortley in a private home by private invitation at taxpayer expense is beyond me," he said. charges against Richard Valdez, accused of the riot killing of Vincent E. Romero, partly on the basis of Gandara's description of the killing.

Gandara, described by authorities as having given statements to investigators about several riot killings, told government investigators that he saw the killing of Romero, 34, and that Valdez didn't have anything to do with it. In a May 6, 1980, interview with State Police investigators, Gandara was asked if he knew anything about Romero's death. Romero died of head and neck injuries. "Yes. I saw him get killed," Gandara said.

Gandara was scheduled to be returned temporarily to the Santa Fe area next Monday for a pre-trial hearing for defendants accused of the riot murder of Phillip C. Hernandez, 30, Baldonado said. Gandara was to be a defense witness. Water Project OK'd In Sunland Park Area Vf. AP Laserplioto prosecution in one murder case and for the defense in at least one other, died in his room at the prison, which housed athletes for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games at nearby Lake Placid, N.Y., before it was turned into a prison.

James Kimberling, associate warden of the Federal Correctional Facility at Ray Brook, said Gandara had told authorities that he feared for his life. The Ray Brook institution was the last of several federal prisons where he had been held since the Feb. 2-3, 1980, riot, according to Kimberling and Charles Baldonado, chief of the Santa Fe riot prosecution office. Gandara, who was serving time for trafficking in heroin, lived in one of the athletes' former rooms. His door had a lock but, like all cells at the prison, didn't have bars, Kimberling said.

In connection with Gandara's death, defense lawyer Mark Donatelli filed a motion on Thursday to dismiss A Tender Foot? Bubbles, a young African elephant in the Phoenix zoo, appears to be using a makeshift crutch. Actually, the elephant was only fooling around with some wood in the exhibit. Witness in Pen Death Case Kills Self By NANCY HARBERT Of the Journal's Las Cruces Bureau LAS CRUCES Come next spring, Sunland Park residents probably will have something they've never enjoyed before high-quality water. The water in that unincorporated community in thr southern part of Dona Ana County always has been known for its high salt content. Residents have been working for about three years to bring better water into the area.

Action taken Wednesday by the County Commission signals the beginning of the end to their problems. During its regular meeting, the commission awarded a contract to a Silver City construction company to build a five-mile water pipeline that would stretch from Santa Teresa to Sunland Park. L'nlike Sunland Park Santa Teresa is known for its high-water quality. Construction is expected to begin work in Januarv and complete the project by late April or early May, County Planning Director Dick Burmeister said. The pipeline is to be about 10 inches in diameter and will run along an old Southern Pacific Railroad right of way.

County Planner Fred Day said the water in Sunland Park never has been high in quality, but that it has become Usts 4 Accusations By THOMAS DAY Of the Journal's Northern Bureau SANTA FE A survivor of the Cell-block 4 killings during the State Penitentiary riot, who was due to return to Santa Fe next week to testify in a riot murder case, hanged him self late Wednesday night at a federal prison in New York State, authorities said. Armando Gandara, 31, formerly of Albuquerque, was pronounced dead early Thursday after he jumped from a toilet with one end of a bedsheet tied around his neck and the other attached to a vent, the New Mexico Corrections Department said. Gandara, a protective custody prisoner during the 1980 riot at the New Mexico State Penitentiary, was being held as a protective custody prisoner in the medium-security prison at Ray Brook, N.Y., according to New Mexico and New York officials. Gandara, a potential witness for the Judge Faces 2 Hearings To Answer Allegations Against Him Flores matter because District Judge Joe Angel was out of town. Martinez said Angel earlier had signed theorder committing him to prison the day before the mandate came down from the New Mexico Court of Appeals decreeing their imprisonment.

By law, all papers filed with the commission or its masters and proceedings before them are confidential. The hearings are closed to the public. The law provides that any justice, judge or magistrate may be disciplined or removed "for willful misconduct in office, persistent failure or inability to perform a judge's duties, or habitual intemperence, or he may be retired for disability seriously interfering with performance of his duties." After the hearing or hearings, the commission considers the findings and makes a recommendation to the state Supreme Court, which makes the final determination. Easley to inform them of the "leak." Martinez said he will appear before the commission at 2 p.m. today at the Supreme Court building in Santa Fe.

He said he and James Brandenburg, commission-appointed examiner for the inquiry, have filed motions to be heard then. Martinez said 30 subpoenas have been issued for a commission hearing, scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 28 in Santa Fe. Most of the subpoenas involve Las Vegas.

Martinez said the commission notified him by letter Oct. 8 of the "formalization of proceeding" against him. Brandenburg, former district attorney in Bernalillo County and now a practicirg attorney, has been conducting the inquiry. Martinez told the Daily Optic that the inquiry is aimed at four allegations against him, some of them dating back to 1979. He contends he has satisfactorily explained all the accusations.

As listed by Martinez, the allegations are that: He failed to disqualify himself as judge in several pro- LAS VEGAS, N.M. (AP) District Judge Donaldo "Tiny" Martinez confirmed Thursday that the Judicial Standards Commission has slated two hearings in Santa Fe concerning allegations against him. "I do not consider the allegations to be serious," he said. But he expressed concern because information about the commission's inquiry had been obtained by a Santa Fe newsman. He stressed the confidentiality of such proceedings, decreed by the New Mexico Constitution, and said he did not know how the newsman had learned about the hearings.

The judge told the Las Vegas Daily Optic that the newsman telephoned him shortly before noon Thursday about the proceedings. Martinez said he confirmed for the newsman some information, but that he then immediately telephoned Charles Olmstead of Santa Fe. acting head of the Judicial Standards Commission, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Mack ceedings involving his son, Estevan Martinez, as one of the attorneys. He asaulted Manuel Garcia of Santa Rosa when Garcia served a warrant on Judge Martinez. He altered juvenile records compiled by Ernest Kavan-augh, former juvenile and probation officer in San Miguel County.

He improperly signed an order temporarily preventing Lorenzo Flores and David Lopez from going to the State Penitentiary after their convictions on charges of assaultinga police officer. In answer, Martinez said that: Both parties involved agreed to accept his son as the attorney in the proceedings. He did not commit any form of assault against the process server. District Attorney Benny Flores, instead, altered Ka-vanaugh's records. He signed only "a status quo order" in the Lopez- 1.