WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK TONY JARAMILLO AND THE JARAMILLO FAMILY, in conjunction with the Valley View Church, for donating the proceeds of their recent Father's Day car show to the New Mexico Horse Rescue at Walkin' N' Circles Ranch.

In this economy we are struggling to stay even with the 61 horses currently in our care and these funds came at a really good time for us.

A heartfelt thank you to this fine Edgewood family for your support and well-needed and appreciated donation to Walkin' N' Circles Ranch.

We would also encourage you to attend our annual HUG-A-HORSE community fun day on Saturday, July 11.

Thanks again from the WNCR staff, management, volunteers and the 61 horses in our care.

LOETA CALHOUN

Walkin' N Circles Ranch

Thank You for The Smoke-Free Event

TALKING TALONS YOUTH LEADERSHIP WOULD LIKE TO THANK the Moriarty Chamber of Commerce and the Mountainair Gymkhana Rodeo Association for keeping their rodeos tobacco-free!

Representatives and wildlife ambassadors from Talking Talons attended several rodeos in Moriarty and Mountainair through May and June of 2009.

Attendees were educated on the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, spit tobacco and other tobacco products affecting our health, wildlife and environment.

We were able to share information with over 100 people about New Mexico's free quit line: 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

We were pleased to see that, unlike many rodeos and related events, the rodeos in our community are free of tobacco sponsorship.

Tobacco sponsorship detracts from the family atmosphere of our rodeos by influencing youth to engage in the use of tobacco products.

Thank you to the Moriarty and Mountainair rodeos for allowing our youth the opportunity to participate in healthy, tobacco-free activities.

Your leadership will change lives, and most importantly, save lives. Let's make sure our rodeos stay tobacco-free!

SHELBY BLESSING

Talking Talons Youth Leadership

Renewable Energy Is Wave of Future

SCOTT BROOKS' SCREED, "RENEWABLE ENERGY NOT THE PANACEA" (6-25-09) slams the "industrial-enviro complex," the current administration and Congress for instituting new green energy economies, as if wind, solar, biofuels and other energy sources cannot produce the large volumes of useful, reliable energy at attractive prices.

Brooks lists natural gas, coal, hydroelectricity and nuclear power, which exist on low-government subsidies, compared to wind and solar subsidies. No subsidy is listed for oil, probably because oil doesn't compete with other energy sources in the generation of electricity.

Government subsidies, incentives and tax breaks are not necessarily bad things.

Transcontinental railroads were built in the 19th century with the help of land grants; dams and locks were built on navigable waterways by the government; and rural electrification was implemented in the last century, all for commerce, expansion and convenience.

Reality is that our natural resources, oil, natural gas and coal, are finite and are being depleted.

Nuclear energy can supplant some forms of stationary energy, plus sea-going vessels, but probably won't be perfected for powering automobiles and trucks.

Sunlight and wind power are diffuse forms of energy, as opposed to concentrated energy of oil, natural gas and coal.

Admittedly, solar and wind power fall down when it comes to "on demand" and highly portable energy, but advances are being made in energy storage and distribution.

Changes to our culture and lifestyle will come in this century when we can no longer depend on the reckless exploitation of limited resources as was done in the last century.

Our (and the world's) economy will change to a new model when we adapt to renewable energy schemes.

Real progress will be made when a smooth transition is made to new technologies which happen to also be clean.

DICK PLEDGER

Edgewood