HHaappppeennssttaanncceellii ffee hhaappppeennss •• AApprriill 2233,, 22001100

OO nn tt hh ee oo tt hh ee rr ss ii dd ee oo ff tt hh ee ff ee nn cc eeOO nn tt hh ee oo tt hh ee rr ss ii dd ee oo ff tt hh ee ff ee nn cc eePHOTO: SHARON VANDER MEER

Drought and locusts, p 3Health Council, p 4Take Back the Night, p 6Happenstance Walk About, p 9

FFrroomm tthhee eeddiittoorr……

If you have wondered just whoor what the San Miguel Familyand Community Health Coun-

cil is, read the article on pages 4-5. Inmy preparation for the story I learneda lot I didn’t know. This valuable re-source is threatened by loss of fundingand may not continue past the end ofthis year. That would be a shame. Onceone grasps how the program works itis easy to see why it needs to continue.

Take Back the Night is an interna-tionally recognized event that calls at-tention to sexual assault and violenceagainst women. Did you know one infive women have experienced sometype of sexual violence in her life?Read the article on page 8 about a new

program at New Mexico HighlandsUniversity that is creating awarenessof the issue and linking resources toaid victims and prevent occurrences ofsexual assault. Plan to attend the TakeBack the Night event Tuesday, April 27.Details in the article.

I am a ‘dietaholic’. Is there such aword? I’ve tried them all, or at leastthe sensible ones, and nothing works,probably because I don’t work at it.Be that as it may, check out Best of theWeb. The site featured today is freeand has strong reasons to sign on.

On a personal note, I’m puttingHappenstance on hold for a while, per-haps forever, that has yet to be deter-mined. I love doing it but it takes anincredible amount of time. If it doescome back it will be a monthly, not aweekly.

I am not going away, however,I’m just regrouping.

Please put May 19 on your calen-dar. I’m teaming up with Charlie’sBakery and Cafe for a Chamber ofCommerce Business After Hours.Charlie would like to prepare for acrowd, so if you are planning to at-tend, e-mail Charlie at charliesbak-ery_cafe@hotmail.com, or me atfsharon@msn.com, so we can get anidea of how many to expect. Sincefood plays a part in this knowinghow many to prepare for makes iteasier. There will also be prizes, food,music, networking and fun!

—Sharon Vander Meer

Happenstance • April 23, 2010 • Page 2

Thanks to those of you who have kindly expressed interest in and support of Happenstance.

Conceptually Happenstance is a great idea, but as a weeklyit takes more time than I want to invest. For now I’m going to

put it on hold and regroup. If I decide to continue publishing it will likely be once a

month, but that remains to be determined.

—Sharon

HHaappppeennssttaannccee oonn HHoolldd

Give me Mark Ronchetti on Channel 13 anytime. Why? This guy gets it that life is fun, evennasty weather is fun to report on. He seems to

understand that the urgency of life is better taken in smalldoses, not in a gulp that strangles you. Okay, so it isn’t hisjob to tell about the ugly stuff, but it is refreshing to see hisenergy and sense of fun come to life every evening duringthe weather news.

The Weather Channel story about drought, on the otherhand, can make you want to crawl into bed, cover up yourhead, and wait for the swinging pendulum of doom tocleave you right down the middle, or blow you away in asand storm, or be consumed by locusts (well, not you but thefood meant for you). After watching that program you’reapt to start counting your days and not bothering to buygreen bananas.

The program actually makes a few good points, not theleast of which is that globally water is in short supply. Weknow that right here in Las Vegas, NM, where conservationis (or should be) a way of life.

One person interviewed for the report said that in thiscountry we use way too much water. That isn’t somethingwe want to be reminded of, but it is true. We use potablewater for the most mundane of things: washing clothes anddishes, bathing, flushing toilets, and maintaining acres andacres of lawns. The list is much longer than that, but thepoint is we don’t have to take a shower every day, but wedo. We don’t have to flush every time we pee, but we do.We certainly don’t need those green lawns we water regu-larly with potable water better reserved for sustaininghuman life.

Instead of five loads of laundry can you get away withthree? Fortunately many appliances are now engineered forwater conservation, but there are many of us who still haveolder models. If your dishwasher isn’t full do you have torun it after every meal? Once a day is usually more thanenough.

The program describes what will happen in fifteenyears, yes fifteen years, because of drought conditions aroundthe world: giant sand storms in the desert regions are pre-dicted by the producers of this program, storms that groundairplanes (shades of the volcano in Iceland), and practicallyobliterate Las Vegas, Nevada, under a blanket of sand, andswarms of locusts that mow through and destroy the foodsupply in areas all over the planet.

Bob grew up on a farm in Iowa. He can remember thelast time locusts struck and decimated the landscape, con-

suming anything green and edible. “I can remember standing with my mom and dad, looking up

toward the sun and you could barely see it; the sky was black withinsects. There was a persistent humming/buzzing sound, not loudbut there.

From inside their home the family watched as every-thing they’d worked for that year was destroyed by the vo-racious insects.

“They ate the corn right down to the ground, stripped theleaves from the trees. We had a big garden; it was gone.”

The Weather Channel program is predicting dire eventsin 2025, all tied to drought, which is the perfect breeding sit-uation for locusts and ideal conditions for massive sand anddust storms. That’s what it was like back in 1935-36. Any-body remember the Dust Bowl?

This area just had a fairly wet winter, and thank theGood Lord for that! That doesn’t mean we can forget conser-vation. We are a small cell in the enormity of the world welive in. Conserving our precious water resource and makingbest use of it makes good sense for us and for the world welive in.

I have to say I think the program on the Weather Chan-nel was somewhat alarmist, sort of like the meteor theoristswho say earth is in the path of a future meteor storm thatwill wipe out all life on earth. That we can’t do anythingabout. If it happens we won’t have much time to think aboutit. Can we do anything about water? It is, after all, a naturalresource, something over which we have no control, and afar more complex issue that I can wrap my little brainaround. Still, I believe simple strategies, like xeriscapingwith native plants, being more conscientious about bathingfrequency, clothes washing and flushing toilets can help.

We don’t have a collection tank, or whatever you callthose things that capture runoff from downspouts andeaves, but it is something I know we should invest in. Someare fairly affordable and worth it if you are trying to saveyour flowers or water your garden.

Dire reports of what might happen in the future areenough to scare the pants off a person, and while I am con-cerned about the issues raised by the Weather Channel pro-gram, I’m not really frightened. Okay, maybe a little.History has shown that a lot of what is happening now iscyclical. If in fact the world will be hit by massive droughtand a plague of locusts it may be a consequence of ‘as theworld turns’, nature taking its course. The last such event, atleast on a farm in Iowa, happened in the Thirties; if it hap-pens in 2025, that’s ten years short of a hundred years sincethe last one. Kinda makes you think.

In the mean time I’ll check out the Ronchetti report andsee what the weather will be today. That’s about a far aheadas I can go.

AA HHAAPPPPEENNSSTTAANNCCEE MMUUSSIINNGGAA HHAAPPPPEENNSSTTAANNCCEE MMUUSSIINNGG

Happenstance • April 23, 2010 • Page 3

There is a group in town that is as close to being allthings to all people as you can get and stay sane.It’s a tough task in the best of times, but in the

economic climate of today, this group is faced not only withfulfilling its mission, but with weathering the state’s budgetcrisis. Funding for the San Miguel Family and CommunityHealth Council (and other health councils around the state)is uncertain past New Mexico’s June 30 fiscal year end. In themean time local staff and board members continue to look atthe big picture and explore ways to link groups and serviceswith missions that can and do support, compliment or en-hance one another.

According to smhealthcouncil.org, the purpose of theagency is to gather knowledge of San Miguel County healthneeds, resources and priorities; participate in comprehensivehealth planning and assessment; identify and fill gaps inservices by reducing duplication of services and encouragingalignment between agencies that supply similar or compli-mentary services and working with all agencies to achievecommon goals; and work in partnership with the state De-partment of Health and with the community.

It is a big job and implementing it requires grace and tact.Yolanda Cruz, the program coordinator, is an ideal choice forthe job.

“We respect that every agency has its mission. Our goalis to link resources to achieve common goals. We conductplanning by bringing community partners together to iden-tify local priorities, address gaps and duplication of services,and align efforts with state and national initiatives,” Yolandasaid.

Strengthening partnerships, networks and existing pro-grams and services is key to reaching the council’s vision ofhealthy families promoting a healthy community. The coun-cil does not provide services; it is a planning, assessment, andreferral agency partnering with others to assure services areavailable and accessible.

“We’re not the experts, but we know where to findthem,” Yolanda said.

A significant Health Council accomplishment is the cre-ation of a free Resource Guide identifying health care profes-sionals and agencies. The document is updated annually andhas proven to be invaluable to providers and to consumers.

It points to resources and works in a collaborative way withpartners. The resource book is an example of putting helpfulinformation in the hands of those who need it.

The council functions through the assessment process,which includes planning and prioritization, alignment ofservices across agency partners, examining policies and pro-cedures, mobilizing resources, actively creating opportunitiesfor outreach and public awareness and overseeing directservices (related to planning and implementation).

Its work results in improved health through increasedintegration of services, joint programs and co-sponsoredevents, policy changes that affect health service delivery, al-location of resources through collaborative grants and lever-aging of resources, reduced duplication of services, filling ofgaps in services, and increased public awareness of health is-sues.

If this information seems repetitive, having been men-

Making a difference, one step at a time

Happenstance • April 23, 2010 • Page 4

“We respect that every agency has its mission. Our goal is tolink resources to achieve common goals.”

–Yolanda Cruz, Program Coordinator

The San Miguel Family and Community Health Councilstaff includes from left, Yolanda Cruz, Kristie Tapia and LisaEsquibel.

tioned in earlier paragraphs, there is a reason for that. If youdon’t have a handle on what Yolanda and her team are allabout, you could end up thinking the council itself representsduplication of services. No so. It is the one entity that has noother purpose than to bring people together. Its only stake inany given situation is to clarify how resources can be part-nered to achieve mutual results. Some of their coalition part-ners over the years include Luna Community CollegeCoalition (adult binge drinking),Community Health Group, Las VegasCoalition to End Hunger, LV CitySchool Health Advisory Committee,Local Emergency Planning Commit-tee, Safe Kids Coalition, County De-tention Center Community AdvisoryCommittee, DWI Planning Council,Total Community Approach (sub-stance abuse), Tri-County Family Jus-tice Center, and the WLV SchoolsHealth Advisory Committee.

Does that seem like a lot to takeon? Only if you are trying to fill therole of all these agencies, which theHealth Council is not. Its purpose is to make connections soif one agency needs the support or resources of another thoselinks can be made. It is up to each agency to make use of theinformation.

Despite having a bleak financial future, the Health Coun-cil is looking forward to continuing to implement its Com-munity Health Improvement Plan, a document developed in2009 in which the program identified three priorities: inter-personal violence (domestic violence, sexual assault andchild abuse), diabetes and obesity, and teen pregnancy. Theseare deemed to be areas of health risk across the county.

“The health issues highlighted in the 4-year Health Im-provement Plan will require community-wide planning andcollaboration in the areas of prevention, awareness, interven-tion and treatment. Resources should be allocated to affectas many people in the community as possible,” the plan’s ex-ecutive summary states. “We cannot address any of these is-sues by doing things the way we have always done them;strategic change needs to take place that includes and adaptsproven strategies to our unique and diverse community.”

Yolanda knows the job is a tough one. “We must havecommunity buy-in for the plan to work.”

While it has enormous support from its board of morethan thirty individuals, (members appointed by the SanMiguel County Commission), staffing at the council’s officeis limited to Yolanda, intern Lisa Esquibel and part time staff

member Kristi Tapia, who (among other tasks) is the coordi-nator for the Mora/San Miguel New Mexico BehavioralHealth Collaborative and assistant coordinator of the sub-stance abuse and co-occurring disorders program, TotalCommunity Approach (TAC).

Lisa, a social work student at New Mexico HighlandsUniversity, who will be graduating in May, said this experi-ence has been a good training ground for her. “This is macro

practice, not micro practice; we’relooking at the scope of the issues andfiguring out how to make them worktogether.” Lisa is one of several in-terns who have worked with Yolandaover the years.

“Lisa’s research ability and webknowledge have been a great help asthe program moves its agenda for-ward,” Yolanda said.

Kristie’s time in the office is dedi-cated to the areas she works in andshe helps out with answering thephone and other needs. Her programswarrant their own story, but one of the

projects, TAC, is similar to the Health Council in its scope ofwork: evaluating, planning and facilitation, but with a spe-cific target outcome related to substance abuse and co-occur-ring disorders

The San Miguel Family and Community Health Councilhas funding through 2010 from the New Mexico Departmentof Health, but will need additional support from the commu-nity to accomplish its goals. It is seeking grants and othertypes of funding for its sustainability into the future.

The council’s value has been identified by a state behav-ioral health collaborative for its strong leadership and recog-nized as a major strength in the local health system.

“We are a trusted community asset,” Yolanda said.“Providers and agencies recognize the community building,networking, information sharing and action that take place asa result of council meetings and activities, and are involvedas partners in improving community health.”

For information about the Health Council and its role inhealth care in San Miguel County, call 505 425-9770, or dropby the office, 501 S. Grand (behind the red caboose), wherethey are housed courtesy of the City of Las Vegas, fiscal agentfor the program.

—Information for this article was provided by San Miguel Family and Community Health Council

and its website www.smhealthcouncil.org.

Happenstance • April 23, 2010 • Page 5

Health council stresses outreach and collaboration

“We’re not theexperts, but weknow where tofind them.”

—Cruz

Happenstance • April 23, 2010 • Page 6

According to takebackthenight.org, the first men-tion of Take Back the Night occurred at the Inter-national Tribunal on Crimes against Women

1976 in Brussels, Belgium. Two thousand women represent-ing forty countries attended the event. This was the first doc-umented Take Back the Nightmarch, a candlelight processionthrough the streets of Brussels.

New York held the first North American march forwomen in 1976 but it wasn’t until 1977 that the slogan TakeBack the Nightwas introduced by Anne Pride as the title of amemorial she read at an anti-violence rally in Pittsburgh, PA.Take Back the Night focuses on eliminating sexual violence inall forms, and thousands of colleges, universities, women’scenters, and rape crisis centers have sponsored events acrossthe country.

The Las Vegas event is set for 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 27,on the campus of New Mexico Highlands University. Partic-ipants will gather at Melody Park and process from there tothe green space at University and National across fromKennedy Lounge. Sponsored by the Campus Violence Pre-vention program, headed up by director Kimberly Valdez,the event will include music, a candle light vigil and a ‘shoutout’, during which woman may speak about their experi-ences.

The Campus Violence Prevention program is in its firstyear of a three-year grant funded by the US Office of ViolenceAgainst Women. The NMHU program got off the ground inJanuary. Its purpose is to bring awareness to prevention, ed-ucation and outreach on issues of sexual assault, dating vio-lence, stalking and domestic violence.

“We don’t provide services, but we do make referrals toresources. We have access to a counselor, but our role is to

connect women to the agencies andproviders who can help them,” Valdezsaid.

In recognition of Sexual AssaultAwareness Month (April), Valdez’s grouphas installed a display at Donnelly Li-brary announcing Take Back the Night, anda second display called the Clotheslineproject at Hewitt Hall. This is a nation-wide vehicle for women affected by vio-lence to express their emotions bydecorating a shirt which is then hung on a clothesline to beviewed by others as testimony to the problem of violenceagainst women.

Valdez’s program is also working with Student Affairsand the Judiciary Board as they construct a more systematicapproach to disciplinary actions following the commissionof a sex crime. This entails working with a variety of agencieson and off campus, Valdez said. Her agency is also involvedin developing and distributing information and trainingabout sexual assault prevention to students, campus police,housing staff, the athletic department and others.

The tasks of the Campus Violence Prevention programare numerous and it takes the dedication and participation ofa number of people. Valdez said key participants in the suc-cess of the program are principle investigator Dr. ErikaDerkas, professor of sociology and Women’s Studies, grad-uate assistant Lori Duran, counselor Anna Maria Armijo-Glenn, graduate student in counseling Amanda Gallegos,Women’s Studies interns Antoinette Smith, Sara Chavez, andYolanda Elias, Dr. Kristie Ross, professor of History, and stu-dent volunteer Crystal Montoya.

“One thing we’ve learned is that women will seek serv-ices if they know they are available. Our job is to get the in-formation out there, and to bring awareness. To make surewhat are considered to be crimes of silence (rape, abuse andother types of sexual violence), do not go silently into thenight,” Valdez said.

For information about Take Back the Night or the CampusViolence Prevention program, contact Valdez at 454-3445.

TTAAKKEE BBAACCKK TTHHEE NNIIGGHHTTTTAAKKEE BBAACCKK TTHHEE NNIIGGHHTTCampus program gets information out aboutsexual assault prevention and victim resources

“We’re finding that if women know resourcesare available they will ask for the services.”

– Kimberly ValdezDirector

The Clothesline project at Hewitt Hall.

VALDEZ

Happenstance • April 23, 2010 • Page 7

Iused to belong to a group that had an annual cookieexchange at Christmas. Everyone would bring extracopies of the recipe and ‘sell’ them to other members

of the group to raise funds for special projects. On one oc-casion we did a potluck luncheon using the same idea. I’ve been thinking about doing something similar in-

volving a dinner party, not selling recipes, but askingguests to bring their favorite dishes along with recipes toshare with the rest of the attendees. This idea was rein-forced recently when we were at a party at the home of afriend. Everyone complimented her on several of the itemsshe had served for dinner. Several women asked for therecipe for a particular item. She had it on her computer andit was no big deal to print it out, and it was my inspirationfor this column. If you decide to do this make sure your guest list con-

sists of people who you know would enjoy a get-togetherof this type. Not everyone wants to go to a party wherethey are asked to bring part of the meal. Consult with the cooks in the group you plan to invite

and perhaps among you come up with a menu so everyonedoesn’t bring the same course. For example if you do a Fi-esta Night consider the following as a menu:Appetizers - TapasSalad with a New Mexico twistEnchiladasSpanish Rice or PosoleDessertsAs the host you supply all the table settings, drinks and

the main course, in this case the enchiladas, and the rest ofthe food is brought by others! This is just an example. Useyour imagination and come up with a menu that brings abit of adventure to the evening.The fun part is to share the recipes and perhaps a story

about how you got it. Did it come from a favorite aunt? Agood friend? Your mom? What happened the first time youprepared the dish? Cooking isn’t just about the process ofpreparing the food; its also about memories. An impromptupotluck is a way to make new memories with old recipes.Happy eating!

Friendly exchange, make it a partyHHAAPPPPEENNSSTTAANNCCEE KKIITTCCHHEENNHHAAPPPPEENNSSTTAANNCCEE KKIITTCCHHEENN

Do you like getting recipes from other people? Have a party and invite friendsto bring their favorite dishes and enough recipe cards to go around

Potluck Recipe ideas

Jalapeno Rice (serves 10)(This came from Joann Olafsonat one of our recipe sell-offs)2 c Minute Rice 1 Onion, chopped1/2 c Salad Oil 3 Jalapeno, chopped1/2 c Butter 1/2 - 1 lb Velvetta Cheese

In a large pan fry rice until light brown; addonions and peppers. Boil 4 c water and add 3 chickenbouillon cubes. Pour over rice; cook covered 20-25minutes. Add 1/2 c butter and 1/2 to 1 pound Vel-vetta Cheese. Stir well and place in a greased casseroledish. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes; letstand before serving.

Macaroni au Gratin(Jeannie Hopp, allrecipes.com)

1 (7 ounce) package elbow macaroni1/4 cup butter1/4 cup all-purpose flour2 cups milk8 oz process cheese (eg. Velveeta), cubed1 tablespoon chopped onion1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon pepper1/4 teaspoon ground mustard2 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbsCook macaroni according to package directions;

drain. Place in a greased 2-qt. baking dish; set aside. Ina saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir inflour until well blended. Gradually add milk; bring toa boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes; reduce heat. Addcheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper andmustard; stir until cheese melts. Pour over macaroniand mix well. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake, un-covered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Happenstance • April 23, 2010 • Page 8

All right! The weightloss and fitness siteI’ve been looking for!

I signed onto sparkpeople.com,introduced myself, and got a TONof welcomes and suggestions.These are folks just like me becauseI entered the criteria that reflectswho I am, where I am in life, andhow much I want to lose in whatamount of time

Immediately the site set up amenu plan for me to follow, whichso far I haven’t used because I’vebeen under the gun to meet severaldeadlines, but I have been record-ing my daily food intake (I know,scary thought), and I’m surprisedat the results. One, believe it or not,I don’t consume thatmany calories,but the ones I do consume are thewrong kind: too many carbs andfat, and way too little protein. Thefirst two pack on the pounds andthe third is required to burn off excess everything and pro-duce energy.

That alone was worth signing up for. It makes me muchmore conscientious about what I’m eating and drinking.

The site has much more to offer, including a second sitethat is nothing but recipes created by site users and sparkpeo-ple chefs. There is even a calorie calculator you can use to de-termine the calorie count and nutritional value of your ownrecipes.

Other aspects of the site I haven’t looked at yet are thechallenges, exercise and fitness. The news articles are rele-vant to fitness and a healthy lifestyle. While the site is freekeeping the resources available at no cost does come at aprice. ‘News’ can sometimes (most likely in every case) leadto helpful information that takes you to a site where you have

an opportunity to buy some-thing, a piece of equipment, acookbook, a self-help manual, orsomething sold by thesparkpeople site. If you neverbuy anything, putting up withthese link-ads is worth navigat-ing around them. Plus there aresome helpful items offered youmight actually want to buy.

Sparkpeople.com has moreto offer than any other site of itskind. I’ve tried various othersites, but I haven’t experiencedquite the same level of instantresponse I got from sparkpeoplesite users. It kinda makes youwant to be successful so theywill be proud of you! And, youcan earn points for participat-ing in various aspects of whatthe site has to offer, to be used tobuy site offers, such as exerciseequipment, food products andother health related items.

The site also has cooking and exercise videos featuringexperienced chefs, trainers and coaches. It has a planning sec-tion with a calendar for keeping track of your appointmentsand a journal where you can record your progress or any-thing else you want to record.

What I liked as much as anything is that the people whoresponded to my initial questions and comments were all up-beat. Their encouragement was genuine and folksy, like I wastalking to a friend. For some this could be a social networkworth the name.

It’s easy to get started and it doesn’t cost anything but alittle of your time.

Sparkpeople.com was rated Best Health Website in 2006,2007, and 2008 by Business Week.

TTHHEE BBEESSTT OOFF TTHHEE WWEEBBTTHHEE BBEESSTT OOFF TTHHEE WWEEBBSparkPeople for a spark of motivation

Getting in shape at any age means improving diet andadding activity to your routine. Walking is one of the easiestand least expensive ways to exercise, with the greatest ben-efit. The biggest investment is in a good pair of walkingshoes and socks that ‘breathe’ to prevent foot irritation.

This site has it all if you want to lose weight, increase you’re activity level, or have a healthier lifestyle, and it’s free!

Andy Kingsbury, owner of PlazaAntiques, 1805 Plaza, is one ofthree respected antique dealers

represented inthe shop, a busi-ness thatopened nearlyfifteen years agoin a buildingformerly occu-pied by an autoparts store. Theshop displaysan eclectic arrayof vintage itemsthat range inprice from $1and up. Andy’sstock (some of iton consign-ment) com-

prises about eighty percent of the shop’scontents. The other two dealers are ErichErdoes, specializing in the rare and exqui-site, and Sasse, who counts among her cus-tomers high end retailers such as RalphLauren. Andy said he does quite a bit ofrental business with the movie industry.Store hours are Sunday, 9-4; Monday,Thursday - Saturday, 10-6.

Shoes ‘n Boots, 1606 7th Street, special-izes in work boots and shoes. They have avariety of name brands in sizes 0 to 10 inladies, and up to 13 in men’s sizes.Annabelle Lopez said any size and stylecan be special ordered. The store opened in

2003 as a family shoe store specializing inathletic shoes. In recent years the focus haschanged because the demand for utilitarianwork footwear increased. The store’s staffincludes Carlos, Annabelle, Catrina and Pa-tricia Lopez. Shoes ‘n Boots is open Mon-day - Saturday from 9-6.

Matthew and Linzy Behrs became theowners of 501 Sixth after several years ofadmiring it. The plans for renovation havenot materialized in the way they wouldhave liked, but they have built a cozy busi-ness based on estate sales and consignmentsales. Their home is in the spacious upstairsand the business is downstairs, a hodge-podge of the not-quite-antique, some reallygood pieces, and excess from estate sales.Renamed the Lion’s Heart Gift Shop andEstate Sales, the store is open Wednesdaythrough Friday, 11-5; Saturday from 11-3.

The Chamberof Commerce Busi-ness After Hoursevent at NorthernInsurance onThursday was a bighit with more thanforty gueststhroughout theevening. The nextBAH, hosted bythe San MiguelCounty Commission, will be held Thursday,April 29, in the Commission Chambers, up-stairs in the old courthouse. For more infor-mation contact the Chamber at 425-8631.

Happenstance • April 23, 2010 • Page 10

Books byF.S.

Vander MeerThese books are avail-able in Las Vegas atTome on the RangeBookstore. Online pur-chases may be madeat Amazon, Xlibris, andBarnes and Noble.

Not Just An-other Day isa series ofdaily reflec-tions thatcelebratethe gift oflife. Based

on the author’s Christianfaith tradition the bookuses Bible passages,prayers and readings tocapture the common ex-perience of living a life offaith in an ever-changingworld.

In FutureImperfectconflictingforces con-trol two indi-vidualsseeking sta-bility and sanity amid es-calating political andenvironmental chaos.Their lives are fraughtwith lies, treachery, andan altered environment.

In The Bal-lad of BawdyMcClureshort haulerJake Caseyis confrontedwith the age

old question: Who canyou trust? From theopening scene in whichhe finds the body of hismurdered friend to theend he is constantlyquestioning the motivesof those closest to him.

AA HHAAPPPPEENNSSTTAANNCCEE WWAALLKK AABBOOUUTTAA HHAAPPPPEENNSSTTAANNCCEE WWAALLKK AABBOOUUTT

Andy Kingsbury andPeanuts the cat at PlazaAntiques, the longest con-tinuously operating an-tique shop in Las Vegas.

P.j. Wolf, right, andCisco Rubio chat withguests.

Annabelle Lopez stands among the stockof shoes available at Shoes ‘n Boots. “Whatwe don’t have we can order,” she said.

Matthew and Linzy Behrs take a breakfrom waiting on customers to talk about theirshop at 501 Sixth Street.

Save the Date!Save the Date!Wednesday, May 19Wednesday, May 19

5:30 - 7 p.m.5:30 - 7 p.m.Business After HoursBusiness After Hours

hosted by:hosted by:Charlie’s Bakery and CafeCharlie’s Bakery and Cafe

and and Sharon Vander MeerSharon Vander Meer

Writer & Creative ConsultantWriter & Creative Consultant

Food, entertainment, drawingsFood, entertainment, drawings

AA LLaass VVeeggaass--SSaann MMiigguueell CChhaammbbeerr ooff CCoommmmeerrccee EEvveenntt

Don’t Miss These Events

— Apr 23 - 25, An Evening of Box Seats and a One-Actat Tome on the Range, Fri. & Sat., 7:30 pm; Sun., 5 pm;tickets $10, $8 seniors, $5 students with ID— Apr 24, 7th annual SynergyFest; Melody Park, NMHU,10-4, a free family event. — Apr 25, 8 pm, Spring Concert at the UWC; dining room Montezuma Castle, featuring the African Chorus, UWCBrass, Festival Chorus, The Castle Quartet, UWC Strings— Apr 25, 3p.m., Mozart and More, United MethodistChurch, featuring the Highlands Madrigal Choir, mem-bers of Santa Fe Symphony and NM Symphony; $10 ad-mission $5 Seniors and Children; HU, UWC, and HighSchool Students free w/ID—Apr 27, 7 pm, NMHU Melody Park, Take Back theNight, sponsored by the Campus Violence Preventionprogram; for detail see page 8.

For a complete calendar of activities see the Las Vegas-San Miguel Chamber of Commerce website

www.lasvegasnewmexico.com

FlowerPower duefor May 10delivery

The Las Vegas Independent Business Allianceis expecting a truckload of flowers in time forspring planting. These photos from last year showthe variety and vibrancy of the plants expected.Everyone in this part of the country knows not toplant too early, that’s why the order was delayed toassure warmer temperatures. Hopefully spring willhave sprung by May 10!

COURTESY PHOTOS: MAINSTREET LAS VEGAS