Gas Update and Carol’s Taos Story
Yesterday, the Taos EOC, headed by Eletha Trujillo, Taos County Emergency Operations Director, sent out a thank you listing the many Northern New Mexico agencies and jurisdictions who have been assisting during the natural gas outage throughout Taos County. From Taos County, thank you.
 And, on behalf of Town of Taos Mayor Darren Cordova, thank you all for your patience and positive attitude, and for working together during our recent, challenging times. Â
State of New Mexico
Office of the Governor
 Susana Martinez
Governor
Contact: Scott Darnell
(505) 819-1398
February 8, 2011
GOVERNOR SUSANA MARTINEZ DELIVERS UPDATE ON NATURAL GAS OUTAGES IN TAOS AND ESPANOLA
 SANTA FE – Tonight, Governor Susana Martinez announced significant progress in returning natural gas service to residents of Espanola and Taos. At the current time, all homes and businesses in the two communities have been canvassed by teams of technicians and guardsmen or emergency responders. With the exception of a small number of homes where residents are still not present, natural gas has been restored throughout Taos and Espanola tonight.Â
During the past thirty hours, 512 National Guard troops, 44 Albuquerque Police Department officers, 14 Albuquerque Fire Department firefighters, 15 State Police officers, and an additional 60 contractors and plumbers have been working around the clock to restore natural gas service.
Anyone who has not had their service restored should contact the New Mexico Gas Company at (888) 664-2726 or (505) 697-3335. Residents of Espanola and Taos received phone messages this evening notifying them of this contact information if they still lacked natural gas. Responders continue their repeated efforts to reach roughly five percent of the homes in these communities, where residents are still not at home this evening, and they will continue their attempts to reach these individuals in person and by phone tonight and tomorrow.
“The generous and hard-working volunteers, National Guard members, police, and fire fighters who have stepped forward to lend a hand to their fellow New Mexicans during this trying time all deserve our deepest gratitude,†said Governor Martinez. “Thankfully, their efforts have led to near-total restoration of natural gas service in Espanola and Taos, and the National Guard and gas technicians will remain in northern New Mexico to ensure that residents are safe during the storm that is upon us and to continue their work to restore heat to every home and business.â€Â
Carol’s Taos Story
My rented house has been red-tagged. Not unexpected. Had to call emergency services who sent out two sheriffs. Had to stave off a vindictive landlord who did not want anybody but his son to turn on the gas and slammed the phone down at the very mention of my smelling gas. He lies about everything so assumes, or pretends to assume, everyone else does.
Because I felt there were leaks beyond the residual gas still in the pipes, I made the call to the Taos emergency whatever — got a number from a friend who took it off one of the radio stations and that resulted in the arrival of two helpful officers who determined the gas was off. What the sheriffs did not know was that did not mean totally off.
I’d been smelling gas all week and even had a burner going this morning for a few moments. Called the gas company. Two locals appeared who felt it was the residual. Not to worry. Cooked dinner on my new electric Black & Decker range. No explosions. I’d been running electrical stuff right along.
Finally got an 18-year journeyman and his assistant wearing New Mexico Gas Company uniforms, not the civies worn by the earlier gas company representatives, the Taoseno and his partner from Santa Fe.
Suddenly we had the real deal here: a journeymen gas pipe-fitter foreman and his assistant. The fellow in charge boasted he hadn’t had a house blow up in his 18 years with the gas company and he wasn’t about to spoil his record.
Thus the intelligent, methodical and thorough checking with the result that the meter was carted away and a red tag attached to the pipe that goes into the house, which was now separated from the pipe from the main, where the meter had been. I was warned the bolts on the ends of each of these could be tampered with.
He expressed how appalled he was at what he was finding around Taos and contrasted it sharply with how things are done elsewhere. After helping to get another end of a gas line turned on, he responded to a chance to see Taos. These fellows had always wanted to see Taos, so they volunteered to come and help. Both guys had had no rest for more than 24 hours but still thought Taos was beautiful despite our mickey mouse — my words — plumbing.
Right now I’m familiarizing myself with the Owner-Resident Statutes that apply to my continuing to live in a house that’s been red-tagged, as that pretty well means untenable. The gas company men told me it is my responsibility to let the landlord know that this place is not habitable, that it’s been red-tagged, and let the retaliations fly — I’ll be accused of having caused the leaks.
However I have photos of a leak he caused, or his hired help cause, while transferring from septic to sewer (which he tried to make me pay for) in the summer of 2009. Of course this was not reported and I learned from the sheriffs today that I need to report it. This will be more cause for retaliation and rude phone calls and another “get out” always followed by cashing the rent check. I’ve learned not to be terrified. Every threat is followed by Ka-Ching.
Beloved owner repaired the gouge by wrapping the gas line with black electrical tape “so he could find it easier.” I said I wanted this inspected. He said get out, as he always does if I ask such questions as when are we going to have water again. There is also a strong possibility that because the adobe was never finished, the north side of the house has a nice bit of black mold growing.
Clarence Vigil told me almost 14 years ago when I moved into this place that the law was not written for him. He has made a very thorough demonstration of this belief. He is also taking down the neighborhood with a strong instinct for slumlording. Recently, across the road, he mas managed to jam onto a tiny lot, two houses and since there was a rectangle of land left, he dragged onto it an ancient trailer his aunt was happy to get rid of.
I wonder who at P&Z approved that little enterprise that interrupts the view I once had of Taos.
Last week he laid a pipe in the ground so he could run wires from his brother’s well house to my meter which I interrupted. That really annoyed him and he stated it was HIS house. I responded that my renting it changed that a little bit. That angered him and for once I didn’t care and advised him to start reading the law that was not written for him. Harrumph!
What used to be beautiful fields and long views have deteriorated into fences everywhere to the west, but to the east are working alfalfa fields and a pole barn that protects hay bales and is home to pigeons, all backdropped by Picuris and in reverse, the fields are foreground to The Mountain. I practice disk golf on Mr. Coca’s fields, and have made thousands of photographs. It’s always a treat to watch the harvesting and sometime later we have horses. Sometimes cows. The fields are terraced higher than the level of my house, allowing me to transcend Talpa and go straight to the volcanoes between Southwest and Northwest.
The photo of the watercolor is of the Talpa Morada, casually commissioned by Clarence to exchange for rent last fall — his idea. He reneged, of course. The painting is currently hanging with two other watercolors at Taos Town Hall until February 28. Decided to add the two others and a couple more.
The pipe of course is the taped up gas line going over the hook up to the new sewer system.
I am looking for a large painting studio that I can live in, and here’s the hard part — an owner with a sense of responsibility, not the usual take as much as you can get and give as little as possible attitude so prevalent in this town.