County searches for Fair Queen

The Sandoval County Fair and Rodeo Queen contest will be held on Saturday, June 2 at 10:00 a.m. at the Corrales Top Form Arena. This contest is being held to select the 2008 Sandoval County Fair and Rodeo Queen’s Court. The Queen’s Court will consist of a Sweetheart (age nine to eleven), a Princess (age twelve to sixteen), and a Queen (age seventeen to twenty-three). Contestants will be judged on their horsemanship skills, public speaking skills, and personality. Winners will be awarded belt buckles, crowns, and a saddle for the Queen and Princess. The 2008 Queen’s Court will be crowned on the last day of the 2007 Sandoval County Fair in Cuba.

Entry deadline is May 19. For applications, event tickets, or questions, contact Michelle Taylor at 829-3437 or email lmtaylorfamily@juno.com. Donations for prizes and awards are most welcome and are tax-deductible.

Food drive helps hungry

—SUBMITTED BY STOREHOUSE WEST
Saturday, May 12, is the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive in Rio Rancho to benefit Storehouse West, a nonprofit organization that helps families and individuals in need. The following items are most needed: canned fruit, pasta (especially spaghetti), evaporated milk, ramen noodles, pudding or Jell-o, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, refried beans, grape jelly, pork ‘n’ beans, toilet paper, and bar soap.

Please leave your donation by your mailbox or cluster mailbox for collection. We will also be collecting food at the two Rio Rancho Raley’s locations—on Southern Boulevard and in Enchanted Hills—from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on May 12. Our Storehouse West van will be parked at the Southern Boulevard store, and Michael Buffington’s Big Dog truck will be parked at the Enchanted Hills store. The Rio Rancho Kiwanis and Key Clubs will be handing out flyers with a list of our most-needed items.

Green Built Tour returns

Each year, the New Mexico Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council hosts the Green Built Tour. Usually attended by almost one thousand residents of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, this two-day tour is being held May 20 and 21. The tour is designed to showcase buildings and homes which serve as examples of what can be done to incorporate the principles of “green” design and construction. This hands-on experience allows interested parties to see what other designers and home owners have done in the areas of material recycling, solar power, water harvesting, indoor environments, wind energy, ultra-efficient insulation, low-impact construction, and renewable products.

This year’s tour will feature ten homes in Santa Fe, ten homes in Albuquerque, and several others in the Los Alamos and Taos area. These homes feature numerous elements of sustainable design and will have either the home owner, the builder, or the architect available to explain features to those on the tour. In addition, this year we will be identifying Green Heritage Homes—homes that have embodied green design techniques for over twenty years.

Admission to the tour is $10, and includes a green homes brochure to provide you with information on how you can change the way you are living to be more sustainable and green at your house. Whether you are planning a solar panel system, water harvesting, a remodel of your home, or an entire building, the Green Built Tour is the place to start. For more information, visit www.nmsea.org or call 246-0400.

Adobe Association of SW holds conference

The Adobe Association of the Southwest will hold its fourth annual conference May 18, 19, 20 and 21, at the El Rito Campus of Northern New Mexico College, also known as the El Rito Heritage Retreat Center.

Earth architecture specialists from fifteen nations will converge on the El Rito Heritage Retreat Center on May 18-22 to present their discoveries in all aspects of adobe construction. Sponsored by the Adobe Association of the Southwest, this conference is the only one of its kind in the United States, and grew out of the Adobe Construction Building Program at Northern New Mexico College in El Rito. A deeply committed and growing international community of architects, builders, conservationists, historians, geologists, environmentalists, and scholars will share their experiences with earth building. There are several workshops scheduled the week before and after the conference given by some of our guest speakers.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, free events open to the public will include an adobe brick making benefit, audiovisual presentations, exhibits, vendors, and a tour of the Northern New Mexico College programs at the El Rito Campus. On Monday, May 21, participants may sign up for an adobe tour of the area, which will include Mel Medina’s adobe factory in Alcade, Taos Pueblo, and the historic Martinez Hacienda. A longer tour to the Mesa Verde site in Colorado will also be available Tuesday and Wednesday. For more information, visit www.adobeasw.com.