Letters to the Editor

Please don’t shrink Valencia County

Editor:

Recently, a “Valencia County Line” sign was gracing Exit 190, I-25 southbound in Belen.

Valencia County is the second smallest, in land area, county in New Mexico. The above mentioned sign, which erroneously was placed at Exit 190, would have shrunk Valencia County even more.

The southern boundary of the county continues to be south of Bosque next to Sabinal via N.M. 116 and I-25.

I brought this matter to the attention of Clara Garcia, editor of the News-Bulletin. She was kind and professional to pursue the matter with the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The sign was promptly removed.

Thank you, Clara and NM DOT.

Lorenzo Pino

Bosque

John P. Elliott’s memory deserves better

Editor:

Our military veterans are (or should be) some of our most treasured citizens.

Regardless if they’ve seen combat or not, these men and women decided to give of themselves, their lives and their hearts when they joined the military. Their dedication to the defense of our nation should be praised whenever possible.

Many of them didn’t have a choice, having been drafted during wartime.

When I read the article about the American Legion Post 85 in Los Lunas changing the name of the post to Tamara Long-Archuleta, a local woman who tragically died during a rescue mission in Afghanistan, I thought it was a great honor for her family.

The post members had said John P. Elliott, who the post was initially named for, was not a veteran, and they wanted to name it for a local veteran.

I don’t understand how they could have not known that Mr. Elliott was a veteran. He was a World War II veteran. He served in the U. S. Army. He was a founding member of the American Legion post, someone who donated land for the post home, a member of the VFW as well as the DAV.

How can the post not know this? Do they not keep records of members? Do they not know the history of their own post?

I, in no way, expect the post members to remove the current name and re-establish it with Mr. Elliott’s name. That would be wrong. But it would also be wrong not to honor him in some other way.

I implore the commander and the members of American Legion Post 85 to do something sooner than later. It is a shame this happened, and I hope honor and decency will prevail.

Charles Garcia

Los Chavez