SPEAK UP!

NEW MEXICO State Police officer Darian Jarrott is a true hero for giving his life in the line of duty. I could not help but notice, sadly, that the killer had been charged with smuggling 40 pounds of cocaine “across the border,” and was under investigation for involvement with “crossborder criminal organizations” aka cartels. Maybe we do need border security after all. SC

OFFICER DARIAN Jarrott, NMSP# 1251, say his name. JP

I JUST read (APS interim-Superintendent Scott) Elder said a return to athletics should not be linked solely to whether they are in school or not. It is unbelievable to me the head of our school system seems to put returning to sports ahead of returning to school. If it is unsafe to have students in school, then it is also unsafe for them to play sports. Yes, sports are important but they should not be more important than our students’ education. VC

THE BRAIN

trust at APS has had almost a full year, paid, to solve the problems of restarting. The result? Nothing. The question is not why we are dead last, but just how far below number 49 are we? DPS

MY COUSIN’S children in Louisiana have been attending school, including sports, since September. There were a few quarantine situations but no COVID shutdown or spread. APS school board members are more interested in their next election rather than what is best for kids. Open the schools. MF

I FEEL so stupid to trust the COVID vaccine would be distributed fairly. I am 75 years old, with some risk factor, and I signed up Dec. 22. I have a friend, visited her PCP for routine visit, casually asked about COVID vaccine and she was given one on the spot. My trust in the system is forever shattered. BJ

APS HAS had the better part of the year to plan for a hybrid model. What’s the problem? Did they forget they are there to serve their students, not the teachers’ union? I don’t remember nursing unions dictating if, when and under what circumstances nurses would work during the pandemic. JR

AMIDST ALL the griping about vaccine priorities, the Jan. 9 letter from Molly Grady said exactly what needed to be said. Her closing comment, “Don’t waste energy judging who ‘deserves’ the vaccine. We all do,” was spot on. JBH

KUDOS TO the Journal’s Editorial Board for calling out the governor for her ill-timed and out-of-touch staff pay raises. Now would you please address her unfair treatment of our restaurants? Her restrictions have customers eating outside and thousands of New Mexicans out of work. Oh, and to the governor’s spokesperson who claimed that efforts to limit her emergency power aren’t wise because our Legislature is “part time,” when the governor is up for reelection, rest assured, we “full-time” citizens will not vote for her. ESJ

WHAT WAS MLG thinking with these over-the-top raises for her inner-circle staff? With the budget deficit we’re going to have, especially with the oil and gas situation, those people shouldn’t have received anything. What about the many businesses and people out of work? Obscene. Politics at its worst. LB

RE: “COAL plant closure shouldn’t cost PNM customers” letter in the Feb. 5 Journal. The author should thank her Democratic state representatives and senators for this great piece of legislation. A few of them are now having “second thoughts.” ... We just don’t need these people representing us. DAW

DEMOCRATS SAY it’s the first invasion of the capital since 1812. I guess they forgot the 1960s when the Cubans came in and shot a few Republicans. Or the 1970s when the Weather Underground bombed Republican offices. Or the 1980s when two leftist women bombed the capital, a military base and a shipyard. But I wonder if they remember Bill Clinton giving them all a pardon? JRA

HONESTLY, THE ol’ buddy, buddy institutional incompetence within the APS administration has to go. APS racks up $666,000 in IRS fines for payroll tax violations? That’s called despicable negligence of taxpayer dollars. The APS board president and superintendent need to step up, voice public responsibility and take corrective action, including the firing of those well-paid, lackadaisical, financial people in charge. RBB FOR NON-Native people, the Petroglyphs are just something to gawk at and take pictures of. They don’t understand the cultural and religious significance of the entire area. ... The Park Service jerk who employed his Taser on a Native man should be reassigned and sent to the northernmost part of Alaska or maybe Adak Island so he can continue his ignorance in peace. WTT

I CAN’T believe there was a coup in Myanmar (last) week. It’s the 21st century for goodness sake, people are still doing coups? Oh wait, there was a coup attempt right here in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6. I guess coups are still a thing after all. EJG

TO THE Petroglyph park ranger: Thank you for doing your job. Keep up the good work. JR

ARE YOU kidding me? A no trespassing sign on our state capital! DKL

IF DARRELL House was really off-trail in the Petroglyphs for religious purposes, he should have given his name and purpose for being there. He knowingly disobeyed the ranger’s orders and was warned but was defiant. Sounds more like a set-up to claim racism and bias, possibly leading to a ridiculous lawsuit. Yes, Tazing is serious and very painful, but it could’ve been avoided. He should apologize. JCL

TO THOSE that claim they want helicopters circling their homes all day and night, drop your anonymity and call the agencies responsible letting them know they can fly their toys over you and your neighbors. Surely you’ll feel safer. WD

HOW IS it that a wall around Capitol Hill and the Roundhouse and now a new fence encircling the governor’s mansion are good things, while a wall at our southern border is, to use Nancy Pelosi’s words, “immoral, expensive and unwise?” ... LM

THANKS TO the postal workers and employees of delivery companies like UPS and FedEx. They did an incredible job this holiday season under really strange conditions. TE