Mark Stambaugh, Photographer Extraordinaire

Watching the "likes" to the photos posted on Mark Stambaugh's Facebook page is a testament to his extraordinary "eye" for taking awe-inspiring photos.

There is a certain artistic talent necessary to capture breathe-taking photos. Sometimes you learned it in classes, but sometimes it is just an innate ability to frame the perfect shot through the lens.

Originally from Plainview, TX, Stambaugh is a graduate of Texas Tech with a degree in business and worked for Gulf Oil Corp in W. Texas.  He moved to the Alto area in 1987, which solidified Stambaugh's love for New Mexico and the Ruidoso area.  It is evident in the many of the local landscapes shown in his work.  From snow covered shots of Sierra Blanca, to sunsets over Bonito Lake, his photos adduce the wealth of beautiful scenery to be found in Lincoln County.

A collection of Stambaugh's stretched canvas photographs are currently at the Capitan Public Library for the public to view until the end of March.

Other locations where Mark Stambaugh Photography can be seen are:  Weaver Real Estate, located in River Crossing on Sudderth Dr. in Ruidoso; Cornerstone Bakery; on Stambaugh's Facebook page and at www.RuidosoPhotos.com. 

Stambaugh began working as a real estate photographer in 2006.  He recently opened Alto Storage Buildings on Highway 48, where you can traipse around various models of Graceland Portable Building.  

Next to the storage buildings is the wood yard that Mark and his brother, Coy, started  providing wood by the cord and specialty items like Chimineas with pinon wood (people in the Eastern U.S. particularly liked these items).  Coy still runs the wood yard, while Mark branched off into photography, real estate and portable buildings.

Mark Stambaugh will be in the Alto Artist Studio Tour the first weekend in August, August 3,4 and 5, with a preview reception at the Spencer Theater on Thursday, August 2.  His studio location on the tour will be at his Alto Storage Buildings.

To delve further into the making of these fantastic photos, I asked some questions to Mark.

How early do you rise to take photos? (boy, is that a dumb question or what? Obviously BEFORE sunrise.) 

Mark: For sunrise photos, I'm often up by 5:30 am. 
Favorite location for sunrises:

Ski Run Rd., at least 5 miles up to locations like
Oak Grove or Windy Point. I try to find high elevation
 points, with long views which have few objects

 like houses, power lines,etc.

 Do you find locations and go back?

Mark: Yes, I go back to these same areas often.

Preferred camera and lens?

Mark: A Nikon D810 camera, often using a Nikkor 200-500 mm telephoto lens for wildlife, and a Nikon 24-120 mm  "walk about" lens for general shots, while using
 a wide-angle lens for landscapes. 

Do you manipulate your prints digitally? Or is what
 you see through the lens, what we see in your art?

Mark: My photos are shot in a RAW format and must be
developed.  I use Adobe Lightroom, to process them and 
enhance clarity and sharpness, adjust highlights, and
adjust light conditions, which are  often too dark.

Mark with wife, Mary Weaver, and Allie Jo

Sometimes, it is all about being at the right place, at the right time

Alto Lake

AARP FREE tax preperation

tax prep information - the date changed, so AARP will be at Capitan Library on Monday, Feb. 19 and Monday, March 19. Call for an appointment and bring all important papers including your driver's license or photo ID and SS card.  There are still a few appointments available for both dates.

Creative aging next week

Creative Aging is creating a free-ride program for home-bound people who have no way to get to their health care appointments.

 Drivers needed to provide free rides to the doctor

Creative Aging is looking for volunteer drivers for a free ride service for people who can’t drive to doctors and other health care appointments and don’t have any other way to get there.

“We’re told there are many people with no family or friends living nearby and without Medicaid coverage or other resources to get them to their appointments,” said Clara Farah, who directs the ENMU-based non-profit. “Creative Aging wants to fill that gap, but we need more people willing to drive.”

The driver program is based on a similar volunteer service that has operated since the 1980s in Los Alamos. 

People who need a non-emergency ride to a health care appointment will call a phone number and give the details to the program coordinator. The coordinator then calls drivers until one of them can accept the assignment. The coordinator calls the rider back with the driver’s name and phone number so the two can get in direct touch and arrange the pickup.

About 10 people so far have expressed interest in providing the same service here, according to Creative Aging program coordinator Dave Tomlin. He said he’d like to find at least 10 more to have enough drivers so at least one can always be found who can take an assignment.

“Based on the Los Alamos program, the number of rides is not huge, and no individual driver is asked to take more than a few rides a month if they don’t want to,” Tomlin said. “And a volunteer can always decline to accept a ride appointment for any reason.”

Interested drivers will be asked to provide copies of their driver’s license and auto insurance certificates, and to authorize a basic background check.”It’s based on Social Security numbers,” Tomlin said, “no fingerprints required.”

Tomlin said plans call for supplemental driver liability insurance through CIMA, a carrier that specializes in coverage of non-profit volunteers. He said he hoped the program would be ready to begin taking ride requests by late March.

Anyone interested in hearing more about becoming a driver can call Tomlin at 917-834-8133 or email him at dave.tomlin74@gmail.com.

What’s the purpose of the program?

We believe there are many in Lincoln County who need to get to health care appointments but can’t drive, have no friends or family available nearby, and don’t have Medicaid or other resources to pay for a ride. We want them to be able to call us for a lift.

Where will the program take them?

We’ll provide rides to doctor, dentist, eye or ear care, physical therapy or other health-related appointments within Lincoln County or in Alamogordo or Roswell if we can find a driver with time to go that far.

How does a rider qualify for help from the program?

We don’t plan to interrogate riders rigorously or require documentation of need or age. We’ll certainly let them know that we want as much as possible to be a last resort for those who don’t have other options. 

Will drivers have to lift wheelchairs or riders who can’t walk?

No. We can only provide our service to riders who can walk to our vehicles and get in and out without much assistance. We won’t take wheelchairs. Walkers are okay.

Will drivers attend doctor visits along with riders?

No. Our service is door to door. If a rider needs help at the medical office with note taking or questions for the care provider, we will take a friend or relative along for that purpose.

How will the service work?

It’s very simple. We will have a list of drivers and a coordinator with a phone number. Riders will call the coordinator to make an appointment for a ride. The coordinator will look on the list for drivers who might be available and call them one by one until someone can accept the ride request. The coordinator will then call the rider back and give him or her the driver’s name and phone number. It will then be up to the rider to contact the driver directly to work out details of the pickup.

How do I become a driver?

We will ask you for the following: 1) A copy of your current and valid driver’s license, 2) A copy of your current and valid insurance certificate, 3) your Social Security number with permission to use it for a basic background check (no fingerprints required), 4) a short note telling us the days and times of day you prefer to drive, when you will NOT be available to drive, and whether you are willing to drive to Roswell and/or Alamogordo, just within Lincoln County, or just within your own community.

Can I refuse to drive when the coordinator calls me?

Absolutely yes. You should never feel pressured to take a ride request when it’s inconvenient or involves pickup or delivery locations you’re not comforting driving to.

What about insurance?

Drivers’ personal auto insurance policies should cover normal situations. We will insure volunteer drivers who have registered with the program for risks arising during their volunteer driving that aren’t covered by their own policies. The carrier is CIMA, a national company that specializes in insurance of volunteers with non-profit organizations.

When do we start?

We hope to be up and running by the end of March. There’s still a lot to do. We want to have at least 20 drivers registered with all their documents in hand. We need to obtain the background checks from IntelliCorp, an online company that provides various levels of security checks for businesses and other organizations. We need to get the word out to the people who might need our help. And Creative Aging, our sponsoring organization, needs to give the final go-ahead for us to start.

FYI: Organics in Smokeys.

Chuck Gurvitz is the new Produce Manager at Smokeys Country Market in Capitan, and he now has half of the produce department filled with ORGANIC items. Check it out!

Feb 20th FREE Ancestry.com Class

Free Ancestry.com Class
Tuesday, February 20 6:00-8:00 pm at the Library

To get started, all you need is the name and approximate date of birth or death of two ancestors.

Start reading the March book for Capitan Library's book club

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

Book club meets First Thursday of the month at 10 am.  So that means March 1 this time!

Join us for a SUNDAY PROGRAM February 11 @ 2 pm

Herb Marsh presents 
Nora True Henn's 
Lincoln County and
 its Wars 

Herb Marsh is the head of the Nora Johnson Henn Foundation and past president of the Lincoln County Historical Society

Nora True Henn was a forty-year resident of Lincoln,NM, and was known as the first lady of Lincoln County history.  Authors who wrote about Billy the Kidd or the Lincoln County War would always come first to Lincoln and visit with Nora.  The breadth and depth of her knowledge of Lincoln's turbulent past was unequal.  There wasn't anything about the subject she had not researched with ultimate effort and committed to memory or writing.  

Henn accumulated an extensive archive of Lincoln County history that was the envy of all.   Before her death in 2011, she created the Henn Johnson Library and Local History Archives Foundation to care for her archives located in Lincoln. It is a research facility for serious research of Lincoln County history.  She penned this manuscript from her own life-long research. 

Our presenter, Herb Marsh, is a former El Paso attorney and district judge.  He attended law school at University of Texas.  An avid historian, he now lives in Lincoln. He is currently the president of the Nora Johnson Henn Foundation and past president of the Lincoln County Historical Society. (Plus he's been seen out playing drums with the ENMU-Ruidoso choir and Top Brass.)

Refreshments will follow the program.

First Saturday (FEB 3) $5 for a bag of books PLUS bake sale

Bag of books $5

NEW on First Saturday:
Bake goods for sale.
Come stock up books & eats!

Saturday hours:  10 am to 2 pm

Book Club, Feb 1 at 10 am

Join the book club on February 1st at 10:00am to discuss "Sin Killer", the first book of the Berrybender Narratives, by Larry McMurtry. Refreshments will be served.

Sunday, Jan 28 at 2 pm program at the Capitan Library

Capitan program looks at challenges of bringing education to the frontier

Ruidoso News Report

Owen has deep roots in Lincoln County

Playing the role of a school teacher, Tiffanie Owen will show some of the challenges facing those who brought eductaion to the frontier.

(Photo: Courtesy Photo)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Refreshments will be provided

A program Jan. 28, at the Capitan Public Library will look at the challenges faced by those who brought education to the frontier.

At 2 pm, Tiffanie Owen, Instructional Coordinator for Lincoln and Fort Stanton Historic Sites, will present "Going Old School in Lincoln." Owen has deep roots in Lincoln County. Her great-great grandfather, John Owen, was Sheriff of Lincoln from 1902-1907.  Some of her relatives attended one of the first schools in Lincoln, one now the Lincoln Community Church. That association, combined with being a third-generation teacher, inspired Owen to create her schoolmarm persona. 

The building of a school in a frontier town signified that the "Wild West" was becoming a little less wild. Owen's slideshow presentation introduces the audience to the challenges of bringing education to the American frontier. Schoolmarm Owen will share the trials and tribulations of both teachers and students in these early days of education. It's hard to say whether these stories will make the audience grateful for the conveniences of schools today or long for the educational techniques of days gone by.

Owen also is the Volunteer Coordinator for Lincoln and Fort Stanton Historic Sites. For information on becoming a volunteer or scheduling a tour or a classroom visit, email her at Tiffanie.Owen@state.nm.us or call 575-653-4025.

Refreshments will be provided after the presentation. For more information call Capitan Public Library at 575-354-3035. The library is at 101 E. Second St. in Capitan. Library hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday and Saturday, closed on Sunday and Monday. .

Creative Aging Jan 26

Behavioral and financial concerns. Clara Farah and Karen Rounds. Guests include Priscilla Lujan, Alzheimer's Foundation, and Elizabeth Sanchez, Aging and Long Term Department, on insurance changes.

A sobering subject,albeit necessary. And possibly, with proper planning, something we can begin to deal with now with information and dialogue. Please plan to attend and bring your questions.

Thank you Otero County Electric Co-op!

Proud to be associated with the good people at Capitan Library

Names are flipped. L-R: Pat, James and Lynda

Jan 22 Music in C'zozo

Carrizozo Music, Inc. presents nationally-renown Portland Cello Project in a free concert at 6 PM on Monday, January 22 at the Carrizozo School Old Gym.  The cellists will play a wide variety of music by many different composers from many different points in history, which they will announce and explain from the stage. They will build a unique show for the audience drawing from their repertoire of over 1,000 pieces of music, which means you can expect a performance similar to the Oregon weather: it is likely that whatever is happening at one moment will be completely different just a few minutes later. 

In the fall of 2006 a group of 10 cellists got on stage at Portland's Doug Fir Lounge to perform western classical music in an informal setting.  Many of the cellists that night thought it would only happen once.  But slowly that one-off event became a second, and a third, playing Portland's most popular clubs (Holocene, Mississippi Studios), and by 2009 the group had evolved into a nationally recognized performance and educational group with a revolving cast of cellists, releasing full-length albums, performing everywhere from punk rock clubs to, loading dock street parties, to exclusive private events, and symphony halls all over North America, spending more than a quarter of the year touring, and featuring a diverse repertoire of well over 1,000 pieces of music.

While the group changed and evolved in a hundred different ways over the last decade, the one consistent focus has always been building bridges between different musical communities through collaboration with myriad artists to educational and community outreach at schools and universities around the country.  Coming on the New Mexico tour will be all-star cellists Diane Chaplin, Kevin Jackson, Skip vonKuske, Collin Oldham and Lauren McShane.    The concert will be followed by a reception and opportunity to meet the musicians. 

A school outreach concert will take place at 3 PM, January 22, at the Carrizozo School Old Gym.  Both concerts are free and open to the public.

From 4-6 PM,   there will be a fundraising dinner to benefit the Culinary Arts Program and the Junior Class Prom Project.  The meal will include a choice of posole or vegetarian chili, corn bread, biscochitos, and tea, water or coffee.   Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.   Please call Carol Wilson at 575-799-8707 for tickets and information.  The meal will be served in the school cafeteria, across the courtyard from the Old Gym.  Take-out available.

For information about Carrizozo Music, the 2018 season schedule and concert updates please check www.carrizozomusic.org, email carrizozomusic@gmail.com or call Elaine at 575-648-2757.  Carrizozo Music sponsors a series of classical concerts, summer Portico Concerts and school outreach performances and workshops with a commitment to providing free quality music to the residents of Lincoln County and the surrounding area.

 Carrizozo School Old Gym is located at 800 D Ave, on the corner of D Avenue and 10^th

Expanding your Horizons by Looking into the Past - SUNDAY PROGRAM at the Library, January 28th at 2 pm:

Tiffanie Owen, schoolmarm in Lincoln

 "Going Old School in Lincoln:  Getting an Education on the Western Frontier" 

Join us on SUNDAY, January 28 at 2 pm for a slideshow presentation by Miss Owen, the schoolmarm in Lincoln.  She introduces the audience to the challenges of bringing education to the American frontier.  The building of a school in a frontier town signified that the "Wild West" was becoming a little less wild.  Schoolmarm Owen will share the trials and tribulations of both students and teachers in these early days of education...it is hard to say whether these stories will make the audience grateful for the conveniences of schools today or long for the educational techniques of days gone by.

The presenter is Tiffanie Owen.  Tiffanie is the Instructional Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator for Lincoln and Fort Stanton Historic Sites.  She is a former middle-school teacher, Occupational Therapist, artist, musician and photographer.  Tiffanie's great-great grandfather, John Owen, was Sheriff of Lincoln County from 1902-1907.  For information on a presentation, tour, or volunteering at Lincoln or Fort Stanton, contact her at Tiffanie.Owen@state.nm.us or 575-653-4025.

   

photo by Kenneth Walter 

Refreshments after the presentation so we can socialize and you can ask questions of the schoolmarm.  If you want to bring fingerfoods, please do.  All contributions are welcomed and appreciated.

NEW art display at the Library

The photography of Mark Stambaugh 

Photos taken in the Ruidoso and Lincoln County area

 More photographs than you see at the Capitan Library may be viewed at www.RuidosoPhotos.com or on Mark Stambaugh's facebook page. New images will be added to www.RuidosoPhotos.com on a weekly basis and a new photo appears almost daily on his facebook page.

Canvas reprints are now available for purchase.  They can be seen at the offices of Weaver Real Estate, located in River Crossing, at 1810 Sudderth. A select number of framed prints are also on display at the new Cornerstone Bakery.

Prices are $100 for a print measuring 18 in. x 24 in, and $200 for a print measuring 36 in. x 24 in.  So if you see one at the Library that you like, please call Mark at 575-937-5719 to order a print or with any questions you may have.  You can also visit the offices of Weaver Real Estate to purchase prints. 

Mark Stambaugh is originally from Plainview, Texas and attended Texas Tech University.  After graduating in 1980 with a degree in business, he worked with Gulf Oil Corporation in West Texas.

Mark has lived in the Alto area since 1987, and began working as a real estate photographer in 2006.  His love for New Mexico and the Ruidoso area is evident in many of the landscapes shown in his work.  From snow covered shots of Sierra Blanca, to sunsets over Bonito Lake, there is a wealth of beautiful scenery to be found in Lincoln County.

recent post from Mark's Facebook page

Creative Aging Jan 11

Tax time approaches

AARP Tax Preparation will be held at the library on the following dates. Please come in or call 575-354-3035 for an appointment on these dates.  You cannot just show up and expect to be helped on the date.  Not going to happen.

Monday, February 12
Monday, March 19

Make a trip to see Artesia Library - worth the drive

Peter Hurd's mural from MD Anderson Building in Houston

 Library-themed bronzes.  But you should check out all the other bronzes on display in Artesia.  I swear I saw Billy, you know, the kid at one of them - The Rustler.

Wonder if they asked the librarians to choose the titles?

Library closed Tuesday, Jan 2

THINK SNOW for the new year!

Free computer classes at the library

Classes begin January 18 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The free classes will run for 6 weeks every Thursday. Class size is limited so sign up soon.

Holiday closures for the library

The Capitan Library will be closed December 23 through December 26 for Christmas 

AND closed January 2 for New Year's

 

Tamale making class at Capitan Library. Everyone had great fun inspite of the serious expressions. Each person got to take home their tamales.

Iva Gutierrez - instructor

Donations to CPL

Each year in November, the Capitan Library conducts a fund raiser to support our volunteer library. All donations are tax deductible and go directly to the library. 
Your donation can help us continue to have quality children's programs, new books for everyone and audio books and large print for those who need a little help. In addition, we provide public computers with internet, free Ancestry.com, copying and fax machines, DVDs, and tutoring in a variety of subjects (just ask!)
Thank you for your support!

Looking for a job?

We are looking for 11 workers to do solar labor installation in Carrizozo NM. The Job pays 12.00 an hr. Applicants will have to be able to pass a drug test/ back ground check, have steel toe boots, and they need to have one year of construction experience. Applicants can apply online at http://www.peopleready.com/construction . They will also need to take a survey, listed below.

Applicant site link: https://mitapplicant.merchantsinfo.com/

Username: 049203519U

If you have any questions, then please feel free to contact

Jose Medina tel: 505-348-4911

Maria Chavez tel: 505-348-4906

Jose Medina
Trades Recruiter

Office (505) 348-4911 | Fax (505) 792-6167

Cell (505) 615.3152jmedina@peopleready.com
www.PeopleReady.com
8900 San Mateo NE, Suite A&B

Albuquerque, NM 87113

Put a little holiday music into your schedule