DAILY LOBO new mexico
Ivory Coast Evacuation see page 3
monday
April 4, 2011
The Independent Voice of UNM since 1895
Hundreds march in farmworkers rally by Shaun Griswold shaun24@unm.edu
Robert Maes / Daily Lobo Steve Alford yells at his players during an NIT game against UTEP at the Pit on Mar. 15. Alford has rejected claims that he is going to join the University of Missouri program next season.
Alford denies Mizzou rumor Final Four coaches said Alford to take new coaching job with doubled salary by Ryan Tomari and Isaac Avilucea sports@dailylobo.com
UNM head coach Steve Alford, who in the past hinted that his UNM stay was contingent on continued administrative support, denied reports that he may leave UNM to fill Missouri’s head coaching vacancy. But a potential administrative shakeup could be the falling domino to compel him to renege on his multi-year contract extension.
The Alford-to-Mizzou rumor, first reported midday Saturday on the Albuquerque Journal’s website, pegged the Lobos’ coach as a top candidate to replace former coach Mike Anderson, who resigned in mid-March. Three coaches who were at the Final Four told the Journal that Alford had already accepted the position, and UNM assistant coach Craig Neal would replace Alford at UNM. Two current and two former UNM basketball players told the Daily Lobo over the weekend that
they hadn’t heard the rumor before the Journal published its report online. Another source close to the program said he is certain that Alford, who signed an extension in July, won’t leave the program to take the Missouri position. Still, in his time at UNM, Alford’s name has consistently popped up on the coaching carousel. The rumor picked up more steam Saturday night, with a St. Louis television station reporting
see Alford page 3
WINS IN THE WIND
Robert Maes/ Daily Lobo UNM’s Lawerence Robledo crosses the ball past the Skyhawks Aaron Kloer on Sunday at the UNM practice Fields. The Lobos beat Fort Lewis 3-2 in their first game Sunday.
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 115
issue 128
Empty synagogue
Trackin’ progress
See page 5
See page 12
More than 300 people celebrated labor activist Cesar Chavez’s efforts Saturday. Supporters marched through the downtown Barelas neighborhood to the National Hispanic Cultural Center. More than 100 people stayed to enjoy live music and dance performances in Chavez’s honor at the NHCC. “He was more than an advocate for farmworkers,” UNM student and attendee Mary Silva said. “He gave all working people the strength to stand up for fair working conditions, fair wages — and that resonates to all areas where inequality exists. It empowers people to do something about inequality.” In 1963, Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association, which would later become the United Farm Workers. Chavez spent most of his adult life advocating for farmworkers. He famously survived two hunger protests — one that lasted 25 days and another that lasted 36 days — and used media to promote justice. Chavez has a long-standing legacy as one of the most famous labor organizers in U.S. history. He not only made working conditions safer for farmworkers, but he helped enact collective bargaining agreements that gave workers a strong voice when negotiating with
land owners. Co-founder of the UFW, Dolores Huerta, was the keynote speaker at Saturday’s local event. In her speech, she touched on her time organizing with Chavez. “Everybody got involved in terms of politics, so we were supposed to be of service to others,” she said. “You’re not supposed to want to get any sort of recompense when you help people. You do it because they need help.” She said that as a teacher, she became aware about the struggles workers faced.
“It empowers people to do something about inequality.” ~Student Mary Silva “I was teaching school and seeing a lot of children in my classroom who were children of farmworkers,” she said. “They would come to school in their raggedy shoes and their little bones sticking out of their T-shirts. I was really upset about that.” A month before her orientation to
see Rally page 3
Wind fans f lames into houses, barns Associated Press Four homes and several barns were damaged Sunday in a winddriven grass fire that also forced the evacuation of Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and Casino and several neighborhoods in the community of Ruidoso Downs, authorities said. Residents were evacuated from the Ruidoso Gardens, Spaghetti Flats, River Ranch and Homestead Acres neighborhoods. Others were asked earlier to voluntarily leave their homes. State Forestry Division spokesman Dan Ware confirmed the damage but said he did not know the locations of the homes. He did not know how many people had been evacuated. The barns that burned were east of Ruidoso Downs track, which is home to the All-American Futurity, often called the richest event in quarter horse racing. Last year’s winner earned $1 million. A small stretch of U.S. 70 on the eastern edge of Ruidoso Downs was closed after flames jumped the highway from the fire, which officials say changed direction several times. The fire was estimated at 1,000 to 2,000 acres. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known. It began hours
earlier in Ruidoso’s Gavilan Canyon in southern New Mexico on private, state and U.S. Forest Service land. Gavilan Canyon has been shut down. In central New Mexico, firefighters made progress against another wind-driven wildfire that prompted the evacuation of 50 people from a ranch for underprivileged children, Ware said. That fire grew to about 2,000 acres, he said. A fire information officer, Vicky Fox, said crews would remain on the fire lines overnight. Conditions were “blowing, smoky, dusty, very, very dry,” she said. No structures have burned, Fox said. Strong wind, as well as critical-toextreme fire weather conditions, was forecast in the area, which is more than 60 miles south of Albuquerque. The New Mexico Boys Ranch was evacuated Saturday, and authorities asked some residents in the area to voluntarily leave. “Some homes were a little too close for comfort as far as the flames go,” he said. That fire burned through heavy stands of salt cedar, cottonwood, brush and grass. It was spotted Saturday at Bernardo near the Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge. Ranch administrator Larry Couch said heavy smoke forced residents and staff to leave.
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