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Whether you celebrate the arrival of the New Year, or just the survival of the old, as we step into 2004 we are provided with a fresh start on our old habits. The New Year is like a new baby, we look forward to its arrival with the awareness there'll be a lot of changes. Like a baby, some changes will be unpleasant, some not so bad, while some changes will just be neglected and continue to stink. But whatever the New Year brings will depend on what we bring to the New Year, and with that in mind we can only hope our troubles in the coming year are as short lived as our resolutions.

Just before Christmas, I was in the bank and the girls pointed out the Christmas tree where a number of Capitan Cares angels were hung. The angels had tags attached, and on the tags were Christmas wishes from local children, wishes from children that might not get a gift for Christmas. Scotty picked an angel off the tree for me and I read the young girls wish. I was touched. She only wanted a pair of jeans, not Tommy Hilfiger, or some other special brand as kids must have, just "a pair of jeans". I tried to sneak a peak at some of the other angels and all the ones I saw were like that just little wishes from children in our town. As I left the bank, angel in hand, I noticed how many angels were still left on the tree. Each angel represented a child's wish. All those angels, with all those children's wishes still. on the tree bothered me all night. It worried me to a point I told Carolyn we needed to go to the bank and pick up a few more wish angels. The next day I wondered back to the bank. Without knowing I was there to check out the tree and see how many wish angels were left, the girls smiled and told me all the angels were gone. The angels with the children's Christmas wishes had all been picked up, all of them. They were picked up by local angels. How cool is that?

One of the perks of being Mayor is being privileged to see just some of the work that goes on behind the scenes that most people do not see. I see the folks of Capitan Cares working to make this a better community. I see the ladies of the Capitan Library working for love and not money to keep the doors of our library open. I see people like Mrs. Freeman of the G Bar F Ranch, Peter and Louise Adinater, and Mark Forland, who don't live in the city limits, but claim this dusty town as their own and give generously both in time and money. I see people inside and outside the Village limits working for all of us; people whose names are too numerous to mention in this text I see teachers, and others, who could make more money elsewhere building the best school in the state. I see kids and teachers walk in to give blood at the blood drive. I see the Capitan Chamber working into the night. I see the churched and the un-churched quietly sewing our community together with the thread of kindness. I see local business people stop by my office wanting to know what they can do to help and as we talk I know they themselves struggle to keep their doors open. I see the Elementary School kids collect 1589 pounds of canned good's and food that is given to Capitan Cares for needy families. This is a great town. I want to thank all of you that worked for our town, and thanks to the angels who made some kids smile this past Christmas. You walk in the ranks of the unsung heroes, making me thankful and proud I live in this town.

I don't wish to paint an unrealistic picture; we do have those who need to be locked up for their behavior.  If you remember a few months ago I reported a burglar broke into the church doing over a $1,000 in damage and stealing a computer. This thief also broke into Hall's Automotive, stealing a pistol. The computer and pistol were recovered by our police. I want the entire town to know we are not talking about some kid's pranks. These criminals are grown men, men with kids, men who do not work; men who would rather steal from you as you sleep, then get out of bed before noon. The police executed a search warrant and recovered the computer in a suspect's home. The suspect insisted he did not steal it, telling the police a friend brought it to him. The police knew who the "friend" was but the suspect would not testify against the other criminal and he was convicted of his crime. The pistol from Hall's Automotive was also recovered after a citizen read the Mayor's Report and gave us the name of the crook (same guy the cops suspect of stealing the computer). This case was turned over to the District Attorney.

Now, here's the twist to the story. A group of outraged citizens came to me saying they are sick of these punks victimizing this town and holding everyone hostage. This group has decided they are going to site this burglar into civil court. They became outraged when they heard the burglar hit yet again. Only this time he didn't steal a pistol, he stole a Colt, .223, SP- 1, pre-band, with a collapsible stock, fitted with a Russian infrared nightvision scope. For those of you who are not familiar with night vision, it turns the darkest of nights into day. I'm told this weapon was stolen one other time, by Cubans in the early 70's, to be used in a revolution in that country. In that case the weapon was recovered by ATF and Customs in a raid. Now our local thief has stolen it after breaking out a window while working people slept. Marry this rifle with a night vision scope and it is one nasty weapon, giving the shooter the capability for hitting targets at night. I'm asking if you have any information on this crime, please let us know. There's a reward. The outraged citizens, who call this guy the "dean of burglars", say they shall exhaust ever legal means to ensure the dean shall be prosecuted.

A letter from this office has gone out to the District Attorney and the Federal Authorities asking for a task force to look at these crimes. We will not tolerate this behavior. Our streets will not be taken over by drug dealers and thieves. A weapon like the one I just told you about in the hands these kinds of people is very serious situation. Between the outraged citizens and law enforcement , maybe this guy will decide he needs a cooler climate, because it is about to get real hot in Capitan.

The girls at Village Hall are getting ready for the annual audit. Trustee Tippin has been working long hours helping in that regard. George has discovered the annual audit can be likened to stepping on a board full of nails while wading in a pool of alcohol. It hurts, has you jumping, you can't wait to get out of it, but chances are it'll not kill you.

Have a happy and safe New Year. What do you think, two months of writing 2003 on your checks before you break the old habit?