City Councilors Quash Fire Chief's Staffing Plans
This week on the New Mexico News Insiders Podcast, Chief Jaramillo joins Chris and Gabby to discuss the challenges and fulfilling parts of the job. She also discusses a contentious City Council meeting that had her in the hot seat defending a controversial staffing change she believes will improve response times in the city and ultimately help save lives in an emergency.
Some local firefighters addressed the staffing plan during public comment, accusing Chief Jaramillo of abandoning their two-paramedic rescue system and going against the so-called 'gold standard.' However, Chief Jaramillo claims her plan would provide quicker life-saving response to patients in an emergency, and says firefighters will have a chance to improve their EMS skills by rotating between trucks.
So why was it ultimately city councilors who quashed AFR's staffing plan? How is the Chief responding to AFR morale? Those topics and more are discussed in the full interview.
Stay informed with the latest news by subscribing to the New Mexico News Insiders Podcast wherever you listen. Download new episodes of the New Mexico News Insiders every Tuesday, starting around 5:30 a.m., Mountain time. Episodes are available on most podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Podbean, among others.
You can also watch our podcasts in video form both on-air or online. Tune in to an abbreviated version of the New Mexico News Insiders podcast on broadcast television every Wednesday at 10:35 p.m. on Fox New Mexico. Full video episodes are posted on KRQE's YouTube page at youtube.com/krqenews13.
Having trouble finding the show? Try searching your favorite podcast player with the term 'KRQE' or 'New Mexico News Insiders' (without the quotes). You can also use the links above to find the podcast on each service or listen to the audio player at the top of this post.
If you have a question, comment, or suggestion for who should be interviewed on the podcast, let us know! Email your hosts at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
How one woman found new life as a farmer, born of hope and grit
Jacie Fasselin was on a mountain at dusk, looking for cows. She and Woodrow — a tall black horse — traversed the ledges looking for the wanderers. Fasselin did not know what to expect, especially as the darkness enveloped them later that day, and she knew they had to navigate the ledges to get off the mountain. 'He is in his young mind, but we were not going to give up.' She built a trail of sorts to help them get off the mountain. Armed with just a spotlight and an untested horse, they began to make their way down. 'I kept expecting him to make mistakes on the switchback,' she said. 'I knew if he remained calm we would be all right. If he panics, we would not be all right — not at all." It was perilous, but the moment was about faith and putting your trust in something higher than you. Fasselin said Woodrow turned to look at her and headed off to the left. 'He was just saying: I think we need to turn left here. He was like an old pro. He made the leap like I asked him to. 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Will trying ever not be worth it? No.' Fasselin and Bernard don't know each other, but their stories are similar. Being a farmer and rancher is tough. Being a farmer and rancher as a woman, well, it can be tougher in a traditionally male-dominated tradition. Despite the challenges, women across the country are called to farm, to ranch, to carry on the tradition etched in small towns and born out of heritage. Maya Fasselin, Jacie's sister-in-law, said determination is the common theme with this woman who has grown to be an inspiration for her. 'She is extremely determined and when her mind is made up, there's no going back. Jacie is the first to help others, find solutions and get the job done.' In Elmo, where Fasselin lives, the nearest high school is about 20 miles away, but there is a post office in town and the Elmo branch of the Emery County Library is there to serve a population of about 368 people. That suits this single mother just fine, giving her room and space to flourish. 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The district was part of a case study by Campbell Scientific, which developed the monitoring devices and documented their use in the county. Fasselin knows the value of the finite resource, having tried for years to buy both the land and get water rights. She had the benefit of knowledge on her side, having worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which is under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Via a joint effort with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the WaterSMART initiative utilizes targeted funding from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to conserve water and increase drought resilience. Under the entire umbrella, it helps farmers and other producers conserve water through local irrigation districts. For fiscal year 2024, Utah was one of 16 states that received nearly $30 million in funding. Even with the money and the help, it's been a struggle for this young woman. 'There have been several times where I have had to face Satan,' she said. 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'The agriculture producers, they are kind of stuck with needing to make adjustments now that maybe their open ditch, or their open canal has been put into a pipe and it's pressurized,' he said. 'Now they have to make changes to accommodate that pressurized water, and maybe their old irrigation system can no longer be (workable). With WaterSMART, we can write a proposal to secure funds for what we call the on farm improvements — separate from the Bureau of Reclamation grant.' That means money to move from flood irrigation to a sprinkler system, a wheel line or a pivot — while improving the water efficiency. Emily Fife, NRCS state conservationist for Utah, said since the start of this joint-coordination effort, NRCS has invested $4 million in Cache, Morgan, and Summit counties, assisting 64 producers across more than 4,700 contracted acres to reduce drought stress on crops, protect crop health and conserve water. 'Our work is about identifying science-based solutions to complex problems,' she emphasized. Fasselin, who has a master's degree in natural resources, set about negotiating to get some money to help in her own quest that started years ago. 'The more information you have the more powerful you can be, the more effective you can be,' she said. 'There's amazing people willing to help.' But it was no easy task. The men in charge knew who she was, knew about her roots, but they cast a wary eye at her because of her gender. 'I spent the first 10 minutes talking before I convinced them I was worth listening to. I was young and I was a woman.' Fasselin's determination worked. She now owns Desert Lake Livestock, with 120 cultivatable acres where she grows hay to support the 50 head of beef cattle she raises. They summer in the mountain ranges, then usually return to Elmo for the winter or spend those months in the desert. 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The project was also made possible with money that came from the state's Agricultural Optimization program, which the state Legislature has used to invest more than $276 million in water saving improvements since its creation in 2019. More than 550 projects have been completed through that funding. Even with that, it hasn't been easy. Having a master's degree does not translate into knowing your way around mechanics, but she's been learning. 'There's a massive learning curve,' she said. 'My sister-in-law helps and my brother is mechanically inclined.' Still, last fall, she eyed a four-wheeler sitting idle on the property and said she was going to take a go at it with her tools. Again, it seems like no challenge deters her. She is learning welding, how to assess soil moisture and the list goes on and on. She and Maya have an inside joke about cows. 'Every time we do something hard or every time we're covered in hay laying underneath a baler trying to decipher what is wrong with it, we just say 'we love cows,'' Maya said. 'It's our answer to when anything on the farm gets tough or hard: We love cows.' The intricacies of farming and water Since she's been around farmers her entire life, Fasselin knows the challenges and the many rules, so many of which are unspoken and instinctive. She follows the 'rule of the boot,' which means if your boot sinks more than a quarter of an inch into the ground, your seed bed needs to be firmed up. It has been a struggle. Highs and lows like an addict who still hangs on to the thing that gets them through the day. In this case, it is land. 'I had this massive amount of change and at the same time planted $10,000 worth of seed. I literally felt like I was going to have a heart attack,' she said. 'I went out onto the farm and laid on the ground and cried and I knew it was out of my control. It is easy to get caught up in the moment and then you remember the perspective. If you pray.' Powering through She knows, too, that much like energy, the best water used is the water that isn't, especially given the state's long-term relationship with drought and the arid nature of the region she lives in. Her roots of growing up on farm land with ancestors who did it long before she came along taught her the value of being efficient with the water rights she obtained. Flood irrigation, she said, is tough and not effective — especially when you're talking about acres upon acres of land that need the finite resource. 'Flood irrigation is labor intensive,' she said. 'Your shovel is your best friend.' When she used flood irrigation at her ranch, the water seeped deep into the ground, bringing extremely alkaline soil to the top infused with sodium bicarbonate, or salt, unsuitable for planting. Her system avoids that and allows her to utilize cutting edge technology to track all aspects of her farming and ranching operation when it comes to irrigation. She does that by monitoring a variety of conditions on her phone, even remotely. The systems pay off. According to the NRCS, pivot irrigation uses a lot less water — perhaps as much as 30% less, industry estimates say — than flood irrigation. Pivot sprinklers apply water more evenly across fields than flood irrigation. Also, less water is lost to evaporation and there is less risk of soil erosion, fertilizer and chemical runoff, and nutrient leaching — so aside from helping farmers there are environmental benefits and improvement in public health via cleaner waterways. The hard, good life As a single mom, farmer and rancher, Fasselin has plenty to do. Her boys, Jace, 10, and Jaxten, 7, are learning early about the culture of having land that you work. There's crops to be planted and harvested, cattle and horses to be managed. Jaxten proudly drives the tractor, but his feet dangle from the seat. Perhaps it is a throwback to the way Jacie was raised, when her mother would put her in a basket as she drove the tractor. The ranching life Both boys know their way around horses, relishing the freedom of the ride, the smells and the bond that comes with an animal that outweighs them by factor of nine or 10. They're cautious, but they have learned that the hard way with their own mishaps on the ranch. Fasselin is breaking Boondock, a 2-year-old, for Jaxten. She has another mare, Smoky, who is young and coming up. At the end of the day, Fasselin gathers the boys around the dinner table. They say their prayers. She never stops feeling grateful. These experiences that come from ranching and farming embody a way of life she says she hopes will teach her boys about their roots, their history — so one day they can pass it on. Even with all her daily challenges and learning the rough life of ranching, she never loses sight of being a mother and helping them to learn in the most patient of ways. For anyone else, this could be frustrating and tiring. But she takes the time to sing songs and cuddle with them at night. It is, after all, the most important job she does — being a mother and role model. Even though her days always seem to start early and end late, and she gets tired, it's a good tired and she has no regrets. 'I chose this life 100%.' Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
New AFR and APD boathouse will reduce water rescue response time
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque's Fire and Police Departments said they'll be able to rescue people in the water faster, thanks to a new boathouse. AFR and APD will now be housing their airboats and other equipment at a brand-new garage. They said having their boats here saves them 10-15 minutes getting on the water. The Crew Behind Swift Water & Arroyo Rescues On a corner of Tingley Drive just north of the ABQ BioPark, a new garage is storing airboats for Albuquerque's Fire and Police Departments. Prior to this boathouse, AFR used to store their boats at Station Four near Coronado Park while APD's equipment was housed near their academy on Second Street. 'The issue there is any time we'd get a call, from driving from that location to our launch point at Tingley and Central is about 15-20 minutes, and so having this location here now cuts that down to five minutes at the most here to our launch location,' said Sergeant Brian Shannon, Albuquerque Police Department. This garage cost more than $600,000 and was completed last winter to house both AFR and APD equipment. AFR Lieutenant Jason Fejer said their boats were also used to respond to the bosque fires a few weeks ago. 'The bosque fire a couple of weeks ago, we actually had a couple of firefighters on APD's boat on the river with a pump fighting that fire from the river, so it does give us some flexibility on how we respond,' said Lieutenant Jason Fejer, Albuquerque Fire Rescue. Although there is no dedicated staffing at the boathouse, APD and AFR said its location still makes it convenient for available staff to report directly to the boathouse. The boathouse will also store ATVs and UTVs for police to patrol the bosque along with other necessary equipment. 'And that allows us to drive from here to across the street right into the bosque instead of having to load these up on a trailer, come here, park, unload them, and then drive in,' said SGT. Shannon. Both the fire and police departments said the boathouse location will allow them to keep more equipment and do more regular patrols on the river, but said they've put those on halt due to low water levels. AFR said they have another UTV coming in the fall that will be stored at the boathouse. It will have a water pump in order to help fight fires. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
