Home Care In Corrales, NM

CORRALES, N.M. (KRQE) – An amended ordinance passed by the Village of Corrales Council, will make it harder for residents to build a small home on their property. The newly updated ordinance will close any loopholes found in the previous rules, making it more difficult for property owners to build a second dwelling on their property. “Corrales is basically the Narnia of New Mexico,” said Kevin Mullaney a property owner in the Village of Corrales.

Horse crossing signs are not uncommon in the Village, but there are new signs popping up along Corrales Road, they read ‘Say no to short-term rentals,’ and ‘Say no to Casitas in Corrales.’ “We don’t want two houses on one acre,” said Scott Kominiak, a property owner in Corrales.

Kominiak grew up in Corrales and moved back to the Village in 2001. He hangs a “No Casitas” sign on his fence. “It stems from our desire to not have high-density housing,” said Kominiak.

In order to keep population density low, and prevent septic systems from getting overwhelmed, the Village has always had a rule against property owners having a second “dwelling” on their lot, but Kominiak says property owners have been finding a loophole to that rule for years.

On top of that, some residents are upset about those casitas being used as short-term rentals like Airbnb’s. The Village Council recently updated the original ordinance to close those loopholes, changing the definition of a dwelling to ‘a unit for living, sleeping, eating, cooking or sanitation.’

They also changed the definition of a kitchen, as any room intended or designed for cooking or the preparation of food. “My opinion is it’s an attack on a way of life,” said Mullaney. He has a casita on his property, he says his father-in-law lives in it. Mullaney says it should be up to the property owner to determine how to use their casita. “I think the ordinance is a huge overstep,” Mullaney told KRQE.

But Kominiak says the rules are in place to help maintain the rural feel of the village. “It’s very nice, it’s very pleasent. It’s an open environment. There’s lots of space between the houses,” said Kominiak.

The ammended ordinance was approved on June 15th, they’re just waiting for the final signature from the mayor. The Village Planning and Zoning office says existing casitas don’t have to be removed, but their use must comply with the new rules.

The holiday season has officially begun in Corrales, but not before lightning threatened to cancel the Christmas de Los Caballos Parade on Sunday afternoon.

About 20 people from Corrales, other parts of Sandoval County and Albuquerque came with their decked out horses and ponies to the annual parade.

“It’s just something fun to do,” said Bob Sprenger, who rode “Smarty,” a 22-year-old grade horse.

The parade, which had been on hold the last couple of years due to COVID-19, marked the start of the Corrales Fire Department’s annual Christmas Toy and Food Drive, which serves families in the area.

The entry fee was a new unwrapped toy.

It appeared early on that the event might get called off, as rain started to fall and lightning cropped up across the area. Village of Corrales Deputy Fire Chief Tanya Lattin said she was about 20 minutes away from canceling the event.

Lattin said she told everyone that she would stop the event if the lightning continued.

“I’m not going to risk people getting struck but you tell me if the horses are good and they were like ‘No, we’re good with the rain.’”

About a half-hour later, the storm moved on. People got on their horses inside the Wagner’s Farm Stand parking lot, got on Corrales Road, rode down to Double S Road and turned toward just outside TopForm Arena, where Santa and Mrs. Claus greeted kids and other guests.

People from all age groups rode including a 9-year-old Corrales boy and the first place winner in the parade’s “Most Funny” category, Caleb Hill. Dressed as “The Grinch,” Hill rode on Sugar Bear, a 20-year-old retired roping horse.

Before the parade started, he admitted he was “kind of nervous.”

“We’ve really been looking forward to it,” his mom Nicole Hill added.

Jayme Rickard came from Rio Rancho to ride with her niece Jaleh Mosher, a recipient of the 2023 Grit & Grace Leadership Scholarship.

Grit & Grace is a non-profit that is aligned with Professional Bull Riders, which focuses on equipping young ladies to be strong leaders.

Rickard and Mosher rode on quarter horses dressed up as carousel horses.

“I really like seeing the costumes and I am curious how many people were going to come watch,” Mosher said about the parade.

Other people came with their mini ponies like David Zaccaria, who brought 7-year-old Chico. Co-first place finishers in the “Most Festive” category, Kaysie Jo Moeller, 4, and her 2-year-old cousin Kendelyn Jo Rollins, rode on their horses Mocha and Hercules who wore presents, candy canes and Santa caps.

The next holiday event in Corrales will be the tree lighting ceremony that will happen at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Village Administrative Complex, 4324 Corrales Road. There will be music and people will have another chance to contribute to the fire department’s toy drive.

CORRALES, N.M. (KRQE) – The blockbuster movie ‘Oppenheimer’ has brought a lot of attention to New Mexico. After Robert Oppenheimer left Los Alamos, he would head to Princeton to be the director of the Institute for Advanced Study. It’s where he would help bring together intellectuals including local physicist Jacob Kuriyan who now lives in Corrales.

The then-25-year-old had just finished his Ph.D. in physics when he crossed paths with Oppenheimer in 1966. “Something that I wrote in my application appealed to him obviously, and I got selected,” said Kuriyan.

He was one of two people that year Oppenheimer selected for a two-year membership at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. “So it’s really, think of it as an institution with no students, but dedicated to just totally free thinking. And it’s very rare to find a place like that and they really produce some of the finest mathematicians and physicists in the world,” said Kuriyan.

Oppenheimer’s office was above Kuriyans. “But most of the time he was in his office, which was right above my office. And so one day I decided that you know, I might as well go and say hello to him,” said Kuriyan.

He recalled being intimated and curious the first time he met Oppenheimer. “He opened the door and let me in, guided me to the chair, pulled the chair out for me to sit on it, and then he went and sat also…I mean, just the kindness of the man,” Kuriyan said.

Oppenheimer was battling cancer at that time and would die the following year. Kuriyan spoke on Oppenheimer’s legacy of being one of the first scientists in the United States who knew quantum physics. “He coached and trained and taught and managed all the initial group of physicists who worked in quantum physics. So, by the time he got selected for Los Alamos, he already had a track record of managing these people and their futures,” said Kuriyan.

Now in his 80s, Kuriyan joked that it was tough to top starting out his career with the most powerful physicist in the world. “So it was quite an honor to you know, to be part of that just as soon as I finished my PhD, and I always have people let it it’s been downhill ever since.”

Dr. Kuriyan would go on to become a physics and meteorology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He came to New Mexico in the 1990s to start a software company.

CORRALES, N.M. —

What was supposed to be a fun start to the week quickly turned into a traumatizing turn of events when a group found themselves in need of rescue here at Siphon Beach in Corrales.

“They didn't get out at Siphon which is the preferred place if you're in a tube or small raft without paddles,” said Tanya Lattin, who is the deputy chief of the Corrales Fire Department. The group was moving past Siphon, which is when things started becoming dangerous.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Multiple agencies near Corrales assisting in the water rescue involving 12 people. @koat7news pic.twitter.com/Wy10k65PDU

— Julian Paras KOAT (@jparaskoat) June 19, 2023

“They all got separated, some of them got thrown from their tubes, and then they got stuck at Eddies and Ontriece,” Lattin said.

Officials had to perform a water rescue for a dozen people. Officials also told KOAT the rushing water is cause for concern due to the amount that is flowing in the area. Officials said it's eroding the ground near the Rio Grande.

Of the 12 people rescued, five of them were children. Those we spoke to off-camera said they're just glad everyone is safe, knowing it could have turned out differently.

Officials are also glad everyone is holding up.

This content is imported from Facebook. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

“They're very happy that they're all safe, and all of them are safe,” Lattin said.

In addition to the Corrales fire department, Bernalillo, Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, and Albuquerque helped make the rescue possible. Lattin told KOAT the collective effort of all agencies on the scene should not be looked over. Moving forward, she advises anyone taking on these waters to consider the reality of how rough these waters can be.

“It's not a place to go in tubes, it's not a place to go without paddles, and it's definitely not a place to go if you don't know what you're doing on the river,” Lattin said.

There have been 52 people rescued from severe water conditions in 2023. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported this year.

Officials are also advising people to always wear a life jacket and be aware of conditions during this time of year.

CORRALES, N.M. (KRQE) – A group in central New Mexico is working to build a network of Native farmers by providing education on Indigenous practices of agriculture. The Indigenous Farm Hub is in its third year of operation and has a mission to revitalize Indigenous culture and customs in agriculture and facilitate Indigenous food access and sovereignty with tribal communities.

Clarence Hogue is the director of communications and outreach for the Indigenous Farm Hub. He says the pandemic highlighted some of the major issues Indigenous communities are dealing with such as food security, food access, and food sovereignty. “We want to acknowledge that we are still taking care of land that once belonged to people that lived in this area generations ago,” Hogue said.

The 17-acre field is already providing fresh produce to the community through the Community Supported Agriculture program. The organization has it set up like a subscription service, where supporters can subscribe for the season and receive six to eight fresh products every week until the end of October.

“With land issues, I think we have a lot of land that could be used for farming and growing our own food, and really teaching our people to get back into that part of our culture because I think a lot of us are land-based,” Hogue said. “Those resources are what sustains life for us. So we just want to help our younger generation to really get back into what it means to take care of the land so that we can grow our own food.”

Last season, they were able to provide about 100 families with fresh produce grown on the farm. Hogue said they have 30 different root vegetables growing in addition to some grains.

This year, the Indigenous Farm Hub also launched a resident farmer program that allows participants to tend to the farm and take that education back to their communities. “The thinking behind that is to bring in people from the different communities that we partner with,” Houge said. “They come to the farm a few days a week and invest their time to learn some of the things that we’re doing here but also it’s a reciprocal relationship. We’re also learning from them as well.”

Hogue said the goal of the resident farmer program is to allow more rural communities, those often without access to fresh produce, to have the opportunity to create their own sustainable food source. The organization also works to decrease the rates of food insecurity, poverty, and diet-related diseases that affect the Native American population.

Eileen Schendo, one of the farmers in residence, said it was important for her to be part of this project because she wants to change how young Indigenous people view farming. “For us, I think it’s important that once we’ve seen these things work, to give back and show others that there’s possible ways,” Schendo said. “As we develop these ideas of what could be in our communities, I think a lot more people will have the support to not only purchase from them, but as tribes also grow, we’re huge economic stakeholders here in the state,

Schendo grew up learning about agriculture and farming in the Jemez and Cochiti pueblos. She said embracing the Indigenous ways of farming can benefit New Mexico as a whole.

“Especially for tribal communities, this is something historically that we’ve done, which is to grow to the amount where you can feed your communities. Food and hunger issues are huge within the state of New Mexico and I just feel like I’m very fortunate to be here and around a bunch of team members who are really working toward this one goal,” Schendo said.

Indigenous Farm Hub CSA participants sign up and pay in the spring with a discounted rate. CSA shares start at $650 for at least six fresh items per week until the week of Oct. 24. Membership is accepted all year at a pro-rated price. For more information, visit the Indigenous Farm Hub website.