Fires to the west, fires to the east, and Sawmill fire in the middle

mountainmailnews.com • Mountain Mail • June 28, 2012 • Page 15
GHOSTS: Team uses high-tech
equipment to try to find spirits
continued from front page
“My grandmother was known
as a hoodoo woman. She taught
me herbal remedies and medicines,”
Chavira said. “People in
the neighborhood would come to
her house at any hour of the day or
night to seek her help.”
This would have to do with the
ethereal, non-physical kind.
“I remember seeing people
standing in a door,” she said. “I
would ask, ‘who is that man’ and
she’d say, ‘don’t worry. He won’t
harm you.’ She knew I was seeing
spirits, or ghosts.”
The group’s first visit to the village
was in May 2012. It was during
that trip that Chavira said she
had an encounter with a non-physical
entity while visiting the old
schoolhouse in Riley.
“Jill Langham [the group’s
president] and I were in the Riley
old stone schoolhouse,” she said.
“Jill was seeing bars in a window,
but only through her camera.
When she looked directly there
were no bars.”
She said then something unexpected
happened.
“I could hear someone walking
around on the wood floor,”
Chavira said. “Then something
unseen pushed me on my shoulder.
It was like saying it wanted me to
get out.”
They left Riley at that point,
but she said she later realized that
she “brought a ghost home with
me from Riley. I saw the ghostly
figure of a man in my hallway at
home in Albuquerque.”
On their second visit they
stayed at the High County Lodge
to investigate a report of what was
described as the shadow of an arm
seen in the kitchen area.
“My son Mark [Chavira] saw a
human-like arm and hand, like a
shadow, reach around the storage
room door,” she said. “It did not
show up in photographs and we
still have yet to check the EVP
recording.”
A digital audio recorder is only
one of the devices Mark Chavira
uses investigating hauntings.
“We also utilize a digital camera,
a red light source, an electromagnetic
field meter, and of
course, the spirit box,” he said.
“The spirit box is a staple investigation
tool for recording EVP
(electronic voice phenomena)
which is sound potentially caused
by ghosts in order to communicate
with us from the beyond.”
He said a spirit box is also a
handy device using various methods
to promote and enhance
potential communication.
Members of the group also conducted
an investigation in one of
the rooms at The Western Motel.
“We set up equipment and
started picking up energy in the
room at about 3 a.m.” Brian
Cantu said. “Then we heard the
shuffling of feet outside the door,
and the doorknob jiggled.
“We said ‘come in,’ but I
looked outside and there was
nobody there,” Cantu said. “But
the whole atmosphere in the room
changed. The temperature had
dropped suddenly.”
The group plans to return to
Magdalena sometime in July.
“There is so much activity for
such a small town,” Chavira said.
“I look at it as proof that God has
another life for us. Some do not
know they are dead. Some want to
stay around. I want them to know
‘you’re going to go on’.”
VIRUS: VS found in four counties
continued from front page
Last month Socorro, Valencia
and San Miguel counties became
the latest counties in New Mexico
to report and quarantine suspected
VS cases. In Valencia County a
total of nine premises remain
under quarantine for suspected or
confirmed cases of VS. The first
confirmed case in New Mexico
this year was in April in Otero
County.
“We can’t afford to be lax
about VS, especially since this
strain appears to be so aggressive,”
said Myles Culbertson, executive
director of the livestock board.
Culbertson said his agency is
doing all it can to contain the virus,
including:
Equipment used by the Rio Grande Ghost Hunters group who were in
Magdalena to check on reported hauntings.
Photo by John Larson
•going out on calls when owners
suspect their animals have VS
and taking samples to confirm or
deny
•placing quarantine restrictions
on properties where VS is suspected
•examining animals at livestock
auctions across New Mexico
•providing current and accurate
information to veterinarians,
livestock owners, and other interested
parties across the state
Culbertson said NMLB will
work to support the event organizers
that are inspecting livestock for
signs of VS.
Dave Fly, state veterinarian,
issued the directive that “livestock
entering public events in New
Mexico must either present a
Health Certificate issued within
five days or be examined at the
show by designated officials.”
He further directed that “livestock
entering public events where
animals from other states are present
must have a Health Certificate
issued within five days and will
also be examined at the ground
prior to entry into the event.”
VS results in blister-like lesions
that can be so painful as to limit an
animal’s ability to eat and even its
mobility. The virus is not usually
fatal, but it can curtail livestock
sales because other states and even
some countries put restrictions in
place limiting the importation of
animals from affected states. So far
this year, New Mexico is the only
state with confirmed cases.
Socorro DAV Chapter 24
July Events
• Fourth of July Cookout – All DAV members invited.
• Member’s Meeting –
2nd Tuesday of each month –
July 10, 2012 - 6 pm
• Lucky Friday the 13th Chicken Dinner –
Friday, July 13, 2012 11am to 7 pm
• Upcoming Event – Casino Night to benefit local
charities, Saturday, September 8.
• Smoke Free Bingo Will Resume August 1, 2012
- 7pm, Monday and Wednesday
• Service Officer available to assist veterans and
their families with paperwork or to answer questions
concerning VA hospital or their military service.
• Van transportation to VA hospital
Monday through Friday
• Hall rental available
Socorro DAV
Chapter 24
Vidal Moya - Commander
Club Hours:
11am to 8pm
200 N. 5th St. 835-0843
Veterinary Clinic
Dave Baker, DVM
Terri Gonzales, DVM
VACCINE CLINIC
The Ark of Socorro will be
hosting a vaccine clinic at
the Socorro Plaza Saturday
mornings July 14, July 21,
Aug. 11 and Aug. 18, from
9:00am to 12:00pm. Please
bring your pets for their
vaccines, micro-chipping and
heartworm test. Contact
the Ark of Socorro if you
have any questions.
(575) 835-9002 • 1-888-349-3189
Big Blue Building - West US Hwy. 60 • Socorro, NM
OPEN: Monday-Friday 8am-5:30pm, Sat. 8am-12noon