Those of us who call Corrales home feel blessed to reside in this peaceful, pleasant village. You really do not need to ever be scared unless you drive a mile above the speed limit. The over all crime-rate in Corrales ranks among the lowest in the Nation. That is fabulous considering the State of New Mexico’s ranking. CNN Money Magazine once rated us in the Top 20 most desirable places to live. That takes some pretty dedicated protection and attention to what is going on and being ready to handle it. And that right there describes our Heroes in Corrales, NM.
I have lived in Corrales since the early seventies. As a young girl I can remember enjoying moon light rides, by myself, on my pony through the gorgeous Corrales Bosque. That would not be safe in many river side communities. Our local Police, Fire Department and Animal Control go out of their way and past their normal working hours to make sure. Many of our Police and Fire Fighters are the same ones who protected us back then. I know they could make more of a paycheck else where, but they are still here. I can remember one unfortunate character forgot his manners while being frustrated during his pass through the morning elementary school zone. He “accidentally” flipped off Maria Elena, the crossing guard. (She’s still there today looking as young as ever). With a lift of her chin and a motion to Officer Vigil (He’s now our Chief of Police) that man was pulled over before he made it out of the school zone. Bad mistake. You don’t mess with Chief Vigil or Maria Elena. We have many Heroes like that in Corrales. (Photo thanks to flickr.com)
Officer Heaton has been dedicated to the children of Corrales and still heads the DARE program at school. He was my four children’s DARE officer as well. I can remember he would heroically volunteer for the Dunk Tank at our Fall Carnival every year. You can imagine the money THAT booth made for the PTA. We love you, Walt!
Chief Anthony of the Corrales Fire Department was just a young man when I first moved here. He still looks like a teenager so he must have REALLY been young back then. He was always very professional and knowledgeable. It is no wonder that he is our fearless, hard-working Chief, now. And beautiful, athletic, Commander, Tonya Lattin, has been around forever, it seems, as well. I am so glad. They are amazing in their expertise and care. They take their jobs more than serious and have done an excellent job of keeping Corrales safe and fire proof. You should see them turn that hook and ladder around in my front drive way. They use to get plenty of practice when I was learning to cook as a young wife and mother. That dang smoke alarm would trip at the slightest puff from my oven. Gosh, they would already be here before I could call to stop them. It happened enough times that I would just start making extra food knowing we’d be having company. (Photo thanks to KOB.com, Territorial House Fire,Submitted by KOB.com Staff Friday, June 22nd, 2012, 1:17pm)
Well, last weekend during the harvest festival, I got busy working on the pool and forgot to turn off the alarm in the garage. Before I knew it, Officer Brubach, had pulled up in his Squad Car. Gosh! As he was leaving, I remembered how I have always wanted to do a breakfast for them all in appreciation of the fabulous job they have done over the years, making Corrales the only place you want to come home to. Then I realized that the Balloon Fiesta is about to begin and this would be a perfect time to invite them over while the balloons fill the sky. We at The Q Realty make “Giving Back” part of our routine. We had been looking for ways to show our appreciation to our community and friends. I believe that is our owner, John Kynor’s, middle name. He is such a wonderful example of lifting people up, letting them know how valued and important they are. And my team member, Helen Jackson, is from Corrales as well. With in minutes we had cooked up a great idea.
This coming Thursday, we are hosting a Hero’s Breakfast for our dedicated Corrales servants. Not only will it be the outstanding Police, Fire and Animal Control, but a few other members we would like to honor like Evelyn Losack, our Corrales matriarch and Jeff Radford, our steadfast Publisher of The Corrales Comment, keeping us up to date on all the happenings in our village.
A small way to say, “Thank you to our Protectors!”
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