co-op Clayton

Co-op in rual New Mexico only means monoloplies, and greed. The phone company gives sub-standard internet service for high prices "Way to go Plateau". Through out the years when Clayton was offered up grades like a Walmart, Air Force base and many other opportunities like fiber optics. City counsel has always rejected those ideas but yet they voted in a prison. You can find the cost of houses compare to those in the cities. The only difference is that 60 thousand dollar houses that are for sell are over fifty years old, some are from the dust bowl. Not to say that old houses should be cheap, but these houses are not even fit to live in. Most people move to rual America to get away from the cost of living, but when you come to Clayton you will find that they are in step with the big cities without the luxuries that cities have to offer ie. reliable competitive prices and service. When you do not have to compete with anybody the service and product can be sub-standard as it is in Clayton. "Shop at home" yea right! For a village who's motto is "Where the grass is always greener" you cannot find a job that pay's over seven dollars an hour. The old guard of city counsel needs to be replaced. I visited Clayton to check out its community and job aspects only to find bigotry, clicks and downright crooks. If I were you passing through Clayton I would only stop for gas and even then I would be weary.

I came up here from the city, and ill tell you what, this place called Clayton really sucks, I was here for over five months working for the USDA Forest Service as a wild land fire fighter. And all I saw was coruption, and fruad waste and abuse. If anyone of importance reads this I will tell you that this place is as crooked as a pool stick broke from a tree. I tell ya this place is behind the times big time. And they expect you to pay for this crap, at premium? What a crooked little town, this place needs to be bombed!!!! Wiped out from the face of this great Nation! You want to see a micro-view of our great nation? come here and live for awhile, the cops are not only sub-standard there out right crooks. The last Chief of Police was getting lap dances from high school girls and buying liquour for minors, but like they say, "blue shield". And the guy has never been prosecuted! He got away. Now he's working as some police chief somewhere else! Can you believe that? If you want to see how crooked things can be, come to Clayton New Mexico and experience it for yourself, you will be amazed at what goes on here.

I have been a lifelong resident of this smaller than average town and I have to agree with everything you said! The cops are not the only ones crooked, so is the city council. When they have a so called city meeting they put it in the paper a week later and if a citizen does happen to make it, they tell them that it is a closed meeting. Worried about the citizens of Clayton, MY ASS!!!

When the city council members decided to build the prison here in Clayton, they lied to residents. They said the Prison would of been a minimum to medium security facility, when in all acutuality they are housing level 3 inmates. These are the ones who have nothing else to lose, who are there for life, and they will probably let them out early to find jobs in Clayton, around our childern!! So I ask you just how safe are we?? Thanks Clayton!!!

The GEO group who brought the prison to Clayton, lied to someone about the security level of the inmates to be housed here. Then the counsel members lied again to the public. Not only are there level 3, but 4 and 5. The very worst of the worst. Thanks again Clayton for making this a great, safe place to live.

Whatevea. There are plenty of jobs that pay over 7 dollars an hour. I know the Dairy Queen starts at $8 an hour and the prison has lots of jobs over $7ph. So I have no idea what you are talking about there. Plateau is an absoultely horrible ISP, I agree with you 100% there.

StormBringer - The people of Clayton are very nice, a vast majority are anyway. The problem is the useless Mayor and City Council who cannot do anything beyond helping themselves and their families. Let's not forget the useless organizations that are the Chamber of Commerce and the Mainstreet organization.

Clayton Resident - I agree with you partially. The City Council are useless and corrupt but they do put flyers in the Ranch Market and Post Office and many other places. If you dont know the meetings are taking place you are not looking hard enough. They are allowed to have "Executive Session", which is closed to the public.

Concerned Citizen - There is no such level as 5, that is a classification :S. It IS a level three prison. Any Level 4's are in Seg and will/should be transported out.

There seems to be a lot of griping from people not involved. First, the prison is a level 3 max security. That level changes based upon a prisoner's behavior record. When a prisoner becomes more violent, they change his/her rating and are forced to ship them to another detention facility. At the same time, good behavior can change a person's rating to a lower status. Most of the prisoners at Clayton find the prison to be easy and a place to "retire" until their term is up.

Clayton MainStreet has been working hard to keep the town's one venue of entertainment open, so at the very least there will be movies. Try going there and ask them what improvements they have made since the shit head Leightons were kicked out.

The Chamber of Commerce is responsible for the 4th of July events, free street dances, rodeos, and tons of other yearly events to keep the masses entertained. Try showing up and having a little fun.

The town council meetings are posted in several public places, and in the weekly paper for Union County. The paper tries its best to cover everything done in the County Commission and the City Council in the hopes of keeping the government transparent to the public. This is something that NO OTHER PAPER or news source on the friggin planet does. The citizens know that the council members will try to pass one over on the people, so the home-town paper tries to keep tabs on what they are doing. Or, you can just show up yourself. The meetings are held the second Wed. of each month at 6:00 p.m. Everyone is invited. If you have questions about anything they are talking about, stand up at the podium and ask them. Get off you ass and be a citizen.

Every community has bigotry, hatred, corruption. It is the human condition. So what are you looking for? Because there is also strong community ties, people willing to give you the shirt off their back, and wonderful people who live a good life and will do everything they can to make their community a better place. If you want to find those people rather than be a whiny bitch, start looking for them and you will find them. Surround yourself with these good people in Clayton and you will soon forget the fact that everywhere there are humans, there will be cruddy people being aweful to one another.

As for the corruption, you too can be a whistle blower even in this small town. There are numerous means by which you can notify state level departments, the ACLU, or even news sources to make people aware of what is going on. Be a citizen rather than a lump on a log.