From the
Santa Fe New Mexican.com - When the extremely private, 76-year-old Santa Fe artist and former Santa Fe High School teacher Ernest Badynski died in July, his family followed his wishes and let his passing go quietly. "We did exactly what he wanted," said stepson John Hasted. That all changed Wednesday. With television news helicopters hovering overhead, neighbors lining the dirt roadways off Bishops Lodge Road after being evacuated from their homes for hours, utility crews working to shut off gas and electricity in the area, and dozens of Santa Fe police officers and firefighters on hand, Badynski went out with a bang, after all. A Santa Fe police bomb squad used a remote-controlled robot named Cybil to remove six sticks of decades-old dynamite from Badynski's art studio. They situated the explosives in a dirt driveway, then blew up the dynamite with a thunderous bang around 4:25 p.m. It was Hasted who had been cleaning out Badynski's art studio late Tuesday when he came across a paper bag and looked inside. Wrapped in wax paper were six sticks of dynamite that Badynski had purchased about 20 to 30 years ago. The artist had occasionally used explosives in shaping and making holes in large sheets of metal for his sculptures. "It was an uneasy feeling in my stomach that I hope I never get again," Hasted recalled of the discovery. Hasted didn't touch the bag. He called police at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. "The dynamite had obviously degraded to a certain point, but we couldn't tell how much," Santa Fe police Lt. Louis Carlos said. "Our EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] team determined it was too unstable to remove from the area and drive through the city, so we had to counter-charge the ordnance on site." Essentially, rather than detonate the dynamite, the bomb squad used smaller explosive devices of their own to blow it up. Even though shock waves from the blast could be felt a half-mile away, the only visible damage was a 4- to 5-inch-deep crater in the front driveway of Badynski's home. Carlos said Hasted's reaction to finding the dynamite and his decision not to touch the explosives was "textbook." "He did everything right," Carlos said. "He didn't throw it in the back of his truck and take it to the dump or to the police station, he called us and our EOD team was able to do their thing."
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Bomb squad destroy late artist's stash of dynamite
From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - When the extremely private, 76-year-old Santa Fe artist and former Santa Fe High School teacher Ernest Badynski died in July, his family followed his wishes and let his passing go quietly. "We did exactly what he wanted," said stepson John Hasted. That all changed Wednesday. With television news helicopters hovering overhead, neighbors lining the dirt roadways off Bishops Lodge Road after being evacuated from their homes for hours, utility crews working to shut off gas and electricity in the area, and dozens of Santa Fe police officers and firefighters on hand, Badynski went out with a bang, after all. A Santa Fe police bomb squad used a remote-controlled robot named Cybil to remove six sticks of decades-old dynamite from Badynski's art studio. They situated the explosives in a dirt driveway, then blew up the dynamite with a thunderous bang around 4:25 p.m. It was Hasted who had been cleaning out Badynski's art studio late Tuesday when he came across a paper bag and looked inside. Wrapped in wax paper were six sticks of dynamite that Badynski had purchased about 20 to 30 years ago. The artist had occasionally used explosives in shaping and making holes in large sheets of metal for his sculptures. "It was an uneasy feeling in my stomach that I hope I never get again," Hasted recalled of the discovery. Hasted didn't touch the bag. He called police at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. "The dynamite had obviously degraded to a certain point, but we couldn't tell how much," Santa Fe police Lt. Louis Carlos said. "Our EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] team determined it was too unstable to remove from the area and drive through the city, so we had to counter-charge the ordnance on site." Essentially, rather than detonate the dynamite, the bomb squad used smaller explosive devices of their own to blow it up. Even though shock waves from the blast could be felt a half-mile away, the only visible damage was a 4- to 5-inch-deep crater in the front driveway of Badynski's home. Carlos said Hasted's reaction to finding the dynamite and his decision not to touch the explosives was "textbook." "He did everything right," Carlos said. "He didn't throw it in the back of his truck and take it to the dump or to the police station, he called us and our EOD team was able to do their thing." Read more
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