Looking Back

Looking back 40, 30 and 20 years ago, the following are excerpts from the Artesia Daily Press.

40 years ago June 9-15, 1984

Elephant Butte Irrigation District Officials say they are supporting a battle by the Carlsbad Irrigation District to overturn a state engineer’s decision that would allow irrigation district members to sell water rights outside their district. The manager of the Carlsbad district, Oral Nichols, said the ruling issued May 4 by State Engineer Steve Reynolds could hurt all of the state’s irrigation districts, causing them to shrink as water rights are sold.

———-Although no one has found a way to see through rocks, scientists at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology may have developed the next best thing. Glass models allow the researchers to watch and photograph the movement of oil in a fairly realistic setting. The research team at the Petroleum Recovery Research Center, a division of New Mexico Tech, uses these “micromodels” to study the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) in improving oil recovery. The team pioneered the use of the glass micromodels under pressure. Other scientists now have adopted this technique.

———-Members of the Yucca CowBelles and Wool Growers Auxiliary gathered in the Hope Fire Station recently to stitch together squares of a brown and orange brand quilt, an annual fundraising event for the group. The quilt contains 100 squares with 100 livestock brands belonging to area ranchers and will be sold during the 1984 Eddy County Fair. Two of the handfashioned comforters are made each year by the women, the one pictured and one of a similar design to be presented to a member of the organization.

———-Hermosa Church of Christ won five of six games in winning the Bulldog Invitational Slowpitch Softball Tournament, which concluded June 9 at Jaycee Park. In order, they beat Artesia First Methodist 11-9, beat Artesia First Presbyterian 15-5, lost to Roswell First Baptist 18-3, beat Roswell S. Main Church of Christ 8-4, then beat Roswell First Baptist two in a row – 20-18 and 13-2 – to win the title.

———-Law enforcement agencies may use the results of alcohol breath tests as evidence against accused drunken drivers even when breath samples are not preserved, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously June 11. Overturning a California appeals court ruling, the justices said the nation’s police officers and prosecutors have no constitutional duty to “preserve breath samples in order to introduce breath-analysis tests at trial.” Law enforcement officials have urged the justices to reverse the California court ruling, contending that it represented a major obstacle in the fight against drunken driving.

———-An Albuquerque woman will be one of the relay runners carrying the Olympic torch this month, the only New Mexican selected for the cadre of 200 runners. The torch will pass through New Mexico next week, but it will be the following week before Kathie Hiebert- Dodd gets her turn at carrying the torch.

———-The Reagan administration says it supports legislation designed to prod states into adopting a minimum drinking age of 21. Transportation Secretary Elizabeth H. Dole said at a news conference June 13 that the administration now believes the federal government should play a role in encouraging states to adopt a uniform drinking age, in an effort to reduce highway fatalities.

30 years ago June 9-15, 1994

Infants born at the Artesia General Hospital can now receive shots for the Hepatitis B virus through a State of New Mexico Program. The hepatitis B virus infects about 300,000 children and adults in the United States every year. More than 10,000 of those infected need to be hospitalized and 250 die. Hepatitis B commonly causes long-term liver problems. Nurse Sheila Chase administers a hepatitis B vaccination shot to newborn Miranda Jo Robison while nurse’s aid Becky Ramos comforts her.

———-The number of working oil and gas rigs nationwide increased by 10 last week to 752, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. A year ago, the total was 711, the company said June 10. The count peaked at 4,500 in December of 1981 during the oil boom. Last summer, it dropped to a record low of 596. The previous low was 663 in the summer of 1986. The rig count represents the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas.

———-Capitan, N.M., home of Smokey Bear, will host Smokey’s 50th Birthday Celebration. Barbara E. Luna, Fire Prevention Coordinator and Capitan District Forester with the New Mexico Forestry and Resources Conservation Division, says one of the objectives of the celebration is to pay tribute to 50 years of fire prevention. “Smokey was found in the Capitan Mountains as a small bear cub that was badly burned,” she writes. “He was nursed back to health and flown to Washington, D.C. He then became the national living symbol for wildfire prevention.”

———-Artesia school officials plan to break ground on Yeso Elementary School on July 1, after the Board of Education voted June 13 to accept a bid of $3.924 million for the project. Chaparral Builders of Hobbs, which constructed the recent improvements at Grand Heights Early Childhood Center and built the high school natatorium, was the successful bidder.

———-Investigators are said to be closing in on O.J. Simpson in the slaying of his former wife and another man, discovering bloodstains in the football legend’s driveway and car and a bloody glove in his mansion. Simpson could be arrested within days if the blood matches that of the victims, unidentified police sources said in June 15’s Los Angeles Times.

20 years ago June 9-15, 2004

Artesia muralist Noel Marquez completes the mural on the northwest wall of Heritage Walkway on Main Street this week. The mural depicts the “Artesia System,” – the flow of ran water from the Sacramento Mountains to wells underneath the city of Artesia. For approximately the last eight weeks, the mural has been gradually becoming a reality. According to Marquez, the process included “one week of putting up scaffolding, one week blasting the wall to prepare it to receive the paint, two to three days of drawing and five weeks of painting.”

———-The National Main-Street Center has announced that Artesia MainStreet, Inc. has received national recognition as a “Certified MainStreet Community” for its success in revitalizing the downtown area. Awarded annually, Artesia is one of the select communities that met the rigorous credentials required by the National MainStreet Center for such an award.

———-Every year, the New Mexico State Police compiles information and gives a Compstat report in an effort to analyze problems throughout the state and identify solutions. This year, that meeting was opened to the public. The department wants to increase public awareness and the open meeting was a step toward that goal, said Chief Carlos Maldonado. Captain Larry Rogers of the New Mexico State Police delivers a PowerPoint presentation in a Compstat report in Roswell June 10. One of the concerns raised by citizens is the large amount of area that state police must cover and the limited amount of manpower and resources.

———-Artesia Fire Department Captain Kent Bratcher, left, congratulates Firefighter/EMT Ronnie Doporto, center, and Firefighter/EMT Josh Whitmire following the recent Eddy County EMS Recognition Dinner. Doporto received the Director’s Leadership Award for his work with the AFD’s Rope Rescue Team, while Whitmire took home honors as the 2004 Emergency Medical Technician of the Year.

———-In the bloodiest fighting this year, U.S. Marines killed more than 80 insurgents in a threeweek offensive against a Taliban stronghold in the mountains of southern Afghanistan, the military said June 11. Some 2,000 Marines were sent to Afghanistan this spring, swelling the U.S.-dominated force to 20,000 – its largest yet – in an attempt to put rebels on the defensive ahead of September elections.

———- (EDITOR’S NOTE: Looking Back was compiled By Daily Press Staff)