Every year brings with it change.
Often, the effects are mild. We get a little older. Children move up a grade. Perhaps it was time for a new car or a new job. Occasionally, changes that leave us permanently altered occur. That sort of change can range from the wonderful — a marriage, a birth, etc. — to the devastating: a major upheaval or the loss of a loved one.
We tend to mark the passage of time in terms of the changes within our personal sphere, but a true community also experiences change together. Sometimes an event touches us all, whether for a brief moment or on a more lasting scale.
Artesia underwent an abundance of shared stories in 2023, but as per usual, a few stood out as being among the most meaningful and/or impactful to the community as a whole. And while some were cause for celebration and others for grief, we felt those emotions together as well — in true City of Champions style.
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1. The passing of Mack Chase
Without doubt, the most significant occurrence in Artesia in the year 2023 was the passing of Mack Chase on Oct. 2. An oilman known far and wide for his accomplishments in that industry, Mack was known in this community by countless other titles: father, grandfather, brother, friend, teammate, employer, benefactor… even just an old Bulldog who wanted to enjoy his breakfast burrito with a fresh bell pepper every morning in the parking lot of Fenn’s Country Market.
Mack’s generosity touched too many local entities and individuals to ever begin to name. But with the establishment of the Chase Foundation and the Chase Scholarship program, he paved a path to the future for thousands of Artesia High School graduates, giving them the support they needed to turn their dreams into reality.
And so a city mourned a remarkable life, but a legacy remains that will live on forever.
2. Bulldogs win 32nd state championship
If Mack Chase were here to offer his two cents, he’d probably demand this story be boosted to No. 1. But with his name on their helmets, the 2023 Bulldog football team secured the program’s 32nd state title the Saturday after Thanksgiving before a standing-room-only crowd at venerable Bulldog Bowl.
The boys in orange avenged a district loss to top-ranked Roswell High by besting the Coyotes 35-21 in the title tilt, moving back into a tie for second — and remaining atop the list for modern-era wins — in the NFHS’ national record book for all-time state championships. The ‘Dogs “finished the row” in thrilling fashion, giving the City of Champs plenty more to celebrate this holiday season.
The championship was the second consecutive for the Bulldogs under third-year skipper and alumnus Jeremy Maupin.
3. Infant left to die in trash bin
The year 2023 had barely begun when the community was rocked by the news that an infant had been found dead in a trash bin at Artesia General Hospital. As more details were released, the incident became more painful still. According to police reports, a local teen had presented to the ER complaining of back pain. At some point, she locked herself in a bathroom, where she allegedly gave birth, then tied the newborn boy in a trash sack and placed him in the bin, where — according to the Office of the Medical Investigator — he suffocated.
With a Hobbs teen having just been sentenced for a similar crime, the story made national news. Now-20-year-old Alexee Trevizo is scheduled for jury trial on Aug. 26, 2024, on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. But if a bit of light could be found in such darkness, the incidents in Hobbs and Artesia sparked awareness of a need for educating particularly teens in New Mexico on the Safe Haven for Infants Act and prompted the installation of or plans to install Safe Haven Baby Boxes in several communities. The boxes provide women and girls with an option for safely surrendering infants, and in September, Hobbs’ Box became the first to save a new life.
4. Murders in Artesia and Weed
The Artesia area was shocked again in mid-October when, within the space of two days, two lives were taken in Artesia and the mountain community of Weed.
On Oct. 12, a domestic incident violently escalated in the parking lot of the Public Safety Complex when 22-year-old Acadio Lucero produced a firearm during a verbal altercation and fired multiple rounds at 42-year-old Mark Owen Rommel. An Artesia Police Department officer on scene shot Lucero, but Rommel was pronounced dead. Lucero is scheduled for jury trial on July 2, 2024, on charges of first-degree murder.
That shooting came one day after social media reports surfaced regarding an apparent murder at the general store in Weed. As details on that incident emerged, it was learned that 52-year-old Joseph Sanders, a resident of Bent, had been arrested following a brief manhunt on the afternoon of Oct. 11 after allegedly entering the Weed store and shooting 34-year-old Laura McCormick, killing her. McCormick, a mother of five, was on shift at the store. Sanders is scheduled for jury trial Dec. 2, 2024, on charges of first-degree murder, attempt to commit armed robbery, tampering with evidence, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
5. Retirements of multiple public officials
Artesia and Eddy County saw a host of retirements from public service in 2023, with a number of longtime officials moving on to the next chapter of their lives.
The local school district bid farewell in May to Cooper Henderson, who retired as athletic director after 30 years at the helm of high school sports in the City of Champions. Henderson, who saw AHS through a period of incredible athletic success, had previously retired as head football coach after the 2015 season with 14 state titles during his tenure; he remains on staff as a volunteer coaching sophomore football.
The public schools were also surprised and saddened in July to learn of first-year superintendent Thad Phipps’ intent to retire at the start of the 2023-24 school year. Phipps had followed in the footsteps of his father, longtime superintendent Mike Phipps, when he was hired for the position in January 2022. Also retiring from Artesia Public Schools administration was 12-year finance director Janet Grice.
Within local government, Recreation Supervisor Luis Reyes and Community Development Director Jim McGuire both retired in late September after 33 and nine years, respectively, with the city. Eddy County Manager Allen Davis stepped away from his post in March after three years and seven months, and Woody Wright — the last of Artesia’s original Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) employees — retired in September after nearly 35 years with the FLETC. Lastly, Sen. Gay Kernan retired from her state government seat after 21 years of service.
6. Youth, as always, was served in Artesia
While the Bulldog football team’s most recent state title was big news around New Mexico and beyond, they weren’t the only youth in Artesia to experience success in 2023.
In February, the Bulldog bowling team brought home the program’s eighth state championship. That same month, the Lady Bulldog swim team secured its second consecutive district title, and Ann Greenwood would go on to finish third in the state in the 100 breaststroke. D4 crowns were also won by both basketball teams (the Runnin’ ‘Dogs’ fourth consecutive); the softball team (their sixth straight); the baseball team for a threepeat; the girls’ tennis team and several individuals; and the track and field teams, with the Bulldogs going on to place third at state with an individual title from Jeremiah Mullen in the high jump.
In the current school year, both soccer teams, the volleyball team, and both cross country squads — along with individual runners Zane Baize and Makaylee Morillon — took district. And in the realm of activities, AHS Business Professionals of America logged eight state championships and three top-10 finishes at nationals, the Artesia FFA boasted two state team titles and five more at CDEs, and AHS Drama and the New Horizons Show Choir won their state events. Outside the public schools, the 2023 Eddy County Fair saw Junior Livestock Auction sales top the $1-million mark.
7. Other significant crimes draw attention
Beyond the most disturbing crimes of the year, a few others drew the attention of residents for their severity and impact on the community.
On Nov. 25, while many Artesians were getting ready for the state championship football game, 54-year-old Ricky Ellis was involved in a shooting incident in the 800 block of Cannon Avenue that led to a statewide Amber Alert. Ellis and an individual at a residence exchanged gunfire that morning, and after police learned Ellis’ young daughter, Lilith, had been in his vehicle at the time, an Amber Alert was issued that evening. The child was later found at the home of a relative, and Ellis turned himself in 10 days later. He has been bound over to district court on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; shooting at or from a motor vehicle; criminal damage to property (over $1,000); tampering with evidence; and abuse of a child.
In late September, 23-year-old Brandon Sevier was arrested after engaging in a shootout with the authorities. After an Artesia Police Department officer attempted to pull Sevier over for failing to stop at a stop sign while on his bicycle, Sevier briefly fled before turning a gun on the officer’s patrol vehicle. Both the APD officer and an Eddy County Sheriff’s Office deputy on scene returned fire, wounding Sevier and ending the incident. He has been bound over to district court on charges of assault with intent to commit a violent felony upon a peace officer; aggravated battery upon a peace officer; shooting at or from a motor vehicle; possession of a firearm by a felon; possession of a controlled substance; resisting, evading or obstructing an officer; failure to stop or yield at an intersection.
And in late January, the community was briefly thrown into limbo when Yeso Elementary School was locked down just as the school day was ending due to a Pecos Valley Drug Task Force (PVDTF) operation in the neighborhood. As SWAT units moved in a few streets over, guns drawn, the APS essentially underwent a test of its emergency procedures, quickly bussing students to a nearby church, where they were released to their anxious parents. The target of the operation — who, as it turned out, was not in the area — was arrested a few days later in Chaves County.
8. Quality of life issues wax and wane for Artesians
Residents of small towns are always affected by the things — large or small — that either improve or throw a monkey wrench into their day-to-day lives, and readers supplied a few more memorable stories that were covered in the Daily Press in 2023.
Artesians read with interest in March the paper’s coverage of the still-uncertain fate of the community’s movie theater, the Land of the Sun. At that time, involved organizations were confirming their commitment to trying to bring the theater back to life following its abandonment by AMC in 2020. But in July, things were complicated when the theater’s marquee caught fire due to an apparent electrical malfunction. Firefighters were forced to break the exterior of the marquee in order to mitigate the issue. It has since been wrapped in tarp.
It was confirmed that the fire had not spread to the interior of the building, which itself suffered smoke damage due to another electrical malfunction just prior to the start of the pandemic in March 2020. And while there have been no further updates on the theater’s future, its fate remains a major concern for residents dismayed at the void its continued closure leaves in Artesia’s options for local entertainment.
On the positive side, the 20th Street Reconstruction Project ended in mid-October after 15 months of closures along the busy thoroughfare. In a city always hungry for new restaurant options, a local food truck — Lucky Duck — moved into a brick-and-mortar location at Pecos Inn, while Roadrunner Grill moved from the hotel to the spot recently vacated by Touch Down BBQ. And the APS broke ground on the first of three planned Career Technical Education (CTE) buildings on the campus of AHS.
But in sadder news, the community said goodbye to downtown stalwart B&B Newsstand, which closed its doors after 53 years in business, 43 at its location on the corner of Main Street and Roselawn Avenue. The newsstand had been part of the lives of generations of Artesians, from kids stopping by for a Coke and a comic to businessmen and elderly gents looking to settle in for a cup of coffee and the latest gossip.
9. Putting the Art in Artesia
The community became quite a bit more colorful over the course of 2023, as several new murals were added to a growing lineup.
The Artesia Arts and Cultural District kept the public up to date on four new projects: murals that now grace the back of Artesia Wellness, The Derrick Floor pump house, and the pump house and adjacent enclosure in Heritage Plaza. Local artist Kirsten Mauritsen — who created the new Derrick Floor mural — also spent a significant amount of time and effort faithfully restoring the murals in Heritage Walkway.
Meanwhile, Artesia celebrated the 10th anniversary of the arrival of Peter Hurd’s mural “The Future Belongs to Those Who Prepare for It” at the Artesia Public Library. The large fresco’s journey from Houston, Texas, to Artesia’s new library was a true community effort.
10. Sale of the Daily Press
Last but certainly not least, the Artesia Daily Press was sold to investment group El Rito Media, LLC, a group of New Mexico investors led by Harvey E. Yates Jr., who grew up in Artesia and now resides in Albuquerque. His cousins Peyton Yates of Artesia and Richard Yates of Santa Fe are also investors. El Rito purchased the Rio Grande Sun in Espanola in April 2022. The Artesia sale ended nearly seven decades of ownership by the James K. Green family, operating as Valley Newspapers Inc. The sale was officially announced in February, and on April 20, the publication’s first color edition was produced by the Hobbs News-Sun. The Daily Press’ offset print press was dismantled and removed from the building May 19 after 50-plus years of dedicated service.
