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

40 years ago July 28 – August 3, 1984

Members of the Artesia Chamber of Commerce Trailblazers joined ranks with 104th Quartermaster Company officers here to cut the ribbon and officially open the dining facility and maintenance addition at the U.S. Army Reserve Center, 13th and Richey. Officers are from left 1st Lt. Charles Lee, 2nd Lt. Cerie Kimball, Capt. Larry Rhodes and Sgt. 1st Class Dudley Stefhon. Mayor Ernest Thompson performed the cutting.

———-The Environmental Protection Agency today proposed rules reducing lead in gasoline 91 percent by Jan. 1. 1986, and cut short its normal period for public comment on the rules. “The evidence is overwhelming that lead, from all sources, is a threat to human health,” EPA Administrator William D. Ruckelshaus said in announcing the proposal. Leaded gasoline accounts for about 45 percent of production.

———-A Las Cruces junior high school principal says she fears that sniffing correction fluid may become prevalent among school children because the product is readily available. The concern by Dorris T. Hamilton came after the June death of a Las Cruces girl. The autopsy report said she died from inhaling large concentrations of the white, quick-drying correction fluid, said city juvenile detective Tim Reeves. Three other people have died in the last two years in New Mexico as the result of inhaling correction fluid, manufactured to mask typing errors, said pharmacist Robert Sandoval, a specialist at the New Mexico Poison Control Center in Albuquerque.

———-The Reagan administration, concerned about a “growing lack of discipline and disorder in the public schools,” is asking the Supreme Court to expand the power of school authorities to search students’ belongings for drugs and weapons. The Justice Department urged the court to use a New Jersey case to establish that students do not have the same constitutional protection as adults against warrantless searches and seizures.

———-Cory McCarell, left, and Dino Wilcox – both members of Artesia’s 14-15-year-old Babe Ruth all-stars who left today with their teammates for the Southwest Regional in Beeville, Texas – display a gift poster which bears some words to take to heart – Go For It. The poster also bore the anonymous initials “S.S.”

———-Texas Tech researchers Curtis Qualls, left, and Dr. Don Walker, center, examine a township plat map of Artesia with Artesia Historical Museum Director Terry Koenig. Koenig said the map was prepared by the Old State National Bank in 1931, when Old State Bank and national bank merged. Qualls and Walker are in Artesia for the next three weeks to catalog and photograph structures in the city since 1945.

30 years ago July 28 – August 3, 1994

Artesia fiddler Chris Barker was the firstplace winner in the junior division at last year’s Hope Old Timer’s Reunion fiddler contest. This year’s reunion starts with a dance Saturday, July 30, followed by the fiddle contest and other events Sunday, July 31.

———-Former Bulldog football players Frank De Hoyos (not shown), David Patterson (left) and David Joseph were named to the South team for Friday’s Class AAA/ AAAA North-South All-Star Football Game in Albuquerque, but Patterson will be Artesia’s lone representative. De Hoyos chose not to play and Joseph is at Air Force Academy boot camp.

———-Eddy County, City of Artesia, Artesia Chamber of Commerce and Eddy County Fair Board officials break ground for a new fair building at the fairgrounds this morning. The 60-by-160-foot community building will be open for a variety of events in the community in addition to fair activities, said Fair Board President Joe Cox, far right, such as auto shows, art shows and weddings.

———-A new state survey shows high radon levels “border to border” in New Mexico’s groundwater. While state water officials emphasized the high radon levels aren’t cause for alarm, they could force many communities to make drastic technical changes to remove much of the radon dissolved in drinking water at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, less than 200 people in America die each year from inhaling or ingesting radon from water.

———-Jim Tyler, left, foreman for CCC Construction of Albuquerque, supervises Friday as Donald Kitzmiller, center, and Bill Taylor remove a support structure for the post office boxes at the Artesia Post Office. The old, combination-operated postal boxes are being replaced by new, key operated boxes. The present L-shaped lobby will be changed to two U-shapes to allow for about 200 additional boxes, said Postmaster Grace Sanchez.

———-The attorney general says the wild horses at White Sands Missile Range are no longer considered livestock under state law and can’t be auctioned off by the Livestock Board. A task force got that word Tuesday at its first meeting, and it put a new wrinkle into the deliberations about what to do with the horses. The longstanding problem of the White Sands horses came to a head recently when drought conditions resulted in the deaths of more than 120 horses.

20 years ago July 28 – August 3, 2004

Sandia National Laboratories officials say their Energy Department-ordered work stoppage involving classified data storage devices could last two weeks as the labs inventory stock of about 12,000 items. The decision, labeled precautionary, came after two missing disks at Los Alamos National Laboratory prompted all work to stop at that northern New Mexico weapons lab. Nineteen Los Alamos employees have been placed on leave pending investigations in connection with safety and security lapses.

———-A vehicle chase that began in Artesia late Monday night led law enforcement officials on a chase through two states before coming to an end across the border in Mexico. According to police records, an officer with the Artesia Police Department Reserve spotted a white, 1995 Chevrolet pickup, which had been reported stolen, heading southbound on U.S. 285 through Artesia. The Eddy County Sheriff’s Office and the New Mexico State Police were notified and after a short time three officers broke off pursuit, with one continuing the chase. The ECSO then turned over pursuit to Texas authorities, who continued the chase across the border into Mexico, where the vehicle reportedly collided with two Mexico Port Authority vehicles and the three individuals were taken into Mexican federal custody.

———-Principal Steve Markl checks out the new computer lab at Artesia Intermediate School. The lab holds 30 computers, all networked and Internet capable. “It will give us the capability to allow many more students to have access to technology in many different ways, including keyboarding skills, Internet research and reading writing and math assessment,” said Principal Steve Markl.

———-New Mexico’s immunization rates improved significantly over the last year, but the state again ranked low on the national level. Immunization of small children has increased in the state from 71 to 75.2 percent, according to figures released Thursday. But the state slipped from 43rd to 44th nationally as immunization reached record levels. More than 79 percent of small children were immunized nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

———-For two families, this year marks the end of showing animals at the Eddy County Fair. Chance Underwood, 18, and Ty Crook, 19, are showing pigs for the last time. Underwood said that he learned responsibility and said that he will also encourage his children to participate in the fair. But for now, Underwood is content to go to college where he will earn a degree in special education and coaching. He made his first sale in 1995 at the age of nine.

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