Daily Press Staff Report
After being away for most of March, the Artesia High School baseball team starts home play Thursday hosting their own three-day tournament.
At 7 p.m. Thursday at Brainard Park the Bulldogs (3-3) host the Deming Wildcats (6-2).
The tournament concludes Saturday.
By: Kevin Beardmore, Ed.D.
My wife and I have four children. When they were young, our home was a veritable hive of activity, but the buzzing was rarely a quiet hum. This presented a problem.
We could not understand what was being said on TV.
This led to using closed captioning all the time. While our kids are grown now, it is still how we watch television at my house.
This made it easier to watch international shows after we finally decided to get Netflix. Reading subtitles was already the norm. Suddenly what seemed to be an endless menu of possibilities was open to us. Korean rom-coms, Egyptian action, Chinese dramas. We have watched a myriad of offerings. Months into doing this, I had a realization that was similar to one I had nearly four decades ago.
I was rooming with a German student while taking summer classes at college. His English was excellent and he didn’t look out of place on an American campus in any particular way. But his toothpaste was clearly from Germany. Even at a glance, no one would mistake the tube for something purchased in the United States.
The toothpaste, however, looked like ordinary toothpaste. The label, language, and brand were all German. But what you found inside was basically the same.
Watching international shows made me think the same thing. Whether it is a LeBron James poster on a dorm room wall in China or phones, appliances, and vehicles that would look right at home in Eddy County, the similarities are astonishing. Around the globe, many lives are more the same than they are different.
The comedy, the action, and the drama are very familiar. They seem to be common to humanity. Many academics have studied this. Anthropologist Donald E. Brown, in his book Human Universals, identified societal features such as baby talk, customary greetings, a preference for one’s own children and kin, sanctions for crimes against one’s social group, and repetition and pauses in poetry that one finds across the world.
Beyond the settings, the storylines in each series remind me of another set of universals. American philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum identified ten fundamentally human opportunities for a life of dignity, which range from being able to live a healthy life of normal length, to have the freedom to think, reason, and imagine as an individual, and to affiliate with others. She included the capability to play, to feel emotion, and to control one’s environment through actions such as the right to own property and political participation. Whether plot or subplot, almost all contain one of these elements.
This doesn’t mean that we are all the same. The cultures we are raised within influence our preferences in many ways. One quite obvious one is what we eat. On Thursday, April 10 from 5:00-7:00 pm, Southeast New Mexico College will once again host “Taste of Culture,” a free public event where you can sample culinary delights from all around the world. It is like eating at more than a dozen restaurants in one evening with no bill to pay! I hope you will join us to celebrate a wide variety of flavors along with more than 600 of your friends and neighbors.
It is an opportunity to remember again that while we are different in many ways, we are “one world, one people.” That is Carlsbad Rotary’s theme this year—as well as a timeless remembrance of our shared humanity.
Kevin Beardmore, Ed.D., is the President of Southeast New Mexico College. He may be reached at kbeardmore@senmc.edu or 575.234.9211
Relive the 2025 4A state title victory through the lens of Daily Press Sports Editor J.T. Keith.
The Artesia fans celebrate its boy’s basketball team’s 55-48 victory over Highland.
The Artesia boys’ basketball team celebrates winning the Class 4A championship 55-48 over Highland.
The Artesia boys’ basketball players Charlie Campbell and Braylon Vega hold the Blue Trophy after defeating the Highland Hornets 55-48 at The Pit.
Artesia guard Corbyn Dominguez shoots free throws against Highland in the Class 4A title game at The Pit.
Highland Jesus Licon takes a charge against Bulldog center Clay Kincaid and fouls Kincaid out with 2:15 to play in the game.
Artesia guard Cael Houghtaling makes a free throw in the fourth quarter against Highland.
An unidentified Highland basketball fouls Artesia guard Trent Egeland on a layup in first-quarter action in the Class 4A championship game.
Artesia guard Jack Byers shoots free throws against Highland during the Class 4A championship.
The Artesia High School band plays for the state championship crowd.
The Artesia High cheerleaders fire up the crowd during the state title game.
By J.T. Keith
Artesia Daily Press Sports Editor
jtkeith@elritomedia.com
Ty Houghtaling was heading to Brazil on a mission Monday after watching his son, Cael Houghtaling, win a state title, 55-48, over the Highland Hornets on Saturday.
Houghtaling was a travel coach for his boys, Clay and Cael Houghtaling, until he felt a higher calling. Now, his purpose as pastor of First Baptist Church in Artesia is to serve God and man.
Ty and Cael are the first father-son duo to win state titles for Artesia basketball. In 1995, Ty was a forward on the Artesia team that defeated Albuquerque Academy 82-73.
And Cael, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help Artesia defeat Highlands in the March 15 championship game.
“I got to watch these kids (Cael and Artesia teammates) play when they were younger,” Ty Houghtaling said. “I got to do some travel stuff with them, so I am close to them. As is the case with most parents and their kids.”
Ty said the 1995 championship team has a text thread, and the ‘95 team was impressed with how unselfish the 2025 team was and how many players could score in double digits and rebound.
“That was how my team was,” Ty said. “We were under control and played fast. The teams are similar in that way.”
Ty had to come back to Artesia Saturday night after the game to give his sermon at church Sunday morning – while Cael stayed in Albuquerque to visit his brother Clay.
Ty FaceTimed Cael on Sunday night and said his son was smiling.
“It’s been pretty cool to see this group win it,” Ty said. “It’s pretty neat that I have won a state championship. And my son has one as well.”
J.T. Keith can be reached at jtkeith@elritomedia.com.
Story & Photo by: J.T. Keith, Sports Editor
The Artesia boys’ basketball team knew it had to play its best game in the last game of the season. The second-seeded Bulldogs defeated the Highland Hornets 55-48 at The Pit on Saturday to win the Class 4A state championship.
The dichotomy in the matchup would be the Bulldogs’ size: center 6-foot-8 Clay Kincaid, 6-foot-4 Trent Egeland, 6-foot-3 Jack Byers, 6-foot-3 Charlie Campbell, along with 6-foot-2 Cael Houghtaling and 6-foot-3 Corbyn Dominguez, against the Hornets’ speed and 3-point shooting.
The No.8 seeded Hornets started the game with a 3-pointer from Jesus Licon then Artesia guard Houghtaling made a basket. The teams traded baskets, and with Artesia trailing 8-6 late in the first quarter, Campbell made a steal and scored on a layup to tie the game at 8-8.
In the second quarter, Artesia (21-9) took its first lead at the free-throw line and started taking the ball inside, as Kincaid scored and also altered shots on the defensive end of the floor. The Bulldogs outscored the Hornets 15-7 in the second quarter to lead at halftime, 23-15.
Licon hit a 3-pointer and scored 10 points in the third quarter, while teammate DJ Spruell made a basket to give the Hornets some life.
Highland cut the Bulldogs’ lead to six points before Artesia scored on baskets by Campbell and Egeland. Campbell made two free throws to give the Bulldogs a 41-32 lead at the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter, both teams traded baskets, and Houghtaling made a basket to give the Bulldogs a 48-36 lead with four minutes to play.
Highland (18-15) made a run when Kincaid fouled out with 2:15 to play. Spruell scored on a steal, cutting the lead to eight. A 3-pointer by Licon had the Hornets trailing 50-45 with just over a minute to play.
The difference down the stretch was Artesia’s Braylon Vega making two free throws with 54 seconds remaining and Campbell adding two free throws to clinch the win with 3.1 seconds to play.
“(We had) to be active,” Artesia coach Michael Mondragon said of his team’s plan for Licon. “Making sure it’s not just one guy guarding one — it’s five guarding one. We did an excellent job today. He got loose a couple of times, but palms up, standing straight up, staying steady, and playing great team defense (was the key).”
Campbell scored a team-high 15 points (13 in the second half) and had nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Egeland and Houghtaling added 12 and 11 points, respectively, and grabbed seven rebounds each as Artesia outrebound Highland 40-34.
Hornet’s leading scorer, Jesus Licon, finished with 18 points after scoring only three in the first half. Licon was just four of 16 on attempted 3s. Limas and Spruell added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
“We probably missed 10 (or) 11 layups,” Highland coach Justin Woody said. “And it’s a credit to them and their size and strength. We just weren’t ever comfortable around the basket.”
The Bulldogs ended a 28-year drought by winning the third state basketball championship in school history. The others came under coach Bubba Jennings in 1995 and1997.
Mondragon, who has been Artesia’s head basketball coach since 2014, led the Bulldogs to the 4A state final in 2021 only to fall to Del Norte, 52-41
“Happy for our town and community,” Mondragon said. “And that blue trophy is going back south where it belongs.”
Adrian Hedden
El Rito Media
achedden@currentargus.com
Eddy County plans to spend about $3.8 million on county road improvements amid increased traffic from the oil and gas industry.
Public Works Director Jason Burns first asked county commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting to transfer $1.8 million from the county’s construction fund to its road maintenance fund for micro sealing work on roads in McNew Subdivision and Magnum and Longhorn roads.
The funding would also support improvements at intersections at Hermosa and Halderman roads; Burton and Magnum roads; and Hilltop Road and U.S. Highway 82 along with several south of Carlsbad.
Following unanimous approval of the transfer, Burns also requested and received approval for a $2 million appropriation from the county’s general fund for chip sealing work on Calvani and Ferguson roads.
He said the requests were in response to concerns voiced by residents in those areas, amid heavy industrial traffic from the nearby oil and gas industry. The projects will be completed by the end of the year, Burns said.
“We’ve heard several concerns,” he said. “We’ve done the west side, now we’re going to the east side. There’s a lot of traffic there with our oil and gas industry.”
District 1 County Commissioner Ernie Carlson said Calvani and Ferguson roads were in his district, and he’s had several constituents reach out about damage.
“I can tell you I get lots and lots of calls. People are falling into potholes, and seeing it chipping away,” Carlson said. “I would really encourage us to do this.”
County forms ‘freeholder board’
A resolution approved by commissioners as proposed by Eddy County Manager Mike Gallagher formed the county’s first “freeholder board” to make decisions about abandonment or adoption of roadways or rights of way in the county.
The five-person board would consist of three county workers assigned permanently, and two members of the public appointed by the commission.
The board would convene to hear proposals for the county to either adopt or abandon unused roadway or rights of way, which are used by government or private landowners to cross lands under management by different entities for industrial uses such as agriculture or oil and gas operations.
Carlson said the board, which would consider such proposals on a case-by-case basis would ensure transparency in the process before making recommendations to the Eddy County Commission, which would have the final say.
“I think it would be great to have a specific group that can hear the case and make those decisions,” he said.
Adrian Hedden | El Rito Media
High winds and blowing dust led to the temporary closure Tuesday of several Eddy County roads where low visibility was reported.
In response to the dust storm, the Eddy County Office of Emergency Management closed a portion of U.S. Highway 285 between Artesia and Carlsbad, meaning traffic was unable to use the main highway between the two cities for about two hours on Tuesday afternoon. The road was reopened around 3 p.m.
The Office also said northbound lanes of 26th Street at U.S. Highway 285 in Artesia were closed as well as both directions on a section of U.S. Highway 82 in the area, along with State Road 2 and 285 heading to Chaves County.
Artesia Daily Press Publisher Dave Shabaz was driving from Artesia to Carlsbad, where he also runs the Carlsbad Current-Argus, Tuesday afternoon when the dust storm hit. He was forced to pull over on the side of U.S. 285 for several minutes while he waited for the dust to subside and visibility to return.
“I’ve lived all over the country and this was my first dust storm, and let me tell you, it was an experience,” Shabaz said after making it back to Carlsbad. “I’m thankful it happened during the day because I can’t imagine what it would be like at night.”
Eddy County Emergency Manager Jennifer Armendariz said Tuesday there were at least three car accidents she said were caused by the weather, including a multiple-vehicle accident, all in the northern part of Eddy County near Artesia.
She was unsure of the exact locations of the wrecks but said the accidents all occurred on rural rounds surrounding the city. No severe injuries were reported as of Tuesday afternoon.
Armendariz said the decisions to close the roads were made after first responders reported “zero to low visibility” on northern Eddy County roads. She was unsure when the roads would reopen.
“It’s for the safety of the people traveling on those roadways,” Armendariz said. “Our intent is not to close the roads all day long. Hopefully when it dies down a little we’ll be able to open the roads again. We’re discouraging travel today.”
The National Weather Service issued three separate warnings as of Tuesday afternoon for high winds, blowing dust and a red flag warning as the winds could stoke wildfires.
Spring months in southern New Mexico are known for increased wind and hotter temperatures. Coming after the dry winter months, conditions could bring wildfires to the area.
The warnings were in effect through Tuesday night, with a fire weather watch enacted for Wednesday, according to the Weather Service.
While the warnings are in effect, the Weather Service reported, wind gusts could climb up to 70 miles per hour throughout southeast New Mexico, impacting visibility and making travel dangerous and possibly “life threatening,” read the blowing dust warning.
“Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles like campers, vans, and tractor trailers,” read the warning, which also suggested securing outside objects and being aware of winds potentially blowing over trees.
High winds also led to Xcel Energy announcing potential power shutoffs in the West Texas Plains and eastern New Mexico, to prevent current from running through power lines in the event they are blown down.
Active power lines can ignite brush when blown over, and high winds can stoke the blazes into wildfires.
The region’s main utility provider said it expected to shut off power to about 1,100 customers in New Mexico and Texas on Tuesday. A map of the areas for the potential shutoffs included several portions of the Amarillo, Texas, area, along the New Mexico State Line and around Tucumcari.
Eddy County was not included in the map as of Tuesday afternoon.
The outages were expected to begin at about noon, with restoration beginning when wildfire risks subside, according to a news release from Xcel.
“While we expect some customers may have power restored overnight, outages in some areas will last until tomorrow and possibly longer if wind damage is significant,” read the release.
By: Wheeler Cowperthwaite
As spring threatens to burst forth, green shoots reaching toward the sky, pushing through recently-frozen ground, it’s a great time to think about a few last stews until it gets cold again in the fall.
I’ve written about a few beef stews before — Vietnamese beef stew spiced with star anise, the French beef bourguignon and Irish beef stew made with stout. Each has its own flavor profile, side dish and history.
This time, I’m looking to Italy for their take on the classic, which can be made with things that aren’t strictly beef, including pork, lamb and veal. Spezzatino is also known as Italian beef stew.
What the stew is served with depends on the region. Go to the north and generally it’s served with polenta, in the south, it’s served with crusty bread. Many times, instead of polenta, it is served with mashed potatoes, a base that the stew is ladled over.
I was introduced to this dish by a family friend, coming back from a months-long trip to Italy. His version used an electric pressure cooker (InstantPot) but I’ve gone the not-quite-as-quick route.
No culture has truly reinvented the stew, so all these variations across countries revolve around basically the same ingredients with slight variations and differences in quantities.
Being an Italian beef stew, spezzatino utilizes olive oil instead of butter for sautéing the chopped vegetables, along with a few spices we typically term Italian when mixed together.
While it may be sacrilege to Julia Child (and her beef bourguignon recipe), when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
But much like Child’s, this recipe gets some of its coloring and flavor from red wine.
Spezzatino is also a specialty often served after a mountainous sport like skiing or hiking. It’s a staple of alpine hiking shacks.
Like most stews, it’s better reheated the following day, after all the flavors have had a chance to sit and mingle.
While many stew recipes call for potatoes, they’ve been omitted from this recipe because the stew is served over mashed potatoes.
Remember to serve the stew over mashed potatoes or polenta.
Spezzatino
Serves four
Ingredients
2 lbs. stew meat cut into quarter-sized pieces (beef, pork, lamb, veal)
4 medium onions thinly sliced (2 lbs.)
4 bay leaves
2 carrots
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 full glass of red or white wine
Water or low sodium broth
Salt (for potatoes)
1/8 cup all purpose flour
1 sprig of rosemary
2 cups beef stock
Black pepper
Salt to taste
Directions
Dice the onions and carrots. In a large skillet or Dutch oven on medium heat, add the onions and carrots and olive oil and sauté until the onions start to become translucent. Remove to a separate dish.
Pat the chopped meat dry and then coat with flour.
Add the meat to the skillet in small batches to brown on all sides. Remove once the meat is seared to the vegetable dish.
In the Dutch oven, add all the meat, vegetables, bay leaves, broth and wine. Cover. Turn heat to low and summer for two hours, stirring occasionally. Add water, broth or wine if the liquid level gets too low.
Remove from heat and serve or refrigerate and serve the next day. The sauce should be thick and the meat should be tender. Serve over mashed potatoes.
Wheeler Cowperthwaite is a former cops/courts reporter for the Rio Grande SUN.
Mike Smith
El Rito Media
msmith@currentargus.com
Prime snow conditions await spring-break skiers after a weekend storm dumped nearly a foot of snow at some New Mexico ski resorts, according to Ski New Mexico’s executive director Christy Germscheid.
“This was another great snow event,” she said.
Germscheid said snowfall varied from 7 to 12 inches as ski resorts headed into the final weeks of the 2025 ski season.
New Mexico is experiencing a La Nina weather pattern, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. During La Nina years, Germscheid said, New Mexico often experiences a lean early snow season and more snowfall late in the ski season.
“This year, however, we had a huge storm in November to kick off the season earlier than expected and lay a great foundation for the rest of the winter,” she said.
Germscheid said the November storm dropped around four inches of snow in most New Mexico ski areas.
“The dry months that followed brought premium temperatures to allow for abundant snowmaking, which allowed the resorts to maintain solid conditions,” she said. “The great storms rolling in now have made for some exceptional skiing.”
Thursday, March 20, marks the first day of spring and Germscheid said another round of snow could fall in ski areas during the first full weekend of spring.
Here are reported New Mexico skiing conditions as of Tuesday, March 18.
(Information provided by Ski New Mexico)
Angel Fire had a base depth of 25 inches with 59 of 86 trails open and 7 of 7 lifts open.
Pajarito Mountain had a base depth of 10 inches with 14 of 53 trails open and 3 of 6 lifts open.
Red River had a base depth of 24 inches with 51 of 64 trails open and 7 of 7 lifts open.
Sipapu had a base depth of 20 inches with 13 of 44 trails open and 4 of 6 lifts open.
Ski Santa Fe had a base depth of 38 inches with 81 of 90 trails open and 6 of 7 lifts open.
Taos Ski Valley had a base depth of 37 inches with 89 of 120 trails open and 12 of 13 lifts open.
Note: Snow conditions can change after this report is compiled.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-308-8734 or email msmith@currentargus.com.
By Sherry Robinson
All She Wrote
Five progressives killed the medical malpractice bill.
You might say the trial lawyers got their money’s worth. You might say it’s late in the session and everybody’s getting tired and cranky. You could even observe that the strife of national politics has haunted this legislative session. It would all be true.
But there’s another element that’s more troubling, and that’s denial and willful ignorance.
New Mexico doesn’t have enough doctors. It’s a national problem, but it’s worse here. In recent years New Mexico was the ONLY state to lose doctors.
In testimony last week on Senate Bill 176, doctors were crystal clear: Changes in New Mexico’s malpractice law since 2021 legislation multiplied malpractice lawsuits and spiked court awards and settlement costs. New Mexico is first in the nation for medical malpractice lawsuits per capita. Insurance premiums have quadrupled, but insurers are still losing money. Doctors are leaving the state. Unable to recruit new doctors, organizations are no longer accepting new patients or referrals. Doctors who stay are stretched thin.
“We are exhausted and demoralized,” testified Dr. Gabrielle Adams, of Southwest Gastroenterology. “We have a target on our backs.”
Dr. Angelina Villas-Adams, president of the New Mexico Medical Society, said, “It’s harder and harder to practice medicine.” She herself has 60 people on a waiting list, and she’s tried unsuccessfully to get them seen by other doctors.
SB 176 would cap attorney fees in medical malpractice lawsuits at 25% of the money awarded if a case is settled or 33% if a case goes to trial. It would end lump sum payouts and send 75% of punitive damages to a new public fund designed to improve patient safety. Punitive damages would be awarded only for egregious cases.
Sen. Martin Hickey, the Legislature’s only doctor, called the bill a “patient advocacy bill.”
“It’s about rebalancing to bring medical professionals back to New Mexico and for patients to be able to get physicians,” he said.
The New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association has responded with smoke and mirrors: greedy corporate-owned hospitals, greedy insurance companies, imagined limits on patients’ right to sue, and hospital horror stories. In the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee, they succeeded.
Sens. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Cindy Nava, Albuquerque Democrats, didn’t like taking 75% of a punitive damages award from patients and putting it into a fund. Punitive damages hold the medical profession accountable, Sedillo Lopez said.
“The medical field is not a profession, it’s a business,” she said. “Patients are not people with needs but consumers at profit centers.”
Hickey explained that many frivolous cases get filed, and they come with a threat of punitive damages if they don’t settle. There’s no insurance for punitive damages – it falls directly on the doctor.
Sedillo Lopez resents anti-lawyer sentiment she’d heard. “I’m proud to be a lawyer,” she said. “Lawyers and courts are going to save us.” It was a pointed reference to the many lawsuits prompted by the President and First Sidekick.
National politics also entered an exchange between Nava and Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview and the bill’s co-sponsor. Nava wanted answers about healthcare access for people of color, even though that wasn’t the issue in this bill. Woods responded, “We have to think about New Mexico as a state of people, not a state of colors.”
That led to an angry rant from Nava about equity that would be better directed at Republicans who plan to gut Medicaid. Nava wants the state to incentivize doctors to return, apparently missing the entire point about why they’re leaving.
Sen. Shannon Pinto, D-Tohatchi, speculated that maybe doctors can’t afford their technology and their facilities. No doctor said that at any time in two hearings or months of media coverage.
Sen. Angel Charlie, D-Acoma, insisted that with the billions insurance companies are raking in, they should pay their fair share. Hickey explained to her, again, that for every $1 insurers receive here they pay out $1.83. They’re losing money, he said, again. Hickey was talking to himself. Charlie concluded, “Insurers are winning at all our expense.”
Committee Democrats believe what they want to believe, despite evidence. It’s a trait they share with congressional Republicans who claim that trade wars are good, Russia’s bloody dictator is our friend and we don’t need allies.
SB 176 died on a 5-4 vote. Political donations to the five cost the trial lawyers less than $300,000.
Sherry Robinson is a longtime New Mexico reporter and editor. She has worked in Grants, Gallup, the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico Business Weekly and Albuquerque Tribune. She is the author of four books. Her columns won first place in 2024 from New Mexico Press Women.
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