Mike Smith
El Rito Media
msmith@currentargus.com.

Payton Putman has a unique perspective on the forthcoming changes at the Eddy County Fairgrounds in Artesia.

Putman, a sophomore at Loving High School, has been involved with the school’s FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapter since eighth grade and started participating in 4-H as a fourth grader.

And there’s more. Her father, Jon Putman, is a member of the Eddy County Fair Board so she had an insider’s view as plans unfolded to transform the aging fairgrounds into a 21st century showcase.

Father and daughter were on hand Wednesday, March 5, to help celebrate the groundbreaking for the fairgrounds’ new $25 million livestock and community building. Also participating in the ceremony were a number of FFA members from Loving, Carlsbad and Artesia, along with representatives of the fair board, the Artesia Chamber of Commerce, and the area’s agricultural community.

Payton said the new building will be a welcome improvement for those who show animals at the annual Eddy County Fair.

“It’s the whole community coming together and building something new and to help and grow the Eddy County Fairgrounds,” she said. “It means so much having a brand-new facility … and we’ll all be in one barn.”

Currently, exhibitors and their animals deal with heat and humidity in outdoor barns during the fair, which is held in late July. The new building is expected to be completed by January 2027.

The fair is a Putman family tradition, Payton said.

“My sister graduated last year, so she showed at these fairgrounds growing up and so did my mother,” she said. “It’s really interesting, this whole new facility and this whole new building for a brand-new generation to experience.”

The fair board is in the process of developing a long-range master plan that could bring even more improvements, officials say.

Jon Putman said improvements to the fairgrounds have been in the making for 20 years.

“For it to finally come to fruition is big for the fair board,” he said. “They have been passionate about it. These guys (fair board members) donate a lot of their time and a lot of their personal money to keep these organizations going and these fairgrounds kept up.”

He said the fair has shown consistent growth with increased numbers of FFA and 4-H participants showing livestock.

“This is a major improvement and overhaul of the Eddy County Fairgrounds,” said Eddy County 4-H agent Wayne Shockey. “It’s going to be a tremendous asset to our 4-H and FFA youth.”

Shockey has been the leader for 4-H programs for eight years and said the number of youths participating in 4-H and FFA programs has grown during his time in Eddy County.

“We continually see large numbers of exhibits and fair projects that are brought into the fair every year,” he said. “We hope to continue that growth, and this is going to help … draw kids into our programs.”

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-308-8734 or email at msmith@currentargus.com.

Adrian Hedden
Carlsbad Current-Argus
achedden@currentargus.com

Democrat lawmakers in Santa Fe have less than two weeks left to pass a bill that would hike fees paid to the state by oil and gas companies to drill on state-managed public land.

Senate Bill 23, which would raise the cap on royalty rates for oil and gas leases on State Trust land from 20% to 25%, passed the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee on a 5-4 vote March 4 and was sent to the House Finance Committee for further consideration.

Royalty rates are charged by the State Land Office to energy companies as a percentage of the revenue derived from oil and gas production on land leased from the state.

The bill already passed two Senate committee, in the chamber where it originated, and survived a vote on the Senate floor in February.

If granted a “do pass” recommendation by the finance committee in the House, SB 23 would then go to a vote of the full chamber. It could be amended on the floor and would then need approval by the Senate before going to the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to be signed into law.

The final approvals will need to occur in less than two weeks if the bill sponsored by Sen. George Munoz (D-4) is to become law, as the legislative session ends March 22. The bill was not scheduled for its next hearing as of press time.

“Raising the state’s top oil and gas royalty rate puts millions more into the state’s savings for some of our most important institutions every year to ensure we continue funding them well into the future,” Munoz said.

The State Land Office leases State Trust land to the industry through monthly auctions, which recently focused on the southeast corner of the state in the booming Permian Basin.

The 25% rate would only be charged for the most valuable tracts of land, as appraised by the Land Office, in the Delaware sub-basin – an area of the Permian encompassing Eddy and Lea counties and believed to be the most productive in New Mexico.

Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, who leads the office and has long supported the higher royalty rate, said following the bill’s most recent passage by the House Energy Committee the measure would allow New Mexicans to get a fair share of fossil fuel revenue produced in the state. New Mexico is ranked second in the U.S. in oil production.

The nation’s top oil-producing state is Texas, which shares the Permian Basin with New Mexico.

Financial benefit or anti-business?

Revenue gained by the Land Office supports its statutory beneficiaries such as public schools, universities and hospitals. Garica Richard argued such support saves taxpayers in the state thousands of dollars each year.

“We should always get top returns for our best public resources, especially because this money funds some of our most important institutions and saves taxpayers about $3,000 per year,” Garcia Richard said. “We need to capitalize on this opportunity to get the most value we can for New Mexicans.”

An analysis by the Legislative Finance Committee said the bill would raise up to $75 million a year for the Land Grant Permanent Fund, which the Land Office uses to distribute money to its beneficiaries.

Despite the purported financial benefits to the land office, Republicans and oil and gas industry groups oppose the higher rate because, they say, it would further burden oil companies – especially smaller producers – and could cause oil and gas operations to be moved over the border to Texas.

Paul Gessing with the nonprofit Rio Grande Foundation, a conservative business advocacy group, said the bill was the latest attempt by Democrats in control of the Legislature to attack the oil and gas industry.

Such an agenda, Gessing added, would come at the expense of New Mexico’s fiscal prosperity as the state already heavily regulates and taxes the industry.

“New Mexico is actually taking more than any other state from the oil and gas industry in terms of revenue,” Gessing said during the House Energy committee’s March 4 hearing. “If you want this money, I encourage you to share the wealth with New Mexicans, not just hoard it in government.”

Larry Sonntag with the New Mexico Business Coalition said fees and other expenses imposed by the state, other than the land office’s royalty rate, already made it more expensive to drill for oil and gas in New Mexico

“This would have a detrimental effect to our oil and gas industry,” Sonntag said of the bill. “They already provide a significant benefit to the state, and we don’t want to do anything to disincentivize that.”

Renewable energy, pollution control bills pass house

Lawmakers in the House voted March 6 to pass House Bill 289. The bill, approved by a vote of 35-23, would expand grant eligibility up to $250,000 for geothermal energy projects.

Geothermal energy, considered a renewable form of energy, creates electricity using underground heat. Projects usually draw heated water and steam to the surface from deep underground, using the heat’s energy to produce power.

The House also voted to pass House Bill 140, which would update the state’s Hazardous Waste Act to allow New Mexico officials to sue entities such as the Department of Defense for causing water contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. PFAS are industrial byproducts often labeled “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment.

PFAS contamination in local groundwater was linked to the use of firefighting foam at several Air Force bases in New Mexico.

Adrian Hedden
Carlsbad Current-Argus
achedden@currentargus.com

Eddy County saw its first case of measles amid an outbreak that reportedly started in Lea County and tripled last week from 10 to 33 infections as of Tuesday.

The viral outbreak caused at least one Lea County adult’s death and continued to spread, as health officials increased their investigations to uncover more cases of the disease.

Health officials believe the outbreak started Feb. 9 with infections spreading from West Texas after originating in Gaines County and reaching to several other Texas counties.

As of Monday, Lea and Eddy counties were the only in New Mexico where infections were reported. On March 6 a deceased adult in Lea County tested positive for the virus, although the official cause of death was yet to be announced by the Office of the Medical Investigator.

There was one case in Eddy County as of Tuesday, and 32 people infected in Lea County, the New Mexico Department of Health reported. Health officials said 27 patients were not vaccinated. The vaccination status of the other five was unknown.

Health officials said five of those infected were ages 0-4, eight were in the 5-17 age range and 18 infections involved adults 18 and older. The age of the other two people infected had not been determined.

The Health Department said the increase reflected test results from its Scientific Laboratory Division, along with discoveries made during the investigations of groups or families that already had known infections.

Many of the cases were found “retrospectively,” read a Health Department news release, and detected only after patients had recovered.

“The large majority of Lea County residents are vaccinated and well-protected even if they come into contact with the virus,” said Miranda Durham, the health department’s chief medical officer in a statement issued with the news release.

“Most confirmed measles cases involve people unvaccinated and have occurred over an extended period of time.”

The outbreak started, health officials now believe, when 14 people were infected with measles between Feb. 9 and 14. Another six infections occurred between Feb. 16 and 22, followed by six from Feb. 23 to March 1, and four between March 2 and 8.

How to prevent the spread

A free vaccination was planned for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 13 at the Carlsbad Public Health Office at 1306 W. Stevens St.

The New Mexico Department of Health advised that measles is “extremely contagious.” Symptoms of measles can begin with a cough, runny nose and eye redness before the patient develops the telltale red skin rash, which usually begins at the head and spreads down to the body and extremities.

An infected person can spread the disease four days before and four days after the rash develops, while the virus can stay in the air for two hours after an infected person leaves an enclosed space such as a room.

Anyone experiencing symptoms should call their doctor to report they are concerned about measles and schedule a visit, read the news release. Guidance can also be provided in English or Spanish by the Health Department at 1-833-SWNURSE (1-833-796-8773).

Measles vaccines are available and can provide lifetime protection, read the release. The vaccines are 93% effective with one dose and 97% effective with two doses, the release said.

Texas outbreak grows to almost 200 cases

Gaines County, Texas – where the measles outbreak began – continued to lead that state with 137 cases reported as of March 7, according to the latest data from the Texas Department of Health Services. Terry County had 29 reported cases.

Single digit infections were reported in Dallam, Dawson, Ector, Lubbock, Lynn, Marin and Yoakum counties. An unvaccinated school-aged child was reported to have died in a Lubbock hospital. In total, 198 infections were reported in Texas as of March 7.

By J.T.Keith
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com

Artesia Bulldogs boys’ basketball coach Michael Mondragon called for a White Out against the visiting Gallup Bengals. The Bulldogs turned the White Out into a 91-57 Black Out victory over the Bengals, who wore all black into the Bulldog Pit on Saturday.

“We knew that everyone was going to come in here and give us their best shot,” Mondragon said. “Gallup did a great job of frustrating us at times and getting to the rim. I thought we came out after half and challenged them defensively.”

With the win, the No. 2 seed Bulldogs (18-9) advanced to the state quarterfinals, where they will play No.7 seed Valley (15-14) in Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico’s University Arena at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 12. The winner will advance to the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13.

The game against Gallup was never in doubt as the Bulldogs used their superior height to score inside the paint at will.

The Bulldogs received balanced scoring as five players scored in double figures. Among the highlights was Clay Kincaid scoring on a dunk and leading all scorers with 21 points. Teammate Trent Egeland chipped in with 13 points.

Artesia never took its foot off the gas. The Bulldogs attacked the basket on fast breaks, and once the game turned into a slow-paced affair, they continued to throw the ball into the post where the Bulldogs’ big men scored or were fouled.

The Bulldogs showed no ill effects after losing their previous two games. The team was focused and Mondragon said nothing was mentioned about the losses. The whole week of preparations was about beating the Bengals.

“There is nothing we can do about the past,” Mondragon said. “We never mentioned the losses. We were focused on the game with Gallup.”

J.T. Keith can be reached at jtkeith@elritomedia.com.

El Rito Media News Services

A bill that would expand restrictions on the placement of inmates in solitary confinement in New Mexico’s prisons and jails spurred strong reactions Tuesday as former inmates and correctional officers sounded off on opposite sides of the issue.

“It’s easy to say solitary confinement is necessary when you are the one locking the door,” said Christopher Herrera, who discussed his experience being incarcerated during a House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee. “It only causes more violence.”

Offering personal experiences and standing in opposition, some correctional officers in the state who attended the committee meeting wearing uniforms said they had personally been assaulted while working the job and maintained the bill would make their jobs more dangerous and difficult while also making prison populations less safe.

House Bill 533 — sponsored by Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe — would lower the threshold for what is considered solitary confinement from 22 hours per day to 17 hours per day without rehabilitative programming. The legislation would also raise the existing statutory restriction on housing individuals under 18 years of age in solitary confinement to those under 21 years of age, according to a Legislative Finance Committee analysis, while expanding that restriction to those over 55 years of age as well.

Under the bill, pregnant and postpartum inmates, as well as individuals identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, may not be placed in restricted housing involuntarily or for purposes of protective custody.

“It creates a lot of strange, sort of illogical provisions [for] us,” said Alisha Tafoya Lucero, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Corrections Department, prior to the committee meeting. “A few of the things it does: it doesn’t allow people under the age of 21 or over the age of 55, or anybody who has any sort of LGBTQ status, to be placed in any restrictive housing for any time at all.”

“It essentially takes away our management tools,” added Tafoya Lucero, who opposes the bill.

House Bill 533 would also impose new limits on the duration of restricted housing. Under the proposal, no inmate may be placed in restricted housing for more than 15 consecutive days or a cumulative total exceeding 90 days within a 12-month period, the Legislative Finance Committee analysis states.

If an inmate is held beyond these limits, under the bill, the warden or jail administrator must document the justification and develop a transition plan to remove the inmate from restricted housing as soon as feasible.

The committee opted not to vote on the bill to allow Lujan to work more with the Corrections Department, as well as other stakeholders, to refine the intent of the legislation, possibly in an interim committee context after the session. Lujan said she wanted to have the conversations regarding solitary confinement, and had Tafoya Lucero testify, though the cabinet secretary opposes the bill, an unusual structuring of her presentation of the bill during the committee.

“There’s a lot, a lot, a lot of issues in here, and if you want to do this in the future, I would recommend that you sit down with all these people that work there [at corrections facilities] and they can give you firsthand experience,” said Rep. Stefani Lord, R-Sandia Park.

“The intention is always to move the legislation. But to give a voice to this issue is very uplifting,” Lujan said following the meeting. “We obviously don’t like the result that we got but we are going to keep moving forward.”

She characterized the bill as one that would bring New Mexico into alignment with “international standards” in terms of the treatment of prisoners.

Some members of the audience at meeting backed the bill, arguing solitary confinement is an inhumane practice that has bred considerable harm in the state and does not deter violent behavior. Some supporters of the bill sometimes called solitary confinement “torture.”

“People should not be tortured. We need you to understand that we do torture people here in New Mexico,” said Selinda Guerrero of Millions for Prisoners New Mexico. “… It’s called solitary confinement, and it’s done in our name using our tax dollars behind closed doors.”

Jessica Vigil-Richards, warden of Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Los Lunas, said correctional officers in the state face hardships when they are “assaulted” and “battered” by members of the inmate population.

“It’s just a tool that we use to help rehabilitate that behavior,” said Vigil-Richards in an interview prior to the meeting, adding “As a warden, it just ties our hands in different realms of corrections.”

El Rito Media News Services

Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, said his proposal to overhaul the leadership structure of New Mexico’s public education system lost its, well, soul, after undergoing significant changes in the Senate Education Committee, of which he is the chair.

So in an effort to leapfrog over the dying Senate Joint Resolution 3, Soules is pushing a different measure, Senate Joint Resolution 15.

That legislation would still cut the Cabinet secretary position leading the state Public Education Department, a key feature of Soules’ original proposal.

But SJR 15 would leave intact another provision that would have been cut from New Mexico’s Constitution under SJR 3, drawing objections from charter schools.

Both bills propose bringing New Mexico back to having a statewide school board to oversee education policy and funding in the state. But by the time the Senate Education Committee lawmakers finished with SJR 3, the earlier proposal, it included a measure that would require a separate election for members of New Mexico’s Public Education Commission, which authorizes the state’s charter schools.

That committee change came after strong opposition to the original resolution from charter school advocates, who worried SJR 3’s plan to also eliminate the Public Education Commission would have excessively disrupted the system for authorizing such schools.

Calling for an entirely separate election for that body, however, left Soules with a sour taste in his mouth, he told the Senate Rules Committee on Monday.

“I wasn’t happy with my own bill at that point,” he said, referring to SJR 3. “… It wasn’t very feasible, it was going to be confusing.”

Instead, Soules opted for a reimagination of the original legislation in SJR 15, which would keep the Public Education Commission as-is but instead create a nine-member board envisioned as a panel of stakeholders.

Soules said parties including the governor, teachers unions, tribal nations and others would each choose a member to serve on the board. Creating a board of appointed members, Soules said, would help take politics out of the highest level of education decisions.

But SJR 15 still faced opposition last week.

Although the new resolution largely solved the problems charter schools had with the original one, Public Charter Schools of New Mexico Executive Director Matt Pahl still argued that lawmakers should hold off on SJR 15 and study it during the interim.

“It’s a significant change in direction on how we accomplish this, and we have a real great interim committee focused on education issues that have figured out some pretty big things,” he said, apparently referring to the Legislative Education Study Committee. “… We think they’re up to the challenge of figuring out the best path forward with this.”

Others took issue with the lack of clarity in the resolution as it stands over who exactly would serve on the panel, including Amanda Aragon, executive director of the education policy organization NewMexicoKidsCAN.

“It asks a lot of stakeholders, of residents of the state of New Mexico, to say ‘Vote on this, and then later, we’ll decide exactly who would be qualified to serve, who gets a seat,’ “ she said.

Soules said the exact method for appointing those members would be ironed out in separate legislation after the resolution wins approval from voters in a general election, noting those types of details cannot be included in resolutions.

SJR 15 ultimately passed the committee on a 5-3 vote after a separate motion to table the measure failed.