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Healthy communities are rooted in meaningful access to affordable civil legal services

Michael Smith
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Healthy communities are rooted in meaningful access to affordable civil legal services

By: C. Shannon Bacon and Erin B. O’Connell

Three out of four low-income households in New Mexico struggle with legal issues impacting basic needs like housing, financial stability, access to social and medical benefits. New Mexico’s civil legal service providers handle thousands of cases every year, but a lack of capacity caused them to turn away more than half of the people seeking help last year.

The New Mexico Commission on Access to Justice works with civil legal service providers to ensure equal access to the justice system for the most vulnerable in our communities. We need your help. As the Legislature convenes for the 2025 session, we write to highlight the help needed to make New Mexico more just.

Unlike in criminal cases, there is no right to an attorney in a civil case. This creates substantial barriers and worse outcomes for New Mexicans who struggle to make ends meet and cannot afford an attorney. Without adequate legal assistance, veterans get kicked out of their homes, seniors can’t access their medical benefits, and young adults fall victim to unfair lending practices.

However, when people have access to civil legal services, it leads to better outcomes.

Civil legal service providers help low-income New Mexicans with free legal advice and services like maintaining affordable housing, protection from consumer fraud, and for domestic violence victims, helping to secure safety.

Solutions need to be funded. Legal services providers do their best to meet the skyrocketing need, but don’t have stable resources and funding. People needing civil legal services are already in crisis, so it is heartbreaking when providers must turn them away because of unpredictable funding. Nonprofit legal service providers cannot build capacity and maintain their workforce without consistent, reliable funding. With recurring funding, people have more access to help.

To better support and help fund legal aid services in New Mexico, the Legislature enacted laws creating the Civil Legal Services Fund and the Civil Legal Services Commission. The fund is partially financed by civil filing fees. The CLS Commission plays a key role in funding New Mexico’s legal service nonprofits, which provide essential legal services in our community like Pegasus Legal Services for Children, New Mexico Legal Aid, the Senior Citizens Law Office, and the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.

Stabilizing legislative funding will help. This year, the Commission is asking for an $860,000 increase in recurring appropriations, making the total budget for the Fund $8.1 million in fiscal year 2026. Recurring and predictable funding ensures the stability providers need to build and sustain capacity to provide civil legal assistance. As members of the judiciary and the Access to Justice Commission, we see the positive impact on families and the direct results achieved by the civil legal service providers in our state. The importance of this funding is crucial to every community, large or small, urban or rural, and cannot be overstated.

Legislators have historically shown strong support for these programs by filling funding gaps with junior budget money and special appropriations. While these one-time funds have been very important for avoiding shortfalls in the past, they are not stable sources of funding and create challenges for planning and delivering services year-to-year. To ensure access to justice, the civil legal services system needs predictable funding to build capacity.

Stabilizing the recurring, general fund portion of the CLS program budget ensures that the people who ask for help will receive it.

C. Shannon Bacon is a New Mexico Supreme Court Justice and Erin B. O’Connell is a District Judge and the Chair of the New Mexico Commission on Access to Justice.

Grandmother of boy who died from fentanyl overdose appeals conviction

Michael Smith
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Grandmother of boy who died from fentanyl overdose appeals conviction

Adrian Hedden
El Rito Media
achedden@currentargus.com

A Carlsbad woman convicted of child abuse in the 2021 fentanyl overdose death of her 12-year-old grandson is appealing the conviction, arguing that police illegally obtained evidence from the home where the boy died.

Kelli Smith, 58, was arrested Sept. 28, 2021 after Brent Sullivan, 12, was found dead in a shed at Smith’s home in the 2400 block of Western Way. She was charged with one count each of intentional abuse of a child resulting in death and child abuse not resulting in death. The second charge resulted from the presence of Sullivan’s infant sister in the home where he perished.

Smith was convicted Aug. 19, 2024, after a four-day jury trial and sentenced to 15 years in prison by Eddy County District Judge David Finger. Her daughter Alexis Murray Smith, Brent Sullivan’s mother, was convicted and sentenced to 14 years on the same charges last year. She also appealed the conviction.

Smith filed a notice of appeal on Nov. 11 and her initial statement on Dec. 4. in the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

Smith’s appeal characterized Sullivan’s death as a “suicide by drug overdose.” Police alleged that she and Murray Smith provided the drugs that killed the 12-year-old.

Both Smith and Murray Smith were admitted fentanyl users, and police said evidence of drug use and potential trafficking were found at both the home on Western Way where Sullivan died and at Murray Smith’s home in the 800 block of Alamosa Street, where the children lived.

In her initial police interview, which was shown to the jury during her trial, Murray Smith told an officer that Kelli Smith gave her up to 300 fentanyl pills at one time to sell. Murray Smith’s defense later disputed those statements, arguing she was under duress when interviewed hours after her son was declared dead. Murray Smith did not testify at Smith’s trial.

Smith’s appeal disputed that evidence of fentanyl use was found at her home, and contended police conducted the initial search without a warrant.

Police witnesses in court said the search was carried out and photographs were taken throughout the property as an “emergency” measure after the boy was found unresponsive in the shed at the back of the property.

Smith also disputed evidence that indicated she gave Sullivan the drugs or that he stole the drugs from her.

“No evidence was presented that Brent Sullivan obtained or even stole drugs from his grandmother or that she gave him the drugs from which he overdosed and died,” read Smith’s appeal.

Evidence of fentanyl and methamphetamine, which was also in Sullivan’s system when he died, was found at Murray Smith’s house and in vehicles parked outside Smith’s home on the day the boy died, read the appeal, but Smith argued she had no control over the drugs possessed by others. The appeal also argued that because Smith was not a guardian, parent or lawful custodian of either of the children at her home she was not culpable for what they may have ingested from others.

Smith tried to help Sullivan by enrolling him in drug rehab and church programs when he showed signs of substance abuse and administered Narcan multiple times in the past when he overdosed, read the appeal.

Despite those efforts, the appeal argued, prosecutors relied on the jury’s likely “prejudice” against drug addicts to convict both women instead of proving they intentionally acted to injure the child.

“The bias and prejudice against those who have been addicts who have children either theirs or are babysitting them is overwhelming and was exploited to the maximum degree by the State,” read the appeal.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

JERRY DON BUTTS

Katherine Smith
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JERRY DON BUTTS

On December 2, 2024, Jerry Don Butts passed from this life into the presence of his Lord and King with his wife, daughter and granddaughters at his side. Jerry was born in Artesia on September 29, 1943, to Don and Dorothy Butts, and lived most his life in his hometown.
 After graduating high school in 1961, Jerry and his two best friends boarded a bus for bootcamp in New Jersey. He proudly served eight years in the Army reserves. After a short stint in the potash mines near Carlsbad, Jerry started his career in the oil field as a drilling fluids engineer, more fondly known as a mud man. He spent more than 50 years working locations throughout the Rockie Mountains and the Permian Basin. He had always joked that he wanted his last breath to be taken on a rig floor.
 He and his wife of 59 years, Cheryl, had one daughter, who blessed them with three grandchildren and then six great-grandchildren. Given half a chance he would gladly tell you about each one.
 Though Jerry and Cheryl had relocated to Lubbock, Texas, in 2019 to be near family, Artesia would always be “home”, and the Bulldogs would always be his team. He logged countless miles and hosted many meals in support of his favorite players and their cheerleaders.
 Jerry is survived by his wife, his daughter Stacy (Mark Hughes) of Lubbock, granddaughters Kailea Murphy (Ethan) of Lubbock and Natalie Wallace of Austin, Texas, and grandson Zachary Wallace (Deshea) of Oxford, Indiana, six great-grandchildren Hallie, Knox, Braxton, and Scarlett Murphy and Liam and Tate Wallace, and one sister Sandra Troublefield of Clearwater, Florida. He was proceeded in death by his parents, brothers-in-law Gordon “Slug” Allen and Don Troublefield and sister-in-law Virginia Cockrum.
 Cremation took place under the direction of Combest Funeral Home in Lubbock and a private family memorial was held. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Lubbock.

Bulldogs compete in Hobbs Tournament

Michael Smith
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Bulldogs compete in Hobbs Tournament

Jason Farmer and Peter Stein

Hobbs News-Sun

After dropping its opening game in the Hobbs Holiday Tournament last season and having to play on the consolation side of the bracket, things are looking better for the Artesia boys’ basketball team as the Bulldogs beat Albuquerque Eldorado 61-48 Dec. 26 in Tasker Arena. The win put the Bulldogs on the championship side of the bracket.

While the Bulldogs did not lead wire-to-wire, they never trailed.

“It is exciting,” Artesia coach Michael Mondragon said. “Right after Christmas, everybody is a little rusty, especially the day after Christmas, but I love the defensive side. We played really hard on the defensive end.”

Artesia opened the game with a 13-2 run before settling for a 15-8 lead after the first eight minutes.

Both teams scored 12 points in the second quarter, but Eldorado never got closer than four points, 21-17, during that time. At the break, Artesia led 27-20.

Eldorado outscored Artesia 16-14 in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs maintained their lead, despite letting the Golden Eagles get within three points, 39-36.

Leading 41-36 to start the final eight minutes, Eldorado hit a jumper and a trey to knot the game at 41-all with 7:01 to play. The Bulldogs struck back quick though, getting a jumper from Charlie Campbell and a layup from Trent Egeland, putting Artesia back in front 45-41.

Eldorado got a layup from Malachi Green, cutting Artesia’s lead to two points, 45-43, but it never got any closer. Artesia responded with a 14-0 run to take control of the game. By the time the Golden Eagles scored again, getting a free throw from green, the Bulldogs led 59-44.

“It all starts with our defense,” Mondragon said. “We forced them to miss some tough shots and got some offensive rebounds, long shots and long rebounds, got some easy looks, executed, took care of the ball, and made some free throws. But, it all goes back to defensive rebounding. We know we are long, we are athletic and if we can keep them to tough shots, our defense generates our offense.”

Artesia outscored Eldorado 20-12 over the final eight minutes of play.

Campbell led the Bulldogs in scoring, finishing with 19 points before fouling out with 2:16 left in the fourth. Former Hobbs Eagle Braylon Vega contributed 15 points while Clay Kincaid had 10. Campbell and Kincaid each had seven rebounds for the Bulldogs.

“We know we have different guys who can fill it up at different times,” the Artesia coach said. “We have guards, we have posts, and we just have to get our legs under us. If we don’t foul and we keep guys in front, we are a really hard team to beat.”

Green was the top scorer for Eldorado, finishing with 19 points. Emiliano Morrison chipped in 11 points to go with nine rebounds.

Rio Rancho Cleveland 58 Artesia 55

With a championship-game berth at stake and two teams trading lead for lead, one team was going to have to play just a bit better down the stretch to prevail.

The Cleveland boys basketball team did that against Artesia in the Dec. 27 semifinal of the Hobbs Holiday Tournament, eking out a 58-55 victory to advance.

Cleveland erased a 27-20 first-half deficit, only to wind up trailing 50-42 at the start of the fourth quarter. The Storm’s deficit was 52-45 later in the fourth before they closed with a whoosh. A trey and a reverse layup from Remy Albrecht had Cleveland quickly within 52-50. A short left-baseline one-hander by Artesia’s Clay Kincaid made it a 54-50 game, but a rightside three from Brycen Bowe brought the Storm within one, just inside the four-minute mark, and a pair of Albrecht free throws put them ahead 55-54 with 2:37 to play in the fourth.

When Artesia’s Braylon Vega made one of two foul shots, the game was tied at 55. But with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter, Bowe scored inside to give the Storm a 57-55 edge.

Back on the other end, Vega attempted what was briefly a wide-open three-point attempt from the left corner, but Albrecht raced down the baseline and blocked the shot. As a result the ball was out of bounds off Cleveland, but after Artesia in-bounded, Psalmon Kegler came up with a steal.

Artesia had to foul three times to put the Storm into the bonus and send them to the line. And once at the stripe, Albrecht missed the first but made the second of his two free-throw attempts, giving Cleveland a 58-55 lead with 9.5 seconds remaining.

On the Bulldogs’ last-chance possession, Charlie Campbell missed a trey attempt. Vega tried to chase down the resulting loose ball, but Albrecht collected it to end the game.

Albrecht finished with a game-high 26 points, and was the only Cleveland player to reach double-digit scoring. Tyrell Lopez was the Storm’s next-highest scorer with nine points.

Campbell led Artesia with 16 points, followed by Kincaid with 10, and Vega and Trent Egeland with nine points each.

Bulldogs 54 Farmington 40

The Artesia boys basketball team has been battling back from football season for over a month now.

The Bulldogs’ football was a success, a state finalist, that was the problem.

Getting football guys assimilated into basketball mode, has taken a while but they’re getting there. And playing back to third place in the Hobbs Holiday Tournament Dec. 28 with a win over defending tournament champ Farmington was several sneaker strides toward where the Bulldogs want to be be as they dive forward into their season.

Artesia had to rally from a 31-26 third-quarter deficit, a 36-31 hole early in the fourth. The Bulldogs did it, maybe a sign that it’s all coming together after a heartbreaking semifinal loss to Cleveland.

“I’m really proud of the guys,” Artesia head coach Michael Mondragon said. “We really let one go last night, didn’t execute down the stretch. We did that tonight.”

Facing that 36-31 deficit, the Bulldogs began making their way back. A baby hook from Trent Egeland and a driving bucket from Charlie Campbell narrowed Artesia’s deficit to 36-35. It was 38-35 with 3:57 remaining after a pair of free throws by Farmington’s Donathan Tracy, and 40-37 Farmington just 19 seconds later.

But a inside one-handed basket by Campbell drew a foul, and when he sank the and-one, Artesia had tied the game at 40 with 3:13 remaining in the fourth.

Trent Egeland hit a bank shot to give the Bulldogs a 42-40 lead, and Campbell scored a fast-break layup off a turnover to make it a 44-40 game.

With 1:48 left in the fourth, Campbell knocked down a pair of foul shots, and 28 seconds later he was back on the stripe canning two more to give Artesia a 48-40 advantage.

It was 50-42 with 50.9 seconds left, 52-45 with 39 seconds to play. Landon Begay gave Farmington a little life when he hit a trey that brought his team within four, but Campbell went off-glass for the Bulldogs to hand them a 54-48 lead, and they hung on to win by four.

“It was defensive rebounds,” Mondragon said of his team’s late surge. “We feel like that will generate a lot of our offense, and once we get going, I think it’s hard to stop our momentum.”

Campbell and former Hobbs Eagle Braylon Vega led Artesia with 14 points apiece. Begay scored a game-high 18 for Farmington, followed by Tracy with 10.

The Bulldogs are home at 2 p.m. Saturday against Moriarty.

After 48 years, Danny Scott bids farewell to the Daily Press

Michael Smith
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After 48 years, Danny Scott bids farewell to the Daily Press

By: Dave Shabaz, Publisher

A normal day in Artesia will find a steady stream of newspaper customers visiting the office of The Artesia Daily Press.

Located in a prime location on Main Street and with convenient front door parking, the building invites easy visiting. It’s welcoming. As customers walk in the door they know Danny Scott will be there, sitting at his desk at the front window with a pleasant “hello.”

He’ll most likely know a visitor/customers name, their street address, how long they have subscribed, and other pertinent details of their lives.

This week, though, will be different.

After 48 years at the Artesia Daily Press, Danny Scott worked his last day at the paper on Friday, December 27. His official retirement date is Tuesday, December 31. He will not be at his familiar and welcoming spot.

For those who know Danny and have worked with him, he will be missed. For those of you who may not know Danny, it is hard to know how you missed him. He has been a fixture at the newspaper for a long, long time.

Born and raised in Artesia,Danny is the son of O.D. and Marie Scott of Artesia. This coming February, Danny and his wife Ginger will celebrate 45 years of marriage. Together, they have a son and a daughter and six grandchildren. Their son Christopher Scott and his wife Valerie are the parents of Crayton, Vince and Canaan and live in Capitan, while their daughter Anessa Golden and her husband Casey are the parents of Caden, Mason and Owen and reside her in Artesia.

There is hardly a job at the newspaper, Danny has not done.

El Rito Media, LLC., a New Mexico media company, bought the newspaper in 2023 and Danny has been instrumental in the transition to new ownership.

“Danny Scott, has been essential to keeping the Artesia Daily Press alive through many changes and many challenges for many years,” says Richard L. Connor, the company’s chief executive officer. “We’ve been fortunate to have his steady hand on the wheel.”

“He carries the newspaper’s history in his head and it’s legacy in his heart,” said Connor.

Danny’s career at the Artesia Daily Press started on June 1st,1976, when he became a newspaper carrier. In August of 1976 he was promoted to assistant circulation manager, and a year later he made the jump to circulation manager for the paper. In 2011 he became the publisher. At the newspaper, Danny has been a jack of all trades, doing everything from greeting and helping customers to delivering papers and everything in between.

He has always been ready to jump into the breach in a time of crisis particularly knowing that no matter what the newspaper had to be printed and delivered.

For instance, there was the Saturday night in the midst of printing Sunday’s paper when the man running the press quit, walked out.

Danny became the newspaper’s sole press operator on the spot.

Had he ever run a press before?

“Hell no,” he says nonchalantly.

Danny ran the press for the last 15 years, until it was shut down in 2023 and the paper began printing in Hobbs.

The paper has been a family affair for Danny. His brother, Ky Scott, was the assistant circulation manager prior to Danny’s role in that job.

“Working with the public” is what Danny said he’d miss most about his job at the paper.

“I’ve known some of our customers for over 40 years,” he said.

He also has a close relationship with long-time employee Latisha Romine.

“I hired her as a newspaper carrier,” Danny said. “And she moved up to be my backbone since I became the publisher. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

“I look up to Danny, he is like a father to me. I’m going to miss working with him,” Latisha said fondly.

 

Danny recalled several incidents and events that stood out during his almost five decades at the Daily Press, but the day former-President Ronald Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981, stood out as a time when the newspaper, like others around the country, had a front-row seat to history.

“I recall once hearing our former owner and founder of the Artesia Daily Press, Mr. James K. Green, say to stop the press, the President has just been shot.” Danny said. “Sept. 1, 2001, was also a day that I won’t forget.”

Danny said he plans on spending his newly found free time following his grandchildren around the livestock shows and he also plans on hunting mule deer with his brother in Colorado.

Auto burglaries discussed by Council

Michael Smith
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By Rebecca Hauschild
For the Artesia Daily Press

A rash of auto burglaries during November was a prime topic of discussion at the Dec. 10 Artesia City Council meeting.

Artesia Police Commander David Rodriguez said the 23 car break-ins were committed by juveniles working together. Firearms were stolen in seven of the burglaries and seven of the 23 vehicles were unlocked, Rodriguez said.

“There are 10 to 15 juveniles in a ring involved in these auto burglaries,” he said. “The majority of these juveniles have been kicked out of school. We have seven firearms out on the streets right now and that is not good. We had a shooting on Saturday night. We have some good suspects, and these suspects appear to be on the run or hiding out.”

Rodriguez said police suspect the juveniles may be involved in other crimes as well.

“We had an incident at the Emli Apartments on Richey Avenue,” he said. “A person doing a food delivery service was attacked, shot at and beaten up but refused to be a victim and report the crime. We think it may have been these same juveniles doing the auto burglaries.”

The police are using Nighthawk software to investigate the crimes. Rodriguez said.’

“The majority of our crimes deal with social media,” he said. “Every time somebody commits a crime, they want to brag about it on Facebook or Instagram. Nighthawk can retrieve information we need like photographs and text messages.

“We are hoping to use Nighthawk with these burglaries because a lot of these kids will start posting on social media. We are eventually going to have a break in these cases. It’s just a matter of time.”

Rodriguez urged residents to lock their vehicles and their doors at home.

Rodriguez also reported two robberies this fall, which is rare. In October a masked assailant took a vehicle. “It appears to be some type of a drug deal,” said Rodriguez. “We haven’t recovered the vehicle yet. Another robbery occurred in November where an individual attacked his ex-girlfriend and tried to strong arm a cell phone and other items.”

In other business, Community Development/Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair offered updates on community projects:

• The 26th Street bridge will be open for Christmas. Landfair said there will be a short-term temporary closure of the bridge in late spring or early summer for a surface coat that can’t be done in cold weather. The 26th Street rehab project will begin the first week of January with the first phase from Main Street to Grand Avenue and progressing south.

• The waterline replacement project on Grant Avenue will begin in the first quarter, starting at 13th Street and working its way west to 26th Street. “I apologize for the inconvenience to residents in that area,” said Landfair. “That waterline has given us fits in the past and don’t want to leave it for another two or three years and give us problems. Every time it breaks it affects more and more of the public.”

• The South 2nd Street and Richardson Avenue rehab project will begin the first quarter of 2025. “It’s full depth replacement of the roadway,” Landfair said. “We are taking it all the way down to subgrade and rebuilding the road. It will be on Richardson Avenue from 1st Street to what should be 3rd Street and going south three blocks.”

And the Survey Says…

Michael Smith
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And the Survey Says…

By: Kevin Beardmore

In late October Southeast New Mexico College asked community members for their input on its future. The time frame was specifically from 2025 through 2030, which is the span of the college’s forthcoming strategic plan. Multiple meetings were held on campus on November 7, with participation from faculty, staff, students, and community members. In addition, an invitation to complete a five-question survey was shared publicly. Thirty-six informed and invested individuals responded. You can review the entirety of the results at https://www.senmc.edu/news/2024/12/strategic-planning-community-survey-results.html

What may be of greatest interest to you is the ranking of fifteen projects and initiatives that I shared in last month’s article. Now it is no longer just a list. It is a prioritized one. The first item below received the most support and the last the least.

1. Childcare on campus

2. Dining Hall

3. New Career-focused Degree Programs

4. Additional Workforce Development/Industry Training

5. Preschool on campus

6. Early College Building

7. Residence Hall

8. ESL (English as a Second Language) for children and adults

9. New Transfer Partnerships with Universities

10. New Transfer Pathways with Universities

11. Additional Community Education

12. Family Programming

13. Stoplight at University Drive and Pierce

14. Paved Campus Exercise Trail

15. Other suggestions

Not only will this list help us decide what capital projects come next, it will be essential as we finish work on our new Campus Master Plan, which is under development simultaneously with our strategic plan. All of these will be considered for approval by the Board of Trustees in the spring of 2025. The emphasis on adding new supports and services for our students, whether it be childcare, preschool, dining, or a residence hall, provides a clear direction for the college. The responses validate our new direction in adding career-focused programming, both for academic credit and for individuals needing targeted training for in-demand positions in Eddy County.

It is notable that the list does not include the Trades x Technologies Building or renovations to the Main Building. These two projects are already through the planning phase and the design phase will close soon. This means construction will, barring any unforeseen events, begin on those projects in 2025 before the new strategic plan is underway.

Kevin Beardmore, Ed.D., is President of Southeast New Mexico College. He may be reached at kbeardmore@senmc.edu or 575.234.9211.

End 2024 at your favorite fishing spot

Michael Smith
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End 2024 at your favorite fishing spot

Information and photo provided by New Mexico Department of Game and Fish

Fish continue to bite at lakes and streams across New Mexico as 2024 flows into its final weekend.

In southern New Mexico, fishing for catfish was fair using worms and cut bait at Elephant Butte Lake near Truth or Consequences.

At Young Park Pond in Las Cruces, trout fishing was fair to good using small rainbow-pattern spoons.

In Lincoln County, fishing for trout was good using flies, lures and worms at Bonito Lake.

At Corona Pond, fishing for trout was good using earthworms.

Fishing for trout was good using PowerBait at Grindstone Lake.

Near Portales, fishing for trout was very good using PowerBait. Fishing for bass was slow at Oasis Lake State Park.

Submit your fishing reports

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish wants to hear about your fishing adventure or your catch of the week.

Just visit https://wildlife.dgf.nm.gov/fishing/weekly-report/ and use the iFish form. They may include your story in their next report. For catches of the week include: name, age, hometown, date, location, type of fish, length and weight if possible, and bait, lure or fly used. Fish weights and measurements are provided by the angler and printed here as received. Photos containing sensitive material may be altered or excluded at the Department’s discretion.

This fishing report, provided by the Department of Game and Fish in cooperation with Dustin Berg of www.gounlimited.org has been generated from the best information available from area officers and anglers. Conditions encountered after the report is compiled may differ, as stream, lake and weather conditions alter fish and angler activities.

For elected officials, money grows on boughs of holly

Michael Smith
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For elected officials, money grows on boughs of holly

EDITORIAL

You have to wonder what’s going on in the minds of Chevron officials after seeing the results of the Dec. 17 Eddy County Commission meeting.

Chevron recently donated $50,000 to support the county’s Emergency Management procurement for supplies and equipment, and $5,000 for firefighting supplies and equipment for the Eddy County Fire and Rescue Department.

Presumably, Chevron’s officials made the donations because they know how counties struggle to stretch limited dollars to take care of the people’s business.

Imagine, then, Chevron’s – not to mention the average Eddy County citizen’s – surprise when county commissioners managed to find $296,000 to cover annual pay increases for the sheriff, county treasurer and three commissioners.

And thus, Chevron’s generous Christmas gift is overshadowed by the commission’s permanent Christmas bonus to its own.

Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the resolution setting the new salaries.

Eddy County Sheriff Mark Cage and County Treasurer Laurie Pruitt are leaving office at the end of the year due to term limits, so they won’t cash in on the new pay rates. The increased salaries for those offices will go to Sheriff-elect Matthew Hutchinson and incoming Treasurer Patricia Carrasco, who will be sworn in Jan. 7.

The new sheriff’s annual salary will be $153,000, nearly double (96%) the current salary of $78,000. Factoring in insurance, taxes, a $48,000 retirement match and a $22,000 insurance match, the annual increase grows to $136,651.

The Eddy County Treasurer’s pay will increase by $54,000 (72%), from $75,000 a year to $129,000. That $54,000 raise grows to $71,000 with the additional expenses.

District 2 Commissioner Jon Henry could not seek re-election this year because of term limits and District 3 Commissioner Fred Beard decided to step down after one four-year term so they won’t benefit from the new salaries for commissioners. Neither will Commissioners James W. “Bo” Bowen and Ernie Carlson because they still have two years to serve on their current terms and the state constitution prohibits public officials from “increasing or diminishing the salaries of incumbents during their terms in office.”

But Commissioner Sarah Cordova, who was elected to a second term in November, and Commissioners-elect Hayley Klein and Philip Troost each will be paid $44,000 a year – 69% more than the previous salary of $26,000. The combined annual expenses to cover those $18,000 raises and attendant expenses is $89,000 a year.

The massive salary hikes were made by possible by New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 4, which the state’s voters approved in the Nov. 5 general election. Passage of the amendment transferred authority for setting salaries for the county’s elected officials from the state Legislature to county commissioners.

It’s worth noting, however, that the measure approved by voters merely gave counties the power to set elected officials’ salaries. The amendment did not require commissioners to rush to the public vault and grab a truckload of taxpayers’ money to give themselves and other officials enormous pay raises.

To be fair, voters must have been aware when they approved Amendment 4 by a margin of nearly 66% to 34% that it would lead to raises for the designated officials. But voters surely did not imagine how big the raises would be or that such generous increases would be handed down in one fell swoop.

County officials said the raises are aligned with similar increases in Lea and San Juan counties, two other New Mexico counties fueled by the oil and gas industry.

But why not make decisions in Eddy County based on conditions in Eddy County? And why not base raises on merit rather than a shiny new constitutional Christmas toy to play with? The raises could have been made incrementally with respect to both time and amount.

The amendment may have changed who sets county pay rates, but it didn’t change how the beneficiaries are paid. Their salaries still come from us – the taxpayers of Eddy County.

Of the raises, the most modest ones – those for supposedly part-time commissioners – make the most sense. The previous rate of $26,000 pretty much guaranteed we’d get commissioners who are retired or independently wealthy, or individuals who must maintain another job and juggle two huge responsibilities.

The new salary of $44,000 could potentially alleviate some of that and widen the pool of candidates. Potentially.

We haven’t heard much from taxpayers about all this. The raises were approved at a county commission meeting with no input from the public, and there was no hint of controversy before or after the vote. But a comment from an Eddy County resident solicited by a reporter for El Rito Media may provide a clue:

“County officials are elected by the public and as taxpayers, we should have some input, or some say about how much our officials are paid. I don’t think they should have the authority to just give themselves a raise in pay. We live in a state that is governed by laws, rules and a state constitution. We are not a state and county governed by dictators. We are governed by the people for the people! Not a communist dictatorship!”

Unable to improve on that, we will close with a few words from poet Clement Clarke Moore: Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.

3 Invitations

Michael Smith
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3 Invitations

By: Pastor Ty Houghtaling

Jesus gave three invitations to the crowds that gathered to hear Him speak. He invited them to “come and see” for themselves who He was. He invited them to “come and follow” Him because of who He was. And lastly, He invited them to “go and tell” others about Him. We just celebrated Christmas, and, in that story, we got to see at least two of these invitations accepted.

The wise men from a foreign nation come and see the newborn King of the Jews and the shepherds both come and see and left to go and tell. Churches across our community have Sunday morning services where anyone can “come and see” for themselves what Christianity is all about.

Different churches with different routines and traditions each point out what church looks like and what church people think and do on any given Sunday morning. The invitation to “come and see” is important. This invitation comes from the conversation Jesus had with some followers of John the Baptist. John’s disciples hear their teacher proclaim, “behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” and they ask Jesus where He is staying, and His reply is “come and see”. (John 1:29-39).

Preachers of our era have seized on this invitation to “come and see”. Preachers emphatically invite curious “seekers” to come to church and see what it is like and maybe, just maybe, discover Jesus. Jesus invited the crowds to see for themselves if He was all that He proclaimed to be and still today Christians invite their neighbors to find out for themselves if Jesus can heal them and extend to them eternal life. We also see Jesus inviting the crowds to “come and follow”. Actually, this invitation is referenced more in Jesus’ public ministry than the other two invitations combined.

Jesus constantly calls the crowds, and individuals as well, to come and follow Him. Followership requires commitment. I am convinced that for most of us today, our most prized possession is not money or things but rather our time. The invitation to come and follow invariably will require us to sacrifice our time. Jesus will demand a wholehearted commitment of time and resources. When we accept the invitation to come and follow, we commit ourselves to no longer live for ourselves but to live for Him from now on. The Bible is clear, God wants our whole heart, and nothing less will do.

The last invitation of Jesus is to “go and tell”. Churches today urge their members to be missional. Churches today find it very important that they go and tell the world that Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Jesus gave His followers the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20), basically the “go and tell” command. We at First Baptist like to say “we (the church) are Plan A for spreading the good news, and there is no Plan B”. Jesus gave three invitations. I have accepted all three, have you?

Ty Houghtaling is the Pastor at the First Baptist Church in Artesia.

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