Mike Smith
El Rito Media
msmith@currentargus.com

Upgrading the current Eddy County Courthouse looks to be the favored option as the county moves toward a new administration complex and jail.

Since April, Eddy County has grappled with what to do with courthouse operations after approving a new administration building and jail south of Carlsbad on Corrales Road across from the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office. County officials had considered several possibilities, including construction of a new courthouse for $279 million and expansion of the current facility for $310 million.

But a proposal to spend $15 million for a courthouse makeover featuring new exterior stucco and windows plus improvements for heating, air conditioning and plumbing emerged during an Oct. 15 meeting of the Eddy County Board of County Commissioners.

That plan and two others were presented to commissioners and residents by Jason Burns, the county’s public works director, during a townhall meeting Wednesday (Oct. 23) at the Eddy County Fire Services office in Carlsbad.

Fifth Judicial District Judge Lisa Riley, who had stated opposition to moving the courthouse during an April 24 townhall meeting, said she liked the makeover option.

“It will maintain our beautiful, historic, iconic courthouse and it will maintain the seat of the courts as part of our local government … I think that’s what the community has voiced it wants and that’s what the judges want as well,” Riley said.

Riley was opposed to moving courthouse functions away from downtown Carlsbad to the southern part of the community, which is seeing a growth of industrial development.

“It’s not an appropriate place to have a courthouse,” she said. “Courthouses have traditionally been in the heart of the town. They are local government. They are where the local judges administer justice to our local citizens using local juries and they should not be relegated to an industrial section of town.”

Savannah Cabezuela, Eddy County spokesperson, said remodeling the courthouse gives county leaders a five-year window to see what the future holds for the county and the current structure. She said commissioners could make a final decision Nov. 5.

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

By Mike Smith
El Rito Media
msmith@currentargus.com

Elisa Begueria woke up Sunday (Oct. 20) morning to flooding in her neighborhood and concerns for Roswell and Lake Arthur.

“The amount of water was just spectacular,” she said. “I have never seen anything like that in my life.”

Begueria is a Roswell resident and superintendent of Lake Arthur Municipal Schools (LAMS), a small rural district in far southern Chaves County.

A torrential downpour on Saturday (Oct. 19) had dumped nearly 6 inches of rain on Roswell, breaking a record set in 1901, and Begueria said the water in her north Roswell neighborhood seemed like a river. The flooding caused multiple road closures and left people stranded on Sunday.

Begueria said her house was not damaged by the flooding, but she was worried about her fellow residents and LAMS employees and started checking on their safety and welfare.

“We have teachers in Roswell, Dexter, Hagerman and Artesia and some of our staff work and live in Lake Arthur,” she said. “My whole job Sunday morning was to call those in need.”

She said LAMS personnel residing in Dexter suffered the most damage from the floods. The school district canceled classes on Monday.

In a Facebook post, Dexter Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Chief Justin Powell said flood waters hit the west side of town and flowed east of the railroad tracks into the heart of the community.

He said houses were full of water, cars were swept away and water was nearly 5 feet deep on some streets.

While Lake Arthur did not see immediate impact from the flooding, Begueria said she was concerned about rising waters in the Pecos River.

A U.S. Geological Survey monitoring location cited river water at 20 feet Sunday night. Water started receding Monday morning.

Bill Pollard, a farmer in Lake Arthur, drove six miles Monday morning for breakfast at Toby’s Place in Hagerman. He has lived around Lake Arthur for 70 years and had never seen flood waters reach such high levels.

“It backed out of the river (and flooded) all over the farm,” he said.

Pollard farms 150 acres northeast of Lake Arthur.

Water flow from the Pecos River originates in northern New Mexico and flows through southeast New Mexico into Texas.

Flood waters wiped out the Rio Feliz Bridge along U.S. Highway 285 between Artesia and Roswell and filled the normally dry Felix River north of Hagerman, flooding nearby farmland.

The town of Hagerman did not suffer flood damage, said Fire Chief Chad Hamill.

Hagerman resident Benny Griffin has lived in the community since 1989 and said he did not venture anywhere on Sunday.

“I couldn’t get anywhere,” he said. “I live east of the river. If had to go anywhere I would have to go east and go around to Loco Hills, Maljamar or Tatum.”

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

By: Harry Bailey, Supervisor
Artesia Animal Shelter

An animal running at large can become a tricky situation. There are several reasons why animals run around on the streets and most people want to help, but sometimes they put themselves or the animal in harm’s way even though they mean well.

Before we talk about what to do if you see an animal running the streets, let’s talk about a few reasons why they are running the streets. The most common would be because they are not sterilized. When an animal becomes sexually mature around 6 months old, their drive becomes very prevalent, and they go looking for a female or the female admits a scent to attract males. Another reason may be separation anxiety. This occurs when there is a change in your schedule, or you may be very close with your animal, and they want more of your time. Another cause maybe they are not being properly restrained on the property due to fencing and other factors.

After identifying a few of these issues, we should talk about what to do when you see an animal running the streets. If you find an animal running loose, the best thing to do is take a photo of the animal and call an Animal Services Officer to describe the animal (size, color, fur length) and which direction it was heading, also noting if there was a collar or leash attached. This should be done before sharing on social media. Social media is a great tool however, letting an Animal Service Officer know first allows us to respond in a better time frame.

We do not recommend residents chase after or try to capture an animal. Animal Service Officers are trained for this, and we don’t want to see anyone get bit. You can get assistance by calling our dispatch center at 575-616-7155 and if you are missing your animal or looking to adopt, please come down to the Artesia Animal Shelter located at 502 N. Paddywagon Way, here in Artesia to look for your pet.

Third Congressional District race

Name: Teresa Leger Fernandez

Party affiliation: Democrat

Office sought: U.S. Congress, New Mexico’s Third District

Current occupation: Congresswoman, New Mexico’s Third District

City of residence: Santa Fe

Age: 65

IMMIGRATION

1. What, specifically, would you encourage the House to do about the following immigration issues:

a. The process by which immigrants may seek asylum in the U.S.

b. The backlog of millions of people waiting for their cases to be heard in federal immigration courts.

c. Length of stay for documented noncitizens currently in the U.S. legally.

d. Deportation of undocumented noncitizens in the U.S. illegally. e. Prevention of illegal crossings into the U.S.

We must fix our broken immigration system. I support a balanced approach that will make our country safer, reduce the immigration court backlog, make our border more orderly and secure, and keep families together. We must create a pathway to citizenship for those who have been here a long time, work hard, and play by the rules – including our Dreamers who came to this country as children. In speaking to agricultural and construction industries, we know we must also pass the bipartisan Farmworker Modernization Act and ensure that we have legal pathways for other needed workers. We must send more resources to the border, especially investments in technology and staff to make sure that drugs and criminals do not come into the U.S. I will continue to work on a bipartisan basis to find common sense solutions that fix our system and uphold our nation’s values.

EDUCATION

2. With New Mexico ranking so consistently at the bottom of all national rankings regarding K-12 education, what would you encourage the House do to address the issue in some way?

We invest in what we believe in, and I believe in our students and their future. My parents were educators and I saw firsthand how good education and caring teachers can change the lives of students. I started my academic career at the local Head Start and fell in love with learning. The American Rescue Plan invested $112 billion in our nation’s grade schools. As a member of the House Education Committee, I’ve worked to expand apprenticeships and vocational school opportunities for New Mexicans wanting to go right into the workforce. I have advocated to preserve and expand funding in our schools that serve lower income students, known as Title, I schools. In New Mexico, 86% of New Mexico schools are eligible for Title 1 funding. Republicans have proposed to cut or eliminate Title 1 funding and Head Start which would devastate New Mexico’s education system. Lastly, I supported Constitutional Amendment I to provide access to early childhood education for all New Mexico’s children.

INNOVATION

3. New Mexico has a history of being part of historic innovation in many fields, including science, military, and the arts. What would you encourage the House to do in helping our state build on and expand innovation in multiple areas?

We must continue to leverage federal investments, federal programs, and federal institutions to spur private innovation and investment that will grow our economy and create good-paying jobs. I led efforts to promote technology transfer from our national labs to spin off groundbreaking technologies and grow private business. I introduced legislation to protect our arts economy during the pandemic. I’m hoping my Creative Economy Investment Act will generate additional funds for New Mexico’s creative arts and apprenticeships. The CHIPS and Science Act helped spur Intel to invest $3.5 billion into its facilities in New Mexico. This is only part of the approximate $8.3 billion in private investment in manufacturing and other industries flowing from bills I helped pass my first session in Congress. I’ve pushed back against Republican efforts to undo that legislation this session because I know New Mexico must create an Enchanted Innovation Economy. To build any economy, you also need basic infrastructure so that our businesses have water and roads and internet. Together, the bills I helped pass like the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act have invested billions of dollars into New Mexico roads, transit systems, manufacturing, renewable energy, clean water systems, health care, and so much more. I will continue to secure investments that grow our economy, diversify our tax base, and put hard-working New Mexicans to work in good jobs.

PARTY LINES

4. Name an issue where you have – or would consider doing so – voted against the majority of your party because it was the better decision for the people in your district.

The needs of our New Mexico communities always come first in D.C. and in New Mexico. I represent the second-largest rural Democratic district in the country and our rural communities share many similarities with Republican districts. After talking with farmers and ranchers, I partnered with a Republican colleague to introduce the Support the West Act to make sure USDA conservation programs work for the arid west. I’m a co-sponsor of another Republican colleague’s bill which would cut red tape for local slaughterhouses and allow small ranchers to sell their meats at farmers’ markets and to local hotels, restaurants, and grocery stores. I constantly educate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle about the unique issues and challenges in our rural communities. I’ve led legislation that increases communication between the federal government and land grants, which are so unique to New Mexico. I have held the federal government accountable for PFAS contamination in New Mexico working with dairy farmers and pushed the Hermit’s Peak Office to compensate survivors more quickly. I continue to work on a bipartisan basis on an array of issues and will never hesitate to advocate for our beloved communities, regardless of party politics.

ENERGY ISSUES

5. Knowing New Mexico as a state receives as much as 50 percent of its budget from revenues from oil and gas exploration, what would you encourage your colleagues in the House to do to protect the industry in the state?

a. What would you do to make the industry safer?

New Mexico is blessed with an abundance of natural resources that include oil and gas that help fund our schools but also wind and solar that can help power our state. I know many hardworking New Mexicans work in the oil and gas industry and am committed to not only supporting the workers in these communities but also growing and diversifying their economies to avoid the boom-and-bust cycle we have seen in the past.

b.What would you do to simultaneously encourage other energy industries?

For example, I secured $4.7 billion dollars to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells – which will prevent methane from seeping into the atmosphere and create good jobs in oil and gas communities. We also have to invest in the federal agencies that regulate and oversee worker safety in the energy industry. These investments will create good paying jobs for skilled New Mexican workers, grow our economy, and make sure that the New Mexico energy industry is keeping workers safe.