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XFINITY RECAP

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XFINITY RECAP

• Saturday’s PENZOIL 250, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

WINNER: RILEY HERBST

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – In one of the most dramatic Xfinity Series finishes in recent memory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst took the lead in the final corner of the final lap to claim his first victory of the season in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 – formally punching his ticket to the 2024 Playoffs.

Three different drivers led the final three laps in the series’ return to the famous speedway’s 2.5-mile oval after four years of competing on the track’s road course. Ultimately, the 25-yearold Herbst drove his No. 98 SHR Ford sideways exiting Turn 4 to negotiate his way past veteran Aric Almirola and race off to a .167-second win over his SHR teammate Cole Custer and Almirola.

Custer led Lap 98. Almirola led Lap 99. And Herbst held the lead for the most important, Lap 100. The three were three-wide on the white flag lap, signaling one lap to-go with Almirola taking the white flag out front. Herbst caught him and dove low to claim the lead coming out of Turn 4 on the next lap and Custer raced past Almirola in the closing feet to give SHR a 1-2 finish.

Almirola, 40, making his first start in Xfinity since May 11, finished third in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Rookie Shane van Gisbergen finished a strong fourth-place. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed finished fifth. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill rallied to a sixth-place finish.

Congratulations

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Congratulations

End of Biden drama gives state’s Democrats a second wind

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End of Biden drama gives state’s Democrats a second wind
By Sherry Robinson

Before U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez joined Sen. Martin Heinrich in asking President Joe Biden to give up his run for a second term, Vasquez had distanced himself from Biden. Last August, Vasquez was conspicuously absent from a Biden rally in New Mexico featuring a constellation of Democrats. Vasquez said he needed to spend time with his father, the Albuquerque Journal reported. He might as well have said he needed to wash his hair. It was clear he was already thinking ahead to this year’s race and didn’t want to give Republicans any ammunition, such as a photograph with Biden. We now know that Biden’s popularity has been cooling for the past year over concerns about his age. Biden bowed to party pressure and stepped down on July 21. In this political drama, New Mexico was a canary in the coal mine. Biden won New Mexico by double digits in 2020, but when Democratic governors met with Biden early this month, our governor warned him that he could lose the state, according to the Journal. “What I said in that July 3 meeting (was) New Mexico is a bellwether state,” she said. “We’re very predictive, and our Hispanic voters are very predictive.”

She told the White House before the debate that she was worried – a leaked poll put New Mexico in play – but if he was determined to stay in the race, she would support him.

Of the four Democrats running for Congress, Vasquez has the most at stake. The other two representatives have relatively safe bluish districts, and Heinrich is an incumbent. However, Congressional District 2 is a toss-up, despite a Dem-led redistricting that tilted the district a bit in their favor. So Vasquez, a first-term congressman, and his opponent, Republican Yvette Herrell, are running hard.

During better days in 2022, Biden graced a rally in Albuquerque’s South Valley, newly added to CD2. It might have helped Vasquez defeat Herrell, the incumbent, by less than a percentage point in 2022.

Since the debate, pressure was on Biden to step down and on members of Congress to step up and nudge him out of the race. As Republicans needled Vasquez to speak up, NBC asked Democratic candidates in swing districts, including Vasquez, about turmoil at the top of the ticket, Vasquez was one of several Democrats who said he was focused on his own campaign and that was “to stop MAGA Republicans like Donald Trump and Yvette Herrell who support extreme policies.”

“Regardless of who’s on the top of the ticket, I’m going to continue to bring home results and deliver for the people in New Mexico.”

The Biden campaign blew their man’s chance to talk to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. During a Zoom call on July 12, the campaign allowed only two members to pose questions, according to the nonpartisan online news source NOTUS. When the president offered to take more questions, Vasquez and another member tried to use the raised-hand feature; organizers lowered the hands.

A week later Heinrich, New Mexico’s senior senator, urged Biden to step aside. Vasquez followed a few hours later, saying Biden should step aside to give Democrats the “best opportunity to win in November.”

Heinrich, reflecting the party’s respect and fondness for the president, called Biden “one of the most accomplished presidents in modern history” and said he led the country through unprecedented challenges.

“However, this moment in our nation’s history calls for a focus that is bigger than any one person,” Heinrich said. “The return of Donald Trump to the White House poses an existential danger to our democracy. We must defeat him in November, and we need a candidate who can do that.”

A Republican strategist previously warned his people that it’s not over ‘til it’s over. Democrats just got a second wind.

Triple Spaced Again: Monitoring the invasion of private equity into healthcare

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Triple Spaced Again: Monitoring the invasion of private equity into healthcare

By Merilee Dannemann Healthcare companies should never have profit as their primary mission, don’t you think? There’s a genuine conflict between the profit motive and what healthcare is supposed to accomplish: providing a service that heals people’s illnesses or helps them stay healthy. For a healthcare institution to be successful, profit has to be tempered with giving priority to the wellbeing of patients.

America has been struggling with this conflict for decades, because so much of our healthcare is provided by for-profit entities. New Mexico regulators are making a new attempt to intervene, based on Senate Bill 15, enacted this year. In recent years, businesses called private equity companies have entered the healthcare field, and it appears nothing good is resulting from this except for their investors. Private equity firms’ business is simply to make money for their investors, whatever that takes. If it requires cutting costs by firing employees or selling off assets, that’s what they reportedly do. As described in a Los Angeles Times opinion article, “Private equity is a 40-yearold Wall Street creation that thrives on cost-cutting, wealth extraction, short time horizons, and financial engineering. It bought, sold, and liquidated its way through the American retail sector years ago…” Private equity has been implicated in the bankruptcies of well-known and popular companies such as Toys ‘R’ Us, J. Crew and many other former retailers whose names are still familiar. SB15 gives the state Office of the Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) regulatory authority over proposed takeovers of hospitals in New Mexico. The carefully worded press release described the authority as “oversight over certain hospital transactions that result in a change of control.” The bill that passed was a substitute. The original version would have given OSI the same authority over more types of healthcare entities.

At a recent public meeting, Superintendent Alice Kane cited statistics about the negative effects of private equity ownership of healthcare facilities, including factors like cutting back the number of nurses, eliminating services that were not profitable, replacing in-person medical visits with telemedicine, and producing higher costs and worse outcomes for patients. Private equity firms, she said, own 38% of New Mexico rural hospitals. These facilities were vulnerable to takeover because they were starving for cash. A new report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project says 17 out of 80 healthcare bankruptcies in 2023 were backed by private equity firms, plus 12 bankruptcies by companies with venture capital backing. Another wave of bankruptcies is expected in 2024, the report says. SB15, called the Healthcare Consolidation Oversight Act, starts creating a regulatory structure that will authorize OSI to review and approve or disapprove major management changes such as mergers and acquisitions. It was sponsored by Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe. The new Healthcare Authority is to be involved in these decisions, the bill says. The Healthcare Authority is just now coming into existence, replacing the Human Services Department and adding bureaus moved from several other agencies. The bill has a limited life. It contains its own repeal, effective July 1, 2025, and presumably is intended to lead to more comprehensive follow- up legislation next year. A series of meetings around the state is underway to hear comments and receive recommendations on the next phase of legislation. The meeting schedule is posted on the OSI website under “health-care-consolidation.”

We’ve been hearing about the crisis of small rural hospitals for so long we can’t call it a crisis anymore; it’s just the way things are because we refuse to fix it. Maybe this new law can help slow down the inevitable decline. Merilee Dannemann was a columnist and reporter with the Taos News and spent 15 years in New Mexico government. Her column has won first-place awards from New Mexico Press Women. See her blogs at www.triplespacedagain. com.Contact Merilee Dannemann through www. triplespacedagain.com.

Saying ‘I don’t know’ in a very weird election year

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Saying ‘I don’t know’ in a very weird election year
By Trip Jennings

A career of reporting on politics and a love of history has left me illequipped for 2024.

Fully, and completely useless.

Generally, my journalism experience has given family and friends a reason to ask my opinion about what’s likely to happen in an election. It’s not that I know what will happen, but I’m viewed, rightly or wrongly, as having a sense of what could happen.

In 2016, for example, the Brexit vote in the UK in June of that year heralded better chances for Donald Trump’s candidacy than many thought possible, making his win a surprise but not a shocker.

Over the weekend, however, I realized that of it.

Think about what we’ve all just lived through. In the past two weeks, we’ve witnessed an attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, a sitting president has dropped out of the presidential race and the Democratic Party is scrambling to identify a new standard-bearer — with three and a half months to go before Election Day.

This is new territory for me. I wasn’t old enough to watch President Lyndon Johnson announce his decision not to seek re-election in March 1968 or Bobby Kennedy get assassinated a couple of months later.

The year 1968 — which included the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. — must have bewildered most Americans in its strangeness and violence.

I understand.

I can say from experience now it is one thing to read history and a completely different matter to live through it. After the last three weeks, I think I prefer reading.

Back to my newfound humility and getting into the swing of saying “I have no idea,” here are a few questions people might pose and my likely answers.

Is New Mexico still in play in the presidential race as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told President Biden said it would be if he stayed in the race?

I have no idea. I’m not privy to the methodology Lujan Grisham used to conclude that New Mexico might be in play after the past four presidential election cycles when New Mexicans voted for the Democrat every time. But it is 2024, so who knows?

Why did Sen. Martin Heinrich become the third Senate Democrat to call on President Biden to get out of the race? Pressure from mega-donors? (One such wealthy donor gave New Mexico’s senior senator who is up for reelection an ultimatum: call for Biden to leave the race or “you are not getting a dime from me,” according to the New York Times.)

Your guess is as good as mine.

Will Vice President Kamala Harris be the Democratic presidential nominee? Looks like, but — you know my new mantra — let’s wait and see.

If she is the Democratic nominee, will she win New Mexico? Likely, but there’s no guarantee.

Nationally, who will turn out in greater numbers — supporters of former President Trump or the Democratic presidential nominee? Don’t know.

Will Americans elect a first woman president or return another white man to the White House? I plead unable to see into the future.

Humility seems the only smart play in a moment like this when history seems silent.

I don’t mean to suggest that the times we’re experiencing are the worst America has ever seen. Historians can point to multiple periods in American history that were as crazy or crazier than ours. The Civil War. The 36-year period that saw three American presidents assassinated (Abraham Lincoln, 1865; James Garfield, 1881; William McKinley, 1901). The Great Depression? The 1960s?

But the last few weeks have been discombobulating.

Here’s one prediction I will make: Historians will write about 2024 and people who are young today will tell their grandchildren about the year that the nation lost its collective mind.

Of course, this assumes the years that follow 2024 won’t be crazier.

Maybe I should rethink making that prediction!

Better to be humble than to pretend like I know.

Since 2005, Trip Jennings has covered politics and state government for the Albuquerque Journal, The New Mexico Independent and the Santa Fe New Mexican. 2012, he co-founded New Mexico In Depth, a nonpartisan, nonprofit media outlet.

HOUSE CALL: A Passion for Family Care

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HOUSE CALL: A Passion for Family Care

Family Medicine | Peter Jewell, MD I decided to become a doctor later in life (at the age of 40!) for one reason: I felt a calling to help others. It is now a privilege to share that passion with the people I care for. I recently relocated my practice from Roswell to Artesia and while I’m new to the area, I cared for Artesia community members for more than a decade at my previous practice. In a way, it feels like I’ve come home.

Part of why I chose family medicine is to be able to care for an entire family, no matter their age or stage in life. I’ve seen patients from ages 1 to 90, and it’s not uncommon for me to care for multiple generations within a family, which can be really helpful if there’s a genetic disease. It’s a joy to see kids grow up from toddlers to teenagers, and to get to know parents and grandparents. So much of being a doctor is listening, which means hearing interesting stories and learning.

I’ve also had my fair share of health issues: I’ve survived heart disease, I’ve lived with diabetes for more than 40 years, and I’ve undergone several orthopedic surgeries. These experiences help me relate to many of my patients and play a big role in my empathy and communication style. It’s important to me that my patients fully understand their health, their treatments, their medications and their path forward. Every person’s needs are different, and everyone deserves an individualized approach.

So, what is family medicine? Who should see me and when? I am here for you when you’re injured or not feeling well. When you’re worried about your health but don’t know what’s wrong. And even when you’re feeling great and want to keep things that way—prevention is key and annual wellness checkups are an important part of maintaining good health. I provide a range of services, including pediatric care, women’s and men’s care, diabetes and hyperthyroidism management, hypertension control, pain management for arthritis, physical exams, screening tests, immunizations, coordination of care with specialists, and much more! My office is open and I’m accepting new patients. When the time comes, I hope you’ll schedule an appointment with me. I promise to always put your health first, to listen with an open mind, and to do everything I can to get to the root of your problem.

Family Time

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By Kevin Beardmore

SENMC A college or university may be referred to as one’s alma mater. This Latin phrase meaning “nourishing mother” was first used in the 1600s, later giving rise to the use of “alumni” to describe someone who attended a higher education institution.

It is understandable why the terminology took root. Students look to their instructors for guidance and mentorship, similar to how children seek love and direction from their parents. This is, however, not the only reason. The college years encompass an exceptionally formative time when many first experience independence, build relationships with others outside of their neighborhoods and hometowns, and begin to consider and develop their own career identities. It is a time of incredible and indelible growth that reverberates through one’s lifetime, one that I wish everyone could have the opportunity to experience.

Yet life happens and choices are made. Sometimes independence, jobs, and children come first. Sometimes circumstances limit potential pathways. This is why we all need to have a more inclusive and expansive idea of the intellectual growth and nourishment that a college provides.

Let’s begin by considering college as a proposition that can impact and improve lives from cradle to career—and through subsequent careers and into the golden years. Southeast New Mexico College serves as an instructive example.

The Early Childhood Education program at SENMC develops the educators who provide day care and preschool instruction in Eddy County. These early years are essential as we help children prepare for success in kindergarten and beyond. Our expanding community education program gives hundreds of potential scientists, first responders, actors, and artists some of their first immersive experiences in potential careers. These include the summer Inspired by Science camp hosted at SENMC, our spring STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Expo, the Junior Police Academy, our Theatre Camp, Ceramics Painting class, and the Little Scientists program. Families are often invited to join in the fun, including tours, plays, food—and sometimes snow cones!

Our dual credit partnerships with Carlsbad Municipal Schools, Artesia Public Schools, and Loving Municipal Schools allow nearly one thousand high school students annually to earn college credit tuition-free. These courses are offered at the high schools, on-campus at the college, and online. The jewel in this crown is Carlsbad’s Early College High School, recognized as one of the highest performing schools in New Mexico. Located on the SENMC campus, students in Grades 9-12 have the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree of their choice simultaneously. This can provide a jump start on a baccalaureate degree and save the students and their families thousands of dollars.

Adults of any age are welcome as well. Soon we will be adding a Family Study Room in our Library, including a family restroom and lactation room, to better serve our students who are parents. Our tuition is the lowest in New Mexico—and that is in a state where most qualify for state financial aid in addition to federal financial aid. For New Mexico residents 65 and over taking up to six semester credit hours, tuition is only five dollars per credit hour! And if you are new to the Carlsbad area, we have a deal for you. You can take up to six semester credit hours at the New Mexico resident rate until you qualify for residency after one year.

SENMC is a big tent—a family- and community- oriented college that seeks to nourish the growth of anyone wanting to learn more. I hope you will give us the opportunity to be your alma mater.

Kevin Beardmore may be reached at kbeardmore@ senmc.edu or

575.234.9211.

4-H Indoor Results

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4-H Indoor Results

Grand Champion Brooklynne Ivans (Cake) Best of Show Morgan Fisher (Rag Throw)

Reserve Best of Show Trayton Wells (Wooden Flag) ANIMAL SCIENCE Meat Goat Senior

• Creed Hughes, 2nd Cat I: Purr-fect Pals Junior -Jonah Pope, 1st Novice

• Kaden Bishop, 3rd N.M. 4-H Horse Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 2nd Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 2nd Poultry Production Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 3rd Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 3rd

Rabbit I: What’s Hoppening Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 1st Market Lamb

Senior

• Caylee Shockey, 1st Market Swine

Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 1st Senior

• Juliane Cortese, 3rd

• BrooklynneIvans, 4th Birds (Indoor) Junior

• Emily Ruszkowski, 3rd

Arts and Crafts Sweepstakes Trayton Wells

Alternate Sweepstakes Kaden Bishop

Self-Determined Arts (Acrylic) Novice

• Katie Barnhart, 1st Self-Determined Arts (Ink or Pencil Drawing) Junior

• Adeline Swarengin, 3rd Novice

• Kaden Bishop, 1st Self-Determined Arts (Pastels) Junior

• Emily Ruszkowski, 1st Self-Determined Arts (Miscellaneous) Novice

• Justinian Barnhart, 1st Self-Determined Crafts (Wooden) Junior

• Trayton Wells, 1st – Sweepstakes

• Benjamin Barnhart, 2nd Self-Determined Crafts (Miscellaneous) Novice

• Kaden Bishop, 1st Alternate Sweepstakes

Creative Arts Sweepstakes Chance Boans

Alternate Sweepstakes Kaden Bishop Dog Collar Novice

• Jasen Hunt, 1st Coin Purse Novice

• Koy Burnett, 1st Senior

• Kabrea Heady, 1st Knife Sheath Junior

• Logan Frintz, 3rd Novice

• Kaden Bishop, 1st Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st Other Stamped Item Novice

• Koy Burnett, 1st

• Bristol Denison, 2nd

• Payton Kennedy, 3rd Braiding Exhibit Board Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st

Embroidery for Yourself Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st Embroidery for Your Home Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st One Small Article Exhibiting Square and H Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st One Glazed Item Senior

• Chance Boans, 2nd One Underglazed Item Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st – Sweepstakes

One Overglazed Item Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st One Hand-Molded Clay Item Using Pinch Pot Method Novice

• Tegan Frost, 1st One Wheel Formed (Thrown) Item Novice

• Tegan Frost, 1st One Air-Dry Decorative Item Novice

• Kaden Bishop, 1st Set of 2 Portraits Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st

• Kaden Bishop, 3rd Birds Eye & Bugs Eye View (2 Photos) Senior

• Chance Boans, 3rd Black & White Photo Junior

• Noah Mobley, 1st Novice

• Chloe Platt, 1st Flash Photo

Novice

• Chloe Platt, 1st

Panorama Photo

Senior

• Chance Boans, 3rd Photo Set at Night Senior

• Ashton Craft, 2nd 1 Scrapbook Page Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 1st 2 Scrapbook Pages Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 1st 1 Completed Theme Album – Any Size Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 1st Pair of Earrings Novice

• Tegan Frost One Complete Set

Novice

• Kaden Bishop, 1st

• Alternate Sweepstakes Origami House Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 3rd Origami Piano

Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 3rd Origami Crane

Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 1st Origami Four Leaf Clover Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 3rd

Family Life Poster – Safe & Unsafe Toys for Young Children

Senior

• Ashton Craft, 2nd

Home Economics Sweepstakes Morgan Fisher

Alternate Sweepstakes Klancee Folmar

Simple Gathered Skirt Junior

• Adeline Swarengin, 1st Quick & Easy Tote Bag Junior

• Kendi Burnett, 1st Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st

• Bristol Denison, 2nd

• Tegan Frost, 3rd

• Rett Frost, 4th

• Torrance Hughes, 5th Scrunchie

Novice

• Tegan Frost, 1st

• Presley Gaines, 2nd Patchwork Pillow

Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 1st Handy Dandy Apron Senior

• Joslyn Frintz, 1st

X-citing Pants or Shorts

Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 1st X-tra Special Shirt

Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 1st – Alternate Sweepstakes Quick Sack Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st Embellished Shirt or Top Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st Rag Throw

Senior

• Morgan Fisher 1st – Sweepstakes

Quick and Easy Pillowcase Senior

• Mia Duran, 1st Breakfast Bars

Senior

• Talyn Pacheco, 3rd 3 Biscuits

Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 3rd Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st

• Jaylyn Colwell, 2nd 3 Plain Muffins

Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 1st

3 Chocolate Chip Cookies

Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st Novice

• Chelsea Melvin, 1st

• Bristol Denison, 2nd

• Jaylyn Colwell, 3rd Senior

• Caleb Clemmons, 2nd

3 Ginger Cookies Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 1st

3 Snickerdoodles Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st Novice

• Jaylyn Colwell, 1st

3 Brownies (2×2 Squares)

Junior Jaydin Colwell, 3rd Novice

• Katie Barnhart, 1st

• Jaylyn Colwell, 2nd

• Presley Gaines, 3rd Banana Nut Bread – One Loaf Junior

• Samuel Clemmons, 1st Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st Zucchini Bread – One Loaf Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st 3 Cranberry Orange Refrigerator Cookies Senior

• Talyn Pacheco, 1st 2 Strawberry Scones Senior

• Talyn Pacheco, 3rd 3 Cinnamon Rolls – Iced Junior

• David Clemmons, 1st Senior

• Talyn Pacheco, 1st White Yeast Bread – (1) 9×5 Loaf Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st 3 Crescent Rolls

Senior

• Talyn Pacheco, 1st Two Fruit Filled Turnovers or Empanadas Senior

• Mia Duran, 1st

One 8 or 9 inch Double Crust Apple Pie Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 2nd Pound Cake – Unfrosted Senior

• Mia Duran, 2nd Apple Bundt Cake Unfrosted Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st One Decorated Single Layer Cake Novice

• Ariana Beltran, 1st

• Chloe Platt, 2nd Drying – Poster With 2 Samples Dried Vegetables Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st Water Bath – 1 Jar No Sugar Jam or Jelly Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st

Horticulture & Agronomy Sweepstakes Noah Mobley

Alternate Sweepstakes Morgan Fisher

Poster – Soils

Junior

• Noah Mobley, 1st

• Jaydin Colwell, 2nd Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st

• Meagan McKibben, 2nd

Display Board – Utilizing Soils Junior

• Garyn Usherwood, 1st Poster – Plant Parts and Functions Senior

• Meagan McKibben, 1st Terrarium

Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 1st

• Presley Gaines, 2nd Floral Arrangement (Flowers Grown by Member) Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st – Alternate Sweepstakes Produce Basket Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st Gardening

Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st Poster – Range Plant Management Junior

• Garyn Usherwood, 1st

• Jaydin Colwell, 2nd Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st

• Klancee Folmar, 2nd Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st

• Meagan McKibben, 2nd

Notebook – Ten Mounted Range Plants Junior

• Noah Mobley, 1st –

Sweepstakes

• Poster – Forestry Junior

• Jaydin Colwell, 1st

• Noah Mobley, 2nd Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 1st Senior

• Meagan McKibben, 1st

Forest Tree Collection Junior

• Garyn Usherwood, 1st Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st

• Meagan McKibben, 2nd

Self-Determined Advanced Forestry Exhibit Novice

• Presley Gaines

Natural Science
Sweepstakes

Garyn Usherwood

Alternate Sweepstakes Morgan Fisher

Discovering Wildlife in New Mexico Junior

• Garyn Usherwood, 1st – Sweepstakes

• Jaydin Colwell, 2nd Novice

• Rett Frost, 1st Senior

• Ashton Craft, 1st Small Game of New Mexico Junior

• Noah Mobley, 1st

• Jonah Pope, 2nd Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st Senior

• Meagan McKibben, 1st Waterfowl Management

Novice

• Klancee Folmar, 1st Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st – Alternate Sweepstakes Shotgun Senior

• Trevor Pope, 1st Archery

Novice

• Xandyn Granger, 2nd Fishing Safety

Senior 1. Morgan Fisher, 1st Self-Determined Sport Fishing Exhibit Novice

• Kaden Bishop, 1st

Personal Growth & Development Sweepstakes Presley Gaines

Alternate Sweepstakes Kaden Bishop

4-H Banner (No Larger Than 18×24) Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st – Sweepstakes Senior

• Ashton Craft, 3rd Decorated 4-H Frame Novice

• Kaden Bishop, 1st – Alternate Sweepstakes – Presley Gaines, 2nd

Self-Determined 4-H Growth & Development Exhibit Junior

• Emily Ruszkowski, 1st Plate of Three Biscochitos

Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st Cornhusk Doll

Novice

• Kaden Bishop, 1st

• Presley Gaines, 2nd

Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Sweepstakes Taylor Beltran

Alternate Sweepstakes Morgan Fisher

Electromagnet

Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st Self-Determined Small Engines Exhibit Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st Silhouettes – Set of 4 Novice

• Presley Gaines, 1st

• Jasen Hunt, 2nd Skill Plate

Novice

• Finley Fuller, 1st Adjustable Sawhorse Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st Self-Determined Welding Exhibit Junior

• Taylor Beltran, 1st – Sweepstakes

Model Rocket – Skill Level I Senior

• Talyn Pacheco, 1st Model Rocket – Multi Stage Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st Measuring Up – Flower Box Novice

• Finley Fuller, 1st Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st Measuring Up- Napkin or Letter Holder Novice

• Finely Fuller, 1st Making the Cut – Birdhouse

Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st Making the Cut – Foot Stool Senior

• Morgan Fisher, 1st – Alternate Sweepstakes

Nailing it Together – Bookcase Senior

• Talyn Pacheco, 1st Self-Determined Robotics Exhibit Including Self-D Senior

• Chance Boans, 1st

Two state police officers survive lightning strike

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Two state police officers survive lightning strike

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

40 years ago July 21-27, 1984

Part of the Grand Entry ceremony prior to Friday’s performance of the 1984 Pioneer Days Rodeo involved a display of the colors, as seen here, held aloft by a representative of Baca Brothers, stock managers for the rodeo. Several riders rode weaving patterns, afterwhich the night’s rodeo action began. The closing performance was scheduled Saturday at the Artesia Roping Club Arena.

———-Members of the 104th Quartermaster Co., United States Army Reserve, from left Sgt. 1st Class Miles Turner, Spec. 4 Ramona Gubara and Lt. Cerie Kimball proudly display awards the company won recently during annual training at Camp Roberts, Calif. The group received the Safety Award for best safety record and emergency preparedness and also was recognized as Best Company for leadership, job performance, communication and motivation.

———-Two Amtrak passenger trains crashed head-on today in a “major accident” on an elevated section of track, Amtrack and Fire Department officials said. Scores of people are injured, including four seriously. A parallel track had been closed for repairs. “It could be a bad one. A lot depends on just how fast it was going,” said John McLeod, an Amtrak spokesman. He said each train carried about 160 passengers.

———-Mayor Ernest Thompson, left, and Eddy County Commissioner Johnnie Bowman of Artesia examine equipment in the interior of a new ambulance purchased by the county for use by the Artesia Fire Department. The ambulance, which went into service July 5, cost $27,412 after $5,000 trade-in of a 1975 model. The county financed the purchase in exchange for the city responding to rural ambulance calls. The vehicle was modified to carry extra equipment, including extrication and rescue equipment, on the rural runs.

———-The state’s total income for the 1983-84 fiscal year is expected to be within $10 million of earlier projections, says Finance Secretary Denise Fort. Ms. Fort said in her department’s monthly general fund report that state income for the first 11 months of the fiscal year, through May, totaled $1,028,455,000. The state will need to collect about $167 million in June to hit its projections for the fiscal year. The Department of Finance and Administration predicts that personal income tax collections paid into the general fund in June will amount to more than $50 million.

———-Representatives of 18 of New Mexico’s 19 pueblos accepted deed to 44 ¼ acres of land the U.S. Department of the Interior turned over Monday. The land formerly was the Albuquerque Indian School. The school, operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was closed in 1980. The deed transfer calls for the pueblos to use the land for public purposes such as development of an office complex and hotel to generate income and employment opportunities for the pueblos.

———-Artesia firefighter Bill Pearson holds a kitten brought from a mobile home which caught fire Wednesday afternoon. Other firefighters are, from left, volunteer Tommy Howell, firefighter Bob Wilkin and sheriff’s investigator Pat Childress. A smoke ejector hangs from the doorway of the home. Only minor damage occurred to the front bedroom of the home where an aquarium thermostat next to a wall apparently shorted out, causing the fire.

30 years ago July 21-27, 1994

When it comes to age, there is a definite gap between Vernon Swift and his grandsons, Jim and Devin Dulaney. But when it comes to the world of model airplanes, they’re flying side by side. The three and other members of the family traveled to Lubbock, Texas, Wednesday where Vernon, owner of Swift Sales and Service in Artesia, and Jim, 15 of Lewisville, Texas, are competing today in the Academy of Model Aeronautics national model airplane competition.

———-Artesia High School 1994 graduates Jesus Trujillo and Jennifer Armstrong were elected to state Future Farmers of America posts at the FFA state convention June 9-12. Trujillo was elected state president while Armstrong was elected state reporter at the state convention in Las Cruces.

———-The Clinton administration is fighting an expected attempt on the Senate floor next week to block the government from implementing a plan that would expand the use of corn-based ethanol. Sen. Bennett Johnson, D-La., intends to offer an amendment blocking the Environmental Protection Agency’s socalled ethanol mandate. The EPA decided June 30 to require part of the oxygen-boosting additive in cleaner-burning gasoline come from a renewable source – in effect ethanol. The new fuel, with higher concentrations of oxygen, is required beginning in January for nine cities with the worst air pollution.

———-An Eddy County range plant identification team recently took top honors in competition at the 1994 New Mexico State 4-H Conference in Las Cruces. Team members are, from left, Ross Townsend, Kris Patterson, Rachel Hendricks and Drew Hendricks.

———-Efforts to enact a total no-smoking policy in all of the city-owned buildings failed at the Artesia City Council meeting Tuesday night. Before the vote, several city employees spoke against the total ban and favored the continued policy of designated smoking areas.

20 years ago July 21-27, 2004

Two New Mexico State Police officers were recuperating Wednesday after they were hit by lightning while helping motorists on a flooded road. Officers Clint Varnell and Lance Bateman continued to work for two hours after they were struck Tuesday night in eastern New Mexico. Varnell and Bateman were called to help people in about 15 vehicles stranded on flooded N.M. 206 about five miles south of Portales, said state police Lt. Jimmy Glascock.

———-President Bush said Wednesday his administration is doing everything possible to prevent another terrorist attack as he braced for a report sharply critical of the government’s intelligence- gathering before Sept. 11. Congress isn’t likely to undertake major revisions of the nation’s intelligence operations this year, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said, casting doubt on the Sept. 11 commission’s push for immediate changes once its final report is released.

———-An economist, New Mexico State University President Dr. Michael Martin said, “is someone who sees something working in practice and wonders if it will work in theory.” Thursday he saw theory put into practice. Martin, an economist, and the new president at NMSU, was among a large contingent in attendance at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center, south of Artesia. A field day and trade show were included in the program.

———-Firefighters remained on the scene at the J&M Dairy on North 13th Street through the night and Friday morning following a fire Thursday afternoon. Thirteenth Street remains closed at Lawrence Ranch Road. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

———-An Artesia man was arrested in connection with five burglaries in Eddy County that occurred last week. Ernest Thurman, 31, of Artesia, was arrested in connection with five burglaries and a stolen vehicle from Texas. Sheriff D. Kent Waller reported that on Thursday, July 22, Eddy County Sheriff’s Department deputies and investigators cleared five burglaries, with three occurring on Wednesday, July 21, that resulted in the recovery of several pieces of stolen property and a stolen vehicle from Seminole, Texas.

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

Eddy County spends $350K on courthouse study

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Eddy County spends $350K on courthouse study
By Mike Smith

El Rito Media The future of the Eddy County Courthouse could be determined later this year after a $350,000 study was funded by the Board of County Commissioners.

The study approved July 16, would assess technical analysis, renovation options/renderings and construction cost estimates, read a memo written by Eddy County Public Works Director Jason Burns to commissioners.

He said the County coordinated with multiple firms to study the various needs and assets of the courthouse.

Earlier this year, Eddy County administrators proposed moving courthouse operations, the Eddy County Detention Center (ECDC) and the administration building to a property south of the community near the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office on Corrales Road.

The proposed complex had an estimated cost of $350 million with the courthouse costing around $128 million, county officials noted. Moving the courthouse from its current location in downtown Carlsbad had strong opposition from county residents during two April town hall meetings in Carlsbad and Artesia.

May 7, commissioners approved movement of the administration building and jail to the Corrales Road property. The Commission directed administration during that meeting to conduct the study.

“It’s going to include information regarding the courthouse, adjacent to the courthouse and what’s going to affect what the commission is considering,” Burns said during the July 16 meeting.

The new courthouse would house district, magistrate, and the City of Carlsbad’s municipal court along with the Eddy County DWI program at the Eddy County Detention Center Alternative Sentencing Unit (ASU).

“We’re going to have this done ready to roll out in October, with hopefully bringing to the commission for direction in November,” Burns said.

He said the studies would give commissioners additional details on the courthouse and its potential fate.

The current courthouse was built nearly 90 years ago and housed various county functions over the decades, according to the Eddy County website.

“I think we’re getting close to the end of the year for all this stuff and just to be moving along. We need to take some action on that courthouse one way or another, while this commission is still sitting,” said District 3 Commissioner Fred Beard.

In 2025, Eddy County welcomes two new commissioners as Philip Troost replaces Fred Beard, who decided not to seek a second term. Hayley Klein replaces District 2 Commissioner Jon Henry; he could not run again due to term limits.

Sarah Cordova, James “Bo” Bowen and Ernie Carlson are the returning commissioners in 2025.

Commissioners approve firm for new administration building Burns said Parkhill, Smith and Cooper Inc. should start design and engineering work for the new administration building within the next 30 days.

The architecture firm has offices in Albuquerque, Texas and Oklahoma, noted its website. Burns said Parkhill, Smith and Cooper’s New Mexico team would manage the work.

Eddy County estimated a cost for the new administration building at $54 million.

While architectural plans moved forward for the new administration complex, plans for a new ECDC are preliminary, said Warden Billy Massingill.

A timeline for drawings and plans had not been determined, he said.

Estimated costs for the new jail are $135 million, according to county proposals.

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

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