— Artesia Clean & Beautiful will sponsor its Yard of the Week contest beginning Monday, June 3, and continuing through September. Colorful, attractive, well-groomed lawns with curb appeal meet the qualifications. To nominate a yard worthy of the title, contact Linda at 575-5130143 or the AC&B office at 575-748-3192. —————–

First Church Artesia, 402 W. Grand Ave., will hold a free screening of “Letter to the American Church” at 6 p.m. Friday, June 14. The public is welcome to attend. —————–

CHASE SCHOLAR

COMMUNITY SERVICE

— Chase Scholars will be performing community service for senior citizens June 19-21. Students will be in groups with an adult supervisor and will be available for yard work, cleaning exterior windows, and various odd jobs. Students will not be painting. Sign-ups for those needing work done are available at the Senior MealSite, the Senior Center, the Artesia Chamber of Commerce, and KSVP. For more information, contact Ginny at the Chase Foundation, 575-746-4610. —————–

ELECTRONIC RECYCLING

— Artesia Clean & Beautiful will host its annual eWaste Event from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday, June 21, and 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at the Eddy County Fairgrounds food court. Items to be accepted for recycling include all office-related

equipment, fax

machines, copiers, typewriters, CPUs, and consumer electronics including DVD and VCR players and video game consoles, radios, telephones and cell phones, server and telecom equipment, cameras and stereo equipment. There will be a $5 charge for large CRT monitors. Televisions and home appliances will not be accepted. For more information, call AC&B at 575-748-3192. —————– DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION — CARC Document Destruction will be at Artesia Clean & Beautiful’s eWaste Event from 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Friday, June 21, at the Eddy County Fairgrounds food court to accept any residential documents in need of disposal, up to 100 pounds. No commercial documents will be accepted. For more information, call AC&B at 575-748-3192. —————– GREAT AMERICAN CLEAN-UP — Artesia Clean & Beautiful will continue scheduling cleanups through June 22. Volunteers may sign up any time at the AC&B office, 422 W. Main St., to receive supplies. For more information, call 575-748-3192. —————– GAME-DAY APPAREL — The Artesia High School Student Council has launched its game-day apparel for the 2024-25 season. Fans can now purchase a variety of products at great prices; there’s something for everyone in the collection so you can show your support for the team in style. All orders must be placed online by July 24. Use promo code BULLDOG to remove the shipping cost. Pick-up will be available at the AHS office Aug. 16 and 19. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gear up for the games and give back to the Student Council, and don’t forget to share with your fellow Bulldog fans! —————–

LIBRARY BOARD

The Artesia Public Library is seeking to fill soon-tobe- opened seats on the Library Board of Trustees. Anyone interested should submit a letter of inquiry to Library Supervisor Omar Acosta at the library or by email to oacosta@artesianm. gov. —————– PHLEBOTOMIST PROGRAM — Applications are now open for Artesia General Hospital’s certified phlebotomist program. To learn how to apply and for more information on this career opportunity, call 575-736-8178 or email foundation@artesiageneral. com.

—————– INTRO TO YOUTH SPORTS — The Artesia Center is offering a program for children ages 3-5 that introduces kids to sports in a fun, non-stressful environment. The program is held from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Center. For more information, contact Bernice at 915-2498934. —————– COMMUNITY FITNESS CLASS — The public is invited to attend a fun, free community fitness class, led by certified group fitness instructor Dottie Ellis, from 5:306:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Artesia Center, 612 N. Eighth St. —————– DRIVERS NEEDED — SENM Veterans’ Transportation is in need of volunteer drivers to transport veterans to and from doctor’s appointments. Anyone interested in volunteering is urged to contact Alice or Donna at 575622-0729. —————– WIDOW’S MIGHT Widow’s Might, a support group for widows at all stages of grief, will meet at 6:30 p.m. each Thursday in the classroom building on the east side of West Main Baptist Church, 1701 W. Main St. For more information, call 575-746-3528, email widowsmightnm@gmail.com, or visit widowsmightnm. com or facebook. com/widowsmightnm.

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GRIEF SUPPORT — A Grief Group meets at 1:30 p.m. each Tuesday in the Saint Damien Center at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, 1111 N. Roselawn Ave. Free support is offered in both English and Spanish. For more information, contact Nora at 575-308-3248. —————– MEN’S PICK-UP BASKETBALL — The City of Artesia is hosting men’s pick-up basketball from 5-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Artesia Center, 612 N. Eighth St. For more information, call 575-746-9009. —————– TOPS — The Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) Club meets at 9 a.m. Wednesdays at the Senior Center. For more information, call the Center at 575746-4113.

RUIDOSO — The U.S. Forest Service reported Saturday afternoon that the Blue 2 Fire burning near Ruidoso was at 14% containment.

The lightning-caused fire eight miles north of Ruidoso in the White Mountain Wilderness Area is listed at 7,457 acres and is being fought by 802 personnel: 17 crews, 32 engines, eight helicopters, three bulldozers and 12 water tenders.

Friday experienced moderate weather, which assisted firefighters in completing additional containment. The southern end of Soldier Mountain gained more containment line as mop up work continued in the area by fire crews on the ground. Additional containment line was achieved on the fire perimeter west of Granite Knob. Firefighters are working hard to be able to mop up along the fire’s edge to prepare for the forecasted hot and dry weather early next week.

Fire crews continued mopping up and securing lines along the 107 A road and Soldier Mountain. Heavy equipment has been successful in progressing the contingency lines that surround the fire. Structure protection will continually have a presence throughout the surrounding communities on both day and night shifts to ensure that communities are being monitored for any changes to the fire. Mop up and patrol continues across the entire fire perimeter. Pumps, sprinklers, and water sources are being used to support structure protection and mop up efforts. Handline on the eastern forest boundary near Enchanted Forest and Sun Valley continue to progress.

Humidity was high during the day until late afternoon which assisted firefighters to continue working safely around the perimeter. Storm clouds were seen at the eastern edge of the fire area, however the fire did not receive any moisture. During the evening there was a drop in humidity due to southwesterly winds that dried out fine fuels. Today, higher humidity and wind is expected. Storm clouds will be seen during the day around the eastern side of the fire. Even though wind and storm clouds are expected, a major increase in fire behavior is not expected.

Smoke production has decreased due to minimal fire activity. Thunderstorms predicted outside of the fire perimeter will produce downflow winds that could move some light smoke into surrounding areas. View an interactive smoke map at fire. airnow.gov.

Evacuation levels remain unchanged. Evacuation shelters are expected to stay open over the weekend. Effort is continually being made by fire crews to ensure that the fire perimeter is safe before repopulation of the surrounding communities. For an interactive evacuation map go to tinyurl. com/Blue2Evacs.

CARLSBAD — In early May, swabs collected from cave Myotis bats in the Left Hand Tunnel area of Carlsbad Cavern and near the Rattlesnake Springs day-use area tested positive for Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS).

The park is increasing efforts to mitigate the spread of whitenose syndrome to other areas. These steps will include the decontamination of caving and research equipment before and after entry and visitor footwear.

The fungus thrives in cold, damp places where bats hibernate for the winter. It attacks and grows while they’re in an inactive state of hibernation. This damages the bats’ skin and makes them become active, burning fat they need to survive the winter. The park’s colony of migratory Brazilian free-tailed bats is not expected to suffer the same impacts as species that hibernate.

CARLSBAD — The Eddy County Commission will have one public hearing on its docket during a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday in Carlsbad.

Following a period for public comment, the board will host the public hearing to consider an ordinance granting a non-exclusive franchise to New Mexico Gas Co. Inc..

Other items on the agenda include: • an informational presentation regarding the annual site inspection of the Eddy County Detention Center by the county commission, presented by warden Billy Massingill.

• the setting of a meeting to canvass the results of the June 4 Primary Election.

• a presentation and discussion on the Otis gymnasium.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 4, in Commission Chambers at the Eddy County Administration Complex, 101 W. Greene St., Carlsbad.