A orange defensive player tackles Roman DeHoyos in the backfield during the game on Monday.
Scenes from the Zia football game on Monday
Letter to the editor
Domestic Violence Awareness Month was first observed in October 1987, marking the beginning of a national movement to bring attention to the issue of domestic violence and honor the strength of survivors. Since then, October has served as a reminder that ending abuse requires both community awareness and collective action.
Here in Eddy County, we are fortunate to have a strong network of agencies and organizations dedicated to protecting victims and their children while holding offenders accountable. Affirming Heart Victim Services provides vital counseling, forensic interviewing, and advocacy. Grammy House and the Carlsbad Battered Families Shelter offer safe refuge and supportive services to those escaping abuse.
Law enforcement also plays a critical role. The Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, through its specialized Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team (DVERT), works alongside the Carlsbad Police Department, Artesia Police Department, New Mexico State Police, and Loving Police Department to ensure a coordinated and trauma-informed response. These professionals demonstrate daily that protecting families and breaking cycles of violence requires teamwork, compassion, and perseverance.
But lasting change requires more than just professional dedication, it also depends on community involvement. Each of us can make a difference by supporting local shelters and advocacy programs through financial contributions, volunteering time, or simply spreading awareness. By standing together, we ensure that survivors know they are not alone and that Eddy County is united in breaking the silence around domestic violence.
During this month of awareness, I encourage all community members to recognize the courage of survivors, support the agencies that stand with them, and join in the effort to build a safer, healthier Eddy County for future generations.
Sincerely,
Eric K. Threlkeld
Captain, Eddy County Sheriff’s Office
Behind the scenes of democracy
Photos by Adrian Hedden
Weeks before this year’s election, staff at the Eddy County Clerk’s Office were hard at work testing and certifying the machines used by voters to choose their elected leaders for the next four years.
Eddy County Clerk Cara Cooke and her team spent the morning of Sept. 30 running dummy ballots through the machines, ensuring they will run correctly for early voting starting today, and later for the Election Day on Nov. 4.
Mescalero man faces federal sexual abuse charges
Staff Reports
Deverne Torres Jr., a Mescalero man, is facing federal charges of Aggravated Sexual Abuse and Sexual Abuse of a Minor after allegedly engaging in sexual acts with a minor.
Torres, 45 and an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, will remain in custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled, according to a release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico. If convicted, Torres faces up to life in prison.
Following a report made to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in February 2021, Torres underwent an investigation. The report stated that a witness claimed to have seen Torres kissing and touching a minor and reportedly threatened the witness to keep quiet. During a subsequent interview, the victim disclosed that Torres had engaged in sexual acts with them beginning when they were under the age of 12 and continuing for years.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is seeking other potential victims of Torres. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs at (575) 464-4479.
Bulldogs focus on more than just championships
JT Keith
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com
Coach aims to leave a legacy in players’ lives
In the Oct. 7 coaches’ poll, the Artesia Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in District 5A with 110 points and 11 first-place votes, followed by District 2-5A rivals Roswell at No. 2 and Lovington at No. 3. There is still a lot of football left in the next three weeks, and each team will face off against the others to determine who will win the district and advance to the playoffs.
Bulldogs football coach Jeremy Maupin said he ignores the polls and that his main goal is to improve his team by tournament time.
Artesia (6-1, 4-0 in District 2-5A) has played in the championship game the last four years. Maupin said his team is setting “The Bulldog Standard,” the team’s new motto this season. Every letter in their mascot name stands for something different:
B-Be the best version of you
U-Unity
L-Leadership
L-Loyalty
D-Discipline
O-Off the field, what you do matters
G-Grit
“As a department, we are using that as a standard and fitting all we want and making it happen,” Maupin said. “People make fun of us because we all wear the same-colored cleats and our socks are the same, but that’s unity. That’s something we feel separates us when we walk down the ramp; we look like one unit. We can find something meaningful in all those words.”
Maupin acknowledges that the Artesia coaches have a significant impact on the athletes who play for them for four years, and he wants his players to become good men, husbands and fathers, as well as productive citizens in society.
Maupin does not want his athletes’ most significant accomplishment to be winning a high school championship, and that’s it. Maupin said he wants his athletes to use high school as a platform to build a successful life.
“I will have the team over to my house during the season,” Maupin said. “I want them to see they can have good, clean fun without doing some of the things society says is fun. I love our team, and we have good young men, which is why I will have them to my family’s home during the season. We want to prepare our players for life and to be successful after they leave high school.”
Artesia soccer player has busy summer
JT Keith
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com
Artesia junior Estrella Gutierrez, a defender on the Artesia girls soccer team, played a lot of soccer this summer.
She traveled to Colorado and Minnesota, competing in the US Club Soccer NPL U16 Finals in Commerce City, Colo., and the Target USA CUP in Blaine, Minn.
Gutierrez said it was a fantastic experience getting to play for the second consecutive year against elite competition.
She said that her goal is to play in college, and this experience is what college soccer would be like. Gutierrez wants to use her experience to help strengthen the Lady Bulldogs soccer team.
“Not very many players have had this type of opportunity,” Gutierrez said. “I want to share the many different skills and tips I learned with my teammates and coaches and become more of a leader.”
In the NPL U16 Finals, Gutierrez played for Sting WTX Olivarez 09G, based out of Lubbock, Texas.
They played in the Red River National Premier League in Dallas and secured first place in the 2024-25 season, qualifying for the national tournament. There were 16 teams in their age group from Florida, New Jersey and California.
In the Target USA CUP, she played with her travel team, Select Chicas 08/09G. The Chicas are a U17 Select team from Anchorage, Alaska, coached by Steve Day. The team includes girls from Alaska, but also welcomes girls from across the country who play competitive soccer and aspire to play in college. It gives them exposure in most major showcases across the U.S.
The Target USA CUP is the largest youth soccer tournament in the U.S., with more than 1,200 teams from 17 countries.
Gutierrez said that playing in the nationals is more challenging than playing in high school because some girls representing other countries are bigger and faster than some of the girls in high school here.
“Playing in the USA CUP helps me to be able to play against all types of players from all around the world,” Gutierrez said. “Not knowing any of the girls on the team helps you.”
By playing in the club and for the national team, Gutierrez said that it will help her know what to do on the field during games and how to create plays.
“I would like to be a better teammate this year,” Gutierrez said. “I would like to score and give more assists.”
JT Keith can be reached at 575-420-0061, or on X @JTKEITH1.
Artesia Bulldogs football team overwhelms Santa Teresa
JT Keith
Artesia Daily Press
jtkeith@elritomedia.com
Perhaps the Artesia Bulldogs football team should start every game with a turnover.
In the last two weeks, the Bulldogs have won the opening kickoff and turned the ball over on the first play of the game. Artesia running back Bryce Parra fumbled on his first run of the game on Friday after the opening kickoff against Santa Teresa, but the Bulldogs bounced back from the turnover and continued their dominating ways with a 58-0 thrashing of the Desert Warriors at the Bulldog Bowl.
Artesia (6-1, 4-0 in District 2-5A) dominated on offense, defense and special teams.
“We were overwhelmed,” said Santa Teresa coach Shae Vierra. “Artesia obviously had a lot more talent than we did, but I love the fight in our kids. Our team came out and gave a great effort, but we were just overwhelmed.”
Artesia coach Jeremy Maupin said he was proud of his team and the effort they gave. The shining unit for the Bulldogs was special teams, which scored on a blocked punt, forced a safety, and returned a punt and kickoff for touchdowns.
“Bryce is healthy, and he is back on kickoff returns,” Maupin said. “Santa Teresa kicked to him, and Parra took one to the house and Edel Villa returned a punt for a 48-yard touchdown. Marco Soto blocked a punt in the end zone for a safety.”
Maupin said the defense has two starters not playing right now and the other players have stepped up and played well. Maupin said he is hoping to get the starters back in time for the last three games of the season and the playoffs.
Every receiver caught a pass
All the Bulldog receivers made catches, and none more exciting and frustrating than when quarterback Derrick Warren threw a slant to a slashing Jack Byers, who ran the ball 62 yards to the 1-yard line before being tackled by a Desert Warrior defensive back. Maupin said that he was happy to get all the wide receivers’ touches in the game.
Class act
At the end of the second quarter, when the game was called, the Bulldogs’ football team stayed out and sat down in the end zone to watch the band perform its performance for an upcoming contest this week. Not only that, but the team listened to the senior band members being introduced to the crowd on Senior Night.
“It started when I was at Los Lunas,” Maupin said. “I feel like it is an excellent opportunity to support the band and see their show. We never get to watch the band because we are always in the locker room game planning. Eric Benton is the new band director, and he is doing an excellent job. It is fun to watch (the band) evolve and grow. They play for us the whole game, so for us to get to watch them for 20 minutes, it is the least we can do. I thought it was really cool that we got to be a part of that.”
Bye week
The Bulldogs have a bye this week before taking on the Roswell Coyotes at 7 p.m. at the Wool Bowl on Friday, Oct. 17.
Maupin said he will give the players Saturday off and push everything back a day, and the team will still get after it. According to Maupin, the bye week only means the Bulldogs do not have a game that week.
‘Best team in the state’
“They are the best team in the state,” Vierra said. “They (Artesia) are probably going to win every game by double digits. They are an outstanding team, and they have so many players who are so big and fast. The main thing is that Artesia is so disciplined and fast. You can throw any wrinkle at them, and it is not going to fool them.”
JT Keith can be reached at 575-420-0061, or on X @JTKEITH1.
Zias provides a bright future for Bulldog football, as the White team wins
Nothing introduces the Zia Intermediate football team, comprised of seventh graders, to big-time football like letting them play a game against each other at the Bulldog Bowl.
They got that chance on Oct. 6, and the White team won the game 22-6. The game allowed Bulldogs head football coach Jeremy Maupin a close-up view of the upcoming talent in the next three years, when the players will be sophomores and can earn a spot on the varsity team. Maupin listened to the calls of the quarterbacks from both huddles and held for extra points, while spotting the ball and calling penalties as the referee.
“It is just about developing these players at this age and inputting our system,” said seventh-grade football coach Ike Montoya. “We have 12 plays that we have to run and master, and I thought both teams did a great job. The teams were evenly matched, and the white team just happened to get the best of the orange team today. Both teams have gone back and forth all year long.”
Montoya said this is a game the team plays every year, with the band showing up to play during the game. The crowd consisted of students, parents, and former and current Bulldog players to watch the next crop of Artesia gridiron warriors.
After the game, Maupin told the players to keep working hard so that they could one day walk down the ramp and play on the varsity team. He pointed out that, like the varsity players supporting them, the varsity was once in their position, looking up to older Bulldogs and playing in the game.
The Zias football team is big. Montoya said the game was played with three offenses going against three defenses, and each team ran the 12 plays that are standard for Bulldog football.
The first team defense faced the first team offense, while the second team offense faced the second team defense, and the third team offense faced the third team defense.
“This is a good atmosphere to play in the Bowl in front of a crowd,” Montoya said. “This game shows us where every kid can play, and this year, we are deep on the defensive and offensive end. Usually, the offense tends to dominate these games, but this year it was just a defensive struggle. Our linebackers and defensive ends are really strong, and our offense had to work to get points on the board.”
Montoya said that he thought it was neat that the players had the chance to experience playing a game in the Bulldog Bowl. Another perk of being a Bulldog is that players get to record themselves on camera, introducing themselves by name, number, and position. In their senior year, they get to watch the recording.
“It is about building for the future,” Montoya said. “When they are in eighth and ninth grade, these kids already have the basics down, and they keep adding to the playbook, and by the time they get to high school, they might have 70-80 plays.”
Scenes from Artesia girls’ soccer team defeating Portales 4-0
Governor signs four special session bills
El Rito Media News Services
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday signed most of the legislation passed during this week’s special session of the New Mexico Legislature, according to a news release from her office.
She did not sign Senate Bill 3, which would expand the New Mexico Department of Health’s authority to purchase COVID-19 vaccines for children, as well as allow the department to use additional sources than a sole federal advisory committee to create guidelines for school and daycare vaccination policy amid federal upheaval. The bill drew hours of Republican opposition during hearings and failed on Thursday to receive the two-thirds majority vote required to include an emergency clause that would have made it effective immediately.
In a news release on Thursday, Lujan Grisham, in a statement, said she was “deeply disappointed in Republicans for voting to restrict vaccines,” and that “there is no good reason for Republicans to make New Mexicans wait 90 days for vaccines they need to protect their health.” The governor’s Deputy Communications Director Jodi McGinnis Porter on Friday responded to Source’s query about the unsigned bill via text message to say that the governor “is still deliberating on it and we will have something on it next week.”
The governor signed the other four bills passed —most of which respond to federal funding cuts — and said in a statement: “When federal support falls short, New Mexico steps up — that’s our commitment to families who depend on these services. This funding protects the basics: food security, affordable health care, and access to care.”
House Bill 1 includes $162 million in emergency funding, including $66 million for the state Health Care Authority; $16.6 million to maintain federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and $8 million for food banks and pantries, among other food-related expenses. The bill also includes $17 million to reduce health insurance costs on the state BeWell marketplace. HB1 transfers $30 million into the state’s emergency contingency fund and $50 million into the rural healthcare fund.
House Bill 2 addresses the expiring Affordable Care Act premium health insurance tax credits, which have become a line in the sand in federal budget negotiations. The bill allows New Mexicans above 400% of the federal poverty level to receive assistance through the state’s Health Care Affordability Fund if they meet other eligibility requirements. The $17.3 million to do this for the current fiscal year is included in HB1.
Senate Bill 1 transfers $50 million from the general fund to the Rural Health Care Delivery Fund to “stabilize existing health care services at risk of reduction or closure in rural and underserved areas across New Mexico, and “broadens eligibility beyond counties with populations under 100,000 to include providers in federally designated high-needs health professional shortage areas and tribally operated facilities.”
Senate Bill 2 takes effect immediately as an emergency measure and allows metropolitan court judges to preside over criminal competency proceedings, reversing a prior change earlier in 2025 that required all such cases to go to district court.