Staff Reports

Karen Kincaid Brady is set to become the executive director of the New Mexico Museum of Space History, effective October 27, 2025.

“We are thrilled to welcome Karen to the New Mexico Museum of Space History,” said Debra Garcia y Griego, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. “Her combined expertise in history, preservation, and museum leadership, paired with her lifelong passion for space history, will help inspire future generations through the remarkable story of New Mexico’s role in space exploration.”

Kincaid Brady brings more than a decade of experience in museum management, historic preservation, and public programming. She most recently served as business and programming director at the Neill-Cochran House Museum in Austin, Texas, where she oversaw daily operations, staff and volunteer management, fundraising, and community partnerships. Prior to that, she was project manager and historic preservation lead at R&K Solutions, Inc., directing preservation projects that culminated in museum exhibitions, including one at the Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville, Florida.

“My love for space history began during my childhood visits to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum,” Kincaid Brady said. “Joining the New Mexico Museum of Space History feels like coming full circle. I’m excited to continue advancing the museum’s mission to share the stories of innovation, exploration, and discovery that define both New Mexico and our journey into space.”

As executive director, she will oversee the museum’s operations, exhibitions, research, and educational programs, ensuring its continued role as one of New Mexico’s premier cultural institutions.

Kincaid Brady has master’s degrees in historic preservation from the University of Texas at Austin, and in history from the University of Texas at San Antonio, as well as a graduate certificate in historic preservation from UT San Antonio. Her academic work includes Preservation Moon: Defining and Preserving the Cultural Landscape of Tranquility Base, a study that reflects her deep interest in the heritage of space exploration.

Adrian Hedden
Artesia Daily Press

Safety concerns prompted a series of improvements at the Sandpoint Landfill, where residents of Eddy County can bring bulk amounts of trash for disposal at the facility about 12 miles southeast of Carlsbad.

County Public Works Director Hazer Archer said work was ongoing to build two additional cells where trash will be disposed of at the landfill, which he said was increasing in use amid countywide population growth.

Archer gave a presentation during the Eddy County Commission’s Tuesday, Oct. 21, meeting in Carlsbad on potential solutions the Public Works Department identified at the landfill.

The proposed expansion to the landfill’s size would mean acquiring about 80 acres from the Bureau of Land Management, Archer said, giving the landfill another 60 years of capacity. A cost estimate for the expansion was still being determined as of Tuesday’s meeting.

Four of the six cells that hold trash were full and capped, he said, while a fifth is being capped. The remaining cell on the property was about three quarters full and a seventh was proposed. A decision on the seventh cell was not made at Tuesday’s meeting, and Archer said plans are in place to propose an eighth cell in the future.

“It’s going to cost money,” he said. “But it would be for a lifetime.”

Meanwhile, he said, the county added several signs around the landfill informing users where to park and where to unload their trash.

“Safety is obviously No. 1,” he said. “We identified that we needed some signage. People have been pulling out at the wrong spots, damaging things. So, we signed it. It helps everyone.”

Archer said the county was increasing its vehicle maintenance and workforce training, adding netting to prevent litter from blowing out of the landfill, and spraying water on the ground around the landfill to prevent blowing dust.

He also proposed establishing a “pit system” at the landfill that would allow residents to deposit trash in one area, with the refuse moved to a separate pit to be compacted and processed by machine.

“This keeps people and the machinery separate,” Archer said. “It’s safer.”

In a separate agenda item, the commission approved the purchase of two military-style trucks for about $210,000, which Archer said would be used at the landfill to haul garbage. He said the county lost one to a fire in 2023

“They’re hardy. They don’t get stuck,” he said. “You can’t kill them.”

District 1 Commissioner Ernie Carlson moved to accept the expense of the two vehicles and proceed with their purchase. The measure passed unanimously.

“We need the military vehicles. They’re really going to help us out,” Carlson said.

District 5 Commissioner Sarah Cordova said she supported the new equipment and expansions at the landfill, urging Archer to devise a cost estimate to be presented to commissioners at a later meeting.

“I think we’re already getting larger as a community,” she said. “We’re ahead of where we expected with the trash flow. We need to plan.”

Other business

A special meeting was set for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 10 to canvass results from the Nov. 4 election, which will decide multiple municipal and local races across Eddy County.

Finance Director Roberta Gonzales reported the county’s General Fund received about $6.5 million in gross receipts taxes and another $6.8 million from oil and gas operations. She said the county could see a dip in revenue by the end of the year with oil prices predicted to dip as low as $50 a barrel while the county had budgeted for about $52 a barrel in December.

As of August, Gonzales said, about 37% of the budgeted revenue for Fiscal Year 2026 was collected –about $88.3 million of the $236.4 million the county budgeted. Fiscal Years run from July 1 to June 30 of each year, named for the calendar year when they end.

About $70.3 million or 16% of the county’s budgeted expenses for FY 2026 were used as of August, Gonzales said.

Commissioners heard a presentation from United Way of Eddy County Executive Director Kyle Marksteiner who said the nonprofit paid 82 electric bills amounting to $41,142 for those in need in 2024, along with 38 water bills at $4,517. He said the agency served 5,125 households at its monthly food distributions.

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