NEW MEXICO BRIEFS
RUIDOSO – A day that started badly for a Ruidoso police officer last week got progressively worse, ending with him under arrest for making a false report.
According to a Ruidoso Police Department (RPD) press release, at 7:06 a.m. Tuesday, July 2, officers with the RPD responded to 620 Sudderth Drive, Apt. No. 10, in reference to a report of a breaking and entering. Upon arrival, officers made contact with the reporting party, Matthew Amezquita, who resides at this location and was currently on duty for the RPD.
Amezquita had reported to work at the RPD at 5:50 a.m. A new officer, Amezquita was in the Field Training Officer Phase of his employment. Shortly after reporting to work, he was sent home to shave as he reported for duty in a manner outside policy. He then went to Walmart to purchase a razor where his credit card was allegedly declined. Surveillance video shows Amezquita leaving Walmart with a bag of items
At about 7:06 a.m., Amezquita called the Ruidoso-area dispatch to report that his house had been broken into.
Amezquita states that he returned to his house, shaved, and upon returning to the Police Department sat in the parking lot of the apartment complex talking to his mom on the phone. He said during this time he remembered that his body worn camera was still in his house. When he returned to his apartment to retrieve it, the door was kicked in.
Detectives from the RPD responded to the location at which time evidence was collected from the scene, and Amezquita was interviewed. It was during this interview that Amezquita admitted that he had kicked in the door to his own house. He stated he locked himself out and decided to kick in the door. Amezquita was arrested for making a false report and booked into the Lincoln County Detention Center.
—Ruidoso News
Governor declares emergency in San Miguel County
LAS VEGAS — In an effort to make disaster funds available to San Miguel County residents and businesses, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently signed an executive order declaring an emergency in the Las Vegas area related to the ongoing flooding and water shortage.
The order provides up to $750,000 to the Department of Transportation to be used for “minimizing economic and physical harm,” providing public services to protect health and safety and providing disaster relief as needed.
These declarations make it easier for state and local officials to immediately help residents impacted by these issues, while also providing resources to governmental agencies to come up with longer term solutions.
This declaration does not have an expiration date, and the resources and funding will be provided as long as is necessary. There are multiple emergencies related to fires and floods in New Mexico currently, most notably in Ruidoso, which was ravaged by fires in June and is still dealing with the after-effects.
—Las Vegas Optic
City honors ‘Mack’ Brazel with plaque
ROSWELL — William Ware “Mack” Brazel, the ranch hand who in July 1947 discovered the crash site of an alleged out-of-this-world spacecraft, was honored July 5 with a star on the Roswell Walk of Fame on Pioneer Plaza, across from the Chaves County Courthouse.
As City Manager Chad Cole, Ward 3 Councilor Edward Heldenbrand, Ward 1 Councilor Cristina Arnold and several people outfitted in Star Wars regalia looked on, UFO researcher and author Donald Schmitt, who represented the Brazel family, removed a piece of board covering Brazel’s new plaque.
Prior to the plaque’s unveiling, Heldenbrand talked about the important role Brazel played in the incident that made Roswell a household name around the country and the world.
“If it had not been for Mr. Brazel,” Heldenbrand said, “none of us would have known about this incident.”
According to Roswell Daily Record archives, Brazel reported the crash to then Chaves County Sheriff George Wilcox, who relayed the information to Maj. Jesse Marcel of the 509th Bomber Group, stationed at Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF), just south of Roswell.
Afterward, the airfield’s intelligence office announced “the field has come into possession of a flying saucer,” as reported in the Roswell Daily Record on July 8, 1947, under the headline “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer On Ranch In Roswell Region.”
Schmitt said he was very honored to reveal Brazel’s plaque and criticized the U.S. government’s handling of the incident.
After 77 years, the story of the Roswell incident won’t go away, Schmitt said.
“It is considered one of the biggest UFO stories and, if true, one of the biggest stories of all time,” he said.
Schmitt said Brazel always maintained that “what he recovered was from out of this world.”
—Roswell Daily Record
Dairy sees low prices, shifts in demand
Milk prices remain in a slump even as Texas dairy production and consumer demand continue to rise, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
Summertime is typically good for dairy producers as rising temperatures typically translate into higher demand and reduced production going into the dog days of summer. As a result, retail prices for many dairy-based products like ice cream, cheese and butter rise.
However, last year’s price increases for retail products never trickled down to better raw milk prices for producers, said Jennifer Spencer, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension dairy specialist, Stephenville. And while raw milk prices are slowly trending upward this summer, they are still $5 lower per hundred-weight than historically high prices in 2022.
Low milk prices will make it difficult for dairy operations, Spencer said.
Consumer demand for dairy products remains strong, said David Anderson, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension economist and professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Bryan-College Station.
Per capita consumption of all dairy products grew from 538 pounds per person nationally in 2022 to 655 pounds per person in 2023. But consumption trends continue to shift away from fluid milk to other dairy staples and emerging products.
This demand for products like cheeses that require processing is pushing the industry’s capacity and still impacting dairies regionally.
—Clovis Livestock Market News
Agriculture internship application period open
SILVER CITY — New Mexico-based agricultural businesses may apply for internship funding through the New Mexico Department of Agriculture Agricultural Workforce Development Program.
The goal of the AWD Program is to create opportunities foryoung and beginning farmers and ranchers, including students,to gain work experience in agriculture thatcan turn into careers and thus support New Mexico’s agricultural future,according to a news release.
The program provides incentives to NewMexico agricultural businessesto hire interns.An “agricultural business”is defined in theNew Mexico Agricultural Workforce Development Program Act as a businessof food or agricultural nature, includingagriculture production or processing. Examples of agricultural businesses eligibleto participate in theAWD Program include — but are not limited to — farms and ranches; facilitiesat which raw agricultural commodities areprocessed into finished products; and food andbeverage manufacturingfacilities.
The act was passed in 2019, and the pilot program ensued in 2020.
The NMDA will reimbursea participating agricultural business up to 50 percent of the actual cost to employ the intern(s), not to exceed $15,000 per intern, the release stated. A business may hire up to three interns in one year and the internship must consist of at least 130 hours.
The application period opened June 17 and will continue until funds are fully allocated or until March 31, 2025, whichevercomes first, accordingto the release. Funds will be available on a first-come,first-serve basis foruse after July 1, 2024, and must be fully expended by May 30, 2025.
For more information about the AWD Program, visit the NMDA website, emailawd@nmda.nmsu.edu or call575-646-2642.
—Silver City Daily Press
Man hit by pickup after shooting
CLOVIS — Clovis police on July 5 were investigating reports of shots fired and a man hit by a pickup truck near the 800 block of Wallace Street.
When police arrived on scene late July 5, they found a man in the road, bleeding from his head.
Subsequent investigation found another man in the area who reported he hit a man with his pickup after the man shot at him, according to police Capt. Robert Telles.
The man in the road was taken to a Texas hospital. Telles said he did not know the man’s condition but said injuries prevented him from being interviewed by police.
The man in the pickup was cooperating with police. He said he did not know the man he said put two bullet holes in his pickup.
A woman believed to be the injured man’s girlfriend was with the man in the road when police arrived. Police had not interviewed her as of July 5, Telles said.
The man in the pickup was not injured. Telles said no arrests had been made as of July 5.
—Eastern New Mexico News
Police find dead body in parking lot
ROSWELL — Police on July 3 discovered the body of a man inside of a vehicle in a local grocery store parking lot.
The 69-year-old man was found dead in a vehicle in the Albertsons Market parking lot at 1110 S. Main St., Todd Wildermuth, public information officer for the Roswell Police Department (RPD), said in an email to the Roswell Daily Record.
Police reports say the vehicle was a 2004 Subaru Outback.
In his email to the Daily Record, Wildermuth added that there were no signs of foul play. Investigators are continuing to try to determine the identity of the man, something made difficult because the body was in a state of decomposition when found.
Though it has not been confirmed, Wildermuth said it is likely the deceased is the person listed as the vehicle’s registered owner.
Wildermuth explained that police discovered the body while performing a welfare check on the man after an Albertsons employee contacted them because his vehicle had been sitting in the parking lot for several days.
—Roswell Daily Record
County pauses on gym’s demolition
CARLSBAD — The old Otis Gym south of Carlsbad will remain standing for now.
Eddy County’s Board of County Commissioners canceled a bid to tear down the building, which has not had any use for several years.
Built in 1947, the building has been a source of pride for residents of Otis, which is between Carlsbad and Loving. In 2019, commissioners voted to “de-commission” the gym.
Earlier this year, county leaders voted for demolishment and changed their minds back in April, allowing more time for studies.
Commissioners turned away a nearly $200,000 bid from Coronado Wrecking and Salvage from
Albuquerque to demolish the structure.
“I’m not for it. I’m an Otis resident and I feel we need a community center,” said Billy Grandi during the July 2 county commission meeting.
Grandi and former District County Commissioner James Walterscheid spoke to commissioners during the meeting. Both men along with other Eddy County officials toured the old gym on June 14.
“It’s not in that bad of shape. The inside needs work. There are some things you can’t renovate, Walterscheid said.
Cost figures tabulated by Eddy County have varied in the millions of dollars on whether to save the structure or build a new one.
Commissioners tasked Eddy County Public Works Director Jason Burns to draw up possible future plans for property if the building is torn down. He said the county could have some idea during the opening months of 2025.
—Carlsbad Current-Argus
Man gets 11 years in prison for battery
CLOVIS — Carlos Lopez, 40, of Clovis, on June 18 was sentenced to 11 years in prison for two counts of battery on a police officer, according to a news release from the Ninth District Attorney’s Office.
According to the release:
On Oct. 2, 2023, officers were dispatched to the La Vista Inn for subject removal.The officers made contact with Lopez, and an altercation ensued.
Police tazed Lopez.
“While officers were detaining Lopez, he struck one officer in the jaw and another in the chest while attempting to bite officers,” the release stated.
A Curry County jury convicted Lopez on the charges, the release stated. Judge Drew Tatum sentenced him.
—Eastern New Mexico News
Ex-Dora schools official sentenced
CLOVIS — The former head of maintenance at Dora schools on June 26 was sentenced to three years in prison following his conviction on six counts of unfair bidding practices.
Steven Butler, 56, was convicted by a jury on April 25. He faced a maximum of 10 years in prison, according to District Attorney Quentin Ray.
“According to evidence presented, Butler was working as head of maintenance for Dora Schools and used that position to gain favorable bids for his own company to provide cleaning supplies and services to the school,” according to a news release from the DA.
“The practices allowed him to obtain multiple contracts and benefits at taxpayers’ expense.”
Allegations were first brought to light in 2017.
Judge Donna J. Mowrer sentenced Butler and set his appeal bond at $10,000.
—Eastern New Mexico News
Rec center set to break ground in October
ARTESIA — Arrangements for the new recreation center in Artesia are underway as the design phase of the project continues.
There will be a groundbreaking on Oct. 17, according to Construction Manager agency Scott Taylor. Jaynes Corporation, the contractor building the rec center, will begin construction on the plot of land south of the Artesia Aquatic Center on Oct. 21.
As reported by the Daily Press in March of this year, the City of Artesia gave the Artesia Recreation Center Foundation the support to begin the design process on the new rec center by approving a Memorandum of Understanding. Since then, architect José Zelaya of Huitt-Zollars in Albuquerque has been working on the design for the new facility.
Zelaya said he is currently in the schematic design process, which involves putting the components of the new rec center into a site plan and floor plan.
The most challenging part of the design process has been accounting for rising construction costs, Zelaya said. According to a report by Currie & Brown, construction costs in the United States were estimated to rise by 3 to 6 percent in 2024.
“That’s a challenge to make sure that we’re designing a facility that meets the needs, but that we can actually control the cost as well,” Zelaya said.
To mitigate this concern, the rec center board involved a Construction Manager agency early in the process, Zelaya said. Scott Taylor is the CMa for the project, and his role includes cost evaluation and control.
Zelaya said the new rec center will leave a lasting impression on the community.
“Particularly for me, it’s quite an honor to be trusted with a facility of this size and this impact in Artesia,” Zelaya said. … “It’s a huge responsibility and I love that challenge.”
—Artesia Daily Press
