(Deming)  -- A 14-year-old boy was caught smuggling nearly 15-pounds of marijuana in a
back pack Wednesday morning. The juvenile smuggler was nabbed at the Columbus port of entry at about 6:30 Wednesday morning as he attempted to enter the U-S from Palomas, Mexico, as a pedestrian.  A Customs and Border Protection officer examined the boy's backpack and spotted bundles commonly associated with drug smuggling.  A total of 14 marijuana-filled bundles weighing 14-point-96 pounds were removed from the backpack, and the teen was turned over to the Border Area Task Force for prosecution. Port Director Robert Reza said 40-percent of the marijuana seizures made at the Columbus port of entry this year have involved smugglers age 17 or younger.  On March 26th, a 16-year-old girl from Palomas was caught with over seven pounds of marijuana in her backpack.
On March 22nd, a 17-year-old Palomas boy was caught with a pound of marijuana taped to his leg.
On February 22, a 16-year-old Palomas girl was caught with nearly 15 pounds of marijuana in her car
On February 7th, a 14-year-old Palomas boy was caught with over two pounds of marijuana in his backpack.
And on January 29th, a 16-year-old Deming boy was caught with nearly 483 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle.

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(Deming)  -- Flags are being flown at half-staff at all Luna County office buildings to honor the death of Bob Orosco, who lost his battle with cancer Tuesday evening.  Orosco was the county's facilities and maintenance supervisor. He also was a former Deming school board member and local business owner. He may be best remembered for his photography work.  County government flags will be flown at half-staff through Friday. Orosco was 63.

(Deming)  -- A Deming teen is in critical condition in an El Paso hospital after a motorcycle accident involving a cow.
17-year-old Brice Diel was riding his motorcycle in the area of State Road 549 -- or the Old Las Cruces Highway -- and Stirrup Road at about 8:20 Tuesday night when he struck a cow that had wandered onto the roadway.
Diel was wearing a helmet, but had lost consciousness when emergency responders arrived. A passing motorist called 9-1-1 about the accident. 
Diel was treated at the local hospital and then transported to University Medical Center in El Paso, where he is listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

(Deming) -- Here's the area crime report:
Jeremiah Smith, age 30, was arrested for trafficking in methamphetamine, aggravated fleeing from a law enforcement officer and driving while license was suspended or revoked... Anna Lopez, age 22, was arrested for trafficking in marijuana, possession of marijuana, tampering with evidence and resisting or obstructing officers. Rodolfo Ramos, age 57, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines.
Gregorio Rios, age 29, was arrested on a Municipal warrant for failure to pay fines. Alejandro Alaniz-Olvera, age 18, of Salem, was cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. And a 17-year-old boy was picked up for battery on a peace officer and resisting or evading officers.  Also a handgun, a laptop computer and a video game console with a combined value of over $1,200 were taken from a residence off East Birch. $500 dollars in criminal damage occurred to Cesar Chavez Charter High School after two large windows were broken by rocks... and electric lines were cut
 outside a business off West Florida.

(Deming)  -- Kindergarten preregistration for the 2012-2013 school year continues this
week with preregistration at Torres Elementary. To be eligible for
kindergarten, a child must have reached his or her fifth birthday by August
31st, 2012.
Parents or guardians must bring their child to preregistration, along with his or her
birth certificate, proof of residency and immunization records. The kindergarten teacher will meet with the child and parent or guardian as part of the registration process to do a skill assessment of the student. Immunization boosters will be provided for students needing them. 
Children will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis at each building. Registration at Torres Elementary will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 and 1 to 3 this Wednesday.
The only remaining school to conduct kindergarten preregistration is Columbus Elementary, and officials there will preregister on Friday, May 4th.

(Deming)  -- The Deming Municipal Airport has been awarded 300 thousand dollars from the U-S Department of Transportation to improve approaches to the runway ends. Reportedly, the result of the improved approaches will be to make the airport more accessible to pilots. 
The funds were announced by U-S Senator Jeff Bingaman, who said airports are important to a community's ability to attract businesses and jobs. 
Deming's 300 thousand dollars came from money allocated to improve facilities and runways across the state.

(Deming) -- The New Mexico Environment Department's Drinking Water Bureau has issued a "water advisory" for the village of Columbus.
The Columbus water system is temporarily providing water that is disinfected, but not treated by reverse osmosis to decrease elevated levels of fluoride, arsenic and other issues.
A damaged control computer for  the village's reverse osmosis system prompted a request to the state Monday for  a waiver to temporarily by-pass the system.
State officials said the contaminants do not pose an immediate threat to public health... and regular consumers of the water system do not need to use an alternative water supply, such as bottled water. Also, residents are advised not to boil the water,  because boiling is ineffective at reducing the levels of fluoride and arsenic.
State officials are  cautioning  residents with specific health concerns such as compromised immune systems to consult their doctors for advice on whether to substitute bottled drinking  water.  The reverse osmosis system is expected to be operational Thursday.

(Deming) -- This is the official agenda for the Special Commission Meeting that will be held Monday April 23rd at 4:30pm.  The meeting will be held in the third floor chambers at the Courthouse 700 S. Silver Deming, NM.  The meeting is open to the public.
1.    Call to order:
2.    Public Comments: The  Public has the opportunity to provide comment at this time regarding any new  business on the agenda.  Any questions regarding new business may be directed to the Board of County Commissioners.  Your questions or
concerns will be limited to three minutes unless the Board of County Commissioners requests more information. 
The time limit is given in an effort to allow public input but also to move the agenda forward in a prompt yet efficient manner. 
3.    New Business: Amended Resolution 11-31 Local Government Road Fund  Program-County Arterial Project - The Commission will accept a motion and vote. 
4.    Executive Session: Executive Session to discuss the disposal of real property and pursuant to §10-15-1(H)(8) NMSA 1978 pertaining to 110 N. Gold. 
 

Anthony Juarez, age 29, was arrested on an Adult Probation and Parole Office warrant for a probation violation... Reina Rodriguez, age 49, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines and on a Municipal warrant for failure to appear... Richard Eckert, age 32, was arrested on a Dona Ana County warrant for failure to appear... Xaviour Zuniga, age 20, was cited for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia... Adrian Lopez, age 20, was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia... and Robert Trejo, age 59, was cited for trespassing at a local restaurant.

Also... an extensive amount of shelves, cabinets, paintings and other items valued at over four-thousand dollars were taken from a warehouse in the industrial park... a 2004 utility dump trailer valued at three-thousand dollars was taken from a location off Candela Road Southeast... a record's search of a 12-gauge Remington 870 shotgun recently purchased for 300-dollars at the flea market in north Deming came back as stolen from a resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1974... and a debit card from a Deming bank was used without authorization for purchases in Green Bay, Wisconsin and Palo Alto, California.

(Deming) -- Torres Elementary in Deming has been awarded one of eight grants to support garden projects in honor of New Mexico's 100th anniversary of statehood.

The New Mexico Centennial Foundation, in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, selected Torres Elementary for a five-thousand dollar grant for their Centennial Garden of Hope, an area where students, staff and community will work to enhance educational opportunities and inspire healthy lifestyles through garden education.

The Torres Elementary theme focuses on the history of New Mexico and includes symbols, art and produce that represents the state and region.

The garden includes a compost area, fruit and nut trees, and 24 individual raised beds that will allow each classroom teacher at the school to have his or her own garden bed.

The Torres Elementary Centennial Garden of Hope was one of eight projects selected from 113 grant applications from every corner of the state. To be eligible for a Centennial Garden grant, the applicants had to be a nonprofit community organization or school developing or maintaining a garden project encouraging the growing and harvesting of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The grants are funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation and U-S Bank.