Another Arrested in Prescription Fraud
 
(Deming) -- A  second person has been arrested in a local prescription fraud
investigation. 31-year-old Brooke Jacobson was arrested Wednesday for forgery in the issuing or transferring of a prescription and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. Deming Police Chief Michael Carillo said Jacobson's arrest resulted from the follow-up investigation into medical assistant Jafet "Jay" Vallejo's arrest two weeks ago. Vallejo also was arrested on charges of forgery and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance after being accused of taking a forged prescription for 100 tablets of Adderall -- a brand-name psychostimulant medication considered to have high abuse potential -- to the Wal-Mart pharmacy. The pharmacist flagged the prescription after Vallejo asked if the dosage could be raised.  The pharmacist confirmed with Dr. George Williams -- for whom Vallejo worked at the time -- that the prescription was forged and notified the Deming Police Department. Jacobson's forged prescription also was for Adderall.

(Deming) -- A Bell  Elementary  School teacher has been awarded the Grand Prize in a "We Are Teachers" national  competition aimed at incorporating technology in the classroom.
   Fourth grade math and science  teacher Aaron Rogers submitted a contest entry application to Troxell Communications in Phoenix explaining how he would use the company's communications tools in teaching a lesson on the area and perimeter of a  rectangle to his fourth graders.
   Rogers' submission landed him  in the top ten of social media vote-getters for the contest... and ultimately  was chosen as the Grand Prize by Troxell officials.
   Rogers said his classroom will  be getting a document camera... new audio equipment... a projector system that  turns a digital projector into a smart board using a stylus instead of a  marker... and a student-response system allowing for immediate feedback on  questions posed to his students.
   Troxell officials have already  visited Rogers' classroom to visualize the space before the equipment is  delivered this summer.
   Rogers, who is completing his  third year at Bell School, said Troxell is paying for the equipment, its  installation and his training.

(Deming) -- Luna County officials are accepting letters of interest to serve on the Library Board and the Advisory Board to the Healing House domestic violence shelter.
Anyone interested in serving as  the county's representative to the Library Board should submit a letter of  interest by next Thursday, May 31st. The appointment is for a three-year  term.  Anyone interested in  serving on  the Healing House advisory board should submit a letter of interest by next  Friday, June 1st.
The board offers guidance to  the Healing House staff in their mission to provide comprehensive support and  intervention services to person affected by domestic violence. The Healing House  also offers emergency shelter and provides protection order advocacy,  counseling, immigration advocacy and education.
Letters of interest for either  board should be sent to Glory Johnson, Assistant to the Luna County Manager, at  700 South Silver Avenue, Deming, 88030. They also may be hand-delivered to the  manager's office in the Luna County Courthouse.

(Deming) -- Deming Public  Schools held its first-ever Elementary Career Day Monday at the Mimbres Valley  Learning and Special Events Center.
School Superintendent Harvielee  Moore said the event was the idea of a fourth-grader last year who wrote to  Moore suggesting it would be a good idea for fifth graders to participate in a  career day to begin learning about career options and what skills and education  levels were needed for each.
The student, Andres Reyes, chaired a steering committee convened by Moore which was comprised of a  fifth-grade boy and girl from each elementary school. The students represented  the 484 fifth graders in the district.
Moore said the students planned  the event, named the careers they were interested in learning more  about, and  agreed that each school would prepare career collages as part of their studies  in the classroom.
The committee members also  designed a tee-shirt which each of the fifth-graders in the district wore to the  event. The shirt slogan said: "Fifth Grade, the Future" on the front... and "The  future is near..." with a Charlie Wildcat wearing a graduation cap and leaning  on the words "Wildcats 2019" on the back.
Career presenters included the Southern Area Health Education Center... DeLaney and Hernandez, Attorneys at Law... High Desert Veterinary Clinic... Deming Police Department... McReynolds Family Chiropractic... Deming Fire Department... Rick Holdridge with the New  Mexico Space Port Authority... Mark Vasconcellos, Move Production... and Mary  Anderson and the Skills U-S-A students.

(Deming) -- Luna County's  unemployment rate remains below 20-percent -- but just barely.  Preliminary April figures from  the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions show Luna County with an  unemployment rate of 19-point-five percent.
That figure is down from the  March revised rate of 20-point-five percent, and also down from last April's  rate of 21 percent.
Following Luna County in the  list of New Mexico counties with the worst unemployment is Mora County with 13-point-one percent unemployment. Those were the only two counties in the state  with unemployment greater than 10-percent.
Rounding out the top five are Guadalupe at nine-point-five percent... Taos at nine-point-one percent... and  McKinley at seven-point-eight percent. 
In our area... Grant County was  at five-point-nine percent unemployment in April... Hidalgo County was at  five-point-six... and the Las Cruces area was at six-point-six.  The county with the least unemployment remains Los Alamos with two-point-seven percent.
The state unemployment rate for  April-- at six-point-nine percent -- was down from the March rate of  seven-point-two percent. 
The New Mexico labor force  estimates show Luna County with a labor force of 11-thousand-786 -- with  nine-thousand-482 employed... and two-thousand-304 unemployed.

(Deming) -- A local medical assistant has been charged with forging a prescription for a controlled  narcotic  using the name of the doctor for whom he worked.
34 year old Jafet "Jay" Vallejo  was arrested on charges of forgery and fraudulently obtaining a controlled  substance.
Vallejo, an assistant to Doctor  George Williams, is accused of taking a forged prescription for 100 tablets of  Adderall, a brand-name pyschostimulant medication considered to have high  abuse potential, to the Wal-Mart pharmacy.
The pharmacist flagged the prescription after Vallejo asked if the dosage could be raised.  The pharmacist confirmed with  Dr. Williams that the prescription was forged and notified the Deming Police Department. Vallejo invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Chief Michael Carillo said both  charges are fourth-degree felonies.

(Deming) -- Here's the area crime report:
Bradley Brown, age 31 was arrested on two Luna County Magistrate court
warrants – one for failure to pay fines, and the second for failure to
appear.   Anthony Banegas, age 22 of Las Cruces was arrested on a Dona Ana County warrant for Failure to Pay  Fines.  Gordon Garland, age 37 was
  arrested on a Luna County Magistrate court warrant for failure to appear.  Juan Carbaja, age 28 was arrested for receiving stolen property and on a 6th Judicial District Court warrant for contempt of court… and Gerardo Torres, age 41 was arrested for driving while license suspended or revoked ... Gordon Garland, age 37, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to appear... Anthony Banegas, age 22, of Las Cruces, was arrested on a Dona Ana County warrant for failure to pay fines... and a 17-year-old boy was detained for battery on a household member and false imprisonment. And in other news... a vehicle parked off East Florida
sustained 500-dollars in criminal damage after it was spray-painted.

(Deming) -- Here's the area crime report:
Juan Carbajal, age 28, was arrested for receiving stolen property and  on a District Court warrant for contempt of court... Gerardo Torres, age 41, was  arrested for driving while license was suspended or revoked... Gordon Garland,  age 37, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to appear... Anthony  Banegas, age 22, of Las Cruces, was arrested on a Dona Ana County
warrant for  failure to pay fines... and a 17-year-old boy was detained for battery on a  household member and false imprisonment. And in other news... a vehicle  parked off East Florida sustained 500-dollars in criminal damage after it was  spray-painted.

(Deming) -- The community "Class Act" after-graduation party will take place again this year at the Starmax entertainment center.
"Class Act" was first organized in the 1990s as a drug-free and alcohol-free party on graduation night as a way to help keep young  people safe. One of this year's organizers, Debby Seats, said the party will  run from 10 p-m Friday to 2 a-m Saturday.
Deming High School seniors are  allowed one guest -- age 20 or younger -- and tickets are 10-dollars and on sale  at the activities office. Tickets also will be sold at the door. Attendees  will be able to take part in a professional casino set-up as well as enjoy free  bowling, miniature golf, arcade games and two movies.
There will be food...  door prizes... and all proceeds raised through ticket sales will be returned as  cash prizes. Again... tickets are on sale at the D-H-S Activities Office.

(Deming) -- Just shy  of three-hundred Deming High School seniors will graduate Friday in commencement  ceremonies at Memorial Football Stadium. The class valedictorian is Matteo  D'Andrea. The student-selected commencement speaker is Roy Juarez, Junior --  an inspirational speaker who presented his story to Deming students three years  ago and who was invited back for  graduation.  Juarez was once a homeless  teenager who went on to graduate from  Hardin-Simmons University and is presently  on a 300-city tour to inspire youth to dream and understand the value of higher  education. This year's class flower is New Mexico's state flower -- the  yucca -- in honor of New Mexico's  statehood centennial this year. The class  motto is "Together we have experienced life; separately we will pursue our  dreams and forever our memories will remain." Commencement begins at 7:30 p-m  with the traditional senior walk around the track. Seating is first-come,  first-seated, with no reserved seating. Parking is available around the  campus, and Deming Police Department officers will be directing traffic. No  alcoholic beverages or weapons will be allowed into the football stadium. All  guests are subject to  search.  Congratulations to