(Deming) – There will be a community meeting this Wednesday evening to help officials update Luna County’s Comprehensive Plan.
 Organizers are asking for public participation to help make Luna County a better place to live.  The planning committee will present their ideas to the public, and accept input.   What areas do you feel Luna County should be paying attention to as we grow?  Atte
The meeting is set for 6 to 8 p-m this Wednesday at the Mimbres Valley Learning and Special Events Center, 2300 East Pine Street.  Refreshments will be
served.  For more information contact County Planning Director Gabriel Boyle at 543-6624.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Peg Perego recalled  hundreds of thousands of strollers Tuesday because children can become trapped  and strangled between trays on them. One death has already been reported.
A six-month-old boy from Tarzana, Calif. died of strangulation in a stroller
in 2004, while a seven-month-old girl from New York was nearly strangled in
2006, according  to Peg Perego USA Inc. The company said entrapment and
strangulation can take place, particularly among those younger than a year old,
when the child is not harnessed into the stroller. If unharnessed, children can
pass through the opening between the tray and the seat bottom and the child's
neck and head can become trapped by the tray.
Peg Perego is recalling approximately  223,000 strollers, which include Venezia
and Pliko-P3 strollers in various colors, made between January 2004 and
September 2007.
Only strollers with a child tray and one  cup holder are part of the recall. Strollers with a bumper bar in front of the  child or a tray with two cup holders are not included in this recall.
The company said the strollers were made  before a voluntary industry standard was implemented in January 2008 that addresses the height of the opening between the stroller's tray and the seat  bottom. The voluntary standard requires larger stroller openings that prevent
infant entrapment and strangulation hazards. The model numbers are:
The model numbers are:
Pliko-P3 Stroller Model Numbers Venezia
Stroller Model Numbers
IPFR28US34xxxxxxxx IPPF28NA32  IPVA13MU09
IPFT28NA63 IPPF28NA57 IPVA13MU10
IPFT28NA64 IPPF28NA65 IPVA13US09
IPP328MU10 IPPF28NA66 IPVA13US10
IPP328MU09 IPPF28NA67 IPVA13US32
IPP328US09 IPPF28NA68 IPVA13US34
IPP328US10 IPPO28US32 IPVC13NA32
IPP329US10 IPPO28US34 IPVC13NA34
IPPA28US32 IPPO28US62
IPPA28US33 IPPO28US69
IPPA28US34 IPPO28US70
IPPD28NA34 IPPO28US71
Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the strollers and contact Peg Perego for a free repair kit a 1-888-734-6020,
or on its web site, www.PegPeregoUSA.com.

(Deming) – The Deming Police  Department has been given an “F” when it comes to preventing racial profiling, but Chief Michael Carillo says the grade is unfair.     

Deming is listed among   the 78% of law enforcement agencies in the state that reportedly have not complied with regulations established by state  law to prevent racial profiling, according to a report released  Thursday.

The report, published by the  NAACP of New Mexico and  immigrant advocacy group Somos Un Pueblo Unido, revealed  that the majority of New Mexico’s departments are not complying with the basic  requirements established by the law approved in 2009.
 
Those requirements make police  departments update their rules, publish them and have them available to the  public.
Also, departments must keep forms  available so people can file complaints if they feel they’ve been the victims of  racial
discrimination.

But Carillo said not  only has the Deming Police Department had a policy against racial profiling for  some time… but that policy was recently updated with the department’s efforts to  become accredited by the New Mexico Municipal League.     
Carillo said he submitted information and forms on the departments’ process for dealing with complaints about officers in April to the two groups… and told the representative that the Deming department was in the process of revising its policy against racial profiling and he would submit that once completed.

Carillo submitted the  completed revised policy by fax on June 6th… and said the grade of  “F” is unfair.

(Deming) – A Deming man was arrested at  the Columbus port of entry Tuesday after being caught with nearly 300 pounds of  marijuana. 
     66-year-old old Benjamin Espino was turned over to U-S Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents to face federal charges in connection with the failed smuggling
attempt. 
     Columbus Port Director Robert Reza said Espino was driving a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup at just after 3:30 Tuesday morning.  
     Reza said the pickup was selected for secondary exam… and port officers noticed signs of tampering.  An x-ray of the truck showed anomalies in the appearance of the floor of the truck.  A narcotics canine also alerted to the floor… and  that’s where officers found 276 marijuana-filled bundles weighing  295-pounds.  
     Reza said Espino is a legal permanent resident from Mexico who lives in Deming.  
     Although the primary mission of U-S Customs and Border Protection officers is anti-terrorism… their mission also
includes carrying out traditional border-related responsibilities, including  narcotics interdiction.
 
     Reza said they  screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while  facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel into and out of the  U-S.

     Officials at the Luna County Detention Center said a photo of Espino was not available due to him being charged with a Federal Crime. 

(Deming) - The trial for a Deming family  accused of selling weapons to Mexican cartels is underway in Las  Cruces.
 
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports testimony began Wednesday  in the trial of New Deal Shooting Sports owner Rick Reese, his wife, Terri, and  their sons Ryin and Remington.
 
The four are accused of selling 34 weapons and ammunition to undercover agents and a Mexican cartel member-turned-government informant from 2010 to July of 2011.
 
Authorities contend the Reese's fudged firearms purchasing forms during the transactions and laundered the  proceeds.
 
Defense attorneys have argued that the  four followed the law, reporting sales of multiple firearms to federal authorities.
 
The Reese's have pleaded "not guilty" in the case… and their defense attorneys have argued publicly that political fallout from
Operation Fast and Furious prompted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to accuse the Reese family of allegedly selling guns to individuals posing as straw purchasers.
 
The trial in U-S District Court is expected to last from two to three weeks.

(Deming) - Luna County ranks in the top 10 hungriest counties in the United States.     

Nancy Barnes-Smith with Roadrunner Food Bank in southern New Mexico said Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization, reported Luna County has the 10th-highest hunger rate among Hispanics across all U-S
counties.  

The national food insecurity study also ranked Luna as the county with the highest percentage of hunger in New Mexico at 27-point-one percent… followed by McKinley at 23-point-four percent and San Juan at 19-point-nine percent.
 
McKinley County has the 6th-highest hunger rate in the nation among American Indians.
 
 Statistics used by Feeding America for their second annual "Map the Meal Gap" national study reportedly were collected
by the U-S Department of Agriculture, the U-S Census Bureau, the U-S Bureau of Labor Statistics and The Nielsen Company.
 
 Luna County is served from Roadrunner Food Bank's Las Cruces branch which opened in January of 2011.  There are two distribution sites: Helping Hand in the Deming Industrial Park and the Andrew Sanchez Youth Center in Columbus.
 
Barnes-Smith said both sites are doing the best they can… but she said the need is greater than they can meet.
 
 She said Roadrunner Food Bank is working to enlist community support and establish more food distribution locations.  Those locations can be set up to serve on an emergency basis or for regular distribution… and can include sponsoring a Mobile Food Pantry
providing up to 50 pounds of food a month to families in need.
 
Barnes-Smith can be reached at her Las Cruces office at  575-680-1900.         .

(Deming) – The Deming School  Board will meet in regular session this Thursday – a week later than the board’s  usual meeting date.
 
Included on the agenda are a number of issues pertaining to the beginning of the school year, including textbook adoption… the 2012-2013 Elementary Parent/Student Handbook… a  resolution for participation in the Local Government Road Fund Program  administered by the state Department of Transportation… state School Boards  Association membership dues… a revised board meeting schedule and legal notice…  and several memorandums of understanding with Deming Cesar Chavez Charter High  School.

The board also will  hear the first reading of this school years’ student and staff handbooks for Cesar Chavez Charter High School.
The meeting is set to begin at 5 p-m in the board room of the Emmett Shockley Administration Building,  400 Cody Road.  The meeting is open  to the public.

A closed session to  discuss the former Columbus School building and other properties… a tort and an  unemployment claim… and the assignment or resignation of an employee will  precede Thursday’s open meeting at 4 p-m.

(Deming) – Here’s the area crime  report: 
      Josephine Lucero, age  31, of Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested for trafficking in methamphetamine and  was served an extraditable Texas warrant… Thomas Hooten, age 37, was arrested  for larceny and on an Adult Probation and Parole Office warrant for a probation  violation… 
      Anthony Kienitz, age  29, was arrested on an Adult Probation and Parole Office warrant for a probation violation… Hortencia Briones, age 52, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for  failure to appear… Jesus Ornelas, age 23, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant 
for failure to appear… Charlene Jenkins, age 35, of Franklin, Tennessee, who was 
 already incarcerated, was served a Municipal warrant for failure to appear… and 
 Osbaldo Montes, age 20, who was already incarcerated, was served a Municipal warrant for failure to appear.   Also… thieves took over  $550 worth of electrical wiring from the former Sunshine Elementary  School off the Columbus Highway… and thieves also cut wiring at the B-M-X Park 
off Poplar.
      In other news… a  15-year-old boy with a broken nose reported being jumped by four men while  walking along Fourth Street… a small black bull from Mexico was killed after  being struck by a car off Highway Nine near mile marker 64… and an iPod valued 
at 200-dollars was taken during an event at Courthouse Park.

 (Deming) – A Texas man has been  hired as the new principal for Ruben Torres Elementary. 
   Deming Public School  Personnel Director Nancy Patterson said Mark Edens brings 16 years of  administrative experience in Texas – 12 of those as an elementary 
principal.
   Patterson said four times his campuses were rated “exemplary” in four different districts… and eight times his campuses were rated “recognized” for academic excellence.
Edens also taught Ag Science  classes in Texas for 15 years.
He said all students must receive  quality and rigorous instruction  integrated with a quality curriculum and technology.
Edens is moving to Deming from  Grand Prairie, Texas.  He holds a  master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s in Ag Education – both from Texas  Tech University. 

Edens was hired to replace Vicki  Chavez, who accepted a position as executive director of the Regional  Educational Cooperative Center  located in T-or-C.   In her new position, Chavez will  work with schools in  Deming, Hatch, Cobre, Animas, Lordsburg, Reserve and  T-or-C.