 Students at RMMS showing flag (Deming) – There is still time to vote in the school spirit contest sponsored by an Albuquerque television station in which a photo of Red Mountain Middle School students celebrating Veterans’ Day is a finalist.
The photo, showing students in the RMMS gymnasium holding red, white and blue papers to create the United States flag, was selected as one of the top 25 photos in New Mexico for the KOAT.com statewide school spirit contest.
KOAT-TV Creative Services Director Doug Donahoo said supporters can log onto KOAT.com through Friday of this week to view the finalist photos and vote on their favorite.
You must be a fan of the KOAT Facebook page to vote, and you may vote once per day.
Donahoo said there is a link bar at the top of the KOAT.com homepage that says “School Spirit,” and a click on that link will take you to the contest page.
Again, voting is open through this Friday, May 17th. Log onto KOAT.com, click on the “School Spirit” bar at the top of the homepage to see the 25 selected photos – including the one of Deming students at Red Mountain Middle School – and become a fan of the KOAT Facebook page to vote.
 Deming Police Chief Brandon Gigante (Deming) – The Deming Police Department and Deming Public Schools have been working together on violence preparedness.
Deming Police Chief Brandon Gigante said Lt. Det. Matt Rudiger and Sgt. Cody Ayon have spent the past several months meeting with personnel at every school site in the city to train teachers, staff and administrators on what to do in the case of a violent act at their school site.
Gigante said the process, initiated after the school shootings in Newtown, CT, this past December, has allowed dialogue between the schools and the police department.
He said the local schools have solid emergency plans in place and have acquired good security equipment in recent years. He added that the regular drills have been effective in training students on responding to emergencies as well.
Rudiger said he and Ayon have passed on to school officials the training they have received through state, regional and national resources, as well as their years of experience.
The training has included information on roles in mitigating a violent situation, how to respond to an incident before law enforcement officers arrive and what to expect once officers arrive.
Gigante said they have coordinated with Deming Public Schools’ safety head Benny Jasso, and that the response from the schools has been very positive.
He added that the department’s goal is to assist in training every staff member in every school, including administrators, teachers, clerical staff, librarians, nurses, social workers, maintenance workers and classroom volunteers.
Deming has not been immune to acts of violence. Reportedly, regional law enforcement training specialists refer to the Deming Middle School shooting in November of 1999 as an example that school violence can occur anywhere. The community also experienced a retail shooting at Wal-Mart in December of 2005.
 (Deming) – Here’s the area crime report:
Veronica Granillo, age 37, was arrested for aggravated DUI and abandonment or abuse of a child… David Medrano, age 22, was arrested for battery and cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana… Natalia Baeza, age 32, of Columbus, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines… Jimmy Russell, age 40, was charged with shoplifting at Wal-Mart… and two girls – one age 14 and one age 15 – were cited for public affray.
Also… a grill and mirror valued at $500 were taken from a vehicle parked off Emerson; $200 in criminal damage to the vehicle occurred during the theft… and a 50-year-old Deming man reported ordering a metal detector valued at nearly $300 from eBay and paying through PayPal but never receiving it.
 (Deming) – The Deming School Board will meet in three sessions Thursday.
According to the legal notices, the first meeting will be at 2 p.m. when the board meets in a special work session for an update on district construction projects. No action will be taken.
Again, that special work session is set to begin at 2 p.m. Thursday in the board room of the Emmett Shockley Administration Building. The meeting is open to the public.
Then the board will meet in executive – or closed session – at 4 p.m. Thursday to discuss limited personnel, pending litigation and the acquisition or disposal of real property.
And the regular monthly meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday in the board room of the Emmett Shockley Administration Building, 400 Cody Road. The regular monthly meeting is open to the public.
 (Deming) – PNM officials are warning Luna County customers about a phone scam in which a caller claims to be from PNM and threatens customers with disconnection or meter removal because their account is past-due.
Reportedly, both residential and business customers have been targeted.
A PNM customer email said residents are being told to purchase a prepaid gift card through PayPal or at a retailer, and to call back with the card number, which the scammer then redeems. Officials say they have reports that scammers may even be able to manipulate the number that appears on the caller ID to fool the customer.
PNM officials said they do occasionally make live, outgoing calls to customers to collect a past-due payment, but never ask for a prepaid gift card or PayPal money card.
Residents are advised never to provide PNM account information to someone who has contacted them since a legitimate PNM customer service representative will have their PNM account information available.
And customers should call PNM at 1-888-DIAL-PNM or 1-888-342-5766 if they suspect they have been targeted by a phone scammer.
 (Deming) – Here’s the area crime report:
Ronald Milo, age 36, was arrested for driving while license was suspended or revoked… Alfredo Flores, age 32, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to appear… Rodney Owens, age 36, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines… John Gatlin, age 34, of Las Cruces, was arrested on a Dona Ana County warrant for failure to appear… and Ashley Legarda, age 18, was cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
Also… criminal damage estimated at $200 occurred at Bell Elementary after windows on two exterior doors were damaged.
 (Deming) – A photo of Red Mountain Middle School students celebrating Veterans’ Day is a finalist in a school spirit contest sponsored by an Albuquerque television station.
The photo, showing students in the RMMS gymnasium holding red, white and blue papers to create the United States flag, was selected as one of the top 25 photos in New Mexico for the KOAT.com statewide school spirit contest.
KOAT-TV Creative Services Director Doug Donahoo said supporters can log onto KOAT.com through Friday of this week to view the finalist photos and vote on their favorite.
You must be a fan of the KOAT Facebook page to vote, and you may vote once per day.
Donahoo said there is a link bar at the top of the KOAT.com homepage that says “School Spirit,” and a click on that link will take you to the contest page.
Again, voting is open through this Friday, May 17th. Log onto KOAT.com, click on the “School Spirit” bar at the top of the homepage to see the 25 selected photos – including the one of Deming students at Red Mountain Middle School – and become a fan of the KOAT Facebook page to vote.
 (Deming) – It looks like two individuals will displace the Deming-Luna County Chamber of Commerce as operators of the visitor center.
The Deming city councilors voted Monday night to follow the city staff’s recommendation of awarding the visitor center operation services to current chamber office manager Julie Mendez and former Deming Arts Center director Kathryn Hodson.
Deming City Administrator Rick McInturff said the councilors authorized the staff to begin negotiations with Mendez and Hodson as recommended by the city review committee. That committee consisted of four city employees and was chaired by Assistant City Administrator Aaron Sera.
McInturff said the negotiations will involve use of space at the tourist center, located at 800 E. Pine, as well as budget and compensation issues.
He added that if an agreement cannot be reached with Mendez and Hodson, the councilors approved entering into negotiations with Deming MainStreet to operate the visitor’s center. Deming MainStreet’s proposal was ranked second by the committee.
The proposal by the current operators, the Deming-Luna County Chamber of Commerce, was ranked third.
McInturff stressed that procurement is not a political process, and the contract would be a one-year term beginning July 1st with three one-year extensions – which makes it essentially a four-year contract.
The chamber was awarded the operation contract four years ago following a similar process.
 (Deming) – Here’s the area crime report:
Neira Cazares, age 19, was arrested for aggravated DUI, abandonment or abuse of a child and minor allowing self to be served alcohol… Aaron Sarabia, age 25, of Lordsburg, was arrested for aggravated DUI and on an improper lane driving violation… Raymond Trujillo, age 31, was arrested for aggravated DUI…
Ariana Avila, age 21, was arrested for possession of marijuana and six counts of possession of drug paraphernalia… Gloria Orozco, age 30, was arrested on two counts of battery on a peace officer, assault and resisting or evading officers… Sarah Kucera, age 42, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for battery…
Jonathan Gonzales, age 20, was arrested for unlawful use of a license and was charged with minor allowing self to be served alcohol and having an open container… Johnathan Ferraro, age 22, was arrested for unlawful use of a license… Jose Jaramillo, age 26, was arrested for concealing identity and interference with officers…
Arturo Gutierrez, age 41, was arrested on a District Court warrant for failure to appear and on a Municipal warrant for failure to pay fines… Valerie Grajeda, age 18, was arrested on a District Court warrant for a probation violation… Terrance Hicks, age 18, was arrested on a District Court warrant for a probation violation… Gustavo Perez, age 19, of Las Cruces, was arrested on a Dona Ana County District Court warrant for failure to appear…
Noe Acosta, age 29, of Columbus, was arrested on two Magistrate warrants for failure to pay fines… Jose Jimenez, age 32, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines… Teresa Pacheco, age 43, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to appear… George Irwin, age 50, was arrested on a Dona Ana County warrant for failure to pay fines… Lorenzo Grondin, age 22, of Columbus, was arrested on a Columbus Municipal warrant for failure to appear… and Javier Perez, age 22, was cited for having an open container.
In juvenile news… a 13-year-old boy was charged with criminal sexual contact of a minor.
And in other news… 16-foot metal gates and metal panels valued at $2,500 were taken from a location off Spearhead Road… a vehicle parked off East Florida was scratched… an mp3 player valued at $200 was taken from a location off East Maple… a bicycle valued at nearly $200 was taken from off Eighth Street… and a dog repellent valued at $100 was taken from a residence off East Plum.
 (Deming) – The Deming School Board will meet in special session Tuesday.
According to the legal notice, the purpose of the meeting is for public input on the 2013-2014 budget.
No official action will be taken.
The special session is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the board room of the Emmett Shockley Administration Building, 400 Cody Road.
The meeting is open to the public.
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