Blog Archives

Jury Service Packets Have Been Emailed

6/23/2015

(Deming) – The Luna County District Court's new jury term begins July 1st.

     Jury service packets were emailed to jurors Monday.

     Jurors who returned questionnaires by last week’s deadline but who did not provide the court with an email address should pick up their packet this week.

     If you have any questions, please contact the District Court Clerk's Office at 546-9611.

Teen Dating Violence Coalition Group to Meet

6/23/2015

(Deming) – A teen dating awareness group says about one high school student in 10 in Luna County reports being hit or physically hurt by their dating partner.

     To address the teen dating violence issue, a coalition group has being formed in Luna County and they are inviting the public to be part of the solution.

     The second meeting of the group will be this Wednesday, June 24th, from 1-3 p.m. at the Deming Public Schools’ Emmett Shockley Administration Building, 400 Cody Road.

     Organizers say they are looking for community members from a variety of organizations to participate.

     Anyone interested in more information should contact Crystal Pena at 545-3346 or Liz Ballinas at 494-6836.

Luna County Commission Special Meeting Wednesday

6/23/2015

(Deming) – The Luna County commissioners will meet in special session Wednesday evening.

     Included on the agenda is the New Mexico Central Arizona Project Entity Joint Powers Agreement… a DWI Juvenile Adjudication Fund Grant Agreement… an amended Indigent Policy or Presbyterian Medical Services Agreement… and a proclamation declaring extreme drought conditions in Luna County.

     The meeting is set to begin Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., immediately following a community forum hosted by the commissioners on the New Mexico Central Arizona Project Entity Joint Powers Agreement issue.

     The forum is scheduled from 6-7:30 p.m.

     Again, the county commissioners will meet in special session Wednesday, June 24th, at 7:30 p.m. in the commission chambers, located on the third floor of the Luna County Courthouse.

     The meeting will be open to the public.

City, County Seeing Input on NM CAP

6/23/2015

(Deming) – The Luna County commissioners and the Deming city councilors are seeking feedback from the public before considering joining the New Mexico Central Arizona Project Entity established by the Interstate Stream Commission to oversee funds and water distributed by the Arizona Water Settlements Act.

     The county commissioners are holding a community forum to discuss the CAP Entity this Wednesday, June 24th, from 6-7:30 p.m. in the commission chambers of the Luna County Courthouse.

     A special commission meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m., immediately following the forum, for commissioners to consider a joint powers agreement to enter into the CAP Entity.

     The Deming city councilors are accepting written comments for consideration prior to their vote on joining the New Mexico CAP Entity.

     Comments may be mailed to P.O. Box 706, Deming, 88031, or hand-delivered to the John Strand Municipal Building on South Gold.

     The councilors will meet in special session Thursday, July 2nd, to consider joining, but public comments will not be accepted at the meeting.

     For more information about the CAP Entity, or other documents related to the settlements act, visit http://nmawsa.org/ongoing-work.

Local Crime Report for Monday June 22nd, 2015

6/22/2015

(Deming) – Here’s the area crime report:

     Samuel Castillo-Hernandez, age 31, was arrested for battery on a household member and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer… Sheila McFarland, age 44, was arrested for battery… Jonathan Ferraro, age 24, was arrested for concealing identity and interference with officers.

     Efren Ochoa, age 22, of Phoenix, Arizona, was arrested on an Arizona warrant for theft, trafficking and possession… Jason Zamora, age 31, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for failure to pay fines… Lisa Munoz, age 35, was arrested on a Municipal warrant for failure to pay fines.

     Eduardo Grogen, age 30, was cited for shoplifting at Walmart… Debra Little, age 50, was cited for shoplifting at Walmart… Brandy Hammonds, age 30, was cited for trespassing at a business… Allen Ballinas, age 23, was cited for having an open container… and an 11-year-old boy was cited for causing criminal damage to property.

     In other news… a 29-year-old Deming man reportedly was putting a 38-special revolver away when it accidently discharged, striking his 19-year-old girlfriend in the leg. The shooting occurred in the 500 block of West First Street at about 11 p.m. Saturday. The woman was treated at the local hospital and released. The case is under review by the District Attorney’s office.

     Also… over $200 in criminal damage occurred to the back window of a vehicle parked off Quail Run… and over $100 in clothing was embezzled from a local business by an employee.

Luna County 4-H Members Shine at District

6/22/2015

(Deming) – Luna County 4-H members had a strong showing at this year’s district contests held in Silver City last week.

     Luna County won the Novice and Junior Entomology competitions, Junior Agronomy Judging, Junior Wildlife Judging, Junior Individual Range Judging, Novice Individual Rifle, Novice Prepared Public Speaking and Novice Mix-and-Match I sewing contests.

     Ivan Schultz won the Novice Prepared Public Speaking contest, and Calleigh Sweetser won the Novice Mix-and-Match I sewing contest.

     In Novice Entomology, Melody Ruebush was the high-point individual, Truman Williams - second-high, Carter Williams – third-high, Calleigh Sweetser – fourth-high and Ivan Schultz – fifth-high. Dillon Gors also was on the winning team.

     In Junior Entomology, Poppy Schultz was the high-point, Truett Shafer - second-high and Kamryn Zachek - fourth-high.

     In Junior Agronomy Judging, Poppy Schultz was the high-point individual and Truett Shafer was second-high. Marc Dominguez also was on the winning team.

     In Junior Wildlife, Truett Shafer was the high-point individual, Kamryn Zachek - third-high, Sylas Turner – fourth-high and Ciera Wood – fifth-high.

     Samuel Turner was the high-point individual in Junior Range Judging, and Sylas Turner was second-high.

     Brent Hays was the high-point individual in Novice Rifle, and he and teammates Melody Ruebush and Calleigh Sweetser placed third in the Novice Rifle team competition.

     The Junior Rifle team of Kaylyn Gallagher, Truett Shafer, Samuel Turner and Sylas Turner placed fifth.

     Jose Jimenez placed second-high individually in Archery – Open Style, and Ciera Wood was fifth-high. Those two, and teammate Kaylyn Gallagher, finished second in the Archery team competition.

     4-H is a youth organization open to participants from ages 5-19. Novice competitors are 9-11, while junior competitors are 12-13.

     District contests include 4-H members from seven counties: Luna as well as Catron, Dona Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, Sierra and Socorro.

Deming Meter Reading Inaccuracies Continue

6/22/2015

Deming – The city of Deming’s utility billing department continues to experience electronic meter reading inaccuracies caused by the meter replacement project and associated software upgrades.

     Reportedly, representatives from File Construction, the meter replacement contractor, and from Neptune Technology Group are working diligently to determine why the billing problems exist and how to fix them.

     In the meantime, officials said the June bills will be mailed later than usual.

     Officials first became aware of inaccurate readings on utility bills last month, when they discovered that errors ranged from zero consumption readings to excessively large water usage readings.

     Reportedly, some residents received May water bills totaling thousands of dollars, while others received bills with a zero balance.

     Anyone with questions or concerns should contact city officials at 546-8848.

Local Crime Report for Friday June 19th, 2015

6/19/2015

(Deming) – Here’s the area crime report:

Luz Aguilar, age 45, was charged with six counts of forgery and one count of conspiracy… Federico Martincigh, age 23, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and on a Magistrate warrant for failure to appear… Miguel Cuevas, age 34, was arrested on a District Court warrant for failure to pay child support… Delia Vaughn, age 37, was arrested on a Magistrate warrant for two counts of shoplifting at Kmart… Valerie Lucero, age 19, was cited for minor allowing self to be served alcohol… and a 16-year-old boy was cited for causing criminal damage to the property of a household member.

Also… a mobile home in the 14000 block of Perrin Road was destroyed by a fire Thursday night, possibly started by faulty electrical wiring… an extensive amount of copper and power tools were taken from a business in the Deming Industrial Park… $500 in criminal damage occurred to a vehicle parked off San Miguel after a door was dented… nearly $400 worth of copper was taken from a construction site off Monte Vista Road… and $250 worth of consumables were taken from a residence off East Locust.

Luna County Unemployment Drops to 18%

6/19/2015

(Deming) – Luna County's May unemployment rate dropped to 18%.

     Preliminary figures from the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions show Luna County with a May unemployment rate of 18%, down from the April revised rate of 19.9%, and down from the May 2014 rate of 20.1%.

     Luna remained the only county in the state with double-digit unemployment in May.

   Other counties with high unemployment rates in New Mexico in May were Sierra and Taos – both at 9.3%, Mora at 9% and McKinley at 8.9%.

     In our area, Grant County had 5.7% unemployment in May, Hidalgo County had 6.1% and the Las Cruces area had 7%.

   The county with the least unemployment remained Los Alamos with 3.8%.

     Unemployment statewide was 6.2% in May – unchanged from April.

   The New Mexico labor force estimates show Luna County with a labor force of 10,382 – with 8,509 employed and 1,873 unemployed.

Two Local Students to Compete in National Junior High Finals Rodeo

6/19/2015

Photo Submitted: Junior high and high school rodeo held in Deming.

(Deming) – Two Deming students will be competing June 21st-27th in the 11th Annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo in Des Moines, Iowa.

     Cash Hooper, an incoming 7th grader at Red Mountain Middle School, and Allen Orozco, an incoming 9th grader at Deming High School, both earned the right to compete at nationals in team roping.

     Hooper also will be competing in goat tying.

     It is the first time Deming students have qualified for the National Junior High Finals Rodeo, which began in 2004.

     To quality, Hooper and Orozco finished second in the state in team roping, and Hooper finished second in the state in goat tying. Contestants placing up to fourth-place qualify to advance to the national finals.

     Hooper and Orozco competed in eight rodeos across New Mexico during the season, and then placed at the state finals in Lovington in May.

     The Deming youth are representing New Mexico at the world’s largest junior high rodeo, where roughly 1,000 contestants from 42 states, five Canadian provinces and Australia will be competing for more than $75,000 in prizes and more than $100,000 in college scholarships.

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