From the Pecos Valley Newsroom

Eddy County health officials are demanding an explanation as to why the state is reporting a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Eddy County. Last Wednesday, the state health department said the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Eddy County was 100, but county health officials are perplexed, saying there have been very small numbers of infections in the past few weeks. Turns out, a data dump recorded previously unreprted cases over the past ten months, all of which were posted on Wednesday. Only seven of the 100 repported new cases actually are new in the last two weeks.

Some sad news regarding COVID-19 locally. The state health department released new statistics Tuesday, showing that 116 people had now died due to compolications of coronaviurs in Eddy COunty. The two latest victims were both elderly females, DOH said in a prepared statement. Three additional deaths were reported over the weekend, for a total of five new deaths since the last report a week ago. DPH says almost 71 percent of all fatalities in Eddy County are attributed to people 65 and older, many who had underlying health conditions. Chaves County has recorded 144 deaths total due to COVID-19.

The Artesia Public Library is now open for reservations from 10am to 4pm Tuesday through Friday, starting today. You can reserve a two-hour spot on the computer for yourself and an assistant or a 30-minute spot for yourself and up to 3 others to come in and find items to check out. Because of COVID – masks are required and there’s a notice to sign about the conditions to come in. Give us a call to reserve your time or if you have questions at 575-746-4252.

A local man was criminally charged Monday morning in connection with him accidentally shooting his sister Sunday night, killing the 35-year-old woman as the two were sitting at a dining room table in her house. The shooting occurred shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday inside the residence in the 30 block of B Street in the south Roswell area known as “the base.” Crystal Smith suffered a gunshot wound to her neck and was determined by responding medics to be deceased at the scene. Poclie say Jack Salcido did call 911 immediately, but that he had been drinking and was intoxicated when he fired the gun. SAMith’s four children were in the house at the time of the shooting.

Roswell Police Department investigators are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man who broke into several vehicles and businesses Monday evening. The suspect also started a fire inside one of the businesses. You can see the pictures of the man on the Roswell Police Facebook page. Anyone with potential information is urged to call 575-624-6770 or Chaves COunty Crime Stoppers at 888-594-TIPS (8477)

A Roswell man was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the shooting death of another local man earlier this month. Jeffrey Contreras, 25, was arrested last Monday on an unrelated probation violation and the Roswell Police Department filed charges the next day in the murder of 57-year-old Anthony Vasquez. Vasquez was shot the morning of Feb. 5 as he slept inside an RV trailer where he lived in the 600 block of South Missouri Avenue in Roswell.

Significant improvements in generation resources in the Southwest Power Pool footprint have led the SPP, Xcel Energy and other regional utilities to downgrade the energy emergency status. But Xcel Energy cautions that regional power plants are still experiencing natural gas curtailments, and customers are still encouraged to continue conserving power as the system recovers into the weekend. At the present time Xcel Energy does not anticipate any more controlled outages. Even so, electricity demand is high with low temperatures and not all resources are able to run due to natural gas scarcity.

Eddy County public works will begin work on (CR206) Illinois Camp Road on Monday, with completion anticipated for the end of May. Illinois Camp traffic will be limited to single lane during the duration of construction. Construction will consist of sub-grade reclamation preparation and placement of a double penetration chipseal. Motorist should seek alternate routes of travel during construction to avoid delays.

The Artesia Public Library has been selected as one of 20 U.S. libraries to participate in Community Connect: Digital Access at Home, an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) and Capital One that offers cash grants to help rural libraries offer internet access and financial education for their patrons. Community Connect began at Artesia Public Library on February 8th. Five Verizon Jetpacks became available for check-out on that date. They are available to borrow for one week with a one-week renewal barring any reservations.

Roswell Police issuing a public statement regarding the arrest of a man that involved a SWAT Team. The incident Monday afternoon after US Marshalls got wind that a wanted fugitive named Jeffrey Contreras was hiding out in a motel room. As police sat away from the room and watched, they saw Contreras exit with a woman, getting into a vehicle. As officers approached, the woman put the car in reverse and rammed a Roswell Police car. Contreras was pulled out through the open passenger door and placed into custody.