From the Pecos Valley Newsroom

A Carlsbad company has been awarded a 2-million dollar contract to complete road work projects. The Eddy County Commissioners awarded the funding to Constructor’s Incorporated. 1-million dollars will go toward rehabilitation of the Old Cavern Highway, while 1.3 million dollars will go toward improving Black River Village Road. The Old Cavern Highway project is expected to start in March, proividing new paving for about eight miles of the road.

The gates to Jaycee Park are now open. The hours the park will be open are 5:00 am to 10:00 pm. This will allow for limited 4 to 1 practice by the League Associations who have submitted their paperwork to the Recreation Department and received approval. The public will also have access to the park for walking and other activities that stay within the current Health Orders. The City asks that COVID safe practices be used while utilizing City facilities and parks.

The Roswell city council having some trouble deciding on how it hears agenda items. At the last city council meeting, which lasted more than six hours, the council bickered simply over the items that would be listed on the council agenda. Ward 1 Councilor Juan Oropesa said the council as a whole doesn’t seem to consider the opinions and recommendations of its committees, so he said he doesn’t see why the city should even have a committee system. But Ward 3 Councilor Jeanine Best Corn claimed that Oropesa has refused to attend committee meetings in the past, where items are discussed at great length. No decision made yet on whether the city will keep it’s current committee structure.

As a rmeinder in Roswell, City administration offices and certain other city facilities will be closed Monday, Jan. 18, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Some city services will have an adjusted schedule for that Monday or that week. In addition to city offices, the Roswell Recreation and Aquatic Center, Roswell Adult Center and Roswell Visitor Center will be closed on the holiday. The Roswell Public Library and
Roswell Museum and Art Center are closed every Monday. Spring River Zoo is reopening on a limited schedule beginning Jan. 16 after being closed for many months, but will remain closed on Mondays.

The Eddy County Commissioners have approved transferring as much as 15 million dollars earmarked for road projects to fix damage caused by flooding almost ten years ago. Director of Finance Roberta Smith told the commissioners there are still 17 projects that need to be complated. The work will be ocmpleted by three contractors… Constructor’s Inc… J&H Services… and B&R Trucking. All 17 projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

The CHaves County SHeriff’s Office says it’s made two arrests in cases where mail was stolen from local mailboxes. A man and woman were arrested in the case, You can see their pictures posted on the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. Although the department did not name the pair, the sheriff says the man had an outstanding warrant out of Rosell Municipal Court for failure to appear.

The Roswell Fire Department has a new deputy fire chief and a new fire marshal, with both top-level positions recently filled by promotions of a pair of department veterans. Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Fuller has been with RFD since 2012, beginning as a firefighter before being promoted to driver in 2013. He became a lieutenant in 2016 and was promoted to be the department’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Division chief in 2019. His selection as deputy fire chief comes following the retirement of Jason Sweatfield from that second-in-command position. And Fire Marshal Jared Olive has worked for RFD for a little more than 10 years.

Construction on Kircher St is scheduled to begin on Monday January 11th. A statement from the city of Carlsbad says Kircher St will be closed from the intersection of National Parks (US 62/180) West to the intersection of San Jose Blvd. Residents and Businesses will have access to their properties at all times during the road closure. Construction signing will be in place to detour traffic around the construction area. The project consists of Street reconstruction including removals, sub-grade prep, base course, hot-mix asphalt paving, concrete curb & gutter, sidewalks/fillets, drainage culverts, and other roadway related appurtenances and work items for completion of the project. Construction work is scheduled to be completed by July 2021.

Roswell’s Spring River Zoo will welcome back visitors this month with a grand
reopening featuring several new animals, a “pop-up” gift shop where newly designed zoo merchandise can be purchased, a scavenger hunt, a food truck and a chance to win a valuable zoo-related prize pack. The “Passport to Adventure” reopening is planned for Saturday, Jan. 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The reopening will bring to an end the 10-month closure of the zoo following the COVID-19 outbreak. Admission is free, but visitors must sign up to attend so zoo personnel can regulate the number of visitors at the zoo throughout the day.

The Artesia Public Schools Board of Education will meet in a Regular Board Meeting on Monday, January 11, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. in the Lowell M. Irby Board room at the Administration Building located at 301 Bulldog Boulevard. A copy of the agenda for this meeting will be available 24 hours prior to the meeting at the Artesia Public Schools Administration Office www.bulldogs.org. In-Person Attendees Are Asked to Wear Face Coverings & Social Distance, and the meeting may also be joined via Zoom. Zoom link will be included on the agenda.