VIRGINIA CUNNINGHAM/NEWS-SUN “It’s time to enjoy some retirement,” said Elio Barrios, a man who has served Lea County for more than 30 years in the field of ministry. “It has been a privilege to serve this community. I have met so many wonderful families in the years I have been here. I am saddened to be leaving the area but …

Curtis Wynne/News-Sun LOVINGTON — At the urging of Lea County Commissioner Rebecca Long, the school zone at College Lane Elementary may soon become safer and less congested. “It’s so dangerous,” Long said at last week’s county commission meeting. She described the scene along College Lane in front of the school at the beginning and end of each school day. “People …

Blake Ovard/News-Sun LOVINGTON — Murals can help build community by turning brick and block walls into colorful community art spaces available to everyone, and Lovington MainStreet is on a mission to make more of them happen. Mural No. 10 was recently completed as part of the LMS mission by Taylor Elyse Arnold. “We really love how well it meshes with …

Curtis Wynne/News-Sun LOVINGTON — Add-on contributions to the 2022 junior livestock sale set an apparent record comfortably near the oft-repeated goal of $1 million. With the Sale of Champions at the 86th annual Lea County Fair and PRCA Rodeo bringing in a total of $755,000 during the auction on Aug. 6, add-ons of $115,355.66 brought the total to $870,355.66. That’s …

For the News-Sun ALBUQUERQUE – The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government has chosen five New Mexicans, including one from Hobbs, as the recipients of its 2022 William S. Dixon First Amendment Freedom Awards. The awards are annually presented to those New Mexicans who believe in government transparency at the state or local level – and who have made significant …

For the News-Sun The JF Maddox Foundation has announced TJ Parks, former superintendent of the Hobbs Municipal Schools, will become the foundation’s interim CEO. The foundation’s current CEO, Ray Caraway, announced his retirement in July. Parks will begin his new role on Sept.1, 2022, prior to the departure of Caraway later in the month. TJ s exemplary career in public …

Gabrielle Arsiage/News-Sun LOVINGTON — On Monday Bishop Henderson III was found not guilty in the triple murder trial that began 19 days ago. In 2019, Henderson was arrested and charged in the shooting deaths Kalil Carter, 18, of Hobbs, Kristal Avena, 24, of Hobbs, and Lamar Lee-Kane Jr., 22, of Washington, D.C., and the injuring of four others at a …

Keith Manes/Lea County Clerk I have more than 20 years experience conducting elections, and I believe New Mexico has always been a model for other states in the conduct of elections. The New Mexico Clerks’ Affiliate, made up of all 33 county clerks in New Mexico, with a combined experience of many years, actively promotes the enactment of laws that …

Andy Brosig/News-Sun Student numbers in the Hobbs Municipal Schools are headed in a positive direction with day-one enrollment topping 10,000 students for the first time in three years, administrators said. Gene Strickland, HMS superintendent, told the Board of Education that enrollment is indicating a potential return to pre-pandemic numbers during its regular meeting on Tuesday. HMS, for example, started the …

Virginia Cunningham/News-Sun Late Sunday night a Carlsbad man allegedly stole a pickup truck, crashed that truck through the security gates at Lea County Regional Airport and tried to steal an airplane — but only managed to break into a hanger and take off on a baggage tractor. On Sunday, Hobbs police and Lea County Sheriff deputies were led on a …