LOVINGTON — In a bid for local control of pandemic restrictions, Lea County Commissioners unanimously supported the authority of elected school boards Thursday. Recent New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) mandates threaten punitive actions for local officials’ failure to comply with state rules, such as those involving masking, vaccinating, social distancing and closures due to COVID-19 cases. Commissioner Gary Eidson, …

LOVINGTON — In a bid for local control of pandemic restrictions, Lea County Commissioners unanimously supported the authority of elected school boards Thursday. Recent New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) mandates threaten punitive actions for local officials’ failure to comply with state rules, such as those involving masking, vaccinating, social distancing and closures due to COVID-19 cases. Commissioner Gary Eidson, …

Valerie Scott was entering her third year teaching American Sign Language at Hobbs High School earlier this month when she got some good news. The first-year faculty sponsor of the HHS Student Council was told homecoming was a go for this year. And she was in charge. “I got handed it I guess the first two days of school,” Scott …

The population in Hobbs has narrowly crossed a line. That line is a magic population line of 50,000 people, and preliminary data released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows growth in Hobbs of about 19.5 percent over the last decade. The Hobbs Census County Division (CCD) reportedly comes in at 51,736 for the 2020 Census, compared to 43,305 in 2010, …

Editor’s note: News-Sun editor Todd Bailey was diagnosed with an “aggressive Sarcoma” in his lower left leg in 2020. After chemotherapy and radiation treatments, it was determined having the leg amputated two inches above the knee on Oct. 12 was the best course of action. Hate is such a strong word. But I don’t know of another word to use …

Drive-thru coffee, drive-thru meals, drive-thru banking and, now, Hobbs can boast a drive-thru MVD. Having a six-inch thick bulletproof window helped Village MVD stay in business in Ruidoso last year when all other MVD offices were closed due to the pandemic. Now, Village MVD has expanded with an office in Hobbs at 401 E. Bender Blvd., using the former Washington …

JAL — There’s water and there’s water. And not all drops are fit to drink. When a street repair contractor accidentally broke a line with his backhoe on East Merriman Avenue in Jal late Monday afternoon, the odor coming from the black-tinted water under pressure briefly alarmed everybody in the area. “It was nasty,” Mayor Stephen Aldridge said. Fortunately, a …

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan’s $4.7 billion proposal would plug abandoned wells, including 700 in New Mexico U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., toured various well sites in Lea County on Tuesday hoping to get a complete picture of what new legislation sponsored by him would mean to New Mexicans. The Democratic senator is co-sponsor of the Revive Economic Growth …

• Weekend vaccination clinics planned for Tasker Arena in Hobbs Lea County hospitals are facing a potential shortage of hospital beds to treat seriously ill patients diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. Dan Springer, CEO of Covenant Health Hobbs Hospital, and David Shaw, CEO of Nor-Lea Hospital District in Lovington, addressed the community via live social media press conference Tuesday, urging …

Alley Crawl LOVINGTON — The gathered storm clouds of Friday the 13th couldn’t dampen the spirits in Lovington as the city celebrated with a block party “Alley Crawl.” Free roller skating on a 2,000-square-foot outdoor skating rink, free ice cream, the unveiling of five murals painted by local artists, a cornhole tournament, food truck featuring Pastify, vendors, a beer garden, …