Lea County had its 24th death attributed to COVID-19, according to the N.M. Department of Health. The health department reported the death was a male in his 80’s from Lea County, who had been hospitalized. Lea County also added 29 new positive tests on Wednesday, bringing the total cumulative cases in Lea County to 1,448. The health department said 718 of those …

Connie Clark got to experience her first day of school four separate times this month. It was Ground Hog day all over again for Clark, a first-year teacher at Murray Elementary School in Hobbs. “Are you a little bit nervous to be at school?” Clark asked Kiondre Morgan as he carefully walked into her second-grade classroom on his first day …

With early and absentee voting deadlines approaching for the 2020 General Election, both major political parties have taken to encouraging registered voters to use the mail with an absentee ballot request. According to a report from the New Mexico Office of the Secretary of State, more Democrats than Republicans in Lea County have requested absentee ballot applications even though Republicans …

JAL — A New Mexico first is coming to southern Lea County with construction of a new type of oilfield waste management facility 14 miles west of Jal. Milestone Environmental Services, with offices in Houston and Midland, announced the company has received permits from the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (NMOCD) to establish an oilfield slurry injection and solid waste …

JAL — A New Mexico first is coming to southern Lea County with construction of a new type of oilfield waste management facility 14 miles west of Jal. Milestone Environmental Services, with offices in Houston and Midland, announced the company has received permits from the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (NMOCD) to establish an oilfield slurry injection and solid waste …

The new art installation at the Center of Recreational Excellence is in the beginning of installation. Each post rotates, allowing the statues at the top to spin. In front of each sculpture are chimes and drums. Funding for the art installation comes from the N.M. Public Arts program, a N.M. Department of Cultural Affairs program where 1 percent of funding …

Lea County had two additional deaths attributed to COVID-19, according to the N.M. Department of Health. The department reported the death on Wednesday was a female in her 60’s from Lea County. The individual was hospitalized and had underlying conditions. On Thursday, the department reported a male in his 70’s from Lea County had died. The individual had been hospitalized. As of Wednesday, …

EUNICE — The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) District Two will begin an $18 million reconstruction project on NM-176 west of Eunice next month. The 16-mile construction project will address road conditions, specifically making the two-lane road wider with acceleration and deceleration lanes. State Rep. David Gallegos, who resides in Eunice, said he and all the other legislators from …

In the week leading up to the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, Urenco USA employees and contractors paid tribute in the company’s 11th Day of Service. Projects in Andrews, Eunice and Hobbs kept more than 175 volunteers busy, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on several days last week. “Due to Covid-19 preventative safety measures, the 11th …

In August 2019 Covenant Health announced plans to build a new hospital in Hobbs, with a groundbreaking in January 2021, but on Tuesday Covenant announced it will be in Lea County even sooner by purchasing Lea Regional Medical Center. Tuesday, Covenant signed a purchase agreement with Lea Regional and it corporate owner, Community Health Systems Inc., with an anticipated closing …