Lea County’s added 23 positive cases for COVID-19 Tuesday. With those, the county now has a cumulative total of 679 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 out of 11,100 tests. Of those 679 cases, the state says 176 have been designated as totally recovered. Of those positive tests, 375 were for the 88240 or Hobbs zip code, 181 were …

We live in interesting and unsettling times.  I have observed partisan politics emerge with an alarming negative tone. In my former elected positions, including U.S. Congress, I worked with individuals from all parties for the good of Lea County and the State of New Mexico.  I was fortunate to be mentored by statesmen and stateswomen who conducted themselves with dignity …

LOVINGTON — Lea County Commission members officially pulled the plug on a proposed $5.75 million indoor equine center Thursday. The facility, to have been constructed at the New Mexico Junior College on land the college contributed to the county, hit a snag in 2016 when construction bids came in $3-4 million over the estimated cost. At NMJC’s request, the commission …

Below is the link to the petition document filed in the N.M. Supreme Court from the N.M. Attorney General. For the full story, see Thursday’s News-Sun. The AG is taking the Lea County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Corey Helton to court to force the department to enforce the governor’s health orders concerning COVID-19. The filing points out sheriff deputies posted …

Lea County has passed the 10,000 COVID-19 test mark as of Wednesday. Lea cumulative total added 10 positive case for COVID-19 Wednesday and 25 cases on Tuesday. With those, the county now has a cumulative total of 581 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 out of 10,007 tests. Of those 581 cases, the state says 127 have been designated …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A county in New Mexico’s southeastern oil production region is backing a legal challenge against a statewide ban on indoor dining amid surging coronavirus infections across the state. Eddy County filed a legal brief with the New Mexico Supreme Court in solidarity with restaurants that say Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has overstepped her authority …

On any given day a police officer will have to make many split-second decisions. Those decisions can be the difference in life or death. The Lea County Sheriff Office now has a visual way to re-live events law enforcement officers all over the county had to make in a split decision on, or a possible new scenario they again will …

A Lea County man in his 50s has died from COVID-19, according the N.M. Department of Health. The man had been hospitalized and is the third person from Lea County who’s death is attributed to COVID-19. The two other official deaths due to COVID-19 prior to Monday were a male in his 70s, who had been hospitalized with underlying conditions, and …

Lea County’s cumulative total added 28 positive case for COVID-19 Saturday. The county now has a cumulative total of 506 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 out of 9,070 tests. Of those 506 cases, the state says 88 have been designated as totally recovered. Of those positive tests, 276 were for the 88240 or Hobbs zip code, 142 were …

It cannot be overstated that this pandemic is to be taken seriously and that we, as communities and a state, must work together to beat COVID-19. The public health order from the governor is not to be dismissed, and we all must take our personal health and the health of others seriously. To be commended are our front-line workers that …