Lea counts 39 seats on Local Election ballots Curtis C. Wynne/News-Sun LOVINGTON — Voters throughout Lea County will fill a total of 39 seats in the 2023 local elections, announced Carrie Sandoval, Bureau of Elections administrator. To get their names on the Nov. 7 ballots, individuals must file their candidacy in the County Clerk’s Office in the Lea County Courthouse …

Andy Brosig/News-Sun JAL — Imagine the scenario: Resources on Earth — from air to water to energy — are dwindling.  A group of researchers are tasked with finding solutions with the help of robots. That’s the challenge facing a group of fifth- and sixth-graders at Jal Elementary School as they gear up for the state Lego League finals Feb. 11 …

Gabrielle Arsiaga/News-Sun JAL —Jal High School’s 2022 valedictorian is Stanton Richard — but he didn’t even know he was in the running until last year. Even so, Richard — a life-long resident of Jal — has worked hard his whole high school career to get to where he’s at today. “I didn’t learn I was in the running for this …

Curtis Wynne/News-Sun LOVINGTON — Elusive high-speed internet access garnered the attention of Lea County Commission members at Thursday’s regular commission meeting. Medical communication, police body camera recordings and COVID-19-related school restrictions highlighted lack of broadband in rural areas throughout the nation, including in southern Lea County where Leaco Rural Telephone Cooperative Inc. and City of Jal officials propose a project …

Jal schools go remote for 4 days amid virus surge CURTIS C. WYNNE NEWS-SUN JAL — With an abundance of caution, and some degree of optimism, the Jal public schools closed in-person classrooms this week due to increased positive coronavirus tests. Students returned to remote learning for four days. Jal’s junior and senior high schools were dismissed early on Thursday …

Jal schools go remote for 4 days amid virus surge CURTIS C. WYNNE NEWS-SUN JAL — With an abundance of caution, and some degree of optimism, the Jal public schools closed in-person classrooms this week due to increased positive coronavirus tests. Students returned to remote learning for four days. Jal’s junior and senior high schools were dismissed early on Thursday …

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 …

JAL — Election Day for local leaders — mayor, city councilors and municipal judge — changed this week for voters in Jal. Based on requirements of the New Mexico Local Election Act of 2018, municipalities were allowed to “opt in” or “opt out” of regular local elections held in November of odd-numbered years. Jal had opted out, holding its regular …

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 …