Colfax County News

A little-known lawsuit that involves a university embroiled in a donor dispute concerning how one donation was invested offers lessons for financial advisers on working with clients who want to donate money.

The two candidates seeking the Democratic bid from voters Tuesday for the state House of Representatives District 68 seat that includes Colfax County have spent a combined total of more than $38,000 during their primary-election campaigns.

According to campaign finance reports filed with the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office through Thursday - which left five days to spend even more money before election day - incumbent Thomas Garcia had spent $25,458.44 on his campaign and challenger Bengie Regensberg had spent $13,169.77.

The Region IV Narcotics Task Force, consisting of a variety of northeast New Mexico law enforcement agencies, conducted a "Highway Interdiction Checkpoint" on Interstate 25 in south Colfax County Thursday as part of a national effort against the illegal drug trade.

The checkpoint was held from 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. The checkpoint was in conjunction with Operation Knight Hunter sponsored by the federal Domestic Highway Enforcement. This is a nationwide operation concentrating on individuals transporting illegal drugs on the nation's highways.

Wrong airspeed markings caused fatal Aug. 15 crash, NTSB says ALBUQUERQUE - An airspeed indicator had incorrect markings in a single-engine airplane that crashed in northeastern New Mexico, killing the pilot ... via KRQE

“The irrigation ditches are very interesting with that stone (used to construct them), coming down from Climax Canyon all the way to the railroad tracks”

rom school construction and road improvements to grasshopper eradication and "home wool production," the New Deal was quite a deal for Colfax County.

Like the rest of the nation in the 1930s, Colfax County's communities were struggling during the Great Depression. With the goal of giving relief, reform and recovery to the people and economy of the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal.

"Our greatest primary task is to put people to work," the president said in initiating the New Deal programs. Read more

A Cimarron man who told police in February he had been physically assaulted and robbed of $100 by a gun-wielding man and woman who broke into his home has testified in court that he now has no recollection of the incident and denied - under oath - that he wrote and signed a statement - which police have - describing the alleged incident.

As a result, the charges against one of the defendants have been temporarily dismissed by the prosecution and the alleged victim has been charged with perjury. Read more

“There are now multiple mosquito-breeding sites throughout the tires”

With snow falling Thursday morning, many people may not have been thinking about mosquitoes, but work is already underway in Raton and other parts of Colfax County to try to limit the number of those pesky, itch-causing, potentially disease-carrying insects that will be buzzing around this summer.

This year, the means of battling the blood-sucking bugs is taking a slight shift. Paul Sandoval, president of Roadrunner Pest Control, the Albuquerque-based company contracted by the county to provide mosquito-control services, described his company's efforts as "working towards more mechanical solutions and less chemical." Read more

A Colfax County deputy on Saturday seized $26,850 in suspected drug money that was hidden in a vehicle heading south on Interstate 25 near Springer.

Deputy Vidal Sandoval originally stopped the Nissan Xterra, at 12:15 p.m. two miles south of Springer, because neither the driver nor passenger was wearing a seat belt. When Sandoval got to the Xterra, he smelled a strong odor of marijuana, according to his report.

The Xterra was occupied by two men, ages 36 and 34, who were each from Omaha, Neb. Read more

A discarded cigarette butt is blamed for a grass fire that burned 1,000 acres late last week southwest of Raton.

Fire officials who worked the Hoxie Fire last Thursday and Friday said the blaze was contained at 8 p.m. Thursday and was declared out at about 6 p.m. Friday.

The fire was reported Thursday afternoon along N.M. 445, which runs between U.S. 64 and Maxwell. The fire could later be seen from Interstate 25 near Tenaja, according to a passer-by.

As many as 25 firefighters and eight engines responded to the fire near what is known as Hoxie Junction, which is the intersection of U.S. 64 and N.M. 445. Fire departments from Raton, Maxwell, French Tract and Philmont sent personnel and equipment. Assistance also came from the NRA Whittington Center. Read more

“The capabilities of the team are very specialized and unique”

Specially-trained emergency responders from local, state and federal agencies spent last week training in Raton and Angel Fire participating in drills designed to keep them ready to handle incidents of terrorist actions or other threats involving chemical, radiological, biological or nuclear material.

Raton Fire and Emergency Services has been training annually with the New Mexico National Guard's 64th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team for the last eight years. This year, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Radiological Assistance Program also sent a team to Colfax County for last week's drills that involved a main scenario featuring radiation detected at the port of entry north of Raton, with the unknown source then proceeding into the city. That called for teams to track down the source by searching multiple areas and buildings in Raton where the radiation source might potentially be found. Read more

“A defendant will be equitably stopped from asserting a statute of limitations defense when its conduct prevented the plaintiff from realizing that its cause of action had accrued”

The state Court of Appeals is proposing to revive a lawsuit brought by the Village of Angel Fire against Colfax County, seeking to force the county to pay what the village believes is owed it under a trash-collection service contract the two governments signed seven years ago.

The appellate court's proposed ruling, filed Feb. 14, if made final, would send the case back to District Court, where the village could again pursue the payment of what would currently be $150,000 it claims the county owes it. Read more

“The goal of County College is to foster professional development in order to build stronger leaders in county government”

Luna County Clerk Karen Smyer, second from right, and Natalie Pacheco, chief deputy clerk, third from right, received their certified public official certification during the New Mexico State University/New ... via Deming Headlight

RATON The state Office of the Medical Investigator has classified as a homicide the death of a man placed face down in a police car with his legs shackled and bent behind him. via Alamogordo Daily News

Sun River Energy, Inc. announces that it has negotiated a Commercial Loan for $200,000. These funds will be used to cover payables from operations related to the Company's drilling of three wells in Colfax ... via Market Wire

TRINIDAD - A recent study regarding coalbed methane (CBM) wells' impact on stream depletion suggests gas drilling is having a measurable effect on the waters of the two-state Raton Basin.

The Colorado Department of Natural Resources (CDNR) and its contractor, S.S. Papadopulos and Associates, gave a public presentation Friday at Trinidad State Junior College of a draft report of the study, "Coalbed Methane Stream Depletion Assessment Study - Raton Basin, Colorado." The presentation was attended in large part by concerned landowners eager to know the effects on the water supply of the numerous CBM wells placed throughout the basin by energy companies. Read more

OGBORN, Baby boy born 28 May 1944 in Raton, Colfax County, New Mexico may have been a twin. via Cousinconnect.com

A total of $48,150 that was hidden in the dashboard of a car speeding through Colfax County on Interstate 25 was seized last week by a sheriff's deputy.

The money, which the sheriff's department believes is likely connected to illegal drug trafficking, is expected to be formally forfeited to law-enforcement agencies through a court proceeding to be initiated by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, which was contacted by the county sheriff's department after the seizure that occurred Thursday night just north of Springer. Read more

Family members of Jesse Saenz blame Raton Police for his death. The 20 year old died early Sunday morning after police used a taser to subdue him. via KOAT.com

A female former Angel Fire police officer alleges she was discriminated against in her job and defamed by statements made by the police chief after she ended a sexual relationship with him.

Christina Roth makes the claims in a lawsuit filed in Raton District Court Thursday. Roth, who now works as an Angel Fire-based deputy for the Colfax County Sheriff's Office, alleges she was paid less than a male officer hired near the same time she was by the village police department in 2004. She also claims Police Chief Bill Kitts began to make false statements to other officers and the public "to defame" her after she broke off their personal relationship that had begun at Kitts's request before she was hired. Read more