While the weekend rain was generally welcome in Carlsbad, some of our neighbors to the north faced a more severe onslaught. Heavy rain, hail and damaging winds forced homes and businesses to close and resulted in a temporary closure of Highway 285. Chaves County first responders spent a large portion of the weekend helping rescue people who were stranded in vehicles or in their homes. One woman in Lincoln County was killed when her car was swept away by floodwaters, according to news reports. We will keep you updated on relief efforts as information becomes more available. Carlsbad received around 2 ½ inches of rain over the weekend. We did have to make some repairs to a water line on Main Street, but there were no other City road closures.
On Sunday, the Carlsbad Current-Argus printed an article on page 5A titled “Navigating the maze of PIO’s and data to understand COVID-19 impacts.” This article was incorrectly attributed to me, but it was actually written by a woman named Sherry Robinson. Our Sunday update was intended to be a Memorial Day message, reminding everyone of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms. Despite the weather, the Memorial Day parade and ceremony on Monday went very well. Thanks again to Alberto Villegas and the Eddy County Patriotic Society for organizing the event. It was especially great to see the Carlsbad Veterans Honor Guard out again, as well as the Carlsbad High School Band, who always does a great job. Magistrate Judge D’Ann Read and Sheriff Mark Cage both delivered excellent speeches. You can watch them on the City of Carlsbad Facebook page.
With more graduation ceremonies coming up this weekend, it’s a good time to provide some information on scholarships we have available. The Carlsbad Community Foundation plans to award up to 40 scholarships to continuing or returning college/vocational students. All South Eddy County residents are eligible.
Please visit www.carlsbadfoundation.org/scholarships between now and the June 30 deadline. Only one application is required to apply for any of the scholarships. You will need to upload your college transcript and Fall 2021 class schedule.
Carlsbad is mourning the loss of Richard Granger, who was well known to many for being a local Taekwondo Master and wrestling coach. He was also the welding teacher at the high school. Over the past few days, many residents have been sharing stories about how Granger taught and motivated them or their children. He will be greatly missed.
Many people have been asking what the status is in terms of completely removing New Mexico’s “Red to Green” COVID-19 restrictions. While Eddy County has been Turquoise for some time now, some capacity limitations are still in place. New Mexico’s Municipal League reported that remaining restrictions would be lifted two weeks after New Mexico reaches a 60% “fully vaccinated” rate. Currently, 55.1% of New Mexicans have been fully vaccinated, according to the Department of Health, while 65% have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination. In other words, we’re very close to the “Red to Green” model being a thing of the past. There are also still ongoing efforts to make sure the data is accurate and includes numbers from people who were vaccinated in Texas.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway