In keeping with the Christmas holiday season, the state has announced a tiered “red to green” system which is meant to help counties reopen further when they meet key health metrics.

The shift in the state’s “reopening” framework will come after a two-week “reset” period, in which state health officials enacted the most heightened level of statewide public health restrictions upon places of business and day-to-day activities in an effort to blunt the spread of COVID-19 all across New Mexico.

“The county-by-county framework enables counties, and the businesses and nonprofits within their borders, to operate with fewer restrictions when they slow the spread of the virus and drive down test positivity rates,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said

“It’s been a difficult year and an especially difficult past month. We must remain as vigilant as ever to contain and beat the virus; we also must look for ways to lessen the burden on our communities wherever possible, while never swerving from our top priority – protecting New Mexicans and saving lives.”

An amended emergency public health order will be executed Nov. 30, installing the new framework with an effective date of Dec. 2. The current operative requirements of the state’s two-week “reset” will be in effect through that time.

In order to prevent and mitigate the effects of the spread of the virus, and to ameliorate the unsustainable resultant strain placed upon the state’s health care system and personnel, counties where the virus is more prevalent will operate under more restrictive public health measures. Likewise, counties where the virus has been or is being suppressed will operate under less restrictive measures.

Counties will operate under one of three levels: Red, signifying very high risk; Yellow, signifying high risk; and Green, signifying medium risk.

The New Mexico Department of Health maintains an official map displaying each county’s current level on its designated COVID-19 webpage, cv.nmhealth.org. To capture an average over a period of time that accurately conveys the state of the spread of the virus in each county, the agency updates this map every other Wednesday.

When a county fails to meet the specified metrics for a given level upon the biweekly update of the map, it will begin operating at the next most restrictive level within 48 hours. When a county meets the specific metrics for a less restrictive level, it may begin operating at that level of restriction upon immediate effect of the department’s biweekly update of the map.

The two key health metrics that will used to determine where a county sits within the tiered framework, are based on the state’s gating criteria, the set of public health data points tracked and measured by the state Medical Advisory Team and others: the per-capita incidence of new COVID-19 cases and average COVID-19 positive tests over a statistically meaningful period of time.

These are also the same metrics the state has used to classify counties for the purposes of gauging the risk level for limited public school re-openings and limited nursing home visitations.

As of Nov. 27, 32 of the state’s 33 counties are at the Red Level. At this level, almost every category of business or nonprofit entity may operate — But with limited capacity.

The public health requirements for each level – and reminders about definitions of businesses and other entities within the state’s emergency public health order follow:

No matter a county’s level, the following requirements remain in place statewide:

• Facemasks are required to be worn in public.
• Businesses that accrue a significant number of positive COVID-19 cases within their workforce in a two-week span are subject to temporary closure by the Department of Health.
• An essential business may be permitted to continue operating if the Department of Health and Environment Department determine the business is a necessary provider of goods or services within the community in light of geographic considerations.
• Businesses that test each employee every two weeks and regularly provide contact tracing data to the Environment Department shall not be subject to closure under this framework
• This applies only to food and drink establishments; close-contact businesses; places of lodging; retail spaces; and other businesses which members of the public regularly visit.
• The closure process is triggered if four or more rapid responses occur within a 14-day period.
• Businesses and nonprofits must adhere to the state’s COVID-Safe Practices.

The City of Gallup experienced a water outage on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26 when there was a break on a connector near the airport which affects the northside and southside of the city.

Gallup Water and Sanitation Executive Director Dennis Romero told the Gallup Sun Nov. 27, “It looks like something started about 3 am and didn’t break until 7:05 yesterday morning.”

He said the department learned of the problem around 7:10 am, when complaints began coming in from the trademark pressure zone.

The leak was isolated around 9 am and Romero said it took another two and a half hours to re-route the water to bring the pressure back up.

Water service for the area was restored around 1:30 pm.

But water issues continued to occur.

“At 10 last night there was a break on an old repair on Second Street, south of Rio Puerco,” Romero said.

Romero called it a “transient” or a “water hammer” which impacted the old repair after the earlier leak was fixed.

He explained that in addition to the pressure going up and down quickly, the area on the Second Street repair, made 10 or 15 years ago, had an additional issue. It was fixed with flowable fill which adds weight around the pipe.

Flowable fill is a workable slurry of cement that hardens.

Romero said that break was isolated and workers were brought in and out throughout the night to address it. However, on the morning of Nov. 27, complaints were coming in from Pershing Drive.

“We called a contractor in,” he said “and found a leak on the line to the east of the intersection of First and Wilson.”

When the contractor came on duty, Pershing’s water was restored, but the Black Diamond Canyon Drive area was affected, and that line has been undergoing repairs since 9 am.

Romero says that work could continue until 5 pm.

At this time, the water department is studying a Second Street pressure problem, which could cause a loss of pressure for the downtown Gallup business area fed by the Second Street line.

At 10:46 am Nov. 27, Romero said a leak was found in a ten-inch cast iron line just north of the alleyway between Coal and Rte. 66. It was isolated and pressure was restored to the Gallup downtown area.

Romero says there may continue to be discolored water on the North Side, and around South Woodrow going west to the airport.

The yellowish color is due to naturally occurring minerals getting stirred up in the iron pipe of the water main.

The City of Gallup Water Department also put out a dispatch Nov. 27 saying water customers in the area of 100, 106, 201 & 201A of West Hwy 66 and surrounding areas may experience low water pressure as late as 7 pm and that the department will need to shut off the water temporarily in order to conduct repair operations safely.

People who wish to "self-flush" may turn on cold water full force from the bathtub faucet until water runs clear again. Do not run hot water, as the sediment that is stirred up could damage your water heater. This process should take about 15 minutes.

Romero said with a large leak, this is typically what happens. Once it is isolated, it causes problems throughout the entire system, straining weaker connections.

The water department continues to monitor SCADA [Supervisory Control and Data Analysis] in an effort to minimize further impact.

Invent a — whatchamacallit

A refrain from an old Arlo Guthrie tune is “I don’t want a pickle, I just want to ride my motorcycle.”  With the closing of the power plant at Prewitt and the shutdown at the refinery, what our county could use is a motorcycle manufacturing facility. The county and the state are laying out a number of aids to help existing businesses to improve and to encourage new business ideas that can flourish as going concerns.

To get your entrepreneurial juices flowing I’ve listed below several very successful ventures started by individuals who in dealing with problems in their lives made transformative innovations – and made themselves lots of money. Remember, there are many paths to success. Here are some examples:

PUTTING A GOOD EDUCATION TO USE

An example of a person putting her education to use to solve a real world problem at home is the NMSU Civil Engineering graduate who realized she could design a solar operated water pump for a well to serve a portion of her family ranch that needed water with no other power source nearby. It worked so well that she and her father started a business manufacturing and installing these.

SHIPPING CONTAINERS

For those of us living in Gallup, shipping containers hauled by the BNSF and trucks are a common sight. What we might not know is that these containers which have revolutionized worldwide shipping were developed by high-school graduate Malcolm McLean. After high school in 1935 Malcolm, together with his brother, bought a used truck and founded McLean Trucking Co. in Red Springs, N.C. In order to improve his own trucking business, he came up with these containers which have revolutionized world trade. The idea came to him when he had to wait in his truck while longshoremen laboriously moved cargo one piece at a time out of the truck in front of his.

A BETTER FIT FOR MY SHOES

Maureen Stockton’s shoes hurt her feet.  She started a business making shoe stretchers to make them fit better when she couldn’t find a product on the market that worked for her. She purchased a pair of shoe trees and they destroyed her shoes because the mechanism did not allow her to adjust the pressure. So she invented a new product specifically for women’s footwear. That was eight years ago. She launched her firm in 2018 and took in $1 million in sales last year with her shoe shapers retailing for $48.95.

SOAP IN THE SHOWER

Sixty-year-old Jimmy Gould who had back trouble, also had trouble retrieving a bar of soap that dropped on the shower floor. He created a device that hooks to the soap and keeps it from slipping. His business, SoapStandle, was launched in 2016. He made his first sales the next year amounting to $500.  That figure quickly rose to $112,000 last year, at a price of $4.99.

A FIREPLACE ANYWHERE

Elena Colombo wanted a fire on the beach in front of her cottage in Greenport, N.Y., but fires were frowned upon by the town. She improvised a gas-fueled “comfort fire” from a garbage can and a gas-grill propane tank. Thinking others might want the same thing she started Fire Features to sell “fire-bowls,” a more elegant version of the original. Her gross revenue for 2002 was about $20,000. By 2019 she was bringing in $1.5 million selling fire pits ranging in price from $5,000 to $400,000.

UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Garett Camp, a Canadian software engineer, was standing on a San Francisco street waiting for a cab. He was fed up with haphazard taxi service. As he looked at the iPhone in his hand, he realized that it could be the alternative to trying to hail a cab. Uber and its competitors are now common worldwide — A total transportation transformation for many.  And Uber and companies like it are working to develop self-driving cars to further automate this driving option.

KEEP THE SPRAY OUT OF YOUR FACE

Jim DeCasper, distribution foreman for the Bradford City Water Authority [Penn.], developed Crack Pipe to deflect water when crews are working over a live water line leak. A worker holds the device and it deflects the water away from the crew, while they prepare a repair clamp for installation.

SAVE YOUR FEET FOR DANCING

Steve Bell does maintenance at an airport. His team’s work requires them to lift a lot of aircraft rated drain/valve, manhole chamber covers and grates. To make his team’s life easier, he developed a new product Hitch Lifter, a Class 3 hitch-mounted winch attached to a magnet that allows lifting grates up to 600 pounds. He has now expanded and has developed another version with greater lifting power.

Still with me?  Do I have your attention?  Businesses generally do best when the start-up has experience in the particular business planned and in how to run a business.

There are a number of resources available to help those who need help in either area. First and foremost is Gallup MainStreet, which is opening a Business Support Center at 231-A Coal Ave. this month.  For the time being Covid restrictions will limit on site usage. The Center is intended to provide:

∙ Boots on the ground one-on-one consultation

∙ Basic business development ideas

∙ Payroll system setup assistance

∙ Facebook interfacing

∙ Advertising and marketing strategies

∙ Start-up and co-working space opportunities

This resource is for small existing business owners who don’t have a business education background and for those who want to expand their businesses. There are mentorship opportunities so you can consult with existing successful business owners, and get help with accounting and advertising.

Will you need help getting your ideas translated into products for sale?

Need help selling — developing a successful “pitch?”

These resources are designed to help you obtain the confidence in yourself and your products.

Gallup MainStreet is hosting a two-day virtual workshop Entrepreneur Bootcamp Dec. 1 and 3.

To register, contact MainStreet’s director, Kara Smith either by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (505) 879-0333.

A second powerful resource is available through UNM. They have created the NM Rainforest University Center. This program provides entrepreneurial training and technical assistance at UNM and branch campuses via in person or web access.  They also have a certificate program in Entrepreneurial Capabilities through their Innovation Academy.

If you want to test the waters, enter their website:  http://loborainforest.com/nmrainforest/  to access seminar and webinar video recordings on entrepreneurial topics. The first few are business idea generation, pathways to success — small business ownership and taxes and business startups and how to start and file an LLC.

Well, you get the idea. These are on-topic and practical training sessions. Once you have gone this far, try these two options offered at Rainforest:

Create. Sell. Bank! This is an online course which can be taken on your own time. No set meeting times. Topics include, Need funding, Problem definition, Ideation/brainstorming, Rapid prototyping, Testing and how to set up accounts for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and PayPal, as well as a rather complete overview of E-Commerce and how to create a 90-second pitch video to Pitch Your Business.

Total cost is $17. Go to the Rainforest University Center website to register.

Monthly on-line seminars are free and open to UNM, as well as the greater New Mexico community in person or online. Participants who view seven or more seminars/webinars either livestream or via their YouTube channel and complete associated quizzes, can receive a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Capabilities.

What are you waiting for?  The best place to start is where you are with what you have!

If, on the other hand, you would like a ready-made business, there are many franchise opportunities. The GGEDC and City of Gallup recently completed a Market Analysis Study that pinpoints business opportunities that the study’s authors determined are a good match for Gallup.

By Mike Daly
Guest Columnist

The state will re-allocate $194 million of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security CARES Act funding to a one-time supplemental unemployment compensation benefit to eligible claimants. Payments will be administered by the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions and received by claimants by mid-December.

"New Mexicans need help, and they need help now," said Bill McCamley, NMDWS Secretary. "This money will help over 100,000 New Mexicans with the basics they need to get through this time, and Governor Lujan Grisham's whole team will work as hard as we know how to get it to people as fast as we can."

Eligible individuals will receive $1,200 as a one-time New Mexico Worker Pandemic Benefit (NM WPB) in addition to their regular weekly benefit amount. Payments will be made to the claimants’ preferred payment method, either direct deposit or state-issued debit card.

Individuals are eligible for NM WPB as long as they certify and are eligible to receive benefits for qualifying weeks of Nov. 22 through 28, or Nov. 29 through Dec. 5. Also, claimants who were receiving benefits but exhausted their benefits between Sept. 12, and the time of the Bill signing are eligible for NM WPM. There is no need for claimants to call or apply separately for this benefit.

Claimants who have received the maximum 39 weeks of benefits as pf Sept. 12 will receive direct communication from NMDWS in the following weeks on eligibility for NM WPB.

Since Sep. 12, NMDWS has recorded 131,530 claimants that have received unemployment insurance benefits. This includes current claimants, claimants who have exhausted their benefits, and those with open claims but not receiving payment. This number does not include new claims this week, individuals who can re-open inactive claims, or those currently in a pending status (awaiting a determination on their claim).

This one-time benefit is not available to individuals who have returned to full-time work or certify that they earned wages greater than their weekly benefit amount during the week legislation was signed.

NMDWS is currently making necessary system programming changes to deliver these critical benefits to eligible claimants. The system changes are expected to be completed soon with benefit payments to begin mid-December.

For more information, visit https://www.dws.state.nm.us/COVID-19-Info.