No opposition to either action

 

On Sept. 20, the McKinley County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a mental-health contract for Elizabeth Terrill of Gallup, whose work deals with detainees at the McKinley County Juvenile Detention Center on Hassler Valley Road. The action took place at the regular commission meeting. Donna Goodrich, MCJDC director, briefed commissioners on the matter.

“This is basically about renewing a contract,” Goodrich told commissioners. “That’s pretty much it.”

McKinley County Attorney Doug Decker explained that Terrill’s contract has been in place for more than a year. Terrill is paid via Medicaid.

Decker said Terrill’s work...

Rare situation creates flooding, displacement

A broken water and sewer line that sent dirty water spewing into the air last week has been repaired, and the situation in the Chihuahuita neighborhood should return to normal by the end of the week.

Dennis Romero, the city’s water and sanitation director, said city work crews repaired a break by removing a 12- to 14-inch section of the main and replacing it with a new section of ductile iron pipe and sealing it with clamps.

“We are looking at installing an air relief valve down stream at this point to help manage pressures better,” Romero said. “The break at Fifth [Street] and Hill [Avenue] was in a 16-inch ductile iron water...

McKinney initiative a hit with residents

Over the past few months, the city’s solid waste pickups have been successful, and there are no plans to scrap the idea. That was the word this week from city Solid Waste Superintendent Adrian Marrufo.

Marrufo said plans are on the table for a 2017 pickup schedule. The pickups began when Mayor Jackie McKinney took office in 2011.

“They went well,” Marrufo said. “Ever since they started, they’ve been successful. One pickup in August was pushed back due to the [Inter-Tribal Indian] Ceremonial.”

Items collected during the six solid-waste pickups —between April and August — included yard debris, household items, chemicals...

Audit reveals state potentially failed to collect at least $193M from insurance companies

SANTA FE – On Sept. 20, State Auditor Tim Keller released a special audit of premium taxes collected by the state of New Mexico. New Mexico’s Office of the Superintendent of Insurance is responsible for accurate and timely collection of premium taxes from insurance providers that do business in the state.

A sample of one-quarter of the total premium tax collected from 2010 to 2015 revealed that the state may have been underpaid at least $193 million just for those transactions. The total amount due to the state for all transactions is likely to be more.

“Given New Mexico’s budget...