New Mexico
‘Baby box’ soon to be active in Portales
After two years of discussion, a Safe Haven Baby Box will soon be active at the Portales Fire Department.
The baby box was delivered to the fire department on Monday. The official day as to when it will be active is still unknown. However, Angie Smith, the chair for Right to Life of Curry and Roosevelt counties, said contractors will get it installed soon and it will then be tested to make sure it’s working correctly. She anticipates that to take only a couple of weeks.
“They’re starting to spread across New Mexico,” Smith said. “I think this is going to be a wonderful, wonderful thing.”
A Safe Haven Baby Box, according to the organization’s website, “is a designated location where parents can anonymously and safely leave an infant they are unable or unwilling to care for.”
It “takes the face-to-face interaction out of the surrender and protects the mother from being seen.”
Smith said she first learned about the baby box from a pastor in South Korea. The box helped save over 1,500 babies, she said.
After doing some research, Smith contacted those with the organization to help bring one to Portales. Community members raised more than $16,000 for the project, while some contractors have volunteered their time to help install it.
“It just proves even further how pro-life Portales and Roosevelt County are,” Smith said.
Smith said she first went to the City Council to explain the idea in February of 2022.
“We’ve given 100% support from the City Council on this,” said Sarah Austin, Portales’ city manager.
However, there was a delay along the way as the city attorney had some concerns about the city’s liability in owning a baby box.
“There was an argument over a state statute on whether or not the baby had to be placed into somebody’s hands or if the box would count,” Austin said.
After doing some research on other entities, Austin said the Council felt like there wasn’t much of a risk of litigation.
“They knew this is the best choice for them (the parent) and their child,” Smith said.
Utilizing the baby box is a completely anonymous action. All one has to do is open the box, leave the baby, and walk away.
Portales Fire Chief TJ Cathey explained how the baby box works once it’s opened.
“It will alert our dispatch center, and there will be an alert inside the station, not outside,” Cathey said.
The box, depending on what the weather is like, will keep the baby cooled or heated until someone can respond to the baby.
The baby is then examined to make sure it hasn’t been abused or neglected.
Smith said there’s a 90-day waiting period to give mom, dad, grandparents, or other relatives the chance to come forward and claim the baby.
“From our standpoint, anything that we as firefighters and (first responders) can do to protect life, we’re going to be all for it,” Cathey said.
“We just want to make sure that they have a secure place to take their baby,” Austin said. “We don’t walk in their shoes, we don’t know their situation or their story.”
Native Vote 2026
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Laguna Pueblo woman is the front runner to be New Mexico’s next governor.
Shortly after polls closed Tuesday night, Deb Haaland was declared the winner over Bernalillo County district attorney Sam Bregman in the state’s semi-open Democratic Party primary. As of 11:00 p.m., Haaland carried support from 72% of the Democratic primary voters to Bregman’s 28%, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
“We’re showing everyone that a better future in New Mexico is possible,” she told supporters gathered in Albuquerque’s historic Old Town Plaza. “New Mexicans want a leader who will stand up for working people, and who is ready to take on Donald Trump. I proudly accept your nomination as a Democratic nominee.”
Haaland spoke for 13 minutes, at times through a scratchy throat that required her to pause for water breaks. “Excuse me, I’ve been talking with voters all day,” she said while grabbing a water bottle before hitting her campaign stump notes on affordability, health care and public safety.
She will face Republican Gregg Hull, a former mayor from suburban Rio Rancho that won his party’s three-way primary with 47% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the New Mexico Secretary of State.
Haaland will be the Democratic Party nominee in a state dominated at every level by Democrats, and is expected to be heavily favored in the general election. With that insight she said her campaign message does translate to Republicans and Independent voters.
“We want our kids to thrive. We want our kids to have a quality, public education. We want every New Mexican to have health care. Everybody wants to feel safe in their neighborhoods, and everybody wants to be able to afford to put a hot meal on their table every night and have a roof over their children’s heads,” she said. “Those issues transcend whatever political spectrum we’re trying to slice and dice people into.”
Shortly after the race was called, Haaland campaign staff, major donors, surrogates, and their families walked from a building on the west side of Albuquerque’s Old Town Plaza to the historic plaza core, where the Haaland campaign had set up a stage and reserved the entire plaza for its victory celebration.
“We are now witnessing history in the making,” New Mexico state Rep. Derrick Lente (Sandia Pueblo) said to supporters immediately after Haaland was declared the winner.
Denise Wilie (Dine) also joined the celebration of Haaland’s victory. Wilie said she worked on get-out-the-vote efforts with the Native American Voters Alliance in McKinley County.
“It just is so exhilarating to even think about, a woman and a Pueblo woman,” she said. “Indigenous all the way, is how I feel. I’m like, yes, let’s get more of our voices.”
Haaland was introduced by her two sisters and walked to the stage escorted by a mariachi band.
Speaking to reporters after the event Haaland reflected on voting for a Pueblo woman (herself) for governor.
“I got emotional, quite frankly, when I went to vote for myself because you do that when you’re a candidate,” she said. “We’ve never had a Native American governor in New Mexico. We’re a multicultural state. I think representation matters, especially in a political era such as this one. So, I’m really proud and honored to carry on the legacy of my ancestors, who worked so incredibly hard to make sure that I had a place here today.”
Related
When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – When a famly unexpectedly loses a loved one, or has someone go missing, the details of what comes next can be overwhelming.
But they don’t have to do it alone thanks to an organization helping New Mexico families with some of those burdens.
Watch the video above for more.
-
Los Angeles, Ca30 minutes agoCalifornia primary election results: governor and L.A. mayor races
-
Detroit, MI50 minutes agoAnother bribery scandal hits Detroit. It involves the People Mover
-
San Francisco, CA1 hour agoWhat’s Worth More Than Cash in San Francisco Real Estate? Anthropic Stock
-
Dallas, TX1 hour agoDallas weighs $500 million‑plus repair plans as City Hall’s future comes up for debate
-
Miami, FL1 hour agoMiami biotech executive was followed into his condo by man who allegedly threw him from 25th floor
-
Boston, MA1 hour agoWhat a World Cup ‘fan zone’ is and what Boston fans can expect in 2026
-
Denver, CO1 hour agoDefensive lineman Jordan Miller has a tough battle to make the Broncos’ final 53-man roster
-
Seattle, WA1 hour agoVIDEO: Mayor Wilson proposes renewing, expanding Seattle Transit Measure by doubling the sales-tax percentage that funds it.
