New Mexico
Heavy rain causes flash flood warnings across parts of New Mexico
Josh’s Saturday Evening Forecast
Very active weather has moved into New Mexico this afternoon. Storms will continue to drift off to the south and southwest as they continue to develop through this evening. Storms are capable of very heavy rain. A Flood Watch is in effect for much of New Mexico through Sunday night as well for a large portion of the state. Flash Flood Warnings have been issued as well for the South Fork and Salt Fire burn scars and surrounding areas. Burn scar flash flooding continues to be the biggest concern this weekend, but any strong thunderstorm could also drop heavy rain and cause flash flooding elsewhere.
Another active afternoon is likely on Monday as temperatures will be cooler across New Mexico. We will start to see some slightly drier air move in around the middle of next week, but thunderstorms will continue to develop each afternoon across parts of New Mexico.
New Mexico
Volleyball for boys, too – at least for one
Roughly 450 miles from his Portales home, 11-year-old Adrian Abarca clutched a first-place trophy in a Dallas gym. Pride glowed beneath his blonde hair.
Could you blame him? His sets helped Next Level Volleyball Club – based in Lubbock – to win a USA Boys Junior National Championship in late June. But in that tournament, which hosted 250-plus boys’ teams of various age levels from various U.S. states and Puerto Rico, Adrian’s mom, Jennifer, pointed out another reason for her son’s joy: The realization he wasn’t the only boy who played volleyball.
“I think that kind of gave him some encouragement to keep going,” Jennifer Abarca said.
Boys’ volleyball is growing nationally, if not in Clovis or Portales.
Clovis and Portales High School don’t offer it. There aren’t any local, boys-only clubs at the high school level in either community.
If Adrian wants to continue playing as he grows up, his best bet may be club teams in Amarillo or Lubbock – both nearly four-hour round trips.
Amy Hancock, a coach at Next Level Volleyball Club, said the low participation rates in Clovis and Portales is chiefly a byproduct of the stigma that volleyball is meant for girls – not boys. Jennifer said Adrian “is the only boy,” in one co-ed league in Portales.
As a result, there isn’t anyone those like Adrian can look up to for inspiration. His mother said she doesn’t know any boy from Portales who has charted a volleyball course to the college level.
Despite participation in the sport “jumping 56% in the past decade” at the high school level, according to the National Federation of State High School Association, boys’ volleyball remains dwarfed in relevance by football, basketball, and baseball locally.
But Adrian said he doesn’t see being the only boy as a negative. Instead, it’s a source of pride.
“I think it’s cool to be the only boy that plays volleyball in Portales,” he said.
And despite the complications, the sport can afford opportunities that others can’t.
A case of supply and demand, Hancock said the youth surge has prompted more colleges to field men’s teams. With player spots to fill, that means schools are offering more scholarship opportunities than ever before.
Players don’t need to be generational – just good enough. A vast difference compared to football where floods of talented players go unsigned by colleges every year.
Hancock said one player she coaches, “is going to be a part of a brand-new collegiate program in Minnesota” this year.
“The programs are growing and there are scholarships and ways for boys to go to college to play volleyball, if they’re willing to just put it out there and go for it,” Hancock said.
Local recruitment doesn’t hurt either.
Set to spend the night, one of Adrian’s friends recently watched a sand volleyball practice from the sidelines. Adrian said he started to have “fun.” Getting to see the sport’s fast, pinballing energy and the unique camaraderie between teammates dispensed a sense of curiosity.
“He was thinking about maybe joining,” Adrian said.
New Mexico
'They were doing God's work': Families remember N.M. first responders killed in helicopter crash
By Gregory Hasman
Albuquerque Journal
TIJERAS, N.M. — Honor guards from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and Bernalillo County Fire Rescue stood watch at the East Mountain Memorial Wall on Tuesday evening to honor four men who died in a 2022 helicopter crash in northern New Mexico.
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As they stood, dozens of people walked up to the wall. Some kissed their fingers, then placed them over the name of a loved one on the wall, while others kneeled in front of the name.
“We can never forget those guys for what they did for us,” said Tim Sheahan, who came to remember the first responders.
On July 16, 2022, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Larry Koren, 55; Lt. Fred Beers, 51; Deputy Michael Levison, 30; and Bernalillo County Fire Rescue Specialist Matthew King, 44, were returning to Albuquerque after conducting firefighting operations near Chapelle, south of Las Vegas, when BCSO’s Metro 2 helicopter crashed.
Andrew Levison, brother of Michael Levison, told the Journal that, earlier in the day, he went to the crash site. As he walked to a memorial consisting of an American flag and pieces of the helicopter honoring the men, Andrew said he thought about their sacrifices.
“I’m proud of them for what they were doing that day,” Andrew said. “They were doing God’s work, in my opinion.”
While some time has passed since the incident, the memories remain fresh for many family members and friends.
“For the longest time, I thought it was just a bad dream,” said Noëlle Ashoo, Michael Levison’s partner. “Even after the first year, I thought this was a messed-up drama.”
‘A true brother’
While some people walked to the memorial, others intermingled with other relatives or members of the sheriff’s office and fire rescue.
Retired BCSO Sgt. Nathan Lerner was talking to some of King’s family when he said Beers was the “perfect mensch,” which is Yiddish for a person with integrity and honor.
Beers was not only a smart man, he said, but “he would never have anything bad to say about anybody.”
“He was a true brother,” Lerner said.
Sheahan said he remembered Beers and Koren as being “very dedicated at their jobs and dedicated to the people of Bernalillo County .”
King was known for his passion for his job, his desire to serve others, and his sense of humor.
“He would make you laugh until you couldn’t stand it,” his father, James King, said.
James said he had a tough time talking about his son’s death, but two years later, he is able to “talk about Matt a lot.”
“Every day is tough, and I imagine it’s going to be tough for quite a while,” James said.
‘We have more questions’
Tuesday’s remembrance took place just weeks after the National Transportation Safety Board issued its final report on the crash investigation. In it, federal investigators said engine failure due to poor maintenance caused the crash.
Andrew said the report made his parents “angry, disappointed and frustrated” because the incident could have been prevented.
“Why did this happen?” Andrew asked. “Why did we lose our family member?
“This didn’t get our family closure to any degree. We have more questions.”
Ashoo said she hasn’t brought herself to read the report. “It won’t bring him back,” she said, “so it changes nothing for me.”
While the report may not change things or bring closure, Andrew said the next step is “to prevent this from happening to anybody else.”
—
(c)2024 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Visit the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) at www.abqjournal.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
New Mexico
Blue Hole closure in Santa Rosa affecting businesses
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Blue Hole, a New Mexico tourist hotspot that attracts thousands during the summertime, is closed to divers and swimmers. Businesses in the area that rely heavily on the influx of summer visitors looking to enjoy all the water recreation the city has to offer are now dealing with the effects of the closure.
People come from all over the country for the experience but the recent announcement has drastically reduced how many people are coming into town. City officials said the closure is due to a large boulder falling on the west side of the hole that brought other rocks with it.
Officials said hundreds of stones now cover the bottom. “Public safety comes first. We’ll make sure before we reopen to the public, we’ll make sure everything is protected and we’ll try to get more inspection on it,” said Santa Rosa Mayor Nelson Kotiar.
Due to the closure, businesses in town aren’t seeing the number of customers they usually do. That includes the Comet II Drive & Restaurant that’s been operating for over 90 years. “We rely on the tourists here, and without a lot of the vital things that we have here, we don’t have that,” said owner Casey Martinez.
Normally, Martinez said he could expect thousands of customers during the summer. He said since the closure, business has decreased by 30%-40%. “We have the divers that come in here. On a given weekend, we’d have 100 divers in here. Now, we’re lucky if we have five or ten,” said Martinez.
City officials said they will be conducting more inspections and expect the spot to open within the next 2-4 weeks.
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