New Mexico
Legal Notices-Non-government – El Defensor Chieftain
NOTICE is hereby given that on November 15, 2023, applicant Lonnie Wade Orr, 73 Bowman Ln., Lemitar, NM 87823, filed with the STATE ENGINEER Application No. (SD-09290 into RG-4BA) into SP-05213 for Permit to Change Point of Diversion and Place and Purpose of Use from Ground Water to Surface Water within the Rio Grande Underwater Basin of the State of New Mexico.
Socorro County is the county affected by the diversion and in which the water has been or will be put to beneficial use. This notice is ordered to be published in the El Defensor Chieftain.
The applicant proposes to discontinue the diversion of 30.01 acre-feet per year Consumptive Use (CU) of ground water for irrigation, commercial, drip irrigation and greenhouse purposes from well RG-4-B. The current well location is described as: Well RG-4-B, owned by the applicant, located in Section 23, Township 1 South, Range 1 West, NMPM, Socorro County, New Mexico at a point where Latitude = 34° 12′ 59″ N and Longitude = -106° 54′ 27.57″ W, on the southern portion of tract 149B1, MRGCD Map 150. The well location is generally located southeast of the corner of NM Highway 408 and Canal Road, within the Village of Polvadera. Water is beneficially used within 14.29 acres of land described as a portion of Tract 2A1, MRGCD Map 151. The move-from place of use is owned by the applicant and is generally located on the east side of Highway 408, at the corner of Community Road, within the Village of Polvadera, Socorro County, New Mexico.
The applicant further proposes to begin the diversion of 42.87 acre-feet per year Farm Delivery Rate (FDR) inclusive of a Consumptive Use (CIR) of 30.01 ac-ft/year, of surface water for the irrigation of 14.29 acres of land located within the northern portion of Tract 12B1A2A1B, MRGCD Map No. 151, owned by the applicant within projected Section 25, Township 1 South, Range 1 West, NMPM, from the Socorro Main Canal, with a point of diversion on the Rio Grande at the San Acacia Diversion Works (SP-1690-4), on land owned by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD), located within the Sevilleta Grant, within projected SW¼ NE¼ NE¼ of Section 1, Township 1 South, Range 1 West, NMPM, at a point where X=326,225 meters and Y=3,792,219 meters intersect, UTM Zone 13N, NAD 1983. The move-to land is generally located approximately 0.3 mile south of the corner of Highway 408 and Bowman Lane, Socorro County, New Mexico.
Furthermore, the applicant included the following statement:
“More water is available than needed at this place of use. Applicant is seeking to move a portion of the rights to a farm that is ‘dry’. The remaining 10.708 acre-feet will be used within 20.139 acres of Tract 2A1, Map 151.”
To view the application and supporting documentation contact the State Engineer District 1 Office to arrange a date and time for an appointment. The District 1 office is located at 5550 San Antonio Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109.
Any person, firm or corporation or other entity asserting standing to file objections or protests shall do so in writing (objection must be legible, signed, and include the writer’s complete name, phone number, email address, and mailing address). If the protest does not include the complete name, phone number, email address, and mailing address, it may be deemed invalid and not accepted for filing unless Protestant provides with the protest an affidavit stating that it does not have one of the above-listed elements/requirements (phone number, mailing address, email address, etc.). The objection to the approval of the application must be based on: (1) Impairment; if impairment, you must specifically identify your water rights; and/or (2) Public Welfare/Conservation of Water; if public welfare or conservation of water within the state of New Mexico, you shall be required to provide evidence showing how you will be
substantially and specifically affected. The written protest must be filed, in triplicate, with the State Engineer, District 1 Office, located at 5550 San Antonio Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109-4127, on or before Friday, March 15, 2024. Facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted as a valid protest if the hard copy is hand-delivered or mailed and postmarked within 24 hours of the facsimile. Mailing postmark will be used to validate the 24-hour period. Protests can be faxed to the Office of the State Engineer, (505) 383-4030. A copy of the written protest filed with the State Engineer must also be sent to the applicant by certified mail. If no valid protest or objection is filed, the State Engineer will evaluate the application in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 72 NMSA 1978.
Published in the El Defensor Chieftain on January 18 & 25, 2024 and February 1, 2024
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — A leader in the New Mexico Republican Party was arrested Wednesday, accused of a deadly hit-and-run in Las Cruces.
Former Treasurer of the Republican Party in New Mexico, Kimberly Ann Skaggs, 54, was arrested Wednesday and charged with leaving the scene and tampering with evidence, jail records show.
Police documents show the charges stem from a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened Monday afternoon, which killed 40-year-old bicyclist, Andrew Brown.
Investigators believed Skaggs was involved after an investigation revealed that Skaggs allegedly was driving fast in the area, fled the scene after the crash and then tried to hide the vehicle from authorities.
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The investigation
According to police documents, a witness at the scene of the crash– 850 N. Fairacres Rd.– described seeing a dark blonde-haired woman flee in a black Cadillac Escalade SUV.
Afterwards, investigators said they saw on Flock cameras– A.I. powered license plate readers– a black Cadillac Escalade traveling near the site of the crash minutes before the incident.
READ MORE: Dona Ana County expands Flock license plate cameras as officials cite crime-solving gains
The license plates showed that the vehicle belonged to Skaggs and that, in September 2025, the Las Cruces Police Department had given her a citation for “racing on streets-exhibition driving.”
Investigators stated that a business on Picacho Ave. captured what they alleged was the same black Cadillac Escalade driving fast.
Then, the documents described how investigators tracked down the Escalade using OnStar’s live GPS tracking, discovering the SUV was at a property on the 5000 block of Northwind Road, which investigators said the Dona Ana County Assessors Office confirmed is a property owned by Skaggs.
On Tuesday, at around 6:41 p.m.– over 24 hours after the deadly hit-and-run– investigators executed a search warrant on the property and described finding the black Cadillac Escalade behind a home, under a red metal carport.
Investigators noted damage on the SUV consistent with the crash, highlighting that there was blood splatter near one of the front tires, markings on the front bumper consistent with hitting a bicycle and parts missing, which investigators said were the same parts found at the scene.
Dona Ana County jail records show Skaggs was booked on Wednesday afternoon and remains jailed without a bond.
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About Skaggs
On the official website of the Republican Party of New Mexico, Skaggs was listed as the treasurer before she was removed.
KFOX14/CBS4 has reached out to the Republican Party to learn more and are waiting for a comment regarding the arrest.
Also, according to election statistics, Skaggs ran for State Representative in District 36 in 2022 and 2024, losing both times to Democrat Nathan P. Small.
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SANTA FE, N.M. – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked Attorney General Raúl Torrez to investigate whether any Drug Enforcement Administration agents broke state law when pills reached New Mexico streets.
In a statement, Lujan Grisham said, “make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities.”
The governor also shared a timeline from 2022 to 2025 that she said shows when she asked federal officials for help with New Mexico’s fentanyl crisis and violent crime.
Lujan Grisham said the first request came on June 21, 2022, when she wrote to then-Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray and asked for 50 additional federal agents.
She said she wrote to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland on Sept. 15, 2022, asking for more agents, resources and support for New Mexico law enforcement.
Lujan Grisham said she wrote Garland a second time on Aug. 8, 2023, with the same request.
What came next?
About a month later, Lujan Grisham said she sent Garland a third letter and said New Mexico needed more federal law enforcement to curb violent crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
She said her most recent request came on Sept. 4, 2025, when she wrote to former Attorney General Pam Bondi and again asked for additional agents and resources.
The governor’s statement says those requests span several years as she pressed the federal government for more help in New Mexico.
Full statement from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham:
“I am appalled by reporting this week by the Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal that revealed federal authorities made a deliberate decision to let hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills flood into New Mexico communities, despite knowing that fentanyl is so lethal the White House has designated it a weapon of mass destruction.
Let me say that again: the Drug Enforcement Administration watched as 74,000 fentanyl pills were delivered to a mobile home park in Albuquerque, and they did nothing. And that’s just one transaction. Shockingly, the federal government stood by while monitoring shipments, tallying exact pill counts, and watching as these deadly drugs hit the streets.
There are no words to describe how reckless and dangerous these decisions were. Make no mistake: the DEA knew people would die if these pills made it into New Mexico communities, and the agency let it happen anyway. The result: hundreds of New Mexican parents burying their kids. Hundreds of New Mexican kids growing up without stable parents. All while the federal government stood by.
If the justification for letting these pills flood our communities was that it would somehow make New Mexico safer down the road through bigger eventual busts, the results say otherwise. New Mexico now leads the nation in the increase in overdose deaths for the second straight year, despite deaths dropping nationwide.
Today, I wrote to Attorney General Raúl Torrez and asked him to investigate whether any federal agents broke state law when they allowed lethal drugs to remain on our streets, and to prosecute anyone responsible — regardless of whether they are a federal agent or not.
I have spent years working across two administrations — writing letters, traveling to Washington, meeting directly with President Joe Biden and his cabinet, pushing for accountability, asking for more federal agents to be deployed to New Mexico to help fight this crisis.
- On June 21, 2022, I wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray, imploring the FBI to assign no less than 50 additional agents to New Mexico to stem escalating drug trafficking and violent crime.
- On September 15, 2022, I wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, requesting that the Department of Justice provide additional federal agents, resources and support to New Mexico law enforcement. We asked the department to match the level of investigative, analytical, and technical resources the FBI had deployed in its Buffalo, NY surge.
- On August 8, 2023, I wrote again to Attorney General Garland, renewing my request that the DOJ expeditiously assign more federal agents to New Mexico.
- On September 7, 2023, I wrote to Attorney General Garland for a third time, reiterating my request once more federal law enforcement support to curb violent crime, drug and human trafficking.
- On September 4, 2025, I wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, once again requesting additional agents and resources.
I have declared the surge of drugs like fentanyl to be a public health emergency. I have deployed the National Guard to both Albuquerque and Española. While my administration was doing everything we could to stem the tide of fentanyl coming into our state, the federal government deliberately allowed it to flood in.
New Mexican lives are not the federal government’s cost of doing business.
I plan to hold the federal government accountable for this disaster and will explore every possible avenue of action against the federal government to right these wrongs.”
The Canyon Venado Fire has grown to 852 acres east of Clines Corners and crews say wind farms in the area are threatened.
CLINES CORNERS, N.M. – The Canyon Venado Fire has grown to 852 acres east of Clines Corners and crews say wind farms in the area are threatened.
The fire is burning just east of Clines Corners, south of Interstate 40.
It forced the closure of eastbound Interstate 40 at Clines Corners on Tuesday night. I-40 reopened Tuesday night. I-40 is back open but smoke still affects visibility.
“We’re on the side of I-40 so drivers have to be pretty cautious. As far as our establishment itself we’re pretty isolated by the freeway itself as a nice fire break,” said Lincoln Tarantino, Clines Corner general manager.
The fire has burned around 852 acres, up from just 20 at this time Monday.
Crews say the fire is not contained and wind farms in the area are threatened.
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