GUARD-SEX CHARGES
NEW: Former NM guard indicted on sex charges
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A former corrections officer at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque has been indicted on charges that she had a sexual relationship with an inmate who was under her authority.
The district attorney's office says 29-year-old Reyna Lujan faces three counts of criminal sexual penetration.
The indictment charges that Lujan caused the inmate to engage in sexual intercourse on two separate occasions in November and December 2008 and once in January 2009.
The district attorney says each count carries a potential sentence of nine years in prison.
The court has yet to schedule an arraignment for Lujan.
SHERIFF RETIRES
NEW: San Juan Co. Sheriff announces retirement
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The Sheriff of San Juan County has announced his retirement effective at the end of the month.
Sheriff Bob Melton said Wednesday he wants to spend more time with his family.
He is leaving the position with one year left in his second term.
Melton called it an agonizing decision to leave office calling his time as sheriff an honor and a privilege. Melton's last day as sheriff is Dec. 31.
After that, Melton plans to join his family in Texas.
The San Juan County Commission likely will appoint an interim replacement for the remainder of Melton's term.
FENTON-THIN ICE
NEW: Thin ice leads to Fenton Lake closure
LA CUEVA, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico State Parks and the Game and Fish Department have closed the surface of Fenton Lake due to unsafe conditions.
The agencies say continued thermal spring activity under the lake is preventing ice covering the lake surface from becoming thick enough to support a person's weight, making the lake unsafe for any recreation.
State Parks personnel will begin posting the lake to alert visitors to the danger and closure.
The lake closure does not affect the rest of Fenton Lake State Park, which remains open to camping, day use, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and other winter activities.
Park staff will continue to monitor ice conditions and if conditions change, the closure can be withdrawn.
LUBBOCK CHIEF-CHASE
NEW: Lubbock police chief chases down burglary suspect
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — The police chief in Lubbock ran after and caught a burglary suspect after hearing a call about a crime in progress.
Chief Dale Holton was in uniform Wednesday, on his way to lunch, when the call came over the police radio.
Holton was the first officer on the scene, running after and catching the 21-year-old suspect.
Holton says "it's just what we do."
Capt. Greg Stevens says an undercover officer reported seeing a burglary in process. The suspect nabbed by the police chief was among four caught Wednesday in an investigation of at least two burglaries.
Holton has led Lubbock police since February 2008.
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On the Net:
http://police.ci.lubbock.tx.us
SEX CASE SENTENCING
NEW: NM man gets 27-year prison term in child sex case
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico authorities say a man has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for sex acts against a child.
Prosecutors say 33-year-old William Rettew entered no contest pleas Wednesday to 13 felony counts including kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration of a minor and sexual exploitation of a minor.
Rettew was arrested last year after an investigation that he forced a child into sex acts while Rettew was living and working at an Albuquerque shelter with his family. He was indicted in April 2008 on 28 felony charges.
District attorneys say Rettew must register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will supervised for an indefinite period of probation.
MISSING CHILDREN
New Mexico authorities searching for 3 Eldorado children
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office detectives are looking for information regarding the whereabouts of three missing children from Eldorado.
The children all attend Eldorado Elementary School and have been missing since Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities say the 10-year-old twin boys and 8-year-old girl were picked up for lunch by their father, who shares custody of the children with his ex-wife.
Johanna Hilla says when the three kids did not return home and Stephen Hilla did not try to contact her, she called authorities.
Authorities believe Stephen Hilla may be headed to his hometown of Wilmington, N.C.
LAWMAKERS FIGHT
Police investigate fight between state lawmakers
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — State police investigators hope to schedule interviews with two state lawmakers to determine what happened during a reported altercation last week at the state Capitol.
Gallup Democratic Rep. Patty Lundstrom told police Friday that Crownpoint Democratic Rep. Sandra Jeff confronted her near a third-floor elevator as she was leaving an Indian Affairs Committee meeting. She claims Jeff yelled at her and called her "some pretty rough names," then punched her in the arm to make her point.
Jeff couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.
State police Lt. Eric Garcia says even if Lundstrom decides against pressing charges, police still intend to complete their investigation.
RENEWABLE ENERGY HUB
Tres Amigas applies for federal approvals
CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — A company that wants to connect the nation's three massive power grids at a facility in Clovis has applied for regulatory approvals needed to move forward with the project.
Tres Amigas LLC's attorney Dave Raskin of Steptoe & Johnson said Wednesday the company has submitted two filings to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The company is asking to sell transmission rights through the eastern New Mexico facility based on market rates.
Raskin says Tres Amigas also is asking that Texas' jurisdiction over the Texas power grid after it's connected to the facility remains.
The proposed facility would route energy from isolated wind and solar installations to urban centers.
Raskin says the commission could issue a decision in early February.
PRUKOP RESIGNATION
New Mexico agency leader leaving for conservation job
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The secretary of the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is leaving Gov. Bill Richardson's administration for a job with a conservation organization.
Joanna Prukop is retiring at the end of the month and will become director of business for wildlife with a group called Freedom to Roam. It's a coalition of businesses and conservation groups that wants to protect wildlife corridors that allow animals to move from place to place.
Richardson announced Wednesday that Jon Goldstein will replace Prukop.
Goldstein has served as deputy secretary in the Environment Department since 2007.
Prukop worked for the state Game and Fish Department for 26 years before joining the Richardson administration in 2003 as a cabinet-level agency secretary.
COLORADO-TRI-STATE
Tri-State, environmentalists reach regulatory deal
DENVER (AP) — A major rural electric provider has agreed to allow more state input for its resource plans while maintaining its independence.
State regulators accepted a proposal Wednesday from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Co. and environmental group Western Resource Advocates. The agreement would allow more input by the public and regulators.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has been considering whether to increase its oversight of Tri-State, Colorado's second-largest utility. Environmentalists say Tri-State is too dependent on coal-fired power plants.
Tri-State had objected to more state involvement in its planning. It serves customers in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming.
PARENTS BEHIND BARS
Metro jail in New Mexico opens space for family time
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque has unveiled a new place for children to spend quality time with their incarcerated parents, turning jail time into family time.
There are no glass separators and no phones to talk through. Just a meeting cell that also has board games to play.
Experts say children with parents behind bars worry constantly about their moms and dads. This is a chance for them to get peace of mind and it's also an opportunity for people in jail to get parenting skills that could prevent kids from following the wrong path.
The program currently focuses on mothers who are locked up, but the jail is planning to expand the program to fathers too.
It's estimated that about 10,000 children in New Mexico have a mother or father behind bars at some point during the year.
URANIUM PLANT
Regulators monitor Lea County uranium plant drill
EUNICE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials were on hand to evaluate an emergency response training exercise at a uranium enrichment facility in southeastern New Mexico, another step toward the plant's efforts to begin operations next year.
Tuesday's training involved first responders from the Eunice police and fire departments, Lea County law enforcement and Lea Regional Medical Center staff.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission project inspector Cynthia Taylor says the exercise "went well."
The drill involved a worst-case scenario where a container of enriched uranium was damaged and leaked. Taylor says the scenario tested coordination between onsite and offsite emergency response agencies.
The company that is building the plant, Louisiana Energy Services, will work with responding agencies on a self-evaluation. NRC officials also plan their own evaluation.
SKI SEASON
Ski Santa Fe to open its season Friday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Ski Santa Fe will open its skiing season tomorrow, earlier than expected.
Officials with Ski Santa Fe say they will open 85 percent of the lower mountain on 29 inches of natural and man made snow.
Skiers and snowboarders will have access to Midland, Broadway, Muerte, Thunderbird, J.C., Lower Gayway, Lower Parachute, Open Slope, Davey Lane, Thruway, Crossover, Santa Fe Trail, Easy Street and Pine Flats.
