KCCC Eddy County Dispatch

This week: triple-digit heat, the Eddy County Fair, and news from around the community.

This week’s Mid-Week Matters, hosted by Endymion, brings Eddy County the latest on a scorching heat wave, the 81st Annual Eddy County Fair, and happenings from around the community.

Temperatures climb into the triple digits through the weekend and hold there into next week, with no rain in the forecast. The Eddy County Fair continues through Saturday with carnival rides, livestock shows, and bull riding, alongside a full slate of library programs and civic meetings across Carlsbad and Artesia.

In the Eddy County Quickies, New Mexico regulators raise bonding requirements for oil and gas wells, and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant targets a return to underground waste shipments after two hoist failures sidelined operations since May. (Sources: POLITICO; ExchangeMonitor)

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through our website (www.kccc930am.com).

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In this episode of Community Forum on KCCC 930 AM, owner Jonathan Chandler sits down with Ann Halford, known throughout Eddy County as the $2-Bill Lady, for a conversation on love, compassion, and community.

At 97, Ann reflects on the family history that shaped her, the decades-long tradition of handing out $2 bills that grew out of a Reader’s Digest article, and the two mission trips to Swaziland that left, in her words, “a big piece of her heart” in Africa.

Ann shares what she hopes her small acts of kindness leave behind, saying,

“It’s not about me. It’s about what can I do to help to ease other people’s lives.”

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The KCCC Eddy County Dispatch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Every life leaves an imprint on the people and places it touches. On this episode of In Memoriam, the community pauses to honor residents who lived or died in Carlsbad, NM, through abridged obituaries provided by Denton-Wood Funeral Home. These tributes offer a moment of collective remembrance, while extended life stories, service details, and spaces for family condolences remain with the funeral home.

In this episode, the community honors the memory of Juana Ortiz Gonzalez, Bentura “Guero” Salcido, Charles (Chuck) Alan Lane, Helen Munselle, and Mary Ruth Mitchell.

For additional details or to leave a message for the family, visit Denton-Wood Funeral Home’s memorial page:https://www.dentonwood.com/obituaries

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The KCCC Eddy County Dispatch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Community Forum host Johnny Chandler sits down with Dr. Peter Jewell, a primary care family medicine doctor at Artesia General Hospital, known around the community as “the jewel of Artesia General.”

Dr. Jewell talks about his path from a career in radio and journalism to medicine, 18 years practicing in Roswell, and what drew him to rural, community-based care in Eddy County.

He also opens up about his own type 1 diabetes diagnosis at age 11, his passion for treating diabetes in the community, and his advice for staying healthy — plus how to reach his office if you’re looking for a new doctor.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The KCCC Eddy County Dispatch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Already a subscriber? A one-time donation goes just as far.

In Case You MIssed It: Eddy County has a busy stretch ahead, and Mid-Week Matters rounds up what’s worth knowing (that we can find) — from family events and library programs to a few pieces of news that might catch residents off guard.

SENMC is launching a new Eddy County Drone Soccer League this fall, WIPP’s Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System is now operating after final regulatory approval, and Artesia has a new interim police chief following Kirk Roberts’ retirement.

Add in a carnival, a dinner theater run, library programs, and a benefit gala for first responders, and there’s something for nearly everyone this week.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The KCCC Eddy County Dispatch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Already a subscriber? A one-time donation goes just as far.

Community Forum host Johnny Chandler welcomes back Joe Gurrola, chief operating officer of Artesia General Hospital, and Kush Ghadial, the hospital’s director of public relations, both returning to the show for the first time in about two years.

The conversation covers the hospital’s $30,000 sign-on bonus for new nurses, a new family medicine residency program launching with Texas Tech, and a mobile clinic set to expand care into underserved parts of Eddy County later this year.

Gurrola and Ghadial also talk about the hospital’s new da Vinci surgical system arriving in August, the advanced MRI technology already in use, and how the nonprofit hospital’s Carlsbad locations fit into the bigger picture.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The KCCC Eddy County Dispatch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Already a subscriber? A one-time donation goes just as far.

Every life leaves an imprint on the people and places it touches. On this episode of In Memoriam, the community pauses to honor residents who lived or died in Carlsbad, NM, through abridged obituaries provided by Denton-Wood Funeral Home. These tributes offer a moment of collective remembrance, while extended life stories, service details, and spaces for family condolences remain with the funeral home.

In this episode, the community honors the memory of Nathaniel Gordon, Rosemary Ogas, Dallas D. Martin, Betty Jo Crutcher, and Adán Martínez.

For additional details or to leave a message for the family, visit Denton-Wood Funeral Home’s memorial page:https://www.dentonwood.com/obituaries

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through our website (www.kccc930am.com).

Community Forum picks back up with Paul Gessing of the Rio Grande Foundation, recorded in the same sitting as Part 1.

This half turns to Albuquerque’s gross receipts tax fight, a minimum wage debate tied to inflation, and the rise of data centers in New Mexico — including Project Jupiter and the role produced water could play in powering them.

Missed Part 1? It’s linked below.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The KCCC Eddy County Dispatch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Already a subscriber? A one-time donation goes just as far.

Eddy County has a busy stretch ahead, and Mid-Week Matters rounds up what’s worth knowing (that we can find) — from family events and library programs to a few pieces of news that might catch residents off guard.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park has a new way to watch its bat colony, oil and gas production numbers put Eddy County at the center of the state’s economy, and a proposed reclamation facility near Highway 62 is now in front of regulators.

Add in a stacked calendar of theater showtimes, library programs, blood drives, and community fundraisers, and there’s something for nearly everyone this week.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The KCCC Eddy County Dispatch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Already a subscriber? A one-time donation goes just as far.

Community Forum host Johnny Chandler welcomes Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, into the studio for the first time in person — and the conversation doesn’t hold back.

Part 1 digs into the fallout from New Mexico’s recent primary election, the state’s oil-and-gas-fueled budget surplus, and a wave of business owners weighing whether to leave New Mexico altogether.

Part 2 airs Thursday. Catch it here on the KCCC Eddy County Dispatch or on KCCC 930 AM.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The KCCC Eddy County Dispatch is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Already a subscriber? A one-time donation goes just as far.