KCCC Eddy County Dispatch

With the June 2nd primary one week away, Hattie Quinn sits down with Eddy County Clerk Cara Cooke — who has worked in the Bureau of Elections since 2007 — for a conversation about process, not candidates.

How does a candidate get on the ballot? What happens when your ballot goes into the tabulator? Why do two locks with two different keys matter? Cara walks through all of it — same-day registration, the new semi-open primary, absentee and permanent absentee voting, and what election workers actually experience on a day that starts at 6 AM and does not end until well after 7 PM.

There is also a frank conversation about voter turnout. The Artesia mayoral race was decided by around 20 votes out of more than 8,000 eligible voters. That conversation is worth your time.

A few things to know before June 2nd: New Mexico does not require a photo ID to vote, unless there is an address discrepancy. Ballots are printed on demand when you check in. And if you see two election officials approach the tabulator at a polling site, that is not tampering — it is simply keeping the tabulator running by freeing up space in the write-in ballot bin.

Early voting runs Monday through Friday 8 AM to 6 PM and Saturdays 8 AM to 4 PM through May 31st at the Eddy County Clerk’s Office, 325 South Main Street, Carlsbad, and the Artesia Sub Office at 602 South 1st Street. Election Day is Tuesday, June 2nd, 7 AM to 7 PM. Sample ballots at nmvote.org.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through the Eddy County Dispatch (kccc930am.substack.com) or our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The Eddy County Dispatch, presented by KCCC 930 AM, 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.

Hattie brings this week’s community roundup from Carlsbad, the seat of Eddy County — what’s happening around the area, micro-news that affects your daily life, and a special community corner honoring Southeast New Mexico College’s inaugural Mountain Lion Student of the Month class.

This week’s events run from a grand opening ribbon cutting and free summer movies at La Cueva to a veteran resource fair, a lineman camp for young adults considering a trade, cops and goats on a Friday morning, a throwback photo studio at Milton’s Brewing, and the return of Caffeine and Cultivation at the Carlsbad Public Library. Cavern Fest is on the horizon at Lake Carlsbad Beach Park, and Eddy County CASA’s Project Playhouse raffle kicks off June 5th with custom-built playhouses up for grabs — all proceeds supporting children in foster care.

In the news, vehicle registration fees increase 25% for most passenger vehicles on July 1st — state-mandated through Senate Bill 2. You may be able to renew for up to two years before the deadline. The June 2nd primary is one week away with five candidates competing for governor and early voting underway now at the Eddy County Clerk’s office. And Steve Pearce of Hobbs is now Director of the Bureau of Land Management, confirmed by the Senate 46-43.

The community corner this week belongs to SENMC. Six students were recognized in the inaugural year of the Mountain Lion Student of the Month program — Elida Sotelo, Rita Mariana Moreno Urquidy, Antonia Robledo, Sammy Lopez Jr., Charlie Beardmore, and Wei Rongxian. Mariana was named the inaugural Mountain Lion Student of the Year for a disability support group that began as a class project and grew into something lasting. Six students, one inaugural year, all of them rooted right here in Eddy County. Southeast New Mexico College, you should be proud.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through the Eddy County Dispatch (kccc930am.substack.com) or our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The Eddy County Dispatch, presented by KCCC 930 AM, 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.

Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, joins Johnny Chandler on Community Forum to discuss the constitutional lawsuit challenging Governor Lujan Grisham's universal free childcare program, the decline of New Mexico's film subsidy industry, and a federal school choice tax credit currently awaiting the governor's decision. Recorded ahead of the June 2nd primary.

Bestselling author and legal thriller legend William Bernhardt joins Book Crew hosts Dirk Hooper and Beth A. Freely for a conversation about his newest book, The Superman Wars — a narrative nonfiction account of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel's decades-long battle for recognition and ownership. Bernhardt also reflects on his own journey as an author of more than sixty books, the ethics of the publishing industry, and the importance of writer community through WriterCon.

This week, the Carlsbad community pauses to reflect on the lives of residents who have recently passed. These abridged records serve as a respectful tribute to those who helped build and shape the local area. While these summaries offer a moment of collective remembrance, the full life stories, service details, and spaces for family condolences are maintained by the funeral homes serving our community.

In this episode, the community remembers those served by West Funeral Home — recent tributes and memorial announcements for Carlsbad residents.

To read the complete life stories or to leave a message for the families, please visit the official memorial pages:

West Funeral Home Obituaries https://www.westfuneralhomellc.com/obits

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through the Eddy County Dispatch (kccc930am.substack.com) or our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The Eddy County Dispatch, presented by KCCC 930 AM, is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This week, the Carlsbad community pauses to reflect on the lives of residents who have recently passed. These abridged records serve as a respectful tribute to those who helped build and shape the local area. While these summaries offer a moment of collective remembrance, the full life stories, service details, and spaces for family condolences are maintained by the funeral homes serving our community.

In this episode, the community remembers those served by Denton-Wood Funeral Home — recent tributes and memorial announcements for Carlsbad residents.

To read the complete life stories or to leave a message for the families, please visit the official memorial pages.

Denton-Wood Funeral Home Obituaries https://www.dentonwood.com/obituaries

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through the Eddy County Dispatch (kccc930am.substack.com) or our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The Eddy County Dispatch, presented by KCCC 930 AM, is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Christina Mann, the Bee Lady, returns to Community Forum to discuss the near-complete takeover of Eddy County by Africanized killer bees, the disappearance of European honeybees, the absence of USDA bee inspections in New Mexico, and a 2024 fatality at an oil field site she believes was preventable. Recent callouts include a swarm at Christian Prep Academy and a wasp emergency at Slaughter Cave. Contact: 575-885-0258 or Facebook at Christina HuntonLady.

Memorial Day weekend is almost here, and Eddy County has a full slate — from foam parties to flag placements to a free concert festival at the lake. This week's Mid-Week Matters also has an Eddy County Quickies Micro News segment that ranges from WIPP records to a local case that landed on national television.

The weekly events listing runs from today through June, with Memorial Day observances, live music, a farmers market, a film screening, and two major summer events further on the horizon worth marking now.

The Eddy County Quickies Micro News this week covers politics, the courts, public safety, and one Carlsbad story that drew a CBS News story. It’s a dense news week for a county that rarely slows down.

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through the Eddy County Dispatch (kccc930am.substack.com) or our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The Eddy County Dispatch, presented by KCCC 930 AM, 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.

Real estate is likely the single largest transaction most people will ever make — and Eddy County has someone in the field who understands it from the inside out. In this Community Forum, host Johnny Chandler sits down with Dominic Longoria, associate broker for Century 21 Associated Professionals and president of the Carlsbad Board of Realtors, for an honest conversation about buying, selling, and building in Eddy County.

Longoria came to real estate in 2020 after years in oil and gas, and he brings a straight-talking perspective on what buyers get wrong, how commercial and residential transactions differ, and where Eddy County’s growth is actually headed. He also shares his role in Carlson Ranch, the 1,200-acre master plan community along National Parks Highway.

The conversation covers the retail leakage study showing nearly $700 million leaving the local zip code annually, why the 285/62/180 Y intersection — the third busiest in New Mexico — deserves more attention from the state, and what it will take for Eddy County to attract the development it is ready for.

To reach Dominic Longoria: Century 21 Associated Professionals

1205 West Pierce Street, Carlsbad, NM 88220

505-681-4657

[email protected]

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through the Eddy County Dispatch (kccc930am.substack.com) or our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The Eddy County Dispatch, presented by KCCC 930 AM, 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.

Today at noon and 11 PM on KCCC 930 AM Radio.

In May 2005, Natalee Holloway vanished during her senior trip to Aruba — a vacation that was supposed to be all beaches, pina coladas, and flip-flops, not one of the most infamous missing persons cases in modern history. Last week, we began the story. This week, Twisted and Mysterious brings it home.

In Part II of this episode, we continue digging into Joran van der Sloot’s endless lies and confessions-that-weren’t, the investigators who refused to let it go, and the case’s strange place in both true crime history and pop culture. Equal parts tragic and baffling, this is a story that still grips people two decades later.

Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave them a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts and consider subscribing to the show. You can find them on social media @twistedandmysterious and email them at [email protected].

This episode aired in two parts on KCCC 930 AM Radio. To hear the full episode now, visit: https://rss.com/podcasts/twistedandmysterious/2247468/

Aired on KCCC 930 AM Radio and available through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and through the Eddy County Dispatch (kccc930am.substack.com) or our website (www.kccc930am.com).

The Eddy County Dispatch, presented by KCCC 930 AM, 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.