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Collaborative efforts between New Mexico OSHA and NMOGA help increase Worker Safety

Collaborative efforts between New Mexico OSHA and NMOGA help increase Worker Safety

 

An agreement that establishes an alliance to foster safer and more healthful New Mexico workplaces was signed by the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (NM OSHA) and the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association (NMOGA).

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EPA Orders Albuquerque Racetrack to Stop Discharges to Protect Rio Grande

EPA Orders Albuquerque Racetrack to Stop Discharges to Protect Rio Grande

An action against the Downs at Albuquerque Inc. and EXPO New Mexico was issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in order to stop the discharges of animal waste, industrial run-off and other pollutants into the Rio Grande.

The New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) conducted an on-site inspection on November 15, 2011 and found that the facility did not have a properly designed storm water runoff containment structure and also did not have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit that allows facilities to discharge to U.S. Waters.

NM National Guard preparing for deployment

 LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - Members of New Mexico's National Guard are busy letting their employers know they'll be leaving soon to serve their nation.

The Las Cruces Sun-News reports guardsmen will serve in support of the Multi-Force Observer mission between Egypt and Israel.

Guardsmen will conduct checkpoints, reconnaissance patrols, and observation posts along the international boundaries to observe and verify compliance with the treaty.

The observer mission was established in 1981 with the signing of the Protocol to the Treaty of Peace between Egypt and Israel.

Guard members on this mission will include units in Farmington, Rio Rancho, Albuquerque and Las Cruces.

But the Guard's 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Division, from Las Cruces, will be the umbrella organization for the deployment.

The mission is expected to last nearly a year.

Southern NM officials warn of high fire danger 

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) - Despite recent rain and snow in southwest New Mexico, officials are still concerned about dangerous wildfires.

Grant County Fire Manager Gary Benavidez tells the Las Cruces Sun-News that Sunday's 1,300 acre Whippy Fire in the Cullum Estates neighborhood of White Signal had the potential to be as devastating as the Quail Ridge fire from nearly a year ago.

That fire destroyed 13 homes and 60 buildings. Benavidez added that had the wind been blowing harder, the situation could have been a lot worse.

Fire officials say now is an excellent time to get the grass mowed, do some pruning and thinning of brush around your house.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Authorities investigate possible Anthony pet poisonings

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - The Animal Cruelty Task Force in Dona Ana County is looking into a string of possible pet poisonings in Anthony.

A Sheriff's Office spokeswoman tells the Las Cruces Sun-News that a man's two dogs and three other pets died after they were poisoned.

A neighbor's cat and a dog are also recovering. Another animal poisoning case was reported 11 miles south in Santa Teresa after someone tossed rat poisoning into a yard and a dog ate it.

Area animal advocacy groups are also hoping to offer a reward for information that leads to an arrest if the poisonings are determined to be intentional acts against animals.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Letters detail what man went through in solitary confinement

KOB Eyewitness News 4 is getting a closer look into what a man endured while in solitary confinement for two years.

On Tuesday, a federal jury awarded Stephen Slevin $22 million for the inhumane treatment he endured while at the Dona Ana County Jail. Slevin had been driving through Dona Ana County in 2005 when he was arrested for a DWI.

From day one, Slevin said he fought to see a doctor to treat his depression.

His lawyer, Matt Coyte, said Slevin was immediately labeled suicidal and had just one medical examination before being forced into solitary confinement.

Slevin wrote more than a dozen letters, all with the same message. 

" He hand writes these letters, please help me. The medication is not working," Coyte said.

One of the first letters was written on September 4, 2005 - just days after Slevin was arrested. In it he said he's not sleeping, is in a deep depression and cannot eat.

Man awarded $22M denied medical attention while in jail

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A federal jury has awarded $22 million to a man who was kept in solitary confinement for two years and forced to pull his own tooth after being arrested for drunken driving in Dona Ana County.