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Local News

  • Mayor sets out agenda

    Mayor Tony Marquez on Thursday called the first five months of his time at the helm a “turning point” and vowed to govern with citizen input.

    He spoke during what the city billed as the State of the City address, the first such speech in memory. More than 200, including many local dignitaries, attended the event at Ilfeld Auditorium.

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  • KFUN's Baca: I won lottery

    This morning, KFUN radio station owner Joseph Baca was reading various items from the community bulletin for his listeners.

    But he was holding back on especially good news in his life: He told the Optic that he won $1 million in the Powerball.

    The 61-year-old said he was planning on claiming the prize today at the New Mexico Lottery headquarters in Albuquerque. New Mexico Lottery spokeswoman Linda Hamlin said her agency doesn’t make an announcement until it’s presented with a ticket.

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  • San Miguel County to keep Safe Ride after all

    The Safe Ride program has taken quite a ride over the last few days.

    Late last week, County Manager Les Montoya put on hold the service that provides free rides homes from bars. He held out the possibility that the program may come back pending further review.

    This week, as it turns out, he decided to revive the program, which operates from Thursday through Saturday nights.

    Both decisions were the result of input from members of the County Commission, Montoya said.

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  • SATURDAY UPDATE: New coaches at RHS — for now

    When the Robertson High School football team comes out for practice Monday, it'll have new coaches — at least for the time being.

    Richard Martinez, a longtime wrestling and middle school football coach for the district, will be taking over as interim head coach, while Pat Garcia, another coach for the district, will assist Martinez, officials said.

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  • Baby girl is attacked by dog

    A 20-month-old baby was attacked by a dog earlier this week, sending the girl to a hospital for surgery.

    It was an incident that left police officers “shook up,” an official said.

    Around 9 a.m. Monday, Amaya Melendez was attacked by what state police described as a pit bull in a house near Harris Pond north of Las Vegas, officials said.

    She was bitten numerous times and was taken to the hospital for surgery to remedy serious wounds, officials said.

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  • Full text of mayor's speech

    Note: This is the full prepared text of Mayor Tony Marquez's State of the City address. Marquez ad-libbed during his speech, so quotes in the Optic story may not be included in this speech text.

    STATE OF THE CITY

    THE FIRST 150 DAYS AND “INTO THE FUTURE”

    WELCOME

    (Recognize attendees) thanks.

    On March 4th, the people of Las Vegas voted for change. It presented a great opportunity to provide a turning point – for the way city government is to operate. I’d like to thank youee for allowing me to lead this effort.

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  • Three suspected in burglary

    State police have arrested three people in connection with a burglary in the Mineral Hill area.

    During the late afternoon of Aug. 7, state police officers officers met with the owner of the home that had been burglarized, according to a state police press release.

    The victim said someone had kicked in the back door of the residence. He reported that a Gateway computer, a .22-caliber handgun and alcohol had been stolen from the residence.

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  • Summer break nearing an end

    Mario Urioste was enjoying his last days of summer vacation tossing the football around at Lincoln Park with his dad, Chris, while his mom, Christina, watched from under a shady tree.

    Urioste has enjoyed his summer traveling to see family in Albuquerque and going camping.

    He will be an eighth-grader grader at Memorial Middle School and is looking forward to getting back to school.

    Urioste said he has been practicing with the high school football team and is looking forward to playing this fall.

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  • County reverses decision on hiring

    A man who pleaded no contest a few months ago to accepting a bribe was about ready to begin work in the San Miguel County assessor’s office.

    However, at the last minute, the county decided against going through with the hiring of Lucas Marquez, 31.

    He is a former Mora County sheriff’s deputy who was accused of telling a woman she could either perform a sex act or go to jail while he was at her home for a disturbance call.

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  • Official puts Safe Ride on hold

    A program to provide free rides home from bars has been discontinued, but a top San Miguel County official held out the possibility that the service may return.

    County Manager Les Montoya said this week that he has put a stop to the Safe Ride program because of general County Commission concerns with the service.

    He made the decision last week, which took effect immediately. The program had been providing rides from Thursday to Saturday nights.

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The Las Vegas Optic is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in San Miguel County and Las Vegas, NM, and the surrounding area.