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Today's News

  • County fires housing director

    San Miguel County has fired its housing director, Gilbert Almanza, just weeks after an unfavorable audit.


    Almanza’s last day as director is today.


    County Manager Les Montoya confirmed the county terminated Almanza from the position. But he said the county’s finance department was hiring Almanza as an information technology employee to help install a new computer system.

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  • Official wasn’t told about letter

    By David Giuliani
    Las Vegas Optic
    In October, San Miguel County’s housing authority informed Las Vegas resident Robert Jones, 70, that he was losing his federal housing subsidy because of his use of medical marijuana.


    But the county’s top official didn’t know about that decision beforehand.


    The case has attracted national attention.

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  • Radio event helps mentoring program

    There was a lot of excitement and good-natured cajoling going on over the KFUN-KLVF radio airwaves as friends and neighbors challenged each other to donate just a little more money during the Big Brothers Big Sisters Radiothon on Saturday.


    Radio station owners Joseph and Loretta Baca opened their doors to Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers for a two-hour show aimed at raising money to keep the program up and running.


    Community coordinator Maggie Romigh said more than $3,000 was raised in two hours.

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  • Officials back low-fly proposal

    Four of the five San Miguel County commissioners say they support Cannon Air Force Base’s plan to fly planes low over northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.


    Cannon, which is near Clovis, wants to fly its aircraft as low as 200 feet. It promises to avoid towns and to conduct most missions at night.


    In September, the Las Vegas City Council voted unanimously for a resolution to oppose the training flights.

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  • County expected to act on wind farm regulations next month

    San Miguel County plans to decide on an ordinance regulating wind turbines next month.


    This week, the County Commission voted to begin the process of adopting an ordinance.


    The proposed ordinance would require that wind turbines be at least three miles from occupied homes — a provision that the industry staunchly opposes.

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  • Cowboys reach end of trying year

    Win, lose or draw on Saturday afternoon in Durango, Colo., it’ll be the end of the line for what has been a dramatic and difficult season of New Mexico Highlands University football.


    The Cowboys (1-9, 1-7) play at Fort Lewis (2-7, 2-6) in the regular-season finale for both teams; kickoff is 1 p.m.

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  • Spikers in state tourney

    The New Mexico state high school volleyball tournaments in all classes reach the quarterfinal round Friday morning at Rio Rancho’s Santa Ana Star Center.


    As of press time Thursday, four Optic-area teams were still alive and immersed in pool play. Class 3A’s tourney had ninth-seeded Robertson and 12th-seeded West Las Vegas in action. Old nemesis Pojoaque, a former district rival of the Lady Cardinals and Lady Dons, is the team to beat.

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  • Rangers stand in Cowgirls’ way

    Highlands’ women’s soccer team makes its first-ever national tournament appearance Friday with a rematch against Regis, the same team that knocked the Cowgirls out of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament.


    The match is set for a noon (Mountain) kickoff in Winona, Minn., host site for the NCAA Division II Central regional.


    Regis (14-4-1) won the RMAC tourney Nov. 7 with wins over NMHU and regular-season champ Fort Lewis.


    The Highlands-Regis winner plays Winona State on Sunday.

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  • Commentary: Roybal exemplified ‘role model’

    By Henry Sanchez

    Growing up most  athletes have their heroes or role models. My role model and hero was Toby Roybal from Santa Fe. Toby Roybal died from lymphatic cancer on July 11, 1962, at the young age of 30.


    Let me tell you a few things about my role model. Toby’s father Celestino died when Toby was 13, leaving his wife Ruth and seven children on earth. This made Toby — as his brother Lenny recalls — the father of the family.

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  • Card to show off local fighters

    Opponents can switch with little warning in the mercurial universe of pro boxing. So it comes as little surprise, then, that Arturo Crespin’s main event matchup Saturday will have him facing Patrick Thompson instead of the originally scheduled Oscar Castillo.


    But fight fans should consider this change — assuming it holds, of course — a positive.

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