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photo courtesy Pancho Romero

Posted Thursday, June 12, 2025 10:29 am

Las Cruces Bulletin

Mesilla Valley Jazz and Blues Society will bring Plaza de Las Cruces to life with jazz music in partnership with the New Mexico Juneteenth Jazz Arts Festival at 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 22.

The jazz and blues society is a nonprofit organization in Las Cruces dedicated to promoting jazz and blues music and creating opportunities for musicians in southern New Mexico.

Because of their sponsorship, this year’s New Mexico Juneteenth Jazz Arts Festival, running June 13 – 22, will close out with a performance by local group the Footprints. The night will also feature a special performance by jazz bassist Nat Reeves.

“Between the main event and our group, I think we’re going to have a really good variety of music,” said Pancho Romero, director of MVJBS and Footprints trumpeter. “Including some Latin jazz, some bebop, some straight-ahead jazz … we’re going to have a lot of good music to offer.”

Romero said he enjoys hosting monthly concerts and meeting musicians in the area. His close musical partnership with the Juneteenth Jazz Arts Festival organizer, Derrick Lee, led to MVJBS contributing to this cultural event.

The federal holiday Juneteenth, recognized on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Since 2021, Lee, a musician and educator, has made it his mission to celebrate and raise awareness of this day in Las Cruces with an important musical genre to Black American culture – Jazz.

This free, yearly festival relies on grants, donations and volunteers to continue and annual membership dues. For more information: Visit online at www.mvjazzblues.net or on social media @MVJBS.

Keywords

Jazz, Juneteenth Jazz Arts Festival, Footprints

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The governing board of Explore Academy in Las Cruces voted to close their high school last week, surprising some parents.

On Friday, June 20, the board voted unanimously to shutter the high school but keep grades kindergarten through 8^th grade running. The immediate closure will cancel the upcoming school year that was due to start on July 28.

“We are crushed,” Janelle Vasquez, mother of one student, said.

Her child has special needs and has been attending the school for the last three years. Vasquez said that her child enjoyed the small classroom sizes and the higher amount of attention each student received. She said she does not want to place her child in a public high school because he “would just get lost.”

“Now we are stuck trying to figure out where to put him,” Vasquez said.

As for any notice that this was coming, Vasquez said that she “really didn’t hear anything.”

In the agenda for the June 20 meeting, the vote took place under the agenda item titled “School Path Forward Presentation and Discussion.”

School Board Co-Chair Angel Rivera said that she understands that it may not appear on the agenda that there would be a vote there to close the high school but “there had to be a deciding point on where we go from here.”

According to the meeting minutes, four options were presented to the board. These options included continuing as normal but becoming $659,000 in debt and “likely close by December 2025,” get rid of 10 staff and not have enough staff to keep the school functioning, submit a deferment proposal for the high school property on Del Rey as well as cut staff and bank on large growth in the future, or close the school.

The board voted 5-0 to close the high school after being open for just two years. Explore Academy has not graduated a class of students.

“The conversation has been ongoing since November,” School Board Co-Chair Christine Reyes said. “We exhausted all other options to keep K-12 open.”

As for how the school got into the financial situation, Reyes explained that the school got hit with a balloon payment — a one-time large payment due at the end of the mortgage designed to lower monthly payments and shorten the time it takes to pay the mortgage — that worsened the financial situation.

In addition to this expense, Reyes said that the previous board also had contracts that “were not revealed” until later and they were “a surprise to everyone.” Reyes continued by saying the payment for the contract “continues for some time” and hurts their financial health.

The contracts revolved around the high school, but she declined to comment further on it.

When asked about how much the parents were aware of the situation, Reyes said that “It’s mostly been head administration and the board. The parents have been blindsided for sure.”

Vasquez said her family is scrambling to place her child.

“We are just trying to figure it all out right now. I sent out a bunch of emails this morning because we need to know what we are doing because one charter school starts on July 11 and if we are going to go there, we need to know,” Vasquez explained.

In the letter sent to parents, Explore Academy attached links to websites for the Las Cruces Public School district and other charter schools. When asked what other support was sent out to parents, Vasquez said, “Nothing.”

According to their website, Explore Academy Las Cruces serves 700 students across all grades. They first opened in 2021 and initially offered education for grades 6-8 but expanded from there.

Explore Academy, high school, closed

The Runoff

Two wildfires burning north of Silver City have burned an area more than 80,000 acres, according to the latest updates, as state health officials warn of smoke impacts on respiratory health in the area.

Also, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday afternoon issued an emergency declaration, which directs $750,000 in state money toward firefighting efforts. She also announced she’d secured federal help via a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that will cover some costs for fires that threaten to become “major disasters.”

“I appreciate our federal partners for taking this threat seriously and for doing their part in supporting the responders who are working their hardest to protect the community,” Lujan Grisham said in a news release.

The smoke advisory is in effect in Grant and Catron counties until at least Tuesday afternoon, according to health officials, with smoke reaching as far away as the Las Cruces area. The officials offered some tips here.

The advisory comes as both fires burn in hot, dry conditions forecasted to last for several more days. Since Monday, both fires grew significantly, with the Trout Fire doubling in size from 12,000 acres to more than 24,000, and the Buck Fire about 30 miles north of it growing from 34,000 acres to more than 57,000.

Both fires are now the biggest of this wildfire season in New Mexico. Forecasts for both note the drought conditions that aren’t expected to let up.

“Crews are bracing for increased fire activity,” according to the team in charge of the Trout Fire. “And the public should expect the potential for additional changes to evacuation status.”

While evacuations have been ordered in the Trout Fire, no structures have been damaged or destroyed in either blaze. A detailed evacuation map can be found here. A shelter for evacuees has been set up by Red Cross New Mexico at the Grant County Business & Conference Center in Silver City.

Private ranches with structures are near the Buck Fire, but crews are taking steps to protect them, according to previous updates. The Trout Fire is burning a little more than 10 miles north of Silver City.

The Buck Fire is 15% contained, according to the latest update. The Trout Fire is still 0% contained. The State Emergency Operations Center is coordinating resources requested by local emergency managers.

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Courtesy of Alex Burr

Posted Thursday, June 12, 2025 10:32 am

Susan Morée Las Cruces Bulletin

Alex Burr is 93 years young but for him age is just a number.

Burr is competing in the 2025 New Mexico Senior Olympics in the power walking competition next week. He is one of nearly 200 people who are 50 or older who registered to participate in one of 26 different sports to be held at various locations around Las Cruces from June 18-22.

The games, now called the Ernesto Ramos State Summer Games to honor the founder, will draw registrants from all over New Mexico and other states to compete. Cecilia Acosta, executive director, said this year is not a qualifying year for the national level games, so some people will come out to warm up and keep active.

This year will be the first time the state games have held an opening ceremony since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Acosta said. Also, cities around New Mexico bid to play host to the games for four years and this is Las Cruces’ fourth year to host. While Las Cruces might bid and win to play host again for another four-year stint, this could be the city’s last time to host the games for at least another four years.

Acosta said New Mexico Senior Olympics officials will announce the new host city by the end of the month.

For Burr, the games are a chance to compete.

“It gives me a goal to keep going,” Burr said.

Another Las Cruces competitor, Eugene Pettes, who is 82, has been participating in the Senior Olympics for around 30 years and he is competing in six track and field categories.

He will be competing in the 200 meter, the 100 meter and the 50 meter events, as well as the triple jump, the high jump and the standing long jump.

The Las Cruces native said he started running track in high school and that he continued to run after he graduated from Las Cruces High School in 1962.

Pettes said the games are something to look forward to.

“The best part is just to be able to compete,” Pettes said.

Acosta said it’s a nice way to give attention to seniors.

“They do so much for the kids and the grandkids. It’s time for them to be in the spotlight,” Acosta said.

Burr said there is no secret to how a person can live to be 93 and still be in good enough shape to compete in a Senior Olympic sport.

“There isn’t any [secret]. I go and do something,” he said.

Burr said he played basketball in high school but he was not overly athletic.

For those who are over 50 and don’t feel ready for Olympic-level competition, the state games include recreational events for those who want to come out for the social aspects of playing a sport. Acosta said some of those include things such as frisbee and air gun. There are also exhibition events, such as power lifting and tai chi.

“We’re trying to access the interest in those two sports,” Acosta said.

She said the Senior Olympics takes heat exhaustion seriously. She said most outdoor events take place in the very early morning before the heat begins and most of the events in the later part of the day are scheduled for indoors.

Acosta said the Senior Olympics will also host a health fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, June 19, at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave.

Results from events will be posted at the convention center and on the organization’s website. Gold, silver and bronze medals will be given out and the event relies on about 150 volunteers.

“We appreciate the volunteers. It’s important to have enough support to do 26 different sports,” Acosta said.

For more info: www.nmseniorolympics.org

Keywords

New Mexico Senior Olympics