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Headlines: Special Legislative Session, Kirtland Jet Fuel Cleanup...

Arianna Sena
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Creative Commons

Gov. Martinez To Call Special Session In Coming DaysThe Associated Press

Gov. Susana Martinez says she has reached an agreement with House and Senate leaders and will call a special session in the coming days.

The governor's office says the agreement includes a $295 million public works project that will increase funding for senior centers and higher education institutions around the state.

The deal also calls for highway projects to be paid for through a combination of state general funds and severance tax bonds.

Lawmakers also agreed to tax incentives supported by the governor, including a measure to restore a medical expense tax deduction claimed by hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans each year.

Business groups and mayors from around New Mexico have been pushing Martinez to call a special session since lawmakers in March failed to reach agreement on the public works bill.

The session will likely begin Monday.

Community Honors Fallen Rio Rancho Police Officer – The Associated Press

Officers from throughout New Mexico and beyond gathered with community and family members to pay their last respects to a Rio Rancho police officer shot and killed during a May 25 traffic stop.

Police escorted Officer Gregg Benner's body to the Santa Ana Star Center on Thursday morning as people lined the streets to watch the procession.

Benner was a four-year member of the Rio Rancho Police Department and an Air Force veteran who was survived by his wife, six children and seven grandchildren.

Police Chief Michael Geier and Gov. Susana Martinez were among those to address the crowd.

Martinez ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset in honor of Benner.

The man accused of killing Benner faces numerous charges, including murder. He's jailed with bail set at $5 million.

Feds Asks Bank To Withhold Assets Of Convicted SheriffThe Associated Press & The Santa Fe New Mexican

Federal authorities are asking a bank to withhold any property and money of a former northern New Mexico sheriff convicted in a road-rage case.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque has asked the Los Alamos National Bank if it has any property or money that belongs to former Rio Arriba County sheriff Tommy Rodella.

If so, new court documents say the bank needs to hold that property and money to pay off Rodella's fines and court-ordered restitution.

Rodella was sentenced in January to 10 years in federal prison for abusing a driver in a bizarre, off-duty traffic stop that prosecutors described as a fit of road rage. He also was ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and $10,335 in restitution.

Report Examines New Mexico's Students With DisabilitiesThe Associated Press

A new study says New Mexico ranks well below the national average in graduating students with disabilities with a regular high school diploma.

The annual "Diploma Count" report by Education Week released Thursday showed that New Mexico graduates around 42 percent of students with disabilities with a regular diploma compared to the national average of 65 percent.

In addition, the report says close to 25 percent of the state's students with disabilities dropped out of high school.

The study analyzed data from 2005 to 2013 based on U.S. Department of Education numbers.

Federal numbers, however, show the overall graduation rate for students with disabilities is 60 percent. That's right around the national average of 62 percent.

The report also highlighted New Mexico's large growth in high school graduation rates — among the highest in the nation.

Felony May Prevent Recently-Elected Candidate From Office - The Associated Press & The ABQ Journal 

An election winner who was convicted of a felony in 1997 is asking the governor to restore his right to hold public office by Monday morning, when he's scheduled to be sworn in.

The Albuquerque Journal reports Matthew Aragon beat out an incumbent and two other candidates Tuesday for a seat on the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District board.

He was convicted in 1997 of shooting at an occupied vehicle or dwelling. Aragon says he served six months of work release and the rest of his nine-year sentence was suspended.

Group spokesman Tom Thorpe says the board tried to have Aragon removed from the ballot. A district court judge ruled that convicted felons can't hold office, but can run for election if they meet all other candidate requirements.

The governor's office did not respond to requests for comment.

New Mexico Wildfire Ignited By Lightning Grows In SizeThe Associated Press

A wildfire ignited by lightning near the Arizona-New Mexico border has grown to about 5.4 square miles in size.

The 3,500-acre fire is mostly burning grass and brush.

Forest officials say two additional fire crews are being assigned to the area to contain the fire and protect nearby ranches and wildlife habitat. An additional four engines and one helicopter were also assigned.

High temperatures are predicted for Thursday along with winds between 15 and 20 mph and gusts up to 30 mph.

Officials say they will also conduct aerial mapping of the fire to determine an accurate reading of the fire's size and its perimeter.

Air Force On Track To Meet Deadline In Jet Fuel Cleanup - The Associated Press

U.S. Air Force contractors have finished drilling the first of several wells that will make up a pump-and-treat system designed to clean up a massive plume of jet fuel at the edge of New Mexico's largest city.

State and federal officials said Wednesday that the temporary treatment system at Kirtland Air Force Base is on track to begin operating around the end of the month.

The system will be capable of treating about 100 gallons per minute. That will increase as more extraction wells are drilled.

The Air Force discovered the fuel leak in 1999. It contaminated groundwater and is believed to have been seeping into the ground for decades.

In January, the state Environment Department began fining the Air Force $5,000 a day for not having the treatment system in place.

Wildfire Burning Near Silver City At 80 Percent Containment - The Associated Press

A wildfire near Silver City in southwestern New Mexico is in the mop-up stage.

The Bureau of Land Management said the fire is at 65 acres with fire lines around 80 percent of its perimeter as of Wednesday. The fire previously had been estimated at 100 acres.

The fire is located on Treasure Mountain on BLM land approximately six miles northwest of Silver City, burning primarily grass and pinyon juniper.

No structures are threatened, and the BLM said some personnel assigned to the fire are being released. Remaining personnel will continue work on containment lines.

New Mexico Prisons On Lockdown For Annual Contraband Hunt - The Associated Press

New Mexico Corrections Department Secretary Gregg Marcantel has ordered a lockdown of the state's 11 prisons as part of an unannounced hunt for contraband.

The department said Wednesday that lockdown is part of an annual event to shakedown every housing unit, cell, and inmate for the search.

Officials say the lockdown has no scheduled end date but will be lifted as each facility completes the required searches and security assessments.

In recent years, correction officials says inmates and their families have tried to smuggle Suboxone into prisons using various methods such as on the back of stamps or children's coloring books.

Marcantel says the lockdowns are part of periodic reviews aimed at safety and reducing recidivism rates.

Vehicle Searches Find Cash In Alleged Fraud, ID-Theft Case - The Associated Press

Authorities say searches of two vehicles in an investigation of an alleged fraud and identity-theft ring in Dona Ana County found large amounts of cash.

The Sheriff's Office says thousands of dollars of cash turned up in searches conducted late Tuesday night of vehicles allegedly belonging to two of the seven defendants in the case.

Four of the defendants are employees of the County Clerk's Office.

Authorities say members of the ring are accused of identity theft to fraudulently obtain and cash tax refund checks.

One of the clerk's office employees made her initial appearance in federal court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say 42-year-old Maria Ceniceros, of Las Cruces, remains in federal custody pending a June 5 preliminary hearing and detention hearing.

She's a document technician at the clerk's office.

Man Convicted Tuesday In Girl's Rape From 26 Years Ago - The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal

It took a jury 15 minutes to decide on a case that took 26 years to go to trial. The case involved a 13-year-old girl who was raped in her home after school by a masked man.

The Albuquerque Journal reports the jury chose to convict 58-year-old Joseph Blea Tuesday.

Blea had been accused of raping the girl in her living room while her mother was at work. Police investigated and the girl had been examined at University of New Mexico Hospital, where a rape kit was used.

It wasn't until 2010 that forensic analysis of the sperm cells collected led to a search warrant for Blea.

Blea's attorneys say he has actively been researching the statute of limitations.

His sentencing is scheduled for Monday.

State Police: Man Dead After Shooting Himself In Dulce Area - The Associated Press

New Mexico State Police are investigating a shooting incident in Dulce that has left a man dead.

Jicarilla police officers responded to the River Road area in Dulce about 7 p.m. Wednesday after a woman reported she had been injured by her boyfriend in a domestic violence incident.

After the altercation, the man retreated to his tent in an area where the two had been camping.

Police went to the area and ordered the man to come out of the tent.

They say he did but had a handgun, placed it under his chin and shot himself.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities say one Jicarilla police officer fired his handgun, but didn't hit the suspect.

The name of the man wasn't immediately released.

Taos Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty To Involuntary Manslaughter - The Associated Press

A Taos Pueblo man has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and assault in a car crash that killed one passenger in his vehicle last year and seriously injured another.

Federal prosecutors say 27-year-old Keith E. Lucero entered his plea Wednesday in an Albuquerque court without a plea agreement.

Lucero was arrested last July in connection with a car accident in El Prado, New Mexico.

An indictment alleged that Lucero was driving under the influence of alcohol when the crash occurred on March 2, 2014.

Prosecutors say Lucero could be facing up to a 10-year federal prison term when he's sentenced.

A federal judge will determine the sentence.

Lucero has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.