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A nonprofit organization that works to improve housing and food security in Southeast New Mexico has endorsed three candidates who will be on the ballot this November.

Calling them "food & housing champions," With Many Hands announced in a press release Friday their endorsements of U.S Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), as well as the Democratic candidates for the New Mexico House of Representatives Ashlie Myers in House District 51 and Sarah Silva in House District 53.

The endorsements came after Vasquez and Myers attended and spoke at the Southeast New Mexico Food and Housing Summit on Sept. 7 in Alamogordo. Jeneva Jewel Martinez, an organizer of With Many Hands Roswell, said that Silva did not attend the summit, but did send a written statement outlining her positions on issues.

"These candidates showed up, answered our questions, and engaged with the hardworking individuals who attended (the summit)," Martinez told the Roswell Daily Record in an email.

Martinez added that With Many Hands, a 501 4c nonprofit with chapters in Roswell and Alamogordo and expanding into Eddy and Lea counties, endorsed the three candidates after 22 of the group's members participated in an anonymous online poll.

A former Las Cruces city councilor, Vasquez was elected to represent the 2nd Congressional District in 2022 when he defeated then-U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM-02) by 1,350 votes. Both candidates are now running for a rematch for the seat.

In the press release, With Many Hands commended Vasquez for what they described as his advocacy for working-class people.

Among other policies, the press release indicates that Vasquez has committed to vote for an expanded child tax credit and to support expanded funding for affordable housing through a fully-funded housing trust fund.

A member of the House Agriculture Committee, the press release noted that Vasquez supports expanding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as the Food Stamp Program, which provides low-income individuals and households with assistance in purchasing food.

Vasquez excoriated a Republican-backed farm bill in a press release earlier this month, calling it "extreme" and "anti-family" for proposing to cut money allocated for SNAP benefits by $340 million.

With Many Hands also said in the press release that at the summit, Myers, a mother of three, "emphasized the challenges that parents with children face and the need to fill the gaps that working families often fall through, transitioning from low to moderate income(s)."

A first-time candidate for office, Myers is running to unseat state Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo) in the heavily Republican district, located entirely within Otero County.

With Many Hands praised Silva for talking in her written statement about how, when she was growing up, her mother depended on SNAP and how she is running for office to ensure that working-class people have representation in government.

Silva, a Las Cruces community organizer, is campaigning for the seat in House District 53, comprised of parts of Otero and Dona Ana counties. She is going up against Republican Elizabeth Winterrowd in November.

The press release said that in her letter to the summit, Silva called for the repeal of the statewide ban on rent control.

According to the With Many Hands website, Herrell was invited to the summit but declined to attend. Block and Wintterowd did not respond to the invitations.

With Many Hands and its sister organization, With Many Hands Action, have been organizing around housing and food security issues for two years, and have avoided partisan politics.

"They are not for or against any political party. They are about working people getting what they deserve from their government, and sometimes that means wading, tentatively, and hesitantly, into the political arena," the press release said.

Courtney McCary-Squyres, an organizer of With Many Hands Alamogordo, said the group would work to ensure the candidates they back keep their promises, if elected.

"While these candidates committed to being champions for working families if elected, we won't rest on our laurels after election day. We'll ensure that they stay true to their commitments all year round," she said.

A man was arrested Sunday night for allegedly crashing into an electric pole, injuring his girlfriend and her child.

George Ortiz, 42, was eventually found by police in a backyard four blocks from the wreckage of the crash scene at the corner of South Sunset Avenue and West McGaffey Street, according to a criminal complaint filed in Chaves County Magistrate Court.

Ortiz's girlfriend, who was bleeding from her head, was found by police in the passenger seat of the crashed Chevy Suburban holding her daughter.

The woman and her child were transported to a local hospital. No information about the condition of the woman and child was disclosed in the complaint. The vehicle sustained significant damage to its front end.

Roswell Police learned of the accident at about 9:30 p.m. The criminal complaint indicates that a witness later disclosed to police that the crash happened when the vehicle turned south onto Sunset Avenue from Bonita Drive before leaving the road and colliding with a pole.

A witness said that when he went to check on the vehicle occupants, he observed a man wearing a tank top and covered in tattoos emerge from the vehicle, and run south toward McGaffey Street.

Police scoured the neighborhood for a man matching that description before finding Ortiz hiding behind a tree in the backyard of a 1200 block of Avenida Manana home.

He was taken back to the site of the accident, where witnesses identified Ortiz as the driver of the Suburban that left the scene of the accident.

When interviewed by police, the complaint indicates that Ortiz declined to respond to questions or make statements about what happened. Later, police learned that Ortiz had a suspended driver's license.

Police later asked the woman in Ortiz's vehicle about the events leading up to the crash. She explained that she had called Ortiz that night to come pick her and her daughter up because the woman said she had been consuming alcohol with her mother and some friends.

"She stated that after George picked them up, they were going to go to her house but that she does not remember how she got into the wreck," the complaint stated.

Electronic court records indicate that Ortiz was charged with one count each of knowingly leaving the scene of an accident involving death or great bodily harm, leaving the scene of an accident involving damage to a vehicle, failure to give information and render aid, failure to give notice of an accident and failure to notify an owner upon striking a fixture or property.

He also faces one count each of driving with a revoked license, driving without insurance, child passenger unrestrained and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.

Chaves County Magistrate Judge James Mason set Ortiz's bond on Monday at $5,000.

Electronic court records did not list the name of any attorney representing Ortiz who could be contacted for comment about the case.

PORTALES — In an ever-changing college sports landscape, where name, image and likeness deals, conference realignment and ladder climbing reign supreme, Eastern New Mexico University rodeo coach Albert Flinn is an outlier.

This isn't because he's 83 and dons a Bluetooth headset (yes, those still exist).

Instead, it's because he happily accepts getting paid half a typical salary — roughly $30,000 a year — to dedicate his life to lifting an underfunded program to national prominence. And instead of firing off social media direct messages to recruits he's interested in, he typically contacts their coach and parents before having a conversation. He wants to make sure they're good kids who'd leverage a scholarship into post-graduate opportunities.

Entering his 18th season as ENMU's head coach, Flinn hopes he can secure a national championship before his time at ENMU comes to a close. While the work has never failed to fulfill him, Flinn won't feel truly ready to retire until he obtains it.

We got to win a national championship," said Flinn, an ENMU alum, who was a member of the reserve National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwest Regional Championship in 1968.

With that national championship, Flinn would be given pride of providing ENMU, a perpetual underdog, an upswing in success that leads to better recruits and more funds to compete at a high level. By winning, Flinn's spirit will live on, even after his boots stop collecting Lewis Cooper Arena dirt.

But as day one of the season's first event — College "Daze" Rodeo, hosted by ENMU – illustrated, it won't be easy. ENMU athletes struggled to keep up with regional powerhouses, including Tarleton State.

Few can blame them, of course. TSU, for example, has the resources, cache and access to prized Texas recruits that ENMU doesn't. Since 1947, the Texan Riders have won 37 national championships and, according to a 2023 Sports Illustrated , TSU "implemented a new coaching hierarchy. Bringing in eight professional specialty coaches to help small groups of students in their individual events."

Brittany Stewart, the women's team head coach, told the publication that, "The new specialty coaches brought our team to a whole other level of competitiveness and overall advantages."

ENMU, meanwhile, has just Flinn and first-year assistant coach Beau Dean, who competed at ENMU, finishing top-15 in the southwest region in steer wrestling in the 2022-23 season.

"He knows his stuff," Dean said of Flinn.

While Dean is highly motivated and ambitious, he's at a disadvantage because he doesn't have the same prestige and knowledge as assistant coaches at other programs. Making matters more difficult, Flinn's aware of how Dean's low salary could lead him to leaving the program before he narrows that competitive gap.

Flinn said, "the boy that I replaced, he was starving to death because he wasn't getting paid enough to pay his bills — even if it's not that expensive to live, but the university doesn't have the kind of salary in the rodeo program."

Flinn continued, "Now, one day they may get there, but they're not there yet."

But at least ENMU is closer than it was before Flinn's arrival.

A champion bareback rider as a youngster in Roswell, Flinn attended ENMU and played a vital role in bolstering the program from 1965-68. He competed, coached and even helped on the recruiting end. After obtaining his bachelor's degree in ag business in 1968 — the national title year — and master's of business administration in 1970, Flinn enjoyed a 34-year career in the banking industry while keeping one foot in the rodeo world.

Then, in 2008, newly retired Flinn accepted the head coaching position at ENMU. Not one for pocket watching, Flinn didn't flinch at essentially getting paid half-time to work full-time and some overtime.

The money wasn't a reflection of his value. It was emblematic of his commitment to resuscitate a program he cherished.

While the program has improved under Flinn, it's become increasingly difficult to supplant other programs with robust facility, staff and recruiting budgets.

To combat this, Flinn goes to high school rodeo championships in places like Hot Springs, Wyo., to look for recruits with lots of talent, but little interest. This way, he can find talent from places as far as Canada, without accumulating a lengthy traveling receipt that eats into his overall budget.

He also relies on word of mouth. For example, ENMU's roster features multiple pairs of siblings, including junior Shaeden and her older sister Shacie Marr, a fifth-year senior. Flinn sees Shacie, who competes in breakaway roping, barrel racing and goat tying as someone who could guide the Greyhounds to that championship.

"He is a lot older, and he doesn't have to do this. He could just retire and be done, but he still tries to help out and be there for us because he loves it and he cares about us," Shacie Marr said of Flinn.

The challenge with this year's team is the heavy amount of young athletes. With time becoming limited, Flinn must hope they can take care of school while expediting their development.

"They have to have some work ethic. I don't have a mandatory practice session. Those who want to come and practice, they're the ones that want to get better," Flinn said, later adding, "Their education comes first."

Time, in Flinn's case, will always be a lingering issue.

While he doesn't have the same pressure to succeed as other ENMU head coaches, being a full-time coach and farmer is physically demanding — especially for an 83-year-old.

But there's something about chasing that title, churning out college graduates and restoring glory to his school that keeps him returning.

"It's a way of life," Flinn said.