Week in Review

Missing boy found with grandparents

WEST SIDE – An 11-year-old boy who went missing after being suspended from Jimmy Carter Middle School on Monday was found safe two days later and taken into the custody of the state Children, Youth and Families Department.

The boy’s father, Jeremiah Baca, said his son, Jeremiah Jojola-Baca, had been with his grandparents in Socorro.

He said the boy was suspended for allegedly smoking marijuana, and that he was never notified of the suspension.

The principal and another administrator were put on leave while APS investigates whether they properly notified the students’ parents of the suspension.

Ex-RR veterinarian is arrested

RIO RANCHO – On Tuesday, former Rio Rancho veterinarian Debra Clopton was arrested for possession of controlled substances that she may have used in her practice.

Santa Fe Sheriff’s deputies on Monday executed a search warrant at Clopton’s Edgewood home, where they removed 48 dogs and found one dead animal.

They also found two controlled substances commonly used in veterinary medicine.

The state Board of Veterinary Medicine pulled her license last year, and continuing to possess the medications violates the law.

No clear answer on roundabout

NORTH VALLEY – Opponents and supporters alike went home from a Monday Albuquerque City Council meeting without a clear answer on whether the roundabout at Rio Grande and Candelaria will ever be built. The council voted 6-3 to hire an engineering company to update its evaluation of the intersection and report back by July 31.

“There’s clearly a divide that needs to be at least partially healed before a decision is made,” City Councilor Isaac Benton said.

Woman shot in the back by arrow

WEST SIDE – A woman was shot in the back with an arrow Wednesday evening near the Taylor Ranch Dog Park after a father and son were practicing with a bow in the back yard and missed the target.

The woman, 47, did not suffer serious injuries, police said. The arrow was sticking out of her back when they arrived.

The father and son said they had fired an arrow at a target, though it missed and sailed through a fence. Police consulted the District Attorney’s Office, and a criminal summons was issued for unlawful use of a deadly weapon.

$5M grant to fix damaged road

SANDOVAL – Officials launched a long-awaited project to rebuild a heavily damaged 5.5-mile section of Torreon Road, a route that links Torreon, Ojo Encino and Counselor with U.S. 550.

The project is being funded by a $5 million federal grant awarded to the county last year.

In recent years, the road has deteriorated so much that many commuters no longer find it safe to travel, according to a Sandoval County news release.

ID sought for body in burning car

WEST SIDE – The state Office of the Medical Investigator said a body found in the trunk of a burning car on the West Side recently was that of a woman estimated to be in her early 20s.

Authorities are still trying to determine the woman’s identity and the specific cause of her death.

She was in a 2006 Mustang that was found March 29 near a Walmart store at Coors and Interstate 40.

$12.6M loan to improve landfill

SANDOVAL – On Thursday, county commissioners approved a resolution to apply for a $12.6 million loan from the New Mexico Finance Authority to make improvements at its landfill at Iris and Idalia in Rio Rancho.

About $4 million will be used to pay off existing bonds and a loan associated with the landfill.

The remaining funds would be used to develop new areas at the existing landfill and to relocate some electric power transmission lines to provide space for the expansion.
— This article appeared on page 06 of the Albuquerque Journal