Roosevelt detention center boss resigns

PORTALES - The Roosevelt County Detention Center is once again transitioning to new leadership.

After only six months with the county, RCDC Administrator Larry Phillips recently gave notice to the county with his last day at the detention center being Friday, according to County Manager Amber Hamilton.

Phillips came to the county from the Department of Corrections in Las Lunas at the end of July 2016 after Administrator Mark Gallegos left in February to work for Curry County's jail, also after only six months with the facility.

Hamilton said the county brought previous interim administrator Joseph Alaniz back for a short time to do an assessment of the facility and help with the leadership transition. He will also be leaving this week, Hamilton said.

Phillips said his family is what is pulling him away from the county after such a short time.

"I have family issues, and the last few months has been a strain on them," Phillips said. "I am working on getting a position in the Albuquerque area, so I can be closer to home. I figured my family needs me more."

Phillips said his short time with RCDC has been fruitful with new programs in the process of being implemented at the facility, such as an anger management program that will get started the first of next month and an educational program for life skills training, domestic violence prevention and more.

"I feel like we're in a really good spot to find a new administrator in terms of we just received our (state) accreditation," Hamilton said. "I just feel like it's (RCDC) in a really good place. Strategically, it's set up for the next phase of leadership to come in, so it is definitely going to be interesting to see how it comes."

Hamilton said she is currently reviewing several options for an interim administrator and hopes to have a contract in place with someone within the next couple of days.