Portales city employees to be honored

PORTALES — Four Portales city employees will be honored at tonight’s city council meeting for their actions earlier this month at the city’s communications office.

Keith Wattenbarger, the emergency manager and 911 coordinator for Portales and Roosevelt County, said on Aug. 8 dispatchers received two calls within seven minutes of each other. One involved a one-car accident on NM 206 that included a child with severe lacerations; an unrelated call involved an injured player at the Eastern New Mexico University football field.

Wattenbarger said 911 Telecommunication Officers Jenta Beatty and Megan Duff provided coordination for three helicopters to respond to the incidents, which left six people injured.

Then that night, Wattenbarger said the office’s radio tower was struck by lightning, requiring the use of backup radios. He said through the efforts of 911 Telecommunication Officer W. Carl Smith and First Line Supervisor Antionette Brezovsky, backup radios were quickly up and running without missing any calls.

“Those four (individuals) acted under very difficult circumstances with complete composure and just absolutely performed without hesitation,” Wattenbarger said.

Wattenbarger said all five individuals in the car accident survived and the football player was not seriously injured.

“It kind of chokes me up to know how well these guys performed,” he said.

Said City Manager Sammy Standefer: “The staff at our center has really stepped up above and beyond in a lot of areas and we just want to recognize them for that.”

Also at today’s meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at the Memorial Building:

• A public hearing will be held regarding a new garbage collection ordinance prior to the council’s vote.

Ordinance 735 would prohibit dumping trash anywhere but the approved dumpster. Standefer said bulk items would still be allowed but the city would prefer those items be placed behind residences or ideally brought to the convenience center.

• The council will vote on a real estate agreement to purchase 16 acres to the west of the Portales cemetery at a cost of $50,000.

Standefer said the reason for the purchase is to deal with some drainage issues and items related to cemetery expansion.

• The council will vote on a grant application with the New Mexico Department of Transportation for maintenance at the Portales Municipal Airport.

Standefer said NMDOT would provide $20,000 with a local match of $2,000, should the application and grant be approved.

• The council will vote on the city’s 2020-2024 Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP), which was discussed at the council’s previous meeting.

• Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority Executive Director Orlando Ortega will give a presentation to the council.