Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
The city of Portales became a “safe haven” where a baby less than 90 days old can be surrendered anonymously and without criminal prosecution and provides for installation of a device into which a baby can be placed safely and will notify first responders and adoption authorities of the baby’s presence.
The city council gave the safe haven ordinance final approval Tuesday after a public hearing in which Angie Smith, president of the Roosevelt/Curry Right to Life Committee, and Monica Kelsey, founder of the Safe Haven movement, spoke in favor of the ordinance.
Smith’s speech spoke of a history of church and government working side-by-side to assist those in need, extending back to 1831, and said the Right To Life group would work with the city.
“Mothers are heroes,” she said, and even a mother who finds herself in conditions that would not allow her to raise a child can be a hero by surrendering a young infant in a safe device, where the mother knows the baby is likely to be found, cared for and adopted into a “forever home.”
The device, called a “baby box,” will be installed at the expense of the Right to Life committee under terms of the ordinance, and Fire Chief T.J. Cathey said a fire department facility is likely to host the device. Cathey said he is enthusiastic about working with the Right to Life committee.
Kelsey, who called into the meeting from her home in Indiana, spoke of her history as a child who was abandoned and later adopted.
Citing a New Mexico law that enables safe haven ordinances, she said “It’s nice to see New Mexico take this program and run with it.”
The council approved an intent to pass the ordinance in February, and the ordinance was published, clearing the way for Tuesday’s public hearing and final passage.
Under terms of the ordinance, a baby under 90 days old can also be surrendered to a medical services provide, a first responder or immediately after delivery with medical staff at a hospital or other medical facility, if the parent notifies staff that child is being voluntarily surrendered.
In other action Tuesday, the council:
• Approved an agreement to micro-surface 18th Street from New Mexico Drive to I Street and place concrete aprons at 18th Street’s intersection with South Avenue I. The contract is with Desert West Enterprises, a Roswell-based paving contractor, through Cooperative Educational Services, a New Mexico purchasing cooperative. The city will pay $71,0987.84 for the project. Micro-surfacing helps to improve traction on worn paving surfaces.
• Heard a proclamation from Mayor Ron Jackson that declares March as Women’s History Month in Portales. In the proclamation, Jackson noted Sharon King, Portales’ first woman mayor, and Delores Penrod and ENMU Chancellor Patrice Caldwell as local “advocates of education and human rights, as well as contributions of women throughout the city’s history.
• Recognized Fire Chief T.J. Cathey as the city’s employee of the month.
• Approved payment of more than $1.4 million in bills for February.
• Heard a report from City Clerk Joan Martinez-Terry on city election results. Voters reinstated incumbents Jackson as Mayor, Ward A Councilor Jake Lopez, Ward B Councilor Oscar DRobinson, Ward C Councilor Michael Miller, Ward D Councilor Dianne Parker and Municipal Judge Barbara George.
