Local Stories

By Don Eskins Amping up their efforts to get back to the state playoffs and host a first-round tournament game, the Carlsbad Cavemen crushed the Organ Mt. Knights 56-7 in the Cavern City on Friday night, October 16. The victory pushed CHS’s record up to 5-3 on the year and 2-3 in District 2/6A. With the loss, Organ Mt., who had kicked off the 2026 season with three straight wins and scored four times in a 52-28 loss to Eldorado, fell to 3-5 overall and 0-5 in conference. Lean

By Don Eskins The Cavegirl volleyball team is looking good! Following a tough 3-0 loss to the league-leading Clovis Wildcats on Thursday, October 15, on the road, Carlsbad’s girls battled back to spank the Roswell Coyotes 3-1 on Tuesday, October 20, in the Alien City. With the victory, the Cavegirls finished out the first round of District 4/5A play sitting at 2-1 and in second place. The win upped their overall record to 9-8. In Class 5A play, they’re currently ranked 17th b

By Don Eskins Out of the frying pan and into the skillet, there seems to be no end to the number of top-ranked teams the Carlsbad Cavemen have had to battle this year. On Friday night, October 23, in the City of Crosses, when the Cavemen storm onto the Field of Dreams to take on the Las Cruces Bulldawgs, it’s going to be more of the same. Yes, Las Cruces, ranked fourth in Class 6A football, promises to be yet another tough Top 10 test for the eighth-ranked Cavemen. However, a

The Alpha Rho Xi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society at Southeast New Mexico College (SENMC) invites the community to attend “Conserve, Preserve, and Restore: Water, the Key to Life,” a water symposium on Thursday, November 5, at 6 p.m. in Room 153 on the SENMC campus. The event is part of the chapter’s annual Honors in Action project, an international Phi Theta Kappa initiative that challenges students to connect academic research with real-world issues and develo

By Misty Cryer Since opening in May of 2025, the Bass Event and Conference Center has served multiple purposes. Located between Carlsbad and Loving at 2797 Pecos Highway, the center has a commercial kitchen and drive-thru from which Bad Bass BBQ caters and serves. The rental spaces for events, meetings, and conferences have been popular. The owners also host events from time to time. On Friday, October 23, a fun event is scheduled. “We are doing a dinner with a dance,” said M

By Sarah Jones, Library Director, Carlsbad Public Library With the new school year underway, students and parents are settling into homework routines, classroom assignments, and academic goals. Whether your child is just beginning kindergarten or preparing for college, Carlsbad Public Library offers a variety of free resources designed to support learning and help students succeed throughout the school year. One of the most valuable resources available to New Mexico residents

By R. Gabriel Villalobos For the fourth consecutive year, a delegation from the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce traded the familiar Permian Basin landscape for the crisp autumn skies of Albuquerque, using the world’s largest hot air balloon festival as a launchpad to promote southeastern New Mexico tourism. “We’ve actually been participating in the balloon fiesta for a while,” said Chad Ingram, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber. “JW Sutphin, who is our retirement director,

By Teri Burns Let me begin by saying I am not great at hiking. I’m slow. I have bad knees and an even worse sense of direction. But I really enjoy the torture that is a good hike. Recently, I tried my hand at The Sitting Bull Falls Overlook Trail. The first trial was October 3, after all the rain, and the trails were…soggy. And I managed to get off the most direct trail to the Overlook Trail and wound up taking the long way to the loop and back around to the CCC Trail, which