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GABRIELA MUÑOZNEWS-SUN
At only 22 years old, it hasn’tbeen too long since MichaelHendon was a teenager himselfand now he will be workingwith them.
The recent SouthwesternAssemblies of God Universitygraduate was named youth pas-tor for the Oneighty YouthMinistry at Christian CenterChurch in Hobbs last month.The church had been without ayouth pastor since last fall.
“I’ve seen that work in myfavor — being young,” Hendonsaid. “I’m just a couple of stepsahead of them (the youth) so Ican relate to what they are
going through.”Although the Abilene native
was most recently working inthe Dallas area, he is used to thesmall town life, he said.
“Hobbs is a smaller version ofAbilene really,” Hendon saidwith a laugh. “It’s dusty and I’mused to living in a town where
Price ChangeSpot $93.31 - .14Posted $89.75 NCSour $87.80 NCN. Gas $3.998 + .007
West Texas intermediate
Inside Today
OIL PRICES
Obituaries ...........................2Lottery.................................2Mark the date ....................3Fun & Games ......................5Weather ..............................6Sports ..................................7TV ......................................10Classifieds..........................11
Community News
The Community Playersof Hobbs are signingup participants for itsYOUTH PERFORMINGARTS SUMMERWORKSHOP.Download a brochureand form atwww.communityplay-ersofhobbs.com. Theworkshop is open tostudents ages 9-18.This year’s productionwill be Disney’s musical“Little Mermaid Jr.”The workshop beginson June 17 and runsthrough performanceson July 21. Most weeksrequire four days aweek attendance from9 a.m.-noon. Parts forall ages. Participantslearn about perform-ance and all aspects oftheater.
HOBBS BEAUTIFUL willdistribute free to thefirst 100 individuals aportable pocket ash-tray or a portable cartray that fits into astandard car cup hold-er. Hobbs Beautiful istrying to reduce theimpact of cigarettebutt litter on Hobbs.For more information,call Hobbs Beautiful atHobbs Parks andRecreation at 397-9291.
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KIMBERLY RYAN/NEWS-SUN
You want anchovies on this?Lehi Seaman works his clay as Xavier Marquez tosses his in the air, molding it pizza-style, Monday at claysculpture class during a summer art camp offered at Center for the Arts in Hobbs.
BETH HAHNNEWS-SUN
The final project of a three-parteffort to beautify Hobbs is set to bedesigned.
City commissioners approved anamended contract for $605,000 withAlbuquerque-based Molzen Corbinand Associates during Monday’smeeting. The contract enables thearchitects to design changes to JoeHarvey Boulevard.
City engineer Todd Randall said thelandscape changes will coincide with
a few trafficchanges as well.
“We’ll probably goahead and put a sig-nal in (at Centraland Joe Harvey),”he said Tuesday. “Ireally don’t likegoing in once every-thing is completedand tear anythingup.”
The Joe Harvey Boulevard facelift isthe final project in a 2006 agreement
between the city and the J. F MaddoxFoundation that pumped more than$20 million in landscaping and beauti-fication elements into Broadway,Lovington Highway and, now, JoeHarvey Boulevard.
The Maddox Foundation provided$15 million and the city matched with$5 million.
Randall said the Joe HarveyBoulevard project is facing severalchallenges.
First, the area to be landscaped —6,000 linear feet — is restricted by
rights-of-way.Randall said original design plans
included revamped sidewalks andlandscaping along the street, but therights-of-way are not wide enough forpublic improvements.
“I think there’s only room for cableor utilities,” Randall said.
Molzen Corbin will be limited to themedians along Joe Harvey Boulevardbetween Grimes and LovingtonHighway.
Joe Harvey facelift planned
LEVI HILLNEWS-SUN
Nor-Lea Hospital patients will soonsee the fruits of their votes in actionas a 1.5 mill levy that passed 91-39Tuesday night will be put to use laterthis year to expand the hospital’s clin-ic.
The bond election was held Tuesdayand covered both the Lovington andTatum school districts. Voters wereasked to support the 1.5 mill levyproperty tax, which raises about $1.5million annually for the hospital, aswell as confirm incumbent hospitalboard trustee Agustin Dorado.Dorado received 30 votes of support.
“We didn’t have a very goodturnout,” said hospital administratorDavid Shaw. “We had about 200 lasttime. We are pleased it did pass.”
Shaw said the last election for the1.5 mill — held every four years —received 38 “no” votes.
The 39 “no” votes this time accountfor 30 percent of the total votes cast.
Shaw said the hospital district willbegin building a new parking lot inJuly and expanding the clinic inSeptember. Both of those projects aremade possible by the mill levy.
The tax is a $1.50 tax on each $1,000of taxable value of a property, mean-ing homeowners with a $100,000 homecan expect to continue to pay an addi-tional $49.50 a year in property taxes.
The 1.5 mill has been in effect sincethe 1980s when the hospital districtwas created.
About 77 percent of the $1.5 millionthe tax generates comes from oil andgas operations.
Votersapprovemill levy
Hobbs churchwelcomes newyouth pastor
LEVI HILLNEWS-SUN
Caustic chemicals and industrial strengthdegreasers are not the only things BlaineIndustrial Supply Inc. sells and general managerCarl Epperson wants the community to know it.
Blaine is celebrating its 60th year in businessand the company is ringing in the anniversary bymoving to a new location with warehouse space tospare and room to store everything from poolequipment to popcorn.
“We are always looking at ways to add onto ourline that would be beneficial to the local commu-nity,” Epperson said. “A lot of people buy from usbecause they don’t want to go to (a Sam’s Club). Bythe time you pay an employee to go to Sam’s andpay for fuel, you could come to us and save.”
Blaine marksanniversary withnew location
NEWS-SUN PHOTOAbilene native Michael Hendon was recently named youthpastor at Christian Center in Hobbs.
SEE BLAINE, Page 4
Randall
SEE FACELIFT, Page 4
� CHRISTIAN CENTER
SEE PASTOR, Page 3
� NOR-LEA HOSPITAL
SEE NOR-LEA, Page 4
Blaine started out sixdecades ago in Hobbs as BlaineChemical, a company thatmixed its own cleaning chemi-cals for the oilfield, but as theyears have gone by, new stateand federal regulations drovethe company away from mak-ing their own cleaners andinstead to selling pre-bottledbrands.
In 2008, the company changedhands and was purchased bybusiness partners Joe Schmidtand Buddy Ferguson. Sincethen, Blaine has launchedeven further into the officesupply world, carrying a widevariety of products — officesupplies, furniture, popcorn,Gatorade, sodas, pool cleaningequipment, mops and brooms,car care accessories — and it isall available by individualunits or pallets.
“We sell to anybody andeverybody,” Epperson said.“One of the biggest questionswe get still is, ‘Do you sell tothe public and do you breakcases?’ We welcome anybodyand everybody and we dobreak down cases.”
The company carries morethan 5,000 products, and inorder to keep prices affordable,Blaine teamed up with a groupof 10 other businesses thatpurchase as a group. Blaine isstill a Hobbs original and astand-alone company, but buysits products with the 10-compa-ny group to save on wholesaleprices.
The group includes locationsin Midland, Lubbock, two inAmarillo, Salt Lake City,Spokane, Chicago and SanAngelo.
The lower buying pricesallow the company to continueproviding in-town and out-of-town delivery to its customerswithout charging a fuel sur-
charge, Epperson said.“We are kind of a minuscule
version of Walmart,”Epperson said. “We haveeverything from industrialhome cleaners to industrialoilfield cleaners and paperproducts, trash bags ... any-thing an office place needs.”
With all the growth in prod-ucts, the company rapidlyran out of space at their 55-year home location on N.Coleman Street. The 12,000-square-foot warehouse wasfilled to the brim 10 yearsago, and it was not a well-known location.
“I have been here 31 yearsand still have people say, ‘Idon’t know where you arelocated,’” Epperson said.
The company recently pur-chased a new warehouse at1216 N. Grimes. The 22,000-square-foot building not onlydoubles the square footagespace, but has 50-foot ceil-ings, giving Epperson plentyof vertical storage for his
product lines.The location is also more vis-
ible — directly north ofEnterprise car rental — andmore welcoming for cus-tomers.
“We have already had cus-tomers ask if they can walkthrough the warehouse andsee what we have,” Eppersonsaid.
“This was a great opportuni-ty so we decided to invest inthe building,” he added. “Thislocation helps our employeeshave better access to our prod-ucts so they can better help thecustomers and it has betterconvenience for parking. Itwill also give us room forgrowth for the foreseeablefuture.”
For more information onBlaine Industrial Supply Inc.call 397-1114 or visit between 7a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Levi Hill can be reached at 391-5438 or reporter2@hobbsnews.com.
PECOS (AP) — Two massivecolumns of smoke hoveredover northern New Mexico onTuesday as more than 1,100firefighters worked to buildlines across rugged mountain-sides and keep flames frompushing closer to summerhomes and cabins.
Haze from the fires driftedacross New Mexico, leadingresidents to worry that thestate might be in for a thirdconsecutive record-breakingfire season.
Fire managers and forecast-ers said conditions are worsethan during previous years.
Sparked by a downed powerline, the Tres Lagunas Firenorth of Pecos was 7 percentcontained after charring morethan 13 square miles in Santa FeNational Forest. Crews wereconcentrating efforts on HolyGhost Canyon, where the flamesof an overnight spot fire hadraced through a few dozen acres.
No structures have burned,but an evacuation orderremained in place for morethan 140 homes in the area andan emergency closure wasissued for the entire Pecos andLas Vegas ranger district,including the PecosWilderness.
Fire information officerGerry Perry said officials weremonitoring conditions to deter-mine when residents would beallowed to return.
“We’re prepared for anything,and we’re optimistic we’ll beable to turn the corner on thisthing,” Perry said. “But theweather certainly is not help-ing us and added to that is thesignificant period of droughtthat this area has endured.”
Some residents stayedbehind, including Scott Riceand his son, Connor. They werepumping water from the PecosRiver to hose down areas neartheir barn and house.
Kay Rice told The NewMexican that said she wasn’tworried about her husband andson.
“They are smart enough toknow when to drop the hoseand leave,” she said. “But I alsoknew my husband wasn’t goingto leave. He would do what hehad to do to stay and defend thehouse.
“This isn’t our second or thirdhome,” she added. “This iswhere we live. We raised ourkids there.”
To the west, in the JemezMountains, firefighters werealso dealing with hot, dry andwindy weather as they battledthe Thompson Ridge Fire. It hasburned about 7 square miles ofrugged territory covered byconifer and ponderosa pine.
Homes in the ThompsonValley, Rancho de la Cueva andElk Valley areas remainedunder evacuation orders.
The fire was sparked by adowned power line owned bythe Jemez Mountains ElectricCo-op. The utility is already fac-ing at least two lawsuits stem-ming from the 2011 LasConchas Fire that ignited whena tree fell onto a power line.
“This isn’t the first or the lasttime that this has happened,”Valerie Espinoza, vice-chair ofthe state Public RegulationCommission, told theAlbuquerque Journal. “I thinkwe can do more to ensure thatwe have safe electrical linesand that the co-ops have theresources they need to be betterprepared to do their jobs.”
Utility officials said changingregulations to make it easier to
widen rights of way and edu-cating property owners aboutkeeping trees from growinginto power lines could ease theproblem.
Meanwhile, evacuationorders for two California com-munities were lifted for nearly3,000 people Monday as the firethat consumed 50 square mileswas 60 percent contained.
Cooler, moist air on Mondayhelped thousands of firefight-ers catch up with the blaze inthe Angeles National Forestthat had doubled in size overthe weekend and spread rapid-ly through old, dry brush withhelp from gusty winds andsoaring temperatures.
“What a difference a daymakes,” said LA CountyDeputy Chief DavidRichardson.
Better conditions wereexpected to continue overnightand into Tuesday.
“We’re supposed to have agood marine layer into themorning, we’re hoping for itnot too heat up too early,” saidU.S. Forest Service spokesmanEd Gililland.
9051/2 E. Bender • 397-4481(Behind Sonic on Dal Paso)
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FROM THE FRONT PAGE 4HOBBS NEWS-SUN • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013
NEWS-SUN PHOTOSThe warehouse staff of Blaine Industrial Supply Inc. pose in the business’s new showroom.From left, Ryan Baker, Kole Manney, Luis Hill, Glen Pryer and Robert Hague.
The customer service representatives of Blaine IndustrialSupply pose with the company’s selection of pool serviceequipment. The company offers pool water testing. From left,Crystal Aranda, Melissa Cruse and office manager Lorie Hill.
Blainefrom PAGE 1
The medians, though, are another hurdle.“The medians still act as small retention
ponds. They’re interconnected and dischargeinto an area north of Navajo Loop,” Randallsaid. “How do we enhance these medians andstill have them for drainage purposes?”
What Molzen Corbin architects will come upwith is a mystery, Randall said.
“What the commission approved (Monday)
night just gives them the OK to design,” he said.Randall said landscape architects already sub-
mitted designs to the city commission after theinitial 2006 agreement with the MaddoxFoundation. The city’s needs, though, havechanged since that time.
Company representatives will likely approachthe city commission with a revamped landscapelater this year.
Beth Hahn can be reached at 391-5436 orreporter3@hobbsnews.com.
Faceliftfrom PAGE 1
Hot, dry weatherhampers firefighters
Nor-Leafrom PAGE 1
NEW MEXICO WILDFIRES
Shaw said the tax also helpskeep patient costs lower by off-setting unpaid services eachyear.
The hospital is expecting tolose an estimated $9.5 millionthis year in write-offs inunpaid bills, indigent care,uncompensated care and char-ity care.
The Jal Hospital District alsoheld an election on Tuesdaywith one board trustee seat upfor election. The Jal trusteeseat was being sought byStephen Aldridge and MinnieHedgepeth. Aldridge won theseat with a 63-6 vote.
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