Retiring undersheriff receives medal

Recognition of retiring Quay County Undersheriff Russell Shafer was on the agenda for Thursday's county commission meeting, but he received an unexpected bonus.

Sheriff Dennis Garcia also gave Shafer a medal of valor "for actions above and beyond the call of duty" during a May 14 fatal officer-involved shooting near the settlement of Quay. Shafer indicated surprise by the honor.

Four deputies were dispatched to 77-year-old Aubrey Osteen's home near Quay after dispatchers received calls of him brandishing a firearm at a home healthcare provider and emergency medical technicians. One heathcare worker said Osteen was exhibiting stroke-like symptoms.

An agitated Osteen suddenly shot Garcia in the chest with a handgun. Osteen, gun still in hand, then turned to Shafer.

"The gun was actually pointed at (Shafer) on video," Garcia said after the meeting, referring to body cameras that deputies wear. "You could see the the weapon was pointed into his chest. He immediately went hands-on with the suspect.

"He was able to hold hold the gun under control, which basically saved our lives."

Garcia returned fire, and Osteen was declared dead at the scene by the Office of Medical Examiner.

Garcia was treated at Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari for superficial injuries because a bulletproof vest mostly protected him.

Commission Chairman Robert Lopez thanked Shafer for his years of service and dedication to law enforcement, as did commissioners Jerri Rush and Brian Fortner.

Other members of the local law enforcement community crowded into the commission chambers to attend the brief ceremony, including Tucumcari Police Chief Patti Lopez.

Shafer said he was in law enforcement for 20 1/2 years in New Mexico, including two terms as sheriff before Garcia's election last year. After Garcia succeeded Shafer as sheriff, Shafer became undersheriff.

Garcia said he has not yet hired an undersheriff to replace Shafer.

Shafer publicly announced his imminent retirement during a spring meeting of the Tucumcari/Quay Regional Emergency Communications Board, on which he served as chairman.

"I of course hate to see him go," Garcia said after the meeting. "I wish we could have finished off my term or terms as a team, as well. But I'm happy that he gets to go and enjoy his life ... less stress for him."

Shafer's retirement was effective June 30.

In other business:

- Commissioners approved a resolution that authorizes county manager Daniel Zamora to submit a preapplication to the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Rural Development for $20 million in funding to help build a new Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari.

Zamora, speaking by teleconference, said such a funding arrangement would require a public hearing. He said a meeting last Tuesday with U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan about the hospital project was "very productive." (See other story in this edition.)

The county is due to receive $10 million in state funding for the new hospital.

- Vickie Gutierrez, administrator at Trigg, gave a quarterly report on the hospital through May.

She said the hospital's revenue was beating its budgeted target this year. Last year, it lost money.

She said the hospital was seeing an uptick in air transfers because of staff shortages in the City of Tucumcari's EMS Department.

Gutierrez said the hospital was seeing more swing-bed, or rehabilitation, patients. It also has dropped its number of traveling health workers to one in radiology and one in the laboratory. The hospital also hired provider LaDonna Chacon for both the Tucumcari and Logan clinics.

Gutierrez said the hospital is performing more inpatient infusion services.

Commissioners approved a $250,000 quarterly mill levy and gross receipts tax invoice to support the hospital's operations.

- Renee Hayoz, administrator of the Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari, said she's faced turnover in the front office and a resignation of one provider. That provider has been replaced by a transfer from another clinic.

Hayoz said the county recently replaced the clinic's roof, but it has encountered issues with phone service during bad weather.

- Road superintendent Stephen Salas said a new, temporary path has opened on Old Route 66 where flash flooding destroyed a new bridge in May 2023.

Salas said the path through the creek bed will be open only for area residents and likely would be impassable after rainfall.

Floods washed away the new bridge that was only days from completion. The county filed a lawsuit against the contractor and architect because the span lacked insurance coverage. The 1930s bridge remained standing after the flood, but it has been deemed unsafe for traffic.

- During commissioner comments, Fortner said he attended a meeting in Logan last Tuesday regarding the ongoing 120-mile Ute Lake water pipeline project to Clovis and other nearby towns.

Officials with the pipeline said they anticipate its completion in 2031. Fortner said those officials said it would create no permanent jobs in Logan. Surveillance and controls of the pipeline would be done by remote by employees in Clovis.

Logan residents have fought the pipeline for decades, fearing it would deplete Ute Lake.

- Fortner said he attended a meeting in Clovis about a regional mental-health facility in that area. He said the project should be "shovel-ready" by 2025.

- Rush said she attended a recent meeting regarding the proposed Eastern New Mexico Sentinel Landscape. She said organizers were "not prepared" to answer questions about the plan.

The landscape, which includes southern Quay County, aims to safeguard declining water supplies and protect natural resources.

- During his manager's report, Zamora said the county collected nearly $300,000 in gross receipts taxes in the most recent monthly reporting period. He said that revenue is helping fund the dispatch center, hospital construction and other areas.

"We're finishing the (fiscal) year very strong," Zamora said.

- Zamora said the county was finishing compiling a capital asset list, as recommended by a recent audit, before the fiscal year ends. He said auditors were slated to come to the courthouse in September to perform the FY2024 audit.

- Commissioners approved a one-year, $20,000 information technology professional services agreement with Henry Martinez of Tucumcari to provide support during the general election and other services. The funds come from a cybersecurity grant from the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office.

- Commissioners approved several resolutions for budget increases: $700,000 for the care of prisoners, $75,000 for the indigent care fund, and $225,000 for salaries and benefits to filled vacancies. The last item was covered by the state Law Enforcement Recruitment Fund.

- Commissioners granted a request from Teri Baca, president of C.R.A.F.T., a reduced rental fee of the Quay County Fairgrounds for the organization's 50th annual craft fair on Nov. 9-10.

- The county's indigent claims board approved $3,144 in claims during the month of June. In the just completed fiscal year, the board approved more than $102,000 in claims.