Mike Powers| News-Bulletin photos Belen’s Diego Avila slides in at third base and later scores, but Los Lunas won the game 7-6. Los Lunas  Los Lunas and Belen took a break from district action Wednesday, facing off against each other, with LLHS posting a 7-6 victory. It was the Tigers ninth straight win.  The visiting Eagles scored three runs in the first inning, behind two hits and several LLHS miscues. The Tigers were plagued by six errors overall.   Los Lunas runner James Utash is tagged out by Belen’s Damian Avila during Wednesday’s game. Los Lunas answered with two runs ..read more

The FBI and Belen Police Department are seeking the public’s assistance to identify the “Bearded Bandit,” who robbed the Wells Fargo Bank, 101 S. Main St., Belen, at about 4:30 p.m., Friday, April 5.  The suspect is described as a White man, about 5-foot, 5-inches tall, average build, wearing a navy-colored zipper hoodie, grey undershirt, black pants, tan ball-cap with red writing, tan shoes/boots, and who spoke in Spanish.  The suspect entered the bank, demanded money from the teller. The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of money to the suspect.   The FBI is offer ..read more

Paw it forward  Colleen Dougherty One day in March, I serendipitously flipped on KUNM radio just in time to hear an interview with Kwane Stewart, CNN’s 2023 Hero of the Year.   A native of Albuquerque, Kwane (pronounced “kwan”) graduated from UNM, studied veterinary medicine at Colorado State University, then drove to California to live out his dream of being a veterinarian and living on a beach.   In a short time, however, his dream began to fade. Working as a shelter vet in central California during the recession of 2007-12, Stewart said he saw pets being relinqu ..read more

Mike Powers| News-Bulletin photos Air gun was among the events offered by Valencia County Senior Olympics during the spring games. Belen  It may be one of the least physically demanding of the 13 sports offered by Valencia County Senior Olympics during its spring games, but the air gun competition is certainly taken seriously.     That was easy to see from the start of the 20-minute rifle supported, sitting-position contest held in the 4-H building at the Valencia County Fairgrounds.  “For a few minutes, it can be very tense,” said Juanita Flores Hull, of Los Ch ..read more

Mike Powers| News-Bulletin photo Valencia’s Damian Estrada, surrounded by family and friends, has signed to play basketball at the University of the Southwest in Hobbs. Tomé  The University of the Southwest in Hobbs has landed Valencia basketball standout Damian Estrada.   Last week, in front of family, friends and former VHS teammates, the 6-foot, 2-inch guard signed a national letter of intent to play for the Mustangs, an NAIA school.   USW competes in the Red River Athletic Conference.   “I want to see how far basketball can take me in life,” Estrada sai ..read more

 (Editor’s Note: The following agendas should be considered draft agendas until 72 hours prior to the meetings.)     Belen City Council  When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, April 25, in the conference room at Belen City Hall, 100 S. Main St., Belen  Agenda highlight: Discussion of 2025 budget workshop, department hearings    Also on the agenda  Discussion of accreditation process for Belen Police Department    Valencia Regional Emergency Communications Board of Directors  When: 10 a.m., Thursday, April 25, in the training room of ..read more

Mike Powers| News-Bulletin photo Members of Girls on the Run from Gil Sanchez Elementary School have a laugh while warming up before a fun run last week at Belen High School. Belen  Despite some headwinds, Girls on the Run is starting to get back into full stride.   Thirteen runners from Gil Sanchez Elementary School in Jarales took part in a spirited 5K at Belen High School along with members of the Eagles’ track team to prepare for a season ending run in May.   The GSE students belong to the Rio Grande chapter of Girls on the Run, which has clubs in Valencia, Berna ..read more

It’s been 17 years, five months and 13 days since Valencia County residents threw their support and votes behind an eight-year increase to their property taxes with the goal of bringing a hospital to the county. After nearly two decades of lawsuits, arguing, attempted and failed contracts and hard lessons learned, the Valencia County commission approved a trio of agreements that will hopefully see the long-awaited project started and completed. The commissioners voted 4-0 to award a healthcare facilities contract to Brazos — the joint venture between Texas-based Community Healthcare Corporatio ..read more

Vote very carefully  Editor:  The 2024 election cycle in the U.S.A. is critical for the survival of democracy and for the restoration of the U.S. Constitution. New Mexico is not a big factor since the population is less that 1 percent of the total and our five electoral votes are likewise less that 1 percent of the 535 total.  The population of Valencia County is less that 1 percent of the state total, and we are represented by New Mexico House of Representative Districts 7, 8, 49 and 69 and Senate Districts 29, 30 and 39. But the local “down ticket” elections really matter here ..read more

LOS LUNAS — The uniforms caught her eye at first, but ultimately, Rosarita Jaramillo decided to pursue a career in corrections due to her desire to succeed and to show her two children what could be accomplished.  After working as the manager of a Pizza Hut in Santa Rosa for seven years, Jaramillo wanted something different. When the word started getting around about a prison being built in the small city in eastern New Mexico, she knew this was her chance.  “It was going to be an opportunity that was kind of like law enforcement. I said, ‘Maybe I’ll give that a shot,’” Jaramillo rec ..read more