Local Stories

By Don Eskins CHS harriers Javion Scott, Rex Reynolds and Kaleb Vasquez finished 2-4-5 to lead the Cavemen to an NMMI Cross Country Invitational Championship in Roswell on Saturday, September 19. Carlsbad’s boys scored a meet-low 31 points to claim this year’s NMMI event. Second place went to Hagerman with 71 points, while the NMMI Broncos, with 78, placed third. Carlsbad nemesis Hobbs, with 83 points, finished fourth. Nine teams, comprised of 71 runners, competed. Scott, in

By Don Eskins On Tuesday, September 29, in Carlsbad, the Cavemen soccer team will open District 4/5A play against the Hobbs Eagles. The 11-0-1 Eagles, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A soccer and statewide, promise to be more than just a stern test for CHS. Since opening up 2026 play against the Santa Teresa Desert Warriors on August 17, Carlsbad’s boys have dropped 11 of 14 games. But, as first-year Cavemen head coach Aaron Babcock sees it, despite the growing pains associated with y

By Sarah Jones, Library Director, Carlsbad Public Library Finding the perfect book can feel a little overwhelming. With so many choices on library shelves and in digital collections, it is easy to wonder where to begin. The good news is that there is no “right” way to choose a book. Reading should be enjoyable, personal, and sometimes even surprising. Whether you are an avid reader or someone trying to read more this year, here are a few helpful tips for finding your next gre

The eighth-ranked Carlsbad Cavemen absorbed a tough 38-17 loss to the fifth-ranked Volcano Vista Hawks in Carlsbad on Friday night, September 18. Despite the score and a few too many miscues, the Cavemen played ball with the heavily favored Hawks throughout the night. Down 24-10 at the half, Carlsbad battled back to score first in the third period to close the gap to 24-17. But a late score by the Hawks in the third and another in the fourth gave Volcano Vista the win, 38-17

By Don Eskins It’s Homecoming night, Friday, September 25, at Carlsbad High School. Taking center stage is a Cavemen vs. Clovis Wildcats conference clash that should provide a packed Ralph Bowyer Cavemen Football Stadium with all the gridiron action they could hope to see. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Currently, Carlsbad is 3-2 on the year and ranked ninth in Class 6A football. Clovis, ranked 15th, sits at 1-4 overall. In district play, as is Carlsbad, they’re 0-2. But the Wildc

Meaningful community partnerships often begin with a single conversation. The partnership between Southeast New Mexico College (SENMC) and the Southeast New Mexico Homeschool Hub grew out of a connection made through the Carlsbad Rotary Club. There, Shannon Newton, Interim Director of Theater Partnerships and Productions at SENMC, met Angie Johnson, a mother with five students enrolled in the Homeschool Hub. Johnson introduced Newton to Taylor Storm, director of the Southeast

By Michael Bromka Carlsbad LVSG members reveled in dancing skeletons and leering skulls (“calaveras”) engraved by Jose Guadalupe Posada, currently on exhibition at the Carlsbad Municipal Museum. Although two of the four LVSG day-trippers are legally blind, they raptly enjoyed vivid narration by Museum attendants Dalton Emig and Dean Richardson. Low Vision Support Group’s president Deborah Pinching, her stalwart raconteur husband, Richard, Ann Halford, plus this reporter toure

The Bureau of Land Management Carlsbad Field Office is celebrating National Public Lands Day by inviting volunteers to help improve three recreation areas near Carlsbad. The events will take place at the following locations and times. • La Cueva Non-motorized Trail System covers approximately 2,200 acres and contains more than 34 miles of maintained trails. The BLM plans a cleanup and trail maintenance event in coordination with the Cavern City Trail Keepers. The event will t