City Employees Honored for Assisting in the Roswell Floods

By Michele Robertson

Being a good neighbor extends far beyond the typical neighborhood. Yes, the person next door is your neighbor, but so is the community down the road. Carlsbad stepped up to be a good neighbor to Roswell when historic flooding ravaged the city on October 19-20 and left the residents with a torrential mess to clean up. Crews from the Solid Waste Department, Public Works Department, and Carlsbad Fire Department all assisted during the historic weather event as well as afterward.

Employees from the Solid Waste Department who assisted in cleanup efforts include Ana Bankhead, Robert Carrillo, Fabien Carasco, Lonnie Franco, Lupe Lara, Ashley Medina, Albert Moisa, Julie Tavarez, and Rafael Varela. Public Works employees who assisted were Steven Schroeder, Kevin Quintana, and RJ Amos.

Ivan Abell, Director of Utilities for the City of Carlsbad, said the individuals from the Solid Waste and Public Works departments were given awards for “dedication to their ‘craft’ in operating large specialty refuse trucks for the citizens of Roswell.”

Carlsbad Fire Department personnel who responded include EMS Division Chief Burke Headrick, LT John Riddle, ENG Xavier Melendez, ENG Zachary Smith, FF Joseph Houser, and FF Christian Rodriguez. These individuals were awarded the Meritorious Service Award from the Carlsbad Fire Department for their actions during the emergency response to the flooding event in Roswell and Chaves County at the November 5 City Council meeting. The swift water rescue team performed over 30 rescues that night of victims trapped or threatened by flood waters.

Roswell Mayor Timothy Jennings presented awards from the City of Roswell to the personnel who assisted during and after the flooding event. During his speech, he said the City of Carlsbad sent in three grapplers and rear-load equipment to help the residents of Roswell. In a letter presented to the City of Carlsbad, he stated, “In the first two weeks following this unusual and overwhelming weather event, some of your Solid Waste employees made their way back and forth to Roswell each day, bringing multiple pieces of Carlsbad’s equipment to join forces with Roswell’s Solid Waste employees in collecting flood debris that our impacted residents were piling at the curb for disposal. Because of your city’s help, we were able to remove that debris and clear the curbs more efficiently and quicker than would have been otherwise possible with simply our own resources. Getting the debris removed from in front of homes was greatly appreciated by the residents who were, and in many cases still are, working to recover from the flooding.”

Mayor Jennings said over 1,300 homes in Roswell were damaged, with 650 severely damaged. Inside the Roswell Museum and Art Center there was 4½ feet of water, and five feet of water inside the Civic Center. There were also individuals stranded on the roof of the Civic Center overnight, as well as people found in trees and hanging onto poles.

“Thank you again to everyone involved in coming to our aid. The City of Roswell is blessed to have caring neighbors like the City of Carlsbad,” added Jennings.

“Above all, this is one of our highest callings as a part of humanity—to help others in need. In this case, the City of Carlsbad was in a position to assist Roswell during the incident itself and provide assistance and support in the days after. I believe that if the situation were reversed, and Roswell or another community was in a position to provide us with assistance, they would do the same,” said Fire Chief Tony Souza.

Pictured: Mayors Rick Lopez and Tim Jennings.