The City of Carlsbad offers its most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jay Granger, who passed away last week. Jay devoted more than 38 years of service to the City as an employee before retiring last year, and he was a very good friend of mine.
Jay first joined the City of Carlsbad in 1982 as a laborer for the water department. He worked there until the year 2000, when he joined the street department. He later became a Superintendent for the Street Department.
Throughout his time with the City, Jay was highly involved with the United Steelworkers, and he was an excellent representative of that organization. He always made sure his co-workers were treated fairly and was always willing to provide an honest overview of any situation from the workforce’s point of view. We understand funeral services are currently planned for Thursday. Jay is going to be deeply missed.
On a more positive note, congratulations to Jefferson Montessori Academy Kerri Thatcher, who received the 2021 New Mexico Outstanding Science Teacher Award from the NM Academy of Science. Carlsbad is so fortunate to have so many wonderful teachers. We will be honoring several of our outstanding retired teachers at the Dec. 8 “Cavemen Strong” event, hosted by Ricky Garcia.
Congratulations as well to Tom Vandekraats and everyone with United Salt’s Carlsbad facility. As reported in the Current-Argus, the facility was recently featured in a “How America Works” episode on the Fox Business Network. We’re very proud to see one of our area’s busy industries be featured nationally.
Here’s what’s going on in local sports: Our Carlsbad High School swim team competed in Hobbs over the weekend, while the boys and girls basketball teams will begin their seasons next Monday against Onate. State football playoffs are now in the semifinals. No. 4 seed Artesia plays No. 1 seed Farmington on Nov. 20 in the 5A playoffs. Goddard upset No. 3 seed Roswell last week. In 6A, No. 1 seed Cleveland eliminated Hobbs last week and now plays Las Cruces High on Nov. 19.
Finally, congratulations and thank you to Ann Halford, also known as the “$2 Bill Lady.” Ann, now 92, sends $2 and inspirational messages when she learns about the accomplishments of her fellow citizens. On Friday, the City of Carlsbad hosted a small event at the library thanking Ann for everything she’s done for the residents of Carlsbad. We even made a giant $2 bill with Ann’s picture on the front. We featured photos of people who had received $2 from Ann, but, this only touched on the small number of the thousands of residents who have received kind cards from Ann in the past. Ann is truly one of Carlsbad’s most outstanding citizens.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway