There’s a lot of discussion going on around town right now about creating a new vocational training program at Southeast New Mexico College. The purpose of this program would be to prepare students for careers in our area at WIPP, in potash, in oil and gas, as well as at other industries.
In fact, during the October energy summit, the Department of Energy made a major pledge to support operations of this program. Most of our major employers in the area are continually looking to fill key positions, and employers are also often looking for facilities where they can train their current employees. Another key issue of this program is longevity – we want to see a program that remains active ten and twenty years down the road. Dr. Ned Elkins, chair of the SENMC Board of Trustees, is leading this very important effort. The City of Carlsbad is very proud to be a partner in this effort. We are reaching out to industry leaders for input on this process. This will hopefully be the first of many expansions to Carlsbad’s college, with dormitories planned down the road.
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Over the weekend, we had a chance to meet with Ken Harrawood, who is the President and Program Manager of Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO), the company assuming the management and operations contact at WIPP. We had a great meeting with Harrawood and look forward to working with him. WIPP has currently started a 90-day transition period to move from NWP to SIMCO. As stated last week, we know this will be a stressful time for employees, but we are confident that members of Carlsbad’s excellent workforce will continue to serve on this excellent project.
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We are pleased once again to have received the 2022 MainStreet accreditation from New Mexico MainStreet. Our Carlsbad MainStreet Director and board members work hard to improve our downtown area. Future plans are to update MiainStreet’s crosswalks. Of course, MainStreet will also be hosting the upcoming electric light parade on Thanksgiving week, which is always one of the most popular events in Carlsbad. Congratulations to Director Kat Davis and everyone with the program.
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Thank you to the students of Cottonwood Elementary School for the invitation to help judge their spelling bee on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun and the students did a great job. We also recently received a copy of “CPA Today,” which is a newspaper published by the students at Carlsbad Prep Academy. The kids did an outstanding job, and it was nice seeing a newspaper put out by Carlsbad’s newest school.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway