Visitations at the emergency room and at local urgent care clinics have certainly been at peak over the past few weeks, as Carlsbad and other locations work through flu season. In fact, last week was national flu vaccination week and handwashing awareness week.
Carlsbad Medical Center reported a two-week total of 103 positive flu tests out of 514 administered, as well as 85 positive COVID-19 cases out of 665 administered. Additionally, the hospital has seen an increase in pediatric patients in the Emergency Room with RSV, which is a respiratory illness. The hospital has shared a lot of information about RSV on its web page and Facebook page, for anyone with questions. This includes information from UNM Hospital about when to seek immediate assistance.
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The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce had another busy weekend. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback about the Chamber’s annual Winter Wine Festival, which included a VIP Party on Friday night. People especially spoke highly about all of the outstanding local food vendors who participated in the event. The Chamber also had a special performance put on by Cheryl’s School of Dance for everyone participating in the Christmas on the Pecos Boat Ride over the weekend. You can still view footage of this dance online.
Dancers in the Dance Prelude Ballet Company were: Adisyn Preece, Damara Castenada, Dru McAvoy, Lexi Browning, Caroline Cooper, Clara Mitchell and Cora Bluth. Thank you to the Burns Family and Bock Electric for helping make this possible.
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Last week, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant treated John Heaton to a very special honor, as a portion of the WIPP underground was dedicated in Heaton’s memory. Heaton was one of a group of amazing individuals, including former Mayors Bob Forrest and Gary Perkowski, who advocated for the underground waste repository for decades. Heaton continues to remain highly involved in WIPP projects to this day. One of his strengths is his incredible understanding of both the political and the technical sides of any issue, and his ability to communicate on these topics has made him one of Carlsbad’s greatest champions. Thanks again to the Department of Energy, the Carlsbad Field Office and Nuclear Waste Partnership for bestowing this very deserving on John Heaton.
A very special thank you to Ike White and Nichole Nelson-Jean with the Office of Emergency Management, who spoke at the ceremony honoring Heaton and who have been incredible supporters of this community. We look forward to working with DOE in developing a training program at Southeast New Mexico College.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway