April 1 was a big day for Southeast New Mexico College- formerly New Mexico State University-Carlsbad. The college passed the key phase of a very complicated transition, and April 1 was the first day in which members of the faculty and staff worked for SENMC. SENMC will celebrate its independence day from 3-7 p.m. on April 11 at the college with a public celebration. Thank you again to the many community members who worked very hard to help make this happen, including John Heaton, Craig Stephens, Wendy Austin, Jay Jenkins and Kyle Marksteiner. Local faculty and staff members have expressed a lot of excitement about this transition – especially over the fact that the board is governed locally and because there will be much less red tape. Employees have kept their tenure, and the benefits package is very similar. 

From the office of Mayor Dale Janway ]