Price Change Spot $96.04 - .35 Posted $92.50 - .50 Sour $90.00 - .50 N. Gas $3.910 - .073 West Texas intermediate Inside Today O IL PRICES Obituaries ...........................2 Lottery.................................2 Mark the date ....................3 Fun & Games ......................7 Weather ..............................8 Sports ..................................9 Classifieds..........................14 TV ......................................16 Community News The City of Hobbs will be working on the TRAFFIC SIGNAL AT THE JOE HARVEY/GRIMES INTERSECTION next Monday-Friday. The work consists of com- plete traffic signal upgrades. While the work is being done, the lights will be off and the intersections will be controlled by stop signs in all direc- tions. Drivers should proceed as if the inter- section were a four- way stop. LEA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENTS will be conducting a train- ing exercise today at 10 a.m. that includes the controlled burning of a dilapidated home. Lea County residents can expect to see smoke for several hours along Stiles Road about 3 miles east of the Lovington Highway. News-Sun Since 1927 ■ No. 117 50 cents JAL ■ EUNICE ■ HOBBS ■ LOVINGTON ■ TATUM ■ SEMINOLE ■ DENVER CITY SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013 NEW MODELS NOW OPEN! 2128 Saddle Club Drive facebook.com/ranchviewestates NEW MODELS NOW OPEN! 575-391-8930 REBECCA LONG 226 W. Vega Hobbs, NM 88240 575-393-2661 [email protected]auto • home • life • commercial Certified Dell Partner Computer Tune-up & repair Virus Removal & Data Recovery Certified Dell Partner 1021 E. Bender, Hobbs, NM (575) 391-NOTE (6683) LEVI HILL NEWS-SUN East of Hobbs in Gaines County, Texas, stands a lone wind turbine — a sight not that impressive until it comes to light that the turbine is part of an experimental project to store wind energy in an underground cavern. Wind power is the most cost effective renewable energy on the market, but it is also the least reli- able and the least likely to be available on demand. Wind energy is typically generated at night — a time when energy demand is lowest, but what if wind power could be stored in a bat- tery for use during hot summer afternoons when power demand peaks? That is the goal of Newton, Mass.-based General Compression with their test facility in Gaines County. The company is refining a new proprietary technology using an engine that dou- bles as an air-compressor and turbine, a wind turbine and an underground salt cavern 2,000- feet below the surface. “It is the first of its kind project,” said David Marcus, founder and senior vice-president of Wind energy: What if it could be stored? BETH HAHN NEWS-SUN LOVINGTON — Later this summer, Lea County Commissioners could decide whether to extend an airline service contract with United. Several area business owners and travelers visited commissioners dur- ing Thursday’s meeting to remind them that the direct flights to Houston from Hobbs are a benefit. “Continuing this service will contin- ue to prosper us in the future,” Lisa Hardison, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County. Since direct jet service from Hobbs to Houston lifted off about two years ago, passengers have arrived in Hobbs from 61 cities in 19 different coun- tries. “We’ve opened our access to the world,” Hardison said. Flights began in July 2011 and approximately 59,000 passengers have taken advantage of the flights since then, she said. EDC estimates the flights benefit the City of Hobbs, Lea County and the Hobbs Municipal School District by about $7 million during the past two years. Hampton Inn manager Lori Trammell said many of the clients who stay in the hotel, “are working in the community.” “They are not just flying in,” she Lea contract with United Airlines up for renewal ALMA OLIVAS-POSADAS NEWS-SUN The recent escape of an inmate from the Hobbs City Jail, prompted changes in operational procedures. According to reports from the Hobbs Police Department, Billy Ray Rodriguez Jr., 29, of Hobbs escaped from the Hobbs City Jail at about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday. HPD chief Chris McCall said recommendations for changes in operational procedures in the jail are being reviewed. “Anytime we have an issue of these arise, we conduct a policy review,” McCall said. According to McCall some changes have already been made, but can not be publicly dis- cussed. “We already made adjust- ments,” he said Thursday. Rodriguez was charged with escape from jail, a fourth degree felony, battery upon a police offi- cer, a fourth degree felony, and resisting, evading, or obstruct- ing an officer, a misdemeanor. He was originally in the Hobbs City Jail for a probation violation and was waiting to be transported to the Lea County Detention Center in Lovington, according to a press release from HPD. The 29-year-old allegedly began grabbing his chest and complain- ing of chest pains when a correc- tions officer escorted him from his cell to the bathroom. According to reports, the defen- dant backed toward a door lead- Escape prompts changes SUBMITTED PHOTO The lone wind turbine east of Hobbs is part of a test facil- ity to store wind energy in underground salt caverns. That’s the goal of a test project east of Hobbs SEE WIND, Page 4 SEE AIRLINE, Page 5 ■ HOBBS CITY JAIL SEE ESCAPE, Page 3 KIMBERLY RYAN/NEWS-SUN Kimberly and David Davis, a married couple who were both honor graduates, await their diplomas Friday night during New Mexico Junior College commencement at the Lea County Event Center. BETH HAHN NEWS-SUN Omar Murillo wore a look of relief along with his red cap and gown Friday evening. Murillo, a native of Las Cruces, was one of dozens of New Mexico Junior College graduates who participated in Friday’s ceremony at the Lea County Event Center. He received an associate’s of applied science through the college’s automotive program. “I can’t believe it’s over already,” Murillo said. “Two years flew by.” About 140 students, including 14 General Education Development stu- dents, received diplomas or certifi- cates during the ceremony. Ceremonies for individual pro- grams including automotive certifi- cates and Registered Nurses were held earlier in the week. Friday’s commencement included a recognition of the NMJC faculty of the year, geology professor Roene Neu and reading and writing in tran- sitional studies professor Terry Holloman. The faculty were honored during a ceremony Friday afternoon. Steve McCleery, president of NMJC, said the commencement ceremony is only the beginning. NMJC celebrates 140 graduates NMJC graduation NMJC graduation SEE NMJC, Page 5
Obituaries ...........................2Lottery.................................2Mark the date ....................3Fun & Games ......................7Weather ..............................8Sports ..................................9Classifieds..........................14TV ......................................16
Community News
The City of Hobbs willbe working on theTRAFFIC SIGNAL ATTHE JOEHARVEY/GRIMESINTERSECTION nextMonday-Friday. Thework consists of com-plete traffic signalupgrades. While thework is being done,the lights will be offand the intersectionswill be controlled bystop signs in all direc-tions. Drivers shouldproceed as if the inter-section were a four-way stop.
LEA COUNTY FIREDEPARTMENTS willbe conducting a train-ing exercise today at10 a.m. that includesthe controlled burningof a dilapidated home.Lea County residentscan expect to seesmoke for severalhours along StilesRoad about 3 mileseast of the LovingtonHighway.
East of Hobbs in Gaines County, Texas, standsa lone wind turbine — a sight not that impressiveuntil it comes to light that the turbine is part ofan experimental project to store wind energy inan underground cavern.
Wind power is the most cost effective renewableenergy on the market, but it is also the least reli-able and the least likely to be available ondemand. Wind energy is typically generated atnight — a time when energy demand is lowest,but what if wind power could be stored in a bat-tery for use during hot summer afternoons whenpower demand peaks?
That is the goal of Newton, Mass.-based
General Compression with their test facility inGaines County. The company is refining a newproprietary technology using an engine that dou-bles as an air-compressor and turbine, a windturbine and an underground salt cavern 2,000-feet below the surface.
“It is the first of its kind project,” said DavidMarcus, founder and senior vice-president of
Wind energy: What if it could be stored?
BETH HAHNNEWS-SUN
LOVINGTON — Later this summer,Lea County Commissioners coulddecide whether to extend an airlineservice contract with United.
Several area business owners andtravelers visited commissioners dur-ing Thursday’s meeting to remindthem that the direct flights to Houstonfrom Hobbs are a benefit.
“Continuing this service will contin-ue to prosper us in the future,” LisaHardison, president and CEO of theEconomic Development Corporationof Lea County.
Since direct jet service from Hobbsto Houston lifted off about two yearsago, passengers have arrived in Hobbsfrom 61 cities in 19 different coun-tries.
“We’ve opened our access to theworld,” Hardison said.
Flights began in July 2011 andapproximately 59,000 passengers havetaken advantage of the flights sincethen, she said.
EDC estimates the flights benefit theCity of Hobbs, Lea County and theHobbs Municipal School District byabout $7 million during the past twoyears.
Hampton Inn manager LoriTrammell said many of the clientswho stay in the hotel, “are working inthe community.”
“They are not just flying in,” she
Lea contract with United Airlines up for renewal
ALMA OLIVAS-POSADASNEWS-SUN
The recent escape of an inmatefrom the Hobbs City Jail,prompted changes in operationalprocedures.
According to reports from theHobbs Police Department, BillyRay Rodriguez Jr., 29, of Hobbsescaped from the Hobbs City Jailat about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday.
HPD chief Chris McCall saidrecommendations for changes inoperational procedures in thejail are being reviewed.
“Anytime we have an issue ofthese arise, we conduct a policyreview,” McCall said.
According to McCall somechanges have already been made,but can not be publicly dis-cussed.
“We already made adjust-ments,” he said Thursday.
Rodriguez was charged withescape from jail, a fourth degreefelony, battery upon a police offi-cer, a fourth degree felony, andresisting, evading, or obstruct-ing an officer, a misdemeanor. Hewas originally in the Hobbs CityJail for a probation violation andwas waiting to be transported tothe Lea County Detention Centerin Lovington, according to apress release from HPD.
The 29-year-old allegedly begangrabbing his chest and complain-ing of chest pains when a correc-tions officer escorted him fromhis cell to the bathroom.According to reports, the defen-dant backed toward a door lead-
Escapepromptschanges
SUBMITTED PHOTOThe lone wind turbine east of Hobbs is part of a test facil-ity to store wind energy in underground salt caverns.
That’s the goal of a test project east of Hobbs
SEE WIND, Page 4
SEE AIRLINE, Page 5
� HOBBS CITY JAIL
SEE ESCAPE, Page 3
KIMBERLY RYAN/NEWS-SUNKimberly and David Davis, a married couple who were both honor graduates, await their diplomas Fridaynight during New Mexico Junior College commencement at the Lea County Event Center.
BETH HAHNNEWS-SUN
Omar Murillo wore a look of reliefalong with his red cap and gownFriday evening.
Murillo, a native of Las Cruces, wasone of dozens of New Mexico JuniorCollege graduates who participatedin Friday’s ceremony at the LeaCounty Event Center.
He received an associate’s ofapplied science through the college’s
automotive program.“I can’t believe it’s over already,”
Murillo said. “Two years flew by.”About 140 students, including 14
General Education Development stu-dents, received diplomas or certifi-cates during the ceremony.
Ceremonies for individual pro-grams including automotive certifi-cates and Registered Nurses wereheld earlier in the week.
Friday’s commencement included a
recognition of the NMJC faculty ofthe year, geology professor RoeneNeu and reading and writing in tran-sitional studies professor TerryHolloman.
The faculty were honored during aceremony Friday afternoon.
Steve McCleery, president of NMJC,said the commencement ceremony isonly the beginning.
NMJC celebrates 140 graduates
NMJC graduationNMJC graduation
SEE NMJC, Page 5
General Compression. “There are twoother facilities in the world — one inGermany and one in Alabama — this is thethird. What makes us special is we expandthe air to make power — we don’t need toburn any fuel.”
How it worksWind power is actually ancillary to the
project. The real technology is the com-pressor/turbine and the underground saltcavern. The cavern in Gaines County waspreviously used for underground storage ofnatural gas by ConocoPhillips, Marcussaid.
“We like salt for several reasons — it does-n’t let air escape but it is also a large void,other structures are full of porous mediaand the gas doesn’t flow quite as easilythrough those structures,” he said. “Wherethere is good salt and you can store naturalgas in general you can store air.”
For the Gaines County project, the com-pany uses the 2 megawatt wind turbine togenerate the electricity needed to run thecompressor/turbine. In other areas thecompressor/turbine could be run off solaror any other energy, such as gas-fired ornuclear power plants.
Since wind energy is most often generatedat night, the wind turbine powers the com-pressor, which floods the underground cav-ern with air. The air displaces brine waterthat partially fills the cavern and is con-nected to the surface by way of pipes.
As the pressure builds, the air forces thewater up and out, increasing the size of thepond. When the cavern reaches maximumcapacity, the compressor is turned off andthe wind is stored under pressure in thecavern. It is much like filling an air com-pressor tank, compressing air and pressur-ing it up.
“It is basically a high-powered, inexpen-sive battery,” Marcus said.
When peak energy demand hits, the valveis opened and gravity forces the water backdown the pipes, forcing the pressurized airout of the cavern and powering the com-press-or/turbine, which now produces elec-
tricity instead of com-pressing.
It is the same principalas a turbine built into adam, but instead ofwater turning theengines it is the pressur-ized air escaping thecavern, Marcus said.
“When up to full powerwe are outputting at twomegawatts,” Marcussaid of his engine. “Ifthe cavern is full, we could produce elec-tricity continuously for 250 hours.”
In effect the power used to pressurize theair battery is generated during non-peakhours and then stored for use during timeswhen power demand exceeds productioncapacity, Marcus said.
What it meansGeneral Compression has been around
since 2006 and cutting-edge technology isits forte. Marcus said the company is justdeveloping the technology, which will besold to developers interested in using itwith energy projects.
While any form of energy productioncould utilize the technology to store powerduring low-load times for use during peakload times, the greatest potential for it is topartner it with wind projects.
“It would make wind more reliable on thegrid,” Marcus said, “but there are lots ofdifferent applications. Our attempt todemonstrate at full scale is right there inGaines.”
Gary Hurse, executive director of LeaCounty Electric Co-op, worked heavilybehind the scenes to make the project hap-pen in Lea County.
“The concept is great. I am very support-ive of anything you can do to firm wind,”Hurse said. “If they can make it work it willbe a low cost way to store energy and utilizerenewables and will provide another optionwith energy conservation and storage.”
For Lea County and the region it couldmean more wind farms. The area is heavywith deep salt deposits that could be madeinto caverns for wind batteries.
“You have great salt in that area over sev-eral hundred miles,” Marcus said. “But wewent there for multiple reasons. We likedthe Gaines area because they owned anexisting cavern (the company is partneredwith ConocoPhillips), it was relativelystraight forward to connect to the grid andget permits and there is a good supply base.If we’d tried to build in New York, we stillwouldn’t have broken ground. Texas ismuch more business friendly.”
Moving forwardMarcus said the company is still working
out the system, but hopes to officiallyannounce it ready before the end of theyear.
“We are still in the process of upgrading,calibrating and testing and doing all theother I-N-Gs,” he said.
The company has already raised $100 mil-lion in capital for its project and has beenrecognized by various energy publicationsfor the technology innovation.
“We need to finish the work we need to dothere and work on the commercial versionof what we are doing,” he said. “This wasan attempt to do it full-scale and improvethe technology. Then we will be looking forcommercial-scale plants.”
Marcus said General Compression wouldnot build plants, but instead sell or lease thetechnology to companies wanting to utilizeit.
Marcus said he pictures the technologybeing used with large-scale wind farms of10 megawatts in size and up for it to be eco-nomically feasible. However, if it can makewind energy available on demand it couldbe hugely popular because of the low costof wind.
“Because our gear doesn’t get very hot, wecan ramp up and down very quickly,” hesaid. “We see it as a global technology —not confining interests to just America.”
For more information on the companyand the project visit www.generalcompres-sion.com.
Eighth-grader Baylee Murph knows what it takes to start herown wedding planning business.
And she did – at least hypothetically.Murph and her Business Tech Lab classmates at Houston
Middle School have spent the last few months “starting a busi-ness” by creating a business plan and budget; and designingsigns, business cards and brochures. On Friday, the students cel-ebrated their accomplishment with a “company picnic.”
“We’re celebrating how they’ve done,” said HMS Business Techteacher Jodie Day. “You would be shocked. Most of these kids cando what adults cannot do (using) Microsoft. They are amazing.”
Earlier in the school year, Day had the students take severalcareer cluster surveys. The surveys aided in finding the field ofwork that most suited the student’s education, personality andinterests.
Once a business was chosen, the students had to research thebusiness for location and product viability; and costs for anybusiness expenses such as utilities, uniforms and workman’scompensation. The students created an overall budget for thebusiness and pitted it against a list of dream personal purchas-es.
And Murph discovered that a wedding planning business wasnot as lucrative as she had hoped – even with a catchy slogan likehers, “Just say yes, we do the rest.”
“I could not afford any of the stuff on my dream list,” Murphsaid with a laugh.
Day said the students then made a reality sheet listing the itemsthey could afford according to the profits from their business.
“It’s a real gamble,” said 14-year-old Jonathan Sarmiento ofstarting his own business. “When you start off, you don’t know ifyou’re going to fail or succeed.”
Sarmiento, who chose to open an architecture company, said heis interested in being an architect.
“After looking at the salary, I’m really interested,” Sarmientoadmitted. “Even though it takes about 8 years of college and out-side training ... I would be very interested because it’s a verygood paying position.”
In addition to budgeting skills, the students enhanced theircomputer skills by using Microsoft Office Word, Publisher, Exceland Powerpoint during the project.
“When we first introduced keyboarding to them,” Day said.“Most of them were barely able to type their name.”
Day said seeing how far the students had come was as touchingas watching a child take their first steps.
“I just teared up,” Day said. “They are importing graphics,wrapping text, changing their background. ... They are just
amazing. They can do anything that your junior collegeMicrosoft courses offer. They can do all of it. We looked up theirsyllabuses actually ... and we can do everything they can do.”
Murph’s mother, Yoni Bolton, who helped serve food during thepicnic, said she is amazed at what the students have learned.
“And they are life skills,” Bolton said. “They are skills they canactually use.”
Students learn real-life skills in ‘starting a business’ project
SANTA FE (AP) — A federalagency is offering about $2million to health clinics inNew Mexico to help uninsuredresidents obtain medical cov-erage.
The Health and HumanServices Department saidThursday that said 15 commu-nity health centers were eligi-ble to apply for the funding(http://1.usa.gov/10l9e6P).
The clinics are in communi-ties ranging from Albuquerque,Las Cruces and Santa Fe toLordsburg, Hatch and Portales.
Agency officials say themoney can be used to hire ortrain staff, conduct education-al programs to help peopleunderstand their options. NewMexico is expanding Medicaidto offer health care to morelow-income residents andestablishing a state-runexchange for the uninsured toshop for insurance plans.
Agency to helpclinics helpthe uninsured
Student’s business slogan:‘Just say yes, we do the rest’
KIMBERLY RYAN/NEWS-SUNMadison Peacock eats lunch Friday at a Houston Middle School “company picnic.”
