Compiled by Denise Ortega

JULY 11, 1972

QUICK ACTION on the part of Alfred Baca Jr. and Ezequiel Saavedra saved the life of a 17-month-old child from drowning in a reclamation ditch east of Lemitar. The two men are employees of the Socorro Irrigation Division of the Bureau of Reclamation. Both noticed an object floating down the ditch and with closer inspection, they realized the object was the body of a baby. Baca jumped in the water and grabbed the baby in the water. The baby was unconscious. Baca applied artificial respiration for two to three minutes before the baby showed signs of life. He continued until the baby responded by crying and began breathing normally.

JULY 13, 1972

FRUTOSO LOPEZ, a teacher in the Socorro school system for 32 years and assistant Junior High School principal for the past several years, was named principal of Torres School Tuesday evening by the Board of Education acting on the recommendation of Supt. J. Placido Garcia. He succeeds Edward Torres, who retired at the end of the 1972 spring term. His college training was at Highlands University where he holds A.B. and M.A. degrees. The only time he was not actively engaged in teaching was his four year and one half year stint with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.

JULY 9, 1997

TRAIN ACCIDENT. A vehicle carrying seven people ended up in an irrigation ditch after it was struck by a train. Four of the people were taken to Socorro General Hospital. According to a state police report, the passengers received minor injuries. The driver will receive citations for having no license and careless driving. The vehicle failed to stop at the railroad crossing on Farmer’s Market Road. No information was available at press time on how fast or how slow the train was going when it hit the vehicle.

TRANS-LUX MOVIE THEATER

Batman and Robin: Fri.-Thurs. 7 p.m.

My Best Friend’s Wedding: Fri. and Thurs. 9:30 p.m.

All Seats $3.50

JULY 13, 1997

NEWEST PATROLLMEN. Socorro’s newest officers, John Armijo and Mario Perez, cite their dedication to the community and its public safety as reasons for putting on a badge. The Socorro natives joined the force after graduating from the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Both started in the department as dispatchers. Their two months at the academy included learning about homicide investigations, defensive tactics, report writing and firearms training.

JULY 11, 2012

NEW GRADES for schools in the Socorro and Magdalena districts are in, and the results are a mixed bag. The grades measure how competent a school is on several factors, including proficiency scores of students’ reading and math abilities, student improvement on those abilities and student attendance.  Midway Elementary and San Antonio Elementary showed the most improvement, increasing their respective letter grades from D’s to B’s. Magdalena Middle School improved from a D to a C, and Zimmerly Elementary School improved to a D after posting an F the previous year.

A LOCAL MAN was arrested for his fifth DWI offense. Since this is his fifth offense, he faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a possible fine of up to $5,000. He was originally pulled over because an officer noticed his license plate had expired. The officer noticed that he had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and an odor of alcohol on his breath. The man was then transported to the police station, where he refused to take a breath analysis test. He was also charged with driving with expired license plates.

El Defensor Chieftain