Compiled by Denise Ortega

AUGUST 29, 1972

RAIN DAMAGE. A two-inch rain falling on the watershed above the communities of Lemitar, Polvadera, and San Acacia caused an estimated $25,000 damage to homes, stored hay and fields early Saturday morning. Floodwater quickly filled the Lemitar ditch in the Polvadera-Lemitar area caus­ing the banks to overtop and sending a surge of water into homes. Most severely damaged were the homes of Ben Hanna, Richard Lujan and Anne Sullivan of Lemitar. Approximately $5,000 in damages occurred to bedding, clothes, appliances, tools and the house. Ed Morgan of the Soil Conservation Service states that many septic tanks have been flooded and shallow well water may be contaminated.

AUGUST 31, 1972

A VERY HAPPY and appre­ciative family won the GMC pickup which the Bank of Socorro gave away during the Grand open­ing. The new owner is Mrs. Mary Benavidez and a mother of four children all five and under. Mary had to borrow her mother’s car in order to take her husband John to work. The family car is too old to work. The Bank of Socorro staff is happy that their gift will mean so much to a well-deserving family.

AUGUST 27, 1997

TWO PEOPLE were treated at the local hospital Sunday after being involved in a one-vehicle accident on I-25, six miles north of Socorro. The driver and passenger were taken to Socorro General Hospital for examination. The car they were in, a 1990 Dodge, hit a guard rail and went through two fences. No other infor­mation was provided.

AUGUST 31, 1997

MISSING PICNIC TABLE. A large picnic table recently was taken from the Socorro Nature Area. The gray and black table, made from recycled plastic, is only 1 of 12 in the entire state. The table, worth $800, was stolen sometime between Aug. 23 and 24. The table was tied in with a cable, held down by cement blocks and weighed 400 pound. Because the Socorro Nature Area is a federal property admin­istered by the Bureau of Land Management, this theft is a federal felony.

AUGUST 25, 2012

THURSDAY’S STORM dumped over a half inch of rain and hail in 15 minutes in Socorro, and .64 inches at the Bosque Del Apache, according to National Weather Service observers. Pea-sized hail fell in downtown Socorro, and there were reports of street flooding and marble-sized hail hammering Evergreen Avenue in the southwest part of town. Arroyos south of town flooded sections of Highway 1 near San Antonio. Socorro Police Department reported no major accidents or problems.

AUGUST 29, 2012

FIRST PLACE BLUEGRASS. Socorro County’s Last Minute Bluegrass Band won first place in the bluegrass band competition at the 38th Annual Santa Fe Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival held at the Santa Fe county fairgrounds. The local band competed against four other bluegrass ensembles at the event, which draws about 1,500 bluegrass musicians and aficionados from around the state.

El Defensor Chieftain