Walker leaves NMSU for NFL assistant job

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -- New Mexico State football coach DeWayne Walker stepped down Thursday after four losing seasons to take a job as a defensive backs coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Walker went 10-40 with the Aggies, never winning more than four games in a season.

In a statement, Walker thanked athletic director McKinley Boston for the opportunity to allow him to coach the Aggies. "Unfortunately, I did not get the program as far as I would have liked from a wins and losses standpoint. But we do have a better locker room, better kids and a better foundation for the program moving forward."

Following Walker's departure, offensive coordinator Doug Martin was named interim coach.

Martin, 49, recently returned to the program as O-coordinator after serving in the same position in 2011. He also was head coach at Kent State for seven seasons before his first stint with NMSU, going 29-53 in that time.

"Obviously, N.M. State is a place I firmly believe in, and that's the reason why I came back," Martin said Thursday. "I feel there is unlimited potential for this football program and for Las Cruces as a city to take ownership of this team."

New Mexico State didn't announce plans regarding a search for a permanent coach, but Walker's exit does not come at a good time. Just two weeks before national signing day, when high school prospects decide where they will attend school, Martin and the Aggies' staff will be scrambling to keep the recruits who were interested in coming to NMSU on board.

The timing, along with the programs uncertain future as an independent, could also make it difficult to find top-notch candidates. The Aggies will be playing as an FBS independent next season because defections made the Western Athletic Conference give up on trying to field a football league in 2013.

On top of that, New Mexico State has traditionally struggled to field a winning team. The Aggies have not appeared in a bowl game since 1960.

Walker was hired in December 2008 to replace Hal Mumme after serving as defensive coordinator at UCLA for three years. The 52-year-old Walker also has NFL jobs on his resume. Before his time at UCLA, he was an assistant with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants from 2002-05.

In 2009, Walker was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, but the charge was dismissed after authorities said his breath alcohol level was well below the state's legal limit for presumed intoxication.

A new turn — 'Carousel' gets an update in new collaboration

In a first for the two world-renowned New Mexico State University faculty members, Las Cruces Symphony conductor Lonnie Klein, left, and theatrical icon Mark Medoff are collaborating on a local production of Rodgers & Hammerstein s Carousel, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 and 19 and 3 p.m. Jan. 20 at NMSU s Atkinson Recital Hall. (Courtesy photo)

By S. Derrickson Moore / dmoore@lcsun-news.com

In a unique collaborative effort, New Mexico State University's Theatre Department, the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra and some nationally-known talents with local roots will join to present the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Broadway hit "Carousel," Jan. 18, 19 and 20 at NMSU's Atkinson Music Center Recital Hall.

"It's an exciting first," said LCSO conductor Lonnie Klein. "It's the symphony's first musical, which will replace the annual LCSO benefit pops concert, and my first chance to collaborate with Mark Medoff on a project like this," Klein said.

Klein and Medoff, two of NMSU's best-known, internationally-renowned faculty members, are offering students, town-and-gown alliances and audiences some remarkable experiences through the project.

"I've wanted to do something with Lonnie for years, so I'm delighted we can work together. I love to work with people I respect and whose work ethic is ferocious. I'll have that ferocious commitment in abundance with our cast and designers," Medoff said, adding that he's looking forward to "the participation of Diane Schutz, the Las Cruces High School choir teaching legend, and the return to Las Cruces of three of her students who are working professionally: Jessica Medoff, Elena Armijo and Don Groves. To add to the abundance, we're bringing in Mark Womack and Millinee Bannister, two pros I met and admired at the Utah Opera and Music Theater Festival last summer. Mark was one of the stars of Baz Luhrmann's 'La Boheme' on Broadway. Locally, we'll have Ian Sidden and Dick Rundell, with set design by Bob Diven, lighting by Kenny Arroyo, choreography by Debra Knapp and costumes by Jason Estala. We'll be using a chorus of local younger and older singers."

Medoff, a multi-award-winning playwright, screenwriter, director and filmmaker (whose credits include a Tony Award for "Children of a Lesser God" and an Academy Award nomination for the movie version) will add his own spin to the classic, which opened on Broadway in 1945 and became a popular 1956 film that stared Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones.

"I've wanted to try to modernize 'Carousel' for many years and mirror the universality of our two main stories: The first, Billy and Julie, two wounded, angry people who try to let the other salve then heal those wounds and that anger; the second, Carrie and Enoch, two young people who build what has come over 30,000 or so years to be the accepted standard for the marriage of one person to another, with the idea of maintaining a domicile fit to raise a family, a large one in this case. As a director, I decided to not only portray Billy's struggle between good and evil, but to project a massive personal struggle for Julie as well," said Medoff, who stressed that "the modern approach

I'm taking is within the context of the original material. I'm not rewriting Oscar H. anymore than I've rewritten Shakespeare or Feydeau."

Principal casting choices were made with some inspirational goals in mind.

"Lonnie and I decided to bring back some of our local artists who are working professionally, not only to honor them and take advantage of their talents, but to make the point for hundreds of young dreamers in our schools that, look, see, it's possible to grow up here, take the blows while you learn, improve, forge yourself in steel, and work professionally," Medoff said.

Groves, Armijo and Medoff, three young New York City-based professionals who grew up singing together at Las Cruces High School, are happy to be working together again.

"Having this chance to participate in another show with the community that nourished me as an artist and groomed me for a professional career is a treat that not many in our profession get to experience. The people I have spoken to about this project are in awe of the amount and quality of talent that the city of Las Cruces has produced," said Don Groves.

"I am so excited to have the opportunity to perform this piece with dear friends and in my hometown! What a treat to be able to spend a long holiday at home with my family and create this piece of theater at the same time," Armijo said.

Jessica Medoff stressed that she's happy not only to be working with long-time friends and her dad, but also to have something even big-budget Broadway musicals don't have these days: a large, live orchestra.

"The LCSO is an ensemble of incredible talent and to have them playing this classic music will give us all chills. In the current musical theater world, full orchestras are no longer used; but back in the days of Rodgers and Hammerstein, full, glorious orchestrations were the norm. So, in this day and age of computerized music and synthesizers, to have the chance to do this show with the orchestra intended by the composers is a treat for both performers and audience," she said.

The adventurous approach to the production extends beyond the lead characters.

"The chorus is big and ranges in age from 3 yearsold upward to 80-ish," said Mark Medoff, who came up with his own version of an improv game to keep things interesting.

"I asked each member of the chorus to invent a character and send me a description. From those descriptions, I created dozens of relationships among the chorus members that they could play out through the course of the show. Within the chorus are a number of featured acting roles owned by some of our community's best actors, veterans like Richard Rundell, Susie Whelpley, Janet Mazdra and Mike Cook; several gifted students from NMSU's Theatre Arts Department; a batch of scary good high schoolers; and some wonderful and giving people of a certain age," Medoff said.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 18 and 19 and at 3 p.m. Jan. 20. A limited number of tickets may still be available at $35, $45 and $55; call 575-646-3709 or visit online at lascrucessymphony.com.

S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at 575-541-5450. Follow her on Twitter @DerricksonMoore.

Rodgers & Hammerstein's 'Carousel'

When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 and 19 and 3 p.m. Jan. 20

Where: NMSU's Atkinson Music Center Recital Hall

How much: $35, $45 and $55

Info: 575-646-3709 or visit lascrucessymphony.com.

Plot summary

Billy Bigelow asks for permission to be sent down "from above" for one day to try and make amends for mistakes he made in life. Billy worked at the carnival as a carousel barker, which is where he met Julie. The carousel owner, Mrs. Mullin, fired him because of jealousy, and he and Julie got married. Billy got into bad habits when he couldn't find a job and they were forced to live with Julie's cousin Nettie after Julie was fired from her factory job for staying out late with Billy. When Julie told him she was pregnant, he felt compelled to somehow find a way to support his family, but the only option seemed to be falling back into crime with his old pal, Jigger.

Source: Imdb.com

Hit songs from "Carousel"

• "If I Loved You"

• "June is Bustin' Out All Over"

• "You'll Never Walk Alone"

Deep roots — How pecans got started in the Mesilla Valley

Deane Stahmann Sr. looks out over the largest pecan orchard in the world. Stahmann planted the first major commercial pecan orchard in New Mexico. (Photo courtesy of NMSU Archives and Special Collections)

By Christopher Schurtz / For My Las Cruces

Pecans seem so much a part of southern New Mexico and the Mesilla Valley that it's hard to believe there was a time that the state's entire pecan harvest could be held in two hands.

The nuts are not native to New Mexico, though they are to northern Mexico and east Texas.

Anglo settlers in the post-Civil War years brought pecans with them, planting a few nuts as shade trees by houses, ditches and roads.

The Rio Grande Republican refuted a claim in December 1883 by a Texas paper that area Civil War veteran John Barncastle had the only pecan tree in New Mexico.

"Col. Jones of Mesilla has two of them in his front yard, Aaron Schutz planted one in his garden in this city, and Col. Rynerson has a large one in his yard," the newspaper retorted.

The oldest pecan tree in the valley is reportedly in Mesilla and dates to the early 1870s. Rynerson's tree lived into the 20th century on the Sun-News parcel on Alameda, and a tree from the same period stands south of St. Paul's Methodist Church. Few here thought about pecans as a commercial crop. There wasn't a big market for them: they took too long to grow, needed lots of water and were hard to harvest.

The earliest recorded crop was in 1920, with 626 pounds in all of New Mexico. The state now produces on average 60 million pounds a year, according to NMSU's Extension Service.

In 1916, work finished on the Elephant Butte Dam 90 miles north of Las Cruces. The dam brought hundreds of cotton farmers to the area, and changed demographics and land ownership in the valley.

It also made growing pecans as a large-scale crop more than just a nutty idea.

A 'soft' shell to crack

The Rio Grande Republican reported in 1915 that attempts in New Mexico to commercially grow pecans had ended in failure in part due to poor soil, inefficient watering or using the wrong kind of tree.

But researchers at the agricultural college south of Las Cruces were figuring out how to make pecans work in New Mexico. Fabian Garcia was a member of the first graduating class of the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, and as the director of the college's experimental station developed chile and onion varieties still grown today.

In March 1916, Garcia planted at least 16 different improved varieties of pecans west of the college on a four-acre parcel that now bears his name.

Some of those trees are still alive and producing nuts, said extension specialist Richard Heerema.

Garcia was trying to identify varieties that produced a larger, thin-shelled nut and could thrive in southern New Mexico. Many of them failed, but one of them, the Schley, is now the most common pecan grown here.

"It is possible that the pecan may not do well in all parts of the state," Garcia wrote in 1925. "But the results (here) indicate that some of the varieties, at least in the more favorable agricultural localities, may be very satisfactory."

Garcia credited Clarence P. Wilson as the first to plant a small pecan orchard of various "improved" varieties on his own ranch near Las Cruces in 1908. These were transplanted grafted trees rather than planted seeds.

Wilson was the agricultural station's editor, who earned his degree at the college with a thesis about his pecan orchard experimentation. He ultimately developed a modest 50-acre pecan orchard.

"Wilson is really the pioneer in the pecan work in this section," the college Round Up reported in 1931. "His is the largest and most comprehensive test ever run on pecans in the valley."

It was the apparent success of people like C.P. Wilson and Fabian Garcia that helped convince local farmers.

A 'worthy' crop

The Rio Grande Farmer encouraged farmers to plant pecans, thinking long-term.

"By selecting the proper varieties, there is no reason why the fences and the roadsides of Mesilla and Rincon valleys cannot be adorned with beautiful and productive pecan trees," the paper suggested in 1923.

But most valley farmers were focused on crops like cotton and alfalfa, and even Garcia saw pecans mostly as shade providers that produced a worthy crop.

"It is quite likely that the pecan will never become as important a crop in New Mexico as in its native states, but there is no reason why trees of the better adapted varieties should not be widely planted," Garcia wrote.

Developments in mechanized harvesting in the 30s, as well as a few shaky years farming cotton may have led farmers to give pecans a second look.

By the late 1930s, more than 1,100 acres of pecans were in production, and farmers like J.W. Newberry in Fairacres, D.C. Caylor on Brown Road off Valley Drive, and Gowan Jones south of Mesilla Park were reaping a crop from the trees they'd planted a few years earlier.

They also were selling young transplants that would end up in small orchards and yards from the south valley to Hatch. But the vast majority of New Mexico's entire pecan crop could be traced to south of Las Cruces down Highway 28 to the largest pecan orchard in the world.

Stahmann Farms

W.J. Stahmann, a buggy-maker from Wisconsin, had already found success in El Paso raising cotton and tomatoes when he and his son Deane bought almost 3,000 acres in Santo Tomas.

They cleared the bosque and planted crops including cotton, developing new varieties still in use today.

In 1932, the Stahmanns planted 30 acres of trees from Texas. Over the next few years, they bought Oscar Snow's 1,100-acre farm south of Mesilla and planted 4,000 acres of pecan trees.

It seemed the Stahmanns did everything big.

Sun-News owner-editor Wallace Perry, who profiled Deane Stahmann Sr. in 1942, said that in addition to the world's largest pecan orchard, the Stahmanns also had huge cantaloupe, cattle and cotton operations, and even raised flocks of geese.

They set up their own cotton gins and pecan processing facilities, and essentially built a small village for the 200 people who worked there all year.

Stahmann predicted his orchard would one day produce 10 million pounds of pecans. At that time, the state produced less than a few hundred thousand pounds, most of it from his orchards.

"That ten million pounds of pecans I'm figuring on is merely a guess," Stahmann told Perry. "It may turn out to be no more than five million. But the pecan market has been no more than scratched."

Today, Stahmann Farms produces that amount every year on average.

In the mid-1960s, Deane Stahmann Jr. established a 2,000-acre pecan farm in Australia, which he still operates.

Big valley

In 1945, the Sun-News proclaimed the pecan the "heir apparent" to cotton.

The Stahmanns and others used some of the first harvesting machines, including tractor-mounted pulleys that shook the nuts from the trees.

Before mechanization, pecan harvesting required either a long pole or a sure-footed tree climber to knock the nuts to the ground to be gathered by hand.

By the 1960s, hydraulically-powered shakers, sweepers and harvesters were making large-scale harvesting what it is today. Post-war prosperity made pecans more affordable to buyers, and coupled with the predicted downturn in cotton, more farmers began getting into pecans. Pecan research continued at NMSU by researchers including Roy Nakayama.

In June 1966, local pecan farmers including Leigh Fletcher, Nelson Clayshute, Bill Ikard, Clifford Donaldson, George McKinney, and Deane Stahmann formed the Western Irrigated Pecan Growers, which continues to hold annual conventions and promote the marketing of pecans.

Christopher Schurtz is a freelance writer and historian and can be reached at cschurtz@zianet.com

Meet Your Neighbor: Bob Worthington

Bob Worthington, president of the U.S. Pilots Association, stands behind his wife, Anita, in their home. They have been married for 53 years. (Niki Rhynes photo)

By Andi Murphy / amurphy@lcsun-news.com

Bob Worthington, 75, is a nonfiction writer and investor who made Las Cruces his home 25 years ago. He has a doctoral degree in clinical psychology. He was a combat Marine in the 1950s in the Middle East, infantry and special operations officer in the Army in Vietnam with seven decorations for valor, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Army Combat Infantry Badge, USMC Combat Action Ribbon and Legion of Merit. He retired a lieutenant colonel as a psychology consultant with the Army after 25 years. He is also a retired NMSU journalism professor. But that doesn't compare to the successful marriage he has with is wife, Anita. They have been married for 53 years.

"She has stayed behind for my three combat tours and kept the home fires alive and well," he said. "Who and what I am is a direct reflection on my wife, and what she has endured to keep us together."

1. What is your hometown? Because of my military career, I have lived in many places around the world. I was brought up in the small town (500 people) of Roxbury, Conn., and at age 18, began my living around the world. Now Las Cruces is my hometown.

2. What's the first car you owned? A 1950 black Plymouth four-door sedan I bought while in the Marine Corps in 1958.

3. What's your favorite restaurant in the area? Si Senior, Red Lobster and Outback, which Anita and I frequent all the time.

4. What's the best thing about Las Cruces? The total ambiance of friendly people and so many interesting things to do.When I moved here from the Amarillo area in 1987, Las Cruces had more things going on each month than Amarillo had in an entire year.

5. What's your favorite music? My favorite music is very soft and muted (radio or CDs) while I'm writing during the night, usually songs from the 1950s and 60s.

6. What's your favorite movie? Favorite book or author? I love current adventure stories (books) but my favorites are Zane Grey and Louis L'amour; stories about the Old West. As a kid in Connecticut, I read every Zane Grey book in our small library. I always wanted a Colt revolver, a Winchester carbine, and a log cabin on a cattle ranch in the Rockies with a river running by the cabin. I have every one of these.

7. If you could live any where in the world, where would it be? Since I can live anywhere in the world, my wife and I want to reside in Las Cruces, but we have some condos in Las Vegas, Nev., where we visit and part of a small cattle ranch in the Sacramento Mountains (with the river, etc).

8. If you could time-travel to any place or time in history, where would you go? To be born in 1837, serve in the Civil War, and be an adult pioneer in the Old West.

9. What do you do with your free time? Target shoot and read — and watch cable movies from 10 p.m. to 3 or 4 a.m.

10. Involved in any clubs or groups? Yes: member and co-founder of the N.M. Pilots Association and former president, president and director of the U.S. Pilots Association; member of Picacho Gun Club; local SCORE chapter business counselor and business seminar instructor; member of the local Military Officers Association of America chapter and president of the state MOAA Council; member Colt Collectors Association; life member of the National Rifle Association; and FAA Safety Team Representative (aviation safety instructor).

11. What is your nearest brush with fame? Readers asking me to autograph one of my books or a magazine article. Otherwise, working for Marilyn Monroe. In the military, I met and worked with several movie stars but when in my late teens, I worked for Marilyn Monroe when she was married to playwright Arthur Miller.

12. What material possession or object do you own that you treasure? My plane and my firearms.

13. What's you favorite annual event in Las Cruces or Mesilla? The Lion's Club Gun Show, twice a year.

14. Do you have any pets? Yes, two domesticated feral cats. A brother and sister: he is Bear and she is Tiger.

15. What sustains you? My wife, Anita, the prettiest, smartest and nicest woman in the world.

16. Do you collect anything? I collect firearms, almost exclusively handguns — both antique and modern ones. I have a college minor in history and a background in the military. Firearms have been a part of the history of the United States. Also, I was, at one time, a full-time professional competitive shooter (pistols). Additionally, for much of my adult life and professions I carried weapons as my primary working tool (i.e., combat Marine, police officer, professional shooter, infantry and special operations officer). Additionally, I write magazine articles about handguns and many are historical articles about firearms.

17. When you cook, what's your specialty? I do a lot of cooking but have no favorite meals. I enjoy doing roasts, steaks, cakes, eggs, pancakes, salads, sandwiches, seafoods, etc.

This week's Meet Your Neighbor was compiled by Andi Murphy. If you have an idea for a person to feature in Meet Your Neighbor, contact Andi Murphy at amurphy@lcsun-news.com; 575-541-5453.

Sky's the limit — Astronomy clubs offer glimpse into infinity

New Mexico State University astronomy graduate student Sean Markert answers questions from visitors while viewing the planet Jupiter during an Observatory Open House in November by the NMSU Department of Astronomy on campus. (Niki Rhynes photo)

By Matlin Smith/msmith@lcsun-news.com

Local astronomy organizations are preparing for a new year of predictable — and not so predictable — celestial events, offering plenty of opportunities for Las Cruces to join in the fun, and look toward the open New Mexico skies.

• NMSU Department of Astronomy

The astronomy department at New Mexico State University has 15 research faculty who delve into a variety of different aspects of astronomy, from the sun and plants to our solar system, stars, galaxies and the structure of the universe.

They operate the Tombaugh Observatory, located on the NMSU campus, as well as the Apache Point observatory in Sun Spot, New Mexico (southeast of Las Cruces in the Sacramento Mountains), a facility with four telescopes.

"The research areas are very diverse," said Dr. Nancy Chanover, associate professor in the department.

In between researching the other-worldly, department faculty teach graduate and undergraduate courses to aspiring astronomers and conducting public outreach and community service.

"We also respond to requests that come to us from various organizations, school groups and local clubs that want to have a hosted education event at the observatory," Chanover said.

Planned upcoming public events at the campus include an open house at 7 p.m., Jan. 18 featuring the a look at the crescent Moon, Orion the Hunter and the Gemini Twins (Castor and Pollux).

For more information on the events, contact the NMSU Astronomy Department at 646-4438, or visit astronomy.nmsu.edu.

• The Astronomical Society of Las Cruces

Professional and amateur astronomers make up the Astronomical Society of Las Cruces, which was formed in 1951 by a group of dedicated astronomers including Clyde Tombaugh, who had discovered Pluto just 21 years earlier. For over 50 years, the group has been sharing a little bit of the universe with the local community under the southern New Mexico skies.

According to the club's website, ASLC has a variety of ongoing observing, education and public outreach programs, hosting a public moongaze each month and star parties for schools, scouts and other organizations. Meetings, featuring astronomy-based presentation, are held each month.

ASLC publicity chair Daniel Giron said upcoming events include a Jan. 19 moongaze in front of the International Delights Cafe, located at 1245 El Paseo Road, starting at dusk and the ASLC month meeting at 7:30 p.m. at Doña Ana Community College.

For more information, visit aslc-nm.org, or email ASLC president Chuck Sterling at csterlin@zianet.com or csterlin88001@gmail.com.

• Leasburg Dam State Park Stars in Parks program

The ASLC is currently working on completing their new observatory at the Leasburg Dam State Park in Radium Springs, which has a Stars in Parks program with frequent events that are open to the public.

Interpretive ranger Alex Mares said the Stars in Parks has been around for 10 years, offering programs like winter story-telling surrounding the Navajo culture and constellations, as well as viewings of planets and celestial bodies through telescopes.

Mares said the program's purpose is to use astronomy to promote recreation, education and preservation.

"We want to provide an opportunity for the public to come out into the state parks," Mares said. "We have an excellent night sky (and) we encourage the community to get involved in its preservation."

Volunteers, and retired and practicing astronomers provide a glimpses into the science behind astronomy, while park personnel, including Mares, lend tails of Greek and Native American Mythology, culture and history with relation to the stars.

"Living in the desert, we're living in an area that has the best nigh sky viewing in the west," he said.

No events are immediately scheduled, but with the impending opening of the observatory later this month, or at the beginning of February, Mares said night sky programs, research, recreation and education opportunities will be provided to the public.

For information, visit nmparks.com, contact Mares at alex.mares@state.nm.us, or call the park at 575-524-4068.

• Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science Sky Safari

The newly re-opened Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science, 450 N. Water Street, offers a Sky Safari program for the youngest aspiring astronomers.

High-powered telescopes are available for looking toward the celestial, and members of the NMSU astronomy department help with the programs, which are funded by The Southern New Mexico Natural History Foundation.

For information on upcoming Sky Safari programs, contact the museum at 575-522-3120, mwalczak@las-cruces.org or visit their website on the City of Las Cruces' homepage at las-cruces.org.

According to museum officials, the Magic Planet Show is also currently on display at the museum, and offers an opportunity to learn about the universe through free informative presentations, as staff allows.

Out-of-town opportunities

• The Enchanted Skies Star Party, Oct. 2-5 in Socorro, offers a unique southwestern astronomy experience, including lectures by leading and amateur astronomers, observing at 10,600 ft and an evening of food, Southwestern entertainment and dark-sky observing. For information, visit enchantedskies.org.

• Silver City Astronomical Society will have a program at 1 p.m. Saturday on "The United States Forest Service Dark Skies Astronomy Campground" by SCAS member Bill McCabe. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at Billy's BBQ at 2138 Hwy 180 East. For information, email silvercityofstars@gmail.com.

• The night sky at White Sands National Monument is also perfect for stargazing. There is very little light pollution from Alamogordo because of the city's dark sky ordinance, which was put into place to reduce light pollution for the various observatories that overlook the city, such as Sun Spot and Apache Point.

Matlin Smith can be reached at 575-541-5468; follow her on Twitter @msmith_lcsun.

Florence hires new manager

FLORENCE — A new Florence town manager is expected to start work next week.

Charles A. Montoya, most recently director of finance for the town of Castle Rock, Colo., is to begin work Monday.

“I’m pretty excited and I look forward to it,” he told the Town Council at Tuesday’s meeting.

In an interview with the Florence Reminder, Montoya said he was with Castle Rock, a town of 50,000 people, for 41⁄2 years. Prior to that he was chief financial officer for Centennial, Colo., a newly incorporated city of 100,000.

Montoya, 43, said he was drawn to the job in Florence for the climate, but especially the comfort and security of a small community. “I love small towns.” He is married and the father of six children. His contract provides an annual base salary of $113,000 plus $325 per month vehicle allowance.

Montoya worked as chief financial officer for Jefferson County, Colo., and before that worked for a private company, National Mentor Inc., in New Mexico. He also worked seven years for the governor’s office and other state agencies in New Mexico.

As director of finance for the town of Castle Rock, he managed and supervised all financial, accounting, payroll, budgeting, and analysis of organization expenditures and revenues. He also assisted in the analysis and management of economic development, long-term water planning, fire management and planning and development, according to his resume.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in management economics with a minor in math from New Mexico State University, and a master’s degree in public administration from University of New Mexico. He served about 10 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve, retiring with the rank of lieutenant.

Montoya wrote in his cover letter to town officials, “I have over the years been acting city manager or county manager numerous times and believe my executive management level over the last nine years has demonstrated my abilities in that capacity.

“My leadership style challenges staff to see that our success is measured not only in terms of our individual performance, but also on the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. A firm commitment to customer service, collaborative problem solving, accountability and integrity guides my career in public service.