[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 19 (Tuesday, March 3, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E262-E263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    A TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE ERNEST THOMPSON, MAYOR OF ARTESIA, NM

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE SKEEN

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 3, 1998

  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the accomplishments 
of Ernest Thompson, who has served the last quarter-century as Mayor of 
the City of Artesia, which is located in my congressional district in 
southeastern New Mexico.
  Mayor Thompson was first elected in 1972. Today, the voters of 
Artesia will go to the polls to select a new mayor, and they will find 
his shoes hard to fill. Mayor Thompson has been active in the New 
Mexico Municipal League, having served as President and as a member of 
the board of directors. In the National League of Cities, the Mayor 
served as President of the Small Cities Advisory Council and is a 
current member of the Finance, Administration and Intergovernmental 
Relations Committee.
  In 1939, almost 60 years ago, Mr. Thompson moved to Artesia from 
central Texas. He worked at the local Navajo Refining Company until his 
retirement. They Mayor is a member of the First United Methodist 
Church, and has spent the last 46 years as an active supporter of the 
Boy Scouts of America; having served as cub master, scout master, 
explorer leader, area executive board member and district chairman. He 
is a recipient of the Boy Scouts of America's Silver Beaver Award.
  During Mayor Thompson's administration he initiated and completed 
almost $30 million of important and necessary local construction 
projects including a law enforcement center, two fire stations, the 
Artesia center, a new warehouse, an airport terminal, a wastewater 
treatment plant, the remodeling and expansion of the Artesia Senior 
Citizens Center, the remodeling of City Hall, the expansion and 
remodeling of Artesia Library, and several street and water/wastewater 
infrastructure projects. Many of these projects were assisted with 
federal funding through Urban Renewal, Neighborhood Development and 
Community Development Block Grants which were also matched by the State 
of New Mexico.
  Mr. Thompson has been active in Artesia's important local civic 
groups including the

[[Page E263]]

Artesia Rotary Club, the New Mexico Gideons, the Artesia Quarterback 
Club and the Artesia Parents and Boosters Club. Mayor Thompson's wife 
of 55 years, Grace, has always lent her loving support for his many 
efforts and accomplishments on behalf of the citizens of Artesia. They 
have one son and two grandchildren.
  I ask my colleagues today to take a special moment to recognize and 
thank Mayor Thompson for his 26 years of outstanding and distinguished 
service and congratulate him on a job well-done. Artesia will always 
fondly remember the accomplishments of the Mayor: Ernest Thompson.

                          ____________________