There is a new little roadrunner in town who needs the help of Las Cruces area kids in getting a new name. Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) invites elementary students to help! The roadrunner is a metal sculpture designed by local artist Ruben Garcia. A plaque near the roadrunner reminds us: “Water is a Precious Resource, Use it Wisely!”
The roadrunner is not only the state bird of New Mexico, but also proudly highlights the City’s water conservation program. You can see him west of the city just off I-10 at Exit 132. The roadrunner marks the entrance to the West Mesa Industrial Park, near Love’s Travel Stop. It’s the desert out there, and our roadrunner is right at home.
This roadrunner is extra special, so let’s give it a special name! We encourage all area elementary school students to participate. Here are some ways your teacher can incorporate this effort into your class:
- Write a story! Is our roadrunner a boy or a girl? What is his/her story? How did he/she become a mascot for water conservation?
- How do roadrunners live in our desert? What do they eat and where do they sleep?
- What’s the best place to see them? How might some of those characteristics lead to a
really great name for our roadrunner? Choose two top names from your class and
have a discussion explaining why one should win out over the other?
Use your creativity to find the one true name for our roadrunner. The only rule is: Please submit only one name per class. Schools may submit names from as many classes as they’d like.
Teachers! The deadline for your class to submit a name is March 1! Please email the roadrunner name your class chooses along with the teacher’s name and contact information and the school name to Rhonda Diaz, water conservation program coordinator at Rhdiaz@las-cruces.org (email too if you have questions, and feel free to attach students’ roadrunner stories.) The winning name will be selected by the Las Cruces Utilities Board on March 14th and a pizza party for the winning class will be on a day convenient for you during the third week of March.
Submitted by Las Cruces Utilities at 528-3500 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Las Cruces Utilities provides GAS – WATER – WASTEWATER – SOLID WASTE services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces residents and businesses.