Looking back 40, 30 and 20 years ago, the following are excerpts from the Artesia Daily Press.

40 years ago July 7-13, 1984

An Amtrack passenger train with 278 people aboard derailed while crossing a washed out culvert Saturday, tumbling cars into a streambed, killing at least one person and trapping seven in a crushed car. Scores of people were injured when nine cars of the 13-car Montrealer jumped the weakened track around 7 a.m., officials said. Three cars were mangled as they piled into each other after plummeting down a 30-foot gulley in northwestern Vermont. An estimated 300 rescue workers removed the passengers, many on stretchers, after passing them through train windows.

———-Vietnam veterans who think they may have been exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange are being urged to attend one of a series of informational forums this month around New Mexico. The subject of the meetings will be to tell veterans about the recent $180 million settlement in two lawsuits brought against the manufacturers of the dioxin-based herbicide. Officials at the meetings also will solicit veterans’ opinions about the settlement to be presented to the judge presiding over the cases, said Eugene Gilbert, director of the New Mexico Vietnam Veteran Leadership Program. Agent Orange, used to kill foliage and crops and expose enemy troops in Vietnam from 1961-72, has been linked to a number of heath problems.

———-Marie Strahan, believed to be one of the nation’s longest surviving recipients of a transplanted kidney, marks the 20th anniversary of her operation Saturday. When Mrs. Strahan was diagnosed in March 1964 as having renal disease, she had never heard of anyone surviving for a long time after a transplant. But she has suffered no complications since surgery and says that her life today is completely normal.

———-Ron Head, right, chairman of the advisory board of the Artesia Good Samaritan Center, presents a plaque to Artesia Fire Chief Ray Castleberry, center, and Capt. Jimmy Boyce for the efforts and assistance of the fire department during the May 11 fire at the center. The advisory board and staff at the retirement community honored members of the fire, police and sheriff’s departments for the “fine work” done during the emergency.

———-The Artesia Police Department welcomed a new chief this morning when James MacKenzie began his first day on the job. Capt. Ernest Chavez, who had served as acting chief, familiarizes MacKenzie with the day-to-day operations of the department. MacKenzie said he plans to review all facets of the department before making any changes.

———-The government today ordered air bags or automatic seatbelts in new cars beginning with some 1987 models, but said it would let automakers off the hook if enough states pass mandatory seatbelt laws. Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole announced the order at a news conference, saying she hoped it would end a 15-year controversy over mandatory restraints designed to better protect occupants in crashes. Mrs. Dole said the new rules will help to reduce the more than 43,000 traffic deaths a year, which she called “a national tragedy.”

30 years ago July 7-13, 1994

Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteers, Susie McCaw, left, and Dorothy Crouch, center, accompanied CASA executive director Linda Ahrens, right, to the National CASA Conference in Tampa, Fla., in May. There the participants received four days of training. During the banquet, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno was one of the main speakers. Also, Charlotte Lopez, Miss Teen USA, spoke about her experience of being in the court system since she was 16 months old.

———-Metal trolley tracks dating back to 1919 were uncovered by a construction worker helping to pave an Albuquerque street. Fred Marquez, an employee with Chava Trucking Co., was working on the street this week when he found the piece of track that had 1919 stamped on it. Trolley cars in Albuquerque date back to the 1880s, when the railroad came to town, said Mary Davis of the city Planning Department. Horse-drawn trolleys connected the city – then spelled Alburquerque – to the railroad station. It wasn’t until 1903 that the Albuquerque Traction Co. set up electric cables over the trolleys, and cars ran over metal tracks.

———-With quiet tears and blazing music, North Korea on Saturday marked the death of dictator Kim Il Sung, while his mysterious son apparently cemented his new hold on power in the reclusive, Stalinist state. Word of Kim’s death from a heart attack was withheld by the North’s official media for an entire day, suggesting that his son Kim Jong Il had needed time to consolidate his succession bid. The North stopped short of an actual succession announcement, but made statements suggesting the younger Kim was in control.

———-Forget Colonel Sanders and Burl Ives. Think Brad Pitt and Snoop Doggy Dogg. The goatee, not always the hippest of facial hair, is again the growth of choice on cutting-edge chins. “It seems like this is the trend these days,” said Boston Bruins baseman Ray Bourque, one of several dozen hockey players who sported good-luck goatees rather than the usual bears for this year’s playoffs. .

———-Suspects await booking after being arrested in early morning drug raids that netted 35 persons. The raids involved several law enforcement agencies and were a result of an 18-month investigation by the Artesia Police Department. More than 60 arrest warrants were issued with 176 drug-related violations for the raids.

20 years ago July 7-13, 2004 Capps Company employees work to complete Phase II of Artesia’s water plan at the corner of 26th and Main streets. Part of the road is closed, but according to supervisor Wayne Velasquez the inconvenience will not last long. “We are at the tail end of the project,” he said. The road will be closed until Friday. Capps has already completed the installation of a 12-inch water line from Richey Avenue, on 41st Street to south of Grand Avenue and an 8-inch water line at the airport. Velasquez said that this has already improved water pressure or many and the final phase will increase pressure “west of 26th Street and for some south.”

———-The Sept. 11 commission is standing by its finding that al-Qaida had only limited contact with Iraq before the terrorist attacks. The 10-member, bipartisan panel issued a one-sentence statement Tuesday saying it had access to the same information as Vice President Dick Cheney, who suggested strong ties between ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. That assertion was one of the justifications the Bush administration gave for going to war with Iraq. In an interview with CNBC, Cheney had said there “probably” was information about Iraq’s links to terrorists that the commission members did not learn during their 14-month investigation. The commission statement Tuesday disputed that.

———-New Mexico is cracking down on uninsured vehicles. The state has suspended nearly 11,000 car registrations since May due to a lack of insurance. The state’s uninsured vehicle rate is down from 18 percent in May to 16.5 percent, according to Ken Ortiz, manager of the insurance compliance section of the Motor Vehicle Division. The national average is 14 percent.

———-The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) held a webcast yesterday in which a local Artesia teen was a panelist. Sherida Elkins, 17, participated in the national webcast at PVT that explored teen preferences in the telecommunications market. A recent survey by the NTCA and the Foundation for Rural Service showed that today’s teenagers have money and they aren’t afraid to spend it. Their research indicated that 86 percent of teens ages 17-20, have wireless phones in rural communities.

———-At approximately 8:45 a.m., Monday, a tractor- trailer and a motorcycle collided on southbound U.S. 285 in front of McDonalds. The collision occurred when a motorcycle, driven by Carter Lacy, 18, was set to turn into the restaurant. Apparently the semi was not able to slow down and ran into Lacy, who was thrown from his motorcycle. No injuries were reported, although Southwest Wrecking Company spent more than an hour trying to dislodge the motorcycle from the semi.

———- (EDITOR’S NOTE: Looking Back was compiled By Daily Press Staff)