By cassie mcclure for lcu
• Feb 11, 2021 Back when schools were still in session in 2019, Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) went looking for a name for its robotic sewer truck. LCU had success naming its roadrunner “Aguacito” out on the West Mesa Industrial Park through students at Hillrise Elementary, and the same school came through with creative suggestions and the winning name.
The new name, selected by the LCU Board of Commissioners, was R.U.B.B.L.E – Respectable, Underground, Brain, Bot, that loves the Environment. It was the brainchild of all the 4th grade students at the school. It was integrated into the social studies curriculum with teachers Gordon Strawn and David Uribe and Carol Alvarado used the naming competition as a prompt for writing exercise in her English Language Arts class.