The Chronicles Of Grant County

Year 2023 In Review

The sky over Silver City looking northeast into the Gila National Forest and the Black Range. (The photograph was provided courtesy of Steve Douglas, October 3, 2012.)

The Chronicles Of Grant County included information on a number of topics during 2023. In addition, a new column – Nuacht Aoir – began being published in The Grant County Beat this year; this new column focuses on satire.

The news columns highlighted subjects that ranged from ones explaining difficult circumstances to ones detailing special features of life in Catron, Grant, Hidalgo, and Luna Counties and beyond.

A few news columns were designed to bring smiles to the faces of local residents.

Multiple news columns detailed reports of "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" or "UAPs." This is the name given by the Federal government to what ordinary Americans have been calling "Unidentified Flying Objects." A number of people in the region have witnessed UFOs (sorry, "UAPs") during the past couple decades. The unclassified report issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not detail any UAPs as being seen in New Mexico in 2022. (Please note: No official word yet if any aliens from other parts of the universe visited New Mexico in 2023.)

Individuals involved in bribery, thefts of cars and other motor vehicles, and other criminal activities were alerted that the U S Internal Revenue Service expects that these individuals will pay Federal income taxes on their illegal pursuits. (It's not certain how many people were actually shocked to learn that the IRS officially expects its cut from all criminal activities that accrue income. Except, of course, almost all criminals.)

News columns included details of the horrors implemented in Ukraine by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the 1930s. The Holodomor – Death by Starvation – is remembered today as one of the largest acts of genocide in human history.

More locally, The Chronicles Of Grant County described the movement of refugees from places in Oklahoma, California, and Arizona that arrived near Lordsburg in the 1930s. The Great Depression in the United States affected many communities, including those from the Great Plains to the West Coast.

Information about street names was included in several news columns. The origins of street names in Deming, Hurley, Lordsburg, Pinos Altos, Reserve, Silver City, and Tyrone were among the items detailed in The Chronicles Of Grant County.

Recreational sites managed by the U S Bureau of Land Management, orchards that provide free fruit to area residents in Silver City, suicide prevention options for military veterans, the status of COVID-19 infections in the area, and patterns of people moving to and from New Mexico were also among the subjects highlighted in news columns.

Exclusive reporting continued to be a hallmark of The Chronicles Of Grant County.

Santa Claus granted exclusive interviews to The Chronicles Of Grant County. For the third year in a row, the Grant County Airport served as the originating point for the largest philanthropic program in the world. Bear Creek Cabins provided lodging for Santa Claus and his nine reindeer before their global trip for this Christmas season.

In 2023, several of the exclusive reports were moved from The Chronicles Of Grant County to a new column, Nuacht Aoir (Gaelic – Irish – for "Satirical News"). This new column began its run by detailing how what was portrayed as a safety device in the 1990s could now be utilized to issue automated traffic tickets. This series of columns noted how those who were disobedient would be dealt with by the government.

And who could forget details about the Leprechaun International Convention Meeting that took place in Catron County on Saint Patrick's Day?

On April 1, 2023, local residents were informed – exclusively reported by Nuacht Aoir – that wolverines were being "relocated" to southwest New Mexico. This column noted that some officials in Washington were confusing wolverines (an aggressive animal…"built to rip into and feed on frozen flesh and bone," according to the National Park Service) with wolverines (some residents of Michigan who call themselves "wolverines" – one of Michigan's nicknames is the "Wolverine State").

Information on the visit of the Easter Bunny to the Gila was included in a column in the Spring.

New programs offered by the United States Postal Service were detailed in a series of columns. Plans for the "We Read Your Mail For You" Program and the "Parcel Post For The 21st Century" Program were disclosed in these columns.

Letters to and from "our Canis Lupus Baileyi friends" were published. These columns detailed how wolves living in southwest New Mexico were moving north to the Albuquerque area because guns had been outlawed in much of Bernalillo County. Within a short time period, though, the gun ban was revised. The wolves that had moved north were now headed back south. One of the wolves – Dottie – called the revision in gun regulations "Shameful."

Details were disclosed – exclusively, of course – on a new government entity that was created by the Federal government to help resolve "institutional racism faced by the Zombie ethnic group." A small section of Grant County was removed from county control and given to the Zombies.

New efforts to fight porch pirates were explained in columns published prior to Christmas and other holidays celebrated in December. Instead of scoring a new electronic device or securing new clothing through their criminal activities, persons stealing packages from other people's homes might actually be taking "beautiful gifts" of previously used diapers and kitty litter.

In 2024, The Chronicles Of Grant County will continue its wide range of reporting on life in Catron, Grant, Hidalgo, and Luna Counties as well as beyond southwest New Mexico.

Nuacht Aoir will continue to provide satirical columns on life in America.

In addition, a third column will join these two columns in 2024 – "Peirspictíochtaí Ar An Saol" (Gaelic – Irish – for "Perspectives On Life"). This column will focus on aspects of accountability and responsibility as well as ways people look at life.

Happy New Year.

Nuacht Aoir detailed plans of the Administration of President Joseph Biden to "relocate" dozens of wolverines to Catron County. (This photograph was provided courtesy of the Mountain-Prairie Region of the U S Fish & Wildlife Service through the National Park Service, December 10, 2010.)

Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?

A street name? A building?

Your questions may be used in a future news column.

Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@mail.com.

If your email does not go through, please contact editor@grantcountybeat.com.

© 2023 Richard McDonough