Support a Girl Scout, buy cookies

National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend coming up this weekend, Feb 16-18, 2024

Girl Scout Cookie Season kicked off on Sunday, January 14, 2024, for Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest. Councils across the nation look forward to the biggest weekend of the season, National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend, which will be held February 16-18 this year. This celebration marks a time when America's favorite cookies are widely available across the United States with each purchase supporting local Girl Scouts. In addition to cookies being available across the county, National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend provides consumers with the opportunity to witness some of the most dynamic girl entrepreneurs in action.

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Silver City Interagency Dispatch Center – Beating heart of the Gila

The Silver City Interagency Dispatch Center is the beating heart of the Gila National Forest, and as an interagency resource, it is also central to the success of incident response for the Bureau of Land Management Las Cruces District, and lands managed by the State of New Mexico Forestry Division.

“The Silver City Interagency Dispatch Center serves seven counties and 19 million acres of southwestern New Mexico from Las Cruces west to the Arizona State Line and from Quemado south to the U.S./Mexican border,” said Dispatch Center Manager Chris Hedgeman. “It is one of five interagency dispatch centers in New Mexico, and 11 in the Southwestern Region.”

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GRMC to do a community health needs assessment, seeks public input

Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Fred Fox, emphasized at the Jan 24, 2024 board meeting that the hospital in the very near future would do a community health needs assessment. 

"We want input from every member of our community, no matter if they have health insurance or not," Fox said. "The requirements of the survey under the IRS rules require extensive coverage of all sectors of the community. More information will be forthcoming, but the assessment, report and action plan must be completed by the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2024."

For requirements of the assessment, please visit: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/community-health-needs-assessment-for-charitable-hospital-organizations-section-501r3 

Grant County passes proclamation declaring 2024 "The Year of the Gila Wilderness" with unanimous support

Gila Wilderness turns 100 in June

SILVER CITY, N.M. — Conservation groups, community members, Tribal nations and the U.S. Forest Service gathered today to witness Grant County Commissioners unanimously approve a proclamation declaring 2024 "The Year of the Gila Wilderness." This year marks 100 years since the Gila Wilderness was designated, and events and celebrations are planned throughout the year to honor the Gila Centennial.

"We are deeply inspired to see so many folks speaking out and standing up to ensure this incredible landscape is adequately celebrated and protected for the next 100 years," said WildEarth Guardians Greater Gila Advocate Leia Barnett. "With Alicia Edwards and the Grant County Commission leading the way in those efforts, the Gila Wilderness will get the recognition it deserves."

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Making Art of the Mundane: Sculpture Students Explore Form on a Large Scale

WhearyClassThe students in Assistant Professor Erin Wheary’s Appreciation of Sculpture class could recently be found on a sunny Tuesday morning on the Graham Gym patio, arranging their latest creations for a photography opportunity. “Let’s try the Ball jar toward the center,” called the photographer, Jay Hemphill, as the students moved their sculptures, “The Apple watch can go on the bottom step.”

The students were arranging oversized sculptures of everyday objects, all painted the same purple hue and ranging in size from large to massive. The sculptures, made of chicken wire and cardboard and covered with a skin of papier-mâché, were the result of an assignment given by Wheary early in the semester.

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Gila National Forest facility maintenance crew earns a gold star

LakeRobertsDockImprovements made for health, safety, and accessibility

MIMBRES, NM, February 2, 2024 – The Gila National Forest manages 3.3 million acres of lands and waters, as well as nearly 500 buildings, including offices, housing units, vault toilets, well houses, and other facilities. Until last year, the forest lacked a crew of facility maintenance workers dedicated to the inspection, repair, maintenance, and upgrade of these facilities. Last June, two new Forest Maintenance Workers were hired, and other staff have been identified who can provide additional support.

“Somewhere along the way, someone decided that facility maintenance either wasn’t necessary or could be accomplished by use of contractors,” said Gila National Forest Supervisor Camille Howes. “However, they weren’t accounting for the remote nature of the Gila, or they didn’t foresee the difficulty of obtaining contractors or the high cost of contracting to cover basic repairs.”

The yearslong lack of focus on facility maintenance resulted in dilapidated housing and recreational facilities that could pose health and safety concerns to employees and the public. One of the crew’s more publicly visible accomplishments is the repair of the boat dock at Lake Roberts. The boat dock had been closed several times over the past three years due to dry rotted wooden decking, with individual planks replaced piecemeal. Now the wooden decking has been fully replaced with aluminum planks. The new aluminum decking will allow for safe use, be longer-lasting, and a new entrance ramp will improve access for people with disabilities.

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Gila National Forest announces winner of poster competition

1stGilaCliffPoster1st - Christina Wilkinson’s “Gila Wilderness"Images to be used for promotional materials for Gila Wilderness centennial celebrations

MIMBRES, NM, February 1, 2024 – Dozens of high-quality and meaningful works of art were submitted in response to the Gila National Forest’s call for artwork honoring the centennial anniversary of the iconic Gila Wilderness. The three winning pieces of art are:

1st - Christina Wilkinson’s “Gila Wilderness"

2ndGilaScene2nd - Michael Shaw’s “Gila Scene”

2nd - Michael Shaw’s “Gila Scene”

3rdGilaPosterBen Brown’s “Gila Wilderness Centennial Poster”3rd - Ben Brown’s “Gila Wilderness Centennial Poster”

“There was an impressive variety of artwork submitted, making it difficult to choose only three winners,” said Wilderness District Ranger Henry Provencio. “The winning pieces were selected for their creativity and inclusion of representative features, flora, and fauna of the Gila Wilderness.”

Each of the winning entries will receive an honorarium in the amount of $100, and their artwork will be featured on posters, flyers, handouts, social media posts, and other outreach and promotional materials for the Gila Wilderness Centennial celebrations. For more information contact Maribeth Pecotte at 575-388-8211 or Maribeth.Pecotte@usda.gov .

HMS Animas Valley Clinic Ribbon Cutting

HMS AnimasTop Row from Left to Right: Kathy Adams, Animas Schools; Trina Kellogg, Animas Schools and Western Bank; Randi Ybarra, Frank Chaires, Rusty Tolley, and Bill Walter, HMS Board of Directors; and Joni Kerr, Hidalgo County Health Council | Bottom Row from Left to Right: Dr. Dan Otero, HMS CEO; Ken Murphy, HMS PA; MyKenzie Johnson, HMS MA; Kelly Peterson, Hidalgo County Commissioner; Carmen Acosta, HMS Board of Directors; Art Malott, Hidalgo County Commissioner; Tisha Green, County Manager; Marlene Baska, HMS PA; Amand Frost HMS COO; Dr. Teresa Arizaga, HMS CBHO; Isaac Saucedo, HMS CMO; Albert Diaz, HMS CNO; and Cathy Diaz, HMS CPO.Yesterday, Wednesday, January 31, 2024, HMS Board of Directors, Leaders, and primary care providers Marlene Baska and Ken Murphy, along with Hidalgo County officials and community members, celebrated the opening of the new HMS Animas Clinic. HMS began providing primary care services in the Animas Valley in 2001 through a partnership with the Animas School system using a classroom as the clinic site. Animas resident Ms. Marlene Baska, PA, has been the primary provider since then and is now joined by Mr. Ken Murphy, PA, a resident of Rodeo, NM. HMS applied for and received a federal capital grant to modernize both the Animas and Mimbres clinics.

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