Masons Unite for A Children’s better Christmas

MasonsStanding right to left in the foreground: Grant County Masonic Relief Coordinator Jason Hamilton, and his main supporter .. his wife Debbie, surrounded by some of the workers.This Holiday season, Grant County Masons from the Lodges in the County, with the assistance of some of their wives and other volunteers, invited 105 Grant County children to shop for the Holidays. $125.00 in funds for clothes was allocated for each child, who were chosen by the local Grant County School nurses as those in need.

“Clothe A Child”, is an annual event sponsored by the local Masonic community. Raising over $13,000 to clothe Grant County children in need and is but one of the many charitable activities supported by Grant County Masons each year. Lodges rely on fundraisers and donations from their members and others to give back to Grant County residents with about 10 different events sponsored this last year. The lodges are proud to help our community members have a better Christmas in 2023!

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FMI Grant County Community Investment Fund Recipients

Freeport-McMoRan Foundation Announces 2023
Grant County Community Investment Fund Recipients

PHOENIX, AZ, December 18, 2023 –– Freeport-McMoRan is pleased to announce the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation has awarded $450,000 in Grant County as part of just over $3 million awarded to 55 projects in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico and Texas through its Community and Social Investment Fund process.

Recipient organizations will receive their monetary awards and be recognized by members of the Community Investment Committee during presentations in the coming months.

“The success of our community investments relies on partnering with communities to think through opportunities to address potential risks to resilience and well-being, and actively working to identify projects and programs that will strengthen communities over time,” said Tracy Bame, President, Freeport-McMoRan Foundation. “We are grateful for relationships with community partners that allow the kind of collaboration needed to deliver projects and programs that will yield the most meaningful social benefit and continue to build the foundation needed to ensure resilience in a post-mining scenario.”

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Town of Silver City Awarded Funds for Beautification Efforts

Silver City -- Silver City will be ever more clean and beautiful, thanks to an innovative collaboration between town government and three local non-profit organizations, which was awarded $30,520 in grant funds from the New Mexico Department of Tourism's Clean and Beautiful Grant program. The funding will be used for litter clean-up, waste reduction, youth training initiatives and landscaping efforts in the historic downtown area including Big Ditch Park, as well as at the Waterworks Building on Little Walnut Road, just north of Jose Barrios Elementary School. Given that the grant program requires a dollar-for-dollar match which is met through donated staff time, supplies and volunteer hours, the total value of the initiative is more than $100,000.

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PFLAG Gives Ally of the Year Award

HughEppingDebCookinghamDeb Cookingham and Hugh EppingSilver City, NM, 12/17/23—At the LGBTQ+ and allies Thanksgiving celebration dinner held on November 19, PFLAG Silver City presented Hugh Epping with the Ally of the Year award.  Epping is a long-time ally to the LGBTQ+ community and is a member of both PFLAG Silver City and PFLAG Sturgeon Bay/Door County, Wisconsin.

Around 1978, Epping started working at the Open Door Clinic (ODC) shortly after it was founded.  ODC, located in a suburb of Chicago, is a walk-in medical provider for sexually transmitted infections.  He became director about the time AIDS came along when it was still known as GRIDS (Gay Related Immuno Deficiency Syndrome). In addition to notifying sexual partners of patients, ODC provided educational presentations to junior highs, high schools, colleges, churches, civic organizations and governmental bodies. When HIV/AIDS was first written about in the June 5, 1981 edition of the Center for Disease Control’s  publication with the suspicion that the infection was transmitted sexually, the board of directors of ODC immediately incorporated HIV/AIDS education into their presentations.  ODC was one of the first testing sites in Illinois.

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GRMC’s Roberta Berry Named TPIC Chair

bertieRegional Medical Center (GRMC) would like to announce that their very own Trauma Nurse Coordinator, Roberta “Bertie” Berry has been appointed to be Chair of the Trauma Performance Improvement Committee for the New Mexico Trauma System. The committee is part of the New Mexico Trauma Process Improvement Plan and whose mission is to optimize care that is being delivered to patients in New Mexico. This will be Bertie’s second year as a part of this committee to represent Level 4 Trauma centers.

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DVS launches Operation Holiday Cheer 2023

Bring joy to residents and staff at the State Veterans’ Home and Fort Bayard

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Department of Veterans Services (DVS) is excited to kick off Operation Holiday Cheer 2023. Join us in spreading joy to residents and staff at the State Veterans’ Home in Truth or Consequences, and the veterans wing of Fort Bayard Medical Center.

Many resident veterans lack family connections, experiencing limited or no contact throughout the year, not just during the holidays. Additionally, staff at both facilities dedicate themselves to year-round, round-the-clock care for the residents, even during the holiday season.

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Wreaths Across America placement and ceremony to both take place Saturday morning, Dec. 16, 2023

Both the wreath placement and Remembrance Ceremony for Wreaths Across America at Ft Bayard National Cemetery will be held Saturday morning, December 16.

Special request or grave specific placements will occur at 8:30 am. The remaining wreaths will be placed at 9 a.m. and volunteers are invited to help with this activity. Following the wreath placement, the annual Remembrance Ceremony will be held at 10:30. All are welcome and invited to attend this veterans' tribute when a printed program will be provided listing some 600 "In Memoriam" names as well as our over 500 wreath sponsors.

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Luna County Community Leaders Call for National Monument to Protect Public Lands

Increased Protections Would Conserve Indigenous Cultural and Historical Resources and Boost Local Economy

CONTACT:
Ray Trejo, Luna County Commissioner, (575) 494-5507
Wes Light, Friends of the Floridas, (917) 273-5174
Patrick Nolan, Friends of Organ Mountains Desert Peaks, (575) 520-8817

DEMING, NM (December 6, 2023) —  A collaborative effort calling for national monument protections for lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management in Luna County New Mexico was announced today. Elected leaders, business owners, economic development advocates, hunters, youth leaders, conservationists, and students shared a proposal that would conserve Indigenous cultural and historical resources while also boosting the recreation economy through the creation of Mimbres Peaks National Monument near Deming.

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