[Editor's Note: This is the third in a multi-part series of articles covering the almost five-hour long Grant County Commission meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017]
By Mary Alice Murphy
After public input and the public hearing that took almost two hours of the meeting, the agenda became the focus of discussion and approval.
County Financial Officer Linda Vasquez presented the Expenditure Report for approval.
For the period ending 9/11/2017, expenditures totaled $3,368,362.27. They included three pay periods—16, 17, and 18— for an amount of $616,493.72.
Items of more than $10,000 included $14,499.20 to Bohannon-Houston Inc. for task orders for the airport project; $23,237.96 to Wright Express Fleet Services for July 2017 fuel charges: $157,894 to Blanchat Inc. for a 2017 Fort F150 fire apparatus for Tyrone Volunteer Fire Department; $67,645.10 to White Sands Construction for Tu Casa project billing; $15,519.86 to Ascent Aviation for Aug. 2017 jet fuel; $374,084.38 to Bank of Albuquerque for debt service for general obligation bond refunding series 2014; $203,134.38 to Bank of Albuquerque for debt service for G.O. series 2009; $27,402.52 to HCP Systems, LLC for July/Aug 2017 inmate medical management services; $47,344.63 to Southwest Solid Waste Authority for July 2017 monthly billing; $25,000 to Western New Mexico University for fiscal year 2018 golf course contribution; $37,188 to Hub International for 2017/2018 accident policy renewal for volunteer fire departments; $14,520 to Hidalgo County for July 2017 care of inmates; $11,541.16 to Southwest Concrete and Paving for materials for road project; $337,325.47 to White Sands Construction for Tu Casa project billing; $158,215.04 to Caterpillar Financial Service for road equipment payout (Vasquez said she thought the invoice was incorrect and would look into it); $10,831.25 to Kriegel/Gary/Shaw & Co. for FY2017 audit progress billing; $11,690.93 to the City of Bayard for North Hurley Treatment Plant maintenance; and $23,970.22 to Wright Express Fleet Services for August 2017 fuel charges.
Commission Chairman Brett Kasten commented on the golf course. "When Western took it over the University asked for a contribution. The city is giving about three times more than we are."
Commissioner Harry Browne said: "On the face of it I'm not in favor of our subsidizing the golf course."
Commissioners approved three proclamations.
Jaclyn Bartlett, second from left, El Refugio Domestic Violence shelter director, accepted the proclamation for October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month from Commissioners Billy Billings, Brett Kasten, Alicia Edwards and Harry Browne.
Richard Lawyer, president of the Grant County Fair Board, said the fair has been going on for 64 years. "This year it runs from Sept. 20-24. We've been trying to get the fair back into the schools. Silver Schools gave the schools Friday off this year to attend the fair. We will have art and exhibits in the building, and the animals (came in on Wednesday) in the barn., The Sheriff's Office will be monitoring people's behavior."
Lawyer, center, accepted the proclamation naming Sept. 20-24, 2017 as Grant County Fair Days from Commissioners Harry Brown, Brett Kasten, Billy Billings and Alicia Edwards.
The third proclamation of the day was accepted by Raul Turrieta and Liz Lopez, who along with her husband began the "Walk for Heroes." "We will start at Old James Stadium on Sept. 30 and walk around downtown," Turrieta said.
From left, Raul Turrieta and Liz Lopez accepted the Walk for Heroes proclamation from Commissioners Harry Browne, Brett Kasten and Alicia Edwards.
Chris DeBolt, Mimbres resident and volunteer at the Mimbres Cultural Heritage Site, introduced Marilyn Markel, president of the Grant County Archaeological Society, teacher at Aldo Leopold Charter School and active at the site, to give a presentation. "We have an archaeological program at Aldo Leopold and we are doing some amazing things out in the Mimbres, especially at the Mimbres Cultural Heritage Site. It is what all Americans should be aware of. We are getting a new historic marker at the senior center. We are celebrating the remarkable Mimbres people of the past and today."
The Mimbres people, who are known for their artistic images, lived in the area from 559-1100 AD. "At the Maddocks site, we have an interpretive trail. We also have the Gooch House and the Wood House. We are about preservation, interpretation, education and public outreach. We are all community volunteers and have partnerships with agencies and schools."
She said a professional archaeologist helped with the interpretive trail. "The University of Nevada, Las Vegas uses the facility as a base camp every summer for archaeological digs. We have junior site stewards who monitor the site. San Lorenzo School, which has received an A grade three years in a row, helps us and we educate them."
Partners include New Mexico Site Watch, Gila National Forest, Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, and the Grant County Archaeological Society.
"We have an archive and library on site for research," Markel continued. "We had 85 students from Stout Elementary come out recently, as well as 140 from La Plata Middle School, and students from Hurley Elementary. We even bring in students from Las Cruces. We do hand-on, experiential education. We have estimated that we bring more than $10,000 into the county annually for groceries, supplies, gas and motels."
She noted that one can see Mimbres images everywhere, and showed photos proving it. "They are internationally famous because they are so unique. They feature people doing things. We have a museum and a gift shop, as well as a model of the Mattocks Ruin, which is covered up to protect it."
"We feature the historic time period of the Mimbres Apache and a replica medical office in the Wood House," Markel said. "On Oct. 14, we will have our second annual 'Murder on the Mimbres' re-enactment."
She estimated about 1,000 people attended the Hummingbird Festival. "If not for the facility, UNLV would not be able to afford to do research and excavation of archaeological sites in the area."
"We want to get the word out about where these unique images come from," Markel said. "We want to promote this heritage tourism and this American heritage."
She also announced Sept. 30, as the Mimbres Valley Harvest Festival at San Lorenzo Elementary.
Kasten asked when the site because the Mimbres Heritage site. Markel said: "The archaeologist, who owned it, sold it to the Silver City Museum, but they recognized they were not taking care of it. In 2011, the Imogene F. Wilson Education foundation acquired the property and now owns and manages the Mattocks Archaeological Site and the Gooch and Wood houses. We have reroofed the Gooch House and are raising funds for reroofing the Wood House."
For more information on the site, visit www.mimbrescultureheritagesite.org
The next article will address the rest of the new business.