Photo: The Grant County Commission at its Thursday regular meeting recognized the winners of the Red Ribbon Essay and Poster contest developed by the DWI Program. Cindy McClean, DWI Program director, recognizes the essay and poster winners from Silver and Cobre High Schools. (Two more photos on Photo Essay page.)

Grant County commissioners heard presentations and dealt with the agenda at their Thursday regular meeting.

During public input, Lori Ford, Community Access Television of Silver City director, invited the public to the CATS annual meeting and holiday celebration from 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at the Silco Theater. Comcast is sponsoring the event.

A resident of Indian Hills reported that his property taxes went up by 12.5 percent. "I got my statement that my valuation went up by 3 percent," he said. "The federal administration tells us that inflation is zero. I know property values aren't going up. I think the 3 percent increase is unfair, but the cost of government keeps going up. As for the tax rates increasing, I got the answer; ‘We did what we were told.' You also need just one person to talk to. I was bounced from the assessor to the treasurer's office."

Later in the meeting, after the resident had left, Assessor Randy Villa said the county could control the tax rate only for the county. "It has gone up by one penny, while more than 15 percent of the county's budget has been cut over the past three years."

County Manager Jon Paul Saari gave the financial report for the past month. Expenditures of $1,597,787.44 included a jail payment of $391,000, with the remainder being regular expenditures.

Cindy McClean, DWI Program director, recognized the student winners from Cobre and Silver High Schools for their Red Ribbon essays and posters.

Sam Castello, The Wellness Coalition director, updated commissioners on the recent successful AmeriCorps launch in Silver City. He said 16 programs from throughout New Mexico brought to town 245 people, who did service projects for three days in the community. Their presence brought into the local economy $16,000 in hotel rooms, $15,000 in local vendor investments in food and training and an estimated additional $7,000 in spending. The 1,200 hours of service were valued at $21 an hour, bringing about $24,000 in service was completed in the community.

Corps members went through training to make a difference in communities. Their service included working on the San Vicente trail cleanup and wetlands restoration, helping Serenity Acres prepare for an open house, doing several projects at the Guadalupe Montessori School, and helping with the Food Pantry food drive, among other activities.

Commissioner Christy Miller said it was a great report and wondered when the group could return to Silver City.

Castello said it took a while to get the event here, but everyone seemed pleased with the week, so perhaps they would choose to return sooner.

He reported local AmeriCorps members would begin work on the Bataan Memorial Park in January.

The next update was from Alicia Edwards, co-chair of the Food Policy Council.

Edwards said a committee of the Green Chamber of Commerce is doing the food labeling campaign in the four-county area.

Logos for local restaurants and food sellers are in draft stages and will show the specific place from which the food comes.

Produce is peer-inspected and certified, complying with local laws.

"We estimate the first certification to be done in late January or early February," Edwards said. "The first produce will likely be in the Silver City Co-op."

She said Congress would authorize critical pieces of the Farm Bill. "We want money set aside specifically for small ranchers and farmers."

The council will also make recommendations for the Grant County Economic Development Master Plan, which is underway.

"Our recommendations include procurement for local produce into schools and local governments," Edward said. "In order to increase producers, we need more markets. In order to increase markets, we need more producers. It's a balancing act."

The group plans to develop a local food directory within the next six months for the Southwest New Mexico area. It will be online and in print.

"It will be good for visitors and will include maps to encourage people to think about ag tourism," Edwards said. "The last thing is that we are planning a Fresh Connections event for spring. It will combine business training and planning to determine who's growing what and how to get it to market, as well as including learning how to set pricing, networking and a farmer's appreciation event."

She said Silver City MainStreet plans a "Growing the Entrepreneurial Spirit" training event for Jan. 20-21.

Feb. 24-25 Martha Egnals will bring people from the Food Project in Boston to hold a one-day workshop to encourage young farmers and ranchers. The second day will involve youths from the community.

She announced the next Food Policy Council meeting would take place at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 3, at the Grant County Administration Center.

Saari pointed out that an Ag Fest is part of the legislative session. He suggested the Food Policy Council check on it. Commission Chairman Brett Kasten said a similar event by the US Department of Agriculture New Mexico Division takes place during the State Fair.

Loren and Barbara Nelson presented the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, of which they began a local affiliate about a year ago. The program distributes a book a month to children from birth to five years of age. The books are selected by educators and include many award-winning titles.

The Dollywood Foundation distributes the age-related books more than 500,000 a month to those children whose parents have signed them up with the more than 1,000 affiliates throughout the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

"We are the first privately funded affiliate in New Mexico," Loren Nelson said. ‘We register children from all the zip codes in the county, except for Silver City, online and at events. The only information we take is the child's name, address and birth date. Then each child receives a free book a month mailed to his or her home."

The affiliate also partners with The Dollywood Foundation, which distributes the books and covers all administrative costs.

"We raise the money for the books," Barbara Nelson said.

"It's about literacy and reading and strengthening families," Loren Nelson said. "We are planning our first parent survey after the first of the year. Barb and I work with HeadStart in the Cobre District. Many of these children are receiving books. We get emails and letters of appreciation, as well as appreciative comments at the grocery store."

Loren Nelson said a $30 donation pays for books and mailing for a child for a year. The costs vary from $1.20 to $1.50 per book per month, plus shipping.

"We are a 501c3 and are working with Literacy Link-Leamos and the First Born programs," he said. "We have shipped almost 3,000 books in our first year, with 350 children receiving books. More than half the children live in rural areas of Grant County."

Barbara Nelson said they are trying to expand the board and secure funding to include Silver City children.

"Our third goal is to promote the program to other communities," she said. "We have had inquiries from Columbus, Lordsburg and Glenwood."

Kasten said that funding for literacy is available through cigarette taxes. He encouraged the Nelsons to get in touch with Saari to determine if any funding is available.

The rest of the agenda will be covered in a future article.