Front Page News

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

From left, in front of the DAV van, are veterans and former van drivers, Joe Gonzalez, Dave Krisch, Ernie Portillo, Art Sierra, Susie Sierra, Charles Deming, Fort Bayard DAV Chapter 1 Commander John Tetford and Barney Jaramillo.

The Fort Bayard DAV (Disabled American Veterans) Chapter 1 in 2017 raised money from all over the southwest region of New Mexico to pay for a new van to carry area veterans from Silver City, Lordsburg, Deming, Las Cruces and Alamogordo to the Raymond G. Murphy Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albuquerque.

"We're all getting old," Art Sierra, van driver coordinator, said. "We need some younger drivers, maybe veterans from Afghanistan or Iraq, although I know many of them still have jobs or just somebody who can help out our veterans."

Sierra noted that he and his wife started doing the day-long round trips when he retired. "I saw a notice looking for drivers. I needed something to do, and I decided this was a good thing to volunteer for. I have enjoyed listening to the stories from the veterans. I enjoy the trip and seeing the scenery. It is all volunteer, but when we arrive, we get fed at the center and maybe get a pat on the back."

Art and Susie Sierra, for the past 20 years, have coordinated and also served as drivers for the trips to the VA medical center to make it easier for veterans to get to their appointments

ROAD CLOSURE in Deming to Hatch
Closure, NM 26 eastbound and westbound from mile marker 0 to mile marker 44, 3 miles west of Hatch. Blowing dust may cause limited visibility. The NMDOT will continue monitoring the roadway. This event will be updated as conditions change.

ROAD CLOSURE in Deming to Silver City
Closure, US 180 eastbound and westbound from mile marker 131, 4 miles east of Hurley to mile marker 164, Deming. Blowing dust may cause limited visibility. The NMDOT will continue monitoring the roadway. This event will be updated as conditions change.

ROAD CLOSURE in Lordsburg to Las Cruces
I-10 eastbound is closed at milepost 5 (Road Forks) due to areas of blowing dust and low visibility. All traffic must shelter in place in Lordsburg. The NMDOT will continue monitoring the roadway. This event will be updated as conditions.

By Lynn Janes

On February 27, 2025, the commission had a regular meeting at the city annex building.

The commission voted for Alex Brown, Silver City town manager, to remain as the chair.

New business

Brown had an update on the regional water project. Freeport McMoRan (FMI) has been in the process of transferring ownership of the Santa Clara and Hurley water rights. The application process for the construction of the well and transmission line at Santa Clara and Hurley has been started. They will be using the funds allocated to Bayard and ISC (Interstate Stream Commission) funds to pay for the match. Hurley has applied for $1.5 million to finish and do the design for their well field.

By Lynn Janes

The Village of Santa Clara held a regular meeting February 27, 2025. Mayor Arnold Lopez called the meeting to order. Mayor Pro Tem Albert Esparza, trustees, Peter Erickson, Olga Amador and Ralph Trujillo attended.

Mayors report

Lopez said he had been working with the maintenance department and helping them out. They have been tied up trying to connect a water line hooked up to a trailer.

He and Sheila Hudman, village administrator, had attended the Grant County Water Commission meeting. It had gone well, and they talked a little bit more about the well Freeport McMoRan had donated to the village. Stantec hit snags here and there but has been able to move forward. The thing that had stood out to Lopez had been Stantec wanting the increased involvement of the water operators. The commission had also formed a new committee to take care of administrative needs.

[Editor's Note: This is part 6 of a multi-part series of articles on almost six hours of Grant County Commission meetings on Feb. 11 and 13, 2025.)
By Mary Alice Murphy

In the work session on Feb. 11, 2025, Grant County commissioners heard from department directors. The next one came from Joseph Holguin, director of the planning and capital projects department.

He noted that some of the things he would report are a review, "but I just want to keep them on schedule and let you guys know the current projects that we have under construction are the Upper Mimbres Valley Volunteer Fire Department where we have underground storage tanks going in at the Main Station. That area has been laid out, and they're doing excavation on that this week, so that's almost complete. After moving the soil, they will get the tanks underground. The North Hurley roadway drainage improvement project is in phase three, where they are making progress on the retaining walls. We're in the design phase on the public safety building, along with some courthouse renovation or new construction and for the Franks and Crum Road projects. We continue to work with the architect and civil engineers on these projects."

Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees announces intention for new management partnership with Ovation for five-year term.

Silver City, New (March 13, 2025),  Regional Medical Center ("GRMC") today announced that its Board of Trustees voted to finalize a management services agreement to form a new management partnership with Ovation Healthcare.

The Board's consensus to enter into a contractual agreement with Ovation comes after a thorough eight-month process of evaluating potential management partners. The GRMC Board of Trustees enlisted the assistance of an external consulting firm to help solicit responses from interested parties. GRMC received seven proposals and evaluated potential management partners based on agreed upon criteria including ability to maintain and enhance the long-term financial viability of GRMC, recruit and retain leadership and providers, and ensuring all GRMC patients receive high-quality patient care. Through this rigorous selection process Ovation Healthcare was chosen as the management partner.

DEMING - Travel advisories have been issued for high winds and blowing dust in Southwest New Mexico for Thursday, March 13, and Friday, March 14, 2025.

Forecasted wind speeds of 35 to 45 mph with southwest gusts of 65-75 mph are expected. The highest impact for strong winds and blowing dust will be from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

If you must travel, we recommend you monitor local forecast conditions prior to starting your trip and visit www.nmroads.com for current roadway information. Roadway conditions may change quickly, blowing dust can escalate to blinding dust storms as they move quickly through remote areas.

(Albuquerque, NM) – PNM is preparing for severe weather forecasted for many of our service areas including high wind speeds and low relative humidity. Wind gusts are anticipated to reach over 60 mph on Friday March 14 in parts of Eastern New Mexico, which could increase the risk of power outages due to broken tree limbs or other wind damage.

We are encouraging all customers to prepare for potential power disruptions by taking a few steps ahead of the weather:

Stay informed. Customers should sign up for outage alerts by texting #REG to 78766 from a phone number associated with their account. Then text #ALERT to 78766.