Front Page News

By Lynn Janes

The town of Bayard held a regular meeting June 10, 2024. Attendance included Mayor John L. Ojinaga, Pro Tem Eloy Medina, councilors, Eloy Gonzales, and Frances Gonzales. Gilbert Ortiz didn't attend. Martha Salas, city clerk/treasurer also attended.

The council held a work session. Priscilla Lucero, director of Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments, attended to address the list for their ICIP (Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan). The top five will be the most important and be looked at for funding. They do this plan each year and turn it into the state.

By Lynn Janes

The Cobre Consolidated School Board held a regular meeting on June 10, 2024. Board members in attendance included Gabriella Begay, Gilbert Guadiana, David Terrazas, Angelina Hardin, and Emmarie Heredia. Superintendent Michael Koury also attended.

Police Chief Hector Carrillo attended the meeting to provide a report on the last year. He thanked the council and presented them with challenge coins.

He started his report with Snell Middle School and said he had started with it because of the significant change that had occurred for the better in the past year. The new administration and leadership had brought stability and accountability. The calls received had significantly declined. Now when a situation begins the staff has been quick to act and contact law enforcement immediately.

By Lynn Janes

The town of Hurley held a work session June 4, 2024. Attendance to the meeting included Mayor Ed Stevens, councilors Nanette Day, Reynaldo Maynes, Keana Huerta, and James Langley.

Ben Young, town attorney made a presentation to the council concerning statutory compliance and best practices for the mayor and council municipality.

Young said he would be providing them with a broad overview of the state statutes and would be focusing on the New Mexico municipal code.

By Lynn Janes

The Gila National Forest celebrated its 100 year centennial during the week of May 29, 2024. On May 31, 2024, the celebration had a speaker series and one had been Wilderness Explorations.

The speaker series could be attended in person or virtual. People from all over the United States and Canada attended the virtual. Ray Trejo opened the presentation. He works with the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and lives in Deming. He said he had been fortunate that his family had brought him to the Gila growing up. He had spent many times hunting, fishing and camping. He remembered as a kid catching the iconic Gila Trout. Much of that time had been spent at Turkey Creek.

[Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of articles on the May 7, 2024 Grant County Commission work session and decisions made at the regular meeting on May 9, 2024. This article begins with a second presentation at the regular meeting.]

Western New Mexico University Vice President of External Affairs Dr. Magadaleno Manzanares led off the second presentation at the May 9, 2024 Grant County Commission meeting.

"We are here to answer your questions about the Western New Mexico University initiative to build a career and technical education center in the Mining District," Manzanares said. "We are looking at two properties. One that has nothing and would cost upwards of $30 million dollars. The second is the Armory in Santa Clara, which would cost between $5 million and $7 million."

Man drowns at Bill Evans Lake in Gila New Mexico. On June 24, 2024 at approximately 1:37 P.M., deputies responded to Bill Evens Lake in regards to 66-year-old Bernardo Ruben Chacon, drowning at Bill Evans Lake.

Bernardo along with a female had jumped in the lake to go swimming. Bernardo, according to witness statement, was acting as if something was wrong and was struggling to stay afloat. Bernardo had gone under water and never resurfaced. According to other witnesses, Bernardo had been under water for over 20 minutes without resurfacing.

By Roger Lanse

On Friday, June 14, 2024, a few minutes after midnight, Grant County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to the area of the Prescott Apartments in Santa Clara to a possible shooting. Residents in the area told deputies they heard about eight or nine gunshots and a vehicle taking off.

According to a GCSO offense report, upon arrival a deputy observed a male standing in the yard at 504 Jaguar Street, Santa Clara, who originally declined to provide any information to the deputy saying, "I am not no snitch." However, later he stated he had been in a fight with another individual and had "beaten that other male subject up." The reporting male said the male he had been fighting with returned with other people and began shooting toward his house and that he heard someone say, "they got shot, but she isn't here anymore."

To download a PDF of the release, please visit the following link: Freeport-McMoRan Declares Quarterly Cash Dividends on Common Stock

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) announced today that its Board of Directors declared cash dividends of $0.15 per share on FCX's common stock payable on August 1, 2024, to shareholders of record as of July 15, 2024. The declaration includes a base dividend of $0.075 per share and variable dividend of $0.075 per share in accordance with FCX's performance-based payout framework. The payment of dividends is at the discretion of the Board, which will consider FCX's financial results, cash requirements, global economic conditions and other factors it deems relevant.