Front Page News

Located: The Luna County Sheriff's Office is asking the public for assistance in locating Joshua Schenk. He was last seen on March 8. 2024, around 9:30 p.m. in Deming, NM. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. His direction of travel and destination are unknown. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Joshua Schenk is asked to contact the Luna County Sheriff's Office at 575-546-2655 or dial 911.

U.S. Army Pfc Richard G. Pitsor, WWI POW, to be buried at Fort Bayard National Cemetery by Baca's Funeral Home at 1100 on April 26, 2024

WASHINGTON –

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Richard G. Pitsor, 18, of Ft. Bayard, New Mexico, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for March 20, 2023.

[Editor's Note: I didn't have time to go through the entire long news release, so I chose to simply add Superintendent Hawkins' apology and changes on top, and the amended calendar will be at the bottom of the whole article.]

I need to issue a correction regarding the adjustments made to the 2024-2025 academic calendar to meet the Public Education Department's (PED) requirement of 180 instructional days.  In a rush to get the answer out to the community before the end of the day, just hours after receiving the new guidelines yesterday, the obvious thing happened.  A mistake was discovered.  I was rushing to give all the answers to calm fears and allay concerns... and that is when mistakes usually happen.  My Bad. 🤦 

From left front are Grant County Extension Family and Consumer Science Agent and 4-H Lauren Baker, 4-H Council Vice President Kayleigh Massengill, Secretary Krysten Jones, Reporter Allie Miller, Treasurer Christopher Bennett, President Tucker Gatlin and County Agent and 4-H Jessica Massengill, with Commissioners Edwards, Browne and Ponce behind.

Photo and article by Mary Alice Murphy

The Grant County Commission work session on Feb. 20, 2024 featured two presentations.

The first presentation came from Wendy Raven Phillips and Laura Aubry, talking about the Housing and Behavioral Health Taskforce.

By Roger Lanse

A Silver City Police Department officer was dispatched to 1221 Louisiana Street on Monday, Mar. 5, at approximately 10:53 a.m., to a reported fight involving a paintball gun. According to an SCPD incident report, the caller advised that a male had come into his residence who had been shot in the stomach with a paintball gun and was having trouble breathing.

When the officer arrived, the report stated, he observed the 33-year-old victim of the address had blood coming from his nose, the outside of his left ear, and had bruising/welts on his left arm and stomach. The victim told the officer he was walking outside when an unknown assailant shot him with a paintball gun.

By Roger Lanse

Friday, Mar. 1, 2024, at about 3:15 p.m., Silver City Police Department officers were dispatched to a vehicular fatality. When they arrived, they found a black Harley-Davidson motorcycle driven by Gino Vannatter, 23, of Silver City, had collided with a tan Toyota van driven by Gumersindo Estevez, 85, of Gila. The crash, according to a Silver City Police Department accident report, occurred on Highway 180 and Superior Street in front of the Wendy's restaurant.

According to the report, the motorcycle was traveling east on Highway 180, while the van was heading north on Superior Street. An investigation revealed the van made a complete stop at the stop sign on Superior Street before going across the eastbound lanes of Highway 180. Just before entering the median, to merge into the westbound lanes of Highway 180, the motorcycle collided with the van in a "T-Bone manner." Neither the driver of the van nor his passenger saw or heard the motorcycle until the impact, they said.

By Roger Lanse

Friday, Mar. 1, 2024, at about 3:15 p.m., Silver City Police Department officers were dispatched to a vehicular fatality. When they arrived, they found a black Harley-Davidson motorcycle driven by Gino Vannatter, 23, of Silver City, had collided with a tan Toyota van driven by Gumersindo Estevez, 85, of Gila. The crash, according to a Silver City Police Department accident report, occurred on Highway 180 and Superior Street in front of the Wendy's restaurant.

According to the report, the motorcycle was traveling east on Highway 180, while the van was heading north on Superior Street. An investigation revealed the van made a complete stop at the stop sign on Superior Street before going across the eastbound lanes of Highway 180. Just before entering the median, to merge into the westbound lanes of Highway 180, the motorcycle collided with the van in a "T-Bone manner.' Neither the driver of the van nor his passenger saw or heard the motorcycle until the impact, they said.

By Roger Lanse

On Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, at around 2:56 p.m., a Grant County Sherif's Office deputy made contact with Carol Garcia, 54, of Gilbert, Arizona, at 3 Artcher Road, Space 9, in Silver City. Garcia is the owner of the property, and she told the deputy, according to a GCSO offense report, "We came from Arizona because were(sp.) heard that Jesus Flores had passed away from the accident that happened yesterday. We got here at around 10:30 a.m. and wanted to get his stuff out of the house to give to his family. I do own the trailer, we just let him stay here because his wife had passed away and he only stayed in the room. When we tried opening the door, we noticed the door was broken. I didn't find out till later that he had $75,000 in a black box under his bed along with important documentation. The neighbor told me that the money was under the bed and my mom had actually seen the money before she passed, so I know it was there."