Front Page News

Little Walnut Road Improvements to Continue this Summer; 32nd Street Nears Completion

Silver City -- With just one month to go before the official arrival of spring, Public Works Director Peter Peña and staff are gearing up for a new season of road improvements, while 32nd Street improvements slowly move toward completion, after construction delays, due to shallowly buried fiber optic cables.

"We're now looking at completing the improvements to 32nd Street by the end of March," said Peña. "It's taken the utility companies a bit longer than we anticipated to get those cables buried at the proper depth, so that we can move ahead with that project, Peña added, but we're close. We appreciate the community's patience through this process."

[Editor's Note: This is the second of a series of articles on the Feb. 6, 2024, Grant County Commission work session. This continues the director reports.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

The next report at the Grant County Commission Feb. 6, 2024 work session came from Emergency Manager Scot Fuller.

With a smile on his face, Fuller said: "We finally have access to IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) since last week. Grant County is officially designated as a COG (council of governments), with access through the CodeRed/OnSolve software. I played with it and loaded some pre-existing maps and a bunch of material from the local COG. I put in a map of Hurley, so I can go in and if there is a tank spill, for example, I can click on it and send the alert out to the folks in Hurley. It took a while, with some issues with FEMA. As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so if you stay with it long enough, they will finally listen to you. I worked with Adam (Baca, IT director) and we will have a banner scrolling across the top of the new website for alerts, and if you click on that it will take you to more information on the website."

By Roger Lanse

Silver City Police Department officers responded to a shoplifting at Walmart at about 6:41 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. Officers met with an asset protection employee who advised that two females stole items and took off, one of them leaving her wallet with identification behind.

According to an SCPD incident report, the AP told officers that two females each filled a cart with an assortment of groceries, clothing, and other items. They then proceeded to the self-checkout where they failed to pay for all the items and walked out of the store with the two carts containing the stolen merchandise, refusing to show receipts to Walmart employees. The AP stated both females participated in the shoplifting.

Marijuaa Dispensary

By Frost McGahey, Investigative Journalist.

In 2021 New Mexico was 26th in number of burglaries. The next year the state was first in the nation.* What was the cause of the dramatic rise in burglaries?

On April 12, 2021, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, signed the bill to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana, the Cannabis Regulation Act. It had been passed by the state legislature rather than being put to a popular vote.

By Roger Lanse

On Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, at about 5:33 p.m., Silver City Police Department officers were dispatched to the Skate Park in reference to a bomb threat. The unidentified female caller said she heard five men, all wearing masks and in a black Chrysler, talking about blowing up the courthouse and probation office. According to an SCPD incident report, the caller said all five were between 20 and 30-years-old, were heard 15 to 20 minutes ago, and had a red dufflebag with 12 to 15 guns inside. The caller also requested that no courthouse should be opened the next day, Monday, the 12th.

Both magistrate court judges, the Sixth Judicial District Courthouse, the Silver City Municipal Court, other municipal courts within Grant County, Bayard Police Department Chief Hector Carrillo, and the Adult Probation and Parole Office, were notified by SCPD officers, the report stated. Extra patrols for all these locations were initiated by law enforcement.

Bryan Conn

James MohrCharles Hernandez
Silver City -- Three Grant County men were arrested for child solicitation by electronic communication device, as a result of a special operation led by the Silver City Police Department (SCPD) to identify and arrest people who are trying to solicit sex with minors via the internet. Arrested were Charles Robert Hernandez, 35, of Silver City, who was also charged with possession of a controlled substance; James R. Mohr, 26, of San Lorenzo; and Bryan Keith Conn, 47, of Hurley.

The special operation, conducted in the first week of February, was led by Detective Sergeant Daniel Tavizon, with assistance from another SCPD detective, in collaboration with the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, which includes the District Attorney's office and area Homeland Security officers. All undercover officers assigned to this operation have received specialized ICAC training.

By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Town Council held a regular meeting January 31, 2024. Attendance to the meeting included Mayor Ken Ladner, council members included Nicholas Prince (phone), Guadalupe Cano, Rudy Bencomo, and Stan Snider.

Proclamations

The council proclaimed February 10, 2024, Territorial Charter Day. In 2016 the town made a resolution to recognize the territorial charter each year. Raul Turrieta, Ward Rudick, and several others attended to accept the proclamation. In 1871 Silver City became a designated county seat. At that time, they had 284 dwellings, 2 hotels and many other businesses. In 1872 they had proposed to New Mexico legislature for incorporation, and it didn't pass. A secession movement in 1876 began to become part of Arizona but Congress denied the application. The New Mexico Legislature passed the Silver City territorial charter in 1878.

By Lynn Janes

The Village of Santa Clara held a meeting January26, 2024. Mayor Arnold Lopez called the meeting to order. Mayor Pro Tem Albert Esparza trustees, Olga Amador, Peter Erickson, and Ralph Trujillo attended.

The council approved the agenda with some changes in the order of some topics on the agenda

Mayor's report

Lopez had gone to Santa Fe for the legislative session. He said it had been the first time to attend and a lot had been going on. He met and visited with many people. one being the Lieutenant Governor Howie Morales, and he advised they had been able to secure $1 million in funding for the infrastructure and rebuilding of Fort Bayard. They will be first addressing acquiring water and then working on the grounds. He cautioned it would not happen overnight but will be a process. "We have been asking for this for a long time and this is a real win for us and the surrounding area." Lopez has been asked to be on the board for planning for Fort Bayard and he said he was honored.