Front Page News

[Editor's Note: Members of the public have reached out to the Beat to share information about what happened to Dr. Shepard, but wish to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. One has claimed that there is an ongoing group meeting to further harass Shepard headed by a downtown businessman.]

By Frost McGahey, Investigative Reporter

“Governor Grisham had planned on joining the Harris Administration in D.C. after the election,” a source said. “She was shocked when Trump won.”

“The plan was for Howie to become governor, and other people would move up in the administration. They were so dumbfounded by the election results that they had to regroup. It was after that the Santa Fe attacks began with the first one being done by the State of New Mexico Auditor.”

By Lynn Janes

The town of Hurley had a special meeting February 19, 2025. Mayor Ed Stevens, Mayor Pro Tem Reynaldo Maynes and Pete Ordonez attended. Two council positions have been vacated.

The council approved the agenda with one change the deputy clerk position that will be voted on would be for Dezinae Salas. They also excluded the judge's report and library report on the consent agenda.

Public Input

By Lynn Janes

[Author's note; article partially written (after executive session) using the minutes provided by the Village of Santa Clara due to technical issues.]

The Village of Santa Clara held a regular meeting February 13, 2025. Mayor Arnold Lopez called the meeting to order. Mayor Pro Tem Albert Esparza, trustees, Peter Erickson, Olga Amador and Ralph Trujillo attended.

The council approved the minutes with the change of moving the executive session after the mayor's report. They also approved the minutes from the last two meetings and the department reports.

Mayor's report

By Lynn Janes

The Cobre Consolidated School Board held a regular meeting on February 10, 2025. Board members in attendance included Gabriella Begay, Gilbert Guadiana, David Terrazas, Angelina Hardin and Emmarie Heredia. Superintendent Michael Koury also attended.

Begay read the Kiwanis student of the month recipients.

Dominic Rivera, Snell Middle School has always been kind to other students and has a positive attitude. He gives his best effort always, has a GPA of 3.14 and participates in the Mariachi program.

Alexis Carrillo, Cobre High School has been a stellar student not only in athletics but in the classroom. She has been involved in Cheer, powerlifting and softball and excels at everything she does. She has a 4.15 GPA.

ROAD ADVISORY

CLOSURE– Silver City/Hurley Area

US 180 eastbound and westbound lanes are closed at milepost 125 due to a gas line break. Detour is in Hurley at Carraszo St, Diaz Rd and N Hurley Road. Motorists are asked to reduce speed, obey posted signs, and watch for emergency personnel, and equipment. Please expect delays. 

By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Town Council held a regular meeting February 11, 2025. Attendance to the meeting included Mayor Ken Ladner, Mayor Pro Tem Guadalupe Cano, Nicholas Prince, Rudy Bencomo and Stan Snider.

Ceremonies

Employee of the month

The council had passed a resolution to begin a recognition program for exemplary employees of the town. Fire Chief Milo Lambert said all the departments had held department head meetings. They had nominated Vicki Toney, code enforcement officer, as the employee of the month. Lambert continued with the reasons why she had been chosen. Her job as a code enforcement officer consistently puts her in possible negative situations. She always finds ways to preform her routine duties with professionalism and compassion. As issues arise outside of code enforcement, she continually takes steps to improve the city process to fix ordinances to make them enforceable. Toney maintains fairness while interfacing with the public even in situations that could be negative.

[Editor's Note: This is part one 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

Public input at the Grant County Commission work session on Feb. 11, 2025, began with a report from Melissa Green, representing the Gila Back Country Horsemen.

"I just wanted to take a minute to share with you what Gila Back Country Horsemen have been doing to improve the outdoor recreation economy in our county," Green said.

She explained the mission of the group is to ensure continued reasonable use of packing-style stock on public lands and to keep forest trails open for all. "We lead and participate in trail maintenance. We also try to help disperse use and keep solitude high, by maintaining trails in multiple areas throughout the National Forest. Our main projects are March to May and August to October, ranging from one- or two-day projects to pack-in trips for several days."

Article by Mary Alice Murphy Photos by Lynn Janes

Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce Director Romeo Cruz introduced the speakers of the day, the newly elected commissioners, then thanked the county for supporting the chamber's work at the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center.

District 3 Commissioner Nancy Stephens spoke first. "It's really a privilege to have been voted into this position. I just want to tell you a bit about myself and some of my values. I grew up in rural Indiana, raised by two public school teachers. My dad taught art and my mom taught science. I always thought it was a good balance. We lived out in the country, and our home was surrounded by corn fields. Most of our neighbors were farmers, and my first job was detasseling corn, and I remember crying with blisters and sunburn. My dad said: 'You're not a quitter.' So, I didn't quit.