Jose Barrios Elementary closing ceremony 052926

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

On a beautiful sunny day, Friday, May 29, 2026, Jose Barrios Elementary School closed as a part of the Silver Consolidated Schools.

Every teacher, every staff member and every student wore the same shirt to honor the school

The good news, is that Aldo Leopold Charter School will do some renovations over the summer and the halls will ring with the sounds of students and teachers again in the fall.

Silver Schools student population has been decreasing for many years, and the costs of keeping Jose Barrios Elementary and Sixth Street Elementary open for the small populations of students had become a burden on the budget.

The Silver Schools Board made the difficult decision to close both of them.

By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Consolidated Schools held a work session and regular meeting May 18, 2026, at the Silver High School Little Theater. Ashley Montenegro, Michelle Diaz, Patrick Cohn, Mike McMillan and Kimberly Klement attended. Superintendent William Hawkins also attended. For the work session Diaz and Klement had not attended.

Work session

Michele McCain, finance director, said she would present the 2026-2027 operational budget, salary schedules and increment schedules for the district. She said they have many components to the ever-changing budget process and one will be community involvement and thanked everyone for taking time to be part of the process. As a requirement they must have school board approval. Each New Mexico district will be required to submit a balanced budget by May 26, 2026.

By Lynn Janes

(Authors note: this article was written using the minutes provided by the Village of Santa Clara)

The Village of Santa Clara held a regular meeting May 14, 2026. 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 agenda and past meeting minutes.

Mayor's report

Lopez said they had the groundbreaking ceremony for the bike park and the staff, trustees, chamber members and the lieutenant governor had attended. The crew said they have been about four days ahead of schedule and will be done by July 4, 2026. The logo had been done and painted. The crew told Lopez the track will be professional grade, and they will have the opportunity to hold professional races. One of the wells had gone down but would be back working in about a week. The animal shelter now has air-conditioning, heat and new appliances. The animal control officer will have a grand reopening soon. Memorial Day weekend the splash park will open and music in the park will start June 11, 2026.

Public comments none currently

New business

The council approved a purchase request by Larry Montoya, fire chief, for Central Square Dispatch software. The startup will be $4,840 and have an annual fee of $2,500 after the first year.

Proclamations

The council approved a proclamation declaring drought and stage one fire restrictions.

The council went into closed session.

The council came back into open session

The council approved a $1 an hour raise for Mark Diaz and Julian Madrid.

ICIP meeting will be May 28,2026 at 5:00 pm
Second regular meeting will be May 28, 2026, at 6:00 pm
First regular meeting will be June 11, 2026, at 6:00 pm

Meeting Adjourned

Cobre Schools discusses adding a soccer program

By Lynn Janes

(Author's note: Tthe first 20 minutes of meeting did not have any audio and information had to be obtained from Charlene Fletcher, executive /board secretary)

The Cobre Consolidated School Board held a regular meeting on May 18, 2026. Board members in attendance included Hector Carrillo, Gabriella Begay, Gilbert Guadiana, , and David Wilguess. Interim Superintendent Randal Piper also attended. Agelina Hardin did not attend. Dr. Verenice Gutierrez, incoming superintendent attended.

A group of Bayard Elementary students had a presentation for the board.

Dottie Pfeiffer with Kiwanis attended to present the student of the month awards. They went to Snell Middle School - Angelita Aveles and Cobre High School - Fenja Keller.

Every year the board recognizes people with the NMSBA (New Mexico School Board Association) achievement award. This year the board recognized Freeport McMoRan (FMI), The Commons, Kiwanis Club, Hurley Elementary School and San Lorenzo Elementary School.

By Lynn Janes

On April 24, 2026, the board of regents held a board meeting. The board consisted of Steven Neville, chair, Joseph "Dean" Reed, John Wertheim, Gregory Trujillo and WNMU student regent Keana Huerta. All had attended online except Huerta. Dr. Chris Maples, interim president, also attended.

The board approved the agenda for the meeting and past minutes.

Public comment none currently.

Presidents report

Maples started with turning the reports over to various groups on campus.

Carlos Carranza, student body president, reported that they had a very successful election and the results finalized, and he had been reelected as student body president. Some of the students that had served would be graduating this year. He added the Great Race had gone really well.

Gila National Forest

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https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/gila

Hummingbird Fire Update

Final update for the Hummingbird Fire

(Silver City, NM, May 30, 2026) —A four-person wildland-engine crew continues to patrol the Hummingbird Fire. Containment is 90%, and the size remains 5,716 acres. The lightning-caused wildfire is located 15 miles east of Glenwood, NM in the Gila Wilderness.

The uncontained portion of the fire is in the Iron Creek area on the fire's southern perimeter. The Bearwallow Mountain lookout has a clear view into the Iron Creek drainage; no smoke has been observed in this area for several days, and fire managers do not anticipate that the fire will spread. However, due to the many hazards in the Iron Creek area, including steep and rugged terrain; numerous standing and downed dead trees; and long evacuation times in case of injury, firefighters are utilizing an indirect confinement strategy on this portion of the perimeter. Firefighter and public safety remain the number one objective for the Hummingbird Fire.