Southern Gila Foothills/Mimbres Valley-
Southwest Desert/Mimbres Basin-Eastern Black Range Foothills-
Sierra County Lakes-Northern Dona Ana County-
Southern Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley-Western El Paso County-
Eastern/Central El Paso County-
Including the cities of Mimbres, Hurley, Faywood,
Grant County Airport, Deming, Columbus, Hillsboro, Winston,
Truth Or Consequences, Derry, Spaceport, Garfield, Hatch,
Radium Springs, Las Cruces, Vado, Sunland Park, Downtown El Paso,
West El Paso, Upper Valley, East and Northeast El Paso, Socorro,
and Fort Bliss
411 AM MST Sat Feb 13 2021

...Winter Storm remains on track to bring accumulating snowfall and much colder temperatures...

[Editor's Note: This is the first article in a series of articles on the Grant County Commission work session on Feb. 9, 2021 and culminating in the Grant County regular meeting on Feb. 11, 2021.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

Members of the committee that helped Grant County Procurement Officer Randy Hernandez review the proposals for an Outdoor Recreation Plan for the county attended the Grant County Commission work session on Feb. 9, 2021. After commissioners' approval of rearranging the order of items on the agenda and after some confusion, District 1 Commissioner and Chairman Chris Ponce moved the discussion of the request for proposal from the review of the regular meeting agenda up to before public input at the work session agenda so that the people could get back to their jobs.

Twenty-three additional COVID-19 deaths

SANTA FE – New Mexico state health officials on Friday announced 407 additional COVID-19 cases. Per the state Department of Health, the most recent cases are:

127 new cases in Bernalillo County
12 new cases in Chaves County
5 new cases in Cibola County
1 new case in Colfax County
6 new cases in Curry County
80 new cases in Doña Ana County
10 new cases in Eddy County
12 new cases in Grant County
1 new case in Hidalgo County
4 new cases in Lea County
7 new cases in Lincoln County
4 new cases in Los Alamos County
7 new cases in Luna County
19 new cases in McKinley County
8 new cases in Otero County
1 new case in Quay County
8 new cases in Rio Arriba County
2 new cases in Roosevelt County
38 new cases in Sandoval County
19 new cases in San Juan County
4 new cases in San Miguel County
17 new cases in Santa Fe County
2 new cases in Sierra County
2 new cases in Socorro County
1 new case in Taos County
1 new case in Torrance County
6 new cases in Valencia County
3 new cases among New Mexico Corrections Department inmates at the Lea County Correctional Facility

The Department of Health on Friday reported twenty-three additional deaths in New Mexico related to COVID-19:

A Winter Storm System brings significant amounts of snow to the Sacramento Mountains, the Otero Mesa, Hudspeth and the higher elevations of the Black Range... .A winter storm system is expected to move through southern New Mexico and far west Texas on Sunday. This system brings gusty winds and significant snowfall accumulations. Moderate to heavy snow is possible in those areas with 6 to 12 inches in the Sacramento Mountains, 5 to 8 inches in the Black Range above 7000 feet, and 3 to 6 inches in Hudspeth and the Otero Mesa. The rest of the lowlands will see light to moderate snowfall with amounts below 3 inches through Monday morning.

Southern Gila Highlands/Black Range-
West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet-
Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet-
East Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet-Otero Mesa-

By Roger Lanse

According to a press release, U.S. Border Patrol agents and associated agricultural specialists, seized 22 rolls of Mexican bologna weighing 194 pounds on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021 at the Columbus, New Mexico port-of-entry. Bologna is a prohibited product as it is made from pork and could introduce foreign diseases detrimental to the U.S. pork industry, the release said.

The offending bologna was seized at 8 a.m. when officers noticed multiple red rolls of the meat in the hatchback area of a 2019 Nissan Rogue, entering from Mexico, and driven by a 49-year-old male legal resident of Albuquerque. The release stated additional rolls were found hidden in his luggage.

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is urging New Mexicans to be advised of potential severe winter weather beginning this weekend and to prepare accordingly for what forecasters have said could be record low temperatures and hazardous high winds in the northern, central and eastern part of the state.

"Please be prepared for freezing temperatures and potential road closures or other roadway impacts through the weekend and into early next week," said DHSEM Secretary Bianca Ortiz Wertheim. "If you can avoid traveling through the end of this cold spell, please do so. Don't take on the cold, wind and snow. Wind gusts and cold will make driving a risk. Please stay informed about risks in your local area, particularly the risk of difficult driving conditions."