Community News

Welcome to the QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER from Southwest Regional Museum of Art and Art Center. 

The Board wants to keep you informed of progress in this major project to provide an additional outstanding cultural benefit to Silver City and Southwest New Mexico.

Volume 1, Issue 3 of SWRMA Quarterly Newsletter

Future Quarterly Newsletters will update and inform about aspects of Funding, Operation, Program Planning, Art Acquisition through Deed of Gift, and more.

But, since one of our missions is education, a regular feature of the QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER will introduce you to art in the Permanent Collection and provide information about the artist, art medium, style, or how it represents the era in which it was created.

Silver City MainStreet Project Community Collaboration 

Thursday May 1, 2025

9:00 AM

Mark your calendar and come early for coffee and treats!

We are excited to feature the Silver City Community Film Festival. The 2025 festival will take place October 2 - 5, at the Silco Theater. The 2024 inaugural festival featured 16 filmmakers, 30 films, and approximately 200 attendees. 

In the festival's second year, we have expanded the geographic boundaries for film submissions to include El Paso to Tucson, from east to west, and Albuquerque to Chihuahua, from north to south. The early submission deadline for the festival is May 15, with a regular submission deadline of August 1. 

Silver City, NM – Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS) proudly provided an engaging oral health hygiene class to 29 students from Gila Home Schoolers on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Organized by the HMS Dental Division, this educational session highlighted the importance of preventive oral care and reflected HMS's strong commitment to community health.

The session, held at the HMS Dental Clinic, included age-appropriate instruction on proper brushing and flossing techniques, the effects of nutrition on oral health, and the importance of routine dental checkups. The students participated in demonstrations and interactive learning activities, leaving the event better equipped to care for their teeth and gums.

Silver City -- Motorists who regularly travel Little Walnut Road will be happy to know that phase four of this multi-year street improvement project is scheduled to be completed by mid-May. Traffic delays were due to extended work on the box culverts at Cottonwood Creek, which required cutting a temporary road to keep traffic lanes open in both directions. 

 This phase of road improvements began just north of Chavez Lane and will end just south of Jack Frost Drive, and includes approximately 1/2 mile of paving, new curb and gutter, ADA-compliant sidewalks on the west side of the street, bike lanes and signage. 

 This $3.6 million portion of Little Walnut improvements was funded by Colonias Infrastructure monies as well as funding from the state Department of Transportation. For more information, please contact Peter Peña, director of Silver City's Public Works Department at (575) 388-4640.

The Jacob Bennett Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is pleased to announce that Mr. Luke Trevin Allsup has been selected as a New Mexico State Good Citizen Scholarship Award Program Candidate. Mr. Allsup, the son of Jessica Nicole Allsup and a senior at Cliff High School was awarded this honor because he was selected from all accredited High Schools Seniors in the Grant County School Systems.

Additional candidates included Isabella Maria Garcia, a senior at Cobre High School and daughter of Gary Dean Garcia and Ethan Richard Hemphill, son of James Hemphill and a senior at Aldo Leopold Charter School.

The Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Program and Scholarship Contest is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship. The program is open to all senior students enrolled in accredited public or private secondary schools that are in good standing with the New Mexico State Board of Education.

Silver City, NM – Gila Regional Medical Center (GRMC) is pleased to announce the return of Dr. Maximus L'Amour, MD, FACS, to the Silver City community. With over 14 years of experience in general surgery, Dr. L'Amour is excited to bring his expertise back to Southwest New Mexico.

A graduate of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dr. L'Amour joins us from Presbyterian Rust Medical Center in Albuquerque, NM, where he practiced general surgery across both the main campus and its regional affiliates. He also brings valuable experience from his time serving the Navajo Nation at Gallup Indian Medical Center. 

The WNMU Board of Regents met April 29, 2025. Pictured (L-R): Regents J. Dean Reed, John V. Wertheim, Steven Neville, and Keana Huerta, Staff Senate President Bart Brown and ASWNMU President Brenda DominguezSILVER CITY, NM – The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents met on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Silver City. Present at the meeting were newly appointed Regents Steven Neville, John V. Wertheim, Keana Huerta and J. Dean Reed.

The Board began by electing officers. Neville will serve as chair, Wertheim as vice chair, Reed as treasurer and Huerta as deputy treasurer and secretary.

After approving the minutes of previous meetings and setting April 29 and May 8 as the dates of the next meetings, the Board was welcomed by Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Jack Crocker, who said, "We welcome you on behalf of the faculty, staff and the community. We are very happy that you are here and that you are willing to serve and have committed to it."

April 9, 2025
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish,

I write today on behalf of my constituents in Catron County who have not only raised the alarm
about the dangers posed by the Mexican gray wolf program but have taken the extraordinary
step of declaring a public safety disaster. This was not a symbolic gesture—it was an official act
of urgency by local leaders in response to real and ongoing threats to families, livestock, and
livelihoods across our rural communities.