Community News

THE COMMONS

January Newsletter 2026

Plan Ahead:

February:

CYO Pantry: Weekly Tues-Wed-Thurs

Silver City Food Pantry: 7th

Mining District Food Pantry: 17th

Cliff Gila Food Pantry: 17th

Mimbres Food Pantry: 18th

Community Dinner: 27th

March:

SILVER CITY, NM — Western New Mexico University (WNMU) announced a comprehensive digital modernization, "Smart Campus" initiative, ensuring the university continues to embrace and enhance traditional campus teaching combined with its expansive and growing online offerings. 

The initiative, designed to meet the evolving challenges of the 21st century academic landscape, prioritizes digital equity for students and faculty across New Mexico's most remote regions. By investing in high-speed infrastructure, secure data management, and immersive hybrid learning tools, WNMU is ensuring that a world-class education is accessible regardless of a student's zip code.

SILVER CITY, NM – The Western New Mexico University (WNMU) Board of Regents convened for a hybrid meeting at the New Mexico State Capitol on Thursday, January 29, 2026. The session, held in Room 303, brought together university leadership and state legislators to discuss the institution's trajectory, capital improvements, and the ongoing search for a permanent president.

Board Chair Steven Neville presided over the meeting, joined by Regents J. Dean Reed, Gregory Trujillo, John V. Wertheim, and Keana Huerta. The gathering highlighted a period of transition and "building back credibility" for the university, as noted by visiting state officials.

Silver City MainStreet Project Community Collaboration Meeting
Thursday, February 5, 2026
9:00 AM
Silco Theater, 311 N Bullard Street

Chocolate Fantasia Featured Speaker:

Simon Sotelo III 

with all the 

Chocolate Fantasia 

Details

Chocolate Fantasia Event Coordinator Simon Sotelo III has been leading the effort to re-imagine the event for 3 years now. Bringing with him 15 years of community organizing and event planning.

Hidalgo Medical Services (HMS) is proud to highlight the significant, measurable impact of the New Mexico Rural Health Care Delivery Funds, which have strengthened healthcare access, expanded critical services, and supported innovative solutions for rural communities across Grant and Hidalgo Counties. These investments directly address longstanding social, geographic, and economic barriers to care in one of New Mexico's most underserved regions.

Through this funding, HMS has advanced several essential initiatives, including expanded neuropsychological testing services and the development of new transportation services to ensure equitable access to care. These two services are available now, and HMS is working on three additional services for this region as well, with mobile crisis response, a mobile health unit, and a dental unit.

Student Kevin Marquez Perez has his sets his set on a career in international business. Perez was honored to represent WNMU at the HSCU Annual ConferenceSILVER CITY, NM — Western New Mexico University (WNMU) student Kevin Perez Marquez attends WNMU as part of a collaborative double-degree program with the Universidad de Hermosillo in Mexico. This partnership allows students to navigate two different academic systems simultaneously, broadening their worldview. 

In the fall of 2025, Perez traveled to Aurora, Colorado, to represent WNMU at the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) Annual Conference. The event, a premier gathering for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI), attracted nearly 1,000 attendees. For Perez, the experience confirmed that his WNMU education is equipping him to compete in international business arenas.

"The conference had workshops, speakers, networking—it was a big conference," Perez said. "I considered meeting high-level people a challenge... but at the same time, it was inspiring because it's something I strive for."

The standout moment for Perez was a serendipitous encounter during a workshop hosted by Aramark, the university's food services management partner. Aramark provides services to universities, hospitals, and other large organizations throughout North America and 14 countries. While listening to a presentation on corporate leadership at the conference, he learned that a Senior Human Resources Manager at the multinational corporation was an alum of WNMU. The realization that a fellow Mustang had climbed the ranks of such a major company was pivotal.

NM District 28 Senator Gabriel Ramos spoke to the Beat about upcoming legislative session.

Ramos noted that he is honored to be serving as state Senator for his District, which encompasses parts of the counties of Grant, Luna and Hidalgo. He always keeps his constituents in mind when he looks at legislation. "I am grateful for being able to represent every day the residents and communities of my district. I will fight for what's right."

When asked what he wants to fight for during the session, he said: "I am very against boys playing girls' sports. For many years, we have made sure that Title IX (9) is followed by all schools and letting males play girl sports is totally against Title IX rules. I am also against cartoon pornography in our school libraries, and I am ready to fight to keep these types of books out of our school libraries. We, as a state, are 50th in the nation in education, and we should concentrate on math, science, English, and history versus non-productive classes."

The Silver City Regional Association of Realtors® is proud to name Marissa Rowse of Enchantment Realty as our 2025 REALTOR® of the Year. This award recognizes a member who shows integrity, leadership, and strong service to the real estate profession. Marissa's work and dedication made her an outstanding choice.

Marissa has been a steady leader in our community. She has served on the Multiple Listing Service Board as both Director and President, helping guide important improvements for our members. She also serves as an NM Realtors® State Political Coordinator, where she advocates for private property rights and issues that matter to Realtors® across New Mexico.