By Mary Alice Murphy

One of the final hearings on Grant County's infrastructure capital improvements plan to take place at the Grant County Administration Center happened Thursday, May 10, 2018, in the late afternoon. Others will take place this week in Cliff, Mimbres and Hachita.

The main topic was the senior centers, now administered by Hidalgo Medical Services.

The county owns the ones in Cliff/Gila and Mimbres, with Santa Clara owning its senior center, and Silver City owning the one in town. HMS manages all of them.

April Hunter, HMS senior services coordinator, attended to answer questions.

Michael "Mischa" Larisch, County Community Development and Planning director, who held the hearings, said, last year, general building improvements were made to the centers.

Hunter said the soffits and exterior building repairs were done, as well as kitchen repairs at the Cliff Senior Center. "We also did flooring. We would like to take the wood out of the Cliff center and make it all stainless steel."

"The county does the general maintenance on the centers and did the kitchen remodel at Silver's center," Larisch said.

County General Service Director Randy Villa said the county is also looking to get more energy efficient appliances in the centers over the years.

"We have other funding opportunities," Larisch said. "But it still has to be on the ICIP to qualify for capital outlay and general obligation bonds. The funding has to be for upgrades, not general maintenance."

Hunter described the ICIP as a good roadmap for the future. "It helps me be mindful of items aging out. "We operate on a five-year plan, too."

Villa said vehicles can be part of the ICIP.

"Some programs will always have a vehicle on the ICIP," Hunter said.

Villa said when the county was overseeing the senior centers, it used the ICIP to get vans for transport.

Hunter said Corre Caminos has capability for seniors with mobility issues. "We offer transportation for all medical appointments. The Senior Program has three grants, one for congregate meals, one for home-delivered meals and one for transport. We try to prioritize on need. We offer rides to the meal sites, because sometimes, it's the only meal they get in a day."

HMS also has a seniors' program in Hidalgo County, with only one community center in Lordsburg. "In Grant County, we do lunch Monday through Friday," Hunter said. "In Hidalgo County, we do weekday breakfast and lunch congregate meals Monday through Friday and also on the weekend breakfast and lunch delivered."

Hunter said the Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging has a finite number of reimbursement units for the whole state. "We have to qualify and prioritize."

The only public attending was Commission Candidate Jesse Franklin-Owens. Many of the comments in the article were made in answer to Owens' questions.

 

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.