The U.S. Forest Service is responding to a fire in the Gila National Forest - Black Fire

The Black Fire was discovered Friday evening, May 13, at 9:30 p.m. and is located off the NorthStar, FSR 150, road, west of Meown workstation and north of Black Canyon.  It is estimated at about 1,041 acres and burning in grass, juniper mesas, and occasional pine stringers in the Gila wilderness area.  Fifty-five firefighters are on-scene with more resources on order. 

Today, firefighters are expecting to see high temperatures of 88 degrees, low humidity, and light variable wind.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

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Candidate forum for district 2 commissioner 051222  

By Lynn Janes

On May 12, 2022, the first candidate forum for the primary took place at the Western New Mexico University Besse-Forward Resource Center.  The forum had the incumbent Javier Salasand challenger Eloy Medina face off for Grant County District 2 county commissioner Democratic nominee. Whoever wins the primary will face off with the Republican candidate Armando Aguilera for the election in November.

Nick Seibel, Silver City Daily Press publisher moderated the forum. The candidates received questions from the audience, Facebook and the Press. Each would answer the same question and had two minutes.

Seibel asked each candidate to introduce himself and tell the audience a little bit about them. They each had three minutes for the introduction.

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Update: DA subject of SCPOA’s ire

By Roger Lanse

UPDATE: Sixth Judicial Court District Attorney, Michael Renteria, told the Beat in a telephone conversation this morning, Friday, May 13, 2022, that he had no comment, saying he did not want to go on record at this time relative to the SCPOA letter. 

An undated, supposedly confidential, letter from The Silver City Police Officers’ Association President K.(Kyle) Spurgeon to Sixth Judicial Court District Attorney Mr.(Michael) Renteria was received by the Beat today, Thursday, May 12, 2022. In it, the SCPOA states that the previous friendly and open-door working relationship with the DA has become a hostile environment where officers do not feel comfortable in the DA’s office.

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Chip seal operations will begin in Grant County

SILVER CITY-The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) District One office will begin a maintenance operation project to place “chip seal” pavement on various roadways in Grant County. The chip seal process is a surface treatment that is placed on the existing pavement. It is designed to seal out moisture and create a more durable surface extending the longevity of the roadway. 

The chip seal crew will begin work on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, along roadways located in Silver City.  Motorists will encounter reduced speeds, flagging and pilot car operations, brooming, and intermittent lane closures during working operations, expect minor delays. Working hours will be Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Motorists are asked to reduce speed, obey posted signs, and use extreme caution, as well as continue to be cautious of heavy equipment and construction personnel in the area. Center striping will not be present in construction zones.

Roadways scheduled to receive chip seal are listed in order below:

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Silver Schools Budget for 2022-2023 fiscal year

By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Consolidated Schools held a work session May 9, 2022. President Ashley Montenegro called the meeting to order. Other board members in attendance included Michelle Diaz, Patrick Cohn, Eddie Flores and Mike McMillan. Superintendent William Hawkins also attended.

The board approved the work session agenda.

Michelle McCain, finance director presented to the board highlights for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year budget. Members had received a copy of the budget to review.

McCain explained the TCI index and multiplying program units. The program units are based on 80-120 day student counts for 2021-2022 and then multiplied by the cost index. Special education has a separate multiplier as does fine arts training. She pointed out that the district receives more for national board-certified teachers.

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Kiwanis holds its traditional Easter Egg Hunt 041622

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

On Saturday, April 16, 2022, Kiwanis members put out Easter eggs in Penny Park in Silver City for various age groups, starting with the older ones and phasing down to the younger ones. 

Information booths, as well as face-painting stations, and craft opportunities for kids filled the park.

Kids also took advantage of the playground equipment at the park.

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Corrected: Easter bunny left eggs all over Bataan Memorial Park 041622

Photos and article by Lynn Janes

The Easter bunny outdid himself on April 16, 2022, at the Bataan memorial. He left 50,000 eggs for the kids to pick up. For the kids that found the 60 golden eggs they got an additional prize.

The Easter bunny greeted all the kids and led them on to the field to get the eggs each time.

The event started at 10 am and they had a bouncy castle for the kids and lots of hot dogs and beverages for everyone.

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New fire ordinance for Bayard

By Lynn Janes

The town of Bayard held a regular town meeting May 9, 2022. The meeting started with Mayor Pro tem Raul Villanueva calling the meeting to order and leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Attendance at the meeting included Mayor Pro tem Raul Villanueva and councilors, Jose Diaz and Frances Gonzales. Mayor Chon Fierro and councilor Eloy Medina did not attend.

Before the meeting started a brief work session took place to address several points in the regular meeting.

The council approved the agenda for the meeting

Public input

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