Front Page News

By Mary Alice Murphy

Grant County Commission Chair Chris Ponce, as part of his commission reports at the end of the Aug. 14, 2025 Commission regular meeting, expressed his frustration at an article he read that day in the Silver City Daily Press.

The article announced that Silver City Town Manager Alex Brown had made the decision to retire at the end of this year instead of at the negotiated extension of his contract to the end of 2026, due to the lack of respect at the July 29th Council meeting from two members of the Town Council— District 2 Councilor Nick Prince and District 3 Councilor Stan Snider.

The 2025 county election season is set to begin on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. Grant County residents interested in being candidates in the 2025 Regular Local Election will file to run for office on this date.

On August 26, from 9 am to 5 pm, the Office of the Grant County Clerk will process declarations of candidacy forms for eligible county residents. All interested individuals are encouraged to come prepared with the necessary documentation during these hours. Candidate qualifications will then be reviewed and verified by August 29th.

Candidates for the following offices will file with the Grant County Clerk’s Office, located at 1400 Highway 180 E., Silver City on that day:

Incident involving Deputy being charged with crime of receiving public funds for services not rendered.

To the Residents of Grant County,

In June 2025, the Grant County Sheriff's Office was notified of a possible incident in which an employee may have received public funds for services not rendered, specifically through the Trout Fire overtime budget.

Upon receiving this information, I immediately initiated an internal investigation. As the investigation progressed, the New Mexico State Police were notified to investigate the allegations and potential criminal offenses. The New Mexico State Police conducted their own investigation and have filed charges on the deputy involved. No personal information will be released due to the ongoing internal investigation.

Las Cruces, N.M., July 7–10, 2025 — Grant County 4-H members proudly represented their community at the 2025 State 4-H Conference, held in Las Cruces, bringing home top honors and valuable experiences across a variety of contests. The event showcased the hard work, dedication, and diverse talents of youth from across New Mexico.

[Editor's Note: All photos are Courtesy of  the Grant County Extension Office and  have Michelle Greeman, Ext FCS/4-H Agent, on the left and Jessica Massengill, Grant County Cooperative Extension County Director. on the right .]

Contest Results:

By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Consolidated Schools held a work session and regular meeting July 21, 2025. Members in attendance included Ashley Montenegro, Michelle Diaz, Patrick Cohn and Mike McMillan. Superintendent William Hawkins also attended. Kimberly Klement didn't attend.

Work session

Montenegro told the board they had some information about the feasibility study in their packets. She wanted them to address any questions they might have or comments. Not everyone had been at the committee work sessions.

Diaz said she just wanted a clear and succinct final verdict. She also wanted to know what they would still be in the process of deciding.

August 12, 2025 I Deming District Court Judge DeLaney held Stephen McKinley on 2 Counts of making a shooting threat toward public officials, that was posted on his Facebook social media page. McKinley will be held on (2) Counts of Making a Shooting Threat, a newly enacted New Mexico law that was passed during the 2025 Legislative session. (B.) Making a shooting threat consists of intentionally and maliciously communicating to another person a serious expression of an intent to bring a firearm to a property or use the firearm and intent to: 1.) place a person or group of persons in fear of great bodily harm, and a person or group of persons was placed in fear of great bodily harm.

On July 9, 2025, Luna County District Court (855 S. Platinum Ave) and Luna County Magistrate Court 9912 S. Silver Ave.), and Luna County Administration Office (700 S. Silver) were closed due to a shooting threat.

The attached proposal comes from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). The meetings that were held around the southwest region last year were for the Environmental Impact Analysis. Thiis is the option the Air Force has chosen. But the FAA continues to seek comments.

The information states that there will be up to 10% more operations distributed across all Military Operations Areas (MOAs), an increased use of chaff and flares, supersonic flights authorized in additional MOAs - including Reserve down to 5,000 feet above ground level and operational hours will be extended. 

The FAA will be accepting comments on this proposal through September 19, 2025. 

See full PDF below:

Jerry Amador

Courtesy of the Hurley Police Department

Last night, 65-year-old Jerry Amador, a resident from North Hurley found himself in a bit of trouble after a series of reckless decisions. The Hurley Police Department attempted to pull him over for speeding, but instead of stopping, Mr. Amador decided to lead officers on a high-speed chase.

The pursuit ended at his home, where he attempted to flee on foot but was quickly apprehended by law enforcement. It was later revealed that Mr. Amador has a troubling history, with nearly 30 years of drunk driving offenses.