Local News Releases

Pinos Altos Volunteer Fire Department

Thursday, Jan.15

Fire, other
27 Wagon Wheel – 4:38 p.m.
Caller can see a lot of smoke coming from just behind the station/possibly campfire but is producing a lot of smoke. PAVFD advised a neighbor is burning slash – 1 Forest Ridge Trail.

Silver City Fire Department

Deming Attorney Tyler BentingBy Lisa Jimenez

Silver City -- Deming attorney Tyler Benting, principal of Benting Crumley Law, LLC, will share his expertise in the area of estate planning at the January 26th meeting of the "Death Cafe," a free, monthly meeting facilitated by Lisa Jimenez, certified death doula and owner of A Good Death, LLC, a local business dedicated to helping people prepare for their own good death. 

Estate planning includes wills, trusts, living wills, power of attorney and other considerations to help people determine how they would like their assets to be distributed upon their death.

"Estate planning is a fundamental part of planning for the end of life, and I'm so grateful that Tyler will be joining this month's death cafe to explain the key components of this important process," said Jimenez. "Planning ahead allows us to have greater peace of mind, and helps ensure peace for those you love."

Benting is a native New Mexican, focusing on helping clients with estate planning - wills and trusts, as well as probate, real estate, business law and general, civil litigation. In 2020 he won the Contract Attorney Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Excellence Award at the New Mexico Children's Law Institute, and was selected to Rising Stars -  a SuperLawyers publication - annually from 2020 to 2023. To date, Tyler has advised clients on real estate and business matters, with more than $25,000,000 in transactions closed.

A graduate of Texas Tech University School of Law, Tyler was admitted to the New Mexico Bar in 2013.  He also attended New Mexico State University, where he earned his BA in government and was a crimson scholar. Tyler also has a master's degree in personal financial planning from Texas Tech.

Benting lives in Deming with his wife, Cindy, and their young children. He currently serves as the den leader of his oldest son's Cub Scout Den. Tyler has been involved in Lion's Club International, Rotary International, the Deming-Luna County Chamber of Commerce, and served as the president in 2016. Tyler also served as an officer of the Lion's Club, and as a board member of both the Humane Society and the Rotary Club.

The Death Cafe meets from 4:00 - 5:30 pm at the Silver City Public Library. For more information, please contact Lisa Jimenez at (575) 574-5473, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

KUNDALINI YOGA for BEGINNERS - Movement-Breath-Sound

Starting Feb. 06, FRIDAYS 3:30 – 4:30 pm

THE HEARTH, 1915 N. Swan St., Silver City

Bring your own mat (and blanket or cushion).

$5.00 donation suggested 

Colleen Jiron, Yoga Alliance RYT

The next meeting of the Alzheimer's/Dementia caregivers' support group will meet Thursday, January 22nd at Cross Point Church at 6pm, Questions? call Linda Brake at 575-590-1499.

January 25, at 10:00 am, 3845 North Swan Street –  "Across a Field of Stars"

Former Silver City and Grant County Poet Laureate Elise Stuart will discuss her new book and will read from her new book of poetry "Across a Field of Stars."

One reviewer wrote of it: "Have you ever questioned what the purpose of life was? What happens after death? And if it all even matters? "Across A Field of Stars" by Elise Stuart takes you on a journey through nature and experience, exploring the beginning, middle, and end of this thing called life. Reading this collection feels like being taken on a long walk, at first through the open fields, then into the shadowed places we try not to look at, and finally back out into the light. Poems keep circling nature, not as scenery but as a kind of mentor. Trees, rivers, seasons as if they're always speaking, if we slow down enough to listen."

Stuart's son provided the cover photo, a picture of stars in the sky above San Juan Island, WA.

Elise Stuart became Poet Laureate of Grant County in 2014. She had a vision of young people bringing their poetry into the world and so began offering poetry workshops. She gave nearly 100 workshops at schools around the area for the next three years.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

The regular monthly board meeting of the Grant Soil and Water Conservation District will be held Monday, January 26, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the conference room of the Natural Resources Conservation Service/Grant SWCD office located at 3082 32nd Street Bypass, Suite C, Silver City, NM. To request a copy of the agenda or for more information, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The meeting is open to the public

Gila Back Country Horsemen (Gila BCH) organizes volunteer trail projects in the Gila National Forest and Gila Wilderness. 

View our Spring 2026 trail project schedule details and RSVP: https://www.gilatrailsinfo.org/trail-projects 

Trail projects include: 

CDT – multiple locations

East Railroad Trail #130

Ring Canyon Trail #162

McKnight Canyon Trail #92

Clear Creek Trail #165

David Van Auker, January's Lunch & Learn speaker.By Marla McDonald, WILL Communications Chair

January 21, 2026 – Noon to 1 p.m. 

The Auditorium of the WNMU Besse-Forward Global Resource Center (the corner of 12th and Kentucky Streets)

We'd been in Silver a few months when I first heard about it.  Someone said something about Manzanita Ridge adding "you know the place where they found the de Kooning…"  "What are you talking about?" I asked.  "You don't know about the stolen painting that was found here in Silver?  Why it was the biggest thing to happen here since Billy the Kid!"  No, I hadn't heard about it.  "Watch The Thief Collector.  You'll be gob-smacked!"  We were.

Come hear David Van Auker, owner of Manzanita Ridge, tell the story… how they found the paintings, what happened when they realized what they had, how the movie came about, what the movie left out, and how this experience changed his life.  He promises to answer all the questions that the movie raises, and tell us about what has happened since. 

David will be joined by Lou Schachter. Lou is a storyteller who explores the intersection of true crime and travel.  He grew up in New York and lived in Los Angeles for most of his adult life before retiring from a corporate career in 2020 and relocating to Palm Springs. He posts his stories at http://truecrimeroadtrip.com .  Lou will be talking about the other paintings stolen by Rita and Jerry, Specifically the two stolen from the Harwood museum in Taos and their subsequent recovery.