The following is a press release from the National Park Service, Gila Cliff Dwellings:

Entrance to the Gila Cliff Dwellings is permitted from 9 am until 4 pm MT.  Visitors entering by 4 pm have until 5 pm to complete their visit.  Volunteer staff is available all day in the cliff dwellings to answer questions.    Beginning on Sunday March 9, 2014, the daily guided tour of the cliff dwellings will be offered at 11 am instead of the current tour time of 1 pm.  The 11 am tour time will continue throughout daylight saving time and then change back to 1 pm during standard time.  Those planning to attend the guided tour should begin hiking up from the trailhead contact station no later than one-half hour before tour time.  Visitors may also take the self-guided tour by obtaining a free copy of the Cliff Dweller Canyon Companion trail guide available at the trailhead.

Visitors should dress for the weather, carry water, and wear shoes or boots suitable for rugged trail walking.  For more information, please contact the Gila Visitor Center at (575) 536-9461 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/gicl.

The results are in for the Town of Silver City Municipal Election for 2014.

Mayor: Michael Shawn Morones

District 2 Councilor: Lynda D. Aiman-Smith

District 4 Councilor: Guadalupe “Lupe” Cano

Municipal Judge: Sonya Ruiz

The Town of Silver City has also voted to continue the Gross Receipts Tax for Public Safety.

The WNMU College of Education is accepting nominations to the College of Education Hall of Fame.  The deadline to nominate is next Wednesday, March 12th.  Those eligible for nomination include bachelor degree graduates and the teching faculty who are graduates of WNMU or its predecessor institutions.  The nomination form is available on the WNMU website.  Contact spri.aubrey@wnmu.edu or call 538-6418 for more information.

It is time to begin the 2014 season for USSSA.  USSSA Summer League Registrations for baseball and softball  will be every Wednesday in March and April 2 at the Silver High Commons from 5:00-6:30.   There will be two divisions in T-Ball: ages 4U and 6U, and Boys and Girls Divisions for ages 8 to 16.  They will be using High School pitching rules and fast pitch this year.  Your child will never come out of the batting line-up.

They will also continue their women’s draft league, and trying a co-ed Men’s and Women’s league.

Opening ceremonies will be the third week in May, and the season will run into early July.  There will also be a fun day at the end of the season.  Last year’s fun day featured individual competitions, jumping balloons, and more.  In the past, the USSSA has had players participate from throughout the region, so Grandparents, if you have your grandkids staying with you for the summer,  sign them up for baseball and softball.  This is not a traveling league.

Visit the Silver City USSSA on Facebook at USSSA Summer League.

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 3, 2014 is an opportunity for people of all ages to participate in a risk reduction/preparedness activity that makes their community a safer place to live. Funding will be awarded to 20 neighborhood wildfire safety projects being implemented during the May 3rd event.  Neighborhood groups can qualify for $500 each for wildfire preparedness projects.  Go to the following for all the details:

http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/outdoors/wildland-fires/national-wildfire-community-preparedness-day/wildfire-preparedness-day-neighborhood-project-contest

Also, the Silver City Neighborhood Alliance invites everyone to register or the FREE Silver City/Grant County Symposium on Preparedness, March 7-8, WNMU Global Resource Center at www.scneighborsalliance.org .  The Symposium is sponsored or supported by the Freeport McMoRan Grant County Community Enhancement Fund, Western New Mexico University, the Town of Silver City, Vicki’s Eatery, Diane’s Restaurant, and the Western Institute for Lifelong Learning.

For our outlying listeners and avid travelers, there is a prescribed burn scheduled in Sierra County between Hatch and T or C.  Read this release from the Bureau of Land Management to learn more:

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning a prescribed burn within Sierra County in southern New Mexico over the next week, weather permitting.  In total, 15-20 BLM firefighters and personnel will monitor the fires.  Smoke will be evident in the burn areas and some smoke may remain for a couple of days after the burn, depending on weather conditions. These burns are being conducted to follow up with prescribed fire after chemical treatment of mesquite and creosote on the area.  This treatment strategy improves the vegetative conditions of the area and helps restore the native desert grasslands.

Beginning Wednesday, February 26 through Thursday, February 27, the BLM will concentrate their efforts on the Lewis Cain allotment, located about 17 miles northeast of Hatch, New Mexico; 19 miles east of Ceballos, and 25 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.  An anticipated 7,000 acres of grassland will be targeted for hand ignition.  Smoke from the fire may be visible from I-25.

Prescribed burning is one of the most effective tools to control vegetation in areas where wildfires are no longer appropriate.  By reducing the volume of vegetation under the specific prescribed conditions, land managers mimic the natural fire cycle which greatly reduces the dangers and risks associated with unplanned wildfires.

For additional information about this planned burn, please contact Ricky Cox, Fuels Specialist at the BLM Las Cruces BLM Office at 575-525-4467 or Mark Bernal, Fire Management Officer at 575-525-4305.