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Life Quest held a ribbon cutting and open house for the opening of the new People’s Park and the MRAC Youth Mural “I am Me” yesterday.  Life Quest will also be opening Silver City’s first registered Little Free Library in the People’s Park.  The park and Youth Mural were almost entirely funded by the 2015 PNM Power Up Grant award.

Deming César Chávez Charter High School began distributing food packets Thursday, Sept. 29, to many of the school’s students in need of extra help. The school began stockpiling for a food bank in April and has partnered with the Deming Elk’s Lodge 2750 to make the idea of assisting their students and their families a reality.

PNM has calculate the average system increase and the bill impact for the average PNM residential customer.  The overall average system increase approved by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission is 7%.  The estimated monthly bill impact for the average PNM residential customer for the Silver City are is $1.26.  Even with the approved increase, PNM reports that their residential customers will continue to pay on average among the lowest electric bills in the state and among the lowest nationally.

State lawmakers will be arriving in Santa Fe Friday for a much-anticipated special session, where they will try to hammer out a solution to the state’s budget crisis and possibly talk about reinstating the death penalty.

Economic Development Department Acting Secretary Barbara Brazil issued a statement yesterday after the White House released a fact sheet touting New Mexico’s continued economic growth.  Brazil said “this is encouraging news and just goes to show that we must continue fighting to grow and diversify our economy.  New Mexico is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.  But we can’t stop there – we need to keep doing all we can to make New Mexico more competitive and help create more jobs for our families.”

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A candidate debate was held recently at WNMU’s Miller Library.  Present were Senator Howie Morales from District 28, as well as Democratic House of Representatives candidates Mary Hotvedt from District 38 and Rudolpho “Rudy” Martinez for District 39.  Republican candidates for District 38, Rebecca Dow, and District 39, John Zimmerman, were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.

Deming Police responded Wednesday morning to discover a 48 year-old man suffering from multiple stab wounds.  The subject was transported to a local hospital and then flown to an El Paso hospital for treatment.  Deming Police have arrested a 30 year old male suspect in connection with the stabbing.  Witnesses at the scene gave a description of the suspect, who was located a few blocks away.  The suspect was recently released from prison, and is being charged with aggravated battery with great bodily harm.

In sports action, the WNMU Lady ‘Stang Volleyball team’s winning streak was broken by Eastern New Mexico University in a hard fought 3-1 loss last night.  WNMU is now 10-5 for the season and 2-2 in Lone Star Conference Action.  WNMU plays at West Texas A&M on Friday night beginning at 6pm CST.

The  U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives yesterday passed a resolution includes a short-term continuing resolution through December 9, 2016 to keep the government running by funding the government at levels consistent with last year’s bipartisan budget agreement, and includes new full-year funding levels for military construction projects and veterans affairs.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez announced Wednesday she will convene a special session of the Legislature to try and plug a budget shortfall linked a downturn in oil and natural gas markets and also push for a vote on whether to reinstate the death penalty.

State regulators have approved a rate hike for Public Service Co. of New Mexico`s half a million customers, but it`s not as much as the electric utility had hoped for.

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Last week Girl Scout Troop 54049 from Mimbres, NM worked on earning their First Aid Merit Badges.  The girls learned how to prepare ahead by taking enough water and dressing appropriately when going on a hike, learned to perform CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver, and discussed what should be in a first aid kit.  The girls also learned how to handle different emergency situations and learned when they should or should not move an injured person.

The Silver City Town Council at its September 27^th meeting approved a Notice of Intent to adopt an ordinance amending the town’s traffic laws with respect to off-road vehicles.  The measure, if adopted, would permit the use of these vehicles which met standards, including highway tires, seat-belts, a steering wheel, and non-straddle seating, among others.  Utility Task Vehicles are believed to be safer that ATVs, which would continue to be disallowed on city streets under the proposed amendment.

State Parks is temporarily closing the main boat ramp at Caballo Lake State Park effective immediately because of low water levels.  As a result of required maintenance around the dam and spillway by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the lake is currently experiencing extremely low water levels. The ramp will reopen once Reclamation completes its maintenance tasks, lake levels recover, and it is safe for visitors to use the main boat ramp.

New Mexico Senators have asked Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to consider opening a “Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, or DUIx, office in New Mexico as part of the military’s mission to widen the technology gap between the United States and its adversaries.  The senators wrote that New Mexico is at the center of a number of projects important to the next generation of defense technology – including Research at Kirtland Air Force Base, Holloman Air Force Base, Cannon Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range, the Sandia Science & Technology Park, as well as Los Alamos and Sandia national labs and three research universities.

Two senators introduced the bipartisan Two-Generation Economic Empowerment Act to increase opportunities for families living in poverty. The bill aligns and links existing systems and funding streams to target both parents and children with support aimed at increasing economic security, educational success, social capital, and the health and wellbeing of whole families.

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The Travel Management Rule will go into effect on Silver City and Glenwood Ranger Districts on January 1, 2017.  The rule has already been in effect for Reserve, Black Range, Wilderness, and Quemado Ranger Districts since July 1, 2016.  The Silver City District employees are out on forest lands identifying roads and trails to open for motorized use.  The District is preparing for implementation by posting signs, in advance, due to seasonal employees being laid off, winter weather, and upcoming holidays.  The motor vehicle use map is available free of charge at all Gila National Forest Offices or online at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/gis/USFS_Southwestern_Region_MVUM_Repository.html.

Local author Catalina Claussen has learned that her debut young adult novel, Diamonds at Dusk, is a finalist in the New Mexico/Arizona book awards.  This place-based novel set in Southwestern New Mexico is designed to connect with rural teen readers.

The 12^th annual Gila River Festival took place this weekend in and around Silver City.  Events included speakers, field trips, and the Monsoon Puppet Parade, which traveled along Bullard and Broadway on Saturday afternoon.

The Cobre School Board met yesterday to discuss the 2016-17 budget, which returned unchanged from the state.  They also heard about a Keep New Mexico Beautiful grant, which will be used to plant trees, shrubs and flowers on the grounds at Snell Middle School.  A working sundial will also be included.  The board was reminded that, as this is an election year, San Lorenzo is being used as a polling place on November 8^th.

More than 80 million people tuned in to see Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off, setting a new record in the sixty year history of televised presidential debates.  80.9 million viewers tuned in across 12 of the channels that aired live, and over 2.5 million watched live streams on YouTube.  By comparison, the first Obama-Romney debate in 2012 averaged 67 million viewers.  The previous record was held in 1980 between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan just before the election, where viewership was 81 million.

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The Juniper and Pinon Campgrounds in the Quemado Lake Recreation Area will close for the 2016 season on September 30^th and will reopen May 1^st, 2017.  The water system in the Recreation Area will be turned off to prevent freezing and damage to the lines during the fall and winter.  The El Caso campgrounds will remain open year-round, as weather and access permits, to accommodate forest visitors.  Services in the El Caso campgrounds will be limited, so the Quemado Ranger District asks that visitors do their part to pack in/pack out trash and help keep the campgrounds clean in order to preserve this opportunity for the future.

New information has become available regarding the Tuesday, September 20^th crash involving a motor vehicle and a pedestrian near the intersection of Broadway and Hudson.  The investigation is ongoing, but the investigating officer was informed by another officer that the pedestrian had been highly intoxicated earlier in the day and declined treatment at that time.  The officer confirmed the driver of the 2004 Chevrolet was not intoxicated, had been wearing her glasses, and had not been using her cell phone.  The driver had a green light, and the pedestrian was not in the crosswalk.

In sports action, the WNMU Mustang football team picked up a 68-17 win over UT Permian Basin on Saturday.  WNMU will return home this coming Saturday against Midwestern State for Homecoming beginning at 1:30 pm.

The WNMU cross country teams ran in the Coyote Classic hosted by CSU-San Bernadino on Saturday.  The women placed sixth, while the men ran as individuals.  The cross country team will run again this Saturday at Santa Clarita, California in the Mustang Challenge hosted by Master’s College.

The Western New Mexico University volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep over Lone Star Conference opponent Midwestern State on Saturday afternoon.  The Lady Mustangs are 10-4 for the season and 2-1 in the Lone Star Conference.  They return to the road beginning Wednesday night against Eastern New Mexico at 6 pm.

Today, Governor Susana Martinez announced that law enforcement arrested 135 parents who failed to pay child support during an annual sting. In addition, through the amnesty period allowing parents to come forward and pay child support debt – and the subsequent roundup – the Human Services Department collected $64,310.

New FBI crime statistics released on Monday show the estimated number of murders in New Mexico was 117 in 2015, or a 15.8 percent jump from the 2014 estimate.  The national average was a 10.8 percent increase.