Here’s a look at today’s headlines:

The PNM Resources Foundation today recognized the Silver City recipients of the 2015 PNM Reduce Your Use Grant Program. Grants were awarded to 54 nonprofit organizations throughout New Mexico, three of them in Silver City. The Silver City recipients of the 2015 PNM Reduce Your Use Grant Program are the Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest, Life Quest, and the Silver City Gospel Mission.  The PNM Reduce Your Use Grant Program awards $250,000 annually to help nonprofit organizations statewide complete projects that reduce their energy use and lower their utility bills, allowing them to spend more on providing essential services to clients.

Making the usual November trek to Cliff, the Silver school board opened the meeting at 6:07 p.m. with all board members present. Cliff principal Dean Spurgeon informed the board of recent happenings at this elementary and secondary unit of the district. He gave the board a handout created for last spring’s PARCC test, showing math and English scores at high school levels. Some other test results were still not back, months later, he said, but he shared what he had.

National Rural Health Day is celebrated the third Thursday in November every year.  The New Mexico Department of Health is recognizing rural hospitals and emergency responders on National Rural Health Day, which is Nov. 19, for their work to keep New Mexicans healthy and safe. About 30 percent of New Mexico’s population lives in a rural area. The Department issued certificates to almost 600 people in 16 counties.  New Mexico has 29 rural hospitals, many of which are involved in projects to improve the quality of life in their communities.

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich’s (D-N.M.) Sportsmen’s Act of 2015 cleared the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources today with bipartisan support. Senator Heinrich introduced the bill in February with Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).  The Sportsman’s Act includes the text of Senator Heinrich’s Hunt Unrestricted on National Treasures (HUNT) Act to improve access to public lands where hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation are permitted. Additional measures Senator Heinrich championed for New Mexico include reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA), and giving small media groups and individuals easier access to film and photograph on public lands.