Here’s a look at today’s headlines:

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 27th 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.