Here’s a look at some local news:

The Grant Soil and Water Conservation District is partnering with The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service to work on New Mexico forest restoration. The Grant SWCD was awarded a Collaborative Forest Restoration Program grant from the U.S Forest Service in the amount of $315,000. The grant required a 25 percent or $80,000 non-federal match. According to the Grant County Beat, the grant aims to build collaboration and provide treatment to 237 acres of ponderosa pine and pinyon-juniper on the wilderness district of Gila National Forest in southwest New Mexico. The Grant SWCD hopes this project will lead to other projects and stronger partnerships in the future.

The New Mexico Department of Health is investigating six mumps cases with ages ranging from seven to 41 years in Bernalillo County. According to the NMDOH, Mumps is a highly contagious disease that is typically preventable through vaccination. Two doses of MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella) are recommended. All New Mexico residents should be vaccinated against mumps and if an immunization is needed, individuals are advised to contact their healthcare provider. Mumps is spread through the air and by droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose, or throat of an infected person, usually when the person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms of mumps include: swollen and tender salivary glands under the ear or jaw on one or both sides of the face; fever; headache; and muscle aches.

Silver City Clay Festival Founder and Director, Lee Gruber, will be honored this year at the New Mexico Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts. Gruber, founded along with her husband David, founded Silver City tile business, Syzygy Tile over 25 years ago and has continued to be involved in arts and culture throughout New Mexico. Congratulations to Lee Gruber.

The Silver City Rotary Club will be featuring Jeff Goin, founder and Executive Director of the Lotus Center, at The Rotary’s regular meeting next Tuesday. Goin, will talk about the center’s Yoga in Public Schools project which began with the 2017-18 school year, and how he has dispatched yoga instructors to teach students at four Grant County public schools and one Montessori school.