Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
The 2014 New Mexico Veterans’ PTSD Wellness Conference that will be held in Albuquerque on September 13th, will focus on healing the battle-scarred veteran and his or her family. Veterans, National Guard, Reserve, and active-duty personnel and their spouses, family members, and caregivers are encouraged to attend. Sessions will include the Brothers at War Resiliency Workshop, which focuses on helping veterans reintegrate into civilian life, followed by an interactive Instruction and Workbook Session and open discussion following the movie screening of Brothers at War. Representatives from PMS’ Veteran and Family Support Services Program, the NMNG’s State Family/Yellow Ribbon Support Program, and the Access to Recovery program highlighting additional non-VA services and programs will be available for veterans and their families. Call 505-841-5346 or email Theresa Zuni at theresa.zuni@state.nm.us.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) is seeking continued public input on the future of transportation in New Mexico. The purpose is to help the department update its Statewide Long-Range Multimodal Transportation Plan (SLRP). The plan will provide a framework to guide the expenditure of approximately $21 billion over a 25-year time period extending from 2016 to 2040. Key themes that have emerged from the NMDOT outreach to New Mexico residents include: find sustainable sources of revenue and spend funds more strategically, address traveler safety needs, improve public transportation, support economic development, provide access and mobility for everyone, support movement of freight by all modes, protect and preserve was makes New Mexico unique, make decisions transparent, and improve the quality of data and information to help managers make better decisions.
Santa Clara recently completed an upgrade so that every residence in the town is now connected to the village’s sewage treatment system. Work on the project began in 2008 and was funded primarily by grants from the US Department of Agriculture. The USDA’s state director is scheduled to take part in a grant-closure ceremony at the Village Hall on Thursday with a presentation of a plaque of completion to the Board of Trustees.
After over a year of hard work, the Hurley Animal Shelter opened up to accept animals last Wednesday. So far, the shelter is housing four dogs and a kitten looking for their forever homes. The animal shelter used to be located on Freeport McMoran property, but has been moved to property owned by the town. Each kennel has an individual doggie door, and thanks to a grant from Petco and individual donors, the shelter was able to purchase sanitizing equipment, a water heater, and cat cages. While the shelter is operational, work still needs to be done: including an exterior fence, dog runs, and volunteers are still needed to help out.
Community Health Systems Inc., which operates six New Mexico Hospitals including MoutainView Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces and Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming, reported a cyber attack in April and June. Officials said no credit card or medical information was accessed by the hackers, but they did obtain names, addresses, birthdates, telephone numbers, and Social Security numbers. Affected patients are being notified by letter. Community Health Systems has been working with federal authorities in the investigation and according to the company, “the intruder has been eradicated and applications have been deployed to protect against future attacks.”
