Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
The Silver City Police Department completed its annual winter coat drive with a visit to Harrison Schmidt Elementary. Over 60 winter coats were donated to students in need. The Department also delivered six Thanksgiving food baskets to families last month. The Silver City Police Department has distributed holiday donations to the community for over 10 years.
The Santa Rita Volunteer Fire Department in Hanover is receiving a new fire station which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in March. Funds for the station were derived from the state government carry over fire funds in addition to a loan from the New Mexico Finance Authority. Once the station is open and operational it will accrue its own state fire funds to repay the loan. Area residents will now benefit from lower insurance rates since the station will provide faster service.
The Silver Consolidated School District filled the final vacant board position left by the resignation of Frances Vasquez in November. Western New Mexico University Chief of Police, Eddie Flores, has filled the District 3 seat and was officially sworn in by Magistrate Judge Maurine Laney, during Tuesday night’s school board meeting. Flores is a retired New Mexico State Police captain, and shared that he has specialized training in security and threat assessments that will provide valuable assistance to the school board.
The U.S. Border Patrol Academy held a graduation ceremony this week for new agents that will be charged with protecting our nation’s borders from Yuma Sector to the Rio Grande Valley Sector. Over one hundred visitors and guests witnessed the new agents receive their badges and be sworn into office. The Yuma Sector patrols 126 miles of border with Mexico, between the Yuma-Pima County line in Arizona and the Imperial Sand Dunes in California. The sector has responsibility for Yuma, La Paz, and Mojave Counties in Arizona, the Eastern-most areas of Imperial, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties in California, and the entire State of Nevada. The Rio Grande Valley Sector covers more than 34,000 square miles of Southeast Texas.
