Here’s a look at the latest local news and headlines:
The Village of Santa Clara trustees have approved an application for funding from the New Mexico Finance Authority to assist in needed water system improvements. The requested funding amounting to $855,000 in Colonias infrastructure monies requires that Santa Clara to have a 10 percent match at the beginning of funding and a 10 percent loan component at the end of funding. A waiver of the loan can be requested and approved by the Colonias board. The Colonias Infrastructure Act was adopted in 2010 for the purpose of ensuring adequate financial resources for infrastructure development in colonia recognized communities in addition to providing for the planning and development in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Santa Clara’s requested improvements include: engineering and designs booster pumps; a 30,000-gallon head tank; and a chlorination unit.
A nationwide outage involving CenturyLink affected areas local last Thursday causing first responders and some area businesses problems with their systems. Central Dispatch in Grant County was unable to run license plate checks or check for wanted individuals in addition to Silver City police officers not being able to access their virtual private network. The outage reportedly caused interruptions of phone and internet services that besides New Mexico reached as far as Idaho, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona.
Last Thursday, U.S Border patrol agents assigned the Camp Ramsey Forward Operating Base were alerted to a sensor activation from a rescue beacon. Horse Patrol agents were the first to arrive and found a 36 year old male Mexican National in distress and communicating that he had no feeling in his lower extremities. An Air and Marine Helicopter in addition to Border Patrol Emergency Medical Technicians arrived and assisted in transporting the man to Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming. The man was later diagnosed with a serious syndrome caused by a muscle injury. There are hundreds of rescue beacons located throughout the southwest border in remote areas where cell phones and other communications devices will not function.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning in effect from 11:00 P.M. tonight to 5:00 A.M. Wednesday. Heavy snow is expected and travelers should plan on difficult conditions. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 8 inches are expected. Areas effected include: Northern Grant County including Silver City; Cliff; Mule Creek; Lake Roberts; and Mimbres and Western Sierra County including Hillsboro.
