Here’s a look at today’s news:
The Department of Game and Fish is seeking public comments on proposed revisions to the bighorn sheep and javelina rules. The department is proposing small changes in bighorn sheep hunting across the state, including: adjusting seasons for calendar dates; increasing ram hunting licenses; modifying hunt dates to accommodate more hunters; and adding Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep ewe hunts in certain herds as a population management tool. For javelina, the department is proposing adjusting season dates for a new calendar year. To gather public comments, two public meetings will be conducted, one being in Las Cruces on January 30th and the other in Albuquerque on February 6th. The proposals can be viewed on the department website at wildlife.nm.us.
U.S. Border Patrol Agents seized over two thousand pounds of marijuana last Thursday in a remote area, eight miles north of the international boundary with Mexico located in the bootheel area of southern New Mexico. Agents had detected suspicious activity in the remote area and with the assistance of the canine unit, located the bundles near Alamo Hueco Road. In addition to the first findings, more bundles were located along with the evidence that the suspects responsible had fled the area and abandoned their load. In total, the agents seized 2,003 pounds of marijuana with a value of $1.6 million. The seized contraband was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
New Mexico Representative, James E. Smith, introduced HB 147 yesterday, which is estimated to provide an additional $25 million in scholarship funding for students over the next five years. The Lottery transferred $37.8 million to the scholarship fund in fiscal year 2017, which equates to paying sixty percent (60%) of a student’s tuition bill. A similar bill has been introduced in each of the prior three legislative sessions by Senator John Arthur Smith. The bill guarantees students a minimum of $38 million each year for the scholarship program which is a $200,000 increase over last year’s transfer. The bill includes a sunset provision that requires the lottery to return to the thirty percent (30%) mandate if scholarship proceeds fall below the $38 million floor.
Celebrated annually on January 23rd, National Pie Day is an unofficial holiday to celebrate that baked dish made of pastry dough and filled with a sweet or savory filling. The history of the pie can be traced back to the Greeks who created what is believed to be the first pastry shell by mixing flour and water. The pastry was filled with anything from honey to fruits and meats. National Pie Day was conceived in 1975 in Boulder Colorado by a school teacher that loved pie so much that on his birthday, January 23rd, the day would forever be remembered as National Pie Day. Some fun pie facts are: Originally, fruit pies were a breakfast food in the United States; 186 million pies are sold just in supermarkets and grocery stores each year; and in Kansas, it used to be illegal to serve ice cream on cherry pie. Happy National Pie Day!
