Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
We have a brief update on area wildfires: The Baca Fire was last reported at 11,092 acres in size. The Round Fire is 7,397 acres. The Corral Fire is 19,900 acres in size. The Straw Fire is 9,360 acres, the Teacher Fire is 3,555 acres and the Gravel Fire is 2,880 acres in size. The Seven Fire is 1,189 acres in size. These seven fires are actively burning on the Gila Wilderness. Most are being managed for multiple resource objectives and containment has only occurred where necessary to protect human health and resources. Much of the smoke in the area has been brought to New Mexico from fires in southwest Arizona: The Goodwin Fire 14 miles south of Prescott, the Burrow Fire in the Santa Catalina foothills, and several others have contributed to the air quality in the area.
Crews in Deming are currently working to shape the western end of Voiers “Pit” Park into a basin for what will soon be a recreational storage pond. The city in December unveiled plans for improvements to the park. The project is estimated at $2.5 million, and the popular walking path will be rerouted around the pond. Other features under discussion for the park include playgrounds, additional parking and public restrooms.
Grant County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Bill Evans Lake late Saturday morning in reference to a body found in the lake. Detectives have interviewed witnesses and the investigation is ongoing. The body of 41 year-old Danny Facio Paz has been sent to the Office of the Medical Investigators. Detectives are following all possible leads and asking anyone with information to call Central Dispatch at 388-8840 or the Grant County Sheriff’s Department at 574-0100.
New procedures in criminal cases went into effect on Saturday that provide guidance to judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys for applying the requirements of the constitutional amendment on bail reform. The amendment was designed to ensure that defendants would be detained or released from jail based on individual risk factors of danger to the community or risk of flight, and not their ability or lack thereof to pay a monetary bond.
