Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
The Corral Fire on the Gila Wilderness was started by lightning on Sunday, June 4th. The Fire is currently 100 acres in size. The strategy of this fire is to reduce live woody fuels, reduce fuel loads on the ground, improve forest health and support the reintroduction of fire in the natural ecosystem. Resources are currently monitoring the fire. The terrain is fairly flat with the East Fork of the Gila River to the northwest and Black Canyon to the south. There are no immediate values at risk.
The Silver City Grant County Chamber of Commerce at its monthly meeting held on Thursday heard a presentation from Faye McCalmont, WNMU Cultural Affairs, about the upcoming Fiesta Latina. The Fiesta is a three-day event at WNMU celebrating Latin cultures with dance, music, tequila tasting, and Latin artisans. New Mexico Economic Development Department cabinet secretary Matt Geisel also spoke about the challenges New Mexico has been facing as a result of the 2010 recession, federal sequestration and the bottoming out of oil and gas prices.
Kate Sokulsky-Boyce of Silver High School was recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship from Comcast NBCUniversal as part of the annual Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program. The program recognizes the best and brightest high school seniors for their community services, academic performance and leadership skills. 29 recipients earned $1,000 scholarships and one student earned a $10,000 scholarship.
Today, Governor Susana Martinez announced record-breaking visitation at several of New Mexico’s state parks. Across the state this Memorial Day weekend, nearly 300,000 visitors enjoyed our parks. Several lakes in the state saw increases from 2016 of 50% or more and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park was up 200% from last year. Elephant Butte Lake saw over 101,000 visitors during the holiday week.
