Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
At the recent Cobre School Board meeting, Tony Sosa, truancy specialist and Bianca Padilla of the JPO program reported on past activities with Cobre students under the JPO work for the year. Their total truancy referrals this semester were 469 with 244 from Cobre High; 63, Snell; 74, Bayard; 54, Central; 64, Hurley; 4, San Lorenzo; and 14 from other sources. Truancy figures were checked for cause, and some were illnesses. Others were unexcused and the first one prosecuted, said Sosa, for the first time. Alma Grijalva, food service coordinator, told the board how Cobre was trying to work with Fort Bayard on a transfer to move its food services temporarily to Snell. This is happening as soon as school is out, the end of May. Mr. Rottman, Snell principal, will be moving all the school’s equipment out and will store it so the hospital’s equipment can be moved in.
The Bayard City Council at its Monday, May 11 meeting approved a free summer lunch program for ages 1-18. Adults can also participate but will be charged. The program will run from June 8 through July 31, Monday through Thursday, at the Fire Station Park. The annual program is funded through the New Mexico Department of Education.
Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest Troup 54370 spent time going green and doing a cleanup for their local school and baseball field where most play and attend. Girl Scouts has several activities scheduled for this summer’s fun. The annual camp will be held at the Southwest Christian Center just outside of Cliff, NM. This year’s camp is called “Wild Wild West” from June 9-June 11 for girls entering 2nd grade and above. They must be registered by May 25 for camp. For $50 girls will receive 3 days of fun, making new friends and meeting up with old friends, all meals and snacks, souvenir T-Shirt and many crafts to be taken home. . For more information on Girl Scouts call Annette Toney 538-2481.
At Wednesday evening’s monthly meeting on the New Mexico 90-Hudson Street Bridge project, Brian Torres, New Mexico Department of Transportation project manager, said on Monday, May 18, crews will begin taking down the asbestos-covered water line. The process should take three to four days. Friday, May 22, demolition of the bridge deck will begin. That should take about 10 days. To a question about the 210-day project timeline and when it would start, Torres said: “As soon as the bridge closes to traffic, the clock starts, and we will be working seven days a week. We are shooting for a December re-opening of the bridge.”
El Paso Electric, a Texas-based utility that serves electric customers throughout southern New Mexico wants to raise rates to cover the costs of a new power plant and transmission lines.
What do you get when you add a keen sense of smell to a dinosaur with large teeth and sharp claws? Answer: a hunting and killing machine. A new species of carnivorous dinosaur whose remains were recently discovered in the New Mexico wilderness had a powerful nose for tracking down its prey — an important trait for an animal that measured just six feet in length, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
