Here’s a look at today’s headlines:
According to the Grant County Sheriff’s Department, a house burned to the ground sometime between Friday morning and Saturday afternoon on Burro Springs Road near Tyrone. The owner of the house is missing, and human remains were found inside the structure. Identification of the remains is pending. The house fire went unreported, and the home’s owner was last seen around 2:30 Friday morning by her neighbor.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation closed a portion of NM Highway 174, which leads to the Catwalk Trail. The Glenwood Ranger District closed the district’s gates on the roads in October after extensive flooding of the area. The District is working with the NMDOT to clean the roadway. The Catwalk Trail has been closed since September of last year due to heavy rains and flooding, which caused damage to the trails. Repairs are currently underway, and reconstruction of the lower portion is expected to be complete by the end of next year.
The Interstate Stream Commission heard public input from both sides in regards to the possible diversion of the Gila River at its meeting on Friday. The meeting was the last before the Commission meets to make a final decision on whether or not to pursue the project, which would lead to storage of the Gila River Water. As part of the project, the federal government would provide $66 million for either the diversion or storage of alternate water need projects. The project has been widely controversial.
Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich voted for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, a bill to help expand access and improve the quality of child care for children and families. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 88 to 1 and will move the President’s desk to be signed into law. First passed in 1990, the Child Care and Development Block Grant serves as the primary source of federal funding for child care assistance and helps provides child care services for low-income family members who work, train for work, or attend school. In New Mexico, the grant serves 19,800 children monthly and has provided $39,774,805 in total funds for child care and development.
Western New Mexico University has entered an agreement with Coca-Cola Company that includes a $10,000 sign-on bonus, benefiting the Department of Athletics among other areas. The contract with Coca-Cola includes the addition of new vending machines, recently installed across campus. WNMU will receive commissions from all sales. The sign-on bonus is just one of several benefits from the new partnership showing Coca-Cola’s dedication to the success of students in different areas including campus life and academics.
