Here’s a look at today’s headlines:

USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner will help celebrate the funding of three projects and the completion of a fourth project during a trip to Bayard and Silver City tomorrow, October 22nd.  The celebrations are being held for the following projects: the purchase of new police vehicles in Bayard, the upgrade of the water system in Bayard, funding to provide energy audits by the Town of Silver City, and a certificate of completion to the Southwest Bone and Joint Institute for completion of a solar panel project.

Approximately fifty people recently attended an informational meeting in Glenwood, NM about the Catwalk National Recreation Area reconstruction project. Representatives from the design build team, comprised of Albuquerque Underground, Inc. (AUI) and Bohannan Huston, Inc. (BHI) estimated the project will be completed by Memorial Day weekend, 2016.

Panelists spoke yesterday at a PFLAG event at the WNMU Center for Gender Equity as part of WNMU’s Glam Week.  Panelists included three local parents who spoke about their experiences with raising homosexual children.  Questions were answered about bullying, gender non-conformity, and the difference between upstanders and bystanders when it comes to raising a homosexual child.

The Bayard City Council will conduct a work session at 1:30 p.m. and a Regular Meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Monday October 26, 2015 at the Bayard City Hall. Items on the agenda relate to old and new business matters. A copy of the Agenda in its entirety may be obtained at the City Hall Administrative Office during regular business hours by the Friday before the scheduled meeting date. A Closed Executive Session will be held pursuant to State Statutes.

The Western New Mexico University men’s basketball team was picked to finish 16th in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. In the Western division, WNMU was selected eighth.  The Mustangs went 3-23 last season with a 3-19 mark in the RMAC finishing the season with a thrilling home win over New Mexico Highlands.

Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined the Senate in defeating a shortsighted and politically motivated bill, S. 2146, that would have undermined the nation’s immigration policy and withheld funding for law enforcement in so-called “sanctuary cities,” including many N.M. communities.

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement today after also voting against the bill that would punish sanctuary cities by withholding federal law enforcement funding: “This bill fails to offer pragmatic reforms needed to fix our broken immigration system, while jeopardizing critical funding for public safety. This is a politically driven effort that would punish cities that have worked hard to build community trust to reduce crime, including domestic violence. When residents feel comfortable contacting the police to report a crime, everyone is safer.