Community News

Gila Basin Irrigation Commission

September 16, 2024

Minutes
By B.J. Agnew

[Editor's Note: The "we" and "us" in the minutes refer to the GBIC .]

Gila Basin Irrigation Chair David Ogilvie Commission called the September 16, 2024, meeting to order at 6:05 pm at the conference Room at Amplified Therapy, Cliff, New Mexico.

Present: Destre Shelley, Wendel Hann, Martha Cooper, Jubal Williamson, Neil Kaspar, David Ogilvie, Lindy Williamson, Don Stailey, Linda Stailey, Jennifer Kaspar, Peter Russell, Gregor Hamilton, Lester Ivins, Rose Shoemaker, BJ Agnew. And, via Zoom, Priscilla Lucero, Maya Clifford, and Autumn Bruton.

WNMU students plant trees as part of the university's Arbor Day celebration, Sept. 20, 2024SILVER CITY, NM – While most people associate Arbor Day with the month of April, Western New Mexico University held its own Arbor Day celebration Friday, September 20, 2024.

Holding the annual celebration is one of the standards that WNMU maintains to be an official Tree Campus, named by the Arbor Day Foundation through its Tree Campus Higher Education program. The university has held this status since 2023.

Welcome to our first newsletter:

Greetings from the Southwest Regional Art Museum... 

Thank you being a supporter of our plans to establish a Fine Art Museum in Silver City. Our newsletter hopes to inform those who are interested about our progress. Our newsletter is intended to bring you news about our progress for the Museum as well as  information about the art we currently have in our collections.

Contents:

Why an Art Museum?

From the Permanent Collection

The MAKE THE MUSEUM Capital Campaign    

WHY WE ARE NEEDED AND WHAT IS PLANNED

Mario Lopez Kirker
Father, Veteran, New Mexican.

Mario L. Kirker was born November 26, 1925 in Santa Rita, Grant County, NM now referred to as "Born in Space" to residents of the area. The town of Santa Rita was located on top of what is now the open copper pit years ago; there was too much copper under the town so many of the homes were moved to other small towns in the area. The mine was the home of the former Kennecott Copper Corporation, Phelps Dodge and now Freeport-McMoRan. Mario was the oldest of the five (5) boys and one (1) sister born to Juan and Rita Kirker.

Mario attended kindergarten and first year of elementary school in Santa Rita beginning in 1934. The Santa Rita building was considered an exceptional school structure at the time due to its red brick along with running water, electricity and dual outhouses behind the building, one for each sex. The most difficult obstacle encountered was the language barrier. Many students conversed in Spanish while the teachers spoke English. Students were discouraged from speaking a "foreign" language; those caught were disciplined with a paddling.

WNMU Writer-in-Residence JJ Amaworo Wilson speaks to the audience at the Banned Books Week event at J. Cloyd Miller Library, Sept. 17, 2024SILVER CITY, NM—Western New Mexico University recognized Banned Books Week on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, with an event in J. Cloyd Miller Library.

Miller Library Director Samantha Johnson opened the event by speaking about how the American Library Association created Banned Book Week over forty years ago to call attention to the increase in challenges to books in libraries, bookstores and schools. "Unfortunately," she said, "we are still dealing with the problem of censorship in libraries today, as well."

(Photo L to R) Local DAR members Margaret Shoemaker, Suzan Garrison (DAR Southwest NM District Director), Brenda Tozier, Gail Firebaugh Smith, Cecilia Bell, Chapter Regent Lucy Whitmarsh and Diane LeBlanc with guest speaker Dr. Thomas Chávez and American Legion Post 18 members John Sterle, Ron Ogelsby and Charlie LeBlanc.SILVER CITY, NEW MEXICO: Thomas E. Chávez, PhD, gave an exceptional and interesting presentation to a large audience on "Spain and the World War that Resulted in the Independence of the United States" on September 19, 2024 at The Murray Hotel Ballroom in Silver City. Attendees learned how Spain and France played significant roles in the United States gaining its independence from Great Britain. He also noted other lesser-known American Revolutionary War patriots who served in what is now the State of New Mexico.

SILVER CITY, NM – Going to college was never part of the plan when WNMU undergraduate Kelly Snyder was younger. "I dropped out of high school when I was like fifteen," said Snyder. "I grew up outside of Philadelphia, and I pretty much lived on the streets for a long time in Philly."

After having her two daughters, however, Snyder knew she needed to make a change in her life, so her first move was to leave Philadelphia and settle in New Mexico. "I just got tired of everything [in the city], the rat race and everything," she explained. "I just needed to get out of there and change my lifestyle."

By Frost McGahey

Eddie Flores, who is running County Commissioner for District 4, spoke to voters on Monday, September 14th. Billy Billings is not running again because he is term limited. Flores speech started off with a question.

"Why are the roads so bad in this county? There's got to be a way to improve them. Chip sealing is only a temporary solution," he said. One woman declared that she gets a cracked windshield every time they do chip sealing on her road.