Community News

WNMU President Dr. Joseph Shepard addresses the crowd at the dedication of "Once Upon a Time," a new mural at the WNMU Child Development Center, August 15, 2024. The mural was created by students in the Youth Mural Program, led by artist Diana Ingalls Leyba. Photo Courtesy of WNMU.SILVER CITY, NM - Western New Mexico University and the Youth Mural Program dedicated a new mural at the Child Development Center on campus Thursday, August 15, 2024. The mural, titled "Once Upon a Time," has been in progress since 2021.

The Child Development Center is part of the New Mexico Center of Excellence for Early Childhood Education. The center received its legislative distinction for having developed a full-service center that has been providing early childhood and family services for decades.

By Frost McGahey

On Monday, August 12, Tom Shelley, candidate for county commission District 5, spoke to a group of voters. Shelley had run for the district in 2020 and lost by 35 votes, 1265 to 1300. When asked why he was running again, Shelley replied, "I feel some of the county commissioners are drifting away from what helps families and businesses. They are not focusing on local issues.

I'm appalled that the current district 5 commissioner pushed to take Gila Water decisions away from the three counties that rely on Gila Water."

Madeleine Nittmo serves as the Outreach and Instruction Librarian for WNMU. In this role, she aids students through any stage of the research processSILVER CITY, NM - Outreach and Instruction Librarian Madeleine Nittmo has only been with WNMU since last January, but she has been on the path to becoming a librarian since high school. She was mentored along the way by an observant school librarian who recognized her passion when Nittmo was a high school senior. "I have always been a big reader," said Nittmo, "and the district librarian noticed that, and she came up to me and said, 'I can tell you how to become a librarian.' She told me all the steps: this is what you need to do, this is the program you need to be in. So, the minute I went to college, I had a very clear path, and I never diverted from that. I have always had my eye on it from the very beginning."

HMS recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Mimbres Clinic with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, August 1st. The new facility boasts two exam rooms, a procedure room, and a designated lab area to cater to the healthcare needs of the community.

Patients at the Mimbres Clinic will have access to the expertise of Meagan Montoya, DNP, FNP-BC, a dedicated healthcare provider committed to serving her community. Meagan was born and raised in the Mimbres area, where she is deeply rooted and thrilled to care for the community that shaped and raised her. She is passionate about preventative medicine, improving overall well-being, and advocating for her patients to have the best care and access to resources as possible. "My primary goal as a provider is to serve as a resource for our patients to utilize to achieve their optimal health," stated Meagan Montoya.

SILVER CITY, NM, August 12, 2024 –The Gila National Forest has had some long-standing vacancies in its ranger staff, leaving members of the public scratching their heads when it comes to reaching out to their local District Ranger, and the forest has been remiss in announcing those changes. We would like to rectify that omission to clarify who's who in Gila National Forest leadership.

The Glenwood Ranger District's former District Ranger, Brian Stultz, has been reappointed and is now the permanent Wilderness District Ranger, leaving a vacancy at Glenwood.

Elizabeth Toney is currently the Acting District Ranger for the Glenwood Ranger District, in addition to her duties as the Silver City District Ranger. In order to provide greater support in this expanded ranger role, Tony Ybarra, Wildlife Biologist for the Silver City Ranger District, has accepted an appointment as Acting Deputy District Ranger for the Silver City and Glenwood ranger districts.

Natalee DrissellSilver City, NM, August 8, 2024—The board of directors of PFLAG Silver City is pleased to announce this year's recipients of the Nancy Kailing Memorial Scholarship at Western New Mexico University. The two students are Natalee Drissell and Dade Girven.

Ms. Drissell, of Silver City, is a sophomore at WNMU majoring in Fine Arts. She is an active member of the Queers and Allies, Art, and Horticulture Clubs at the university. She is also a member of the LGBTQ Grant County board of directors and involved in the production of the Silver City Pride Festival. Ms. Drissell states, "When I enter a classroom or a meeting, I lead with the respect I would like others to show me."

Dade Girven is from Ruidoso, NM and is a psychology major at WNMU. While a student at Ruidoso High School, he was one of the founders of the Gardening Club. He explains, "The Gardening Club became the defacto queer student club because of how many LGBTQ+ students it attracted."

Jamie Thomson and Chris Lemme of Silver City Recycles monitor composted sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in a demonstration project funded by the Town of Silver City to show that processed human waste can be successfully diverted from the landfill, and instead composted for large-scale agricultural, parks and other uses.Silver City -- Where some see waste, others see opportunity. Jamie Thomson and Chris Lemme of the non-profit Silver City Recycles have partnered with the Town of Silver City in a fairly simple yet profoundly promising demonstration project to transform solids from the wastewater treatment plant - a hazardous waste - into compost.

On behalf of Silver City Recycles, Lemme and Thomson presented a detailed proposal to Town Manager Alex Brown, who agreed to give the non-profit $15,000 to fund the demonstration project. Human waste, even after processing, is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a bio hazard, and is currently disposed of in the local landfill, a difficult and potentially dangerous process for landfill workers, and a costly one for the town. Disposal of this waste costs the town nearly $57,000 annually, and volatile, airborne compounds are a potential health hazard to landfill workers, who "absolutely hate dealing with this stuff," said Lemme.

"We're really grateful to town management for partnering with us on this project," he added. "In just one week we've already succeeded in establishing that this is a viable project that can be scaled to provide compost for agricultural use, town parks and many other uses."

Western New Mexico University would receive $9M with the passage of Higher Education Bond 3, which is on the ballot this November. Across the state, projects funded by the bond would help educate more pharmacists, expand trade and technical education, renovate and enhance New Mexico's agricultural science and research centers, create centers for early childhood development, boost workforce training, make campuses safer, advance science and space education, and much more—all without raising property tax ratesSILVER CITY, NM—In a presidential election year, when most voters' attention is directed to the top of the ticket, it can be easy to overlook other key items that are also on the ballot. This year, one of those items is Higher Education Bond 3, which provides essential funding for New Mexico's public colleges, universities and specialty schools. This General Obligation Bond would deliver $229,565,000 funding without raising the property tax rate.

The projects to be funded by Higher Education Bond 3 range from renovation of the College of Pharmacy at the University of New Mexico to upgrades to the agricultural science and experimentation stations run by New Mexico State University around the state. All of the projects are designed to ensure students have the tools and learning environments they need to excel.