WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Yvette Herrell (R-NM) has sent a letter to New Mexico Governor Michelle Grisham requesting that she deploy New Mexico's National Guard to the southern border to help address the record-breaking Biden Border Crisis. She was joined in her letter by Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), Rep. Any Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), and Rep. Gregory Steube (R-FL).

GRANTS, N.M. – The Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments held its annual luncheon in Cibola County at Coyote Del Malpais Golf Course on July 28. A large white tent was set up outside the clubhouse, encompassing decorated tables set up for many guests, coming from all across Cibola County and New Mexico. After guests arrived, they signed into the sign-in sheet, grabed a ticket, and took their seats. The event began roughly around noon, and as guests settled in, Grants Councilman Erik Garcia, District 1, gave the welcoming address in place of Grants Mayor Martin “Modey” Hicks, who did not attend the luncheon.

GRANTS, N.M. – New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richards popped into Grants for an informal meeting with community members to discuss ideas and see what the community needs are in Cibola County. County Commissioner Christine Lowery and State Representative Eliseo Lee Alcon were the only two elected officials in attendance, but the City of Grants had Marketing Director Chris Roybal and the county had Planning Coordinator Anna Larson present at the informal meeting. Economic development Coordinator Eileen Yarborough was also present. This meeting included discussions of Cibola’s natural beauty and the county’s ability to leverage its public lands for tourism.

GRANTS, N.M. – The Cibola County Senior Center has managed their way through the COVID-19 pandemic and is ready to start reintegrating regular services, but some COVID-safe practices will remain for the future, along with some services which were added during the highpoints of the pandemic. One of these remaining programs is the Grab-and-Go meal initiative which started as the pandemic shut down the congregate lunch settings that visitors to the senior citizens center was accustomed to. Secretary of the Aging and Long-Term Services Department Katrina Hotrum-Lopez spent the day of July 28 in Grants, NM, viewing the senior center and speaking with its staff.

CITY OF GRANTS, N.M. – Mayor Martin “Modey” Hicks declared a state of emergency for the City of Grants on July 16. This order mandated that citizens cut back on watering their grass but was implemented because Ramah declared a state of emergency of their own due to their water table lowering. Citizens aren’t the only ones asked to cut back on their watering, the city itself has similarly cut back on watering the city’s parks.

MILAN, N.M. – The Village of Milan Police Department had been undergoing a period of dysfunction, with internal strife causing a work environment that many officers at MPD have remarked as uncomfortable. Police Chief Carl Ustupski has already begun to turn around the department, instituting policy changes and hiring new officers to help keep the village safe.

CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – The American Rescue Plan is setting many plans into motion in communities across the United States, including Cibola County. Due to the way in which the ARP funding will be released, some plans and projects may begin before others. One of the projects that is supposed to be coming into fruition very soon in Cibola County is the Text My Gov program. Cibola County Planning Coordinator Anna Larson said the program could be installed and in active use as soon as in the next month or 45 days.

Last week, I attended an online conference with a few dozen researchers who all had one thing in common: they all study the curly top virus. Some of them were virologists who work on all kinds of viral pathogens. Others were entomologists who study how the virus is transmitted from plant to plant via the beet leafhopper. Some study this virus specifically in sugar beet production. Others study how it affects spinach or chile. This summer at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas, we’re studying tomatoes, another curly top victim, and how shade cloth might help home gardeners by either protecting plants from the tiny, jumping insect vector (tiny, as in a skinny grain of rice) or by reducing sun and heat stress on the plants and thereby reducing water requirements.