You'll receive the Update on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
By Lynn Janes
The town of Bayard held a special meeting April 2, 2024. Attendance included Mayor John L. Ojinaga, Mayor Pro Tem Eloy Medina, councilors, Frances Gonzales, Eloy Gonzales, and Gilbert Ortiz. Tanya Ortiz, deputy clerk, also attended.  Â
Public inputÂ
[Editor's Note: The topic of the first three presenters in public input refers to the proposal to rehire the former clerk/treasurer at a salary of $120,000.]
Steve Potts, a resident of Bayard, said they all had been voted in and entrusted to keep the city financially sound. He commented that the city did not have much income and Bayard has to run on a tight budget. A lot of people working for the city make less than what they should be paid. "When you look at bringing someone back you must look at their past performance. Maybe they left because of more money. You can't offer more money than before. As a council you need to keep the budget." The city must rely on volunteers because the residents have been told the city does not have any money. He said if you hire someone for that much money many people will be asking questions and may not be willing to do so much for free.Â
[Editor's Note: This is the first of a potential several articles on the Gila Regional Board of Trustees meeting on March 20, 2024. It primarily covers the audit report.]
By Mary Alice Murphy
Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees Vice Chair Betty Vega led the meeting in the absence of Chair Dr. Fred Fox.
With no board comments or chair comments, Vega announced the recognitions. Although none of the recipients was present, Dr. Norman Ratliff received recognition for his 10 years of service as a cardiologist at Gila Regional. Kerri Henderson was recognized for her five years of service in nursing, and Meagan Kuehnlenz for five years of service in EMS (emergency medical services).
By Frost McGahey
Connie Holguin
Randy Hernandez[Editor's Note: This is part 1 of several articles, which have been done through an emailed questionnaire. This series covers only the local contested races in the Primary election. For the General Election every contested race candidate will receive a questionnaire a month or more before the General Election, for publication prior to early voting.]
 As a public service the Grant County Beat is asking Candidates questions so voters can determine who they want to vote for in the coming Democrat primary, June 4, 2024. Since there are no Republican contested races, the focus is on the races in the Democrat Primary. This is only a partially closed primary so Independent and Declined to State can vote in it.
Connie's answers are first followed by Randy's. (Ladies first)
Here are some key 2024 dates to remember:
These  links below pertain to any citizen living in the state of New Mexico. The option is to visit your local county clerk's office or call them for more information. For those in Grant County, the number to call is 575-574-0042.
By Frost McGahey, Investigative Journalist
Marisa Castrillo, Grant County ClerkIn the 2021 election for Town District 2, County Clerk Marisa Castrillo blocked Simon Wheaton-Smith from filing a Declaration of Candidacy on the filing day of August 24th. Â Castrillo claimed that since Wheaton-Smith hadn't lived in District 2 on the date of the governor's proclamation, (90 days ago) he was ineligible. Wheaton-Smith had been living in the district on the regular filing date of 70 days before the election.
(See excerpt from Candidate Guide at end of article. There is no election deadline in the proclamation law.*)
Before then a forum had been organized by the Silver City Press on August 6th to discuss what candidates needed to know in order to file.** The county had taken over the Town elections.Â
Southwest Desert/Lower Gila River Valley-Southeast Tularosa Basin-
Western El Paso County-Southern Hudspeth Highlands-Rio Grande
Valley of Eastern El Paso/Western Hudspeth Counties-Rio Grande
Valley of Eastern Hudspeth County-
Including the cities of Virden, Sierra Blanca, Tornillo, Downtown
El Paso, West El Paso, Lordsburg, Red Rock, Fort Hancock, Fabens,
Upper Valley, Indian Hot Springs, and Orogrande
Mon Apr 15 2024
WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.
Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.
NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.
Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders.
New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.
Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.
It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!
Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com
Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat. The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!
Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.
Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.
Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.
Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.
