Salma Barragan, a senior at Centennial High School, was named the 2022 first alternate distinguished young woman of New Mexico, Distinguished Young Women of New Mexico (DYWNM) State Program Chair Dora Jasso announced to the Bulletin. more

Mesilla Valley Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) was burglarized in late October and is asking for the community’s help in recovering from the losses sustained in the burglary. more

Las Cruces Bulletin staff members came home from the New Mexico Press Association annual awards banquet Saturday, Oct. 30, with several recognitions. “Our team here at the Bulletin works … more

“It is such an exciting time to get to be undersecretary for Rural Development, as we are about to see this historic investment in rural America,” Xochitl Torres Small said in an Oct. 28 online interview with the Bulletin. Torres Small of Las Cruces was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in mid-October as the undersecretary for Rural Development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In 2019-20, Torres Small was the U.S. representative for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. She lost re-election in 2020 to current U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-N.M. more

New Mexico’s prison population continued a downward trend in August 2021, with prisons holding an average of 5,794 inmates (5,266 men and 528 women), a 0.6 percent decrease compared with July 2021 and a 7.2 percent decrease compared with August 2020. The numbers were part of the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee’s (LFC) September 2021 news release. more

It appears the City of Las Cruces will have an all-female city council for the first time since the city’s first election in 1907. Unofficial returns show that 11.2 percent, or 14,434 of Doña Ana County’s approximately 128,000 eligible voters, cast ballots in the election, the county clerk’s office said in a news release. That compares to a 16 percent turnout in 2019. more

Once a year, the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce hosts “Thanks Team WSMR” an event held at White Sands Missile Range to give back to the soldiers, their families and civilians on … more

New Mexico State University anthropology students had the chance to participate in the first professional excavation and exploration of an archeological site in southeastern Utah inhabited by ancestors of the Pueblo people. more

New Mexico State University’s sixth annual Military and Veterans Appreciation Week is Saturday, Nov. 6-Friday, Nov. 12, NMSU said in a news release. more

Robert Kirker of Las Cruces is planning a trip with his two daughters to Ireland some time in 2022 to visit the home of his great-grandfather, who was born near Belfast, emigrated to the United States in the early 19th century and lived and traveled throughout the U.S. and northern Mexico, working as a privateer during the War of 1812 and as a scout in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War and the Indian Wars of the American West. more

Doña Ana Community College (DACC) will receive $4.9 million over the next five years in grant funds for its Éxito project to assist Hispanic and low-income students, DACC said in a news release. The grant will assist DACC Hispanic and low-income students in the areas of academic achievement, graduation, transfer and career success. The funding comes from a U.S. Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) STEM grant. more

Las Cruces Public Schools administration is working through transportation logistics after learning that union drivers with STS New Mexico went on strike Thursday morning. According to district officials, approximately 3,500 LCPS students depend on bus transportation to get to and from school. more

GFWC Progress Club of Las Cruces has been in existence for more than a century and remains one of the community’s hidden gems. In 2020-21, the club’s 50 members completed 53 projects, contributing more than 18,400 volunteer hours, raising and donating nearly $15,000 to local groups and organizations and generating another nearly $59,000 in in-kind donations from its membership. The club also hosted a very successful golf tournament (see sidebar). more

J.M. Carriere VWF Post 10124, 709 S. Valley Drive in Las Cruces, will host Stand Down, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, at the post to provide assistance to military veterans who are homeless or at risk of being homeless, Len Hampton, the VFW National Council member for New Mexico, said in a news release. more

The Las Cruces City Council unanimously approved an allocation of $3.75 million from the city’s Telshor Facility Fund (TFF) to pay for renovations to a new Casa de Peregrinos (CdP) food rescue warehouse just north of the Mesilla Valley Community of Hope (MVCH) campus, 999 W. Amador Ave. Overcrowding at CdP’s food pantry at MVCH has placed a strain on facilities, staff, volunteers, clients and the rest of the MVCH campus, the city said in a news release. more

Christa Schafer was the winner and Ayana Pai, the runner-up in the Miss New Mexico USA competition held this summer at Hotel Encanto. Both are from Las Cruces. Schafer, Miss Las Cruces 2021, is the daughter of Howard and Trina Schafer. Pai, Miss Doña Ana 2021, is the daughter of Prasanna and Dr. Sangeeth Shanbhag Pai. The winner of the Miss New Mexico Teen USA, held the same evening, was Emily Lehr, who also holds the title of Miss Alamogordo Teen USA. The runner-up was Miss Albuquerque Teen USA Jade Vargas. more

The number of teacher vacancies in New Mexico has nearly doubled in the last year, according to a report by New Mexico State University’s Southwest Outreach Academic Research Evaluation & Policy Center (SOAR). The report found that the number of teacher vacancies rose from 571 in 2020 to just more than 1,000 in 2021. more

Turning Point of Las Cruces, a nonprofit that provides information and assistance with planned and unplanned pregnancies, is getting a new home. At a fundraiser held Thursday night, Sept. 30, at New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Turning Point Director Debbie Taylor announced that the Rawson family of Las Cruces has donated a building to the organization at 705 N. Main St. that will double Turning Point’s size. more

Mesquite Elementary School (Gadsden Independent School District) Principal Angela Marie Silvaggio is one of eight school leaders nationally to receive the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership award for 2021 from the U.S. Department of Education. The award honors principals of national blue ribbon schools for their outstanding work and the vital role they play in guiding their students and schools to excellence, frequently under challenging circumstances, the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) said in a news release. more

Lorynn Guerrero, who teaches English language arts at New America School-Las Cruces (NASLC), has been named 2022 New Mexico Teacher Of The Year (TOTY). The announcement was made Oct. 22 by New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) Sec. Kurt Steinhaus. more