Grant County unveils safety alerts, water plan and Fort Bayard designs

Grant County officials and nearby municipal leaders rolled out a cluster of public-safety and infrastructure updates this week that will affect how residents get emergency notices, weigh in on historic-site planning, and manage water quality and wildfire risk across the region.

The Fort Bayard Revitalization Plan continued to move forward with a community workshop held January 7 at the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center. The meeting presented design options being developed for the Fort Bayard site and gave residents an opportunity to share feedback, ideas and their vision as the project team refines a plan described as created with and for the community. Organizers said the workshop is part of an ongoing effort to translate local priorities into streetscape, preservation and public-program proposals.

In another public-service development, Grant County will launch TextMyGov on January 12. The new text messaging platform centralizes mass notifications for emergencies, community events, government closures and severe weather alerts. TextMyGov will also become the county’s IPAWS Alert Origination Software Provider, ensuring federally routed emergency alerts continue to reach residents through the county’s systems. Officials say the platform will make it easier to push time-sensitive notices to phones across Hidalgo and Grant counties.

Meanwhile the City of Lordsburg has announced a violation of a drinking water requirement tied to its fluoride removal system. The city reported the fluoride removal system is currently out of service and that there are no plans to return the existing ion exchange system to operation. Instead, Lordsburg is pursuing an alternative treatment approach and is moving ahead with replacing the aging ion exchange equipment with a new reverse osmosis treatment plant. City officials pledged to continue issuing public notices and updates as the R.O. project advances. Residents with questions or concerns may call Martin Neave at 575-542-3421.

Forest managers in the Gila National Forest also stressed a local safety angle this week. The Wilderness Ranger District planned prescribed fire operations on January 7 and 8, pending required approvals, to burn slash piles from recent thinning work adjacent to private property in Cooney Canyon along the Rio Mimbres. The piles are located along Forest Road 150A, also known as Cooney Road, about six miles north of the Mimbres Valley. Operations are expected to continue through January as weather and conditions permit; crews say burns are aimed at reducing fuel near homes and private lands.

Our two cents? Turn on county alerts when TextMyGov goes live, keep an eye on city notices about the Lordsburg water project, follow Fort Bayard updates if you care about local history and recreation, and give forest crews space during prescribed burns so everyone in the valley stays safe.