Okay, I'll publicly say what a lot of others are talking about... but won't say too loud in public.
Hey, you people who are going around our community throwing eggs at our cars, painting on our buildings, breaking out windows on vehicles, tearing up things at the ball fields and the golf course, vandalizing our local schools, stealing ATV's, and burglarizing homes and businesses in our county... STOP IT! There's no excuse for you willfully destroying public and private property. We get it. You have a problem understanding that the malicious destruction of other people's property is wrong. Well, your activities are criminal. It is against the law. And when caught, it doesn't matter what your last name is or how old you are, you need to be punished for your crimes.
This isn't about it being summer time and kids don't have anything to do. This isn't about the youth of our community just playing a few pranks. I guess the young people who are supposedly causing these problems haven't read the 101 Things to Do in Silver City, because destroying things around town is not mentioned on that list.
There's no doubt that there are individuals who know the names of the people who are making a mess of our area. Hey... call Grant County Crime Stoppers (575-538-5254) and see if they will pay you money to give them evidence that leads to the prosecution of these criminals. I know, some of you will think it is terrible that I used the word criminals, but guess what... they are... and they need to be caught and prosecuted.
If you know some facts about a crime but are afraid to mention it to a local law enforcement officer because you are afraid that if the criminals find out there may be some form of retaliation, by calling Crime Stoppers your identity will not even be known by the police. Crime Stoppers promises callers that their information will be held in strict confidence. So do the right thing by calling Crime Stoppers at 575-538-5254.
Now for a little chamber of commerce news. The Silver City Grant County Chamber of Commerce will host its monthly lunch meeting on Thursday, August 6 at the WNMU Student Cafeteria Sunset Room. Speakers for the meeting will be Bruce Ashburn and Raul Turrieta.
Bruce Ashburn is with PNM. He will be presenting PNM Power-Up Grants to several local agencies. Raul Turrieta is the Grant County Assessor. Raul will discuss the new Tax Incremental Financing District for the historical downtown Silver City area. You'll learn how this is implemented and what the funds can be used for, as well as how it may impact the downtown area properties.
The meeting begins at 11:45 a.m. The cost for lunch is $15.00 per person. If you plan to attend, please RSVP immediately to the chamber of commerce office at 538-3785 or send an email message to sterry@silvercity.org.
Look, southwest New Mexico really is a darn nice place to live. We have our share of crime just like every other community in America. But when you weigh the negative aspects against the positive aspects... it's clear that Grant County, New Mexico is a wonderful place. Let's take care of some of these nagging problems. Let's celebrate the accomplishments of some outstanding organizations. Let's learn about some of the new ways our community is working to develop our downtown area.