New report will be issued on Mondays and include weekend data

Santa Fe–The New Mexico Department of Health on Friday announced that it will no longer release a daily COVID-19 case count report on Saturdays and Sundays. Instead, the state will provide a consolidated weekend report on Mondays. Day-by-day breakdowns of case counts for Saturday and Sunday will no longer be available.

Note: DOH has also shifted the time frame covered by its daily Epidemiology and Response Division reports – which include the daily case count press release. Instead of reporting from noon to noon the following day, these reports will now cover the period of midnight to midnight the following day. This change took effect today, April 9, and covers the case count press release issued early this afternoon.

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BIA Mescalero Agency Acting Chief of Police, Joe Keel recently recognized Lt. Justin Apachito, SA Collin Pilcher, Conservation Officer Ryan Martinez and Conservation Officer James Oree Peralto for their professionalism and dedication to fellow Law Enforcement Officers and the citizens they serve.

They displayed a tremendous amount of proficiency in their duties as they apprehended a violent armed suspect under the influence of amphetamines.

All officers are being nominated for the Meritorious Service Award for their heroic and unselfish actions.

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Also being recognized is BIA Police Officer James Satterfield for exhibiting such professionalism and dedication to fellow Law Enforcement Officers and the citizens he serves throughout several occasions.

His remarkable knowledge and conduct lead him to save the lives of several individuals who were suffering from potentially fatal conditions such as overdoses, blood loss and strangulation.

For this heroic and unselfish acts, Police Officer James Satterfield is being nominated for the BIA OJS Life Saving Award.

Each officer’s display of commitment and loyalty speaks volumes of their expertise and their commitment to the membership of the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

They have all brought integrity to their career by expressing their readiness to face challenges ahead of them.

The Mescalero Apache Tribe applauds each officer for their exceptional efforts in protecting and serving our people, thank you.

Congratulations to all officers!

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As of April 8, 2021:

*Includes testing by IHS & NMDOH

**New cases: 4 (since 3-23-21) (average of 0.25 cases/day)

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For more information on the Mescalero Child Welfare & Family Services click here.

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SANTA FE, NM

On April 5, 2021 President Gabe Aguilar along with two members of the Tribal Council, Bernalyn Via and Danny Breuninger, went to witness an historic signing at the Roundhouse by the governor.

Many tribal leaders from across New Mexico were also in attendance as they have been anticipating this moment for quite sometime.

House Bill 6 is extremely important to the Tribe, as with other Tribes, Nations and Pueblos of New Mexico, because it improves educational resources for our Native American students.

Specifically, HB6 will impact students who attend school districts off the reservation that have greater amounts of Native American students enrolled in that school district.

The Mescalero Apache Tribe especially thanks Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico Secretary of Indian Affairs Department Lynn Trujillo and many others who pushed efforts on getting the bill passed.

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More information about the position here and information about FDTRC here.

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SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday visited Aspen Elementary School in Los Alamos as more students, educators and school staff prepare to safely re-enter the classroom this week as part of New Mexico’s return to full in-person learning.

“I was glad to have the opportunity to visit with students and educators today,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “I know so many all across our state are incredibly excited to safely get back to class – my granddaughter Avery was no exception this morning. I look forward to a continued successful and safe re-entry and want educators and school staff to know: This state will always have your back.”

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The governor was given a tour of the school by two Aspen Elementary School fifth graders and guided through the school’s COVID-safe practices before greeting a few classes in session and speaking with educators and school staff.

The Public Education Department expects all school districts will be back in full – though families retain the option of remaining in the hybrid or remote model – this week. This comes after a month of preparation and vaccination of educators and school staff – and more than a full year after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the closure of school buildings. As of last week, almost a third of the state’s school districts were already offering full in-person learning.

On March 8, Public Education Secretary Ryan Stewart announced the state’s goal of all public schools reaching full re-entry by April 5. All schools had previously been in the remote model until Sept. 8; most elementary schools were eligible for the hybrid category in the fall; all schools became eligible for the hybrid model Feb. 8; and all schools are now eligible for full reentry, which means all students can return to their school buildings for in-person each school day.

As part of the April 5 goal, the state of New Mexico committed to accelerating the vaccinations of school personnel, including educators and staff. All of New Mexico’s nearly 51,000 K-12 educators and school staff had been offered the COVID-19 vaccine as of March 31, according to the Public Education Department, which in coordination with the New Mexico Department of Health worked throughout the month of March to vaccinate all educators and school staff as part of a federal initiative to accelerate a safe return to full classroom re-entry.

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SANTA FE, N.M. – Interagency public land management partners from Arizona and New Mexico have worked to develop a map-based tool to inform the public about fire restrictions on public lands. Partner agencies, under the Southwest Coordinating Group, have worked to develop a new informational web tool that went live Monday, April 5, 2021. The new web tool is designed to provide the public with fire restrictions information for public lands that is easy to find and understand, as well as linking the users to the agencies managing those public lands for more detailed information for trip planning.  

Fire restrictions can be found by visiting the following locations: 

• In Arizona, the fire restriction information web-tool can be found by visiting: wildlandfire.az.gov 
• In New Mexico, the fire restriction information web-tool can be found by visiting: NMFireInfo.com 

Fire restrictions are implemented in an effort to help decrease human-caused fires during periods of high fire potential by restricting activities which are the most common causes of wildfires. By providing a resource with accurate and timely information, the goal is to educate and increase compliance, therefore reducing preventable human-caused fires. 

Partner agencies in this effort include National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, and the New Mexico Forestry Division.  

Know before you go! Always check for fire restrictions before you head outdoors. Do your part in keeping our residents, property, and wildlands safe from unwanted, human-caused fires.  

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Mescalero community member, Frances Jolene Blake, enjoyed this time of year. She especially loved the joy it brought to all the little children. This year, in memory of Jolene, her family is donating 500 plastic eggs to the Community Easter Egg Hunt.

A huge THANK YOU to the family for generous donation!!

This is what they want to share:

“During the month of February 2021, our dearly beloved “Jolo” (Frances Jolene Blake) put forth every effort to purchase over 500 plastic eggs, to fill them with candy, so they could be ready for the Community Easter Egg Hunt. Jolene loved little children so much, she wanted to do this to show our children of Mescalero just how much they meant to her. So today, March 31, 2021, for the community hunt, the family prepared the eggs she bought, filled them with candy, and is donating them all to the Mescalero Apache Tribe, so Jolene’s wish can be fulfilled.

The memory of her kind heart and compassion for “little children” will live on going forth. Thank you everyone for being a part of this special event.

Here are a couple of pictures of what our “Jolo” wanted!

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“A limb has fallen from the family tree… but the cherished memories will remain in our hearts forever. Enjoy your family, your loved ones. God bless you all”.

From the family of FRANCES JOLENE BLAKE “Jolo”, we wish you a blessed, joyous and memorable Easter!

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