Staying Safe this Holiday Season

San Juan County Fire and Rescue wish you a safe and fire free holiday season and have some tips for doing just that. The New Mexico Office of the Natural Resource Trustee has announced over $28 million of grant proposals have been received for the $10 million settlement for the Gold King Mine and Farmington Municipal Schools Art Coordinator is recognized by the New Mexico Art Education Association. You’re watching the Local News Roundup, brought to you by Three Rivers Brewing and Boon’s Family Thai BBQ. I’m Hayley Opsal. Farmington Municipal Schools announced that Coordinator of Fine Arts, Daniel Fear, has been named the 2022 Art Administrator of the Year by the New Mexico Art Education Association. Fear joined the school district in April, 2016, and in that time, Farmington Municipal Schools has been recognized as a Best Community for Music Education by the National Association for Music Merchants Foundation for six consecutive years. The district has also received the New Mexico Music Educators Association’s District of Distinction three times. Fear thanked the teachers he worked with and mentioned how privileged he felt to work with them in the arts. Saying, “Working with them as an advocate for arts education across our beautiful state is also a highlight. In advocacy, we are fierce fighters with wildly creative ideas and driving perseverance to improve what we are able to provide to all students with increased equity and opportunities.” Learn more about Farmington Municipal Schools at District.fms.k12.nm.us. The New Mexico Office of the Natural Resources Trustee announced it has received 17 proposals totaling $28 million for the $10 million settlement from the Gold King mine spill. Proposals were submitted at the end of October, and are for projects that addressed the restoration of injured natural resources from the spill. San Juan County submitted three proposals and the City of Farmington submitted one. The City of Aztec submitted two proposals and the City of Bloomfield submitted one. The New Mexico Tourism Department also submitted one proposal and New Mexico State Parks submitted four proposals. The New Mexico Office of the Natural Resource Trustee is currently reviewing proposals and will release a draft plan prioritizing projects for funding, most likely in the middle to end of January. As the proposals combined, ask for more money than is allocated in the settlement. A 30 to 60 day public comment period will follow the draft plan publication. Learn more about the process at the New Mexico Office of Natural Resources Trustee at ornt.env.nm.gov. Between 2016 and 2020, United States Fire Departments responded to an average of 160 house fires a year started by Christmas trees. San Juan County Fire and Rescue wants you to have a safe and fireless holiday season and has some tips for keeping your home festive and safe. Keep pets and children at least three feet away from burning candles and electrical cords. If you have a live tree for Christmas, keep it watered and your floor clean of pine needle debris. Double check all lights. Make sure there are no bulbs that are out or exposed cable. Read the instructions to ensure you are using them in the appropriate environment and don’t overload sockets with multiple strings of lights. No matter how cute something looks, keep flammable items away from heating sources. Safely dispose of live Christmas trees after the holiday. For more tips and tricks, follow San Juan County Fire and Rescue on Facebook. That’s it for this week’s Local News Roundup. I’m Hayley Opsal.