There are observations all day long for the Winter Solstice on Saturday, Dec. 21. Chaco Canyon hosts a sunrise observation, Farmington Public Library will host a noon observation, and Aztec Ruins National Monument will celebrate a sunset observation. Each will feature a celestial alignment with the shortest day of the year. Farmington Municipal Schools encourages students, staff, and families to take advantage of free webinars addressing mental health, student safety, and more through the district’s partnership with Daybreak Health. The City of Bloomfield announced the installation of a Safe Haven Baby Box at the Bloomfield Fire Department. Safe Haven Baby Boxes are an option for parents who don’t feel like they have an alternative to safely surrender and infant to local authorities. The baby box is the 289th baby box to be installed in the United States. By Hannah Robertson. This story is sponsored by Three Rivers Brewery and M&R Plumbing.
Learn More
Chaco Canyon – https://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm
Farmington Public Library – https://www.infoway.org/welcome
Aztec Ruins National Monument – https://www.nps.gov/azru/index.htm
Farmington Municipal Schools – https://www.farmingtonschools.us/
Farmington Municpal Schools Webinar Information – https://www.farmingtonschools.us/article/1900032
Daybreak Health – https://www.daybreakhealth.com/
City of Bloomfield – https://www.bloomfieldnm.gov/
Safe Haven Baby Box – https://www.shbb.org/
Three Rivers Brewery – https://www.threeriversbrewery.com/
M&R Plumbing – https://www.mandrhomeservices.com/
Transcript
Celestial alignments abound for this year’s winter solstice. From sunrise to sundown, there are opportunities to observe the sun on the shortest day of the year. Farmington Municipal Schools is offering free health webinars to staff, students, and families. And the City of Bloomfield recently held a ceremony for the installation of a Safe Haven Baby Box, the 295th in the country. You’re watching the Local News Roundup, brought to you by Three Rivers Brewery and M&R Plumbing. I’m Connor Shreve. Whether it’s your first time observing the winter solstice or your 100th time, San Juan County is full of places to observe. Chaco Culture National Historic Park will host a sunrise observation. The park will open at 6:30 AM for the first 100 visitors, and the observation will take place at the Kletso Great House, where the sunrise aligns with the northern wall. Warm up at Farmington Public Library, where the sun will align with the winter solstice marker at 12 noon. Arrive by 11:15 to enjoy performances by the Delbert Anderson Trio and storytelling by Dovie Thomason. At the end of the day, make your way to Aztec Ruins National Monument to observe the sunset, which aligns with the back wall of the Aztec West Greathouse. Observers are asked to arrive by 4:30 for the sunset at 4:59. All events are free. Farmington Municipal Schools is offering a variety of free webinars to students, families, and staff through a partnership with Daybreak Health. The webinars address multiple topics important to mental health and wellbeing, including topics like substance abuse, bullying, deescalation strategies, building powerful student relationships, and more. Webinars are offered once a month. Find information on upcoming webinars and sign up on the Farmington Municipal School website. On December 6th, the Bloomfield Fire Station became the location of the 295th Safe Haven Baby Box in the US. A Safe Haven Baby Box provides an alternative for parents who don’t feel like they have an alternative to surrender an infant to a local authority safely. The box has an opening for the child to be placed in. Once the infant is in the box, a silent alarm alerts both a remote monitoring company and the local emergency dispatch center. The box will be locked from the outside and can only be accessed from inside the station, where the infant can receive the necessary medical care. The New Mexico Legislature has set aside $10,000 per county to help fund the installation of Safe Haven Boxes in every county. These Weekly Roundups will return January 8th. The team at the Local News Network wishes you and yours a happy, safe, and warm holiday season. Thank you for watching this edition of the Local News Roundup. I’m Connor Shreve.
