At their Tuesday evening work session, the Hurley Town Council discussed the possibility of designating zoning districts a first for the Mining District community. Over the past few months, councilors have intermittently discussed the necessity of creating an ordinance regulating retail sale and production of cannabis within the municipality, but it has become clear that establishing zoning districts would have to occur first. In addition to the ordinance and …
It has been many months since Hurley has had two of its own police officers patrolling its streets, but as of last week, the town has welcomed a second officer to the department. At the Hurley Town Council meeting Wednesday, Mayor Ed Stevens not only welcomed new officer Brandon Hannes, but also thanked returning town employees and council members as they embark together on another year. The gain of an …
May 12, 2021
Arrest leaves Hurley without police force – at least for now Written by Nickolas Seibel on May 12, 2021
By HANNAH DUMAS
Daily Press Correspondent
The town of Hurley may be without a police department, at least temporarily, after the community’s sole remaining police officer was arrested early Tuesday morning in Deming.
According to the Luna County Detention Center, Alyxis Rose Gonzalez was in custody there as of 8 a.m. Tuesday.
“That is a personnel matter,” Hurley Mayor Ed Stevens told the Daily Press on Tuesday evening. “We cannot discuss that.”
He declined to comment further.
The shortage caused by the officer’s arrest will be covered by the Bayard Police Department, as well as the county, Stevens said. While there has been an ongoing discussion about consolidating the Hurley and Bayard police forces, the Hurley Town Council’s decision earlier this year was to keep its own force. Whether the de
By The Daily Press Staff
The budget for Hurley’s next fiscal year may be in its early stages, but one thing already seems likely: For the first time since 2018, town employees can expect a significant pay raise come July 1.
Hurley’s Town Council held a special meeting Monday evening to move forward on some key engineering projects for the town, followed by a 30-minute work session dedicated to the community’s budget for the 2022 fiscal year. During the work session, Town Clerk Lori Ortiz laid out her preliminary budget for Hurley’s government.
Overall, the outlook was positive. Despite the pandemic, Ortiz said, FY 2021 has been a good one for the municipality.
(Daily Press File Photo)
Construction workers make headway on the Hurley water project along U.S. 180 early in 2020. The project was beset by difficulties this year, mainly involving the two new wells drilled west of town to produce water for the municipality, which has always depended on water provided by the Chino Mines Company.
The town of Hurley still has plans for moving forward in the new year on a yearslong water supply project that hit several snags in early 2020, as well as the consolidation of its police department with Bayard’s. The Hurley project included drilling wells to provide water for its residents independent of mining company Freeport-McMoRan, which has been selling the town water since it became an incorporated municipality in 1956. Hurley was originally constructed as a company town for the smelter of the Chino Mines Company, now owned by Freeport-McMoRan. The mine has continued to extend its agreement to sell water to the town since Hurley embarked on its