On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state health and workplace safety officials announced enhanced COVID-19 mitigation efforts including new safety requirements at food and drink establishments offering limited indoor-dining options, a targeting of higher-risk hotspot places of business reporting clusters of infections and statewide mandatory closing time of 10 pm for retail entities among other measures effective Friday, October 23, 2020.

Lincoln National Forest has moved from a Moderate to Very High Fire Danger Rating. The public is urged to use extreme caution.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 announced the state of New Mexico will implement, and in some cases re-implement, several public health regulations to stem the alarming rise of COVID-19 illnesses statewide. The governor and state health officials will, effective Friday, Oct. 16, append the following changes to the public health order and associated public health guidance documents.

In an effort to help small businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Village of Ruidoso recently applied for and received $2,787,792 from the State of New Mexico. Of that amount, $1,171,500 was earmarked specifically for loans to small businesses in the Village that have suffered economic hardship during the past seven months.

The Village of Ruidoso was successful in obtaining approval from the New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) for the financing of a new Magistrate-District Court building. Having the court building centrally located in Ruidoso will be beneficial and convenient not only to residents of the Village of Ruidoso and out to other surrounding areas of Lincoln County.

For the first time since 1986, the Village of Ruidoso recently applied for a Community Development Grant to improve the Town and Country Subdivision. Last week, Village management was notified that its application was ranked #1 in the state and was fully funded the maximum amount of $750,000.00. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring and is expected to last for 18 months.

Providers across New Mexico offer safe screening and testing for COVID-19. Find southeastern New Mexico testing information here. All testing is still FREE OF CHARGE to anyone getting the test, and anyone can get tested, whether they have insurance or not. Please remember to bring your insurance card with you when you get tested and to limit two people per vehicle to avoid unnecessary risk for viral spread.

The Village has asked an independent research company to conduct a public survey relating to the recreational opportunities at Grindstone Lake and Trails. Please take a moment to complete the survey online if you have not already received a survey in the mail. The deadline for survey submissions is September 25, 2020.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday issued a revised executive order amending the mandatory quarantine for individuals arriving into the state of New Mexico, exempting travelers and residents arriving from states with lower COVID-positivity rates while retaining the quarantine requirement for those arriving from high-risk states. The governor also announced a change to the state’s operative emergency public health order, amending occupancy limits for hotels. The changes are effective Friday, Sept. 4.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Department of Finance and Administration on Tuesday announced $150 million in CARES Act grants to local governments across New Mexico to assist in off-setting the costs of necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency caused by COVID-19.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state health and education officials on Thursday. August 27, 2020, provided a public update on the state’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, outlining a new emergency public health order and New Mexico’s preparation for a limited re-entry to in-person learning next month.

Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic the situation continues to evolve. As a result, our community must find safe, healthy ways to adapt in realtime. One small-scale, quick, and affordable tool to help mitigate the health, social, and economic impact of the virus is to create safe distancing and increased outdoor public space through reconfigured roadways. To this effect, the Village of Ruidoso has engaged a professional engineering firm to investigate the nonpermanent expansion of public space through a reduction in traffic lanes (from four to three) in Midtown as an adaptive response to COVID-19 emergency public health orders.

The Village of Ruidoso has scheduled sewer line maintenance street works on Mechem Drive beginning on Monday, August 17, 2020, through Thursday, August 20, 2020. The work will be conducted between the hours of 6:00 PM and 12:00 AM beginning at Alpine Village Road to the intersection of Mechem and Sudderth (weather permitting). During these times, drivers may encounter a single lane closure where work is being performed.

The Village of Ruidoso has scheduled sewer line maintenance street works on Sudderth Drive beginning Monday, August 24, 2020, through Thursday, August 27, 2020. The work will be conducted between the hours of 6:00 PM and 12:00 AM beginning at Main Road traffic circle to Raines Road. (weather permitting). During these times, drivers may encounter a single lane closure where work is being performed.

Mayor Lynn Crawford has issued Executive Order 2020-11 on August 13, 2020, providing clear direction on how the Village of Ruidoso Planning Commission will handle variances for businesses adversely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Village of Ruidoso Council approved two surveys created by Research and Polling Inc., to poll the residents of Ruidoso on the future use of the Links Golf Course and Grindstone Canyon Recreation Areas during a special Council Meeting last week. The Village’s Comprehensive Plan, completed earlier this year, identified the need to develop a long-term master plan for these Village-owned properties.

Beginning in August (weather dependant), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be conducting prescribed burn operations about 10 miles northeast of Ruidoso and 6 miles southeast of Capitan in Lincoln County. The 206-acre Pershing slash pile unit is located within the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area. Smoke from the burn may be visible from Capitan, Lincoln, Ruidoso, and other surrounding communities.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state health officials on Thursday, July 30, 2020, announced the state of New Mexico will extend its emergency public health order and keep intact existing public health restrictions and guidelines while the state continues to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The office of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday, July 27, 2020, announced that applications have gone out for $178 million of CARES Act funding for tribal and local governments. $28 million is available for tribal government grants and $150 million is available for city and county grants. These funds can cover costs that are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency for the period beginning on March 1, 2020, through December 30, 2020.

Building and business closures for weeks or months reduce water usage, potentially leading to stagnant water inside building plumbing. This water can become unsafe to drink or otherwise use for domestic or commercial purposes. The EPA recommends that building owners and managers take proactive steps to protect public health by minimizing water stagnation during closures and taking action to address building water quality prior to reopening.