D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
February 2010
Business Beat
Daily Press sells its HQ | Lone Mountain drilling | Owl Hoot's inside move | Silver Heights Nursery blooms again... and more.
Changing Times
A Silver City institution has sold its headquarters and will move later this month, according to real-estate insiders. The Silver City Daily Press, founded in 1935, has sold its building at 300 W. Market St. and will downsize its offices. The move follows the outsourcing of the Daily Press' printing in 2008, first to Las Cruces and then to El Paso. Without the need to house printing presses, the newspaper no longer requires as much square footage. The former newspaper building will be used for a fine furniture-making business, whose owner is relocating from Colorado.
As rumors swirl that activity may be picking up at Freeport-McMoRan's Grant County mining operations, drilling has begun at the Lone Mountain Porphyry Copper Prospect, owned by Vancouver, BC-based Copper One. The broad oxide copper blanket is located between two Freeport-McMoRan properties, the Tyrone and Chino mines. According to a statement by Copper One, "This drilling has the potential to help refine and expand the potential 110 to 160 million-ton resourceÉ. The oxide copper mineralization is amenable to lower-cost solving-extraction electrowinning processing." The company recently finalized an agreement with surface-rights holders of a large section of land covering the southern extension of the previously defined Lone Mountain prospect.
Meanwhile, stock-market blogger Joseph Lazzaro (www.bloggingstocks.com) recently rated Freeport-McMoRan a strong "buy," saying the mining company's stock "may prove to the stock investment of the year." Even though the stock is up more than 100% since Lazzaro first touted it in March 2009, he believes there's still more upside as the global economic recovery fuels demand for copper.
Spreading Their Wings
Silver City's Owl Hoot Landscaping is going indoors, adding residential and commercial plant care to its offerings. The company was launched six years ago by the husband-and-wife team of Jerry Archer and Anne Lohkamp; he has a degree in environmental horticulture from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and 40 years of experience in landscaping, working in California and Washington before moving here. Looking to generate more year-round business, Owl Hoot will take its fully equipped trailer to your location and not only water your plants but do potting and transplanting, as well as plant pest control. During the growing season, Owl Hoot's landscaping business focuses on residential customers. Folks with thirsty plants should note that Archer is certified in drip irrigation. 25 Owl Hoot Trail, 388-2759.
Ambank has broken ground for a new branch bank in Bayard. The bank had outgrown its temporary Bayard offices, but will have plenty of room in the planned 4,000-square-foot facility on Hwy. 180, expected to open in June.
Firearms fans have a new place to stock up: Copper Country ATV & Cycle owner Dave Donaldson has added guns and ammo to his offerings. 505 N. Hudson St., Silver City, 538-8903.
Back in Business
Folks who fondly remember Silver Heights Nursery will be happy to learn that the Silver City nursery and gardening store is returning on a seasonal basis, April through September. Regina Vinson says the nursery will be based at 1950 Hwy. 180E, behind Aunt Judy's Attic, and be open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. "I will be specializing in the usual and unusual perennials and annuals with a few trees and shrubs," she says. "I will also have Back to Earth Compost, Uni-Gro Potting Soil, glazed and clay pottery, seeds and organic fertilizers and pesticides. I am excited to be back and will hopefully fill a niche in Grant County."
In case you missed it over the holidays, Stahmanns Pecans once again has a store in Mesilla--perfect for treats for this month's Valentine's holiday. The new location at 2030 Calle de Parin, across from La Posta restaurant, will see some renovation but is already open for business. Candy by the pound (hello, Valentine!) is new, and summer will see Blue Bell ice cream.
The former Coyote Traders business on Picacho Avenue in Las Cruces has been reborn as Casa Décor, at a new location at 250 N. Telshor Blvd. Dennis Stevens purchased the business and moved it into an 8,000-square-foot space displaying Southwestern and Santa Fe-style furnishings and dŽcor. 522-5310.
New in Town
The Gila Economic Development Alliance, charged with boosting the Grant County economy, has a new director. Roberta "Bobbi" Hall comes to the Silver City job from Trinidad, Colo., where she owned a temporary-employment agency and served on the board of the economic-development group. One of Hall's first assignments here will be helping to follow up on a possible tenant at the Grant County Airport.
The Las Cruces area has another new winery, Amaro Winery, 402 S. Melendes St., off Amador. The winery will make and sell nine varieties, with sampling at $3 and bottles starting at $8. 527-5310.
The Big Picture
Movie Gallery, which closed about 500 stores last year, may be on the brink of a second restructuring that could see another 1,000 movie-rental locations shut down. Liquidators have already been asked to bid on inventory at some of the stores owned by the troubled Wilsonville, Ore.-based chain, which is burdened with $600 million in debt. It's not clear whether any of Movie Gallery's southwest New Mexico stores might be in jeopardy, but the chain is a major player in the region's movie-rental business, with locations in Silver City, Deming, Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces.
Mesa Air Group, which formerly served the Silver City-Albuquerque route, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The airline, which relocated from Farmington, NM, to Phoenix in 1998, said it hoped to shed financial obligations for leases on planes it no longer needs after United Airlines opted not to extend a deal under which Mesa ran 26 regional jets. Delta Airlines has also tried to terminate its regional deal with Mesa, which has led to a lawsuit. Mesa, which also runs flights for US Airways, says the bankruptcy filing won't affect its daily operations and does not include its go!-Mokulele Hawaiian joint venture.
Outreach and Honors
Chino Federal Credit Union in Silver City is one of six credit unions selected by the Credit Union Association of New Mexico to participate in a statewide Savings Challenge. Each credit union will select three member families, who will compete to see which will be the "biggest saver," according to Chino's Bill Stites. The three objectives that each family will compete on are: percentage of increased savings, percentage of debt reduction, and percentage of FICO credit score improvement. One finalist family from each credit union will then compete with the finalist families from the other credit unions. The family selected as the biggest saver will win $10,000.
"The purpose of this challenge is to promote fiscal awareness and financial literacy," says Stites. "The idea is to help people work their way out of poverty and enjoy a better quality of life." Information about the Savings Challenge is posted on the credit union's website, www.chinofcu.org. 2290 Superior St., 388-2511.
Kelly Trinkle, owner of the new Curl Up & Dye Salon in Silver City, checks in with news about the salon's participation in the American Cancer Society's "Look Good, Feel Better" program for women undergoing chemotherapy. The program utilizes licensed cosmetologists and make-up kits valued at nearly $400, donated by make-up and skin companies. The program will start meeting locally on Feb. 9 at Gila Regional Medical Center's Cancer Treatment Center. Experts will teach women who are going through treatment to apply make-up to best make them look and feel better, as well as helping with wig fitting. To register, contact Trinkle at 388-1636.
The Silver City KOA Campground, owned and operated by Jim and Jackie Blurton, received both the 2009 Kampgrounds of America Founder's Award and the President's Award at KOA's annual convention in Houston. The awards are based on customer-satisfaction scores in a survey sent to nearly 250,000 KOA campers annually. The KOA system includes more than 470 campgrounds in North America
— David A. Fryxell