Good News Roundup: BernCo mobile wellness trucks, grants for tire cleanup and a trunk o' treat event

Welcome to the weekly good news roundup, bringing you some of the great “good news” from around New Mexico.

Give me a “Health Yeah!” Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Gabriella Blakey joined Bernalillo County Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada and several other county and APS officials last week at Truman Middle School to celebrate the launch of the the county’s “Health Yeah!” initiative.

In collaboration with APS and the Wellness Equity Alliance, a national alliance of population and public health leaders, “Health Yeah!” will use mobile health clinic trucks to provide health services to students, school faculty and community members at Roosevelt, Truman and McKinley middle schools. These mobile clinics will provide primary care, mental health support, vaccinations, sports physicals and prescription services to those in need.

“The ‘Health Yeah!’ initiative addresses the vital health needs of our students,” Quezada said in a statement. “By partnering with Albuquerque Public Schools and Wellness Equity Alliance, we’re making sure students get the care they need, right where they need it.”

The initiative is supported by $1.5 million in recurring funding from the county’s behavioral health gross receipts tax and $422,031 from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services federal grant, which was secured by Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M.

The county plans to expand the program to two still-to-be-named charter schools and several community centers. The time line of this rollout is not yet known.

Kickin’ the tires on cleanups: The New Mexico Environmental Department has awarded Bernalillo County’s Planning and Development Service Department a $67,000 Recycling and Illegal Dumping (RAID) grant for the 2025 fiscal year. Announced Monday, the grant will help the county host “tire amnesty day” events. These events, which have yet to be scheduled, will provide residents with an easy and environmentally friendly way to dispose of scrap tires. The RAID grant is made possible through a special revenue fund that is derived from a fee on motor vehicle registrations.

“Improperly discarded tires are a scourge on the beautiful, natural environment of Bernalillo County,” said Nick Hamm, the director of Planning and Development Services.

The county will host an upcoming tire amnesty day event on Oct. 19 at Highland High School, located at 4700 Coal Ave SE. Used or scrap tires that are no longer suitable for its originally intended purpose because of wear, damage, defect, or obsolescence will be accepted. Tires from businesses will not be accepted.

Volunteering is a treat, not a trick: The Cathedral of St. Johns in Albuquerque is looking for volunteers to help man its annual “Trunk O’ Treat” event on Oct. 27. The church, located at 318 Silver SW, is hosting the event from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The volunteers also can double as educators, teaching children about their jobs and how they help out their community. Volunteers and others attending will dispense candy from their trunks of their cars.

To learn more about becoming a volunteer, contact the cathedral at 505-247-1581.

Got some good news of your own? Please don’t be shy. It’s time to brag about some of the good things in Albuquerque and beyond. You can email your good news ideas to goodnews@abqjournal.com.

Gino Gutierrez is the good news reporter at the Albuquerque Journal. You can contact him at goodnews@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3940.