Officials: Library funds mostly distributed

CLOVIS — Most of the $30,000 in funds generated in the weeks following this summer’s library shooting have been distributed to serve the victims’ unmet needs, officials said Wednesday.

The Clovis-Carver Library Victim Memorial Fund was generated in the first month following the Aug. 28 shooting in the library that left two dead, four injured and many more otherwise affected.

A committee of the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce collected donations from “hundreds of local donors,” including those who gave cash and spare change at area business fundraisers as well as large dollar checks from individuals, said the Chamber news release Wednesday.

The United Way of Eastern New Mexico acted as fiscal agent of the grant money, working in turn with the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Victim Advocate Office and Matt 25 Hope Center to identify needs unmet by the state’s Crime Victims Reparation Commission funds, which are capped at $20,000 per victim and cover primarily the immediate health expenses of the victims.

So far, $24,938.56 has been given to the families in need, which include “all the injured victims, all the families of the deceased victims, and five families of individuals who were present at the event.”

“The needs have ranged from utility bills, car payments, and rent; to assistance with clothing, food and travel expenses; to help with family holiday spending,” said the release. “All the victims of the shooting have been spoken to and been invited to request assistance for their needs.”

As of Wednesday, $5,061.44 remains of the $30,000 grant to UWENM. Approximately $20,000 in additional donations for library victims collected subsequent to the grant award are in a separate account with the chamber, said Executive Director Ernie Kos.

Kos said chamber members were waiting on recommendations from the Clovis-Carver Library Board as to the possibilities of a memorial for librarians Krissie Carter and Wanda Walters, who were killed in the shootings.

“We’re just standing by and waiting for the library,” she said. “It may take several more months to know exactly what we’re going to do.”