Los Alamos Council honors Special Olympians after Jemez trail run

Los Alamos County Council used a regular meeting Tuesday night, June 10, to publicly recognize Special Olympians Bella Sieberg and Ben Blewett after their participation in the May 9 Jemez Mountain Trail Runs. The honor was brief, but it pointed to a larger local question: how much support, visibility and practical access Los Alamos gives athletes with disabilities beyond a ceremonial moment at the dais.

A photo from the meeting showed the recognition was shared work, not a solo spotlight. Standing with Sieberg and Blewett were Special Olympics New Mexico Board of Directors member Adam Trubow, Jemez Mountain Trail Runs volunteer Laura Musgrave, Special Olympics New Mexico Board of Directors member Art Montoya and County Councilor Suzie. Their presence underscored the mix of athletes, volunteers, organizers and county officials that makes inclusive participation possible in a community where outdoor recreation carries real cultural weight.

The recognition also fit neatly into a council calendar that gave space to ceremonial items alongside regular government business. In June, council also proclaimed June 7-13 Pride Week in Los Alamos, showing how the board has used meeting time not only for policy and budgets but for public acknowledgments of community identity and participation. For residents who follow council closely, those moments matter because they show what the county chooses to celebrate in front of the public.

The Jemez Mountain Trail Runs tie that celebration to a specific local event with broader implications for access and inclusion. Trail running in northern New Mexico can seem exclusive if the right support is not in place, but the council’s recognition of Sieberg and Blewett highlighted a different picture, one in which Special Olympians are not on the margins of local recreation but part of it. In a county where public attention often turns to utilities, land use and fiscal decisions, the council’s salute to these athletes sent a clear message: participation itself is something worth honoring, and the people who make that participation possible deserve recognition too.