05-25-2011

Page 1

Roswell Daily Record

INSIDE NEWS

EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER

B&N LAUNCHES E-READER

NEW YORK (AP) — The lighter, slimmer, cheaper new version of Barnes & Noble’s e-reader has a black-and-white touch screen and aims squarely at the “grandma” demographic — or at least customers craving a simpler e-book reader. - PAGE B6

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Roswell may get military cemetery

Vol. 120, No. 125 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

A generous gift from a local oilman may give Roswell veterans a final resting place closer to home. Hanson Operating Co. president Ray Willis says he promised to deed part of the company’s land, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the city of Roswell in order to build a military cemetery south of

May 25, 2011

WEDNESDAY

www.rdrnews.com

town. “I was never in the military,” Willis said. “This might be my one way of helping the veterans.” Willis says the 22 acres of land, which he says was worth $200,000 on the market a few years ago, should be used to honor fallen hometown heros rather than house another commercial enterprise. “It’s something that is important to these veterans,” Willis said. “I don’t

Kermit has left the pond

have anything but good feelings about it.” Willis says he agreed to donate the land, which borders the north end of cityowned South Park Cemetery, at the behest of local Vietnam veteran Bert Eldridge, who has been trying to build a military cemetery in Roswell for the past year. Eldridge, a former sergeant E-5 in the U.S. Army, See CEMETERY, Page A3

Emily Russo Miller Photo

O’Keeffe staffer to lecture at RMAC

Vietnam veteran Bert Eldridge stands on the property of the proposed military cemetery in Roswell.

TOP 5 WEB

EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER

For The Past 24 Hours

• Roswell woman shot, killed • Arias arraigned on murder charges ... • Police arrest murder suspect • Crandall taking over in Hagerman • CC! honors spring coaches

INSIDE SPORTS

Mark Wilson Photo

Water lilies in full bloom float on the surface of a pond at the J. Kenneth Smith Bird Sanctuary & Nature Center, Tuesday.

HEAT TAKE 3-1 LEAD

MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade was ailing, so LeBron James and Chris Bosh more than picked up the slack. Then Wade found his groove at the perfect time, and the Miami Heat, the team put together solely to win championships, moved one emotional victory away from the NBA finals. James scored 35 points, Bosh added 22 and the Heat overcame an early 11-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls 101-93 ... - PAGE B1

TODAY’S OBITUARIES

• Victoria Velasquez • Lloyd Wilson Chaves Sr. • Anthony Rodriguez • Teresa Elizabeth Mayer • Nettie Marie Crocker • Roberto H. Ramos - PAGE A6

HIGH ...90˚ LOW ....56˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B6 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8

INDEX

Don’t want to drive hours to see the new exhibit at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe? Rest easy, artlovers, because the next best thing besides seeing American Modernism in person is coming to Roswell. An award-winning, nationally recognized arts teacher, Jackie M, will be giving a free slide lecture at 7 p.m. May 31 at the Roswell Museum and Art Center on the exhibit “Shared Intelligence: American Painting and the Photograph,” which opened at the O’Keeffe Museum May 20. “She is one of the most foremost arts educators in the nation,” Laurie Rufe, RMAC director, said. “We’re very excited to have her.”

Snafu stalls SRCC transfer Sanchez running for Bingaman’s US Senate seat JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

A bureaucratic snafu has caused a delay in the final transfer of the former New Mexico Rehabilitation Center to the Roswell’s Regional Housing Authority. The Rehabilitation Center was vacated in April. The Department of Health gave what was believed to be the required 30-day notice before transfer. However, the General Services Department located an old contract, dating back to 1974, which said the Department of Health had to give 180-day notice. Chris Herbert, director of the RHA, remains opti-

mistic about the progress. “It just pays to utilize the existing building to protect the state’s assets.” He says the new community center will provide a vital resource at the same time it provides vital critical housing. “We can provide work space for all the nonprofits that are struggling on the financial edge.” Herbert pointed to the two break-ins that have occurred since the building was vacated. “What’s the option? Board the building up? That is the city’s welcome mat. What sort of impression does it make to tourists arriving from the airport?” The South Roswell Com-

NTSB: Pilot decision likely cause of ’09 chopper crash SANTA FE (AP) — A state police helicopter pilot’s decision to take off in bad weather was the probable cause of a 2009 fatal crash in an attempted rescue of a hiker lost in the mountains near Santa Fe, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded Tuesday. However, the board said the organizational culture of the Department of Public Safety and state police contributed to the accident because they placed a priority on completing missions rather than safety. The board pointed to pilot fatigue, stress of the rescue and selfimposed pilot pressure to

finish the mission as other contributing factors in the crash. The agency also said state police had inadequate safety policies for its aviation operation, not enough pilots to ensure they were properly rested and no requirement for assessing the risks of helicopter missions. There also was poor communication between the helicopter and a ground-based search and rescue operation. The board issued its findings in Washington, D.C. The helicopter crashed in June 2009 shortly See CHOPPER, Page A3

munity Center has support on the state and local level. “Candy Ezzell has always been a huge supporter. Tim Jennings, too, has been vital to the project,” said Herbert. At a recent community center meeting, Jane Batson listed Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., who toured the building earlier this month, as a supporter because of the potential benefit the building can provide for area veterans. “When you are talking about serving vets, the center is important,” said Herbert. “They’ve provided us a service; it’s time for us to

SANTA FE (AP) — Republican Lt. Gov. John Sanchez announced Tuesday he’s running for a U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Jef f Bingaman, a decision that sets up a potentially bruising primary contest for the GOP nomination next year. Sanchez announced his candidacy in a video

See RMAC, Page A3

and calls to supporters. He also launched a statewide television advertising campaign that features the biographical video, which portrays Sanchez as an example of the American dream — someone from humble beginnings who became successful through hard work. He See SANCHEZ, Page A3

T-storms kill 7 in Okla., Kan See SRCC, Page A3

AP Photo

A half-mile-wide tornado moves north in Canadian County after having just crossed SH-3, the Northwest Expressway, west of SH-4 moving towards Piedmont, Okla. Tuesday.

EL RENO, Okla. (AP) — Violent thunderstor ms roared across middle America on Tuesday, killing seven people in two states, with several tor nadoes touching down in Oklaho-

ma and high winds pounding rural Kansas. The high-powered storms arrived as forecast, just two days after a massive tornado tore through the southwest Missouri town of

Joplin and killed 122 people. Several tornadoes struck Oklahoma City and its suburbs during rush hour, killing at least five people and injuring at least 60 others, including three children who were in critical condition, authorities said. Cherokee Ballard, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner, said four people died west of Oklahoma City in Canadian County, where a weather-monitoring site in El Reno recorded 151 mph winds. She did not have any immediate details about the deaths. At Chickasha, 25 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, a 26-year-old woman died when a tornado hit a mobile home park where See STORMS, Page A3


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05-25-2011 by Roswell Daily Record - Issuu