Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 120, No. 33 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
DEAR DR. GOTT: My 58year-old husband who is never sick was preparing for a hernia-repair procedure but did not pass the EKG pre-op test. They had him do a stress test, which he also flunked... - PAGE A4
February 8, 2011
TUESDAY
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Lawmakers’ bill targets truants MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
JUST ASK DR. GOTT
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Parents who receive state assistance and have children who habitually skip school could be in danger of losing that funding if a local lawmaker is successful in pushing legislation he recently introduced. Rep. Dennis Kintigh, RRoswell, is seeking to cut off state public assistance to the parents of students who fail to meet New Mexi-
Families of truants could lose public assistance in Kintigh’s bill
co’s school attendance requirements. The legislation would allow school of ficials to notify the state’s Human Services Department, following a teacher-parent meeting, if a student accumulates 10 or more unexcused absences. “If kids are truant, then superintendents can report them,” Kintigh said. “There’s a huge potential of damage to these kids if
Four-car accident
we don’t get them to school ... (and) superintendents now have the ability, under this, to be part of the solution.” The proposal would require school officials to set up a meeting with parents following any notification to the Human Services Department of a habitually truant student. The meeting would be intended to discuss an “intervention plan” that keeps the child
in school. If the plan is agreed upon and followed, no further action would be taken in regards to state assistance. However, if a parent fails to attend the meeting or the student continues to miss classes, the state would nix any funding sent to the parents. Kintigh says the bill’s intent is not to remove New Mexicans from public assistance, rather it to
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INSIDE SPORTS
Jessica Palmer Photo
An accident occurred at lunchtime Monday on Main Street between McGaffey and Summit streets. Three of the vehicles were stopped at the light on Summit Street when a black Chrysler 300 hit a Chevy Lumina, which then hit a black Hyundai.The police are looking for a blue Ford F-150 for leaving the scene of the accident. One citation was issued to the driver of the black Chrysler for following too close to the other vehicles. The driver and passenger of the Hyundai were transported to Eastern New Mexico Medical Center for observation.
Ruidoso officials declare emergency ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aaron Rodgers celebrated his first Super Bowl scoring pass by simply raising both arms in the familiar signal for “Touchdown!” before briefly embracing an offensive lineman. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Paul Victor Woodruff • John Henry Gibson • Monica Renee Marquez • Savannah Guevara - PAGE A3
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TODAY’S FORECAST
INDEX CLASSIFIEDS..........B5 COMICS.................B3 FINANCIAL .............B4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
Village of Ruidoso officials were slated to hold a last-minute council meeting Monday night to adopt a resolution declaring an emergency in the village. Mayor Ray Albor n announced that the area has experienced severe water loss as result of the extreme cold temperatures and snow. He blamed the loss on broken lines at private residences and warned that water production will not be able to keep up with demand. The news came around the same time that the Lincoln County man-
“They are getting assistance, which is fine, but there’s an implied contact with these recipients that See BILL, Page A2
Gas cut-off defended
TOP 5
LOMBARDI HEADS HOME
work with parents in helping get their children to classes. He says the bill also gives school officials some control in aspects of the educational process otherwise out of their reach.
ager, Tom Stewart, said “he would not be surprised” if the village were losing up to 1 million gallons of water a day due to the leaks. Of ficials were having trouble locating burst lines because of the number of vacation homes in the village. OffPicials were urging people with vacation homes to check and see if the home is losing water. “We’ve got so many part-time homes and we’re not sure how much water we’re losing through broken pipes,” Alborn said. “We are asking everyone to assist us by conserving water (and) please
refrain from any non-essential water use.” The emergency meeting was slated to be held at the Village of Ruidoso Administrative Center. Hours prior to the meeting, officials were preparing to canvass neighborhoods and ask residents to curb their water use and assist village officials in locating leaks by checking their neighbors’ homes, if possible. “We are going to go out in a group, myself included, and go door -to-door to tell folks what’s going on,” he said.
SANTA FE (AP) — Natural gas service was cut off to thousands of New Mexicans last week because utility officials feared losing control over the company's distribution system and having potentially dangerous uncontrolled outages across the state, lawmakers were told Monday. In testimony to a legislative committee, New Mexico Gas Co. officials said the company faced a rapid drop in gas pressure in its lines because a transmission pipeline couldn’t provide gas supplies that had been ordered. The pipeline couldn’t deliver the gas because of low pressure in its lines. That was caused by electrical power outages in Texas, which disrupted gas supplies from processing plants and wells. “The system was crashing so rapidly and with such an amount, that we were fearful that we would have lost a large, large portion of Albuquerque and surrounding areas,” said Ken Oostman, the utility’s vice president for technical services. “We were very fearful that we would lose the entire system.” Had the utility not shut off service to areas of the state, he told lawmakers, gas pressure would have continued to drop in distribution lines and uncontrolled outages would have happened in homes and businesses. That creates dangerous conditions because pilot lights on furnaces go off and there's a potential for gas to fill a building. More than 30,000 New See CUT-OFF, Page A2
Town hall on safety, Obama to CEOs: Get in the game crime prevention set JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Roswell Police Chief Alfonso Solis, Community Relations Officer Erica O’Bryon and Public Information Officer Travis Holley will hold a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, at 1120 S. Grand St. The meeting will be the first in a series of meetings on crime, safety and other safety topics, which are set for the second Wednesday of every month, hosted by the Hispano Chamber of Commerce and S.O.Y. Mariachi. The meetings are sponsored by Bobby Villegas/Edubina Morales Insurance Agency and New Mexico Firearms Training Associates. The goal of the first meeting is to lay the groundwork for a crime prevention program. Topics will include Neighborhood Watch and Crime Stoppers. “Crimes against the community have increased and you have the right to protect yourself and your family,” Villegas said. “Why not start with the crime prevention program? Together we can make a difference. We strongly encourage the public, local businesses and organizations to attend this very informative meeting.” After the first meeting, Villegas said board members will go out and knock on doors to help people set up a Neighborhood Watch. Villegas said the meetings are citywide, not specific to a See MEETING, Page A2
WASHINGTON (AP) — Echoing John F. Kennedy, President Barack Obama prodded business leaders Monday to “ask yourselves what you can do for America,” not just for company bottom lines, even as he sought to smooth his uneasy relations with the nation’s corporate executives. Speaking to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the president urged the business community to help accelerate the slow economic recovery by increasing hiring and unleashing some of the $2 trillion piling up on their balance sheets. “I want to encourage you to get in the game,” Obama said. He enumerated new efforts by his administration to improve the nation’s business infrastructure, spend more to support entrepreneurs
AP Photo
President Barack Obama, accompanied by White House Chief of Staff William Daley, waves as he walks to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Monday.
and foster greater innovation. He vowed to address “a burdensome corporate tax code,” and go after
“unnecessary and outdated regulations.”
See OBAMA, Page A2