Roswell Daily Record
INSIDE NEWS
NUTRITION BILL HEADS TO OBAMA
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Tax compromise taking shape
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A critical compromise to head off a year-end tax increase for millions of Americans took shape fitfully Thursday in private talks between the White House and congressional Republicans punctuated by outbursts of partisanship. An extension of unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed appeared likely to become part of any deal. Additionally, Democrats sought to expand the package with a tax break providing as much as $400 for individual working people and $800 for cou-
ples — even if they pay nothing to the IRS. Two days after he and newly empowered Republicans exchanged pledges of cooperation at the White House, President Barack Obama expressed optimism about the prospects for agreement in time for enactment by year’s end. Still, he cautioned, “That doesn’t mean there might not be some posturing over the next several days.” Not long after Obama spoke, Democrats ignited a partisan row in the House with legislation that would prevent taxes from rising on
Bell ringers back
WASHINGTON (AP) — More children would eat lunches and dinners at school under legislation passed Thursday by the House and sent to the president, part of first lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood hunger and fight childhood obesity. - PAGE B4
December 3, 2010
lower - and middle-income wage earners but allow them to go up for people at higher incomes. Given Republican objections, that measure has no chance of passing the Senate. But Democrats there insisted on voting on it as a way to dramatize their support for the measure and, officials said, register unhappiness with Obama. The president has already signaled he will accede to Republican demands for extending tax cuts at all income levels, making votes on the Democratic-backed bill purely symbolic and angering some of the
Gavi scores role in NBC series
WEB
For The Last 24 Hours
• RPD investigates homicide • Woman gets 3 years for selling drugs • Duffey declared winner • Willie Nelson • Flying foliage
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
McCain flays military gays study Marvin Nichols of the Salvation Army greets shoppers at the Roswell Walmart Wednesday morning. Nichols has been a bell ringer for nearly 10 years.
CLEVELAND (AP) — He tuned out the boos. He smiled at the derisive chants. He embraced all the negativity Cleveland could muster. LeBron James wasn’t fazed by anything. He brought his talents back home and reminded everyone — even the haters — why he’s missed. Returning as a villain to his native state and the city he scorned this summer, James scored 38 points — 24 in a virtuoso third-quarter performance — to lead the Miami Heat to a 118-90 win on Thursday night, turning his hostile homecoming into another embarrassing moment for the Cavaliers. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Ignacia Penny Monsebais • Robert Bryson LeLieuvre • Virginia Glass - PAGE B4
HIGH ...78˚ LOW ....38˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........C1 COMICS.................B6 ENTERTAINMENT.....B8 FINANCIAL .............B7 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................B5
INDEX
See TAXES, Page A6
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5
JAMES RETURNS TO BOOS
rank-and-file in his party. But Obama was juggling a pair of top-priority items — winning enough support from reluctant Republicans to ratify a new arms control treaty with Russia was the second — and his leverage was reduced in tax negotiations as a result. The House tax cut measure drew withering criticism from Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, who will become the speaker when Republicans take
WASHINGTON (AP) — A doubting John McCain led Republican opposition Thursday to letting gays serve openly in the military, sternly clashing with the Pentagon’s top leaders and warning that troops would quit in droves if Congress repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law. In tense exchanges with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, McCain and other Republicans dismissed a Pentagon study on gays as biased and said objec-
tions by combat troops were being ignored. Gates and Mullen defended the study, but McCain blamed politics for pushing the matter forward during wartime. He predicted that Marines and soldiers assigned combat duties, in particular, would abandon their service if they had to serve along with gays open about their sexual orientation. McCain, R-Ariz., also said the study was flawed because it asked troops what impact repeal would have, instead of whether
Mother charged for leaving child in car
anonymous caller told the Roswell Police Department the child had been there for A 19-year-old mothmore than 20 miner was arrested Monutes, police said. day and remains The car was parked behind bars after outside an apartment police say she left her complex at 105 S. toddler unattended in Ohio Ave., where a car with possible Meraz was inside with drug parapher nalia a friend. She told within the child’s police she had Veronica Meraz reach. “checked on her Veronica Meraz’s 2year-old child was found in the (daughter) a couple of different driver’s seat of the vehicle that sat in 38-degree weather after an See MOTHER, Page A6
they wanted the law repealed at all. The study found that twothirds of troops predicted few problems, but those who did were mostly assigned to combat roles. “We send these young people into combat,” said McCain. “We think they’re mature enough to fight and die. I think they’re mature enough to make a judgment on who they want to serve with and the impact on their battle effectiveness.” Gates shot back that asking
Former Roswell resident Jude Gavi, 41, has been selected to be a permanent marshal in NBC’s new television series “Chase.” Gavi grew up in Dexter where he attended grade school and middle school. He later went to Roswell High School. He started acting early in elementary school. “I have always wanted to be an actor,” he said. “I did many plays when I was a child, and church plays as an adult. I guess you can say I am following my ... dream.” He left Roswell in 2005, moving to Louisiana. While there, he followed another of his dreams, running for political office. Gavi professes to love politics, almost as much as acting. “I want to continue the journey that God has me on ... I want to be a United States senator someday and then after that who knows, maybe the White House.” He has acted in several movies, including “W,” distributed in North America by Lionsgate. “W” was directed by Oliver Stone and is a drama based on the life and formative years of President George W. Bush. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Gavi has appeared in “Vampire Sucks,” a spoof on the Twilight films, a 20th Century Fox film directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. He acted as stand-in for Diedrich Bader, who played the character Sheriff Frank Crane.
See MCCAIN, Page A6
Avian armada
See GAVI, Page A6
MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
Thousands of geese and other waterfowl take flight Thursday afternoon at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge during the height of migration season which generally begins in early November and lasts through the first of the year.
Roswell Masons build 5th lodge in 122 years JONATHAN ENTZMINGER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Roswell Lodge No. 18 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons has erected its fifth Roswell lodge in its 122year history. The new lodge is located off of West College Boulevard near North Sycamore Avenue. The building project, led by Jarred Hellums of Helco, Inc., began on June 3, according to the lodge’s website. “It’s smaller (than our last building) and easier to take care of,” said Jim Forrester, Roswell Lodge No. 18 A.F. and A.M. secretary. “It will be more of the size
we need for the amount of masons that we have.” The Roswell chapter built its first lodge in 1889 on Main Street, which was lost in a fire on Jan. 15, 1893. Its second lodge was built on West Third Street in 1893, where the J.P. White building stands today. In 1910, its third lodge was built on the cor ner of Fourth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Its fourth lodge, 2803 W. Fourth St., was built in 1962 and is currently used by Valley Christian Academy. According to Forrester, approximately six mason organizations in the local area will utilize the new
4,780 square-foot lodge. Forrester said the masons expect to move into the building in January. The lodge will contain artifacts, building pieces and furniture from every Roswell lodge built since 1910. “It has dining halls ... we used a lot of stuff out of the old lodge,” Forrester said. “The (original) cornerstone will be there. We tried to make the (interior of the) lodge look like past (lodges).” The Roswell Lodge No. 18 A.F. and A.M. works with several civic organizations in the community and donates funds to various
Jonathan Entzminger photo
Roswell Ancient Free and Accepted Masons No. 18 will open its fifth Roswell lodge in January. charities. They also award five to seven scholarships to college students every year. According to Forrester, the organization has about 400 active members.
For more information about Roswell Lodge No. 18 A.F. A.M., visit their website: http://roswellmasons.org.
j.entzminger@roswellrecord.com