Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 120, No. 115 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
About 70 first-graders from Pecos Elementary School ventured to the Roswell Museum and Art Center Wednesday for a day of fun and learning. “My kids told us at the beginning of the year that they’ve never been into a museum, so we made it a point to schedule one, and here we are. - PAGE A2
May 13, 2011
FRIDAY
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Jurney chooses Fresquez for Ward IV seat MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
PECOS KIDS ‘DO’ RMAC
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Roswell’s mayor announced his decision Thursday to select a retired educator and former superintendent of the city’s school district as the new representative for Ward IV. Mayor Del Jurney nominated Amarante Fresquez to fill a vacancy on the City Council. A special meeting of the council is slated for Monday for of ficials to decide whether to approve the selection. “I think I would come in with some fresh eyes and a clean slate,” Fresquez said. “I’m rather excited about the possibility of serving.” Jurney said he selected Fresquez from a pool of seven “very exceptional and qualified candidates”
and that his experience with administrating large entities will make him an asset to the council. “All of the seven candidates for the Ward IV City Council seat had unique strengths, talents and leadership qualities that more than qualified them for the position,” Jurney said. “Dr. Fresquez simply had significantly more experience working in administration and the public sector ... (and) I know he’ll do a great job.” Fresquez received a Bachelor of Science from New Mexico Highlands University, a Master of Science from New Mexico State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona. Fresquez has about 35 years’ experience in education. He was the dean of students at Eastern
Holiday preparations
New Mexico University-Roswell for seven years and Roswell Independent School District superintendent for more than four. In addition, he taught high school biology, chemistry, physics and science. The special council meeting will be in City Hall, 425 N. Richardson Ave., at 5:30 p.m. The vacancy was left by former Councilor Rob McWilliams, who resigned in December after it was discovered he had been secretly recording closed door meetings. McWilliams resigned just before a District Court hearing that was brought forward by the mayor in an effort to oust the embattled councilor from office.
mattarco@roswell-record.com
TOP 5 WEB
Family graduates 10th cadet
Amarante Fresquez
JONATHAN ENTZMINGER RECORD STAFF WRITER
For The Past 24 Hours
• Officials nix bear’s turf grab • RPD begins search for 2nd deputy chief • Air tanker extinguishes neighborhood • 2 NMMI netters advance • Rocket boys complete repeat
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
Local artist Kevin Bell applies a patriotic mural to the storefront window at Lawrence Brothers IGA, Wednesday, in preparation for Memorial Day weekend later this month.
Dr. Larry Johnson’s family, of Las Lunas, has been a part of the New Mexico Military Institute community for more than 35 years. The family will graduate its 10th cadet, Lawrence Johnson, this week, and Lawrence’s nephew, Harvard. Both will be moving on to the University of New Mexico. Lawrence spoke about the family’s connection to the campus, and his inherent place at NMMI. “Before I was bor n, I was already here growing up — essentially,” he said. “The most rewarding part of (NMMI) is getting the leadership experience — how to
60 graduate with ENMU-R GED GODDARD POUNDS FARMINGTON
ALBUQUERQUE — The playoffs are a time of unpredictability. Regardless of a team’s record or seeding, often times the winning team is the one that is on a roll. While the Goddard boys baseball team is seeded sixth in the NMAA Class 4A State Baseball Championships, its play on the diamond is second to none. The Rockets beat thirdseeded Farmington 16-5 and is now just two wins away from a state title. Goddard took control of the game early ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• William S. (Bill) Coffey - PAGE A3
HIGH ...80˚ LOW ....54˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
Courtesy Photo
Emily Russo Miller Photo
From left, Elizabeth Alcaraz and Cassandra Arias fix their tassles before walking on stage Thursday night at the 22nd annual GED High School Completion Graduation ceremony.
EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
About 60 jubilant graduates donning shiny red caps and gowns strode proudly across the stage at the ENMU-Roswell Perfor ming Arts Center to receive their high school equivalency diplomas at the GED High School Completion Graduation ceremony, Thursday evening.
“It’s a very important day for our students,” Todd DeKay, director of the ENMU-R Adult Basic Education Department, said. For some, it was a long journey full of hardship to obtain high school credentials. Student speaker Ana Maria Carrera says she didn’t speak a word of English when she moved to the U.S. from Chihuahua, Mexico, as a 15-year-old, and
that she later dropped out of high school in the 11th grade. Now, after passing the GED, or the General Educational Development test, she is studying to be a nurse at ENMU-R. “It doesn’t matter what language you speak,” Carrera urged her fellow classmates. “That’s not an excuse to not continue (your education).” Carrera called Thursday night her “comeback” and thanked her three children for inspiring her to graduate. “It took me four months (to get my GED), but to come back to school, it took me 14 years,” she said. Keynote speaker Dr. Audrey Vega, a physician at Mesa Medical Associates in Roswell, also had an uplifting message to impart. She applauded the students for going back to school and spoke about how life is about difficult choices and the result of those choices.
See CADET, Page A3
Matthew Arco Photo
A wildfire spreads out along Highway 70 northeast of Roswell, Thursday, charring hundreds of acres of land.
Blowout ignites blaze A tire blowout charred about 600 acres of land northeast of Roswell Thursday afternoon, fire officials said. A vehicle traveling north along Highway 70 sparked the blaze following the blowout at about 3 p.m., officials said. The wildfire quickly spread south and crews from Chaves County, the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment and the city of Roswell responded to the blaze. No structures burned and the Magdelina Fire was 90 percent contained by 7:15 p.m., according to Dan Ware, a State Forestry spokesman. The fire burned about 20 miles outside of the city on private, state and BLM land, he said.
Rising ‘Mighty Mississip’ takes aim at Cajun country
CLASSIFIEDS..........B5 COMICS.................B3 ENTERTAINMENT.....A8 FINANCIAL .............B4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
AP Photo
The Morganza Spillway, when opened, allows water from the Mississippi River to divert into the Atchafalaya Basin.
See GED, Page A3
BUTTE LAROSE, La. (AP) — In the latest agonizing decision along the swollen Mississippi River, federal engineers are close to opening a massive spillway that would protect Baton Rouge and New Orleans but flood hundreds of thousands of acres in Louisiana Cajun country. With that threat looming, some 25,000 people in an area known for small farms, fish camps, crawfish and a drawling French dialect are hurriedly packing their things and worrying that their homes and way of life might soon be drowned.
People in this riverfront community gathered at their volunteer fire station to hear a man dressed in Army fatigues deliver an ominous flood forecast. Col. Ed Fleming leaned over a podium this week and warned that projections by the Army Corps of Engineers call for the station to be inundated by up to 15 feet of water. The crowd let out a collective gasp. “From the ground?” an incredulous resident shouted at the meeting. “From the ground,” replied Fleming, head of the corps’ New Orleans district.
A few skeptics in the audience scoffed at the projection, but many others were shaken. “It’s over with,” muttered Pierre Water meyer. “That’s it. There’s no sense in pretending.” The corps could open the Morganza floodway north of Baton Rouge as early as this weekend, a move that would relieve pressure on the city’s levee system. Opening the spillway gates for the first time in 38 years will unleash the Mississippi on a wild ride south to the Gulf of Mexico See FLOOD, Page A3