DAILY LOBO new mexico
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October 14, 2013
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Nobody injured during on-campus car crash Two men accused of smoking spice rolled vehicle
by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno
An on-campus car crash led to the arrest of two men accused of driving under the influence of mind-altering substances Wednesday afternoon. UNM’s Police Department caught and arrested driver Tony Nelson, 24, who operated the vehicle while smoking a synthetic type of marijuana called spice, and passenger Jonathan Zamora, 18, who was also intoxicated. Neither man was a UNM student. The men were charged with receiving and transferring a stolen motor vehicle, conspiracy and tampering with evidence, said UNMPD public information officer Lt. Tim Stump. Nelson and Zamora are still facing possible additional charges of possession of spice and leaving the crime scene, Stump said. He said the two will be tried by grand jury, but he said it is still unknown when that will occur. Stump said Nelson’s car was driving west along Las Lomas Road when the accident happened at about 3 p.m. “The driver probably passed out or fell asleep,” Stump said. “He clips the car, rolls over and
ends up hitting two cars. (The car) rolled over, but somehow the two subjects got out and ran and took off.” Police also identified that Nelson was driving a stolen vehicle. According to a police report from UNMPD, the Albuquerque Police Department contacted officers in the scene after the incident. APD was in the process of filing a report about a possible car theft at the time, according to the UNMPD report. When APD showed the wrecked red Toyota Rav4 to Rhonda Porter, the woman who reported the theft, she positively identified that it was indeed stolen and that it belonged to her mother Betty Carley, according to the report. Porter told police that she was “taking care of her mother’s vehicle while she was out of the country,” according to the report. UNM student Mari Perez said she witnessed the incident. “(After the incident) I saw two men immediately climb out of the car and run west on Las Lomas,” she said. Authorities were able to chase Nelson and Zamora to the intersection of University and Lomas Boulevards. Although the men had “no
Aaron Sweet / Daily Lobo Two men in a stolen car clipped another vehicle and rolled over Wednesday in front of Parish Library. Tony Nelson, 24, and passenger Jonathan Zamora, 18, were arrested for three charges, including receiving and transferring a stolen motor vehicle, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. The two men await trial by a grand jury. real injuries,” officers held them for medical evaluation before taking them to jail, Stump said. Stump said Nelson refused to provide personal information to police at first. But officers identified him through his fingerprints
found in the car, he said. He said they also discovered that Nelson’s driver’s license was suspended at the time of the accident. Police found “several” spice cigarettes in the car, Stump said. He said Zamora also admitted to
smoking when interrogated. “Zamora told us that (Nelson) picked him up — he didn’t know his name, he didn’t know anything about him,” he said. “He picked him up and they
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Honors College enrollment up Law school reaches by Chloe Henson
news@dailylobo.com @ChloeHenson5 The number of students enrolled in UNM’s Honors College has been increasing since its founding last academic year. Kate Krause, dean of the Honors and University Colleges, presented an update to the Board of Regents on the growth of the new college at a meeting Tuesday. The Honors College saw an increase in out-of-state student attendance, Krause said. “We have 20 percent of our students from out of state this year, primarily California, Colorado and Texas,” she said. “In past years, we’ve had about 10 percent out-of-state, so we’ve had more out-of-state students.” According to a handout distributed at the meeting, the Honors College enrolled almost 600 freshmen this year, up from 353 last fall. The college now offers 59 classes, compared to approximately 40 classes last semester, according to the document. Dianne Anderson, director of communication at UNM, said the Honors College saw a 14 percent increase in attendance of New Mexico students with ACT scores of 26 or higher. Krause said the college experienced growth in student enrollment, faculty and curriculum
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offerings this semester. She said four members of faculty were tenured during the last year in order to accommodate the increase in freshman enrollment. “Two were promotions from within, two were brand new, but we had one retirement, so we’re up one faculty member,” she said
Academic Leave For Principal Lecturers At the same meeting, regents also approved a policy that would allow certain University lecturers to apply for academic leave. Richard Holder, president of the Faculty Senate, presented Policy C250, which makes principal lecturers at UNM eligible for academic leave. According to the policy, academic leave is “a professional development teaching release with pay to pursue other academic and/or professional opportunity activities.” Holder said that out of 922 main campus faculty members, 15 are principal lecturers, which are at the highest level among lecturers at UNM. He said the policy would have the lecturers apply for opportunities to use academic leave. “The approval process involves usually a departmental committee who would vote on the plan,” he said. “The chair will make a recommendation to the dean. The
dean will look at the plan as well.” According to the policy, nonHealth and Sciences Center members would send the recommendation to the provost or to the executive vice president for Academic Affairs, who would then verify the eligibility of the applicant. If the provost approves, the application would be sent to the University president, who would make the final decision. Holder said that if the lecturer was allowed to leave, they would be contractually obligated to return and work at the University for at least as long as their academic leave period. “If they don’t come back, they need to pay back the salary that they earned,” he said. UNM President Robert Frank said this policy does not make academic leave for the lecturers mandatory, but rather provides an opportunity to award faculty members. “If this person is performing at a high level, this is an opportunity to reward (them),” he said. “This is not something that is automatic by any means.” While the measure passed unanimously, Regent Conrad James said he wants updates on the financial aspect of the policy. “I would like to ask for a little bit more information on what the fiscal impact would be for this program,” he said.
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out to burn victim
Man with ties to UNM Law hurt in balloon crash by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno
For faculty and staff members of UNM’s School of Law, past administrator Peggy Lovato’s family is also their family. So when the hot-air balloon in which Peggy’s husband Danny was riding hit, burned and crashed after entangling itself in an electric power line Wednesday morning, the school rushed to find a way to help the Lovato family. “We are deeply saddened by this incident,” said Tamara Williams, communications and marketing manager of the school. “Peggy worked at the law school for over 38 years, and was the law school administrator for over many of those years. Peggy is a beloved colleague, friend, and member of our community.” Williams said Peggy retired from UNM in 2010. The law school has set up an emergency account to help Danny’s medical expenses, and now it’s calling on the University community for financial aid, she said. Williams said the school’s employees set up the account Thursday immediately after word got out
about Danny’s accident. Although she said Danny’s medical operations would be expensive, she said the school aims to help as much as it can. “Danny has seven upcoming surgeries over the next two days for skin grafting and will be in the hospital for months,” she said. “The type of catastrophic injuries that Danny has suffered will require a lengthy hospital stay, innumerable surgeries, prolonged treatment and rehabilitation therapy, which all will be exorbitantly costly even with insurance coverage.” Danny, 66, was crew chief of the wrecked hot-air balloon that flew Wednesday as part of the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. He rode the balloon with pilot Mark Kilgore, 59. About 550 balloons participated in the event. As Kilgore attempted to land the balloon during a mass ascension, the aircraft hit a power line 40 feet above the ground. The balloon crashed and the two suffered severe burns from the accident and were taken to UNM Hospital. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Kilgore was in “satisfactory” condition at UNMH by Wednesday. According to a press release from
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