SUMM 2014
ID ER GU
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RT D NO FE AN A N TA
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Summer to celebrate
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Discover the faces and places that make Northern New Mexico a top destination BIENVENIDOS, INSIDE
riters ature w n f o io A tr nser ve aise, co r p , y la p ic bars Water: romant & gas s t n a , Las Ve p staur o e r o L w z e N d, Jeme igh Roa H : s ip t
SFCC celebrates 30th graduation Recalling educational struggles, journalist tells grads to help one another achieve dreams. PAGE C-1
Zozobra flare-up Social media campaign targets opposition to date change. PAGE C-1
SFHS misses title Girls track team comes 1 point shy of taking trophy home. PAGE D-1
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Locally owned and independent
www.santafenewmexican.com $1.25
Faced with amplified challenges from in and out of classrooms, school leaders today must rise above expectations to meet ever-evolving demands — and make the state’s grade
Pressures to be an
3 ELECTIONS 2014 U.S. Senate
2 Republican rivals waging fierce fight to unseat Udall
‘A’ principal
By Steve Terrell and Milan Simonich The New Mexican
Woman battles life under the influence 36-year-old’s sixth DWI underscores struggle to stop repeat offenders By Chris Quintana The New Mexican
None of New Mexico’s strategies for fighting the state’s curse of drinking and driving has stopped Lenal Friday from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. Not ignition interlock laws. Not jail time. Not rehabilitation. Not Drug Court. Not electronic monitoring. Late last month, the 36-year-old Santa Fe woman was arrested on her sixth charge of DWI. This time, if convicted, she might actually go to prison. A sixth DWI is a third-degree felony in New Mexico, punishable by a mandatory 18 months of incarceration and a maximum of 30 months in prison. Her vehicle can be forfeited, and she must install an ignition interlock for the remainder of her life. Friday is one of hundreds of repeat
Please see DWI, Page A-6
Capital High School Principal Channell Wilson-Segura walks to an assembly in the gym March 28. Under her leadership, the school has moved from a D to a B in the state’s grading system within two years. Earlier this month, Wilson-Segura was honored with an Excellence in Student Achievement Award. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN
By Robert Nott The New Mexican
I
f Capital High School is rising, as teacher Laura Carthy told the crowd at the school’s graduation ceremony last spring, many would attribute it to the leadership of Principal Channell Wilson-Segura. Carthy, who as a veteran teacher actually mentored Wilson-Segura when the latter was a junior teacher at Capital, is direct: “I think it’s absolutely due to her.” Staff morale, once way down, is up again. The south-side school recently was named as a demonstration school for a national college preparatory program for the second time in a row — the only such school in the state. And most visibly, the school moved from a D to a B in the state’s grading system within two years.
Earlier this month, the state and local school board recognized Wilson-Segura’s work with an Excellence in Student Achievement Award. But Wilson-Segura still has her hands full dealing with fights in the cafeteria, questions about how the school handles its athletic program and the recent discovery that 21 of the school’s seniors had cheated while taking online credit recovery courses. Wilson-Segura gave the miscreants two days of suspension and made them take the courses over again from scratch. That wasn’t enough for some people, who called her office to chew her out. “I’m not going to throw them to the wolves because of someone else’s sense of accountability,” Wilson-Segura said. “You’re not always popular in this position. But I go to
Please see PRINCIPAL, Page A-5
National pundits and prognosticators for months have rated U.S. Sen. Tom Udall’s seat as safe for the Democrats as the major parties prepare to joust for control of the Senate in November. Nonetheless, the Republican primary battle in New Mexico between former state party chairman Allen Weh and political newcomer David Clements has been intense. The day before Weh announced his candidacy in January, Clements called the retired Marine colonel a “71-year-old, white, wealthy, overtly partisan Republican who fits the most extreme caricature of Republicans.” In March, Weh’s camp sued Clements, alleging defamation, after Clements made claims that Weh’s team had hacked his emails. Clements filed a counterclaim, saying Weh’s camp had brought a frivolous suit. Weh has blistered Clements for two highprofile blunders. Clements, a Las Cruces lawyer with libertarian leanings, claimed he had received an A from the National Rifle Association, weeks before the group issued its grades. Then Weh accused Clements of plagiarizing the writings of a Michigan congressman on his website. Clements blamed campaign volunteers. Clements surprised many by winning nearly 47 percent of the delegate vote against the betterknown, better-funded Weh at the Republican preprimary convention in March. But Weh appeared unfazed by Clements’ showing. According to the most recent available campaign finance reports, filed in late March, Weh had raised $413,965 and had $205,569 cash on hand. Clements had raised just over $60,000 and had only $7,497 in the bank. Udall, meanwhile, had raised $5.5 million and had more than $3 million cash on hand. A poll in March by Public Policy Polling Co., a Democratic-leaning firm from North Carolina, showed Udall leading Weh by 20 percentage points and Clements by 22. The New Mexican presents profiles of the Senate Republican candidates on Page A-4.
INSIDE
Today Partly sunny and windy. High 84, low 74. PAGE D-6
Obituaries Frank M. Bond MelvinL.Brooks,96,LosAlamos,May12 Cmdr. Christopher Stafford Gobey, May 7 Teri Gonzales, May 13 Susan Roberta Horne, Santa Fe, May 11 Kenneth (Red) Lee Hume, May 12 Frank Michael Vigil, 50, Budaghers, N.M., May 11 Louise Mckinnon Wellborn PAGE C-2, C-3
Index
Calendar A-2
Classifieds E-10
u Democrat challenging U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján faces a “super uphill battle.” PAGE A-4
Three states grant dying patients the ‘right to try’ unproven drugs New laws aim to skirt lengthy FDA approval process By Brady Dennis and Ariana Eunjung Cha The Washington Post
Colorado, Missouri and Louisiana are poised to become the first states in the nation to give terminally ill patients the right to try experimental drugs without the blessing of the Food and
Lotteries A-2
Drug Administration, setting the stage for what could be a lengthy battle over who should decide whether a drug is too risky to try. Lawmakers in the three states have passed “Right to Try” laws with unanimous votes in recent weeks, after high-profile, social media campaigns in which families of dying patients have pushed for access to unapproved but potentially lifesaving drugs. Colorado’s governor is expected to sign that state’s
Neighbors C-6
Opinions B-1
law Saturday. Proponents of the measures argue that patients desperate for treatments must navigate a lengthy, cumbersome process to get the FDA to approve early access to experimental drugs and to persuade companies to provide them. The Right to Try laws are intended to cut through some of that red tape by essentially cutting the federal government out of the picture.
www.pasatiempomagazine.com
2014 Eldorado Studio Tour More than 75 artists open their studios in the 23rd annual self-guided tour; 10 a.m.-5 p.m., maps and guides available at La Tienda Exhibit Space, 7 Caliente Road, links to artists’ websites available online at eldoradostudiotour.org More events in Calendar, Page A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Please see DRUGS, Page A-5
Real Estate E-1
Main office: 983-3303 Late paper: 986-3010 News tips: 983-3035
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Sports D-1
Six sections, 44 pages
Time Out/crossword C-8
165th year, No. 139 Publication No. 596-440
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