Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 123, No. 3 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
January 3, 2014
www.rdrnews.com
FRIDAY
Stewart Industries to pay $217,000 in overdue fees JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Stewart Industries International in Roswell, an aircraft storage and maintenance corporation, agreed Thursday to repay the city some $217,000 in overdue parking fees and rent by the end of the month. “This principal will be paid in full by Friday of next week. It’s already been taken care of,” said President Tom Stewart. “You’ll all get paid up. We will work our tail off to keep current.”
The majority of the fund balance accrued after one of its largest customers, American Airlines, filed for bankruptcy and did not pay Stewart Industries. The airline finally emerged from bankruptcy when it merged with U.S. Airways Dec. 9.
The city also instituted new parking fees a few months ago, which added to the costs, said City Manager Larry Fry.
Stewart Industries is a Federal Aviation Administration repair station that services aircraft operations and helps them recover
aging fleets. Services include storage, maintenance, aircraft dismantling, aircraft recycling and fleet procurements, according to the company’s web site. The company owes the city nearly $232,000 in rent for five buildings, a hangar, equipment rental, a land lease, landing fees and parking fees.
Stewart told the Airport Committee at its regular meeting his company would settle the company’s balance with the city, but he wanted to discuss the city’s $39,000 interest
charge on the overdue fees. “There’s an interest issue that needs to be discussed. There’s some problems with that and I will address that,” Stewart told committee members. Stewart met with city staff in a closed-door meeting to discuss the interest payment. He will have his comptroller audit the charge before sitting down again with staff to discuss the payment, said Roswell International Center Manager Jennifer Brady. The company will make a $117,000 payment by next
Pecan man
Mark Wilson Photo
A pecan orchard employee utilizing a rake is silhouetted by swirling dust and dirt at an area orchard, Thursday morning.
week, Brady said. “In the meeting, he did indicate some of that would be in rents as well,” Brady said. The company owes the city $11,231 for December and January rent for Hangar 84, but is current on all other building fees, Brady said. “He is a good tenant,” Brady said. “He has had some trouble and it has affected some of the operations. But he has made some improvements to the facility and hasn’t asked for abatement on that. The
improvements he has made has benefited all of us.” The city was just looking for a plan from the company about when to expect payment, she said. “And he did that,” Brady said. Brady said the city expects to receive the remainder of what is owed by the end of January. Councilor Jason Perry, a committee member, said the company was very good for Roswell and Roswell is good for them. “We’re glad that things
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
filed a 173-page motion after Wilson’s restraining order was issued. The court and King do not have jurisdiction to rule in the matter, Dunn argued in the motion. “This instant case and this instant motion in a line of other failed motions represents nothing more than political grandstanding by an attorney general running for the of fice of Governor of New Mexico in order to raise campaign contributions on an issue over which he has no jurisdiction,” Dunn argued in the filing. “More importantly, this case represents an abuse of the judicial system by the New Mexico Attorney General improperly persuading this court to enjoin a lawful business from their enterprise when neither he nor the court have subject matter jurisdiction to act.” In a press release entitled, “Stopping Horse Slaughter in NM,” King
AG, Valley Meat hearing today Attorneys will meet in the First Judicial District Court at 2:30 p.m. today in Santa Fe to decide if Attor ney General Gary King can keep Valley Meat Co. of Roswell from opening its doors. The last-ditch effort by King, a strong anti-horse slaughter proponent, filed the lawsuit after a federal appeals court in Colorado vacated a temporary ban on U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections at slaughterhouse facilities. King had joined with animal activists in the unsuccessful federal suit. District Judge Matthew Wilson in Santa Fe issued a temporary restraining order in the latest lawsuit Monday, halting Valley Meat’s plans to open Jan. 1. King was not required to post a bond as a result, having filed under the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act. Attor ney Blair Dunn, representing Valley Meat,
See FEES, Page A3
Two car accidents DWI arrests up for 2014 New Year holiday kick off new year JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
A 30-year -old man was severely injured during a traffic accident, a little after midnight on Wednesday, in the 1000 block of West Poe Street. Richard Hernandez was flown out of state for treatment. According to police records, Hernandez ran a stop sign and hit another vehicle occupied by four people. The police also reported that Hernandez was driving at excessive speed.
AP Photo
Sergio Garcia speaks at The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles news conference, Aug. 27, 2013.
After hitting a second vehicle, Hernandez’s 2013 Hyundai struck the curb and began to roll. It also hit a parked car before the vehicle came to rest with its back tires on the roof of a residence and its front bumper on the ground. Officers determined that no one in the first vehicle had been drinking. Hernandez’s blood was drawn at the scene to check for blood alcohol content and then he was taken by lifeflight directly from the locaSee ACCIDENTS, Page A3
TESS TOWNSEND RECORD STAFF WRITER
Law enforcement reported six arrests in Chaves County for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol over the New Year holiday, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Two incidents occurred in Roswell and four outside city limits. Only one DWI occurred last year over the holiday, outside city limits, according to law enforcement. Despite the higher volume of DWI arrests over the recent New Year, the Roswell Police Department
saw fewer DWI incidences in 2013 than 2012. RPD Spokeswoman Sabrina Morales said police arrested 117 people for DWI offenses in 2013, compared to 187 in 2012. “We’d like to think the statistics reflect that the community understands the Roswell Police Department has a zero tolerance for offenders of the law,” Morales wrote in an email. RPD ramped up coverage on New Year’s Eve with an extra six officers patrolling the streets in anticipation of an increase in the number of impaired drivers, according to RPD
Sgt. Jim Preston. Chaves County Sheriff’s Of fice Lt. Britt Snyder said CCSO encountered slightly more DWI cases this past year, with 48 DWI cases in 2013 and 42 in 2012. Snyder commented of the recent holiday, “This was a bad New Year compared to years past. People are generally more responsible on New Year’s than most other nights, or at least that is what we have seen historically.” CCSO had two DWI See DWI, Page A3
See HEARING, Page A3
DWI arrests by law enforcement agency Roswell Police Department
Dec. 31, 2013: 0
Jan. 1, 2014: 2
Chaves County Sheriff’s Office Dec. 31: 0
Jan. 1: 2
New Mexico State Police
Dec. 31: 2
Jan. 1: 0
Court grants law license to man in US illegally
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California Supreme Court granted a law license Thursday to a man who has lived in the U.S. illegally for two decades, a ruling that advocates hope will open the door to millions of immigrants seeking to enter other professions such as medicine, accounting and teaching. The unanimous decision means Sergio Garcia, who attended law school and passed the state bar
HIGH 62 LOW 30
TODAY’S FORECAST
exam while working in a gr ocery stor e and on farms, can begin practicing law immediately. It’s the latest in a string of legal and legislative victories for people who are in the country without per mission. Other successes include the creation of a path to citizenship for many young people and the granting of drivers licenses in some states. “This is a bright new day in California history
and bodes well for the future,” the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles said in a statement.
The court sided with state officials in the case, which pitted them against the White House over a 1996 federal law that bars people who are in the U.S. illegally fr om r eceiving pr ofessional licenses from government agencies or with the use of public money, unless state lawmakers vote oth-
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGES A2, A7
• FRANCISCO REYES HERRERA • HYMAN DERWIN • MARY HELEN MELENDEZ
• LOTHER MENDENHALL • LEONARD CLAUDE “BUSTER” FERGUSON JR. • DELL VICK
• CATHARINE WRIGHT BARNHILL • GARY BEAR
erwise. Bill Hing, a law professor at the University of San Francisco, said the court made clear the only reason it granted Garcia’s request is that California recently approved a law that specifically authorizes the state to give law licenses to immigrants who are here illegally. The new law, inspired by Gar cia’s situation, took effect Wednesday. It was unclear how many people would quali-
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B4 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3
fy to practice law under the ruling and whether it would influence other states. Legislatures and gover nors in more conservative states such as Alabama and Arizona are likely to be less receptive to the idea. Garcia, who plans to be a personal injury attorney in his hometown of Chico, said he hoped the decision would serve as a “beacon of hope” to others in the same situation.
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8