Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 123, No. 7 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
January 9, 2014
Alumni Association ordered back to court JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
The New Mexico Military Institute’s former Alumni Association has been ordered back to court to explain to an Eddy County judge why she should not find the group in contempt of court for continuing to use the Institute’s name. District Court Judge Jane Schuler-Gray has directed
the former Association’s representatives to appear Feb. 20.
The court placed a preliminary injunction Nov. 18, ordering the Association to stop using the name “New Mexico Military Institute,” “NMMI,” the Crest, the Stack Logo, and the Rifle, Cannon and Saber Coat of Arms, or any other marks, logos or intellectual property of the Institute.
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Since that time, the Association changed its name to “Institute Alumni Association,” and informed its membership of the new name.
Attorneys for the New Mexico Military Institute wrote a letter to the Association asking them to stop doing business as “the Institute Alumni Association.” “The use of the word ‘Institute’ violated the court
order and will undoubtedly cause a great deal of confusion as the public could very likely be led to believe a working relationship between the entities continues to exist when in fact it does not,” NMMI attorney Parker Folse wrote in a letter Dec. 18, to Association attorney Jeffrey Dahl. NMMI attorneys filed a petition Monday calling for the action, after the Associ-
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ation did not respond to this request.
“We feel that’s a clear violation of the court’s preliminary injunction,” Folse said Wednesday.
Shuler -Grey found that good cause existed to require the defendant to appear and show cause as to why they are not in contempt of court for failure to abide by the preliminary injunction, according to her
Ice clinging to a fence begins to thaw under the midday sunshine, Tuesday afternoon.
A trial date is set for Oct. 6, when Shuler -Grey is expected to rule on the remainder of a lawsuit filed by NMMI against the Association. NMMI is asking the court to freeze the Association’s $5 million in assets, transfer the funds to the NMMI Foundation, and order the Association to account for funds received as an agent of the school.
Council to consider naming vet cemetery JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
order issued Wednesday.
City Councilors may consider naming the newly dedicated veterans’ cemetery the “Gen. Douglas L. McBride Roswell Veterans’ Cemetery” tonight to commemorate the main benefactor and McBride family, who donated the land. The Building and Lands Committee will meet prior to the council meeting to consider the name suggestion. If approved, the recommendation will be presented to the council at 7 p.m. The Chaves County Veteran’s Cemetery Board wrote a letter of strong support to the city, requesting the name designation. “Naming the cemetery as the Gen. Douglas L. McBride Roswell Veterans’ Cemetery seems only fitting,” wrote Col. Ron McKay, board president. “The land was donated by the McBride Foundation in his honor, and Gen.
McBride’s distinguished military service brings honor to that location.” The board for mally approved the name request at its meeting Dec. 18. The veterans’ cemetery was dedicated Dec. 30, at its newly improved grounds adjacent to the South Park Cemetery. The cemetery board and city joined in the past few months to fasttrack one acre of the 20acre parcel. The group expects to begin burials in the next few months, with future plans of seeking state and federal approvals to become officially recognized as a federally recognized cemetery. McBride, born in 1926, in Wichita Falls, Texas, was a cadet at New Mexico Military Institute. He served with the 88th Infantry Division in Italy during World War II. After the war, he served with the Army Engineers and became the commanding of ficer of the
Oil, gas boom boosts CAFOweb named a Top 10 new product earnings for the state
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — An oil and gas boom in New Mexico and more than a dozen new renewable energy projects have translated into record ear nings of more than $670 million for the State Land Of fice, boosting the funding available for public schools, universities and other trust beneficiaries. In announcing the figures Wednesday, Land Commissioner Ray Powell said 2013 marked the biggest year in the agency’s history. In December alone, earnings reached a record $79 million. In the last three years, Powell said, the Land Office has generated about $1.7 billion through oil and gas royalties, and revenues from grazing, rights of way
and other leases with developers and renewable energy companies.
Aside from boosting the state’s coffers and reducing some of the burden on taxpayers, Powell said the uptick in development on state trust lands has also translated into jobs.
Between partnerships the Land Office has with developers of science, technology and business parks in Albuquerque and Hobbs, Powell pointed to about 5,500 new well-paying jobs.
“It’s hard to quantify in numbers like we put out today but that’s where the rubber meets the road, having good jobs for New Mexicans that pay taxes and produce products,” Powell said.
See CEMETERY, Page A3
TESS TOWNSEND RECORD STAFF WRITER
A small New Mexico agricultural technology startup with offices in Roswell, Clovis and Santa Fe has been named a Top 10 New Product for 2014 by the International Agricenter. Nutrient and water use tracking software company CAFOweb will accept the the distinction during the World Ag Expo in Tulare, Ca. Feb. 11-13. “This is a huge deal for us as far as not only getting exposure nationwide but across the world as well,” said CAFOweb Executive Director Tara Vander Dussen. The expo, organized by the center, is the largest annual agricultural exhi-
Mark Wilson Photo
CAFOweb Compliance Inspector Porter Beene and Glorieta Geoscience, Inc. Senior Environmental Scientist Shawna Perry demonstrate the use of CAFOweb nutrient compliance and management software at P7 Dairy in Roswell.
bition, with 1,500 companies showing products at the event this year, according to Liza Teixeira,
center director of communications. “We feel it’s very prestigious to be named a Top
WASHINGTON (AP) — One day after clearing a key Senate hurdle, legislation to renew long-term jobless benefits stood at a crossroads on Wednesday with gridlock beckoning from one direction and the prospect of compromise from the other. After a day of mixed signals, Majority Leader Harry Reid delayed any action on the measure until Thursday, saying he wanted to allow time for unspecified compromise efforts. Reid, D-Nev., also appeared to suggest that the focus shift away from a
three-month resurrection of the expired program. Instead, he suggested efforts turn to a full-year renewal that could be paid for, a key demand from deficit-conscious Republicans. For much of the day, officials had said Reid was likely to bar Republicans from seeking changes, a step that probably would derail the bill. For their part, GOP lawmakers made the case for offsetting the bill’s cost, and offered options to do so. “Why wouldn’t we pay for it if we could?” said Sen.
10 product,” she said.
See CAFOWEB, Page A3
Walmart customer cut by hidden GOP seeks changes to jobless bill razor on shopping cart handle TESS TOWNSEND RECORD STAFF WRITER
Tess Townsend photo
A woman cut by a razor hidden on the handle of a shopping cart at the Walmart Supercenter shows her wounded finger, now bandaged.
The story sounds like an urban legend. A Walmart Supercenter customer said she was cut by a razor blade stuck to the plastic cover of a shopping cart handle at the North Main Street store Tuesday. “As soon as I took the cart, I said ‘ouch’ and my finger was bleeding and as soon as I said ‘ouch,’
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the blade fell out,” the 72year-old Roswell resident, who preferred that her name not be printed, told the Record.
Walmart Corporate Spokeswoman Kayla Whaling said managers at the Roswell location are checking carts to ensure they do not have sharp objects attached. She said asset protecSee RAZOR, Page A3
• THEDA MAE SHIER • PAULINE LOIS BRANCHEAU • LARRY D. HALL
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B5 COMICS .................B4 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3
Rob Portman, R-Ohio, one of several members of his party backing options to cover the estimated $6.4 billion price tag of the threemonth bill.
The proposals ranged from delaying a requirement for individuals to purchase health insurance under the new health care law to preventing immigrants in the country illegally from claiming a certain type of tax break for their children. A third would prevent individuals who qualify for Social Security disability payments from also receiving unemployment benefits.
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD ..................A6