01 16 14 Roswell Daily Record

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Roswell Daily Record

Vol. 123, No. 14 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

January 16, 2014

DA files charges in school shooting JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

District Attorney Janetta Hicks filed charges Wednesday afternoon in 5th District Court against Mason P. Campbell, 12, for the shooting at Berrendo Middle School. He is charged with three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after he shot and wounded three people, two juveniles and one adult, inside the building. The petition signed by District Court Judge Freddie Romero states that Mason “intended to injure” the three victims, although New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas called the shootings random during a press conference held Wednesday. Campbell reportedly entered the school with the weapon concealed in a duf fle bag around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, went into the gymnasium, which was occupied by 500 students and opened fire. Kassetas confirmed that the weapon used was a shotgun with the hand stock sawed of f. Three rounds were expended, the first into the ceiling and the remaining two went into the stands. The victims were shot at a 12 to 15 foot distance. Kassetas said officers worked throughout the night. “We completed searches

of the locker, the duffle bag and the residence on Sycamore. ... There were indicators that Campbell had planned this event.” Gov. Susana Martinez reported that Kendal Sanders, 13, who was shot in the right shoulder and underwent surgery in Lubbock, Texas, is now listed in stable condition. The second victim, a 12-yearold boy, was shot in the neck and the face. Martinez noted that he had gone through two surgeries, but remains in critical condition. The third victim was Kevin Hayes, a school security guard. According to Martinez, Hayes had his back turned when the first shot was fired. He approached Campbell to assist with efforts to disarm him and was hit by shotgun pellets. Social studies teacher John Masterson was hailed a hero after he told the student to put the gun down. “These children are not the same children that came into school yesterday,” Martinez said. She encouraged the students and parents to take advantage of counseling services and provided a contact number, 575-6231486. She said she was touched when she spoke with one student who reported that he was “OK.” See SHOOTING, Page A2

Kintigh holds campaign launch

Jill McLaughlin Photo

Several supporters attended a campaign launch for Dennis Kintigh, center, candidate for Roswell mayor, at the Roswell Elks Lodge Wednesday night.

www.rdrnews.com

THURSDAY

Counseling available for returning students, staff JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER

Parents and children took advantage of counseling services offered at Berrendo Middle School Wednesday. Several more therapists will be on hand for those returning today.

Chaves County CASA will be one of many providers assisting mental health professionals from the schools, city and state, said Executive Director Carrie-Leigh Cloutier.

“We’ll be there in the mor ning to guide the kids into the school and

help them with their trauma throughout the day,” Cloutier said.

CASA joined the crisis team with its trained courthouse dogs. The dogs are trained to work with traumatized children.

See COUNSELING, Page A2

Mark Wilson Photo

Gov. Susana Martinez addresses the media during a press conference Wednesday at Berrendo Middle School. RISD Superintendent Tom Burris, far right, also gave remarks. Berrendo Middle School will resume classes today, after two students were shot Tuesday by another student. Mason Campbell, 12, has been charged with three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

To read a statement from Campbell’s family about Tuesday’s events, see A2

Chaves County FRW hosts mayoral candidates A total of 150 people attended the Chaves County Federation of Republican Women luncheon, resulting in record attendance. The reason for the interest? The group brought in four speakers, Wednesday, to discuss pressing political issues of the day, including Mayor Del Jurney, mayoral candidate Dennis Kintigh, Eastern New Mexico University - Roswell President Dr. John Madden and former Roswell Independent School District Superintendent Michael Gottlieb. Both Jurney and Kintigh are running for office. Each presented his point of view about the upcoming election. First to speak, Jurney spoke about the accomplishments made during his administration, including new openness and transparency in city government.

He stated that government officials meet regularly with the Roswell Police Department and Parks and Recreation Department. “We meet monthly with the (Chaves) County and with Dexter and Hagerman city governments.” Jurney said the city had extended the aviation industry with incentives supported by state representatives. He pointed to growth in the area of alternative power while working with Leprino foods to affect expansion and support of local agriculture. He announced improvements made with the Roswell Police Department accomplished by hiring a police attorney, upgrading the computer systems and recent improvements in police staffing. Jurney urged people to consider the positives. “Our general fund continues to grow while other cities in New Mexico struggle. ... This is no time to change players.”

Kintigh expressed his sorrow at the tragic shootings at Berrendo Middle School. He asked people to remember in their prayers the first responders who “roll up on the scene to find broken children.” For Kintigh, the most important issue was crime. “We cannot pretend we don’t have a crime problem…. With nine homicides in the last year, Roswell now ranks with Washington, D.C.” While he acknowledged staf fing had improved recently, he said retention remains a problem. He said that between January 2011 and December 2013, 48 of ficers left the police department. Kintigh also discussed the number of derelict structures in Roswell, which he stated were not only an eyesore but also magnets for crime. Madden discussed the mill levy vote. Early voting for this issue opened this week. He provided charts

Excluded are the giant benefit programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps that run on autopilot and are increasingly driving the gover nment deeper into debt. Tea party Republicans, chastened after sparking a 16-day partial shutdown of the government in October in a kamikaze attempt to derail President Barack Obama’s health care law, appeared resigned to the bill. “I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of opposi-

tion,” one tea party leader, Rep. Raul Labrador, RIdaho, said before the vote. “The die has been cast for the next year on budget fights.” To buy time for the Senate debate, Congress on Wednesday sent President Barack Obama a three-day funding bill in time to avert a scheduled shutdown at midnight. The Senate cleared that measure by an 86-14 vote and Obama quickly signed it into law. The bill increases core agency spending by $26 billion over the fiscal 2013

year, after last year’s automatic spending cuts took them to $986 billion. But it’s $31 billion less than Congress passed last March before automatic cuts known as sequestration took effect. The Pentagon faces a tight squeeze even as it avoids what would have been another $20 billion wave of automatic cuts. The Pentagon’s core budget is basically frozen at $487 billion after most accounts absorbed an 8 percent automatic cut last year. Adding $6 billion to

JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

and graphs in the form of a handout. He reminded the audience that ENMU-R had already completed a number of capital projects and the for mer bond to be retired this year, meaning that the apparent increase was not as high as it appeared. He stressed that the people of Roswell saw the positive impact each and every day. He also noted that ENMU-R nursing students had the highest scores in the state with a 100 percent pass rate on New Mexico State Boards.

Gottlieb presented the opposition, discussing the cost of potential tax increases for the property owner. His emphasis was on rising prices across the board for the consumer while personal income often remains static, with a 70 percent increase in water, increases in home and health insurance. “The dollars they (people) save are not worth what they once were.”

In bipartisan effort, House passes $1.1 trillion bill to fund government

WASHINGTON (AP) — A $1.1 trillion spending bill for operating the government until just before next fall’s election steamed through the battle-weary House on Wednesday over tepid protests from tea party conservatives, driven by a bipartisan desire to restore painful cuts in domestic and defense programs and show disaffected voters that Congress can do its job. The bill swept through the House on a 359-67 vote and was on track for a big Senate vote by week’s end.

Republicans voted for the bill by a 2 1/2-1 margin, and just three Democrats were opposed. The measure funds virtually every agency of government and contains compromises on almost every one of its 1,582 pages. It covers the one-third of gover nment spending subject to annual decisions by Congress and the White House, programs that have absorbed the brunt of budget cuts racked up since Republicans reclaimed control of the House three years ago.

HIGH 60 LOW 25

TODAY’S FORECAST

• ARTURO TROY ANALLA • STEPHANIE BAEZA • BENNY ARAGON

• STEVEN GREGG “STEVER” JOHNSON • JASON LEADINGHAM

• SAMUEL ROMERO • ALICE O. MORENO

TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A3, A6

Obama’s war request provides some relief to readiness accounts, however, though active duty troop levels would still be cut by 40,000 to 1.36 million. It includes $85 billion for overseas military operations, a slight cut from last year.

Domestic programs generally fare better and are kept, on average, at levels agreed to last year before the automatic cuts of 5 percent kicked in across the board.

INDEX CLASSIFIEDS .........B5 LOTTERIES .............A2 COMICS ................B4 OPINION .................A4 SPORTS .................B1 FINANCIAL.............B3 WEATHER ..............A8 HOROSCOPES .........A8


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