Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 124, No. 19 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
January 22, 2015
THURSDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Burris, Hunt discuss need for school construction bond BY DYLANNE PETROS RECORD STAFF WRITER
Out of 800 schools in the state of New Mexico, four Roswell schools are ranked near the top of education facilities that need renovations. “If the No. 1 school in the state is the worst school in the state, what does No. 5 look like? Del Norte Elementary,” said Tom Burris, superintendent of Roswell Independent School District. Burris and Mackenzie
Hunt, District 1 RISD school board member, spoke about the school construction bond at the Chaves County Republican Women’s monthly luncheon Wednesday. “We have schools that in the state of New Mexico are in the top 20 that are in need of renovation,” Burris said. Other schools that need renovations are Parkview Early Childhood Center, Mesa Middle School, ranked 13th on the list, and Nancy Lopez, ranked
18th on the list. The bond, Burris said, will not raise taxes as it is a replacement of the current bond that is in place. “One hundred percent of what is raised in the bond is going to go to our state match of 28 percent,” he said. “As we do that, New Mexico pays 72 percent of the new construction.” The district millage rate is 5.635 mills, which means on a $100,000 house, the annual tax bill would be $187.83, according to Ron Lethgo, Chaves
Veterans get down to business
County tax assessor. The total millage levied on property in Roswell is 29.018 mills, or $969.36 on a $100,000 property, Lethgo said. “This is like us buying a $400,000 house for $100,000 and we don’t owe any money on it,” Burris said. Currently, enrollment is at 10,400 in the district, Burris said. “One of the things I want to point out that’s hard for me to understand and I think for you is that we
have 30,000 customers as a school district,” Hunt said. “We have over 10,000 kids. That means there’s 20,000 parents.” While there are 30,000 “customers” in Roswell, Hunt said the district tries to address all issues that pop up and that includes dissatisfaction in the quality of the buildings. “One of the things that’s really important is that you all continue to fund the school district so we can maintain our buildings and improve our buildings
because we all know if we’re proud of where we are — whether it’s our house or our office — we take care of it,” Hunt said. Another reason the schools need to be renovated is because they were never designed for the amount of students currently attending. “I think Mr. Burris said there’s over 500 kids at Del Norte. It was never designed for that,” Hunt said.
Cemetery board hesitant to meet with Building and Lands Committee
See BOND, Page A3
President, secretary discuss mistreatment by councilors
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
Max Scally Photo
A luncheon and workshop was held Wednesday at the Roswell Chamber of Commerce in which counseling was provided to military veterans with a desire to start their own business. The luncheon was free to participants and catered by Peppers Grill & Bar. Don Rutherford, left, a veteran who started an oil field business called BS&T, talks with Jim Cassidy, who works as the disabled veterans outreach program specialist with the New Mexico Workforce Connection in Roswell and was one of the presenters. Rutherford said he was at the luncheon seeking information on how to obtain government contracts.
South Park Cemetery Advisory Board members told city Parks Director Tim Williams on Tuesday that they did not want to appear before the city’s Building and Lands Committee next week because of the manner in which they were treated at the December meeting. During the last Building and Lands Committee meeting, two City Council members took Board President Jake Trujillo and city Sexton Mike Kirk to task. “They were just hateful,” Board Secretary Rita KaneDoerhoefer told Williams. “I am sorry that Jake had to
go through that.” The board members did not mention the councilors by name, but the Roswell Daily Record was in attendance at the Dec. 29 Building and Lands Committee meeting at which the conflict occurred. The City Councilors involved in the confrontation with Kirk and Trujillo were Caleb Grant and Jeanine Corn Best. The Building and Lands Committee refused for two months to consider the rules and regulations that the cemetery board had prepared, Kane-Doerhoefer said. “The mayor tasked us with coming up with rules
Carlsbad middle school Local ‘Guitar man’ attacked, robbed receives a bomb threat Male attacker in CCDC on robbery charge STAFF REPORT
Eddy County Sherif f’s Office detectives are investigating a bomb threat made at a Carlsbad middle school on Wednesday. Detectives with the Eddy County Sherif f’s Of fice responded to PR Leyva Middle School located at 800 W. Church after receiving a report of a bomb threat, according to a news release from Eddy County Sheriff Scott London.
With the assistance of the school resource officers and school administrators, all safety precautions were taken to ensure the safety of the students at that school. The campus was released to school administrators and students were allowed to resume the nor mal school schedule, according to the release. The incident is still under investigation by the detectives, the release states.
BY TIMOTHY P. HOWSARE RECORD EDITOR
The man who is known for playing his guitar on the sidewalks of downtown Roswell was beaten and robbed of $30 last month, according to a criminal complaint filed Jan. 6 in the Chaves County Magistrate Court. On Dec. 19, Billy McCabe was attacked behind the Stripes conven-
ience store at 611 S. Main St., where the store manager observed a female kneeling over McCabe while he was laying on the ground unconscious.
At first, the store manager thought the woman was trying to render first aid to McCabe, but then thought the woman was searching the victim, according to court documents.
Republicans reshuffle House committees SANTA FE (AP) — Republican leaders began wielding their newfound political power Wednesday by advancing a measure that would revamp the way some things work in New Mexico’s House of Representatives. It’s been six decades since Republicans have held the majority in the chamber, and now they’re scrambling to set a new course with a slew of committee changes they say are aimed at making things more efficient. They proposed consolidating some panels and eliminating others. The proposal cleared its first hurdle Wednesday when it passed the House Rules Committee on a 108 party-line vote. It must
still be approved by the full House. “We’d like to make some changes and move forward,” said House Speaker Don Tripp, R-Socorro. As part of the proposed changes devised by Tripp, the panel that deals with voters and election issues would be eliminated while the agriculture and water committee would be expanded to include wildlife. The energy and natural resources panel would also include other environmental concerns. The plan drew criticism from Democrats and members of the audience. Some were concer ned about lumping wildlife with commercial interests and said a committee on voters is necessary now more than
HIGH 36 LOW 13
TODAY’S FORECAST
ever after last year’s low turnout. “I am a little worried about change for change’s sake only,” said Rep. Ken Martinez, D-Grants. Martinez is the former House speaker. Tripp finished making committee assignments late Wednesday, but he said it could be a few days before the full House approves the resolution, which will slow the process down. “It’s actually been very smooth. Speaker Martinez has been very cordial in helping us through the transition,” Tripp said. The legislative review process essentially begins at the committee level. The sooner committee chairs are appointed and opera-
• JIMMY BRADLEY EATON • LISA DIANE STEPHENS • HAZEL JANE PERRY
Along with the woman
kneeling over McCabe, there was a man sitting just north of the victim, the store manager observed.
McCabe regained consciousness as he was being loaded into an ambulance. He was transported to Easter n New Mexico Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries, according to the complaint. The
male
See BOARD, Page A3
Joseph Zarazua, 57, of Roswell, was arrested on a charge of robbery, third degree. He is being held at the Chaves County Detention Center on a $10,000 cash or surety bond, a jail official said Wednesday. The criminal complaint does not indicate whether the female suspect was charged. A detective with the
suspect,
See GUITAR, Page A6
tions are in full swing, the sooner legislation can be considered.
House Minority Leader Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, said Republicans shouldn’t get too comfortable in their new role.
“This is a two-year experiment and the state of New Mexico gets to see what happens with a Republican majority,” Egolf said, counting the days until Democrats have a chance to regain power.
“It is very unfortunate to see Rep. Brian Egolf continue promoting divisiveness and Washington dysfunction at every turn,” Gentry said, adding that the House should work together.
• JEANNE BICKLEY ZACHARIAS • DAVID VEGA RIVERA
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
AP Photo
Don Tripp, R-Socorro, smiles before being sworn in as Speaker of the House during the opening session for the New Mexico Legislature at the New Mexico state capitol in Santa Fe, Tuesday. Tripp is the first Republican House speaker in 60 years.
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INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........B6 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
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WEATHER ..............A8