02 04 14 Roswell Daily Record

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Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Madden uncertain about mill levy vote Vol. 123, No. 30 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday

JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER

Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell’s president was confident he has support for today’s mill levy election but he remained uncertain if he will have the votes in the final hours before election day. “We know that we have the majority of support of the residents of Chaves County,” said President John Madden. “The question is, will they vote?”

Madden, however, said he has faced strong opposition in the past few weeks over ENMU-R’s decision to ask county residents for the increase in property taxes to fund operating expenses. The tax would be indefinite. He said the group was a type of “virulent strain” of an anti-tax group and unfortunately they were vocal. “They are scum,” Madden said. “I think these people are anti-everything. And

February 4, 2014

www.rdrnews.com

I’m angry. I go to meetings and I get booed. … It’s as if because they are bad people, they can do whatever they want.” A failure of the mill levy could have an immediate negative impact, Madden said. “The hard part for us will be Wednesday morning. It could be a really ugly day and I don’t think the community understands that,” Madden said. The result could determine whether the college

will continue to offer its vast array of programs. ENMU-R offers the highest percentage of complex courses (44 percent) of community colleges in the souther n region of New Mexico. Madden and his instructors have actively been in the classroom discussing the mill levy election with ENMU-R students, he confirmed Monday. One English teacher, Annemarie Oldfield, used editorial cartoons to dis-

Officials: Car-to-car communication could save lives

TUESDAY

cuss with her students how she felt the media was biased against the school’s election and “how important information was being neglected and what sorts of scare tactics were being used.”

“We think the truth is important,” Madden said. “We are trying our utmost to spread the truth. Yes, our students ask questions because they don’t understand the misinformation in the community. (The liars) make me angry. They

City candidates present plans during forum JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER

AP Photo

This May 22, 2012, file photo shows a side mirror warning signal in a Ford Taurus at an automobile testing area in Oxon Hill, Md. Your car might see a deadly crash coming even if you don’t, the government says, indicating it will require automakers to equip new vehicles with technology that lets cars warn each other. The action, still some years off, has “game-changing potential” to cut collisions, deaths and injuries, federal transportation officials said at a news conference on Monday. A radio signal would continually transmit a vehicle’s position, heading, speed and other information.

are liars and they’re damn liars.” One of the new polling places, put in place with the Voting Convenience Center system, is located on the ENMU-R campus. The new voting system will be a first in the county. Registered voters will be able to vote at any of the 10 sites. Chaves County Clerk Dave Kunko expects a significant voter turnout — up

City Council and mayoral candidates were given the chance to speak about their ideas Monday night during a forum at the First Baptist Church. Crime and economic development topped the list across the board for the candidates as each one answered a series of questions from Leadership Roswell Alumni Association’s Rick Kraft. The forum was broadcast on Cable One’s channel 75 and will be rebroadcast at 6 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. The program can also be streamed starting today on Leadership Roswell’s website at lraa.info/. “The questions were put together by a candidate forum committee,” Kraft said. “None of the questions have been told to candidates ahead of time.”

See MILL LEVY, Page A3

Candidates from each ward were given an opportunity to answer a series of questions about their visions for the city and thoughts about important issues. Mayor Del Jur ney and mayoral candidate Dennis Kintigh ended the evening. Jurney listed off a series of achievements he, the council and city staff had achieved in the past four years. “Each of these individual (accomplishments) are noteworthy. Each tells a story of strong confident leadership,” Jurney said. Jurney said better days are yet to come. He was looking forward to aggressively pursuing the downtown master plan, the convention center, neighborhood parks and familyfriendly activities, and possibly a theme park. “Roswell is a great com-

Officer pulls woman Bill requires in-state tuition rates for vets out from house fire A Roswell Police officer responding to a house fire Saturday morning kicked open a door to rescue a woman and drag her to safety in the backyard. Officer Chris King arrived on scene to the house on the 300 block of Swinging Spear Road shortly after midnight, according to spokeswoman Sabrina Morales. The woman, another resident and a neighbor were all taken to a local hospital. Two of the victims were treated and released.

The woman rescued by King was flown to Lubbock for further treatment, Morales said. Crews from three fire stations responded to the fire, said Roswell Fire Chief Chad Hamill. “The house is not a complete loss, but the contents of the house had heavy smoke damage,” Hamill said. Fire crews found a victim in the backyard when they arrived, Hamill said. The fire is still under investigation. Names have not been released and the condition of the victim in Lubbock was unknown Monday, Hamill said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are starting to lay the blame on President Barack Obama if an overhaul of the nation’s broken immigration system fails to become law. The GOP’s emerging plan on immigration is to criticize Obama as an untrustworthy leader and his administration as an unreliable enforcer of any laws that might be passed. Perhaps realizing the odds of finding a consensus on immigration are long, the Republicans have started

telling voters that if the GOP-led House doesn’t take action this election year, it is Obama’s fault. “If the president had been serious about this the last five years, we’d be further along in this discussion,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, said Sunday. House Republicans last week unveiled a road map for an overhaul of the nation’s broken immigration system that calls for increased border security, better law enforcement

JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House overwhelmingly passed legislation Monday that would require public universities around the country to charge veterans in-state tuition rates or face financial penalty. Congress intended for veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan era to go to college for free at the public school of their choice. And for most, that’s the case. But, on occasion, veterans end up living in a new state once their service has ended. Then, they find that the federal government’s reimbursement to colleges won’t fully cover the higher tuition rates that generally apply to students who come in from out of state. “There are many veterans through no fault of their own who are forced to pay exorbitant tuition rates to schools simply because of the transit nature of their military service,”

said Rep. Jeff Miller, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. About half the states already have waivers in place designed to attract veterans to attend their public universities. Lawmakers and veterans groups are pushing for a national approach. Budget scorekeepers estimate the provision would affect about 3,800 veterans initially and save the federal government about $139 million over the next decade. The bill passed by a vote of 390-0. Some have complained that Congress is putting in place another unfunded federal mandate. When the bill came up before a congressional subcommittee last year, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities sad that establishing tuition policy is a clear state right. “This bill screams of gov-

Republicans blame Obama for immigration stall

HIGH 60 LOW 29

TODAY’S FORECAST

within the U.S. and a pathway to legal status — but not citizenship — for millions of adults who live in America unlawfully. The proposal requires those here illegally to pay back taxes and fines. But one of its backers, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, said distrust of Obama poisons interest among some in his Republican caucus. “Here’s the issue that all Republicans agree on: We don’t trust the president to enforce the law,” said

Ryan, his party’s vice presidential nominee in 2012. R yan said a plan that puts security first could only pass the House if lawmakers believe the administration would enforce it — an unlikely prospect given Republicans’ deep opposition to Obama. The president’s waivers for provisions in his 4-year -old health care law have increased suspicions among Republicans. “This isn’t a trust-butverify, this is a verify-thentrust approach,” Ryan said.

TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6 • HELEN JOY PADILLA • OSCAR E. (PETE) KUNKEL • ADAN MERAZ • DONALD GENE BROOKS • MARGARET LOUISE BROWN • HEIDI L. WILIAMS BOWEN • THELMA (LUPOLD) RITZ • OFELIA A. CARRILLO

See FORUM, Page A3

ernment overreach,” the association said at the time.

But the arguments from veterans groups won out. The groups said military veterans are the only Americans that sometimes cannot physically be present in a state long enough to satisfy residency requirements simply because they were serving their country.

In all, 20 states already have laws designed to help veterans get the instate rate. Another 12 have legislation pending. Eight more have individual schools or school systems that provide veterans with waivers so they can get the in-state tuition rate, according to Student Veterans of America, an advocacy group.

The bill stipulates that the in-state tuition requirement would only apply to veterans who enroll within three years of leaving the service.

AP Photo

Hilda Vasquez makes tamales in her kitchen in Edinburg, Texas, on Wednesday, Dec. 4. She raised the $680 for her U.S. citizenship application by selling batches of homemade tamales at South Texas offices. CLASSIFIEDS ..........B5 COMICS .................B4 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3

INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2 OPINION .................A4

SPORTS .................B1

WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD ..................A6


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