Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
ENMU-R mulls future of programs Vol. 123, No. 34 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Administrators at Eastern New Mexico UniversityRoswell met this week to discuss the future of the school’s programs following the failure of the mill levy, the university system’s president said Friday. Steven Gamble, president of ENMU-Portales, could not say whether John Madden, president at the Roswell campus, will
February 8, 2014
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remain at the school. “I don’t discuss personnel issues,” Gamble said. Madden has come under fire this week following several damaging comments he made regarding opponents to the property-tax increase proposed in the three-mill levy that was voted down Tuesday. Madden also said Monday that a failure of the mill levy would result in an immediate negative impact to the school. “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,” he said before the vote. The university, however, has continued operating, Gamble said. Funding for each institution is budgeted for 12 months prior to the academic year. “I think what has changed immediately is that they are now meeting on these issues,” Gamble said. “If the millage had passed, there would not be
a need to address a budget shortfall.” Gamble said that prior to the vote, Madden had sufficiently outlined to the public the financial impact that the mill levy failure would have on the school. “I think Dr. Madden did a good job of outlining the financial impact of a millage if passed or the impact if it didn’t pass,” Gamble said. Any program changes might take months. Madden is expected to present
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Mark Wilson Photo
International Law Enforcement Academy delegates from El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama pose for pictures prior to graduation ceremonies, Friday morning.
SATURDAY
a plan to Gamble. “When they’ve got a plan together, it will be presented. It just takes time to go through the budget,” Gamble said. “Our process here at the Portales campus is three months. And again, we don’t know what our state appropriations is going to be.” Madden has seen the Roswell campus through a budget crisis in the past, Gamble said. “He has done a really good job in navigating
them through that road for the institution,” Gamble said.
Gamble doesn’t try to micromanage the campuses at Roswell or Ruidoso, he said.
“I have confidence in the presidents at Roswell and Ruidoso,” he said. “I give them a lot of leeway at running their institutions. They understand their missions and they understand their role in the community of their institution.”
State budget fails in House
SANTA FE (AP) — A $6.2 billion budget proposal failed in the House on a tie vote Friday as Republicans and Democrats clashed over education spending and school-improvement initiatives advocated by GOP Gov. Susana Martinez. Republicans were joined by one Democrat — Rep. Sandra Jeff of Crownpoint — in opposing the measure. The 34-34 vote will force lawmakers to “go back to the negotiating table and see if there is a place we can meet,” House Speaker W. Ken Martinez, a Grants Democrat, told reporters. Two Democrats are absent this session because of health problems, but Martinez said he didn’t expect an attempt to bring one of the members to the session to break the budget stalemate. The bill remains alive and can be brought up later. The House isn’t scheduled to meet again
until Monday. “Obviously, everybody will take a deep breath, assess where we are at and see if there’s a way that we can close that gap. We’ll get out of here with a budget. We’ll be fine,” the speaker said. Republicans objected that the measure didn’t pay for a number of the governor’s educational initiatives, including merit pay for teachers. A GOP attempt to revamp the spending plan also failed on a tie vote. It would have shifted about $25 million to programs backed by the governor. “It’s unfortunate that Democrats tried to ram through a partisan budget after only negotiating with labor unions and special interests and not the minority party,” said Knell, a Enrique spokesman for the governor. “That’s how Washing-
Sign-ups for federal Acosta charged with homicide in shooting chicken conservation program available JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The federal government is now accepting applications through the end of the month from agricultural producers in lesser prairie-chicken range who are willing to implement conservation practices.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife practices include removing brush, implementing prescribed grazing and the establishment and management of native grass stands.
Only producers who are not enrolled in federal farm bill programs are eligible to apply for five- and 10-year contract options.
At the end of the sign-up period, the wildlife service will score and rank applications based on their value to prairie chickens and pick the highest ranking offers for funding. Landowners with accepted offers will receive a signup incentive and payments for implementing conservation practices that will maximize the value of their property for prairie chickens. Payments of up to 125 percent of the estimated cost of implementing the See CONSERVATION, Page A3
AP Photo
In this Jan. 31 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House.
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TODAY’S FORECAST
Helen Joy Padilla, the victim of a shooting that took place on Nov. 1, 2013, in the 200 block of East Frazier, died in Lubbock, Texas, last Friday. According to the original complaint filed in Magistrate Court in November, lead investigator Detective Jon Gokey tried to speak with Padilla the day of the incident and learned that her heart had stopped at least once. She had gun shot wounds to her leg and torso. Padilla was flown to Lubbock for treatment that same day. She was still in the hospital on Dec. 2, 2013. After recovering for two months, she was
released from the hospital. Around Jan. 22, Padilla returned to Lubbock for further treatments for the wounds received. On Jan. 29, the detective was informed that she suffered from a cardiac emergency while in the hospital. The shooter, LeRoy Acosta, 31, was apprehended on Jan. 29 during a traffic stop at the intersection of Milky Way Street and Lipan Road. At that time, Acosta was arrested and charged with attempting to commit premeditated murder, possession of cocaine, tampering with evidence, possession, delivery or manufacture of drug paraphernalia, and failure to appear. He now faces charges of premeditated, first-degree murder. LeRoy Acosta had been
featured as Roswell’s Most Wanted on Dec. 2, 2013, and again on Dec. 31, 2013. His accessory, Danielle McClain, 22, was arrested on Nov. 27, 2013, in the 300 block of East Bonney Street. She has subsequently been released from the Chaves County Detention Center. McClain, too, faces new charges as an accessory to premeditated murder. The court records state that Acosta, accompanied by McClain, had gone to Padilla’s residence and called her outside to talk to her. They had not gotten far from the house before he took out a gun and started shooting. The police located eight shell casings at the scene.
See BUDGET, Page A3
Acosta
During a taped interview, the 45-year -old victim started to cry, saying she did not know why Acosta had tried to kill her. She was afraid if Acosta was arrested that he would send others to “get her” or members of her family. Padilla attended Roswell High School and worked as a certified nurse assistant.
White House gives room on immigration WASHINGTON (AP) — As Republican leaders dampen expectations for overhauling immigration laws this year, the White House i s h op in g t h at t h e GOP resistance is temporary an d t a ct i cal , an d it ’ s resisting pressure from some political allies for President Barack Obama to take matters into his own hands and ease his administration’s deportation record. For a president looking for a legacy piece of legislation, the current state of
• IRENE C. MAJOWICH • DORA LORRAINE CAMPBELL
the immigration debate r epr ese nt s a h igh w ir e act. He could act alone to sl ow depor t at io ns, an d p r ob abl y do om an y ch an ce of a p er m an en t and comprehensive overhaul. Yet if he shows too much patience, the opportunity to fix immigration laws as he wants could well slip away. H ou se S pe aker Joh n Boehner on Thursday all but ruled out passage of immigration legislation befor e the fall midter m elections, saying Republi-
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B4
cans had trouble trusting that Obama would implem en t a ll asp ect s of an immigration law.
White House of ficials say they believe Boehner ultimately wants to get it done. But they acknowledge that Boehner faces stiff resistance from conservatives who oppose any for m of legaliz at ion for im m ig ran t s wh o h a ve crossed into the United States illegally or overstayed their visas. As well, Republicans are eager to keep this election year’s
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3
focu s on Ob am a’ s con tentious health care law.
Obama is willing to give Boehner space to operate an d t o t am p d own t h e conservative outcry that greeted a set of immigration overhaul principles the speaker brought forward last week. For now, the White House is simply standing behind a comp r eh en sive b il l t h a t passed in the Senate last year, but is not trying to press Boehner on how to proceed in the Republican-controlled House.
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8