Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 51 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
February 27, 2014
www.rdrnews.com
THURSDAY
County expects $7 million in capital outlay funds JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Gover nments and schools in Chaves County expect to get nearly $7.2 million in capital outlay funds recently approved by the Legislature to help with a number of agencies, projects and improvements. The funding has not yet received the final stamp of approval by Gov. Susana Martinez, who has until March 12 to sign the requests. But the expected funds would pay for a number of improvements and projects throughout the region in the next fiscal year. Roswell is expected to receive $1.2 million that would help fix the aging roof and heating and cool-
ing system at the Yucca Recreation Center, and fund improvements at the new veterans cemetery. The city was also granted funds by the Legislature to pay for J.O.Y. Center improvements and equipment, sports park bathrooms and park playground equipment. “The city is very appreciative of the efforts of the area legislators to work in this area,” said City Manager Larry Fry. “These additional funds will help us a great deal as we look at trying to meet the needs of the community.” Chaves County received $579,000 to pay for five requests. The county’s top priority, the first phase of a reconstruction of Hobson Road, was not granted the full request of $500,000.
Hobson Road serves as a key farm-to-market route for the county and needs to be rebuilt. The road project was granted $200,000, which will still allow the county to begin a drainage study, said County Manager Stan Riggs. “That’s our biggest problem with the road, is the drainage,” Riggs said. “We want to do a permanent solution on Hobson to get the water off the road. It’s an important road in Chaves County.” Other projects were given what was requested and additional funding. The county was granted $101,000 to begin purchasing trash compactors in its first year of a five-
Steve Stone Graphic
See FUNDS, Page A3
City strives to stem illegal water usage
A warm welcome
RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
International Law Enforcement Academy delegates from Albania, Moldova and Romania are welcomed to Roswell during a reception at the Chaves County Administration Building, Wednesday evening.
Residents are using less water after rate increase JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Residents are using less water after last year’s rate increase and after facing another dollar increase in rates this year, the city’s water superintendent told the city’s finance committee Wednesday. The city raised rates by 22 percent, which went into effect March 1. Rates increased another $1 Jan. 1. The city hoped to use the
extra funds to pay for operations and to repair wastewater systems. But users began constricting use to avoid paying the extra cost, said Art Torrez, water and wastewater superintendent. Councilor Steve Henderson, also committee chairman, said the usage decrease made sense. “We have a little fallout,” Henderson said. “People are a little more conservaSee INCREASE, Page A3
AP Photo
U.S. Army Pfc. Amy Alexanders dresses in her Marine Standard battle gear before taking part in a physical demands study, Tuesday, in Ft. Stewart, Ga.
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TODAY’S FORECAST
The Roswell city water department has begun filing police reports on illegal water hookups, to provide better documentation for the city. “There are not more cases of illegal hookups than in the past, we have just started taking the extra step of filing a police report,” utility billing supervisor Sylvia Casarez said on Wednesday. “I started filing the police report in case we have to take the disconnection to the next level and have the water shut off at the water main.” Casarez said city employees check every water meter each month, whether or not there is someone living in that property. “If we find an illegal connection, we will shut it off and pull the meter,” she
said. Sometimes, the city also installs a plug to prevent further water connections. “Often times, the illegal connections are at properties that are supposed to be empty,” Casarez said. “Sometimes, there are people living in houses that are abandoned, and sometimes it is renters who hook up water without coming through the city.” When the city employees find an illegal connection, they shut it down, and Casarez attempts to find the owner to inform them that the property has been using water illegally. “Ultimately, it is the property owner’s responsibility,” Casarez said. “If the situation is not fixed, then the city can cut of f the water at the main, and it will cost the property owner thousands of dollars to
Fouratt named state secretary of Public Safety JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Gov. Susana Martinez appointed Roswell native Gregory J. Fouratt as secretary for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Fouratt has nearly 17 years of experience as a federal prosecutor, where he prosecuted a wide variety of crimes, from drug trafficking and racketeering to violent crimes such as assault, child abuse and homicide. Fouratt told the Daily Record that he is proud of his Roswell roots. He
See WATER, Page A3
retur ns regularly to Roswell to visit his family. His connection to law enforcement dates back to his father, who worked with the New Mexico State Police for three years before he returned to the military. His brother made a career with NMSP, while his brother-in-law, Dane Kyser, retired as a commander from the Roswell Police Department. Fouratt served for more than 20 years in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve and the New
AP Photo
Veteran federal prosecutor Greg Fouratt, left, speaks to an officer, Wednesday, during an announcement of his appointment to lead the New Mexico Department of Public See FOURATT, Page A3 Safety in Albuquerque.
Army study gives women taste of combat tasks FOR T STEWAR T, Ga. (AP) — Standing just over 5 feet, Ar my Spc. Karen Arvizu is barely a foot taller than the anti-tank missile she carries in both arms and loads into an armored vehicle. She stands on her tip-toes to wrestle open the 300-pound top hatch. “I have to step on the seat to get the missile into the launcher,” said Arvizu, a 24-year-old soldier from Los Angeles. “It’s half my body weight.” Arvizu typically drives Humvees or transport
trucks at Fort Stewart in Georgia, but for the past three weeks, she and 59 other women soldiers have been getting a taste of what it takes to serve in combat. By spending their days lifting 65-pound missiles and .50-caliber machine guns, all while wearing 70 pounds of body ar mor, they’re helping make history as part of an Army study that will determine how all soldiers — including women, for the first time — will be deemed fit to join the front lines.
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6 • SAMANTHA ASHLEIGH • RICK MITCHELL FROMHOLD • HAZEL ANN EVANS STUART • WILMA L. DUFFY WOLGAMOTT • VELIA LOPEZ
The Pentagon ordered last year that women must have the same opportunities to serve in combat jobs as men, with thousands of positions slated to open to both genders in 2016. And while an Ar my survey shows only a small fraction of women say they want to move into combat jobs, it also revealed soldiers from both genders are nervous about the change. With roughly one in five Army positions considered combat-related, commanders are turning to science
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B4
to find a unisex standard to judge which soldiers physically have the right stuff to fight wars. Testing at Fort Stewart and other U.S. bases is breaking away from the Army’s longtime standards for physical fitness — pushups, sit-ups and 2mile runs — to focus instead on battlefield tasks, such as dragging a wounded comrade to safety or installing and removing the heavy barrel of the 25 mm gun mounted on Bradley vehicles.
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HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8