Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 123, No. 52 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
February 28, 2014
www.rdrnews.com
FRIDAY
Exposed employees will undergo further testing RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Thirteen employees who tested positive for radiation exposure after a recent leak at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant will have to undergo further testing to determine the extent of their exposure, officials said Thursday in Carlsbad. Representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy and the company that runs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant held a news conference to discuss the contaminated employees and the plans for getting the facility back into production. “I don’t want to downplay the situation — we take this very seriously,” said Farok Sharif, president and
project manager of Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC. Sharif said the company intends to conduct its recovery plans in a very disciplined manner, making sure the facility is safe for employees to retur n to work before any more personnel are allowed into the mine. No timetable has been set for reopening the storage facility, Sharif said. Sharif said officials don’t know exactly what caused the radiation leak, but once the leak was detected, employees were restricted in their access to the facility. The 13 employees affected by the radiation were working on grounds of the WIPP facility on Feb. 14 and on the morning of Feb.
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15. Of ficials say the employees breathed radiation particles. The contamination was not immediately noted because it can take up to two weeks to perform the biological tests, Sharif said. WIPP officials have said no employees were underground when a radiation detector went off late Feb. 14. And everyone at the plant when the leak occurred was checked for contamination before being allowed to leave, according to a news release. But biological samples were also taken to check for possible exposure from inhaling radioactive particles. Further testing will determine how much radiation See TESTING, Page A3
Randal Seyler Photo
Joe Franco, manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Carlsbad field office, discusses radiation contamination at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad on Thursday. Thirteen employees were reportedly exposed to radiation during a Feb. 14 incident.
Lawmakers get more than $16K in compensation
Mark Wilson Photo
Workers from Guzman Construction Solutions are near the final phase of the demolition of the old New Mexico Rehabilitation Center at the corner of Gail Harris Street and E. Wells, Tuesday.
National Pancake Day to benefit charities, Shriners Hospitals for Children Diners at IHOP in Roswell can help support Shriners Hospitals for Children Tuesday during this year’s National Pancake Day. From 7 a.m. to 10 pm., IHOP will give a short stack of pancakes free to guests. Patrons will be asked to make a contribution to the hospitals. The annual event raises funds for children’s hospitals. Locally, the Roswell
Shriners are participating for the sixth year. The local club has raised as much as $4,000 at each event in the past. Shriners Hospitals have treated some 1 million children free of charge since 1922. The 22 hospitals operate entirely by donations. The hospitals specialize in orthopedic care, treating injuries and problems of See PANCAKE, Page A3
SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico legislators averaged a little more than $16,000 in compensation last year although they received no annual salary. House and Senate members collect a daily expense payment, called a per diem, when the Legislature is in session and while attending committee meetings or outof-state legislative conferences during the rest of the year. Four state senators were the highest compensated members of the Legislature last year, according to infor mation from the Department of Finance and Administration obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.
Democratic Sen. John Pinto of Gallup collected $27,463. Democratic Sen. Carlos Cisneros of Questa received $26,905, and Republican Sen. Lee Cotter of Las Cruces got $26,800. Senate President Mary Kay Papen, a Las Cruces Democrat, received $26,289. They were among 18 lawmakers who collected more than $20,000 during 2013. Cisneros said he’s able to serve on more legislative committees when the Legislature isn’t in session since he retired in 2009 from Molycorp, a subsidiary of Chevron that mines molybdenum near Questa. “I can dedicate more of my time to legislative inter-
Audit faults agency for mismanagement
SANTA FE (AP) — A state audit on Thursday concluded Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration poorly managed federal Medicaid money and improperly handled fraud allegations against more than a dozen mental health providers, some of which have gone out of business because of billing disputes with the state. State Auditor Hector Balderas said he had forwarded the audit of the Human Services Department’s 2013 finances to the federal agency that administers Medicaid, which is a program jointly financed by the state and federal governments to provide health care for the needy. The state spent nearly $4 billion on Medicaid last year, including about $2.6 billion in federal money.
The audit provides fresh ammunition for legislators and others who’ve criticized the Martinez administration for freezing Medicaid payments to nonprofit mental health providers last year after the agency concluded there was possible fraud, mismanagement and overbillings. The audit also plays out against an election-year backdrop in which Martinez is seeking a second term and Balderas is running for the Democratic nomination for attorney general. “The department should hold itself to the same high standard of accountability that it demands from organizations that receive federal funds,” Balderas said in a statement in releasing the audit prepared by an outside auditing firm for his office.
See LAWMAKERS, Page A3
Department spokesman Matt Kennicott disputed the audit findings and said the information released by Balderas was “fraught with misstatements and inaccuracies.” “This is just another sad example of an announced political candidate using his office to make politically motivated statements,” Kennicott said. The audit concluded that the department improperly paid $620,000 to Arizona companies brought in last year to take over management of the mental health providers because of the allegations of Medicaid fraud, which were forwarded to the attorney general’s office for investigation. Auditors said the payments violated the agency’s contracts with the companies.
Lisa Marie Presley to bring touch of history to Roswell RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Lisa Marie Presley will per for m at The Liberty next weekend, bringing a little bit of rock ’n’ roll history to Roswell. Lisa Marie Presley is the only child of music legend Elvis Presley, and she is on tour promoting her latest critically-acclaimed album, “Storm & Grace.” “Elvis played in Roswell in the 1950s, and I think it is a neat part of history to have his daughter return and perform here,”
said Josh Ragsdale, director of The Liberty, a nonprofit private club supported by members promoting performing arts. The doors will open at The Liberty at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 9. Presley lives in London, and is touring the U.S. on her way to the annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas, Ragsdale said. “We’re lucky — this time of year a number of acts are heading to South by Southwest and we can
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TODAY’S FORECAST
attract them to Roswell.” Some of Presley’s other recent musical endeavors in her native hometown of Memphis, where she not only recorded at the legendary Sun Studios, but also performed live on the same stage where her father, as a young and upcoming artist, performed in 1954. She also recently did a home recording, so to speak. But in her case, “home” just happened to be the Jungle Room in a place called Graceland. Presley’s debut album, “To Whom It May Con-
• BOBBIE JO SMITH • VELIA LOPEZ • BILLYE POOL WYCKOFF
cer n,” was released in 2003 and was followed by 2005’s “Now What.” Seven years passed before she reemerged with “Storm & Grace,” but with it she presented some of her most inspired work. She says the songs began to take shape in 2010, not long after relocating to England. Her muse was her own life. “It always just comes from what’s going on in my life,” Presley said in a recent news release. “Every one of my records is the same — whatever’s happening. It’s just a way
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
for me to sort of purge whatever experience I’ve gone through.” Ragsdale said The Liberty strives to bring a wide range of musical acts to Roswell. “There is a lot of country music in this area, but we try to bring a variety of per for mances here. On March 30, Leon Russell will be here, and on April 9, we will host Switchfoot. That is a wide range of performances.” Ragsdale said Presley’s
See PRESLEY, Page A3
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B7 COMICS .................A9 ENTERTAINMENT ...B10 FINANCIAL ..............B6
Courtesy Photo
Lisa Marie Presley will perform at The Liberty in Roswell on March 9.
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .......B10 LOTTERIES .............A2 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ............A10
WORLD ..................A7