Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Gridlock at budget-cuts deadline
Vol. 122, No. 53 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
BONNIE FRANKLIN DIES AT 69
NEW YORK (AP) — Bonnie Franklin, the pert, redheaded actress whom millions came to identify with for her role as divorced mom Ann Romano on the longrunning sitcom “One Day at a Time,” has died. She died Friday at her home in Los Angeles due to complications from ... - PAGE B3
March 2, 2013
SATURDAY
www.rdrnews.com
before the midnight deadline required by law.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gridlocked once more, President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders refused to budge in their budget standoff Friday as $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts bore down on individual Americans and the nation’s still-recovering economy. “None of this is necessary,” said the president after a sterile White House meeting that portended a long standoff.
The president met with top lawmakers for less than an hour at the White House, then sought repeatedly to fix the blame on Republicans for the broad spending reductions and any damage that they inflict. “They’ve allowed these cuts to happen because they refuse to budge on closing a single wasteful loophole to help reduce the deficit,” he said, renewing his demand for a comprehensive deficit-cut-
Obama formally enacted the reductions a few hours
ting deal that includes higher taxes. Republicans said they wanted deficit cuts, too, but not tax increases. “The president got his tax hikes on Jan. 1,” House Speaker Boehner told John reporters, a reference to a $600 billion increase on higher wage earners that cleared Congress on the first day of the year. Now, he said after the meeting, it is time take on “the spending problem here in Wash-
AP Photo
President Barack Obama speaks to reporters in the White House briefing room, Friday.
Schools devote day to colorful food, fish, cat See GRIDLOCK, Page A3
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Mager gives SOAR guests life lessons • March for Babies set for April 13 • RISD School Board retreat addresses ... • Pirtle’s SB455 heads to floor • Goddard boys blitz Artesia
INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
Kindergartners at Pecos Elementary wait for their Green Eggs and Ham storytime and Dr. Suess birthday party, Friday morning.
HAGERMAN BOYS TAKE CROWN
HAGERMAN — While coaches’ pre game speeches are glorified, they often times don’t have the impact the media or movies would have you believe. That wasn’t the case for the Hagerman boys basketball team on Friday, however. Bobcat coach Anthony Mestas got his team fired up with a “Protect this house” speech and it worked as Hagerman led wire-to-wire in a 66-41 win over Capitan in the District 7-1A championship game. Hagerman junior Jessie Rodriguez, who poured in a game-high 27 points said ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Billie Francis Stewart • Olga Parker - PAGE B3
HIGH ...66˚ LOW ....33˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Mark Wilson Photo
Harry Tackett, director of federal programs for the RISD, reads The Cat in the Hat to kindergartners at Missouri Avenue Elementary, Friday morning.
From there to here, from here to there, Dr. Seuss was everywhere! Kindergarteners in the Roswell Independent School District celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday Friday with a hat full of activities arranged to capture the excitement of reading. The annual Read Across America program kicked off at Pecos Elementary School with Mayor Del Jur ney reading Green Eggs and Ham, followed by a colorful breakfast of green eggs and ham. Jur ney lauded Dr. Seuss’ ability to captivate readers of all ages. He recalled how he enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss books to his son and said those same books will be “waiting at home for the grandkids.” “Dr. Seuss has made such an impact on youth, through the rhyming, the creativity, the humor and just the craziness that goes along with it,” he said. “I think it inspires them to want to lear n more, read more — it creates in their minds the ability to put all those ideas together that Dr. Seuss so cleverly brings out.” Diana Carrasco, bilingual kindergarten teacher at Pecos, said the school geared its whole day to the Seuss celebration, from reading comprehension to adding and subtracting
See SCHOOLS, Page A3
Cops bust Duran after long chase Valley Meat: Feds may allow horse slaughter JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Roswell Police Department and Chaves County Sheriff’s Office arrested Sammy Duran, 18, Thursday, after a pursuit that started on Lea Avenue and McGaf fey Street and took officials along Wildy, South Main, Southeast Main, Poe, Hobbs and Church streets. The chase ended after Duran attempted to ram a Sherif f’s vehicle
twice, and tried to run down a police officer who had exited his unit. The vehicle eventually crashed in an alley east of North Elm Avenue near Buena Vista Street. According to the criminal complaint, an RPD officer observed the grey Impala run at a stop sign at Lea and McGaffey. The of ficer tried to make a traffic stop, but the vehicle sped up. In his stateSee COPS, Page A2
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
Sammy Duran
The attorney for Valley Meat Co. said Friday that the local slaughterhouse may soon be able to start processing horse meat, as government officials have indicated it may receive a grant of inspection. For more than a year, Valley Meat Co. has had an application pending with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety
and Inspection Service to begin slaughtering horses for human consumption.
In October, owner Rick De Los Santos filed a lawsuit against the USDA, alleging it failed to comply with federal laws and provide equine inspection services at the facility. A. Blair Dunn, attorney for Valley Meat Co., said the USDA originally had 60 days to respond to the lawsuit, but
Dolores Villa of J.O.Y. Center: We’re all a family here State will N V keep DST R S W OAH
ERNAU
ECORD
Dolores Villa
Noah Vernau Photo
TAFF
RITER
Dolores Villa knows a win-win situation when she sees one. As director of the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs at the Chaves County J.O.Y. Center, Villa employs senior volunteers who provide the kind of care that is always positive, always mutual: friendship. Villa has spent 23 years as a program director, a position where learning of a volunteer who made a lasting, positive impact in another individual’s life is an everyday occurrence. Villa has 13 volunteers in the grandparents
program who work with children with special needs at Roswell Headstart and public schools. The volunteers are assigned three children who need help with basic skills like reading, comprehension and writing. The volunteers serve as mentors, tutors and friends — an experience Villa said rewards all parties. “The volunteers give a part of themSee SPOTLIGHT, Page A3
See VALLEY, Page A3
The state Senate Public Affairs Committee voted Friday to table a bill, sponsored by Sen. Cliff Pirtle, RRoswell, that would have exempted New Mexico from observing daylight saving time.
Pirtle said the U.S. gover nment allows
See DST, Page A3