Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 59 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
March 8, 2014
www.rdrnews.com
SATURDAY
Kintigh campaign donors to remain anonymous JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mayor -elect Dennis Kintigh collected the majority of his campaign war chest before he officially filed for office. The tactic allowed his campaign to gather $21,722 in contributions during the time period that did not require him to publicly disclose the donors in campaign finance reports. “We’ve complied with the reports that require us to state from the date of filing
through the various time periods of the reports,” Kintigh said. “Anything outside of that is not subject to reporting. Some people might not be happy with that, but the problem with that is that the statute is poorly written.” Kintigh raised more than the $36,436 he spent in his campaign to defeat incumbent Mayor Del Jurney, he said. He estimated he has a few hundred dollars left. “We haven’t finalized the books yet,” Kintigh said. “I don’t think we have a lot of money left over.”
Kintigh collected contributions from 180 separate individuals, he said. “That was, to me, staggering,” he said. “That I would get that much support from within the Roswell area.” Kintigh declared his bid for the mayoral race in September. He said he received some contributions from people he did not know. “I got checks in the mail from people who were that fired up, saying, ‘I want change,’” Kintigh said. “Everybody got a handwritten thank-you card
Don’t forget to spring forward!
from me.” Less than 5 percent of his donors live outside of Roswell, Kintigh estimated. Among those, many had ties to the community or they had a personal relationship with him, he said. The donors had lived in Roswell for many years and had moved, or had relatives living in the city, he said. No one from the Washington, D.C., area donated to his campaign. “I received no money from any political action committees. They were individuals or businesses,”
Mark Wilson Photo
Daylight saving time is upon us this weekend so don't forget to set the clocks ahead one hour Sunday. At 2 a.m. on Sunday most of the United States will spring forward so New Mexico's spectacular sunsets will occur an hour later.
Border Patrol releases use-of-force guidelines
PHOENIX (AP) — The federal gover nment on Friday released the U.S. Border Patrol’s use-offorce policies while the agency’s chief issued a directive that reiterates how personnel should respond to threats amid mounting criticism of excessive force and lack of transparency. Border Patrol Chief Mike Fisher, in a memorandum to all agency personnel, reminded agents that the “level of force applied must reflect the totality of the circumstances surrounding each situation.”
Immigrant rights groups have complained that Border Patrol agents are too trigger-happy in responding to people who throw rocks at them along the border with Mexico, often to distract agents from smugglers sneaking drugs into the U.S.
Fisher said that since 2010, agents have been assaulted with rocks 1,713 times, with deadly forced being used in 43 instances resulting in 10 deaths. While Border Patrol pol-
See GUIDELINES, Page A3
Honeypie, with her friend Molly, may be visiting Chaves County Courthouse soon. Here the dogs are seen relaxing after they returned from Berrendo Middle School. According to the Facebook page, the two dogs got a gift of cookies and wanted to say thanks to their supporters and to those they had supported.
HIGH 58 LOW 35
TODAY’S FORECAST
“I’ve got a reputation of being an advocate for the oil and gas industry. That goes back to the big battle over that sand dune lizard. And that’s where that comes from.”
CARLSBAD (AP) — It’s been three weeks since the radiation sensors were triggered and the exhaust dampers at the federal gover nment’s only underground nuclear waste dump slammed shut, putting the repository’s massive salt caverns off-limits and the nation’s cleanup efforts on hold. The U.S. Department of Energy says low levels of radiation made it past the ventilation system’s air filters and exposed 13 workers. Agency of ficials describe the amount as minuscule, saying the workers aren’t likely to face any serious ef fects and there’s no public health threat. But residents and officials voiced frustration at a town hall Thursday night, saying the DOE and managers at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant are leaving them in the dark about what’s happening at the repository. “Nobody knows what the plans look like. Nobody
knows what the agenda looks like. We just hear a lot of surmises about what might happen and what might not happen,” John Heaton, a former state representative and head of Mayor Dale Janway’s nuclear task force, told a panel of of ficials at the town hall.
The campaign contributors and he were already on the same page before he was a candidate, he said.
“When I talk about economic development, oil and gas are important. That’s been my message from the beginning — from the
Lack of WIPP leak details frustrate
See DONORS, Page A3
“We think that we should be the No. 1 partner and know everything that is going on, from A to Z,” he said, explaining that the community feels as if it’s being sidestepped, with action being orchestrated in Washington, D.C., instead of locally. Energy Department officials said there is no intent to hide anything and some infor mation is simply unknown.
Questions about what caused the leak at the repository, the extent of the contamination and the future of the federal government’s cleanup efforts have been swirling for days.
Pecos Elementary takes over McDonald’s RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Pecos Elementary School teachers and staff took over Roswell’s south McDonald’s Thursday night for McTeacher’s Night — and managed to swamp the restaurant for two hours. “It was fun and we had a blast last night,” said Principal Barbara Ryan on Friday. “We received 25 percent of the profit for those two hours and raised $736 for the school.” McTeacher’s Night is a popular and highly visible fundraising program that See MCDONALD’S, Page A3
Randal Seyler Photo
Teachers from Pecos Elementary School took over the South McDonald’s in Roswell on Thursday, serving hamburgers and raising money for the school.
Courthouse to get two specially-trained dogs
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Courtesy Photo
Kintigh said. Kintigh did receive $5,000 from two companies related to the oil and gas industry that was reported. But, special-interest companies and individuals who donated to his campaign will not receive any additional consideration while he is in office as a result, he said. “If people are going to reach out and support candidates, they are comfortable with candidates that they see as their philosophies and political outlooks are parallel,” Kintigh said.
Next week, the Chaves County Courthouse will be introduced to two new courthouse dogs. Emma and Moose, the CASA dogs, are already known and loved in the community. Both dogs came from Assistance Dogs of the West. The organization was established in 1995. The group provides general service dogs for people with disabilities and those
• WINIFRED “WINNIE” BLOUNT • JUNE WINNER TAYLOR • JUANITA ZAMORA TRUJILLO
with mobility issues. It also provides courthouse or facility dogs. As one of the first service dog groups in the West, it has made the state of New Mexico a pioneer in the area of facility dogs. The training for the courthouse dog is specialized. The duties for the courthouse dogs are different, so the training is different. “We follow the same training path required for any other service dog, but then we veer off the path,” said Jill Felice, ADW founder and trainer.
• RODNEY STUDDARD
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B4
“Before I talk about training, first I have to talk about temperament,” she said. “We have dogs chosen for their temperament. They need to know when to interact and when not to interact. They must exhibit little body movement, stand still, be friendly, but without wiggling, bouncing or wagging of tails that might scare a child.” ADW dogs will be taught more than 90 commands, a process which takes 18 to 24 months. Emma is
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....B6 FINANCIAL ..............B3
legendary. She not only understands commands in English and Spanish, she has learned American sign language, too. They must be able to understand visual cues, but the courthouse dog does not learn standard obedience training signs for sit, stay and wait; but sign language as used by the deaf. Training for the facility dog literally begins on day one. The puppies are hanSee DOGS, Page A3
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .........B6 LOTTERIES .............A2 NATION ..................B4
OPINION .................A4 SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8