Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 123, No. 61 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
March 11, 2014
www.rdrnews.com
TUESDAY
Kintigh: ‘Tour of duty’ begins with swearing-in JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mayor Dennis Kintigh and five city councilors were swor n into of fice Monday with several local of ficials, family and friends in attendance at the convention and civic center. “Now is the time for action,” Kintigh told those in attendance. “This ceremony begins our tour of duty.” Magistrate Judge K.C. Rogers said he was honored to swear in the majority of new councilors and the mayor. “I’ve known Dennis Kintigh for a long time,” Rogers said. “When you’ve been in a position where you’ve stood beside someone with
a gun in your hand and said, ‘look, one way or another, we’re going to get out of here, we’re going to get home.’ We’ve been through that.” Those moments developed a brotherhood, Rogers explained. “Dennis and I fought to make this community a better place and I believe it is,” Rogers said. “We did a very good job of that. And I am very proud of him to be here right now.” Kintigh stood next to his wife, Carol, who held a Bible while he swore to support the U.S. Constitution, the constitution and laws of the state of New Mexico, and to serve faithfully and impartially as mayor. Kintigh thanked his wife, the voters and former
mayor Bill Owen, who served on his campaign. “It is natural and understandable to pause and to savor a successful campaign for public office,” Kintigh said. “These endeavors are truly demanding and intense. It is normal to enjoy the elation of victory. But that moment of celebration must be just that—a moment.” The moment was over, he said. And so was campaigning. “Now begins the serious work of serving the citizens of Roswell,” Kintigh said. “We who hold public office must soberly reflect on the responsibilities we sought, the burdens we now shoulder and to
Jessica Palmer Photos
Above: Mayor Dennis Kintigh, left, is sworn into office Monday by Magistrate Court Judge K.C. Rogers. His wife, Carol, held the Bible during the ceremony. Left: Ward 1 City Councilor Natasha N. Mackey is sworn into office Monday by Rogers. Her mother held the Bible during the ceremony.
See SWEAR IN, Page A3
Trial begins for wreck that killed mother, son
Jackpot Rodeo
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
Cowboys and cowgirls of all ages participate in the Berrendo Middle School Benefit Jackpot Rodeo at the Chaves County Sheriff's Posse Arena, Saturday, benefiting those affected by the recent shootings at the school.
The jury trial for New Mexico v. Joel Cordoba-Lopez began Monday after noon. Cordoba-Lopez is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a traffic accident and speeding. During his opening statement, Assistant District Attor ney Matthew Stone recounted the incident that took place on Aug. 5, 2012, around 3:54 a.m., where Cordoba-Lopez, driving a 2007 Cadillac Escalade, ran over a blue Hyundai Sonata at the intersection of Brasher Road and southeast Main Street. Mandy Miranda and son, Joe Alvarez, died as a result of the crash Attorney for the defense, Gary C. Mitchell, said this was an accident. He told the jury that Cordoba-Lopez, of Dexter, was the primary
breadwinner for his family and worked in the oil industry as a supervisor. “That Saturday night, he came to Roswell to visit friends. He was driving north on 285 to go to Denny’s for breakfast.” He argued that the accident occurred in the outside lane after the Sonata changed to the right hand lane from the left lane. Mitchell acknowledged that the Escalade went over the top of the other vehicle and tore it up, but said CordobaLopez had little time to react. Mitchell referred to the victim as a hard-working mother who was returning home after picking up her children from the babysitter. “The bottom line from the defense point of view is this was an accident. ... Joel Cordoba-Lopez was unconscious, suspended upside down in
Man dies in rollover State exchange denies insurers details on poor JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
An Artesia man died as a result of a rollover crash that occurred at 5:34 a.m. Sunday. New Mexico State Police responded to the scene on State Road 2 at the intersection of Cherokee Road, just south of Dexter, to find Rodrigo CeniserosGurrola, 21. The NMSP investigation revealed that his 2008 GMC Sierra vehicle was traveling southbound on SR 2. The driver failed to negotiate a curve and drove off the roadway. The vehicle struck
a wooden light post and began to roll as it crossed Cherokee Road, where a it hit a second light post. This crash resulted in power outages to the town of Dexter. According to Xcel Energy, 351 homes were affected for a period of about six hours. Service was restored at 9:48 a.m. Findings indicate that Ceniseros-Gurrola was not wearing his seatbelt and sustained severe head trauma. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator. The NMSP believe alcohol was a contributing factor in the accident.
SANTA FE (AP) — The New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange is refusing to give commercial insurance companies personal information from thousands of the state’s poor residents. Health exchange lawyers recently decided that names, home addresses and phone numbers were proprietary and have denied requests from insurance companies seeking to obtain the information, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. Insurance companies sought the data to sell those residents policies. “We are not allowed to share that information directly with them,” Debra Hammer, spokeswoman for the exchange, said last week. New Mexico is relying on a federally operated website to enroll individu-
als. Businesses can enroll through the state-run exchange, which also handles marketing and provides assistance to people seeking insurance coverage. The policies of about 10,400 people formerly insured under the low-cost State Covered Insurance program were canceled when it was discontinued in January, and they make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. The New Mexico Human Services Department referred them to the state’s online insurance marketplace created under the federal Affordable Care Act. During the most recent meeting of the exchange board on Feb. 28, board member Martin Hickey lobbied for the release of contact information to the insurers.
Workers prepare to enter WIPP weeks after leak
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy and the operators of the nation’s only underground nuclear waste dump said Monday they are making plans to allow specially trained workers to enter the site for the first time in weeks after more than a dozen employees were exposed to low levels of radiation during a mysterious leak.
Of ficials acknowledge
they are in uncharted territory in responding to something that has never happened since the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant opened in 1999. The site is important to the nation’s efforts to clean up decades of Cold War -era waste, and administrators are eager to resume operations once they are convinced it’s safe to do so. WIPP has been shuttered since early February.
HIGH 81 LOW 35
TODAY’S FORECAST
Shipments were halted after a truck hauling salt through the repository’s tunnels caught fire, and nine days later the plant’s alarms were triggered by the radiation release. The first major step in finding out what caused the radiation release happened over the weekend as crews — covered from head to toe in special blue protective suits and booties — slowly lowered a
• LOIS MARGARET SCHOEN • SIXTO G. GURROLA • MERLE REYNOLDS
See TRIAL, Page A3
“My sense is that were the carriers able to also have that information so that they could make direct contact, you’d have many more people signing up .,” said Hickey, chief executive officer of New Mexico Health Connections, a nonprofit that sells insurance. “We’re really way behind other states, so I would encourage you to share that information with each carrier on the exchange, since time is short, ASAP.”
The open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act ends March 31, and enrollment at the end of January stood at 11,620 — far below the targeted goal of 50,000, which was adjusted down from the original projection of 83,000 after the federal online portal at healthcare.gov stumbled out of the gate last fall.
bundle of air and gas monitoring machines into the repository’s air intake system and its salt shaft.
Enclosed mostly in plastic and sealed with tape, the battery-powered monitors fed about an hour’s worth of information about the air in the shafts to another machine that logged the data. The monitors detected no radioactive contamination in the shafts.
• MARGARET ANNE HOPKINS • KAY HENDERSON RHODES
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
AP Photo
Empty nuclear waste shipping containers sit in front of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad on Thursday. CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B4
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8