Roswell Daily Record
J.O.Y. Center gets emergency funds
Vol. 123, No. 67 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
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water leaking into the building over the past few years, after a new roof was added. Water has leaked through the building, damaging it outside and inside, said Community Development Director Charlotte Andrade. “The damage has gone through the wall and it’s affecting the interior as well as the exterior,” Andrade said. The Roswell center is one of four locations in the J.O.Y. Center sys-
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Chaves County J.O.Y. Center in Roswell may soon get the repairs it needs after receiving emergency funds from the state. Commissioners are expected to consider authorizing an agreement Thursday that will allow the county to fix an unsightly hole in the side of the building. The damage was caused by
March 18, 2014
tem. Other centers are located in Hagerman, Midway and Lake Arthur. The J.O.Y. centers serve senior citizens meals and provide homedelivered meals, transportation, housekeeping help, adult day-care services, health promotion activities and caregiver support. They also sponsor foster grandparent and senior companion programs. The Roswell building, at 1822 N. Montana Ave., has a number of
TUESDAY
problems, according to a county facility maintenance department assessment. The most pressing is the situation on the east side of the structure. The water damage has worked its way through a section of the exterior covering, the felt membrane and is now exposing the insulation material, according to a report. There is also some damage to an area under a north-facing window and water damage to a
lower panel on the south side. The county received $9,614 last week in emergency funds from the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department to do immediate repairs. “That’s all that was remaining in that specific account for emergency repairs,” Andrade said. If commissioners approve the contract, the county can begin repairs immediately, Andrade said.
Tumbleweeds, wind invade Roswell JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
This weekend Roswell was subjected to yet another form of alien invasion to go along with the annual spring winds. Gusts were reported in excess of 60 mph, resulting in downed tree limbs and trees. The winds also heralded the beginning of this year’s annual migration of the alien invasive species, the tumbleweed, or the Russian thistle. This year promises to be a bumper crop year for the tumbleweed. The previous years of drought killed most native grasses and native plant species, providing fallow ground for the tumbleweed. The 2013 flood provided the moisture. City of Roswell Special Services Administrator Michael Mathews said the most recent event is seasonal, something Roswell faces every year. At 8 a.m., Monday, the Street Department was already out cleaning up branches and any fallen trees from the most recent windstorm. This leaves no time for the
Jill McLaughlin Photo
Rep. Women to US, Europe order Russia sanctions host county judge candidates See WIND, Page A3
Tumbleweeds collected along a property on Berrendo Road.
Chaves County Republican Women will host several judges at its Spring Luncheon Wednesday. Anyone who is interested in attending is welcome. The luncheon includes speeches and discussion with county candidates and guests. Guest speakers will include 5th Judicial District Judges James Hudson and Ray Romero. Candidates and Chaves County Magistrate Judges John Halvorson and K.C. Rogers will be joined by candidate Bobby Arnett. The meatloaf lunch begins at noon at the Elks Lodge, 1720 N. Montana Ave. The cost is $11 per person and reservations are required. Call Judie Yeager, 575-626-9902 to make a reservation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unsuccessful with previous threats, the United States and its European allies stepped up their pressure on Russia to end its intervention in Ukraine on Monday by imposing the most comprehensive sanctions against Russian officials since the Cold War. Acting in concert with Europe, the Obama administration froze the U.S. assets of seven Russian officials, including top advisers to President Vladimir Putin, for their support of Crimea’s vote to secede from Ukraine, while similar sanctions were imposed on four Ukrainian officials for instigating Sunday’s Crimean referendum. Although the threat of sanctions has failed thus far to persuade Putin to drop support for Crimea’s secession and potential entry into the Russian Federation — or to pull back
from threatening military moves near Ukraine’s south and east — President Barack Obama said failure to step back now would draw more severe consequences. “If Russia continues to interfere in Ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions,” Obama declared at the White House shortly after the penalties were announced. He noted that Vice President Joe Biden would be traveling to Europe late Monday to reassure Eastern European leaders of America’s commitment to them and that he himself would be going next week on a previously planned trip to make a similar point. Secretary of State John Kerry also is expected in Europe in the coming days. “We’ll continue to make clear to Russia that further provocations will achieve nothing except to further iso-
late Russia and diminish its place in the world,” he said. “The international community will continue to stand together to oppose any violations of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, and continued Russian military intervention in Ukraine will only deepen Russia’s diplomatic isolation and exact a greater toll on the Russian economy.” But administration critics said Obama’s actions were too little to convince Putin of anything. “I think Vladimir Putin must be encouraged by the absolute timidity,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who had just returned from a weekend trip to Kiev. “I don’t know how it could have been weaker, besides doing nothing
New uncertainty about missing Malaysian plane KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Officials revealed a new timeline Monday suggesting the final voice transmission from the cockpit of the missing Malaysian plane may have occurred before any of its communications systems were disabled, adding more uncertainty about who aboard might have been to blame. The search for Flight 370, which vanished early March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, has now been expanded deep into the northern and southern hemispheres. Australian vessels scoured the southern Indian Ocean and China offered 21 of its satellites to help Malaysia in the unprecedented hunt. With no wreckage found in one of the most puzzling aviation mysteries of all
time, passengers’ relatives have been left in an agonizing limbo. Investigators say the Boeing 777 was deliberately diverted during its overnight flight and flew off-course for hours. They haven’t ruled out hijacking, sabotage, or pilot suicide, and are checking the backgrounds of the 227 passengers and 12 crew members — as well as the ground crew — for personal problems, psychological issues or links to terrorists. Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said finding the plane was still the main focus, and he did not rule out that it might be discovered intact. “The fact that there was no distress signal, no ransom notes, no parties claiming responsibility, there is always hope,”
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TODAY’S FORECAST
Hishammuddin said at a news conference. Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said an initial investigation indicated that the last words ground controllers heard from the plane — “All right, good night” — were spoken by the co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid. A voice other than that of Fariq or the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, it would have been clearest indication yet of something amiss in the cockpit before the flight went off-course. Malaysian officials said earlier that those words came after one of the jetliner’s data communications systems — the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System — had been switched off, suggesting the voice from the cockpit may have been See PLANE, Page A3
• JOHN STRUWE • JULIA ANNE KIRBY KIDD • FLORENCE OPENSHAW
See RUSSIA, Page A3
AP Photo
Malaysia's acting minister of transport Hishamuddin Hussein, second from right, speaks during a press conference as director general of the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, second from left, and Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, left, and Malaysia Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar, right, look on at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday.
• VIRGINIA JACKSON
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B4
• JOHN “DUKE” PETERSON
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .........B6 LOTTERIES .............A2 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1 WEATHER ..............A8