Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 124, No. 88 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
April 12, 2015
SUNDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Trinity Site: Where course of history changed By Timothy P. Howsare Record Editor WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE — It only happens twice a year. For one Saturday in April and another in October, the White Sands Missile Range opens its gates to curious outof-state tourists and state residents alike who wish to visit the Trinity Site, a barren patch of land about 60 miles northeast of Alamogordo. Aside from the pyramid-shaped stone monument and what remains of an enormous steel bomb casing called Jumbo, there’s really not a whole lot to see after driving through what seems like endless miles of flatlands on the missile range. So what’s the attraction? It is the historical significance of the Trinity Site. This is where the first atomic bomb was exploded on July 16, 1945. Less than a month after that successful test, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, giving the Japanese no choice but to surrender and end World War II. The bombs killed 129,000
people, and after 70 years, remain the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare. Those events ushered in the nuclear age and forever changed the course of humanity. Even after the nuclear disarmament that followed the Cold War, there are still enough bombs left to annihilate every living being on the planet. Hundreds of people flocked to the Trinity Site last Saturday, many taking selfies or photos of spouses and family members in front of the monument that marks Ground Zero. Jumbo, which ultimately was not used to case the bomb, got its fair share of photo ops as well. Visitors also got to tour the McDonald-Schmidt Ranch House, the place where scientists assembled the bomb’s plutonium core. The house is located two miles from Ground Zero. The 51,500-acre area, which includes Ground Zero, the McDonald-Schmidt Ranch House and the base camp where the scientists and support group lived, was declared a National Historic Landmark
Timothy P. Howsare Photos
Wouldn’t you want a little more light than this if you were messing around with plutonium? There were no LED or compact fluorescent bulbs back in the 1940s. A single 60-watt incandescent bulb dangles from the ceiling in each room of the McDonald-Schmidt. On each ceiling is an old-fashioned ceramic fixture. in 1975. In 1984, the National Park Service restored the deteriorating ranch house to appear as it did in 1945. Though the National Park Service has for decades wanted to take the site under its umbrella, the U.S. Army still manages the site, said Sue Taylor, curator at New Mexico Museum of Space History. Taylor said the Army has
not been willing to turn over that much real estate to the NPS. Furthermore, there are obvious security concerns. The site is located well within the boundaries of a highly classified military installation. Though visitors can take photos at the site, they are strictly forbidden from snapping pictures as they travel to and See TRINITY, Page A2
Free tree seedlings mark Arbor Day
Jeff Tucker Photo
Nine-year-old Jennifer Rosas of Artesia receives free tree seedlings Saturday from Zoo Director Elaine Mayfield at Spring River Park & Zoo. Also pictured is Jennifer’s mother, Amalia Rosas. About 300 tree seedlings were given away Saturday at Arbor Day at the Zoo, although Mayfield said over a hundred more free seedlings are available, in 13 different species. Anyone interested may pick up two free seedlings per person at the zoo’s office from 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays, while quantities last. Mayor Dennis Kintigh said in a proclamation Saturday that 2015 marks the 25th year Roswell has been recognized as a Tree City USA community, the only city in New Mexico to receive the certification for 25 consecutive years from the National Arbor Day Foundation.
What remains of Jumbo, a 10-foot in diameter, 214-ton steel casing built to contain the Trinity test bomb. The detonation actually involved two explosions — a conventional blast involving TNT and then a nuclear explosion a fraction of a second later. At first, scientists where concerned that the plutonium might not explode and instead be scattered all over the countryside. Jumbo was built to contain the plutonium. However, as confidence grew that the nuclear reaction would be successful, scientists decided not to use Jumbo. Instead, Jumbo was placed under a steel tower about 800 yards from Ground Zero. The blast destroyed the tower, but Jumbo stayed intact. The ends are missing because in 1946 the Army detonated 500-pound bombs inside it, blowing out the ends.
Regents OK tuition hike for UNM students
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Costs to attend the University of New Mexico will rise in the coming school year after the Board of Regents approved a series of tuition and fee hikes for the university’s main Albuquerque campus and others across the state. Students at the Albuquerque campus will see tuition rise by 3 percent in the fall under a proposal approved by regents on Friday. Students attending the university’s branch campuses in Gallup, Taos, Los Alamos and Valencia County will see even bigger increases. Fees also will increase at all five campuses, with the board approving an increase of nearly 5 percent. The Albuquerque Journal reports that regents approved the increases on a 5-2 vote. Students at the main
campus taking 15 credit hours will see annual tuition and fees rise by $217. Student leaders worked closely with the administration during the budget process and said they support the increases in fees and tuition. The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on a consolidated budget and forward it to the state for final approval in early May. The 3 percent tuition increase is part of a program that gives incentives to students who graduate in four years. Under the plan, students who enter UNM in the fall and earn a degree in four years will pay no tuition in their final semester. That de facto “scholarship” that could amount to as much as $2,902 for current high See TUITION, Page A3
Americas Summit Social worker embracing life, fatherhood wraps up with issues in US-Cuba shadow By Jeff Jackson Record City Editor
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Climate change. Peace in Colombia. Argentina’s longstanding claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. Heads of state representing lands from Tierra del Fuego to the North American tundra pressed their concerns in a marathon session at a Panama City convention center as the seventh Summit of the Americas wrapped up Saturday. It was all overshadowed by the first substantial faceto-face encounter by sitting U.S. and Cuban leaders since 1958, as presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro seek to restore dip-
lomatic relations and lower the combative tone that has prevailed since ties were severed 54 years ago. As in past summits, several of Washington’s most outspoken critics used the forum as a bully pulpit to rail against U.S. behavior in the region, from current issues such as travel and financial sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials over human rights concerns to long-ago insults like 19th century expansionist policies. Ecuador’s populist president, Rafael Correa, cited the Declaration of Independence’s language enshrining See SUMMIT, Page A3 Today’s Forecast
HIGH 80 LOW 50
Lost in an ocean of drugs and alcohol, Nathan Padilla righted his ship when he became a father. Padilla, a Roswell native, lived in Albuquerque at the worst time of his life. He was going nowhere but down, despite having good jobs in construction and retail, because of a cocaine addiction and a drinking problem. But when his son was born 16 years ago he became a new man. “At 29 I wasn’t doing well at all. I was actually very lost, very confused and the new girl I was with she became pregnant,” Padilla says. “And for some reason I had a peace with that. I wasn’t doing well at all
but I knew I was raised right and if you became a parent you were going to show up and do your job. I think becoming a parent was one of the big light bulbs that said ‘Hey you’re not making good choices.’” The first good choice Padilla made in his new life was to leave his girlfriend and come back to Roswell with his son, also named Nathan. “He was sort of the catalyst that said ‘Hey you need to wake up and do right.’ Of course I didn’t wake up right away. I stumbled,” Padilla says. See SPOTLIGHT, Page A2
Jeff Jackson Photo
Social worker Nathan Padilla of La Familia Mental Health receives a certificate award from Julie Morrow of the state Department of Health Southeast New Mexico region. Padilla received recognition on Wednesday for his many years of work with La Familia and Embrace Inc., a local program that provides youths with guidance.
Index
Today’s Obituaries Page B6 • Vernie Boggs • Dorothy Elizabeth Herring • Phyllis Lacock
• Brett Leach • Hector Roy Marquez • Cindy Lou Wallace
Classifieds...........D4 Comics..................C4 Entertainment. ....A8 General...............A2
Horoscopes.........A8 Lotteries. ............A2 Nation..................B6 Opinion.................A4
Sports. ................B1 Weather...............A8 World..................A7