Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 108 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
May 4, 2014
Democrats assail Martinez in candidate forum
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Five Democrats running for governor directed a barrage of criticism at Republican incumbent Susana Martinez at a candidate forum Saturday rather than sniping at each other. With the June 3 primary election a month away, Democrats assailed Martinez for weak job growth in the state and New Mexico being rated in a recent national study as the worst in the country for the wellbeing of children. They also faulted the
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Martinez administration for suspending Medicaid payments to mental health providers last year without first giving them a chance to respond to allegations of fraud, billing problems and mismanagement. The state has contracted with Arizona companies to take over the operations of the New Mexico nonprofit organizations, causing many of them to go out of business. Attorney General Gary King, whose office is investigating the Medicaid fraud allegations, called the Mar-
tinez administration’s handling of the mental health situation a “good example of bad management.” “Standard operating procedure for this administration is to shoot first and ask questions later,” King said. Several of the candidates said they would try to quickly cancel the state contracts with the Arizona mental health companies if they were elected governor. Lawrence Rael, a former administrator of local, state and federal government agencies, said New Mexico
needs more services for the mentally ill and to treat substance abuse. “It is more expensive to put them in jails than it is to provide the services they so desperately need and rightfully deserve,” Rael said. Martinez has no opponent in the GOP primary.
The other Democratic candidates are state Sens. Linda Lopez of Albuquerque and Howie Morales of Silver City, as well as Santa Fe businessman Alan Webber.
SUNDAY
Local candidate forum Monday The Leadership Roswell Alumni Association will hold a candidate forum at 6:30 p.m. Monday. The forum will be held at the First Baptist Church, 500 N. Pennsylvania Ave. It will also be broadcast live on Chan-
Mayor Dennis Kintigh, center, is greeted by a young fan while Pete Mayadag, plant manager of Leprino Foods in Roswell, looks on during Saturday’s 20th anniversary celebration at the cheese-processing plant, located south of Roswell.
Salgado performance tonight will wrap up Fiesta del Rio SHANNON SEYLER SPECIAL TO RECORD
Award-winning musician Michael Salgado will appear in concert tonight at the Party on the River/Fiesta del Rio, wrapping up a weekend of balloons, fun and music. Salgado will perform at 5:30 p.m. at the Cielo Grande Amphitheater. The popular Tejano entertainer began making his way up the music charts in 1995 with his single, “Cruz de Madera,” gaining fame as both a vocalist and accordionist. After amassing a string of hit singles, album sales
numbering in the millions and an impressive collection of awards, Salgado is still going strong today. Known as “El Zurdo de Oro” to his fans, he has a unique left-handed style of playing the accordion. “Being left-handed,” Salgado explains, “I learned to play the accordion in a way that works for me. People began pointing out that I was holding the instrument wrong, but by then, I was already comfortable doing it my own way.” He plays the piano accordion, which is an accordion equipped with a piano-style keyboard as opposed to a button accordion, and also
plays guitar and bass. His 1996 album, “En Concierto,” produced a highly successful single, “Sin Ella,” which found its way into the Top 20 on the Latin music charts. He is the recipient of many awards, including multiple Tejano Music Awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, two Albums of the Year in both the Conjunto Traditional and Conjunto Norteño categories, and Song of the Year for “Ya No Voy Aguantar.” His website, michaelsalgado.com, also notes that he is a Grammy Award nominee and the See SALGADO, Page A3
Donald Southwick holds “The History of 754th Field Artillery Battalion.”
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TODAY’S FORECAST
Leprino Foods marked a milestone this weekend when employees and management celebrated the company’s 20th year in Roswell. A facility-wide celebration took place throughout the week, with different departments celebrating the company’s anniversary, said Plant Manager Pete Mayadag. “Different departments are holding various events, and today the maintenance department has been out front — in fact, there’s a maintenance man somewhere around here in an Elmo costume,” Mayadag said with a grin on Thursday.
On Saturday, the company held an employee-only picnic in honor of the anniversary, featuring a speech from Mayor Dennis Kintigh and live band performances. Mayadag said Leprino first came to Roswell toward the end of 1993, but he chose 2014 as the of ficial anniversary because the facility has 20 employees who have been with the company since day one. “When I looked back in their files, I saw their paperwork started in January 1994,” Mayadag said. When Leprino Foods took over the existing dairy cooperative, AMPI, back in See LEPRINO, Page A3
Sky high
Mark Wilson Photo
Balloons begin to lift off during the 27th annual Old Timers Balloon Rally at the Cielo Grande Recreation Area, Saturday morning.
Veteran 1 of 5 brothers who served in war RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Randal Seyler Photo
See FORUM, Page A3
Leprino Foods celebrates 20 years in Roswell RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Randal Seyler Photo
nel 75 and on KBIM 910 AM Radio. All four candidates for sheriff have been confirmed. They are Patrick Barncastle, Arthur Fleming, Gary Graves and
One Roswell veteran has something in common with one of the most famous fighting families of World War II. The story of the five Sullivan brothers of Iowa, who all served in the Navy during WWII and who all were lost at sea when the USS
• TYSON CHURCH • RAYMOND E. BAULDRIDGE • RITA A. GALLAGHER • JORGE ARTURO MENDOZA
Juneau was sunk in 1942, is famous, and their story was made into a film in 1944 and also played a part in the plot of the 1998 film “Saving Private Ryan.” Donald Southwick, who will turn 90 on May 16, was one of another set of five brothers from Iowa who all served together during the war. Bert, Dale, Keith, and
Bob Southwick — along with Donald — all served in World War II as well, but fortunately, all five brothers came back home alive. The Southwicks, natives of Kalona, Iowa, were just as glad not to be famous for their service, at least not in the way the Sullivan family became famous. Southwick, who has resided in Roswell for eight years, is the last surviving Southwick brother, but he recalls his days in the 754th Field Artillery Battalion and his campaign through France, the Netherlands and Germany,
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A9 • NICHOLE RANAE HERNANDEZ • ROBERTO ANDRADE • TIM LAW MAGDALENO • WILLIAM GUY IRWIN • EDDIE LAMAR PARKER
including his time in the Battle of the Bulge. Brother Bert served in the Army Quartermaster Service, while brother Keith was in the Navy and survived Pearl Harbor, Southwick said. His brother Dale was with the Army Corps of Engineers in Okinawa and his fourth brother, Bob, served in the Air Force in the South Pacific and Guam. Southwick was drafted right out of high school into the Army, and was sent to California for basic See SOUTHWICK, Page A3
INDEX CLASSIFIEDS ..........D1 OPINION .................A4 COMICS .................C4 SPORTS .................B1 HOROSCOPES .........B9 WEATHER ............A10 LOTTERIES .............A2 VISTAS...................C1