Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 123, No. 115 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
May 13, 2014
Favorable weather eyed to fight Gila wildfire
SILVER CITY (AP) — New Mexico’s first major wildfire of the season nearly doubled in size and was zero percent contained within a day of igniting. The Signal Fire in the Gila National Forest just north of Silver City grew to more than 4,000 acres Monday, a day after it scuttled Mother’s Day celebrations and led some tourists to leave the area early.
This marks one of the first large fires so far this season to force evacuations
in New Mexico, a state that has been battered by the drought and persistently high fire danger for the last few years. The state has experienced record-setting fire seasons two of the last three seasons, and land managers are concerned this summer could be another record-setter given the dry conditions. The Gila National Forest is no stranger to large fires. In 2012, the Whitewater Baldy blaze raced across more than 450 square
TUESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
miles to become the largest fire in the state’s recorded history.
As the wind-fueled fire raged in southwestern New Mexico, Gov. Susana Martinez sent a letter Monday to city and council leaders around the state, urging them to consider actions limiting the sale and use of fireworks given the weather conditions and high fire danger.
“In these conditions, we cannot afford to have even one careless, human-
caused fire,” the governor wrote.
The fire was likely caused by people, but an investigation is ongoing, U.S. Forest Service spokesman Brian Martinez said.
Martinez, the U.S. Forest Service spokesman, said over 280 firefighters and other personnel are battling the fire. He said officials are working on a mandatory evacuation plan but that he wasn’t sure which areas would be affected.
The Chaves County District Attorney’s office staff has two new furry members — and they’re ready to go to trial. Max and Lincoln, two Labrador retrievers, are the courthouse’s newest residents, and the two service dogs are there to assist and comfort children and adults who are going through the stress of courtroom testimony. District Attorney Janetta B. Hicks introduced Max, a golden Lab, during a press conference at City Hall on Thursday. “Max has been here only about a week,” Hicks said, “and we are so glad to have him and Lincoln in Chaves County.” The dogs sit with children during their testimonies, helping the children relax and making the process less stressful, Hicks said. Lincoln, a 5-year -old
Above: Gina Yeager, left, stands with Lincoln, the black Labrador, and District Attorney Janetta B. Hicks stands with Max, a golden Lab, Monday. Yeager is an administrative assistant for Judy Mullis, who was the first handler for Lincoln. Right: Max, left, and Lincoln rest.
This Sunday photo shows plumes of smoke from a wildfire as cars drive on NM 15 in Pinos Altos.
Courthouse welcomes new four-legged staff members
RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Shawn Naranjo Photos
AP Photo
black Lab, is the Chaves County courthouse dog, while Max, a 2-year -old, gets to travel between the three county courthouses that serve the 5th Judicial District. Hicks is Max’s primary handler. “These are working dogs, they are not happy to just be sitting around,” Hicks said. She works with Max a few minutes several times a day to help reinforce his training as a service animal. “They are already trained, we just work with them to reinforce their training.” Max is a mellow fellow, and he lounges at Hicks’ feet, even in front of the courthouse building where there are lots of distractions. Lincoln is a little more fidgety, having not worked for a while. “Lincoln was a courthouse dog in Raton in Colfax County, but his handler left the DA’s office to go work in the Attor ney General’s of fice,” Hicks said, “so he hasn’t had
anyone to work with him in a while.” The dogs were trained by Assistance Dogs of the West, and there was a $6,100 placement fee the county paid with grant funds to obtain Max. Lincoln was given to Chaves County since his trainer was no longer in Raton. Hicks said the value of a courthouse dog is estimated at $25,000. Since 2003, courthouse dogs have provided comfort to sexually abused children while they undergo forensic interviews and testify in court, according to the website, courthousedogs.com. The dogs also assist treatment court participants in their recovery, visit juveniles in detention facilities, greet jurors and lift the spirits of courthouse staff who often conduct their business in an adversarial setting. Courthouse dogs special-
Committee follows Report: State 20th in education spending up on Grant Street traffic safety efforts RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Efforts to slow down traffic on Grant Street have resulted in a number of citations for speeding vehicles, members of the city Police Committee were told on Monday. The committee discussed traffic on Grand Avenue between Hobbs and Poe streets during the committee’s April meeting, when resident Norena Souza told the committee cars were speeding through that neighborhood in the mornings while about 120
school children were waiting on school buses. Police Chief Phillip Smith said he would have officers patrolling that area the following day, and in the interim, there have been a number of citations issued, he said. “We had an officer there who is very no-nonsense,” Smith said, “and I know he was stopping them right and left there for a few days.” City Manager Larry Fry said the city engineer also dropped the speed limit
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico ranked 20th last year among states in annual per-pupil education spending, even though it’s near the bottom of many lists on student achievement, according to a national study. The annual study from the National Education Association, one of the nation’s largest teacher’s unions, found that New Mexico spends $11,019 per student — $81 more than the national average, Albuquerque Journal reports. That includes federal, state and local K-12 spending. Yet, New Mexico’s fourth-grade reading scores tied with the District of Columbia for the nation’s lowest ranking in the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress. And its eighth-grade reading and fourthgrade math scores were third from the bottom. “New Mexico presents a unique challenge demographically that other
states aren’t facing,” said Rep. Dennis Roch, R-Logan, who sits on the House Education Committee and is also superintendent of the Logan school district. Chief among those challenges is that New Mexico has more students living in poverty than most other states, Roch said. Last year, 27 percent of school-age children in New Mexico lived at or below the poverty line, said Sharon Kaye, spokeswoman for New Mexico Voices for Children, a child advocate organization. She said 66 percent were eligible for free or reduced lunch, which means they’re considered low-income. Poverty can hurt a student’s ability to learn in school in both obvious and insidious ways, said Charles Goodmacher, government relations director for NEA New Mexico. “The poverty, it plays out in a lot of ways,” Goodmacher said. “Are they fed enough? Do they have a place in
Town near Grand Canyon runs low on water
WILLIAMS, Ariz. (AP) — In the norther n Arizona city of Williams, restaurant patrons don’t automatically get a glass of water anymore. Residents caught watering lawns or washing cars with potable water can be fined. Businesses are hauling water from outside town to fill swimming pools, and building per mits have been put on hold because there isn’t enough water to accommodate development. Officials in the commu-
See COMMITTEE, Page A3
nity about 60 miles from the Grand Canyon’s South Rim have clamped down on water use and declared a crisis amid a drought that is quickly drying up nearby r eservoirs and forcing the city to pump its only two wells to capacity.
The situation of fers a glimpse at how cities across the West are coping with a drought that has left them thirsting for water. More than a dozen rural towns in California r ecently emerged fr om
HIGH 61 LOW 45
TODAY’S FORECAST
emergency water restrictions that had a sheriff’s office on the lookout for water bandits at a local lake. One New Mexico town r elied on bottled water for days last year. In souther n Nevada, water customers ar e paid to remove lawns and cannot install any new grass in their front yards. Of ficials in Williams jumped straight to the most severe restrictions after receiving only about 6 inches of precipitation from October to April —
• MILDRED WALTON • WILLIAM “BILL” M. CRONEY • PATSY ANN FREEK
See DOGS, Page A3
the home that’s safe and comfortable to do homework?” “While poverty can be a factor in student achievement, it should never be an excuse for low performance in our education system,” said Aimee Barabe, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Public Education Department. She added that next year’s state budget will increase education spending “5.75 percent to a record high of $2.7 billion.” Sen. John Arthur Smith, a Deming Democrat who is vice chair of the Legislative Finance Committee, said he believes the increase for next year is needed, but he said districts must become more efficient and cut down on administrative costs. “What I have a difficult time with is we are 20th in spending and we’re still at the bottom in achievement,” he said. “We have been giving you (school districts) more money and you haven’t shown improvement, so why should we give you more now?”
about half of normal levels — and a bleak for ecast that doesn’t include much rain. City leaders acknowledge the move is extreme but say it’s the only way to make sur e the city has enough water to survive. “We knew we had to take some action to preserve the water,” Mayor John Moore said.
Reservoirs that supply residents’ taps are so low that they r eveal tr ee stumps, plants and cracked earth once submerged by water.
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
AP Photo
In this April 11 photo, low reservoir levels reveal tree stumps and a cracked lake bed in Williams, Ariz. CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B4
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8