Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 123, No. 120 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
May 18, 2014
www.rdrnews.com
SUNDAY
Government fine hardly the end of GM recall saga TOM KRISHER AP AUTO WRITER
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors’ agreement to pay a $35 million federal fine for concealing defects in smallcar ignition switches and to give the government greater oversight of its safety procedures closes one chapter of the automaker’s recall saga. But it’s far from over. Besides agreeing to pay the penalty — the largest ever assessed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — GM admitted that it broke the law by failing to quickly tell the government about
Kids Day
problems. The the automaker agreed to report safety problems a lot faster — it only started recalling 2.6 million small cars this February, more than a decade after engineers first found a flaw in the switches. The switches in older model small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion can slip out of the “run” position and shut down the cars’ engines. That disables the power assisted steering and brakes and can cause drivers to lose control. It also disables the air bags. The company says at least 13 people have died in
crashes linked to the problem, but trial lawyers suing the company say the death toll is at least 53. GM faces issues both in the near -term and longer term related to the recall. Here’s a breakdown: • THE INTERNAL INVESTIGATION: Late this month or early in June, for mer U.S. Attor ney Anton Valukas will finish an investigation for GM into why the company delayed recalling the cars. GM has promised an “unvarnished” report and said it will make at least some of the results public. The company must provide NHTSA with the full report.
• THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION: The U.S. Justice Department is investigating GM’s conduct and may bring criminal charges. The same team that got Toyota to agree to a $1.2 billion penalty for hiding unintended acceleration problems from NHTSA is working on the GM case. In the Toyota case, the company agreed to a long statement of facts that included multiple allegations of cover ups. That investigation lasted four years.
• CONGRESSIONAL ACTION: Two congressional See GM, Page A3
agreement brings 100 full-time positions that will pay $22.38 an hour.
Martinez says the company will be the first to establish itself inside the Dona Ana County Foreign Trade Zone, which allows for reductions in import duties. She says this serves as
Is GOP minority recruitment effort affirmative action? See OPERATION, Page A3
of race as one of many factors in selecting candidates or students, which is how affirmative action generally is practiced. Even that looser standard is banned under measures backed by Republicans in seven states that have outlawed government affirmative action. Last month, Republicanappointees on the U.S. Supreme Court, joined by one Democrat, upheld Michigan's voter-approved ban on considering race in any way in college admissions. It was the latest of a series of rulings by the court's conservative majority to limit af fir mative action.
Mark Rosenbaum, who argued the case on behalf of minority groups that opposed the af fir mative
Lovington man killed in two-vehicle crash
Above: Miss Roswell 2014 Jessica Burson talks with 3-year-old twins Adezra and Andrew Romero during Roswell Kids to the Park Day on Saturday. Also pictured is Eliza Romero of Roswell, mother of the twins. Right: J’Sean Mimms of Roswell, 8, takes a turn at the jump robe station along the Girl Scouts obstacle course at Saturday’s Kids to the Park Day. Several exhibitors were on hand at Spring River Park and Zoo to teach children about healthy eating and lifestyles.
McKelvey, Boys & Girls Clubs unit director, happy in the thick of it Jaynan McKelvey seems to feed on the after-school rush of children. Surrounded by children happy to be out of school for the day and ready to play, McKelvey, unit director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Roswell, finds herself the center of attention on a daily basis. The mother of two grown children said her job is not unlike that of a mother.
LAS CRUCES (AP) — A Germany-based manufacturer of automotive tape is bringing its first North American operation to New Mexico, along with the promise of 100 jobs. Gov. Susana Martinez announced the deal Saturday in Las Cruces’ West Mesa Industrial Park, home of the new CertoPlast facility. The governor says the
The Republican Party is hiring people to reach out to black and Hispanic communities, and setting goals for the number of minority candidates it will recruit. At the same time, Republican judges are moving closer to a long-held conservative goal of ending affirmative action. It's a delicate dance for the GOP: try to appeal to minorities, whose support has trended toward Democrats, and highlight an increasingly diverse roster of up-and-coming politicians without violating core principles. The party's platform says it opposes "preferences, quotas and set-asides as the best or sole methods through which fairness can be achieved, whether in government, education or corporate boardrooms." Notably, that could leave room for the consideration
Jeff Tucker Photos
BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Manufacturer to set up operation in Las Cruces
“It’s very rewarding when you walk in, or the kids walk in, and they hug you and give you a kiss or tell you ‘I love you’ or they make a project at school and they bring it and say ‘Here, I made this for you,’” McKelvey said. “Most of the things that are in my office have been made from the kids. They give me their pictures and I’m like, ‘What am I going to do with these?’ So I just start hanging them up and they come in and see that
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TODAY’S FORECAST
and it means a lot to them. It really does.” McKelvey, of Roswell, has been the unit director for the Roswell Boys & Girls Clubs for more than six years. She’s been employed by the Roswell clubs for 10 years. She said she considers
A 38-year-old Lovington man was killed around 8:40 a.m. Saturday, when two trucks collided on Louis Whitlook Road between U.S. Highway 62/180 and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site. Shawn Pollock, who was driving a 2008 GMC truck, was pronounced dead at the scene, the New Mexico State Police reported. The driver of the other truck, Jorge Rodriguez, 59, of El Paso, was not injured. Rodriguez was traveling
See GOP, Page A2
north in a 2011 Mack commercial vehicle while Pollock was traveling south.
As both vehicles approached each other near a curved portion of the roadway, the GMC truck drifted into the opposite lane of travel, crashing head on into the Mack truck, according to state police. Driver inattention was a contributing factor to the collision. Alcohol was not a contributing factor.
her workplace her ideal job.
“I have a bachelor’s degree in social work,” she said. “I just never thought it would be here. I was working here while I was going to school. When I got See MCKELVEY, Page A3
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A9 • RUBY WICKERSHAM • MARGARET SUZANNE GRISSEL OSBORNE • CHRISTOPHER BRANDON BYRD • GABRIEL ROBERT POLACO • BRADLEY EUGENE YOUNG • THOMAS A. TARTER JR. • DONNA WERTZ
Jeff Tucker Photo
Jaynan McKelvey, unit director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Roswell, spends a typical afternoon surrounded by children. Here, she’s speaking with 9-year-old Abagail Cruz as children play outside the club on Friday.
CLASSIFIEDS ..........D1
COMICS .................C5
ENTERTAINMENT .....B9
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........C6 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A2
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ............A10