Roswell Daily Record
Twister death count at 24
Vol. 122, No. 122 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
MOORE, Okla. (AP) — Helmeted rescue workers raced Tuesday to complete the search for survivors and the dead in the Oklahoma City suburb where a mammoth tor nado destroyed countless homes, cleared lots down to bare red earth and claimed 24 lives, including those of nine children.
UNTAXED PROFITS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate dragged Apple Inc., the world’s most valuable company, into the debate over the U.S. tax code Tuesday, grilling CEO Tim Cook over allegations that its Irish subsidiaries help the company avoid billions in U.S. taxes. Cook said the subsidiaries have nothing to do with reducing its U.S. taxes ... - PAGE B6
Scientists concluded the stor m was a rare and extraordinarily powerful type of twister known as an EF5, ranking it at the top of the scale used to measure tor nado strength.
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
May 22, 2013
WEDNESDAY
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Those twisters are capable of lifting reinforced buildings off the ground, hurling cars like missiles and stripping trees completely free of bark. Residents of Moore began returning to their homes a day after the tor nado smashed some neighborhoods into jagged wood scraps and gnarled pieces of metal. In place of their houses, many families found only empty lots. After nearly 24 hours of searching, the fire chief said he was confident there were no more bodies or
Subway downtown
survivors in the rubble. Authorities were so focused on the search effort that they had yet to establish the full scope of damage along the storm’s long, ruinous path. They did not know how many homes were gone or how many families had been displaced. Emergency crews had trouble navigating devastated neighborhoods because there were no street signs left. Some rescuers used smartphones or GPS devices to guide See TWISTER, Page A3
AP Photo
Arias murder trial under way
Storm clouds build in the distance beyond tornado-ravaged homes in Moore, Okla., Tuesday.
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Man found shot • Protest at Valley Meat Co. awakens ... • Trial defense witness killed • SO looks into child’s death • Invaders run win streak to seven
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
A crew from Signs by Corbell install signage for the new Subway at the corner of Second and Main in downtown Roswell, Monday.
ANCHORED PUTTING BAN
Golf’s two governing bodies outlawed the anchored putting stroke used by four of the last six major champions, approving a new rule that starts in 2016 and urging the PGA Tour to follow along so the 600-year-old sport is still played under one set of rules. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club and the U.S. Golf Association adopted Rule 14-1b, which prohibits players from anchoring a club ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S • • • • • • • •
OBITUARIES
Christopher Lucero Una Hewett Ross H. Sykes Robert “Bob” Reed Eva Horton Edna Hernandez James Scott Farris Linus Brown - PAGE A3, A8
HIGH ...97˚ LOW ....60˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B7 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B6 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ......A10 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ............A10 WORLD .................A9
On Tuesday, the prosecution and the defense gave opening statements in the case of New Mexico versus Jose Arias. Assistant District Attorney Debra Hutchins said, “Two years ago yesterday, Victoria Velasquez died of a gunshot wound. ... She was 22. She had two children. From January to May 2011, Jose was in jail for beating her. He was released on May 16. Four
Kintigh addresses Oil, gas lease sale raises $4.7M C of C on violence JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Roswell Chamber of Commerce hosted a talk about the Effects of Violence on the Community, at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. Former State Representative and FBI agent Dennis Kintigh spoke. “My intentions are to encourage discussion and critical debate in the community,” he said. He said that only when problem is acknowledged can it be addressed. Kintigh referred to himself as doubly cursed, having an engineering degree and 21 years’ experience in law enforcement. As a result, Kintigh likes concrete definitions and statistics. The infor mation pertained to New Mexico as a state, rather than Roswell in particular, and he compared them against adjacent Western states and
national averages. During his presentation, Kintigh asked people to assess the economy in New Mexico. Most agreed that the economy was poor overall. According to the statistics, New Mexico is ranked as the third worst in the union in terms of income, according to recent U.S. census data. “Violence is a huge issue,” said Kintigh. Violent crimes were also defined according to the FBI data, as a murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault (in NM battery). Violent crimes nationwide from 2011 statistics were 386.3 per 100,000 population, with murders at 4.7 per 100,000. New Mexico reported 567.5 violent crimes for the year and
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
The New Mexico State Land Office’s monthly Oil and Gas Lease Sale, held Tuesday at the Daniels Leadership Center on the New Mexico Military Institute campus, raised $4.7 million for the state’s public schools, universities, and hospitals. State Land Commissioner Ray Powell and state Assistant Commissioner of Mineral Resources Greg Bloom visited Roswell for the sale, which offered more than 30 tracts of land. Funds from the sale will go to the state’s land trust beneficiaries, Powell said, which include education and health care institutions. “We’re really excited about that,” he said. In 2012, the State Land Of fice generated $653 million, which Powell said prevents New Mexico fam-
ilies from having to pay about $850 a year in additional taxes. Powell said when it comes to land usage, it is important not to comprise them for the future. The State Land Office recently began its “One Health” initiative, which promotes improving the health of lands, animals and communities. The initiative is a collaborative effort and likewise, Powell said the office works with communities when making decisions. “The idea is to come into the community and go through the process with the community...,” he said. “That way if it’s a bad idea, we can euthanize it quickly and if it’s a good idea, it gets even better.” In addition to collaborating with oil and gas companies, the office also works with renewable energy projects, such as
See TRIAL, Page A3
those involving wind, geothermal, biomass and solar power. There are several renewable energy projects located on state trust land, Powell said, with still more to come.
Energy produced by such projects can go directly to businesses, he said. Recently, the State Lands Office partnered with the EMCORE Corp. in Albuquerque on a solar project that will provide 20 percent of the facility’s power.
Renewable energy projects also have the potential for job creation, Powell said, and retention of the state’s residents — especially its youth.
“We spend a lot of money educating them here, “ he said. “We need to create opportunities for them and their families ... so they’re not coming back here just to retire.”
IRS official Lois Lerner to take the 5th at House hearing See KINTIGH, Page A3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Summoned by Congress, a key figure in the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups plans to invoke her constitutional right against selfincrimination and decline to testify at a congressional hearing today.
INDEX
AP Photo
Cliff Toye stands with others outside Internal Revenue Service offices in Cherry Hill, N.J., Tuesday, during a tea party rally protesting extra IRS scrutiny of conservative groups.
Lois Ler ner heads the IRS division that singled out conservative groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 election campaigns. She was subpoenaed to testify today before the House oversight committee.
But in a letter to committee leaders, Lerner’s lawyer said she would refuse to testify because of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
Among the harsher Republican comments after the IRS targeting was revealed last week, House Speaker John Boehner said he wanted to know, “Who’s going to jail over this scandal?” Lerner’s Washington lawyer, William W. Taylor III, said Tuesday that his client “has not committed any crime or made any misrepresentation, but under the circumstances
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she has no choice but to take this course.” Ali Ahmad, a spokesman for Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa, RCalif., said the subpoena stands, raising the possibility of a public spectacle in which Lerner would decline to answer question after question. News of her plans came on the same day the agency’s former commissioner said he first learned in the spring of 2012 — in the heat of the presidential campaign — that agents See IRS, Page A2