Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 141 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
June 12, 2014
Boy, 9, hospitalized after being mauled by 3 dogs BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
A 9-year -old Chaves County boy is in the hospital after being mauled by three dogs early Wednesday morning. The dogs were pit bull mixes, and two of the animals were shot by the boy’s father, said Lt. Mike Herrington of the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office. The incident occurred at 5196 Vista Lane, which is the location of a kennel,
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Herrington said. “The people there run a shelter where they rescue animals from the pound. These four dogs had gotten out.” The kennel was operated by a group called Doggy Saviors, according to officials. There were four dogs in the pack that attacked the boy, but only three animals actually bit the child. “One of the dogs was killed, and the other was wounded and ran of f. It was later put down by the
detective who lives out in the county. The police department is not releasing any infor mation on the incident, including the name of the detective involved.
animal control officer,” Herrington said. “The other two dogs in the attack have been quarantined for observation to make sure they don’t have rabies.” The attack happened at about 9 a.m. and the boy was taken to a local hospital, then airflighted to Lubbock for medical care. “I was at the hospital this morning, and I saw that little boy,” said Mayor Dennis Kintigh. “It wasn’t good.” The boy is a son of a Roswell Police Department
“What was disturbing to me is that the reports I have received indicate that these particular pit bulls had been rescued from the pound,” Kintigh said, “and that animal rescuer was not keeping the dogs under See DOGS, Page A3
Randal Seyler Photo
A 9-year-old boy was hospitalized Wednesday after he was mauled by three dogs on Vista Lane, west of Roswell.
Pearce reintroduces bill to expedite rural VA health care access BY JERRY HECK SPECIAL TO THE DAILY RECORD
Jeff Tucker Photo
Singing scientist kicks off library series Youngsters pretend they are rockets blasting off Wednesday during a presentation at the Roswell Public Library by Curious Chris the Singing Scientist.
Library’s summer guest story time program Wednesday, “edu-taining” Curious Chris the dozens of children with Singing Scientist kicked off songs and hands-on scienthe Roswell Public tific demonstrations.
BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Curious Chris, aka Chris Harrell, is a former elementary school teacher and retired U.S. Air Force of ficer with seemingly boundless energy and
enthusiasm for science. He writes, sings and performs his own science songs for curious minds. See LIBRARY, Page A2
Veterans Affairs requires veterans to travel to its facility in order to get treatment. If a veteran does not live near a VA facility, there are numerous challenges. While there is an abundance of dysfunctional issues pertaining to VA health care, patient travel is one of easiest fixes. To make that fix, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce sponsored H.R.635 — Help Establish Access to Local Timely Healthcare for You (HEAL THY) Vets Act of 2013. The bill would allow veterans to access local health care facilities, which will save the veteran time, money and physical strain. Currently, veterans must travel to VA hospitals for the majority of their treatments. This distance can often be a major roadblock to health care for veterans living in rural areas who have to travel long distances to reach the closest VA hospital. Veterans in Roswell and surrounding areas are faced with this
challenge. The HEALTHY Vets Act would allow veterans to use health care providers in their hometowns by directing the VA to contract with local hospitals and doctors on a case-by-case basis to provide medical services. The bill, which was originally filed in February of last year has been reintroduced, and action is soon expected. At a recent town hall meeting, Pearce discussed his advocacy for a fee-forservice-based system as detailed in the bill. One of the veterans present at the meeting described the route he underwent to get hearing aids. After waiting two years, the hearing aids were finally acquired, but he said a better use of health care funding would have been for the expenditures to have gone toward a local doctor instead of on gasoline and Albuquerque hotel rooms. Eric Espinoza of Pearce’s Roswell office said that an additional advantage of a
Anderson transferred to ILEA welcomes officers from Central America Lovelace rehab hospital STAFF REPORT
Phelps Anderson, owner of SunValley Energy Corp., was transferred from University Medical Center in El Paso to Lovelace Rehabilitation Hospital in Albuquerque Tuesday as he recovers from injuries he sustained in a single-vehicle crash on May 18. The wreck occurred on U.S. Highway 70 near the 297 milepost, according to the New Mexico State Police. Anderson apparently was trying to avoid a deer coming home from his family’s ranch in Picacho. His vehi-
cle collided with the guardrail and rolled three times in the median. After the crash, Anderson was airlifted to University Medical Hospital, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. In a released statement, Anderson’s wife, Ann, said Lovelace provides a bed for the patient’s spouse, which allows her to keep a close watch on him. “His humor is returning, so a close watch on Phelps, as you know, is imperative,” she said. Ann said Phelps’ schedSee ANDERSON, Page A3
BY DYLANNE PETROS RECORD STAFF WRITER
There will be a cooperative effort to keep the streets of Roswell safe in the future since police officers from Belize, Costa Rica and Honduras have arrived. They are here on their own special mission, though — they want to learn new ways to keep the streets safe so they can go home and help their own countries. The welcome reception for the International Law Enforcement Academy in Roswell was hosted Wednesday night at the Roswell Fire Department to
Randal Seyler Photo
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TODAY’S FORECAST
Miguel Martinez, delegate from Honduras, thanks the crowd for being welcomed Wednesday in Roswell and said he and fellow officers are happy to be in Roswell.
introduce the community to the visiting police officers. “This is a great example of how law enforcement
gets together,” said Frank Taylor, the project manager of ILEA. This is the 19th session of the program and many
people are excited about it. “We are very pleased to be here,” said Denzie Phillips, the delegate speaker from Belize. “The connections we are building … will serve meaningful purpose.” Mayor Dennis Kintigh has spent most of his career in law enforcement and said that Roswell is very different than other areas in the U.S. “[There are] very few people working in a large area,” he said. “You will also come away with a better understanding of Americans.” Fire Chief Chad Hamill is See ILEA, Page A2
Final wishes important for families to know
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Gabriel Casaus, manager and funeral director at LaGrone Funeral Chapel, asks for a show of hands of everyone with automobile insurance during his discussion of pre-planning for funerals and final wishes at the Roswell Kiwanis Club meeting on Tuesday.
Dylanne Petros Photo
See VA, Page A3
They say two things are inevitable in life — death and taxes. Everyone complains about taxes, but most people don’t even like to talk about death. However, that lack of discussion eventually often leads to hard feelings and financial hardships for families. “Everyone has insurance on their car, and most people have insurance
against a house fire, but how many people have pre-planned their funeral?” asked Gabriel Casaus, manager and funeral director at LaGrone Funeral Chapel. “People buy insurance all the time for something that might happen, but not many buy insurance for something that is definitely going to happen to everyone sooner or later.” Casaus was speaking to the Roswell Kiwanis Club on Tuesday about pre-
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A8 • DR. ROGER LLOYD SANDERS • ROBERT “BOB” SCOTT TERRY • RAYMUNDO LOPEZ SALCIDO SR. • KERRY BEN DAUBERT • ISAIAH ESTALANO BLUE SANCHEZ • ARCADIO MORALES • BRIAN JOSEPH KAUAI
planning for funerals and the different types of preplanning insurance available. “Typically, the pre-planning insurances programs are transferrable, from one funeral home to another and from state to state,” Casaus said, “and they typically are paid out in three -, five- or seven-year programs.” The payment plan option is usually not available once a person reaches the age of 90, but if the
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B8 COMICS .................B7 ENTERTAINMENT ...A10 FINANCIAL ..............B6
amount of the services are paid in full upfront, then age is not an issue. “The typical funeral costs $7,000 to $10,000,” Casaus said, “and unfortunately, a lot of people think that their life insurance policy will cover funeral expenses, but the average amount of insurance the typical American has is only $10,000 to $20,000.” People often neglect to See WISHES, Page A2
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .......A10
LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ............A10