06 20 14 Roswell Daily Record

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Roswell Daily Record

Vol. 123, No. 148 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

June 20, 2014

FRIDAY

Illegal immigrants reportedly headed to Artesia BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER

Hundreds of illegal immigrants, many of whom are children, may soon be housed at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, sources told the Daily Record late Thursday. One source with inside information of U.S. Border Patrol operations said the administration of President Barack Obama late Wednesday or early Thursday put the law enforce-

ment training center on notice, and notified officials at the training center to begin making preparations to receive some of the thousands of illegal immigrants crossing into South Texas. Another source, who also requested anonymity, said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has commissioned a feasibility study of the ability of the Artesia Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to accommodate illegal immigrants flooding into the United States from Central America.

www.rdrnews.com

A woman answering the telephone at the Artesia Federal Law Enforcement Training Center said Thursday, “That’s crazy.” She declined to comment on the reports and told the newspaper to call back during normal business hours on Friday. Terry Todd, director of the Artesia training center, could not be reached for comment Thursday night. The source who said the White House issued the preparation order said the training center has about 1,000 beds. He said the

training center would probably be instructed not to receive new cadets in order to make room for the illegal immigrants. Artesia Mayor Phillip Burch could not be reached for comment Thursday. The law enforcement training center is situated on 220 acres in the northwest section of Artesia. Roswell Mayor Dennis Kintigh said Thursday he had not heard about the reports of using the Artesia training center to house illegal immigrants. The source with inside

information of U.S. Border Patrol operations said the morale of U.S. Border Patrol agents has been shattered by the dramatic influx of illegal immigrants from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, including thousands of unaccompanied children. Illegal immigrants have typically surrendered to border patrol agents upon entering the United States, rather than trying to evade authorities. The source with information of U.S. Border Patrol operations said the U.S.-

Texas youth mission group visits Roswell

BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER

Courtesy photo

A group of 50 youth missionaries from Fort Worth, Texas, have spent the week in Roswell working on several community projects. Among the volunteers are this group who built this wheelchair ramp, which includes, from left, Taylor Fox, Ben Border, Lindsey Feldman, Kelly Dillard, Lily Yeargins, Drake Dennison, Matthew Milrany and Mike Merritt.

BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER

The $15 million Chaves County Adult and Juvenile Detention Center renovation is costing a little less than expected. The county commissioners on Wednesday approved a change order from the jail’s contractor that lowered the jail’s price tag by $55,420. “It happens sometimes,” said County Manager Stanton Riggs. “Most of the time it doesn’t.” The cost savings are a result of deleting base course from under floor slabs, reducing the cost by $29,500, ceiling changes saving $22,719, and eliminating a planned emergency shower/eyewash station for a savings of $3,201. The change order proposed by Bradbury Stamm Construction of Albu-

querque follows a prior change order earlier this year from the contractor that reduced the jail’s price tag by $53,656. In total, county leaders have shaved $109,076 from the jail’s $15,233,000 original price tag. Riggs said county leaders have been working with Bradbury Stamm Construction and the jail renovation’s architect, ASA Architects of Roswell, to lower the jail renovation’s costs wherever possible and prudent. Riggs said some design features, such as a curved wall in a break room for jail staff, have been simplified or eliminated to keep the costs down. “We don’t need that,” Riggs said. “Those are the kind of things you don’t win awards for the building, but on the other hand, See RENOVATION, Page A3

UP LOOK LOOK

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HIGH 93 LOW 67

TODAY’S FORECAST

Several Roswell residents have received a helping hand this week from a Methodist youth group. A group of 78 youth missionaries from Arborlawn United Methodist Church of Fort Worth, Texas, have spent the week working with local agencies, performing maintenance, lawn work and building wheelchair ramps for Roswell residents. “We do an annual summer mission trip with students from eight different private and public high schools,” said Dave Brower, associate minister at Arborlawn United Methodist. The group is scheduled to head back to Texas Saturday, after having spent a

week touching lives and fixing up homes. The missionaries include 50 teenagers and 28 adult supervisors and staff, and they have been working with representatives from Embrace Inc., Choices and W.I.N.G.S. for Life to find residents who need their assistance. “We made a pre-mission trip a couple of months ago to coordinate everything and to line up what we would be doing and where we would be staying. Not many churches can accommodate a group as large as ours,” Brower said. First United Methodist Church of Roswell is large enough for all the missionaries to stay in the same place, and the 78 missionSee MISSION, Page A3

Crews make progress in battling wildfire ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters took advantage of favorable weather conditions Thursday to make more progress against a blaze that has consumed more than 21 square miles of forest and grazing land on the Navajo Nation. The Assayii (UH’-say-eye) Lake Fire has destroyed at least five structures and many Navajo families have concerns about the fate of their sheep camps in the Chuska Mountains, just east of the ArizonaNew Mexico border. Fire officials said about 50 homes near the rural communities of Naschitti (NAZ’-chit-ee) and Sheep Springs remained threatened, but crews have managed to contain 5 percent of the fire. News of the progress spread quickly among Navajos, many of whom have taken to social media in the days since the human-caused fire was first reported to call for donations of hay for livestock, water and prayers. Gladys Plummer, a Navajo medicine healer, made the same plea at a public meeting this week. She asked local traditional healers and others from different faiths to help her in prayer, the Navajo T imes

and

Jail renovation costs decreasing

Mexico border is essentially wide open as border patrol agents deal with the influx of illegal immigrants inland. The steep increase in illegal immigrants from Central America has overwhelmed the federal government’s immigration detention network. Critics allege the Obama adminstration is detaining illegal immigrants in inhumane conditions. The administration is also releasing illegal immigrants at bus stops with notices to appear in immigration court.

STAY SAFE

AP Photo

Jared Thornburg and Roverty Sterret with the Farmington Fire Department work on their truck Wednesday, at Newcomb Elementary School in Newcomb, as they prepare to fight the Assayii Lake Fire on the Navajo Nation.

reported Thursday. Plummer’s hands shook while she performed a ritual and offered a song of protection and prayer for the communities affected by the fire, the forest and the wildlife. “Just love one another,” she said told the community members at the

meeting.

Crews used bulldozers Thursday to build containment lines on the fire’s northeastern and southern flanks, while others patrolled and mopped up the edges of the fire that were secure.

If energy comes into your home by an overhead power line, you need to be careful to stay at least 10 feet away, especially when you’re up on a ladder. And if you see any low-hanging lines, stay away and call 1-800-895-1999. Learn more about safety at xcelenergy.com/Safety.

THERE ARE NO LOCAL OBITUARIES FOR TODAY. FOR INFORMATION ON UPCOMING SERVICES, SEE PAGE B4. TODAY’S OBITUARIES

CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3

xcelenergy.com/Safety

INDEX GENERAL ...............A2

HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2

OPINION .................A4

SPORTS .................B1

WEATHER ..............A8


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