Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 124, No. 147 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
June 20, 2015
Saturday
www.rdrnews.com
New district attorney focused on violent crimes By Jeff Tucker Record Staff Writer
Jeff Tucker Photo
Dianna Luce, new Fifth Judicial District Attorney, and Michael Murphy, chief deputy district attorney for Chaves County, meet with Daily Record staff Tuesday. Luce said she would be a “trial DA,” personally prosecuting several cases a year.
Southeast New Mexico’s new district attorney who describes herself as “a fairly conservative Republican” says she will prosecute major criminal cases personally and also run next year for election to the post to which she was recently appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez. Dianna Luce, the former chief deputy district attorney for Lea County in the Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s office, was appointed by the governor on May 29 to district attorney for the fifth judicial district covering Chaves, Eddy and Lea
counties. Luce’s appointment came in the wake of former Fifth Judicial District Attorney Janetta B. Hicks’ recent retirement. Hicks, while in the second-half of her second four-year term as district attorney, resigned effective May 31 due to personal and financial concerns. Luce will serve the remainder of the four-year term to which Hicks was elected in 2012. Hicks was first elected Fifth Judicial District Attorney in 2008 after defeating Terry Haake in the Republican primary. She ran unopposed in the general election. Hicks defeated fel-
low Republican Janet Ellis in the 2012 Republican primary and ran unopposed again in the 2012 general election. There are no term limits in New Mexico for district attorneys, so Hicks would have been eligible to seek re-election in 2016. Luce, 50, said she has been a Republican since she was 18 years old. Luce said she would run as a Republican in 2016 for a full four-year term as Fifth Judicial District Attorney. Born in Lubbock, Texas, Luce told the Daily Record this week her goal is be a “trial DA.” See DA, Page A2
Roswell marks Juneteenth
Bill Moffitt Roswell Correspondent Story and Photos
Left: The Rev. Landjur Abukusumo, to the right, leads an ensemble in some native African music during a celebration of Juneteenth at the Roswell Job Corps gymnasium Friday afternoon. The special anniversary day marks June 19, 150 years ago, when federal troops forced the state of Texas to abandon slavery after it clung to the tradition two-and-a-half years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Abukusumo told the audience that black history is full of gaps and mis-
understandings. “Nobody wants to talk about that kind of stuff,” Abukusumo said. “But unless we talk about it we won’t understand it … we won’t know what’s going on.” Gospel numbers were also performed by the group which included: Singer Janet Allen, to Abukusumo’s left and bass player David Hett, in the bottom right photo. Bottom left: Abukusumo shows his talent with the conga drums as he lays down a beat as part of the Juneteenth celebration. In the bottom right photo, Astuti Abukusumo plays keyboard while Hett, right, plays bass during a lecture and musical tour of black history.
DWI campaign continues
Meet and greet the doctors
Submitted
ALBUQUERQUE — Gov. Susana Martinez unveiled this week an ad campaign that raises awareness about the dangers and consequences of drunk driving. The governor also kicked off 100 Days and Nights of Summer, a statewide law enforcement effort that puts more police officers on the roads to target drunk drivers. “Drunk driving has a devastating impact on New Mexico’s families, and we
Jeff Tucker Photos
Right: Mayor Dennis Kintigh talks with Dr. Prashanthi Konda and, above, he speaks with Dr. Ninad Shet at a reception Friday evening at the Roswell Museum and Art Center. The Mayor’s Healthcare Solutions Committee, whose mission is to recruit and retain health care professionals in the Roswell community, hosted the reception for physicians who have been in Roswell for three years or less. Konda arrived in Roswell nine months ago and is a hospitalist at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center. Shet, who relocated to Roswell 10 months ago, practices internal medicine at La Casa Family Health Center.
Today’s Forecast
Today’s Obituaries Page B5
HIGH 96 LOW 65
• Donald “Don” E. Perkins Jr. • Edward Cleetis Throckmorton Jr.
See CAMPAIGN, Page A3 Index Church Pages......A6 Classifieds...........B7 Comics..................B6 Entertainment. ....A8
Financial..............B5 General...............A2 Horoscopes.........A8 Lotteries. ............A2
Opinion.................A4 Sports. ................B1 Weather...............A8