Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 158 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
July 2, 2014
Pilot program for local VA access in the works BY TIMOTHY P. HOWSARE RECORD EDITOR
If all goes according to plans discussed Friday in Albuquerque between U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, RN . M . , a n d Ve t e r a n s Affairs administrators, a pilot program to allow veterans in Roswell and other Southeast New Mexico communities to see local doctors instead of commuting to Albuquerque or other larger cities should begin with
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the next few months. Pearce said he left the meeting with assurances that the pilot program would get off the ground. “Congressman Pearce has been trying to get this ever since he was elected to office,” said Jill McLaughlin, Pearce’s communications director. “Veterans would be able to access local care from local doctors instead of driving three to five hours for a blood draw.” Currently, veterans from Southeast New Mexi-
co are reimbursed for fuel in the range of $18 0 of $230 per trip, McLaughlin said. Under the pilot program, that money instead would be paid to local doctors for treating patients in their communities. In light of all the VA’s recent scandals, McLaughlin said Pearce believes the time has come to look at alternatives to the current system. “Everyone now agrees that it is flawed for rural
veterans having to drive so far for basic services,” she said. McLaughlin said plans for the pilot program are still very preliminary, but could start when House Veterans Affairs Committee Chair man Rep. Jef f Miller visits New Mexico for a field hearing. “ We a r e s t i l l i n t h e stages of putting it all t o g e t h e r, ” s h e s a i d . “Hopefully, it will be within the next few months.” Pearce said in a released statement that
Jeff Tucker Photo
City leaders scrutinize ad spending
David Hayduk, president and CEO of HK Advertising of Santa Fe, shows promotional brochures his firm is working on to City Councilor Tabitha Denny after a City Council workshop Tuesday night.
the city’s marketing and strategic planning, indicating the importance of the All 10 Roswell city coun- workshop to the city’s cilors attended a workshop elected leaders. Tuesday night to review The one person conspic-
BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
uously absent was the city’s marketing director, Renee Roach. City manager Larry Fry said Roach went on family and medical leave on
Tuesday. Fry declined to state how long Roach would be away from work, but he said the federal See SPENDING, Page A3
Friday’s meeting with the Albuquerque VA Medical Center was productive. “ We e n g a g e d i n a f u l l range of discussions dealing with veterans waiting too long for care and inadequate staffing,” he said. “We did not agree on everything. I am continuing to ask for answers to failures in patient care, establishing a patient satisfaction measurement program, and results of the investigation into the local system and regional medical clinics.”
Despite positive convers a t i o n s w i t h t h e VA , Pearce emphasized he still remains concer ned a b o u t t h e VA ’ s o v e r a l l resistance to openness and transparency. T h e A l b u q u e r q u e VA Medical Center again declined to allow media to attend Friday’s meeting. Pearce highlighted the results of a recent survey that showed 76 percent of New Mexico veterans support a state investigation into the problems of the VA Medical Center.
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breach is under investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and is ongoing.
Pioneer Bank: TV reports of hacked accounts inaccurate KRQE News 13 in Albuquerque erroneously reported on television and on its website Tuesday that customer accounts at Pioneer Bank had possibly been hacked, according to a released statement from the bank. KRQE reported this without verifying the accuracy of the information and did not contact Pioneer Bank regarding this issue. Beginning Monday, Pioneer Bank began receiving calls from customers reporting unauthorized transactions from “OXXO Cajeme Son MX,” located in Sante Fe, Mexico City. This merchant is the source of all the identified fraud charges at this time. Pioneer Bank has found a possible connection between a national restaurant chain data breach that occurred between Sept. 18 and June 11. This data
Pioneer Bank would like to stress there is no indication that its systems have been breached. The fraud that has occurred is a result of a breach of merchant systems where customer cards were utilized.
At this time, Pioneer Bank disabled all debit/credit card usage in Mexico. If you plan to travel to Mexico and need to use your Pioneer Bank card, call 575-625-3635.
Pioneer Bank takes its customers’ personal privacy and account security very seriously. The bank recommends customers review their transaction history to be sure they do not see any unauthorized charges. If you see any unusual activity on your account, contact your local branch or contact the main office at 575-625-3635.
Planetarium to hold Cosmicon returns to Roswell Mall Friday programs during fest BY SHANNON SEYLER SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
STAFF REPORT
Space. The final frontier. But you don’t have to book a flight on the USS Enterprise to experience the cosmos. The Robert H. Goddard Planetarium opened Monday in preparation for the UFO Festival with daily programs from now until next Monday. The planetarium is located adjacent to the art museum at 100 W. 11th St. The schedule is as follows: • Children’s shows will continue from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. until Saturday. • “Exoplanet” will continue from 1 to 2 p.m. until Monday. • NASA ViewSpace from 9
to 10 a.m. and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. until Saturday. • The night sky will continue from 4 to 4:45 p.m. until Monday.
• Telescope viewing will happen from 9 to 10 p.m. on Saturday. • Lights and music will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
For more infor mation, call the Roswell Museum and Art Center at 575-6246744.
The finest in intergalactic entertainment returns to the Roswell Mall this weekend when the 2014 Cosmicon kicks off. Whether you’re into scifi, fantasy, animation, comics, collectibles, gaming, manga, cosplay or steampunk, you’ll find it all at the Cosmicon. This year’s convention is being held at the Roswell Mall on the weekend of July 45. The Cosmicon runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days, and will coincide with the Roswell UFO Festival. Admission is free, so gather up your
See COSMICON, Page A3
Jane Batson, director of Embrace Inc., at left, and Tim Rogers, an expert in active transportation planning from Santa Fe, second from left, presented a slide show to the Parks and Recreation Commission on Monday explaining ways the city could improve the connectivity and safety of the city’s bike and walking paths.
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TODAY’S FORECAST
Fans pause for a group-selfie during the 2014 Roswell Filmfest. This year’s Cosmicon kicks off on July 4 at the Roswell Mall and will feature out-of-this-world fun, including Garrett Wang of “Star Trek Voyager” fame and Dr. Who’s TARDIS.
Parks commissioners discuss bike trail improvements BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Randal Seyler Photo
Submitted Photo
City Parks and Recreation Commissioners heard a presentation on “bikeway and trail planning” on Monday at City Hall. Tim Rogers, an expert in active transportation planning from Santa Fe, presented a slide show explaining ways the city could improve the connectivity and safety of the city’s bike and walking paths. “I am involved with the city’s Community Transfor-
mation Grant, and we are coming up for renewal,” said Jane Batson, director of Embrace Inc. The grant helps fund Healthy Kids of Chaves County, an initiative to get children and their parents to live healthier, more active lifestyles. Part of that activity can be walking and bike riding, and the city’s trails are crucial to that lifestyle. Also, there could be funding available for some of the trail improvements, Batson said. Rogers reviewed existing trails in Roswell and sever-
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6 • JUANITA ANNABELLE “ANN” FRY • KC JEAN TRUJILLO-BACA • VINCENT JAMES POWERS • MAGDALENE RITA (GONDA) KINCAID • TIMOTHY AMOS SR. • ROBERT GONZALO MEDINA
al main streets for quality of bicycle traffic, and recommended several inexpensive improvements to the commissioners. “The first thing to do is go for the low hanging fruit,” Rogers said. “There are several improvements that can be made at very little expense.” The “low hanging fruit” improvements include signage for the trails, known as “wayfinding,” and restriping faded crosswalks and bike path lanes. Rogers also showed examples of how four-lane
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3
roads with no shoulders can be restriped into twolane roads with a turn lane and a bicycle lane on either side. “These are improvements that can be made almost immediately with just a little effort,” Rogers said. Healthy Kids initiatives across the state also include bike-to-school programs, which help encourage children to exercise. “You want to encourage that active lifestyle as much as you can, and
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
See TRAILS, Page A3 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8