GENERAL
Roswell Daily Record
STATE BRIEFS
Amtrak CEO to stop in New Mexico about train route
SANTA FE (AP) — Amtrak’s top executive is to travel through New Mexico on Saturday to meet with officials about keeping the Southwest Chief on its current route. But New Mexico Transportation Department spokeswoman Melissa Dosher said no of ficial from Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration plans to meet with Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman because the agency didn’t lear n of the tour until receiving a news release from the rail operator Thursday morning. Boardman will take a special train along the Southwest Chief route from Kansas through southeastern Colorado to Albuquerque, Amtrak said. Sen. Martin Heinrich, DN.M., will travel with Boardman in the state, and they’ll to meet with local of ficials along the route. Amtrak has warned that the route might be changed unless there are improvements to the track owned by Burlington Norther n Santa Fe. Amtrak has proposed that New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas help share the costs of maintaining and
upgrading 600 miles of track used through their states for the Southwest Chief. Boardman starts his trip Friday in Kansas. He’ll stop in New Mexico on Saturday at Raton, Las Vegas and Lamy. He’ll go by car to the Philmont Scout Ranch. Scouts often travel on the train in the summer to Raton and then head to the ranch near Cimarron.
Governor’s PAC raises $71,000
SANTA FE (AP) — Republican Gov. Susana Martinez’s political action committee has raised nearly $71,000 in the past month. According to the latest campaign finance reports, Susana PAC had cash-onhand of about $120,800 after spending almost $20,700 from late May through late June. The committee contributed about $10,400 to Republican candidates for attorney general, secretary of state and land commissioner. The PAC collected nearly $43,000 from donors in El Paso, Texas, including $10,000 from the Border Livestock Company. The governor uses the PAC to contribute to candidates and pay for some of her political travel. The
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trail should be located somewhere between the railroad and Main Street. Najar said that was the general area the city was considering. Nesselrodt said the community group that has come together to raise money to save the old Roswell Motor Supply building wants that facility to become a central meeting place for community groups. He also asked if the railroad had a “tracks to trails” program that might apply to the city’s plans. Najar said that program generally involved tracks that were no longer being used by the railroad, although the railroad retained the right to reclaim the land if it was ever needed for tracks in the future. “We have all of these organizations working for the good of the community, but I think we need to start communicating with each other so we can be more efficient,” Nesselrodt said. Besides the parks commissioners and the community fundraising group, Jane
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removed from the pickup, deputies found a shotgun in the truck’s cab in plain view. No reason for the incident was given, but Ornelas said he thought the incident may have
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coming to Roswell for the grand opening, said Moran. Roxanne “Rocky” Lara, the Democrat challenger to incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce for the District 2 seat, and Pamelya Herndon, executive director of the Southwest Women’s Law Center in Albuquerque, will also be at the opening ceremony, Moran said. Lara is a native of Southeastern New Mexico. She was the first Hispanic president of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce and served as chair of the Eddy County Commission. Lara has an extensive record of working on the issues of importance for middle class families in souther n New Mexico, according to her website, and she served as secretary for the national Energy Communities Alliance and as a representative on the Eddy County-Lea County Ener-
committee has raised about $324,000 since last fall.
Martinez operates a separate re-election campaign committee, which reported cash-on-hand of $4.3 million as of June 28. Democrat Gary King is running against Martinez in the November general election.
Silver City approves partial ban on plastic bags
SILVER CITY (AP) — New Mexico has another city prohibiting retailers from handing out thin plastic carryout bags.
The Silver City Town Council’s unanimous approval of a ban Tuesday night follows Santa Fe’s approval of its own ordinance.
The Silver City SunNews reports that Silver City’s ban applies only to thinner plastic bags of the type intended for single uses.
Supporters said the ban will help reduce litter.
Director Scott Terry of the Silver City Grand County Chamber of Commerce said he didn’t oppose the ordinance but wanted the council to put off the vote for 30 days to give businesses more time to weigh in.
Batson of Embrace Inc., is working with the city’s Community T ransformation Grant and is interested in developing bike trails and walkways as part of the state’s Healthy Kids initiative. Likewise, the Chaves County Tourism Council, led by Judy Stubbs, works to provide tourist information and services to visitors, including a free map that highlights the city’s attractions. “It seems like we could do a better job of communicating between groups,” Nesselrodt said. Johnson told the commissioners the city had applied for a MainStreet New Mexico grant for funding for the city’s proposed wayfinding program, which will place infor mative signs around the city so tourists can more readily find the city’s points of interest. Johnson also told the commissioners that a request for $100,000 to update the city’s Comprehensive Master Plan, which has not been updated in a decade. “There are communities farther behind than us on their master plans, but the state does require that the plans be updated,” Johnson said.
been a case of road rage. Hanna was taken to the
Chaves County Detention
Center, where he is being held on a $10,000 cash only bond.
gy Alliance. Lara also served as the co-chairman of the Carlsbad mayor’s Long-Range Planning Committee and she is a current member of his Nuclear Task Force. Lara has also served with the board of directors for the Southeast Community Action Corp., addressing HeadStart and senior programs needs in five counties. She also represents New Mexico as the state’s delegate to Vision 2020, an initiative working for full women’s equality by the end of the decade. “We’ve had of fices in the past, and we usually have an office during an election year, but this is the first time we have opened the office this far ahead of the election,” Moran said. Typically the election is decided by the close of early voting, Moran said, and the Chaves County Democrats want to get their message out as soon as possible to energize the local voters. “We have a real problem here, with only 10 percent of the eligible vot-
Hanna
ers actually voting,” Moran said. “When you have only 1-in-10 people voting, no elected official can really claim that they have received a ‘mandate from the people.’”
Moran said that according to the county voter rolls, there are about 16,000 Republicans and 11,000 Democrats in Chaves County, but voter apathy results in just a fraction of those people tur ning out on election night.
Although the number of elected Democrats in Chaves County is small, in the northern and western parts of New Mexico voters tend to be Democratic, which means although candidates may not carry this corner of the state, in statewide contests the few Democratic votes from Chaves County still make a difference.
“We are wanting to have a higher profile this year, and we encourage all of the Chaves County Democrats to come out and meet our candidates,” Moran said.
Friday, July 11, 2014
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