Roswell Daily Record
5.8 quake jars East Coast
Vol. 120, No. 203 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
WEAKER IRENE STILL THREAT TO US
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — People stocked up on food, boarded windows and gassed up their cars Tuesday as Hurricane Irene threatened to become the most powerful storm to hit the East Coast in more than a decade. - PAGE B3
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
August 24, 2011
WEDNESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
AP Photo
The 5.8 magnitude earthquake in the Washington area, Tuesday, damaged a spire on the National Cathedral.
Landmark demolition
MINERAL, Va. (AP) — Tens of millions of people from Georgia to Canada were jolted Tuesday by the strongest earthquake to strike the East Coast since World War II. There were no known deaths or serious injuries, but cracks appeared in the National Cathedral and three capstones broke off its tower. Windows shattered and grocery stores were wrecked in Virginia, where the quake was cenSee QUAKE, Page A6
5.3 HITS COLORADO
VALDEZ, Colo. (AP) — The strongest earthquake to hit Colorado in more than four decades startled thousands of residents along the New Mexico border as it toppled chimneys, cracked walls and triggered minor rockslides in the arid, mountainous region. No injuries were reported Tuesday. Monday night’s magnitude-5.3 earthquake struck just hours before a
magnitude-5.8 temblor in Virginia — also rare for that area — shook much of Washington, D.C., and the East Coast. Small aftershocks rattled the region about 180 miles south of Denver but caused no further damage.
The quake hit at 11:46 p.m. MDT Monday about
Gov taps Solis for Standards Commission
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Man, 23, arrested in fatal shooting ... • ENMU-R plane is finally unveiled • RPD seeks info on robbery • Final pre-trial held for Madsen • Juried Art Show in progress at RMAC
See COLORADO, Page A6
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
INSIDE SPORTS
Emily Russo Miller Photo
Construction workers began tearing down the old Roswell Wool building off Virginia Avenue around 8:30 a.m., Tuesday.
Roswell Police Chief Alfonso Solis expressed his pride at his appointment to New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission. “It’s humbling and an honor to be appointed. It’s a very important commission. ... I will do the best that I can.” Solis replaces former Albuquerque Public Safety Director Darren White, who resigned from the commission on July 15, the same day he left his job amid questions about his and the police department’s handling of a car wreck involving White’s wife.
Libyan rebels storm seat of Gadhafi’s power
HONDO GETS WIN IN 5
Through Game 1 of NMMI’s match with Hondo Valley on Tuesday, it looked as though the Lady Colt volleyball team would be in for a long night against the Eagles. The Colts looked better in Game 2, but they still trailed 2-0 in the best-of-five match. Then something clicked for the Colts. They won Games 3 and 4 and carried all the momentum into the deciding fifth. However, Hondo Valley righted the ship and captured a 15-9 win to get the victory over the Colts. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S • • • •
OBITUARIES
Virginia Lankford Houston D. McCraw Hazel Packwood Howard Lee Buchly - PAGE B3
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Hundreds of Libyan rebels stormed Moammar Gadhafi’s compound Tuesday, charging wildly through the symbolic heart of the crumbling regime as they killed loyalist troops, looted armories and knocked the head of f a statue of the besieged dictator. But they found no sign of the man himself. The storming of Bab alAziziya, long the nexus of Gadhafi’s power, marked the effective collapse of his 42-year -old regime. But with Gadhafi and his powerful sons still unaccounted for — and gunbattles flaring across the nervous city — the fighters cannot declare victory. Hours after the battle erupted, a pro-Gadhafi TV channel quoted the Libyan leader as saying he retreated from his T ripoli compound in a “tactical move”
after 64 NATO airstrikes turned it to rubble. Al-Rai TV said Wednesday it would air the comments in full and reported an excerpt in which Gadhafi vowed his forces would resist “the with all aggression strength” until either victory or death. His government’s chief spokesman also managed to get word out in a phone interview with the same station, promising “we will be back to take T ripoli back.” Tripoli’s new rebel military chief, Abdel-Hakim Belhaj, said at nightfall that a small area of the vast compound was still under the control of regime fighters and heavy shooting was heard across Tripoli toward midnight. In Wednesday’s TV interviews, Gadhafi and government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim called the with-
SUV takes out pole
HIGH ...98˚ LOW ....70˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....C1 FINANCIAL .............C4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 NATION .................B3 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Emily Russo Miller Photo
A 30-year-old female driving an SUV blacked out and slammed into a lift pole supporting electrical wires, near the intersection of Missouri Avenue and West College Boulevard around 3 p.m., Tuesday, police say. Police say alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the crash and that the woman and her 6-year-old daughter, who was in the back seat of the SUV at the time, were uninjured. Police did not say if she had a medical condition. Xcel Energy officials on scene said no one lost power as a result of the incident. No other injuries were reported.
drawal from the compound strategic. He claimed Gadhafi’s forces still controlled 80 percent of the capital, which he said was a “death trap” and “ticking time bomb” for the rebels. The storming of the compound was a new high for the rebels in what has been an emotional roller coaster since they moved into Tripoli on Sunday night. It began with euphoria and claims that they had taken over most of the city with little resistance. The first night they partied in Green Square, a major symbol of the regime where Gadhafi supporters had held almost nightly rallies throughout the uprising. And it seemed Gadhafi rule was teetering on the brink of collapse. In the early mor ning hours of Tuesday, there was a shocking setback. The rebels had claimed that
See SOLIS, Page A6
AP Photo
Rebel fighters stamp on a the head of a statue of Moammar Gadhafi inside the main compound in Bab Al-Aziziya in Tripoli, Tuesday.
they arrested Gadhafi’s son and heir apparent, Seif alIslam. It was confirmed by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands, which has charged him and his father with crimes against humanity. But inexplicably, Seif al-
Islam showed up at the hotel where foreign journalists are staying under the close watch of regime minders in the early morning hours of Tuesday. He giddily took reporters on an
been increased by 25 percent. The campaign, which officially kicked off Aug. 15, began by seeking out the help of slightly more individuals from last year — about a 25 percent increase. Toles jokingly added that the campaign began 25 percent sooner this year. However, the campaign did begin sooner — in midAugust, as opposed to September. Toles’ new campaign strategy also involves an
attempt to be more personable. “We’re going to really try to put a more personal touch in the campaign,” he said. So far, this has meant being more open and communicative with those who are already on board, while reaching out to new and potential donors. “I’m encouraging the campaign Cabinet to make an emphasis on ... contacting our friends, people who have not participated in the
25 United Way’s magic number
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VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Twenty-five just may be the magic number for this year’s United Way of Chaves County’s fundraising efforts. That is the percentage increase that this year’s goal is from last year’s campaign. This increase is not all about breaking one’s record—it’s about meeting the community’s needs. “We need to look at needs, not just what we raised last year,” said Perry Toles, who is co-chairman of the campaign along with his wife Sherri. Last year, the UWCC raised $460,000 to help nonprofit organizations. This year’s goal is $575,000. To help achieve this 25 percent increase, Toles said fundraising efforts have
See UNITED, Page A6