Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 123, No. 208 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
August 29, 2014
Final city manager candidate visits Roswell
FRIDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Council to discuss applicants in executive session Tuesday BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
The fifth and final candidate for the Roswell city manager position was interviewed Thursday by eight of the city’s 10 councilors. Kenneth Allen Young is currently employed as the senior project manager for the of fice of the county administrator in Loudoun County, Virginia, since
2012. “I grew up in El Paso and I went to college in Las Cruces,” Young said. Young has a bachelor’s degree in government and a master’s degree in public administration, both from New Mexico State University. “I’ve been looking for an opportunity to come back to the Southwest,” Young said. “Believe me, I am not an East Coast person,” he joked.
Gym raises $1,300 for ALS
Loudoun County, which is a suburb of Washington D.C., has a population of 350,000 with 3,200 employees and a $1.98 billion budget, according to Young’s resume. As a project manager, Young leads major projects involving programmatic and operational issues important to the county, as well as performing shortSee CANDIDATE, Page A3
Randal Seyler Photo
Meth dealer handed 15-year prison sentence
Kenneth Young, left, and City Councilor Caleb Grant listen to a question from one of the City Council members during a City Council workshop on Thursday in Roswell.
BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Submitted Photo
Members of Alton’s Power Block Gym did the Ice Bucket Challenge Thursday. The gym was challenged by another business and since there are some gym members who have ALS, owner Betsy Shields said it opened the challenge to members of the gym. More than 40 members participated in the challenge, raising $1,300. The gym plans on giving the money to ALS Association. “(The Ice Bucket Challenge) represents what Power Block is all about,” Shields said. “We love giving back.”
Obama sets no timeline for action on immigration WASHINGTON (AP) — With a self-imposed deadline looming, President Barack Obama said Thursday he still intends to act on his own to change immigration policies but stopped short of reiterating his past vows to act by end of summer.
Obama raised the slim hope that Congress could take action on a broad immigration overhaul after the midterm elections in November. He said that if lawmakers did not pass an overhaul, “I’m going to do what I can to make sure the system works better.”
But for the first time since pledging to act by summer’s end, he signaled that such a target date could slip. He said that the administration had been working to reduce the flow of unaccompanied minors attempting to cross the border and noted that the number of apprehensions at the border had fallen in August.
“Some of these things do affect timelines and we’re just going to be working through as systematically as possible in order to get this done,” he said in a news conference where he
also addressed Russian aggression in Ukraine and action against Islamic State militants. Two months ago, Obama angrily conceded that the House did not intend to take up immigration legislation this year and ordered Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to come up with actions the president could take on his own. “I expect their recommendations before the end of summer and I intend to
Labor Day weekend road trips will cost drivers less at pumps SUBMITTED BY AAA NEW MEXICO
For New Mexico residents who plan to take the traditional end-of-summer road trip this weekend, filling up at the pump will cost less than one week ago and one year ago. The statewide average for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel in the Land of Enchantment is now $3.39, according to the AAA New Mexico Weekend Gas Watch. That price is three cents less per gallon than one week ago and seven cents
less per gallon than one year ago. The statewide average is also four cents less than the national average of $3.43. Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed in New Mexico, drivers in Santa Fe are paying the most at $3.42 per gallon while drivers in Albuquerque and Las Cruces are paying the same at $3.35 per gallon. AAA New Mexico forecasts more than two and a half million Mountain Region residents will travel 50 miles or more from home between Thurs., Aug. 28, and Mon., Sept. 1,
HIGH 92 LOW 65
TODAY’S FORECAST
See IMMIGRATION, Page A7
which is the highest volume for Labor Day since 2008 and more than half a percent increase over last Labor Day weekend. The Mountain Region includes New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. Of those traveling, 2.1 million people will go by automobile. Compared to this time last year, drivers in most states are paying less at the pump. Geopolitical turmoil continues to dominate headlines, but unlike in See DRIVERS, Page A3
• RUBEN M. DE LOS SANTOS
An illegal immigrant from Mexico who was snared in a multi-jurisdictional drug task force operation in December was given a hefty prison sentence Thursday in 5th Judicial District Court in Roswell. Jesus Avalos-Hernandez, 23, was sentenced Thursday to 27 years in prison, with 12 years suspended, for selling 2.75 ounces of methamphetamine to undercover officers in September. He is slated to serve 15 years in prison, followed by five years of parole. Avalos-Hernandez,
appearing in court in jail garb, faced five charges of drug trafficking for selling meth to undercover officers on Sept. 5, 7, 10, 12 and 17. He was also charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic narcotics and two counts of drug possession. District Judge Freddie Romero told Avalos-Hernandez, via a translator, he faced a maximum possible sentence of 52 years in prison on all the charges. Romero said the quantities of meth sold by AvalosHernandez were sufficient to ruin many lives in Chaves County. See DEALER, Page A3
Mary Morgan Photos
Candace Lewis, office manager at the Roswell Chamber of Commerce, takes the distracted driver simulator test while Roswell Fire Chief Chad Hamill looks on.
Lunch and Learn event teaches about the danger of texting while driving On Thursday, the Roswell Chamber of Commerce, along with AT&T and the Roswell Fire Department, held a Lunch and Learn event about texting and driving. Chamber Executive Director Dorrie FaubusMcCarty gave a few words about the presentation before handing it over to Fire Chief Chad Hamill. The fire department presented a PowerPoint presentation on the facts of texting and driving. Later, the chief and several others stepped up to the simulator and saw for themselves how difficult it is to drive while being distracted.
• DELORACE JEAN “TUDY” BARNETT
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A7
This sign from a church was shown during the PowerPoint presentation.
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B8 COMICS .................B6 ENTERTAINMENT .....B7 FINANCIAL ..............B4
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........B7 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8