Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
August bumpy, but economy grows
Vol. 120, No. 211 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Mars rover Opportunity is snapping pictures like a tourist since arriving at its latest crater destination, much to the delight of scientists many millions of miles away. The solar-powered workhorse beamed back images of the horizon, soil and nearby rocks - PAGE A3
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• Agents raid NM gun store in border ... • Carranza hearing ... • NMML Crashes in Roswell this week • ENMU-R opens disc golf course • Big, fast and strong: That’s Alamogordo
INSIDE SPORTS
gover nment issues the jobs report. August Employers are expected to have added 93,000 jobs, which would not be enough to significantly lower the jobless rate of 9.1 percent. But it would solidify evidence that the economy, though still weak, is growing steadily. Many analysts now expect it to strengthen in the months ahead. A stream of data released
Gardner addresses NMML
General Motors, Chrysler, Ford and Nissan all reported surprisingly strong sales Thursday. Toyota and Honda, by contrast, continue to be hurt by shortages stemming from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan
Thursday bolstered the case for an economy that’s healthier than it seemed just weeks ago: •Americans kept shopping in August despite
Sometimes it just isn’t your day. For the Goddard girls soccer team, Thursday’s game against Robertson just wasn’t their game. From an improbable goal to the cutting of the grass, nothing seemed to go right for the Rockets in their 5-0 loss to the Cardinals. Robertson came out with a purpose to start the game and controlled possession for most of the first 10 minutes. In the eighth minute, the first goal of the game came in an unlikely shot from near midfield. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Emma Rodriguez - PAGE A8
HIGH ...97˚ LOW ....66˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ......A10 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 STATE ...................A8 WASHINGTON .........A9 WEATHER ............A10
INDEX
higher prices and a hurricane that battered the East Coast during the important back-to-school shopping season. •Car buyers lifted U.S.
‘I can see my house from here!’
sales last month for most automakers. Analysts had expected a weaker August because of anxiety about the economy and Hurricane Irene, which forced many dealers to close during the month’s final weekend. •Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the job market may be improving See ECONOMY, Page A7
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
The agenda of the Sept. 6 legislative special session was the focus of Keith Gardner’s, chief of staff for Gov. Susana Martinez, remarks Thursday afternoon during a luncheon honoring past presidents at the New Mexico Municipal League conference. Martinez, who was originally scheduled to speak, was unable to attend for family reasons. The first order of business for the session will be the highly publicized redistricting plan. Gardner said that Martinez has added items to the agenda,
Mark Wilson Photo
Soldiers from Kirtland Air Force Base perform parachute training exercises, Wednesday morning, at the Roswell International Air Center.
Dopp’s closing reception 9/24 RPD loss seminar draws area retailers See NMML, Page A7
EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
GODDARD STRUGGLES; LOSES, 5–0
FRIDAY
www.rdrnews.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — August began with rising fears that another recession was about to hit. That was then. A month later, the economy and the stock market appear more resilient, suggesting that consumers, businesses and investors remain confident enough to keep spending. A more authoritative test will come today, when the
NOT NEW MEXICO, MARS
September 2, 2011
After a month of hypnotizing museum-goers with contrasting colors and repetitious patter ns, Isaac’s Gallery is hosting a closing reception and brunch for local artist Susan Marie Dopp for her successful exhibit in the Nesselrodt Building. The reception for the artist, and the last day the exhibit will be on display, will be held from 10
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Emily Russo Miller Photo
A mixed media collage, “What,” in artist Susan Marie Dopp’s exhibit at Isaac’s Gallery.
Roswell Police Sgt. Ty Sharpe conducted the inaugural mini-seminar on loss prevention for local retailers at the Roswell Chamber of Commerce, Thursday. More than 20 retailers attended and received advice from the police about the laws pertaining to shoplifting and how to prevent it. Among those in atten-
dance were employees from Lawrence Brothers IGA, Farmer’s Insurance, First American Bank, Associated Records and Once Again Consignment. Representatives of Crime Stoppers and Neighborhood Watch also came to the infor mation session. Sharpe discussed the particulars of New Mexico state laws and dispelled some common misapprehensions. “The subject does
White House requests $5.2 billion in new disaster funds See DOPP, Page A7
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House told Congress on Thursday there’s a need for more than $5 billion in additional disaster relief money, not even counting the billions that probably will be called for to help East Coast states hit by Hurricane Irene. The administration also says that under the terms of last month’s budget deal, Congress can provide more than $11 billion in disaster aid next year without finding offsetting budget cuts as demanded by some Republicans. The budget
pact contains a littlenoticed provision providing the flexibility in disaster spending. Many lawmakers were unaware of the disaster aid provision when voting for the budget pact last month. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has said additional disaster funding should be paid for by cutting spending elsewhere in the budget Before Thursday, the Obama administration had requested just $1.8 billion for the government’s main disaster relief accounting, generating complaints from
SANTA FE (AP) — A jury can consider the death penalty for an Albuquerque man convicted of murdering a Ber nalillo County sherif f’s deputy in 2006 despite the state’s 2009 repeal of capital punishment, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The state’s highest court issued the ruling after hearing arguments from a defense attor ney for Michael Astorga about whether the death penalty should even be considered since state lawmakers voted to repeal it.
Sentencing for Astorga was scheduled to begin Sept. 12. Jurors will have to decide whether to impose the death penalty or life in prison for Astorga, who was convicted in the 2006 killing of Deputy James McGrane Jr. The state’s death penalty repeal took effect on July 1, 2009, and applied to crimes committed after that date. Astorga was convicted in the slaying nearly a year after the repeal took effect. The Supreme Court ruled
lawmakers that billions more is needed to help states rebuild from past disasters like hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Gustav and the massive Tennessee floods of last spring, as well as for Joplin, Mo., and the Alabama towns devastated by tornadoes last spring. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has less than $800 million in its disaster relief fund to pay for the immediate help needed to help victims of the flooding and wind dam-
See SEMINAR, Page A7
AP Photo
Near the Passaic River in Paterson, N.J., Thursday, as the effects of Hurricane Irene continue to leave areas of northern New Jersey flooded.
Death penalty on table Girl Scouts makes UW dollars count
See ASTORGA, Page A2
See DISASTER, Page A7
VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Cookies, camping, and crafts — these are the three C’s Girl Scouts is perhaps better known for. Rebecca Sherwood, membership team leader for Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest, said the organization that’s been in Chaves County since the early 20th century is based on leadership. From this perspective, then, Sherwood said Girl
Scouts, which have been active and growing in numbers for almost 100 years, should be known for another set of C’s, the ones found in their mission statement: courage, confidence, and character. “This is a leadership opportunity,” Sherwood said of Girl Scouts. “We want (girls) to be able to see a need in their community and be able to fulfill that need.” To this end, GSDSW offers a variety of educa-
tional activities, events, and resources to help girls in kindergarten through 12th grade hone their leadership skills. These have included archery training, horseback riding, a health and wellness night featuring healthy snacks and jazzercise, informational See SCOUTS, Page A7