09-06-11 PAPER

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Roswell Daily Record

Vol. 120, No. 214 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

September 6, 2011

Advocates ready to rally on licenses

SANTA FE (AP) — Lawmakers returning to the capital this week for a special session will be greeted by immigrant rights activists opposed to Gov. Susana Martinez’ attempts to repeal a law that lets illegal immigrants get New Mexico driver’s licenses.

Bor der Network for Human Rights said it plans to bus around 80

TUESDAY

www.rdrnews.com

people from southern New Mexico to Santa Fe on Tuesday. Another group, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, plans a rally in front of the state Capitol on Thursday.

Cristina Parker, media coordinator for the Border Network for Human Rights, said her group will include college students and workers who will talk about how immigrants

benefit from the current law. “These will be working people who all have personal stories to share,” said Parker. “I hope that the governor gets the message that this law has helped working people.” Somos Un Pueblo Unido hopes to draw advocates, community and religious leaders from around the

state for an “Immigrant Day of Accion” in front of the Capitol Thursday. “This is really a grassroots effort,” said Marcela Diaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido in Santa Fe. “This is a moral issue.” Martinez, fulfilling a campaign promise from 2010, is pressuring the Legislatur e to end New

Stabbing was a random act

OBAMA RALLIES IN DETROIT

DETROIT (AP) — President Barack Obama used a boisterous Labor Day rally to put congressional Republicans on the spot, challenging them to place the country’s interests above all else and vote to create jobs and put the economy back on a path toward growth. “Show us what you’ve got,” he said. - PAGE B4

WEB

For The Past 24 Hours

INSIDE SPORTS

Jessica Palmer

Pops Concert draws crowd Nearly 500 people attended Roswell Symphony Orchestra’s Pops Concert, on Labor Day. The parking lot was so full that cars stretched into College Boulevard on both sides of the road.

JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

The sun smiled down upon the Roswell Symphony Orchestra’s Labor Day Pops Concert at Spring River Park, 1306 E. College, with mild temperatures in the 80s after

SIMPSON TOPS REAVIE IN PLAYOFF

NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Webb Simpson, a PGA Tour winner for the first time just three weeks ago, figured his next win would be easier. It was more work than he could have imagined Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

- PAGE B1

TODAY’S OBITUARIES • J.B. Phelps

- PAGE B4

HIGH ...92˚ LOW ....60˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLASSIFIEDS..........B4 COMICS.................B7 ENTERTAINMENT .... A8 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................A7

INDEX

See RALLY Page A3

JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

TOP 5 •RPD arrests Goddard High student •RPD serves arrest warrant on Cruz •RPD arrests Lerma •Bottomless Bubble Fest •Roswell lights up Kirtland Central

Mexico’s policy of granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Lawmakers rejected the plan earlier this year. The Republican governor and other critics of the law contend it jeopardizes public safety and attracts illegal immigrants who fraudulently claim to live in the state only to get

a summer of 100-plus temperatures, as the ochestra opened their concert season, Monday evening. The selections included numerous hits from Porgy and Bess and South Pacific, during the first set, and Sousa and Dvorak punctuating the second.

Police chief named interim secretary of Corrections JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

Alfono Solis Roswell’s police chief was named as New Mexico interim secretary of Corrections after Lupe Martinez resigned Friday. Martinez, 50, held the position for eight months and was the first woman to lead the state prison system. Sen. Tim Jennings, DRoswell, called Martinez an American success story after her confirmation to the Cabinet post last winter. “I received a phone call from the governor, Friday, around two in the afternoon, saying ‘I’d like you for interim.’” He said he had to get permission from the city to take up the temporary post. “I just happened to be driving past the city building. I told her that I’d ask and call her back. She decided to stay on the line.”

Solis said that City Administrator Larry Fry thought he was joking when he said he had the governor on the phone. I passed the phone to him.” In the end, the chief received the blessings of both Fry and Mayor Del Jur ney. “As much as I would like you to stay here. We are also New Mexicans and must help the state when we can.” Solis plans to spend weekends here in Roswell and he approximates that the temporary appointment will last about 12 weeks. Among his duties in this position will be figuring out the budget and starting a nationwide search for a per manent secretary of Corrections. “It’s a huge responsibility,” said Solis. Other priorities include filling some of the vacanSee CHIEF Page A3

The Robert E. and Evelyn McKee Foundation were major funders for the event that brightened the Labor Day holiday. The Instrumental Petting Zoo gave children a chance to play instruments and try their

Roswell Police Chief Alfonso Solis elaborated, Monday, on the information received late Friday about the attempted murder at Goddard High School. He said that the stabbing of a fellow student by Britanny Russell, 17, appears to have been a random act and the victim a random target. “As far as I knew there had been no previous arguments. She (the victim) just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Solis said he had know idea what the motivation was for the attack. “The wound,” he said, “was superficial. She (the student victim) stepped back so Russell just grazed the victim’s chin.” Resource Officer Helen Cheromiah had been in another school at the time she received the call reporting the incident. Solis commended the student for her quick thinking. “She somehow managed to divert the knife away from her face. She talked her (Russell) down. After she got the knife from the suspect, she walked her alleged assailant down to the counselor’s office. Solis said there was no evidence to indicate that the incident was gang related. He also complimented Cheromiah’s actions. “She’s doing a good job. She’s spread pretty thin right now. We need more resource officers. Still she was able to obtain information for the detectives before turning Russell

See CONCERT Page A3

See RANDOM Page A3

Dismal jobs data shakes Asian markets WASHINGTON (AP) — The dismal U.S. job market, which has intensified fears of another recession, may be even worse than the unemployment numbers suggest. The shockwaves from the Labor Department report on Friday that employers stopped hiring in August have rippled around the world, sparking a steep retreat in Asian stock markets. The lack of hiring in the U.S. last month surprised investors — economists were expecting 93,000 jobs to be added. Previously reported hiring figures for June and July were revised lower. The jobs picture may even be worse than the 9.1 percent unemployment rate suggests, because America’s 14 million unemployed must also compete with 8.8 million other people not counted as unemployed

AP Photo

A man walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Monday. Asia-Pacific stocks took a beating early Monday after jobs data out of the U.S. last week revived fears of a recession in the world’s largest economy.

— part-timers who want full-time work. When consumer demand picks up, compa-

nies will likely boost the hours of their part-timers See MARKETS Page A3

Libya rebels hold off on attacking Gadhafi bastion

AP Photo

Rebel fighters have positioned several outposts along the Mediterranean coast, some 60 kilometers south of Misrata, Libya, Monday.

TARHOUNA, Libya (AP) — Thousands of rebel fighters closed in around one of Libya’s last proGadhafi strongholds Monday, but held back on a final assault in hopes of avoiding a bloody battle for the town of Bani Walid. The standof f came as rebel leaders in T ripoli said Libya’s transition to democratic rule would begin with a “declaration of liberation” that was unlikely to come before Gadhafi’s last strongholds were defeated and the

fugitive former dictator had been captured. The declaration would mark the start of an eightmonth deadline for Libya’s transitional council to arrange the vote for a national assembly, and eventually to a constitution and general elections. “When the clock starts ticking on those eight months remains to be seen,” rebel spokesman Jalal el-Gallal said, adding it wasn’t yet clear how liberation would be defined. Special U.N. envoy Ian

Martin, meanwhile, said the United Nations was helping the rebel leadership prepare for its elections, stressing the country faces immense political hurdles after nearly 42 years of dictatorial rule.

“The U.N. is certainly ready to move very fast to bring in the electoral expertise that can assist the authorities,” he said at a news conference in Tripoli with Ahmed Darrad, the interior minister.

See LIBYA Page A3


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