Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Gunman told police he was hearing voices Vol. 122, No. 224 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
WASHINGTON (AP) — A month before he went on the rampage that left 13 dead, Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis complained to police in Rhode Island that people were talking to him through the walls and ceilings of his hotel rooms and sending microwave vibrations into his body to deprive him of sleep.
The account, contained in an Aug. 7 report from Newport, R.I., police, adds to the picture that has emerged of an agitated and
www.rdrnews.com
erratic figure whose behavior and mental state had repeatedly come to authorities’ attention but didn’t seem to affect his security clearance. Alexis, a 34-year -old infor mation technology employee at a defenserelated computer company, used a valid pass Monday to get into the Navy Yard and killed 12 people before he was slain by police in a shootout that lasted more than a half-hour. A day after the assault, the motive was still a mys-
still going on. He had been suffering a host of serious mental problems, including paranoia and a sleep disorder, and had been hearing voices in his head, the officials said. The assault is raising more questions about the adequacy of the background checks done on contract employees who hold security clearances — an issue that came up recently with National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
tery. U.S. law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that investigators had found no manifesto or other writings suggesting a political or religious motivation.
Alexis, a for mer Navy reservist, had been undergoing mental health treatment from Veterans Affairs since August but was not stripped of his security clearance, according to the law enforcement officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation was
Jill McLaughlin Photo
A coalition of Roswell-area veterans and city officials are working to start development on a 5-acre section at South Park Cemetery for an official veterans cemetery in the next 60-90 days. The future site is planned near this established area, beyond where other veterans, such as Iraq veteran Sgt. Christopher Sanders, are buried. Sanders, a former student of the New Mexico Military Institute, died from wounds suffered during combat.
Veterans cemetery in the works JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
A coalition of Roswellarea veterans, with the backing of city officials, are pushing forward with
plans to break ground on a local, official veterans cemetery within the next two to three months. The group hopes to start burying on at least 5 acres at an undeveloped area at South Park Cemetery, said
coalition member Ron McKay. Plans will continue to develop at a meeting set for later this month. “We’ll start at one end with an acre and move forward,” McKay. “That way, we can see how the fund-
ing and everything goes.” Gov. Susana Martinez announced, in July, the State Veterans’ Cemetery Initiative to establish See CEMETERY, Page A3
Attention in Colo. turns to damage tallies
LYONS, Colo. (AP) — The emergency airlifts of flood victims waned Tuesday, leaving rescue crews to systematically search the nooks and crannies of the northern Colorado foothills and transportation officials to gauge what it will take to rebuild the wasted landscape. More than 3,000 people have been evacuated by air and ground since last week’s devastating floods, but calls for those emergency rescues are now dwindling, federal and state emergency officials said.
Military rescue crews have met to identify new areas to check and places to cover again with hundreds of people still considered missing. “They’ve kind of transitioned from that initial response to going into more of a grid search,” Colorado National Guard Lt. Skye Robinson said. In one of those searches Tuesday, Sgt. 1st Class Keith Bart and Staff Sgt. Jose Pantoja leaned out the window of a Blackhawk, giving the thumbs-up sign to people they spotted on
the ground while flying outside of hard-hit Jamestown. Most waved back and continued shoveling debris. But then Bart spotted two women waving red scarves, and the helicopter descended. Pantoja attached his harness to the helicopter’s winch and was lowered to the ground. He clipped the women in, and they laughed as they were hoisted into the Blackhawk. After dropping of f the women at the Boulder airport, the Blackhawk was
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Russia insisted Tuesday that a U.N. Security Council resolution gover ning Syria’s handling of its chemical weapons not allow the use of force, but it suggested that could change if Damascus reneges on the deal to give up its stockpile. The main Syrian opposition coalition, meanwhile, urged the inter national community to take swift action against the regime of President Bashar Assad in response to a U.N. finding
that the nerve agent sarin was used in a deadly attack near the capital last month. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country “spoke clearly” about rejecting the use of force when the chemical weapons agreement was worked out Saturday in Geneva between Washington and Moscow. The plan calls for an inventory of Syria’s chemical weapons within a week, with all components of the program out of the country or destroyed by mid-2014.
But if signs emerge that Syria is not fulfilling the agreement or there are reports of further chemical weapons use, “then the Security Council will examine the situation,” Lavrov said, suggesting the issue could be reconsidered. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said a resolution on the U.S.-Russia deal must be enforceable, telling reporters that the “most ef fective” way is under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. That deals with threats to inter na-
PAGE B4
HIGH 86 LOW 65
• ESTHER (ALENA) JOLLIFF •.PHYLLIS INEZ PIRTLE SMITH
WEDNESDAY
AP Photo
The flag flies at half-staff at the front entrance of the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday.
Airlift canceled for flood isolated town
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — An emergency ground delivery of food, water and other supplies was planned Tuesday for a tiny western New Mexico community that remained isolated after weekend flooding damaged the only paved road leading to it. New Mexico Department of Homeland Security spokesman Estevan Lujan said state authorities and National Guard the planned to deliver readymade meals and other supplies by foot to residents of the privately run ghost town of Mogollon in the Gila National Forest. Lujan said the original planned airlift was canceled after officials determined there was not enough space to land a helicopter. Officials said a creek paralleling the one paved road into town — state Route 159 — surged from its banks after heavy rains and made the road inaccessible from a mile outside the community. A spokesman for Gov. Susana Martinez said the governor was scheduled to tour part of the Gila later Tuesday and attempt to visit Mogollon. “She will visit as close to
Mogollon as she can, likely the spot on the road that is washed out,” spokesman Enrique C. Knell said. Roughly 15 residents live year-round in Mogollon, a former mining town nestled in the mountains. Meanwhile, forecasters said flash flooding was less likely in much of northern and central New Mexico. But continued rain was keeping that threat alive in some areas, particularly on the eastern plains south of Interstate 40. “Comparing this week with last week, we’re definitely going to be quieting down,” said Christopher Luckett, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Albuquerque. Authorities planned to use a bulldozer to scrape out a makeshift road for four-wheel-drive vehicles. Tafoya said there was no estimate on when the work would be completed. Martinez approved the emergency delivery to Mogollon. Mogollon wasn’t the only town hit hard with flooding in the Gila National Forest, an area devastated by last year’s Whitewater -Baldy Fire. That blaze raced See FLOOD, Page A3
back in the air less than a minute later to resume the search.
The state’s latest count has dropped to about 580 people missing, and the number continues to decrease as the stranded get in touch with families.
One of the missing is Gerald Boland, a retired math teacher and basketball coach who lives in the damaged town of L yons. Boland’s neighbors, all of whom defied a mandatory See DAMAGE, Page A3
Russia opposes use of force in resolution on Syria
TODAY’S FORECAST
September 18, 2013
Jessica Palmer Photo
Between 200 to 300 items, including a telescope, can be viewed and claimed through today until 6 p.m.
Viewing of recovered items continues today JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Lavrov
tional peace and security and has provisions for enforcement by military or non-military means, such as sanctions.
• JOHN ALLEN BUCHANAN • ROSELYN CLAIRE MURPHY • HOWARD IRWIN
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
The Roswell Police Department held a viewing of goods stolen during a recent spate of burglaries. The viewing started around 9 a.m. Tuesday, with a second opportunity for victims to look over the items on
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B8 COMICS .................B6 ENTERTAINMENT ...A10 FINANCIAL ..............B7
Wednesday. Among the items the police have on display is: a telescope, car radios and speakers, several notebooks and books, a gas-powered weedeater, two saws, loose strips of copper wire, along with a roll of copper wire, tool boxes and tools, picture frames See VIEWING, Page A3
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .......A10 LOTTERIES .............A2 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ............A10
WASHINGTON .........A8