09 19 14 Roswell Daily Record

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Roswell Daily Record

Vol. 123, No. 226 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

September 19, 2014

Board goes on record against recreational pot

FRIDAY

www.rdrnews.com

Commission proposes law to regulate adult businesses BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER

The Chaves County commissioners demonstrated a united front Thursday against recreational marijuana and adult businesses, although the county’s leaders acknowledged there is only so much they can do to prevent both from sprouting up in Chaves County. The commissioners on

Easy rider

Thursday morning approved a resolution opposing recreational marijuana use in the state. County Manager Stanton Riggs said the resolution is in response to efforts to decriminalize recreational marijuana. “We are seeing in the northern part of the state some efforts to do that,” Riggs told the Chaves County commissioners. Santa Fe and Bernalillo

counties are currently embroiled in a legal battle with New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran regarding ballot initiatives the leaders of those counties wish to put on Nov. 4 general election ballots. One of the two non-binding Bernalillo County questions would address marijuana decriminalization. The Santa Fe County commission is seeking to include a question on

November ballots asking voters whether the commission should support city, county and statewide efforts to decriminalize possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana. Earlier this year, New Mexico lawmakers considered legalizing recreational marijuana, although the initiative did not make it out of committee. However, it is expected to re-ignite when state lawmakers con-

Bill Moffitt Photo

Leon Buckner, of Roswell, checks the 350-cubic-inch Chevrolet engine on his custom-made three-wheeled motorcycle before heading to Ruidoso for the annual Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally (formerly known as “Aspencade”). The former owner of Leon’s Auto Repair built the motorcycle, along with two others in the background ridden by Troy Teague and Bill Jackson (not shown). The Aspencade runs through Sunday.

vene in January. Commissioner Kyle “Smiley” Wooton requested the Chaves County Commission address the possibility of legalized marijuana in the state. Wooton said, in his view, it is a clear-cut issue. “What’s right is right and what is wrong is wrong,” Wooton said. Wooton said Chaves County has been “stampeded” in the past by state lawmakers.

The New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program was established by state lawmakers in 2007, but the law does not give counties or municipalities the ability to regulate marijuana dispensaries in their jurisdictions. The state solely administers the cannabis program.

STAFF REPORT

ment. “Air travel is critical to New Mexico’s businesses – regular and convenient access to all parts of our state helps expand economic development in rural areas. I will continue to push for resources to ensure that New Mexico airports have the tools they need to conduct maintenance, operate safely and continue to welcome the visitors that contribute to local economies throughout our state.”

“Hopefully, this is kind of building a fence in front of

Roswell airport to receive $6.6M WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced Thursday that the Department of Transportation has awarded more than $14 million in grants to support air transportation in New Mexico. The Roswell International Air Center will receive nearly half of that funding — $6.6 million — to rehabilitate a runway. The grants, which were awarded to Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Lea County, Questa, Roswell and the New Mexico Department of Transportation, will fund repairs and maintenance, runway extensions, emissions reduction and strategic planning. “This funding will not only help create jobs for New Mexicans, but it will help to make our airports safer and more efficient, and make air travel throughout New Mexico more accessible,” Udall said in a released state-

See COMMISSION, Page A8

“These smart federal investments are critical to the safety and maintenance of local airports and the aviation industry in New Mexico,” Henrich said. “Our airports attract businesses that result in job creation, especially in our rural communities. This funding will help increase commerce and travel to our state and enable long-term economic growth and development. Transportation is a major economic driver for New

WIPP cleanup plans Census shows poverty rate rises in state remain under review

CARLSBAD (AP) — Officials working to reopen the federal government’s troubled nuclear waste dump in southeastern New Mexico say their recovery plan is under review. Department of Energy officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad had earlier indicated they would be releasing details of the plan Thursday. They reviewed the major work that needs to be done, but Carlsbad DOE Field Office Manager Joe Franco said during a community meeting Thursday evening that the full plan is still awaiting approval from Washington. The plan is

expected to detail cost estimates and a timeline for cleaning up radiological contamination and resuming operations after a mysterious February leak that contaminated 22 workers. Of ficials have said it could be three years before WIPP completely reopens.

It’s still unclear exactly what caused the leak from a barrel of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory.

WIPP is the government’s only permanent repository for legacy waste such as contaminated gloves, tools and clothing from decades of nuclear bomb building.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico saw a spike in the number of people living in poverty last year and maintained the nation’s second-highest percentage, according to U.S. Census Bureau numbers released Thursday. Census figures indicate that 21.9 percent of New Mexico residents lived in poverty last year, roughly 22,000 more people than in 2012. That’s a jump from 20.8 percent. Nationally, the rate was 15.8 percent in 2013 compared to 15.9 percent the year before. Only Mississippi had a poverty rate higher than New Mexico in 2013 with 24 percent of that state’s residents living in poverty. In addition, New Mexico joined New Jersey and Washington as the three states that experienced increases in both the number and percentage of people in poverty between 2012 and 2013.

The numbers come just weeks after Tesla announce it would build a battery factory in Nevada instead of New Mexico and months after state lawmakers failed to come up with a compromise on an early childhood program in the state. “It’s a crisis,” said Javier Benavidez, executive director of the Albuquerque-based SouthWest Organizing Project, an anti-poverty organization. “Our public policies that nibble at the edges aren’t cutting it.” Benavidez said elected officials needed to come up with more bold solutions to fight poverty in the state. Veronica Garcia, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, said she believed that state lawmakers were too focused on offering tax cuts to attract businesses rather than pushing for programs like expanding early childhood education. Behind the new state numbers,

United Way provides scholarships for day care

See AIRPORT, Page A3

Garcia said, are the untold stories of poverty’s effect. “These numbers don’t show the hunger, the toxic stress, the drug abuse and the homeless that result from poverty,” she said.

The official poverty level is based on a government calculation that includes only income before tax deductions. It excludes capital gains or accumulated wealth, such as home ownership.

Census figures also show the median income in New Mexico rose slightly from year to year: From $43,423 in 2013 to $43,872 from last year. The median income in the U.S. rose from $51,915 in 2012 to $52,250 in 2013.

New Mexico also has the highest percentage of Hispanic residents, 47 percent, in the nation, Census numbers show.

Family Resource & Referral programs nurture children

BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR

Providing quality pre-school care for children is the mission of the Working Mothers Day Nursery, located at 500 E. Bland St., and the United Way of Chaves County helps them accomplish that mission. The nursery is part of Family Resource & Referral, a non-profit organization that refers parents who need childcare to family day care homes and childcare

centers that have met specific requirements. “We provide day care services here at the Working Mothers Day Nursery and at our center at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell,” said Executive Director Del Jurney. “We also operate an after school program in nine elementary schools in Roswell.” Family Resource & Referral also provides a training program for day care providers and day center staff.

HIGH 80 LOW 65

TODAY’S FORECAST

Both the nursery and Family Resource & Referral are part of the United Way, and have been for at least 15 years, Jurney said. The United Way worldwide is the leadership and support organization for the network of nearly 1,800 community-based United Ways in 45 countries and territories. The mission of the United Way is to advance the common good by focusing on improving education, helping people achieve

• REV. ERIC R. KING • G.W. “MUTT” SHANKS • JACK BOX

TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B6

financial stability, and promoting healthy lives, and by mobilizing millions of people to give, advocate, and volunteer to improve the conditions in which they live, according to the organization’s website. For Family Resource & Referral, the United Way funding is used to provide scholarships for families needing help paying for quality day care. The Working Mothers Day See DAY CARE, Page A3

CLASSIFIEDS ..........B8

INDEX GENERAL ...............A2

FINANCIAL ..............B5

LOTTERIES .............A2

COMICS .................B7

HOROSCOPES .........A8

OPINION .................A4

SPORTS .................B1

WEATHER ............A10


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