Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 120, No. 232 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
September 27, 2011
TUESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Shutdown averted; disaster aid debate prevails
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ending weeks of political brinkmanship, Congress finessed a dispute over disaster aid Monday night and advanced legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown only days away.
The agreement ensured there would be no interruption in assistance to areas battered by disasters such as Hurricane Irene and last summer’s tor nados in Joplin, Mo., and also that
the government would be able to run normally when the new budget year begins on Saturday.
The Senate approved the resolution after a day of behind-the-scenes talks and occasionally biting debate, spelling an end to the latest in a string of standoffs between Democrats and Republicans over deficits, spending and taxes. Those fights have rattled financial markets
and coincided with polls showing congressional approval ratings at historically low levels
The breakthrough came hours after the Federal Emergency Management Agency indicated it had enough money for disaster relief efforts through Friday. That disclosure allowed lawmakers to jettison a $1 billion replenishment that had been included in the measure — and to
crack the gridlock it had caused. The Democratic-controlled Senate approved the measure on a bipartisan vote of 79-12, sending it to the Republican-controlled House for a final sign-off. There was no immediate comment from House GOP leaders, although their approval for the measure seemed a mere formality after the party’s Senate leader agreed to it.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Engineers will begin rappelling down the sides of the Washington Monument on Tuesday to check for cracks and other damage from the surprisingly strong East Coast quake last month. Numerous cracks and chips were found... - PAGE A5
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Chile Cheese Festival arrives • Roswell native appears on Carson Nation on O.W.N. • Sting operation successful; 67 arrested • Coming Soon • Broncos make statement in 45-28 win
INSIDE SPORTS AP Photo
Tourists walk through the ruins of Tyuonyi Pueblo in Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, on Monday. Following closure due to the state’s largest wildfire on June 27, and the threat of flash floods, the main archaeological sites in Frijoles Canyon opened, but visitors must take a shuttle in rather than driving their own vehicles.
Bandelier National Monument reopens FRIJOLES CANYON (AP) — The prehistoric Native American archaeological sites that fill the heart of northern New Mexico’s Bandelier National Monument have reopened to visitors, three
We’re officially halfway through the 2011 high school football season (for most schools). Instead of talking about what we learned, I think it’s time we focus on the all-important playoffs. In particular, each team’s chances of making the postseason this year.
- PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Freda Hefner • Tom Riddle • Alfred Jones • Charles Benton • Clara L. Fuqua • Jeffery Welter • Jeanette Shamas - PAGES A3 and A8
HIGH ...92˚ LOW ....56˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B4 COMICS.................B7 ENTERTAINMENT.....B8 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
See SHUTDOWN, Page A6
Special session ends; work unfinished
WASHINGTON MONUMENT STILL BEING INSPECTED
FOOTBALL: TIME TO TALK PLAYOFFS
But not even the disputeresolving agreement prevented Democrats from proceeding to a politically charged vote earlier in the evening that was designed to force Republicans to decide whether immediate aid to disaster victims or deficit concer ns held a higher priority. In fact, House Republicans insisted that any new
months after the largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history sent employees scrambling to save rare artifacts and irreplaceable artwork. The monument’s visitor center
and biggest concentration of prehistoric cultural sites survived the fire and a second threat — post-fire flooding that sent ash,
See BANDELIER, Page A6
The heated 19-day legislative special session came to a halt on Saturday, as legislators returned home and expectations that redistricting would be decided by the courts remained. The legislature adjourned with few bills reaching Gov. Susana Martinez’s eyes, and the majority of the items on her agenda left untouched. The governor will look at four redistricting bills: a plan for the Senate, a plan for the House, a plan for the five-member Public Regulation Commission and a plan for the 10-member Public Education Commission. She will also make a decision to veto or approve the capital outlay bill which passed the House and Senate on Saturday, with much lower funding than she originally proposed. The bill, an $86 million package to fund capital improvement projects with the majority of money coming from severance tax bonds, passed the Senate on a 40 to 1 vote, and the House on a 68 to 1 vote. Martinez’s original proposal was for $213 million. Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, voted against the bill in the Senate, and Rep. Dennis Kintigh, R-Roswell, voted against the bill in the House. Kintigh said he disagreed with the bill because when looking at the items being paid for, 19 of the expenditures were for vehicles for
Police invade wrong house The disaster-stricken JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
One Roswell family received a shock Friday evening when officials attempted to raid their home. The couple, Nancy and Orlando Parker, had just moved into this particular residence on July 15. Wife Nancy said, “They were ready to shoot.” The incident report filed at the police department on Saturday states that three armed officers invaded a place on South Union Avenue on Friday. Husband Orlando had just returned after driving back from Odessa, Texas. “I got home and 10 minutes later people were banging on the door. A lady put a gun in my face. They wanted inside my house,” he said. He said he asked for a search warrant and was refused. “She told me she didn’t need a warrant to enter my home. She was shaking like crazy and I told her to put the
gun away because she was making me nervous.” The Drug Enforcement agent complied. Orlando said, “They were looking for someone that fit my description.” According to Nancy, her husband asked her to get his identification. “He showed them his driver’s license, his bank card, his credit cards, and then they left. They gave no information, no excuses and no apologies for what had happened.” Both mentioned that the officials continued to circle their home for several hours after they left. Nancy explained that she comes from a family which has police officers in it, and she felt not only her rights, but her home had been violated. However, Orlando applauded what the law enforcement was trying to do in cleaning up Roswell. Chief Al Solis noted that it was a federal warrant. “None of our (RPD) See POLICE, Page A6
See SESSION, Page A6
cluck tongues at Congress WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — For disaster victims rebuilding their homes, towns and lives, the anxiety is matched only by anger at Congress for entangling their future in a political battle over government spending. A sharply divided Congress has repeatedly rejected a deal that included funding federal disaster assistance, raising fears that there would be no plan to continue aid for victims of disaster like storms Irene
and Lee or the tornado in Joplin, Mo. On Monday, a vote in their favor seemed increasingly likely, along with word that the money in fact might last through the new budget year, which begins Saturday. But that didn’t do much to appease those who would have paid perhaps the highest price for politics. They’re spreading the blame both among Republicans, who want cuts in other gover nment spending, and
Democrats, who are accused of using the GOP opposition to win political points. Congressional members trying to appropriate money to keep the government running are bickering over federal dollars to help victims of floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. Some Republicans have been pushing for expenses to be offset by cuts elsewhere. Democrats, like Sen. Patrick
See DISASTER, Page A6
U.S. Marines find rewards in Afghanistan, experiences at war FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, Afghanistan (AP) — An American in unifor m stands near a landing zone at about 2 a.m., moonlight framing his features, and talks about dead and maimed men he knows. His flight out isn’t until next month, and he is counting the days.
AP Photo
A U.S. Marine of 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3/4 Marines, carries his second rifle, a machine gun, atop his backpack, as he patrols in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan.
Then he says he will miss Afghanistan.
“It’s just life or death: the simplicity of it,” said Cpl. Robert Cole of the 1st
Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which ends a seven-month deployment in the southern region of Sangin in October. “It’s also kind of nice in some ways because you don’t have to worry about anything else in the world.”
The dominant narrative about war in a foreign land says its practitioners year n for home, for the families, the comforts, and the luxury of no longer worrying about imminent death or injury. It applies
to young American troops in Afghan combat zones, but it’s not the whole truth. Combat can deliver a sense of urgency, meaning, order and belonging. There is the adrenalinefueled elation of a firefight, and the horror of rescuing a comrade wounded by a bomb on patrol. It is magnified, instantaneous experience. An existence boiled down to the essentials mocks the mundane See MARINES, Page A6