Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 233 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
September 27, 2014
SATURDAY
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‘How’d that deal get here?’ City construction projects to bring new businesses to Roswell BY BILL MOFFITT SPECIAL TO THE RECORD
It’s heard all over town — questions about new construction in Roswell. Perhaps comedian Steve Martin said it best in his 1979 Saturday Night Live skit with Bill Murray when he asked: “What the hell is that?” It was then followed by: “How’d THAT dang deal get here?” Roswell City Clerk Sharon Coll said that several projects are near
completion and explained how the various branches of city government are set up to deal with new businesses and their new buildings. Although a new building going up can catch a lot of attention, “it’s actually several months before construction usually begins,” Coll said. Some of the current construction sites include: a new McDonald’s building near Wal-Mart (a Subway will replace the
McDonald’s currently inside the store), a Carl’s Jr. at Seventh and Main Streets and a Buffalo Wild Wings at Eighth and Main.
“Nuthin’ Fancy Restaurant has applied for a plumbing permit and will be (serving cafeteria-style food) at the former Furr’s Cafeteria,” Coll said. “It’s a family from Ruidoso. I don’t know if it’s the same people who had the original one (on North Main Street that closed years
ago)” About an eighth of a mile on West College Boulevard may soon be zoned commercial for a new veterinary building pending a public hearing and a recommendation from the Buildings and Land Committee, Coll added. At the moment no new action is pending on the Convention Center expansion proposal, Coll said.
Bill Moffitt Photo
Construction on the new Carl’s Jr. restaurant on Main Street is underway in Roswell. There is also a Buffalo Wild See CITY, Page A3 Wings and a new McDonald’s currently under construction.
Rhoads Company celebrates 50 years BY TIMOTHY P. HOWSARE RECORD EDITOR
Racial equality and the fear of going toe-to-toe with the Russians in an all-out nuclear war were on the minds of many Americans as they went to the polls in 1964, electing L yndon B. Johnson over Barry Goldwater in one of the most lopsided presidential elections in history. On a smaller scale, history was being made in Roswell when a for mer newspaper delivery boy and bookkeeper decided to start his own business.
Bob Rhoads, then 33, founded his plumbing, heating and air conditioning business with his partner, Marvin Griffin.
Rhoads passed away in 2013, but the legacy of his company lives on in Roswell, employing around 60 people and being one of the most respected homegrown businesses in the state. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary Thursday night at The Liberty with a guest list of 175 people.
Maintenance will close several roads
RHS Class of ’74 welcomed back
STAFF REPORT
Road maintenance will close several roads in Roswell next week, according to a news release from the city engineer’s office. On Monday, West Country Club Road will be closed from Sycamore Avenue to Montana Avenue. On Tuesday, North Montana Avenue will be closed from West Country Club Road to West Berrendo Road. Closures are expected to
Randal Seyler Photos
Right: Roswell High Homecoming Queen Georgia Eldridge, left, is crowned and congratulated by Pat Leitch-Hill, who was RHS Homecoming Queen in 1974. The Class of ’74 is holding its 40th class reunion this weekend in conjunction with Homecoming weekend. Above: The Roswell High School mascots share “high fives” with members of the Class of ’74 during the Homecoming Assembly in the RHS gymnasium on Friday.
See RHOADS, Page A3
begin at 7 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. each day. This work is being per for med by Brasier Asphalt Co., which is currently doing maintenance paving on the Roswell Relief Route and US 285 South, according to the release. Motorists are asked to seek alternate routes on Monday and Tuesday.
For more infor mation, call City Engineer Louis Najar at 637-6281 or 9106647.
Changes ordered at Los Loaves & Fishes brings food, fellowship Alamos over waste leak
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Four Los Alamos National Laboratory workers have been reassigned and the Department of Energy has pulled nuclear waste cleanup operations from the contractor that runs the lab after a barrel of waste packed at Los Alamos leaked, of ficials said Friday.
The leak contaminated 22 workers with low levels of radiation and indefinitely shuttered the government’s only per manent repository for waste from decades of nuclear bomb building.
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz ordered the cleanup program moved from the National Nuclear Security Administration to the department’s Of fice of Environmental Manage-
ment so the contractor can focus on its core national security missions. “The safe and efficient cleanup of the Los Alamos site in New Mexico is a high priority for the Department of Energy,” the department said in a statement. “NNSA and EM will work together to evaluate all elements necessary for an effective transition including federal oversight, acquisition strategies, and quality, safety and security.” Four managers in the lab’s environmental and transuranic waste program were also reassigned, officials said. In an inter nal memo obtained by The Associated Press, lab Director See LEAK, Page A2
HIGH 76 LOW 59
TODAY’S FORECAST
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
Loaves & Fishes Community Development Corp., a United Way agency, has been offering food to seniors in Hagerman for six years. Loaves & Fishes offers a food pantry for seniors and others who need assistance. The agency grew out of a small Sunday school classroom at the First United Methodist Church of Hagerman, said Sue Freeland, president of the Loaves & Fishes board of directors. “I guess I had too much time on my hands,” Freeland said with a laugh, when asked how she became involved with Loaves & Fishes. “We had a minister’s wife, Laurel Tur ner, who was very involved in food pantries,
• FRANCISCO BARRERA
and she got us started about six years ago.” Turner’s husband, Lauren Turner, was the pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Hagerman. “So it grew from a Bible study class, where some of us felt it was a need we had in the community that we could help fill,” Freeland said. The group eventually purchased an abandoned grocery store and renovated it, she said. “We really took off from there,” Freeland said. “We’ve had great success providing necessary food items. We have mostly served seniors, and they are living on fixed incomes and their money situation is not likely to change for the better.” The goal of Loaves & Fishes is to feed hungry people, Freeland said. “We are a ‘client’s choice’
TODAY’S OBITUARY PAGE A7
pantry, where clients come in and make a selection of what food items they want, instead of us just filling up a bag and handing it to them.” Freeland said she has known many of the clients for years, as well as knowing their families and grandchildren. “The pantry makes a good meeting point, and a lot of times people will sit and visit. We offer refreshments and it really feels like a family,” she said. “We fill needs for food and we get to find out what is happening in their lives. It really has given me a greater appreciation for our community.” “Harvest Ministries is the ‘food rescue’ facility in the area and they provide us with food, especially
See LOAVES, Page A3
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B8 COMICS .................B7 ENTERTAINMENT ...A10 FINANCIAL ..............B6
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .......A10
LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ............A10