Roswell Daily Record
INSIDE NEWS
BILLY PIC FETCHES $2.3 M
DENVER (AP) — What is believed to be the only surviving authenticated portrait of Billy the Kid went up for auction in Denver on Saturday and sold for $2.3 million. The tintype on Saturday evening went to private collector William Koch at Brian Lebel’s 22nd Annual Old West Show & Auction ... - PAGE A7
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
‘Make or break day’ in Los Alamos
Vol. 120, No. 155 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
June 29, 2011
WEDNESDAY
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Mark Wilson Photo
A wildfire rages out of control in the Hondo Valley south of Picacho and Hondo, Tuesday afternoon.
All dirt, no rain
LOS ALAMOS (AP) — Fire managers said Tuesday was a “make or break day” for ensuring flames from a wildfire don’t race into a northern New Mexico town that is home to a government nuclear laboratory that stores sensitive materials. The wildfire — which has swelled to about 93 square miles — sparked a spot fire at the Los Alamos National Laboratory on Monday. The fire was quickly contained, See LOS ALAMOS, Page A3
FIRES IN HONDO, MAYHILL HONDO (AP) — Firefighters are battling a pair of blazes that have scorched 15,000 acres on two ranches in southern New Mexico, including one owned by veteran newsman Sam Donaldson. Precautionary evacuations were being conducted Tuesday evening in Alamo Canyon. Authorities say five ranch structures, including one primary residence,
TOP 5 WEB
within the fire perimeter were threatened. It’s unclear whether the buildings were located on Donaldson’s ranch. Fire officials have been in contact with Donaldson’s ranch manager. The fires were believed to have been caused by lightning. Fire officials say stor ms moved over the area Monday, resulting in
Cops will enforce ban
See HONDO, Page A3
MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
For The Past 24 Hours
• Fatal car accident claims boy, 2 • Roswell man charged with criminal ... • Roswell women arrested for murder • UFO Festival scrubs parade • Invaders march to win over Cowboys
INSIDE SPORTS Matthew Arco Photo
Chaves County officials are again making a plea for residents to observe a fire ban in the county, which prohibits discharging any fireworks, just as law enforcement officials said Tuesday they plan to enforce the ban on the Fourth of July. Georgiana Hunt, administrator for Chaves County Fire Services, said she has been fielding phone calls from residents asking whether or not fireworks are allowed in the county.
Thieves get Qwest’s ESGR appreciates employers copper for 2nd time Strong winds picked up dust east of Roswell Monday night as the sun set over the city.
US WINS WORLD CUP DEBUT
DRESDEN, Germany (AP) — Once, twice, three times and then a fourth, Lauren Cheney launched a shot with her foot only to watch it go right into the hands of the North Korean goalkeeper. Finally, she used her head. And just like that, the Americans looked more like a team that could contend for a third Women’s World Cup title than the one that took a self-described “bumpy” road to Germany. “I wasn’t frustrated,” said Cheney, whose goal in the 54th minute sparked a 2-0 win over North Korea ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Sidney Brewer • Eric Hays - PAGE A7
HIGH .103˚ LOW ....69˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 NATION .................A7 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Police were dispatched to Qwest, 1906 N. Atkinson Ave., Monday, after a theft of nearly $14,000 worth of copper. Among the items listed were 282 feet of size 900 copper wire, 200 feet of size 600, 245 feet of size 400, 104 feet of size 1800, 55 feet of size 1200, and nine 500-foot rolls of 6 by 22. After viewing the figures for this most recent theft, RPD Public Infor mation Officer Erica O’Bryon said that it was almost impossible that this theft was an individual acting alone. “Copper is heavy. It comes in bundles and rolls that have to be hauled off.”
According to the Electrical Supply Company, size 900 weights 2.5 pounds a foot. The total weight of 282 feet would be 705 pounds. It is the second time Qwest has been hit in the past three weeks. The cost of the damages caused by the thieves cutting though the fence to get into the storage yard is estimated at $1,000. Prior to this theft, $11,412.22 worth of copper has been stolen since the beginning of June. On June 7, the police were sent to Valley View Elementary School after subjects removed copper tubing and valves, valued
See BAN, Page A3
VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Several companies and organizations were rewarded for supporting their military employees during the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve appreciation luncheon at the First United Methodist Church, Tuesday afternoon. Nicole McWilliams, ESGR member, said that it is the mission of ESGR to serve as a liaison between the uniformed service employee and the employer. The ESGR helps ensure that deployed uniformed service members have a job when they return. In the event that a deployed soldier returns and finds he
Mark Wilson Photo
Captain White, Dorothy Canon, Gary Smith and Master Sergeant Marquez pose for photographs during the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve 2011 Guard/Reserve Employer appreciation luncheon Tuesday. or she is no longer employed at the job that was left behind,
McWilliams said the See ESGR, Page A3
Delay Medicare eligibility to age 67: Coburn, Lieberman
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Senate rebels jumped into Congress’ cut-the-deficit competition on Tuesday, proposing to raise the age of Medicare eligibility to 67 and increase monthly premiums for millions of current beneficiaries. “We can’t save Medicare as we know it,” said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., who authored the plan with Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. “We can only save Medicare if we change it,” he added in an apparent jab at President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats. Democrats reacted with criticism of the proposal, which Coburn said was designed to rescue the financially imperiled program and help the nation confront a “wall of debt.” Republicans betrayed no sign of support either. If nothing else, the response underscored the difficulty of legislative free-lancing at a time the Obama administration and congressional leaders are struggling to negotiate a compromise that cuts
See COPPER, Page A3
future deficits and clears the way for an increase in the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt. Without a debt limit increase by Aug. 2, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned, the gover nment could default, risking calamity for the U.S. economy and serious effects worldwide. Republicans walked out of bipartisan talks last week but nevertheless said negotiations had been fruitful. In the days since, Obama has stepped up his personal involvement in the effort. After meeting separately with the Senate’s Republican and Democratic leaders on Monday, he invited the Democratic leadership to a White House meeting today. In the earlier talks, led by Vice President Joe Biden, key lawmakers had outlined a series of proposals to cut several hundred billion dollars over the next decade. Other proposed cuts were on the table, including nearly $1 trillion from the assumed end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Officials
familiar with the negotiations say Republicans are reluctant to count that money toward any agreement, saying they want more tangible cuts in domestic programs before agreeing to vote for an increased debt limit. Also in the way of an agreement is a partisan dispute over taxes, which Republicans don’t want raised, and Medicare benefits, which Democrats don’t want cut. Lieberman and Coburn were not nearly as reluctant, including both in their prescription for Medicare. “Nobody’s going to like this plan, we understand that,” said Lieberman, who was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000 but is now an independent who regularly picks spots to challenge his former party. His statement that Medicare can’t be saved in its current form seemed a direct rebuttal to Obama, who said earlier this year that a House Republican proposal would “end Medicare as we know it” — something he vowed would not
happen while he was in the White House. Coburn is a conservative Republican. But he challenged his party orthodoxy earlier this year when he said he was willing to include higher revenues as part of any deficitreduction deal. The plan the two men outlined includes a gradual increase over the next five years in the monthly premium that seniors pay for doctor and other non-hospital services. Aides said it would translate into a monthly increase of $15 to $20 initially. The age of eligibility would rise gradually from 65 to 67. For the first time, better-off seniors would be charged more money for Medicare Part A, which covers hospital care. The same group already pays more for doctor visits as well as for prescription drug coverage and, under the plan, would face even See MEDICARE, Page A3