Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 120, No. 245 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
PROTESTERS PROTEST AT MILLIONAIRES’ HOMES
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
October 12, 2011
WEDNESDAY
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U.S. ties Iran to plotting assassination
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration accused Iranian government agents Tuesday of plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in the United States and immediately used the thwarted plot to ratchet up sanctions and recruit international allies to try to further isolate Tehran. Two men, including a member of Iran’s special foreign actions unit known as the Quds Force, were charged in New York federal court with conspiring to
kill the Saudi diplomat, Adel Al-Jubeir. Justice Department officials say the men tried to hire a purported member of a Mexican drug cartel to carry out the assassination with a bomb attack while AlJubeir dined at his favorite restaurant. “The idea that they would attempt to go to a Mexican drug cartel to solicit murder -for -hire to kill the Saudi ambassador, nobody could make that up, right?” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in an
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and told U.S. authorities all about their plot, which they code-named “Chevrolet.” FBI Director Robert Mueller said many lives could have been lost. But Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said no explosives were actually placed and no one was in any danger because of the infor-
interview with The Associated Press. Clinton was blunt in saying the United States would use the case as leverage with other countries that have been reluctant to apply harsh sanctions or penalties against Iran. Clinton said she and President Barack Obama called world leaders to tell them of the developments. The U.S. criminal complaint said the Iranian plotters hired a would-be assassin in Mexico who was a paid informant for
This image provided by the Nueces County Sheriff's Office See IRAN, Page A3 shows Manssor Arbabsiar.
Senators vote to defeat jobs bill
NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of protesters, emboldened by the growing national outcry against what they see as the greed of Wall Street, streamed past the homes of some of the country’s richest residents Tuesday in a “Millionaires March.” - PAGE A7
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Six injured in school bus accident • Family argument turns violent • 'Dream House' anything but a dream • Roswell Regional, ENMMC to be owned by common parent • AWC took care of its business
INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
Event raises sex trafficking awareness Kathryn Bolkovac, author of The Whistleblower, poses with a copy of her book Tuesday evening at the Roswell Museum and Art Center.
VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER When Kathryn Bolkovac traveled to Bosnia in 1999 as a peacekeeper, she never thought she’d be fighting fellow peace officers — and even the United Nations — to recognize and help cease human sex trafficking.
50/50 DOMINATION LEADS NMMI TO WIN
SOCORRO — “Captain Obvious” would say that the key to winning soccer games is to score more goals than the other team. What the Captain would be overlooking in that simplistic statement is that to score goals, a team has to have possession of the ball and, quite often... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Amelia Daniel • Joyce Whitt - PAGE A7
HIGH ...82˚ LOW ....52˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
During a rare visit to Roswell, Bolkovac — who currently resides in The Netherlands — shared her ordeal during the Easter n New Mexico Medical Center’s monthly Healthy Woman event at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, Tuesday evening.
Avery steps down as executive director of Character Counts! JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
After 11 years of service, Cla Avery is stepping down from his role as executive director of Character Counts! in Chaves County. Terri Douglass, president of Character Counts!, and Judge Alvin Jones, a member of the organization, expressed their appreciation for Avery’s work, and presented him with an engraved plaque honoring his years of service and dedication to the organization during a press conference Tuesday mor ning. Douglass and Jones also announced Tim Fuller as the new executive director of the organization. Describing Avery as a
wonderful spokesman for the organization in the community, Jones said, “I’ve been blessed in my short lifetime with a lot of very productive relationships but I’ll treasure forever the memories of working with Cla. His enthusiasm and dedication goes way beyond just somebody taking care of another responsibility and another job.” Avery, who is leaving for family reasons, said the past 11 years have been extremely rewarding for him. “I’ve truly valued all the activities, projects, programs and individuals who I’ve come to know. In this role I’ve gotten to know judges, superintendents
AP Photo
Bolkovac had been a police officer in Lincoln, Neb., for 10 years when she decided she wanted to expand her career and work an overseas mission. She got a chance to travel to Bosnia to train its local police forces fol-
WASHINGTON (AP) — United against Barack Obama, Senate Republicans voted Tuesday night to kill the jobs package the president had spent weeks campaigning for across the country, a stinging loss at the hands of lawmakers opposed to stimulus-style spending and a tax increase on the very wealthy. Forty-six Republicans joined with two Democrats to filibuster the $447 billion plan. Fifty Democrats had voted for it, but the vote was not final. The roll call was kept open to allow Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., to vote. The likely 51-48 eventual tally would be far short of the 60 votes needed to keep the bill alive in the 100-member Senate. The demise of Obama’s $447 billion jobs package was expected, despite his campaign-style efforts to swing the public behind it. The White House and leaders in Congress were already moving on to alter native ways to address the nation’s painful 9.1 percent unemployment, including breaking the legislation into smaller, more digestible pieces and approving longstalled trade bills. The White House appears most confident that it will be able to continue a 2-percentage-point Social
Roswell Refuge holds its Purple Ribbon Dinner See EVENT, Page A3
See JOBS, Page A3
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Roswell Refuge held its Purple Ribbon Dinner, Tuesday night, at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center, 912 N. Main St. The purpose of the event was not only to raise funds, but also to raise awareness in the community about domestic violence and to recognize those people who have provided support for the Refuge in the past year. A number of groups were represented, including the staff and administration of Eastern New Mexico University, Roswell; New Mexico State Police; the Roswell,
Mark Wilson Photo
Guest speaker Lieutenant Mark Wynn appears at the Roswell Refuge 2011 Purple Ribbon Dinner Tuesday evening at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center. Hager man and Dexter Police departments; the Roswell Fire Department
and Emergency Services,
Elections change suggested for PRC candidates
SANTA FE (AP) — Public Regulation Commissioner Jason Marks says New Mexico’s political parties can play a role in reforming the troubled regulatory agency, which has seen two of its members forced from office since last year. Marks wants to change how candidates for the PRC earn a spot on the primary election ballot, and he proposes requiring them to earn the support of party activists at pre-primary
See AVERY, Page A3
nominating conventions. That’s already done for candidates running for statewide offices and Congress. To run for the PRC, a candidate needs to submit nominating petitions to the secretary of state with a certain number of signatures of registered voters. If subject to a nominating convention, candidates also would need the support of at least 20 percent of their party’s delegates to secure
a ballot position in New Mexico’s June primary election. His proposal is the latest in a debate over whether to overhaul the scandalplagued regulatory agency and impose certain qualifications on PRC candidates. The commission regulates utilities, telecommunications, insurance and some motor carriers such as taxis and ambulances. PRC member Jerome Block Jr. resigned last
week as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors over charges that he misused a state-issued credit card and violated campaign finance laws when he ran in 2008. Commissioner Carol Sloan was ousted last year after being convicted of attacking a woman who allegedly had an affair with her husband.
Sloan and Block arrived at the PRC having won Democratic primary races with far less than a majori-
See REFUGE, Page A3
ty of the votes. Their districts were solidly Democratic, which meant they were heavily favored in the general election. Block, the son of a former PRC member, won a six-way primary race in 2008 with 23 percent of the vote. His district included Santa Fe and northeastern New Mexico. Sloan, a former McKinley County clerk, won a fiveSee PRC, Page A3