Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 248 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
October 15, 2014
CDC says it could have done more on Ebola FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The nation’s top diseasefighting agency acknowledged Tuesday that federal health experts failed to do all they should have done to prevent Ebola from spreading from a Liberian man who died last week in Texas to the nurse who treated him.
The stark admission from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came as the World Health Organization projected the pace of infections
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accelerating in West Africa — to as many as 10,000 new cases a week within two months.
Agency Director Tom Frieden outlined a series of steps designed to stop the spread of the disease in the U.S., including increased training for health care workers and changes at the Texas hospital where the virus was diagnosed to minimize the risk of more infections. A total of 76 people at the hospital might have had
Little green mantis
exposure to Thomas Eric Duncan, and all of them are being monitored for fever and other symptoms daily, Frieden said.
That figure confirmed an Associated Press report on Monday that Nina Pham was among about 70 hospital staffers who were involved in Duncan’s care after he was hospitalized, based on medical records provided by Duncan’s family. The announcement of the government’s stepped-up
effort came after top health officials repeatedly assured the public over the last two weeks that they were doing everything possible to control the outbreak by deploying infectious-disease specialists to the hospital where Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola and later died.
“I wish we had put a team like this on the ground the day the patient — the first patient — was diagnosed. That might have prevented this infection. But we will do
that from today onward with any case anywhere in the U.S.,” Frieden said.
Frieden described the new response team as having some of the world’s leading experts in how to care for Ebola and protect health care workers. They planned to review everything from how the isolation room is physically laid out, to what protective equipment health workers use, to waste management and decontamination.
Los Pasitos service offers support to children, families
See EBOLA, Page A3
In Europe, the WHO said
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
Toby Martinez Photo
the death rate in the outbreak has risen to 70 percent as it has killed nearly 4,500 people, most of them in West Africa. The previous mortality rate was about 50 percent. President Barack Obama, speaking at the end of a meeting with U.S. and allied military leaders, declared that the “the world is not doing enough” to fight Ebola. “Everybody’s going to
One Roswell service offers Chaves County children “little steps to a brighter future” — Los Pasitos Early Intervention and Learning Center. Tobosa Developmental Services exists to assist and support individuals and families challenged by developmental disabilities, but one program Tobosa of fers that most people aren’t aware of is the Los Pasitos Early Intervention and Learning Center, said Joan Blodgett, Tobosa’s executive secretary. “I love the Los Pasitos program,” Blodgett told the Roswell Kiwanis Club on Tuesday. Los Pasitos has provided an early intervention program for children with developmental disabilities for more than 30 years. Blodgett has also been involved with Tobosa since
1982, not long after Tobosa opened where University High School is now located. She retired from Tobosa in June 2013 after 30 years with the facility, but last October she was back at work as a part-time employee. “Joan is one of my heroes,” Kiwanis Club member Dennis Pabst said. “You don’t work at a place like Tobosa for a job; when you work there it becomes a calling.” Overall, Tobosa Developmental Services has a $7 million budget and has nearly 200 employees providing all the services that they provide, Blodgett said. The goal of the facility is to get its clients integrated into society. Blodgett said the program provides support to fit the needs of families with children who are facing developmental challenges
House hopeful Mastin says Espinoza seeking fifth term Roswell airport can take off A mantis hangs out in a garden and enjoys the sunny weather, Tuesday morning.
freedoms and less governm en t an d b e ab le t o ach ieve t h e A m er ican Dream like I have.
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
A retired aircraft engineer of rural Alto is making a run for his money to unseat Republican state Rep. Nora Espinoza of Roswell. Lincoln County Democrat Dick Mastin is challenging Espinoza in next month’s general election for the District 59 seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives, which Democrats currently control with a 37-33 advantage over Republicans. The GOP has not controlled the House since 1954, although Republicans are hopeful of a takeover after November’s general election. District 59 includes the western third of Chaves County, including the western section of Roswell, and
Mastin
much of Lincoln County, except most of Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs, Glencoe and San Patricio. Mastin, who retired from Raytheon Aircraft in 2001 as a senior project engineer, said he is interested in fur-
ther developing the Roswell International Air Center. “With my aviation background, I’m especially interested in seeing what opportunity there might be for increasing the number of jobs that are associated with your airport,” Mastin said Friday during an interview with the Daily Record. “With an aviation background, I would like to see a lot of business, even more so than what you have now. I think the more aviation business that can be brought in to the airport here in Roswell, the more it will help the community. With that big airport out there and that long runway, there is opportunity. I would consider that a priority for me, along with a number of other things I’m inter-
S t at e R ep . N o ra Espinoza (R-Roswell) is seeking her fifth consecutive term representing Distr ic t 59 . Th e d ist ri ct includes most of Lincoln C o unt y, ex cep t m ost of Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs, Glencoe and San Patricio. It also includes the western third of Chaves County, including the western section of Roswell. Espinoza, 60, came by the Roswell Daily Record offi ce on Fr id a y fo r a n interview.
Question: Why do you want to seek re-election? I believe very strongly that more of us that love t h is gr eat n at io n an d believe in less government an d t h a t go ve r n m en t needs to be accountable for what they spend just
See LOS PASITOS, Page A3
Espinoza
like we do in the private sector, and watch how we spend things, I think we need to have a voice and I t h in k m or e p eop le wh o b elieve in t h at fash ion n eed t o b ecom e m or e in volved . I wan t m y grandbaby to have all the
Your opponent mentioned you sponsored a gun control bill? It died in committee. It was for the federal gover nment not to come on the state government and im p ose som et h i ng we believe in strongly — our S econ d A m en d m en t rights. That was in reference to our Second Amendment right to bear ar ms, and that is our right in this state, and that the federal gover n m en t c ou ld n ot come in and remove that right from us. During that time, there was a lot of talk on the federal level of restricting guns, ownership, a lot of
Count on the Red Cross when disaster strikes See MASTIN, Page A6
STAFF REPORT
This Chaves County United Way partner can always be counted on after a disaster or personal tragedy such as a house fire. The American Red Cross is an independent organization that is federally chartered to provide disaster relief aid. “We assist individuals affected by disasters ranging in size from single-family house fires up to national-scale emergencies,” said Charlie Miller, disaster program
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specialist. Though Miller could not give an exact number, he estimates the Red Cross has been around in the Roswell area for more than 75 years. Last year, the Red Cross served 75 clients locally. So if the Red Cross is federally chartered, why does it need local funding? “United Way funding allows us to assist individuals and families in their time of greatest need,” Miller explained. “Because of
• OSCAR FAIRFIELD • FLOYD DORSEY POSS JR.
their funding, we are able to provide direct financial assistance to many families. In larger scale disasters, these funds assist us in opening shelters and providing other mass care services.” Miller explained how the Red Cross helped one Chaves County family.
“Recently, a family lost their home and most of their possessions in a house fire,” he said. “The Red Cross responded to the scene and provided the family with a hotel room as well as
• BILLY RAY WHITE • ODELIA GUZMAN RASCON
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A8
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B7 COMICS .................B6 ENTERTAINMENT ...A10 FINANCIAL ..............B4
See ESPINOZA, Page A3
funds for food and clothing.
“With our assistance the family was able to continue to work and send their children to school during their recovery. The family was able to find a new home within a few days, and the Red Cross provided support for them during their transition.” The American Red Cross in Southeaster n New Mexico is located at 1400 W. Second St.
For more information, call 6224370.
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .......A10
LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ............A10