Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 120, No. 251 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
October 19, 2011
WEDNESDAY
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Social Security to hand out first raises since ’09
WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security recipients will get a raise in January — their first increase in benefits since 2009. It’s expected to be about 3.5 percent. Some 55 million beneficiaries will find out for sure Wednesday when a government inflation measure that determines the annual cost-of-living adjustment is released. Congress adopted the
measure in the 1970s, and since then it has resulted in annual benefit increases averaging 4.2 percent. But there was no COLA in 2010 or 2011 because inflation was too low. That was small comfort to the millions of retirees and disabled people who have seen retirement accounts dwindle and home values drop during the period of economic weakness, said David Certner, legislative
policy director for the AARP. “People certainly feel like they are falling behind, and these are modest income folks to begin with, so every dollar counts,” Certner said. “I think sometimes people forget what seniors’ incomes are.” Some of the increase in January will be lost to higher Medicare premiums, which are deducted from Social Security payments.
Medicare Part B premiums for 2012 are expected to be announced next week, and the trustees who oversee the program are projecting an increase. Monthly Social Security payments average $1,082, or about $13,000 a year. A 3.5 percent increase would amount to an additional $38 a month, or about $455 a year. Most retirees rely on Social Security for a major-
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’ll cost a penny more to mail a letter next year. The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday that it will increase postage rates on Jan. 22, including a 1-cent increase in the cost of first-class mail, to 45 cents. - PAGE A6
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
New Mexico Military Institute’s Major Eric Evertson reads from a Dr. Seuss book to Washington Avenue Elementary School students Tuesday morning at the Spring River Park & Zoo during a Character Counts! tour. Children from area schools visited the 6 pillars of character located throughout the zoo in a celebration of Character Counts! Week.
Students learn character from local leaders
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Among bison, a llama and prairie dogs, third- through fifth-graders from schools in
Chaves County toured the Spring River Park Zoo, while stopping at stations along the way to learn about character from community leaders. Students from Valley Christian
Academy, All Saints Catholic School, Hagerman Elementary School, and Washington Avenue Elementary School were present. See CHARACTER, Page A3
Israeli soldier emerges from captivity
ROCKETS FAILL IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE
Entering its final regular season game against Artesia on Tuesday, the Goddard boys soccer team knew, in all likelihood, that the game against the Bulldogs would be its last of the year. In a season that saw a change at coach... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • • • • • • •
Gerald Abbott Robert Vaughn Frank Tuffs Marvin Jenkins Ray Hall Peggy Jones Herman Hadsall
- PAGE A6
HIGH ...74˚ LOW ....41˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B6 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
MITZPE HILA, Israel (AP) — Gaunt and pale, Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit retur ned home Tuesday after more than five years in captivity, freed in a lopsided exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners that could greatly complicate Mideast peace prospects and strengthen the Islamic militant Hamas. The swap set off massive celebrations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, where crowds in Gaza called for more kidnappings of soldiers, chanting: “The people want a new Gilad!” The 25-year-old Schalit’s poor condition, a jarring appearance by masked Hamas men during his release and the prospects of a strengthened Hamas bode poorly for future relations between Israel and the Palestinians. By winning the release of hundreds of militants accused in notorious suicide bombings of the Palestinian uprising a decade ago, Hamas reinforced its
message that Palestinian goals are advanced most effectively through violent struggle, and not the moderate approach of diplomacy favored by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “Israel was forced to pay the price,” Hamas’ supreme leader, Khaled Mashaal, boasted in a meeting in Egypt, where he greeted 40 freed prisoners who were immediately sent into exile under the terms of their release. To Israelis, the return of a young man whose plight had become a national obsession brought a welcome lift. But for many, especially the family of victims who had lost relatives in Palestinian violence, it carried a bitter taste of justice denied. After being hidden from public view since his capture five and half years ago, Schalit — the first captive Israeli soldier to retur n home alive in a generation — was whisked early Tuesday across Gaza’s border
by a group of armed Hamas militants. A brief video released by Egyptian TV showed the young sergeant wearing a baseball cap and gray shirt, surrounded by Gaza militants with black face masks and green headbands who then handed him over to Egyptian mediators. Before he was tur ned over to Israeli of ficials, Schalit spoke to Egyptian TV in an interview while masked militants milled around and Hamas’ No. 2 leader, Musa Abu Marzouk, hovered nearby. Israeli officials called the interview “shocking.” Looking wan and uncomfortable, Schalit appeared to struggle to speak at times, and his breathing was noticeably labored as he answered questions asked through an interpreter. Stumbling over his words, he spoke in Hebrew See SOLDIER, Page A3
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the COLA would give a boost to consumer spending next year, amounting to about $25 billion in government support, or 0.2 per-
NM revenue outlook weakens
STAMP PRICES GO UP
• David Vega receives sentence • Local law enforcement to hold Drug Take Back • Westlake sets up Zombie zone • Fun in the Pumpkin Patch • Chances: Playoffs, titles and awards
ity of their income, according to the Social Security Administration. Many rely on it for more than 90 percent of their income.
See SECURITY, Page A3
SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico’s financial outlook is weakening and there will be less money available for government programs and services in the upcoming budget year than previously expected, lawmakers were told Tuesday. Underscoring the economic uncertainty facing the state and nation, a new revenue forecast outlined to lawmakers lowered projections for tax collections by about $21.5 million in the current budget year and $123 million in the fiscal year that starts next July. Much of the decline is because economists expect oil and natural gas prices to be lower than anticipated. New Mexico collects taxes and royalties on oil and gas production, and those revenues fluctuate with prices. Projections for sales tax revenues also were lowered from a forecast delivered to legislators in July. Top budget and tax officials in Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration outlined the latest revenue estimates to the Legislative Finance Committee, which will make budget recommendations that serve as a foundation for See REVENUE, Page A3
United Way sets goal
Julia Bergman photo
Shelby Toles, 13, daughter of Perry and Sherri Toles, 2011 campaign co-chairs, marks United Way's current fundraising efforts at 20 percent of its projected goal of $575,000.
Local farmer is one step closer to being green
INDEX
Mark Wilson Photo
Neal Pope, left, gives a tour of a solar array located at Allen Farm in southeast Roswell to Beverly Allen, Lynn Ditto and New Mexico Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner Tuesday afternoon.
VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER One step toward being green will help a local farm remain such. Neal Pope, who co-owns Pope Family Investments with his brothers Ray and David, recently installed 432 solar panels on the farm. The panels will help irrigate 114 acres of farmland where corn and barley are grown to feed local dairy cows. The solar panels — made by Schott Solar in Albuquerque — were officially turned on Monday. Terry Brunner, state direc-
tor for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development, paid the farm a visit Tuesday afternoon to see the array of solar panels up close. “We’re really excited about this project,” Brunner said. “We’re trying to get more and more businesses like this one to be more efficient.” The installation of the solar panels cost about $500,000. The project was made possible by a grant from the USDA, which paid for 25 percent of the project’s cost. Pope said
another 25 percent was paid for upfront and the USDA helped with a loan guarantee for the remaining 50 percent. Pope said his annual electric bill is on average about $12,000. He predicted that, in a few years, the solar panels will pay for themselves as the electricity needed to maintain the farm becomes less. It is impossible for the solar panels to do away with the electric bill completely, Pope said. The irrigation equipment is
See FARMER, Page A3