Roswell Daily Record
Weh cited with FEC violations Vol. 123, No. 253 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
As U.S. Senate candidate Allen Weh has been trimming the gap in the polls between himself and Democrat incumbent Tom Udall in a race state Republicans hope will encapsulate a landslide election night that gives the GOP control of the Senate, the retired Marine colonel has again become involved in campaign finance reporting
issues. The Federal Election Commission has asked Weh for a corrective action plan regarding his campaign finance reports, as he and Udall prepare for backto-back televised debates next week. FEC senior campaign finance and reviewing analyst Christopher Whyrick earlier this month wrote Weh’s campaign treasurer regarding excessive contributions, not reporting last-
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
minute contributions and the misdesignation of funds. Whyrick said in the Oct. 7 letter to Weh campaign treasurer Rebecca Sanchez that Weh had exceeded the $2,600 per election individual contribution limit in his campaign finance reports. According to the FEC, Weh received two contributions from Randall Goss, totaling $3,038.65, and three contributions from Kevin K. Yearout, totaling
$2,928.81. Goss contributed $2,500 on March 3, and $538.65 on June 2, the FEC said. The FEC said Yearout contributed $1,500 on March 25, $328.81 on March 25 and $1,100 on June 3. June 3 was also the day of New Mexico’s primaries. Individuals may contribute up to $2,600 for a primary election in a federal race, and another $2,600 for the general election, under fed-
Randal Seyler Photos
Right: First grade teacher Dolores Ingram reacts while fifth grade teacher Brittany Griffin kisses a pig on Monday at East Grand Plains Elementary School. Kissing a pig may not be pleasant, but both teachers admitted the pig wasn’t the worst kiss they’d ever experienced. Below: Ingram and Griffin each raised $79.79 in their classrooms, tying for the honor to kiss a pig during the school’s Red Ribbon ceremony on Monday.
come.” Cruz tries to embody the meaning of building and living as a community in his pottery class, he said. In sharing all of the students’ cultural personalities, a unique kind of artistic pueblo is made within the classroom. As a professor, Cruz said he aspires for the students to become intellectually and culturally enriched through the practice of artisan work. “We all breathe the same air; we all see the sun rise and set, the galaxy and the moon,” Cruz said. “We all sit, walk and live on this ball of clay, the earth herself, but from dif ferent parts.” Victoria Bryers, a master of art education student, said she has taken the course for six consecutive semesters because she wants to improve her skills with pueblo pottery. Bryers had previously experienced pottery making in 1984 with commercial clay, but avoided enrolling in ceramics classes at UNM because she did not have time to take the prerequisites. However, this class does not have prerequisites, so Bryers took advantage of the opportunity. “I am not of pueblo culture so I can’t say my work is pueblo pottery, but that
it is made in the pueblo tradition,” she said. “It is therapeutic, working with the clay, and I would like to take one thing and concentrate in that, to become the best I can. That is why I chose pueblo pottery, and additionally I have learned so much about Native America and the pueblos here in New Mexico.” As a cancer survivor and World War II veteran, Bryers is currently developing her pottery mastery through Cruz’s course with the objective of organizing an art show to display her work, she said. “I feel like when I am working with the clay, I am actually putting part of myself back into it,” she said. “It’s more the manipulation of the material that you don’t do when you are painting or drawing ... you get more personal with the material.” Bryers began her pueblo pottery making by clearing her mind of preconceptions with regard to ceramics, she said. A recommendation she gives for anyone interested in pueblo pottery is to walk in with a fresh slate and accept the materials and information being taught. Pueblo pottery helps ceramic artists connect with the earth more than modern pottery, she said.
Students who practice pueblo pottery gain an appreciation for traditional handmade pieces because of the amount of work it takes to produce a single vessel. Kathryne Cyman, assistant professor in the ceramics department, said that unlike other ceramics classes, kilns are not used for the pueblo class. Instead, students give their pots traditional pueblostyle outdoor firings. “Creating ceramics in pueblo culture is akin to living; it is how you live your life and what you do,” she said. “If you create a vessel, it requires a great deal of spirit and harmony, a connection with the earth, and both physical and emotional health.” Cruz said that for the final stages of the process the class does its firing in the Pojoaque Pueblo in the Poeh Center. The center is a junction of philosophies and preservation of pueblo cultural practices. The pots are fired outdoors and subject to a rotational process with heat emanating from hot coals and direct contact with burning wood. Cruz said for anyone interested in starting pueblo pottery, it is vital to
HIGH 69 LOW 54
• MARGARET MAXWELL COLLINS • PHYLLIS VETA TUNNELL • MANUELA FLORES
• ISABEL (MICKEY) C. VAN SICKLE • JOSEPH B. SHAMAS
TODAY’S FORECAST
eral election laws. Weh was instructed to respond to the FEC notice with a corrective action plan by Nov. 12, more than a week after the Nov. 4 general election. The responses from Weh’s campaign to the three FEC citations will become part of Weh’s public campaign finance records, an FEC of ficial said. Weh must either refund the amounts of individual
contributions exceeding $2,600, reattribute the contributors, or redesignate or reattribute the excessive funds to a different election. “If any apparently excessive contribution in question was incompletely or incorrectly disclosed, you must amend your original report with the clarifying infor mation,” Whyrick wrote Weh’s campaign. “If
STAFF REPORT
room or court facility.” The reason for the move was due to mold being found in the building at 420 N. Richardson Ave. In the interest of safety for both the public and the court staff, municipal court operations were suspended in that building until the problem can be mitigated. “There may be times the traffic flow on the fourth floor may become congested but rest assured, everyone’s needs will be appropriately addressed,” Loy stated. The judge said he expects to move his courtroom back to 420 N. Richardson Ave. in two or three months, depending on how long it takes to replace the roof and complete the mitigation process.
Municipal Court reopens in Penn Plaza building Roswell Municipal Court reopened for business on Monday, but in a new location. Court is now being held at 400 N. Pennsylvania Ave. The court will meet in Room 450 on the fourth floor, and court hours will be 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday. “Other tenants in the building do not have anything to do with the Municipal Court. This building is the Penn Plaza Building and is located directly across the street from the U.S. Post Office,” Municipal Judge Larry Loy stated in a news release on Thursday. “I am requesting everyone’s patience as this facility was not designed as a court
Pueblo native strives to keep tradition alive ALBUQUERQUE — Culture and life have been carried in Southwest artisan vessels for more than 400 years, and now the University of New Mexico is playing an integral role in the preservation and vitality of its practice. Clarence Cruz, an Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo native, said he aspires to perpetuate the ancient tradition in the 21st century through his students and peers. Cruz has practiced pottery making for 29 years, and is now teaching future generations of potters in his ancient traditional pottery course, he said. The pueblo pottery class is designed for students to first learn and appreciate what Mother Nature has to offer artists, and then build their own creative vessels, he said. “We are actually getting out there and digging, getting dirty and processing,” said Cruz. “There is more fulfillment of the whole process that way. It gives the students a new look, feel and respect for their surroundings, for it is not only about the earth sustaining us, but also how we can sustain her, to make it for the generations to
TUESDAY
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Pig kissin’
BY MATEO ROCHA NEW MEXICO DAILY LOBO
October 21, 2014
See POTTERY, Page A3
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
See WEH, Page A3
Museum director talks local event successes BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
The Roswell Museum and Art Center staff was busy over the weekend helping with the Robert Goddard celebration, “Aiming for the Stars,” Museum Director Michael Hall said on Monday. The RMAC Board of T rustees met at the museum to discuss recent events at the museum and Convention Center, including the Goddard events and the museum’s Art Block Party, which was held on Oct. 4. “Even though it wasn’t our event, our staff was going 24/7 to help with the Goddard event,” Hall said. “Aiming for the Stars” was a public event honoring Roswell’s most famous “star,” rocket pioneer Robert H. Goddard. The first-time event showcased space history, New Mexico’s observatories and science museums, and exhibits from NASA’s Johnson Space Center. There were also planetarium events held in connection with the event, so people came to the museum as well as the Convention Center, where the Space T rail Expo was held on Saturday.
The block party brought more visitors to the museum than last year’s event, and the chalk art competition was very well attended, Hall said. “Last year we had 1,200 attend the block party, and this year we had 2,800,” he said. Hall again complemented his staff on the excellent job they did in putting on the annual event. “Everyone was very grateful to Mayor Dennis Kintigh for attending and presenting a proclamation of support,” Hall said. “Our Events Coordinator, Olga McGuire, who oversaw the festival, gave the mayor a tour of the Art Block Party craft activities and I participated in a tour of the Chalk Art murals.” Over 94 children and adults participated in the chalk art portion of the event, Hall said, and the competitors produced some amazing murals on the sidewalks. Hall also said he is at work on a new after school program at the museum. “I am getting a lot of compliments from our new after school program,” Hall said. “It is only a small pilot program, and it is designed
See EVENTS, Page A3
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
FINANCIAL ..............B4
LOTTERIES .............A2
COMICS .................B5
HOROSCOPES .........A8
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8