Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 257 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
October 25, 2014
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AP Photos
Far left: This Oct. 20 photo provided by Paragon Space Development Corporation shows Google executive Alan Eustace before a test flight for his Friday leap. Left: This photo, provided by Paragon Space Development Corporation, shows Eustace, in the spacesuit, with crew members Blikkies Blignaut, left, and Alex Garbino in preparation of his leap from the edge of space.
Google exec sets records with leap from near-space
ROSWELL (AP) — Google executive Alan Eustace broke the sound barrier and set several skydiving records over the souther n New Mexico desert early Friday after taking a big leap from the edge of space. Eustace’s supersonic jump was part of a project by Paragon Space Development Corp. and its Stratospheric Explorer team, which has been working secretly for years to develop a self-contained commercial spacesuit that would allow people to explore some 20 miles above the Earth’s surface. Friday’s success marked a major step forward in that effort, company officials said. “This has opened up endless possibilities for humans to explore previously seldom visited parts of our stratosphere,”
Grant Anderson, Paragon president and CEO, said in a statement. The technology that has gone into developing the balloon, the spacesuit and the other systems that were used in Friday’s launch will be used to advance commercial spaceflight, namely efforts by Arizona-based World View Enterprises to take paying tourists up in a high-altitude balloon and luxury capsule starting in late 2016. As more people head into the stratosphere, the spacesuits could be adapted for emergency rescues or other scientific endeavors, officials said. After nearly three years of intense planning, development and training, Eustace began his ascent via a high-altitude, helium-filled balloon just as the sun was rising. It took
more than two hours to hit a record altitude of 135,908 feet, from which he separated himself from the balloon and started plummeting back to Earth. Wearing his specially designed spacesuit, Eustace hit a top velocity of 822 mph during a freefall that lasted 4 1/2 minutes. Jim Hayhurst, director of competition at the United States Parachute Association, was the jump’s official observer. He said Eustace deployed a drogue parachute that gave him incredible stability and control despite the massive Mach 1.23 speed reached during the freefall. Eustace didn’t feel it when he broke the sound barrier, but the ground crew certainly heard the resulting sonic boom, Hayhurst said.
Above: In this photo provided by Paragon Space Development Corporation, Eustace, in the spacesuit, is carried aloft by a balloon for his leap Friday. Eustace's supersonic jump was part of a project by the corporation and its Stratospheric Explorer team, which has been working secretly for years to develop a self-contained commercial spacesuit that would allow people to explore some 20 miles above the Earth's surface.
“He just said it was a fabulous view. He was thrilled,” Hayhurst said of his conversation with Eustace after he landed. The supersonic skydive happened with little fanfare, out of the media spotlight, unlike the 2012 attempt by daredevil Felix Baumgartner and the Red
Bull Stratos team. Baumgartner, who was taken aloft in a capsule with the help of millions of dollars in sponsorships, had set the previous altitude record by jumping from 128,100 feet. Watching Eustace and his team prepare was historic, said Hayhurst,
likening the scene to what it must have been like to watch Ryan Airlines Corp. build the Spirit of St. Louis in the late 1920s. “This was a bunch of quiet engineers doing the job,” he said. “This is a scientific endeavor. This is a stepping stone to space.”
Balderas, Riedel vie to be state’s AG Parents of accused
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The race to be New Mexico’s attorney general pits state Auditor Hector Balderas, a rising star in the Democratic Party, against Republican Susan Riedel, a former prosecutor and judge with more than two decades of legal experience.
Balderas wants to build an agency that would serve as a watchdog to ferret out fraud, waste and corruption.
Riedel says she knows how to put criminals behind bars and would do the same for officials who abuse the public’s trust.
Balderas
The two are vying for the spot being vacated by Democratic Attorney General Gary King, who is trying to unseat Republican Gov.
Riedel
Susana Martinez. Balderas held a more than 8-to-1 campaign cash advantage over Riedel with just weeks to go in the elec-
tion, and he had advertising help from a national political group whose donors include the Democratic Attorneys General Association. Riedel countered Friday with a new television ad touting her efforts to seek justice by highlighting her success in the case of 15year-old Ashley Wax, who was murdered outside her Las Cruces home by her boyfriend in 2005. Riedel, who served as the chief deputy district attorney in Las Cruces for 14 years, also prosecuted the
Berrendo shooter sue hospital over records ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The family of a boy accused of shooting two students at Berrendo Middle School in January is suing the University of New Mexico Hospital over the boy’s health records. The Albuquerque Journal reports the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court says at least eight people had accessed the boy’s medical or mental health treatment records without authorization. The
Literacy council helps adults improve their job skills STAFF REPORT
While studies show higher literacy levels are significantly linked to increased incomes, the Roswell Literacy Council provides trained tutors for Chaves County adults who need help with any learning need, especially related to seeking work or job improvement. “Adjunct to learning for work, we tutor adults who need help with increasing their educational skills to help children with learning, including school work,” said Roswell Literacy Council Director Andrae England. “A mother’s level of reading skill is the greatest determinant of her child’s aca-
demic success. We also help adults prepare for the GED and to get ready for college coursework. This might include developing English speaking, reading and writing abilities.” The Roswell Literacy Council, which serves 100 to 200 clients a year, has operated in Roswell for 40 years, 24 years as an agency of the United Way. “Our agency is small, but provides a service in a one-to-one setting that benefits individuals and community,” England said. United Way funding is important to the organization for it to improve and develop the fundamental skills of speaking, reading
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and writing. “If it were not for the support of the United Way, these efforts over years and several generations toward the improvement in the lives of individuals, their families and untold others would not have happened,” England said. “It is together that we work with individuals in a private, intimate setting, helping others learn how they learn and then how they can learn to help themselves. It is a privilege to be able to help in this way. Tutors find this type of volunteering the highest form of emotional investment and most likely to make a difference, not only in the lives of individuals but
• KATHERINE FERGUSON-WRIGHT
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B4
lawsuit says that access violated federal law.
Prosecutors say Mason Campbell, now 13, opened fire in the gym and injured two students.
The boy pleaded no contest in May to three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a firearm into a school.
The University’s Health Science Center said in a statement that officials had not seen the lawsuit.
in our entire community.” England said adult learners discover that studying boosts their self-confidence and tolerance for others. “Younger people said it made them feel more in control of their lives, while older age groups reported adult education as being able to soften the transitions related to aging,” she said. England said the ability to understand health and financial issues underscores the importance of literacy development. She said minimum wage workers See LITERACY, Page A3 CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3
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HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8