11-30-11 RDR NEWS

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Roswell Daily Record

Vol. 120, No. 288 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

November 30, 2011

WEDNESDAY

www.rdrnews.com

RISD fails to make AYP for 09-10 year JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER

The Roswell Independent School District did not make Adequate Yearly Progress for the 2009-2010 school year, required by the New Mexico Public Education Department. The NMPED, which is regulated on the federal level, outlines 37 criteria school districts have to meet to make AYP. AYP is part of

both federal and state statute.

RISD Superintendent Michael Gottlieb said if even 1 out of the 37 criteria are not met, a district is ranked as failing to make AYP. He added that RISD was not alone in not making the requirement; many schools statewide also did not achieve AYP status. A full copy of the 20092010 District Report Card

appeared in the Daily Record on Nov. 23, including a letter from Gottlieb.

Since the district did not make AYP, its improvement status is listed as corrective action. Gottlieb said this status requires RISD to implement school tutoring and interventions in classrooms. Interventions mean kids who didn’t make AYP have to go to extra classes, based on the area, such as

math or reading, that they did not perform well in. This is often in addition to afterschool tutoring. The district must also make formal visits to school buildings, and principals must perform daily walk throughs. RISD must also align its curriculum, Gottlieb said.

AYP determinations result from assessments administered at the end of the prior school year. Thus the report

BRUSSELS (AP) — Eurozone ministers sent Greece a $10.7 billion Christmas rescue package Tuesday to stem an immediate cash crisis yet failed to resolve fears that the common euro currency might be doomed. Stock markets around the world rose earlier in the day, hoping... - PAGE A2

WEB

For The Past 24 Hours

• ‘Hurry Santa, pack it up!!!’ • Bitter Lake offers Cranes and Cocoa • Shoppers turn out early for bargains • Good Samaritans make day special • Prep football: 2011’s final chapter

INSIDE

Mark Wilson Photo

Students from All Saints Catholic School decorate the Tree of Hope with the help of elves from Assisteens at the Roswell Museum and Arts Center, Tuesday afternoon.

Tree of Hope goes up at RMAC JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

The T r ee of Hope arises every year at Roswell Museum and Art Center, 100 W. 11th St., like a phoenix. Students of All Saints Catholic School,

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars are headed in a completely new direction. And Los Angeles doesn’t appear to be the destination. Team owner Wayne Weaver fired longtime coach Jack Del Rio on Tuesday after a 3-8 start and agreed to sell the Jaguars to Illinois businessman Shahid... - PAGE B1

TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Brenda Jacobs • Wyly Edwin Ball • Frankie Cole

- PAGE A6

HIGH ...66˚ LOW ....36˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8

INDEX

See RISD, Page A3

JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER

TOP 5

JAGUARS FIRE DEL RIO

Subgroups of 25 or more students within each school, district and the state must meet AYP. These subgroups include students of various races, economically

Court rules in favor of RISD

GREECE GETS 10.7 BILLION, PLAN STALLS

SPORTS

summarizes AYP findings that apply to the 2010-2011 school year, but which were derived from the achievement of students in the 2009-2010 school year.

2700 N. Kentucky Ave., came to the museum to decorate the tree, Tuesday. The tree is a symbol of hope and life for cancer sufferers everywhere. “The Tree of Hope is decorated by children every year in the hope that cancer will be cured in their lifetime,”

said Pamela Rambin, coordinator of the annual event. Rambin explained that she took over the event in 1995. “Ver non Dyer has always dropped by as Santa....” The Tree of Hope originated

In a lawsuit involving the distribution of small rubber figurines, meant to represent fetuses, on school property, the United States Federal District Court, sitting in Albuquerque, ruled in favor of the Roswell Independent School District. The case, Taylor v. RISD, concerned the distribution of non-school related materials on school property. The defendants in the case were RISD and Michael Gottlieb, in his capacity as superintendent for the school district. The plaintiffs were - and some currently still are - students at Roswell and Goddard high schools. All of the plaintiffs were members of Relentless, a religious youth group that is a ministry of Church on the Move. Both the students and a pastor at Church on the Move, Tim Aguilar, delivered depositions concerning the case. Case documents outline that the plaintiffs contended that, as a result of their sincerely held religious convictions, they believe that God called upon them to reach out to their fellow students, teachers, and others by engaging in various acts of kindness and charity, including disseminating food and other items. First distributing food items such as chicken salad sandwiches, hot chocolate, candy canes and donuts, the real controversy began on Jan. 29, 2010. On that day, the students distributed small rub-

RPD didn’t violate County reviews redistricting man’s rights in stop JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

On Nov. 20, Carl Roy Burleson pleaded guilty to charges of felon in possession of a firear m in Las Cruces Federal Court. The guilty plea followed a threeyear-long court battle and appeals process after his arrest on May 2, 2008. The final ruling was published on Sept. 12, 2011, when the Federal Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided in the United States v. Burleson that the Roswell Police Department had not violated Burleson’s Fourth Amendment rights. Burleson was stopped, in what is known as a Terry Stop, shortly before mid-

night. Officer Jeff Kuepfer decided to question Burleson and two companions as they exited the alley and began walking in the middle of the street. One of the three was carrying a pit bull without a leash.

A Terry Stop is a pedestrian stop. The name stems from the 1968 decision when United States Supreme Court ruled in Terry versus Ohio that an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures are not violated when a police officer stops a suspect on the street and frisks him as long as the police officer has a reason-

See HOPE, Page A3

JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER

The Chaves County Commission held a redistricting workshop Tuesday morning to review the maps prepared by state Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, of New Mexico Demographics. With five redistricting concepts in hand, commissioners planned to extensively examine the maps regarding their respective districts prior to their regular business meeting on Dec. 15. Redistricting is a process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries which occurs every 10 years after population changes are determined by the most recent Census data. Deviation in

population must be plus or minus 5 percent, depending on the population growth in the area. Precinct work was completed by Chaves County and Research and Polling Inc., based in Albuquerque, this summer. This work was done “to adjust precincts to make them conform in a more sensible manner, in my view, to the way in which the county is broken down,” Adair said. District 3, represented by Commissioner Kyle Wooton, showed the largest deviation. In addition to the district growing, some of the precincts that comprise District 3 grew more than they were in 2001, Adair said. Four out of the five county districts did not

See COURT, Page A3

remain within that deviation. District 2, represented by Commissioner Kim Chesser, District 3, represented by Commissioner Wooton, District 4, represented by Commissioner Richard Taylor, and District 5, represented by chairman Greg Nibert, all did not remain balanced. Adair, who is on contract to help with the redistricting, presented the commissioners with five concepts. The concepts are posted in the Chaves County Commission Chambers in the Administrative Center, 1 St. Mary’s Place, for the public to view. The public was invited to share their opinions during the meeting. Coun-

Fifth annual Heart Gallery hopes to create families VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER For dozens of children in Chaves County, the holidays may not be about spending time at home with family. Perhaps, through initiatives like the Heart Gallery of New Mexico, it won’t always be that way for the nearly 70 foster children in the county who have nowhere to call home. The fifth annual Heart Gallery of New Mexico took place at the Chaves County Administrative Center, Tuesday evening. In atten-

See RPD, Page A3

dance were potential adoptive parents, those associated with the adoption and fostering process in Chaves County and entire families made complete through adoption. The stars of the event, however, were more than 30 professionally made portraits of children up for adoption in New Mexico. The portraits — donated by photographers — were displayed around the building’s rotunda. Children currently awaiting adoption are all too often described in terms of

faceless, impersonal statistics. A program such as the Heart Gallery helps amend this — giving a face and personality to children in need of a loving home. “A picture says a thousand words,” said Renee Fitts, foster and adoptive parent recruiter for southeast New Mexico. The Heart Gallery focuses on children who may have the hardest time being adopted. Fitts said these include children older than age 6; members of sibling See HEART, Page A2

See COUNTY, Page A3

Mark Wilson Photo

Attendees check out the photographs on display during the Heart Gallery reception in honor of National Adoption Month, Tuesday evening, at the Chaves County Administration Building.


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