Roswell Daily Record
The cranes reign at Bitter Lake Vol. 123, No. 288 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
BY TIMOTHY P. HOWSARE RECORD EDITOR
A group of nature lovers were treated to one of nature’s spectacles Friday evening as they watched thousands of migratory sandhill cranes fly in to their nighttime roosts at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Though anyone can go out to the refuge on any evening to watch the birds fly in, the refuge staff and a
group called Friends of National Wildlife Refuge had scheduled an event called “Cranes and Cocoa” that provided free cookies, hot chocolate and an informative presentation by wildlife biologist Dr. James Montgomery, who has been volunteering at the refuge since 1985. About 45 people listened in the education room of the visitor center as Montgomery shared his knowledge on the birds.
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
November 30, 2014
www.rdrnews.com
The cranes migrate from Canada, Alaska and Siberia to spend winters at the refuge, which was established in 1937 to provide wintering habitat for migratory birds. The sanctuary also provides habitat for ducks, geese, coots and other waterfowl.
Montgomery said the cranes that winter in Roswell are among a subspecies called lesser sandhill cranes. They stand about 3 feet tall and weigh
from 7 to 8 pounds. The largest of the three subspecies are called greater sandhill cranes. They stand about 4 feet tall and weigh around 10 pounds. In between the greater and lesser cranes in size and weight is a third subspecies called Canadian sandhill cranes. When they travel the birds can fly up to 500 miles in one day, MontSee CRANES, Page A2
Riding for the kids
Mary Morgan Photo
Motorcycle clubs and groups ride into Sam’s Club Saturday for the sixth annual Toy Run led by the Guerreros motorcycle bike club. Sam’s Club presented a check for $5,000 to the CASA Foundation, a children’s advocacy group, during the Toy Run sponsored by the Guerreros.
SUNDAY
Timothy P. Howsare Photo
Shortly after sunset Friday, thousands of sandhill cranes flew in from surrounding farmlands to the wetlands of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge where they roost for the night.
Major transmission line inches closer to service
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The federal government is one step closer to approving a proposed $2 billion electric transmission line between Arizona and New Mexico that has become a priority for the Obama administration. The Bureau of Land Management this week released its environmental assessment of a compromise reached with the U.S. Defense Department over the 515-mile-long line’s location. The review found there would be no significant effects from burying a portion of the line to avoid interfering with operations at White Sands Missile Range. Officials were initially concerned the highvoltage line could reduce testing operations at the remote range and ultimately threaten national security. Disagreement over the transmission line’s route landed the project in limbo last year. A series of letters followed from Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, members of New Mexico’s
congressional delegation and the heads of the U.S. Defense and Interior departments. “None of these big rights of way projects are easy or of short duration, but this one has been especially difficult with the military issues as well as the river crossings and so forth,” said BLM spokeswoman Donna Hummel. “We’re beginning to see the potential for light at the end of the tunnel.” SunZia is one of seven pilot projects the Obama administration has put on a fast track in hopes of boosting renewable energy development mainly across the West. The projects cover a dozen states and span thousands of miles, from Wyoming to Oregon and south to Nevada, and from central New Mexico to southern Arizona. The electric grid in the U.S. is made up of more than 200,000 miles of highvoltage lines. Experts have said the nation’s aging systems have to be upgraded
Albuquerque officer in Former WWII veteran recalls time in Marines shooting may be fired
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Albuquerque police supervisors have recommended that an officer who fatally shot a 19-year-old woman and did not r ecor d the encounter be fir ed, the officer’s attorney said. Thomas Gr over, who represents Officer Jeremy Dear, said the supervisors’ conclusion is because of an internal affairs investigation that looked into several issues, including a history of alleged violations of lapel-camera policy by Dear. Dear has been on administrative leave since he fatally shot suspected truck thief Mary Hawkes following an April 21 chase, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Grover said police have been “bootstrapping” several issues against Dear since the high-pr ofile shooting case. Grover said he and his client weren’t notified that the internal affairs investigation had started. A police spokesman declined to comment Friday on the internal investigation. Officials with the police union wer e not available for comment. Dear shot Hawkes after she pulled a weapon on him, according to police. An autopsy showed Hawkes died from three gunshot wounds to the
head, neck and chest.
A toxicology report later showed Hawkes had a high concentration of methamphetamine in her system.
The shooting evoked an outcry because of the lack of video from Dear’s lapel camera. Manufactur er T aser Inter national inspected the camera to determine if Dear failed to turn it on or it malfunctioned. The results were inconclusive. Dear’s personnel file showed other incidents in which his camera didn’t r ecor d interaction that should have been documented, KOAT -TV reported.
Dear was able to make his case during a hearing in fr ont of Police Chief Gorden Eden on Monday, Grove said. In his time as chief since February, Eden has only approved the termination of two officers.
Albuquer que of ficials recently signed an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to overhaul the police force. Under the agreement, Albuquerque police must provide better training for officers and dismantle troubled units. Albuquerque police also had been under scrutiny for more than 40 police shootings since 2010. TODAY’S FORECAST
HIGH 73 LOW 29
BY JEFF TUCKER STAFF WRITER
Editor’s note: This is the second part of a twopart series about World Wa r II v eter an Wood y Spencer of Roswell. The fi rs t pa rt a ppea red in Saturday’s paper.
After leaving the prot e ct i on of t h e b ea ch slope at Engebi Island, Spencer said he and his fe llo w M ar in es of t h e 22nd Regiment discover ed t h at t he sm all is lan d was alm os t a s level as a football field. Nearly all of the trees on the island had been cut down by the naval gunfir e, Spencer said. Th e M ar i nes’ pr im a ry objective was to take the E n ge bi ai r f iel d ou t of action. “While in the hands of the enemy, the Japanese had built a number of underground rooms for living quarters and prot e ct i on fr o m b om bin g an d n av al at tac ks, ” S p en cer w r ot e in h is diary. “About the only way that we could get to them was to throw hand grenades into the holes an d by u sin g flamethrowers shooting fire into the underground quarters. Every once in a wh ile , we wou ld flu sh some of the enemy out of their holes.”
• LINDA WINKLER • GREGORY JOSEPH HIDALGO • WILLIAM “BILL” ANGUS THOMAS • ANNABELLE LUCAS
The Marines attacked Japanese strongholds on Engebi Island at night, r esu l tin g in 3 7 m o r e Americans being killed or going missing. A t su n ris e, S p en c er and other Marines began searching the island for any Japanese troops that might have survived the night fighting. “And we found several, which met the same fate as their comrades had met the previous day,” Spencer wrote. Shortly later, Spencer and his fellow Marines were again ordered into a landing craft and headed for the beach at Parry Island, part of Enewetak A t oll in t h e Pa cif ic Ocean. The battleships USS T e nn ess ee a nd US S Pennsylvania and other sh ip s de liver ed m or e than 900 tons of explosives onto Parry Island in a heavy preparatory bombardment. “We later learned that the 106 Ar my Infantry had earlier landed on the island,” Spencer wrote. “We were operating with the intelligence information that the island was only manned by a small gr ou p of J apa nese de fen de rs. A s it l at e r tur ned out, there were al mos t 3,0 00 e nem y t r oop s d efe nd in g t he island and the U.S. Army troops had run into more
• BETTY JANE WILLIS • ALLEN C. MATOON • DONALD & ISABEL VAN SICKLE • FRANCES SNEDDON
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B6
See ELECTRIC, Page A2
Jeff Tucker Photo
Former U.S. Marine Woody L. Spencer relaxes at BeeHive Homes of Roswell while discussing his experiences as a young man serving in the South Pacific during World War II. Spencer holds framed photos of himself taken when he enlisted at 17, and when he was discharged at 21. His family says the war aged Spencer considerably, although Spencer said he would do it all over again.
than they were equipped to handle.” Spencer’s Marine unit was ordered to assist the soldiers. “ W h en we h it t h is beach, things were quite a b it h ot t er t h a n t h ey were when we landed on t h e b each at E n geb i Island,” Spencer wrote. “ F o r a wh ile, we wer e also pinned down on the b each , b efor e b ein g ordered to disregard the enemy's fire and begin our advance against the enemy resulting in our im m ed iat ely com in g
u n d er en e my fir e an d su f fe rin g cau salit i es. However, by the end of t h e d ay , we h ad t h e enemy defeated and the island in our control.” Spencer credited God for sparing him from a Japanese sniper on Parry Island, where American casualties included 73 d ead an d m issin g an d 261 wounded. “As soon as we hit the b each , a Jap sn ip er op en ed fir e on u s,” Spencer wrote his mothSee SPENCER, Page A3
CLASSIFIEDS ..........D1
INDEX HOROSCOPES .........B6
SPORTS .................B1
GENERAL ...............A2
OPINION .................A4
NATION ..................A4
COMICS .................C4
LOTTERIES .............A2
WEATHER ..............A8