Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 120, No. 290 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
FIRST FAMILY LIGHTS TREE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The new National Christmas Tree is settling into its new digs just south of the White House. President Barack Obama and his family officially marked the start of the Christmas season by lighting the tree in a ceremony just after dark Thursday. The 26-foot Colorado blue spruce was planted .... - PAGE A6
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• 3 dead in plane crash • RPD didn’t violate man’s rights in stop • Bitter Lake offers Cranes and Cocoa • Herrera’s treys help NMMI pick up win • Prep football: 2011’s final chapter
INSIDE SPORTS
December 2, 2011
Senate rejects extending payroll tax cut
FRIDAY
www.rdrnews.com
AP Photo
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada speaks to reporters about extending the payroll tax cut, on Capitol Hill, Thursday.
Feds delay lizard listing
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday sidetracked rival plans to extend a Social Security payroll tax cut, in dueling votes that pave the way for negotiations on a compromise on a core component of President Barack Obama’s jobs program. First, Republicans defeated Obama’s plan to extend the payroll tax cut through the end of next year while also making it more generous for workers. Minutes later, in a vote that exposed rare divisions among Senate Republicans, more than two dozen of the
GOP’s 47 lawmakers also voted to kill an alternative plan backed by their powleader, Mitch er ful McConnell of Kentucky, to renew an existing 2 percentage point payroll tax cut. Many Republicans and even some Democrats say the payroll tax cut hasn’t worked to boost jobs and is too costly with the federal deficit requiring the government to borrow 36 cents of every dollar it spends. The defeat of the competing plans came as House Speaker John Boehner, ROhio, said for the first time
‘Ready or not, here I come!’
that renewing the payroll tax cut would boost the lagging economy, a view many in his party don’t share. Boehner also promised compromise on a renewal of long-term jobless benefits through the end of 2012. The payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits are at the center of a costly, politically-charged year-end agenda in which Democrats seem poised to prevail in renewing a tax cut that many Republicans back only reluctantly. But See SENATE, Page A3
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF RECORD
To allow for additional public comment and discussion, the listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species has been postponed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its plan for a 6-month extension of its final determination concerning the listing of the lizard, in a press release dated Dec. 1. On Dec. 5, the Service will publish the extension of its determination in the Federal Register. Immediately following the publication of the announcement, the Service will reopen the comment period for 45 days, according to the press release. Controversy has surrounded the posting of the lizard from elected officials, private entities and members of the oil and gas industry. On Dec. 14, 2010, the Service pub-
Mark Wilson Photo
A duck is less than a quack away from a water landing on the pond at the Spring River Park and Zoo, Thursday morning.
Cops bust major meth ring Agencies offer winter driving tips See LIZARD, Page A3
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
NMMI GOES BOWLING
It’s that time of year again. Calendars are flipped to the final page of 2011. Everyone is recovering from Thanksgiving feasts and Black Friday mayhem, and Christmas is right around the corner. For the college football fan, this time of year is also exciting because bowl season is nearly here and, for just the second time in the past decade, the NMMI Bronco football team will be bowling. The Broncos will square off against defending national champion Navarro on Saturday in the .... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Leslie W. Fulton • Carolyn Ann Malone • Coleman Jackson - PAGE A7
HIGH ...46˚ LOW ....40˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 NATION .................A6 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
A multi-agency operation dismantled a major drug ring on Wednesday after an Albuquerque federal grand jury issued a two-count indictment against 17 members of a methamphetamine trafficking organization operating in Southeaster n New Mexico. Another three individuals were charged with methamphetamine trafficking in criminal complaints filed on Tuesday.
The sting operation was the result of an investigation that began in February. The investigation was a cooperative ef fort of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force led by the FBI’s office in Roswell, Drug Enforcement Agency based in El Paso, the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force in Carlsbad with the assistance of the Inter nal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations Division, the Chaves County Drug Task Force and the U.S. Border Patrol.
DEA Public Information Of ficer Diana Apodaca said the conspiracy crossed international borders. “We have had three takedowns this week in Midland, El Paso and New Mexico.” The amount of methamphetamines seized were what Elizabeth Martinez, of the Department of Justice, called a wholesale quantity, 23 pounds of methamphetamines. “That is the equivalent to 10,000 individual doses, See BUST, Page A3
VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Given last winter’s historic deep freeze and current dropping temperatures, government officials want to ensure New Mexicans are as prepared as possible for dangerous road conditions. As the probability of snow and icy conditions increases, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, the Department of
Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the New Mexico State Police have teamed up to ensure New Mexico is not caught off guard this year by extreme weather. According to a press release from the NMDOT, the agency, along with the NMSP and DHSEM is monitoring winter weather situations. All state depart-
Economy improving, Rodrigues addresses CRC meeting but job growth weak
WASHINGTON (AP) — Factories are producing more. Construction is growing. People are buying more cars. The holiday shopping season is off to a strong start. Normally, all that would suggest a bright outlook for the economy. Problem is, employers still aren’t hiring much, the number of people seeking unemployment benefits remains high and Europe’s debt crisis poses a grave threat to the future. Thursday’s mixed economic picture came a day before the government will report on unemployment and job growth for November. That report is expected to show a modest net gain of 125,000 jobs, scarcely enough to keep up with population growth. The unemployment rate is projected to remain 9 percent. Analysts say the economy remains locked in a good-but-hardly-goodenough position: It’s growing consistently, yet too
weakly to induce employers to hire aggressively. For now, factories are expanding. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, says its manufacturing index rose to 52.7 in November, up from 50.8 in October. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. Factories have grown for 28 straight months. Manufacturers are slightly more hopeful about the next few months because of cheaper raw materials and healthy demand, said Bradley Holcomb, head of the ISM’s survey committee. Still, he said, companies have tempered their outlook because of concerns about whether the economy will grow consistently, uncertainty about federal taxes and regulation and fear that Europe’s debt crisis may trigger a global economic panic. See ECONOMY, Page A3
Mark Wilson Photo
Aladin Rodrigues, the new Roswell Job Corps Center director, and Pam Hess, president of Career Opportunities Inc. attend a Community Relations Council luncheon meeting, Thursday. JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
With 39 years of experience at Job Corps centers across the country, Aladin Rodrigues, in his newly appointed role as
center director, will seemingly smoothly transition into his role at the Roswell Job Corps center. Rodrigues introduced himself at a Community Relations Council luncheon meeting, Thursday
See WINTER, Page A3
afternoon. Rodrigues and Pam Hess, Career Opportunities Inc. president, shared their thoughts on the center. COI took over operational responsibilities for the center on Nov. 1. Hess expressed her excitement in COI’s involvement with the center, and highlighted a transfor mation COI helped to accomplish at a Job Corps center in McKinney, Texas. For the past two years, the company has operated the McKinney center, which currently has almost 700 students. When COI first became involved with the center it was ranked “some 60-odd place” out of 122 centers in Job Corps’ national rankings. Now the center is in the 26th position. Rodrigues said currently the main focus at the Roswell center, which currently has 217 students, is securing all stu-
See JOB CORPS, Page A3