Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 305 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
December 20, 2014
County Commission passes adult biz law BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
After months of re-drafting and tweaking, the Chaves County Commissioners adopted an ordinance Thursday that regulates adult businesses in the county. The commissioners reiterated there are no known plans for anyone to establish a sexually oriented business in the county. However, they have said the county lacks zoning regula-
SATURDAY
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tions regarding adult businesses and having a zoning plan in place would help in the event adult businesses seek to locate in the county. Adult enterprises have surfaced in nearby Eddy County. A strip club called the Pink Slipper Gentlemen’s Club is located along U.S. Highway 285 between Carlsbad and Artesia and an adult bookstore is located along U.S. 285 north of Artesia in Eddy County. Some of the commission-
ers said they would have preferred to prohibit adult businesses altogether, although County Manager Stanton Riggs said the county cannot prohibit adult businesses because the U.S. Supreme Court has found they have free speech and expression rights. Riggs said the county can regulate adult businesses through zoning. Once again, at a second public hearing on the proposed ordinance Thursday
mor ning, no one spoke either in favor or in opposition to the ordinance. The commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the proposed ordinance, with some minor revisions. The ordinance amends portions of the Chaves County Zoning Ordinance by adding a new article that regulates the location, permitting, licensing and operation of sexually oriented businesses and/or adult entertainment enterprises.
The ordinance adds definitions and defines land uses for adult businesses, while providing for the licensing, administration and enforcement of activities. The ordinance allows the inspection of adult businesses, with performance standards and requirements for “the protection of the health, safety and welfare of all citizens of Chaves County.”
that requires any adult business to be located in a commercial or industrial area. Adult businesses are also required to be at least a mile apart, and at least a mile from residences, parks, schools. day care locations and religious facilities and institutions. The city of Roswell adopted a similar measure in July 2013, with a 1,000foot mandatory zone
Police capture Gottlieb, Ortiz
The commissioners opted for a “modified dispersal approach” in the ordinance
See COMMISSION, Page A3
Gottlieb expected to face federal gun, drug charges SUBMITTED BY RPD
Max Scally Photos
Above: NMMI cadets about to take their next important step in life as they graduate Friday from the Institute. Right: NMMI graduate McKaylee Alexandria Pittman of Roswell with her grandfather, Woody Spencer. Spencer, now 90, served in World War II as a lance corporal in the U.S. Marines. Along with graduating, Pittman was commissioned as an officer on Friday with Spencer giving his granddaughter her first salute.
30 cadets graduate from Institute
high honors from the high school Benjamin Rice Fischman, Julien and five other students graduated Albert Laurent and Ashlei Donn Swaim graduated from the junior New Mexico Military Institute from the high school. graduated 30 cadets from the high college with honors. Along with James Thornton Dillion III and these six cadets, there were 18 school and junior college Friday at Joshua Davis Mote graduated with cadets who also graduated. Pearson Auditorium. One high school graduate, Gus high honors from the junior colNMMI resumes classes Jan. 12. Hendricks Liakos, graduated with lege. Janell is Meritz el Collin s,
STAFF REPORT
In less than 24 hours, two fugitives, each wanted in separate criminal cases on multiple charges, were located and arrested by Roswell police. Information on each fugitive had recently been issued publicly through the local media and the “Roswell’s Most Wanted” webpage on the RPD website, roswellpolice.com. The police department thanks the public for information shared to help locate these two men. On Thursday, shortly before 1 p.m., police arrested Nickolaus Paul Gottlieb, 22, of Roswell on warrants charging felon in possession of a firearm (relating to a traffic stop in June during which a gun was found with Gottlieb) and violation of conditions of his probation. Investigators executed a search warrant on the car Gottlieb had been driving at the time of his arrest, and they found two guns.
Gottlieb
Fourth person admits Local company restores heat at library
guilt in meth ring STAFF REPORT
The final defendant in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy in Curry County has pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in the conspiracy. Tina Tafoya, 33, of Clovis, pleaded guilty Wednesday to participating in the meth trafficking conspiracy in Curry County, becoming the last of four defendants to plead guilty in this case. Tafoya and three codefendants, Christopher Jason Kidd, 38, and John Jesse Perez Jr., 45, also both of Clovis, and Jeannette Driever, 37, of Grady, were indicted in February on federal methamphetamine trafficking charges. One count of the threecount indictment charged that Tafoya, Kidd, Perez and Driever conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County between September and November of 2013. A second count charged Kidd and Tafoya with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Nov. 6, 2013.
A third count charged Driever and Perez with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Nov. 6, 2013. In her guilty plea, Tafoya admitted conspiring with Kidd, Driever and Perez to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County in fall of 2013. Tafoya has been in federal custody since her arrest. She remains in custody pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Tafoya will be sentenced to 78 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Kidd pleaded guilty on Nov. 17, 2014, admitting conspiring with his codefendants to distribute methamphetamine in Curry County. Kidd admitted that he and Tafoya supplied quantities of meth to others, including Driever and Perez, who resold the meth in smaller quantities to users. See METH, Page A3
HIGH 57 LOW 25
TODAY’S FORECAST
Ortiz
See FUGITIVES, Page A2
BY TIMOTHY P. HOWSARE RECORD EDITOR
Everybody likes to curl up with a good book, but that experience isn’t quite as pleasant if your feet and fingers start to get cold. For several months, there was no heat at the Roswell Public Library after a boiler that’s estimated to be between 15 to 20 years old went kaput in February. No one was uncomfortable during the summer, because the air conditioning worked fine. But when that wicked cold snap came several weeks back, things got a little chilly at the library, said Director Betty Long. “The coldest the building got was 55 degrees,” she said. A decision was made to replace the boiler and old AC units with new heat pump units to be installed on the roof of the library. The problem was coming up with the money to pay for the two HVAC units, which for a building the size of the library cost a pretty penny. The 40-ton units are each about as big as a full-size SUV.
• MARY ANN AXE
Donovan Fulkerson Photo
Westin Rhoads stands in front of one of two 40-ton heat pumps recently installed by his company on the roof of the Roswell Public Library.
Imagine having something that big parked on the roof of your house. While the library had around $208,000 to spend on the project, all the contract bids came it at a higher price. While the library was allocated a budget to spend on the HVAC renovation, all the bids came in at a much higher price. Fortunately, one of the bidders was the Rhoads Company. The company
• JOE ANTHONY GARZA
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A7
just celebrated its 50th anniversary and has a long list of both residential and commercial clients. Part of the company’s core philosophy is giving back to the community whenever it can. Westin Rhoads, project manager and treasurer, said his company was willing to work with the library and the city to make sure the library would not be without heat. His company agreed to
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B3 ENTERTAINMENT .....B6 FINANCIAL ..............A7
work within the library’s budget and, along with the two 40-ton units that do the lion’s share of the heating and cooling, Rhoads Company also installed a smaller 4-ton unit for the computer server room.
“We were one of several bidders,” Westin Rhoads said. “We came back with several options to get them within budget.”
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........B6 LOTTERIES .............A2
See HEAT, Page A3 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8