12-22-11 RDR NEWS

Page 1

Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Vol. 120, No. 307 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

PRESIDENT, BO GO SHOPPING

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Home alone at the White House, President Barack Obama headed on an impromptu Christmas shopping trip Wednesday with first dog Bo, searching for some holiday cheer despite the latest stalemate with Congress. The president’s wife and daughters already are on the family’s annual .... - PAGE B3

TOP 5 WEB

For The Past 24 Hours

• Fire takes mobile home, contents • Aguilar gets 15 years • Road crews mop up • Wilson campaigns at Kiwanis luncheon • Warner’s 30 leads RHS to victory

INSIDE SPORTS

December 22, 2011

Obama: 2-month tax cut only option

THURSDAY

www.rdrnews.com

Mayor to visit Santa Fe

AP Photo

House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., walks off the floor of the House chamber Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Careening toward a politically toxic tax hike, President Barack Obama implored House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday to get behind a twomonth stopgap until a longer deal could be struck early next year, calling it the only real way out of a mess that is threatening the paychecks of 160 million workers and isolating House Republicans. In a weary Washington, the outreach accomplished little. All sides seemed to end the day where they

began, with heavy political and economic consequences at stake. Boehner remained insistent on a full-year extension of the existing payroll tax cut before Jan. 1, urging Obama to haul Senate Democrats back to town to talk to his chosen negotiators. “Let’s get this done today,” Boehner told Obama, according to a speaker’s aide, who required anonymity to characterize a private conversation. But the Capitol was emptying out fast, and the Sen-

East Grand Plains food drive

ate showed no inclination to return, having already passed a bipartisan twomonth tax cut it thought had settled the matter. For taxpayers, and for an economy starting to show some life again, the standoff was all holiday gloom. Barring any action by Congress, Social Security payroll taxes will go up almost $20 a week for a worker making a $50,000 salary — that’s $40 less for a typical paycheck or $1,000 over the whole year. See OBAMA, Page A7

JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER

Mayor Del Jur ney will travel to Santa Fe next week to present the city’s site selection for the Youth ChalleNGe Academy. The program was allotted $2 million for new barracks through the $86 million capital outlay bill signed by Gov. Susana Martinez. The bill was passed during the legislative special session in September. Lt. Col. Jamison Herrera, spokesman for the New Mexico Ar my National Guard, told the Daily Record in October that the current living dormitories for the program are World War II-style barracks, constructed in the 1950s, from the old air base.

Mark Wilson Photo

Following a student council-sponsored school-wide food drive, students at East Grand Plains Elementary load donated food destined for the Community Kitchen into a truck Wednesday afternoon.

RFD chiefs search under way Audit faults PRC See MAYOR, Page A7

JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER

COLTS, TEXAS READY TO CLASH

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis dominated the AFC South for nearly a decade. With names like Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Jeff Saturday anchoring the offense, and Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis solidifying the defense, the other division teams struggled to keep up with the champs. Not anymore. The power dynamic has changed dramatically this season, a shift that will be on full display Thursday night when new champion, Houston, meets the old one. - PAGE B1

The city of Roswell is currently interviewing candidates for two battalion chief positions within the Roswell Fire Department. City Manager Larry Fry said one of the positions became vacant due to a battalion chief resigning several months ago, and the other due to a battalion chief retiring at the end of

this year. The RFD is constructed around three shifts, A, B, and C. There are three battalion chiefs within the RFD, one for each shift. Members of the RFD, save for the deputy chief and chief, work for 24 hours and are off for 48 hours. Fry described the battalion chief as the highest ranking shift personnel in the fire department on any given day. While the chief and

HIGH ...52˚ LOW ....26˚

CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8

INDEX

See SEARCH, Page A7

The report, which was released by the state auditor’s office, found $32,259 in potentially unauthorized purchases of gasoline and other items with PRC-issued gas credit cards last year. The audit said there was a lack of documentation on travel logs

Jessica Palmer Photo

RFD recruits receive instruction from Training Division Chief Devin Graham during a simulation of a house fire.

See AUDIT, Page A7

Roswell Fire Department conducted a controlled burn, Tuesday, at its facility on Brasher Road. The location is set up to provide hands-on experience in diverse situations, from trailer fires to bus or vehicle fires. The bur n on Tuesday was part of the 16-week training academy for new recruits. Training Division

Chief Devin Graham said, “The training for the fire department is all done inhouse, but the testing takes place in Socorro. We have a total of five recruits here at this session, four from Roswell and one from Artesia.” The fire marshals were also on hand to participate in training and conduct tests of different materials in the mock-ups of small rooms constructed on the site with particle board,

sheet rock, rugs and furniture. The simulations are then lit using an e- or electronic match. “The furniture is donated to us by citizens rather than take it to the dump,” said Graham. “With this, we can show them how fires behave, depending upon the available fuel.” Assistant Fire Marshal Mike Sorenson explained the investigator’s perspec-

SANTA FE (AP) — A former Albuquerque real estate executive pleaded guilty Wednesday to two felony charges and agreed to serve up to 12 years in prison to settle charges he ran a Ponzi scheme that swindled nearly $75 million out of investors in at least eight states. Doug Vaughan entered the plea Wednesday in federal court in Santa Fe to charges of mail and wire fraud. Chief Judge Bruce Black will deter mine the final

sentence later, but the plea agreement calls for a minimum of 10 years and potentially up to 12 years. The 64-year-old Vaughan agreed to pay a fine of up to $250,000, as well as restitution ordered by the court. He will forfeit a house in Las Vegas, Nev., and the proceeds from personal property auctioned earlier this year. The plea agreement settled a 30-count indictment, which could have meant up to life in prison for Vaughan had he been convicted

on all charges and given maximum sentences, according to his attorney, Amy Sirignano. One of Vaughan’s investors, Bill Kraft of Albuquerque, left the courtroom unhappy with Vaughan’s potential sentence. “Would you be satisfied with 12 years for $75 million?” said Kraft, 66. He lost $300,000 through investments with Vaughan and has been forced to continue to work

JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

OBITUARIES

TODAY’S FORECAST

SANTA FE (AP) — The Public Regulation Commission has failed to keep proper records for use of state vehicles by commissioners and agency workers, creating potential tax problems for those who commute in a gover nment car, according to an independent audit released Wednesday.

RFD recruits fight controlled burn as part of training

TODAY’S • Mary Lou Mason • Fannie S. Shannon • Jack L. Orr - PAGE B3

deputy chief work on a daily basis, they are more involved in overseeing overall operations. The qualifications to be considered for a battalion chief include a combination of skills, experience and time in service, according to Fry. “One of the qualifications within a battalion chief is that you have to actually have time and

Winter storm coming Ponzi scheme operator pleads guilty ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Another winter storm could bring more dangerous conditions to New Mexico’s roadways soon. The National Weather Service has issued a winter stor m watch for Wednesday night to Friday afternoon as a cold system approaches the Four Corners area. Another round of accumulating snow was expected to begin late Wednesday in the norther n mountains before

spreading to northern and central New Mexico today as the high struggles to reach the 20s in some parts. The weather could cause hazardous driving conditions with reduced visibility and blowing snow. Drivers should be particularly careful on Interstate 25 between Raton and Socorro, Interstate 40 between Santa Rosa and Gallup and Highway 285 north to Santa Fe.

See FIRE, Page A7

See PONZI, Page A3


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.