Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 122, No. 306 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
December 22, 2013
www.rdrnews.com
SUNDAY
Ice and snow frustrate US holiday travel rush CHICAGO (AP) — A storm with a 2,000-mile footprint threatened to frustrate Christmas travelers from Texas to Nova Scotia with a little of everything Mother Nature has to offer, from freezing rain, ice and snow to flooding, thunderstorms and at least one tornado in the South. Some of the millions of people hitting the roads and airports Saturday squeaked through before any major weather hit, but as the afternoon wore
on, cancellations and delays started to mount at major aviation hubs. Forecasters said roads that are passable one minute could become treacherous the next as a cold blast on the backend of the storm turns rain to ice and snow.
Making it harder for forecasters to stay a step ahead, the system was a weird swirl of wintry and spring-like weather as it passed over areas in the Midwest. While ice was
accumulating in Oklahoma and elsewhere, downing trees and power lines, Memphis, Tenn., was enjoying spring-like weather, with temperatur es r eaching into the 70s. Authorities said a suspected tornado injured three people and damaged three homes Saturday evening near Hughes, Ark., which is just 35 miles southwest of Memphis. And David Cox, a National Weather Service
meteorologist based in Jackson, Miss., said a second suspected tornado touched down near Dermott in far southeastern Arkansas, injuring two people and damaging about 20 homes. Power ful straight-line winds, too, were causing problems and were being blamed for pushing vehicles of f of Interstate 40 near West Memphis, Ark., which backed up traffic in both directions for miles.
A new face
Clayon Corbell of Signs by Corbell erects new signage at the International UFO Museum, Friday.
Solstice celebrates the sun’s rebirth AMY VOGELSANG RECORD STAFF WRITER
Part two of a three part series on the history of holiday traditions. Christmas is now only days away, and although it is the number two most celebrated holiday in the world (second only to the New Year), there are some who still celebrate the old tradition of Winter Solstice. Usually falling between Dec. 20 and Dec. 23, this year’s solstice was Saturday. It marked the end of long nights and the beginning of longer days. Celebrating Winter Solstice — also known as Yule, Saturnalia or Midwinter — has been a tradition possibly beginning in the Neolithic or New Stone age in 10,200 B.C. Satur nalia is a more modern version, which was
an ancient Roman celebration to honor the god Saturn. It is also a well-known festival in Celtic culture, which is where many of the traditions stem from. Although there is no one specific account of how Yule may have been celebrated by dif ferent cultures, the idea behind why the festival takes place is the same throughout the ages: to celebrate the rebirth of the sun. The winter solstice is the darkest time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The day is shortest, and in older times, the night was a time of evil and magic, and winters were long and hard. John Donne, a 16th century poet, described the solstice as “the year’s midnight (when) the world’s whole sap is sunk.” It is also a bit of a paradox though, explained author Ann-Marie Gal-
lagher in her book, “The Wicca Bible.” “Just as the winter solstice commemorates the annual demise of the sun’s powers, it witnesses its rebirth,” she wrote. Although the primary focus is the solstice itself, some argue that the festival is a 12-day event, often ending on the first of January. If Yule is observed in this fashion, the middle of the festival lands on Dec. 25, or to Christians, Christmas. When Paganism was the primary religion in the world, Christian leaders, in order to attract Pagans to Christianity, would use the already existing holidays and add Christian saints and elements to them. This is widely believed to be the reason Christmas is celebrated around the WinSee SOLSTICE, Page A3
Mark Wilson Photo
Parts of NM get snow, rain ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Parts of New Mexico woke up to a dusting of snow, rain and frigid temperatures, but forecasters say the winter weather is expected to clear out by today. The band of snow and rain moved across cenNew Mexico tral over night Friday and early Saturday, stretch-
ing from Albuquerque south to Alamogordo and Ruidoso. In eastern New Mexico, snow fell along the Interstate 40 corridor near the state line. State transportation officials say difficult driving conditions were being reported Saturday along the highway from Tucumcari to Glenrio.
Congress did little of consequence this year — except argue
WASHINGTON (AP) — Call it a steady diet of gridlock, with “Green Eggs and Ham” on the side. Congress did not pass White House-backed immigration or gun control legislation in 2013. Or raise the minimum wage. Or approve many other items on President Barack Obama’s agenda. But tea party-inspired House Republicans did propel the country into a 16day partial gover nment shutdown that cost the still-recovering economy $24 billion, by one estimate. Congress didn’t repeal the health law known as “Obamacare.” Or endorse construction of the proposed Keystone pipeline. Or make it harder for the
White House to put costly new federal regulations in place, or accomplish dozens of other measures on the House Republican to-do list. But Senate Democrats did unilaterally — arrogantly, Republicans said — change century-old procedures to weaken the GOP’s ability to block confirmation of Obama’s appointees. That, too, was part of a tempestuous year in which lawmakers lurched from showdown to shutdown, with time enough for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to read from the Dr. Seuss classic, “Green Eggs and Ham,” as he held the floor around the clock for a day to protest the health law. See CONGRESS, Page A3
Garcia girls get gifts
Mark Wilson Photo
Sisters Ximena and Ashly Garcia receive gifts from Santa and the Marine Corps Reserve during Toys for Tots at the Yucca Center, Saturday morning.
Musician Simmons marches to a beat of his own drum
United Way
AMY VOGELSANG RECORD STAFF WRITER
622-4150 of Chaves County
Collected
$367,243
Amy Vogelsang Photo
Goal
$525,000
Donny Simmons records an EP Wednesday as the newest band member of Seek.
70%
Of Goal Collected
HIGH 45 LOW 27
TODAY’S FORECAST
• YOLANDA STONE • JEFFREY ROLLER • VERNON G. BAILEY • MARY VIRGINIA LOWE
They knew his order at Starbucks, which could be a positive reflection on the memories and quality of customer service there, but it’s more likely a reflection of the amount of time Donny Simmons
spends at the coffee shop. But the 20-year-old has an excuse to drink excessive amounts of coffee — he experiences the long, tiring days of being a musician. That can almost sound like a paradox. Isn’t playing an instrument supposed to be fun and stress
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGES A3, A6 • JUDY HARRIS • RICK BINGHAM • MARION K. “CISSY” CAVIN • DAVID KNOLL • CHRISTOPHER ERIC MIRELES • EUNICE EDWARDS • MERRILL WILLIAM LONGWILL
free? Well yes, but Simmons said it’s also a lot of work. Being forced into music when he was young, about six years of his life was all about classical piano lessons and Mozart competitions. But piano wasn’t Simmons’ passion, so he went searching for something else to play. “I never got into it,” he said. “I was tired of classiSee SIMMONS, Page A3
INDEX CLASSIFIEDS ..........D1 LOTTERIES .............A2 COMICS .................B7 OPINION .................A4 GENERAL ...............A2 SPORTS .................B1 HOROSCOPES .........A8 WEATHER ..............A8