Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 120, No. 162 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
Military fighter drone crashes, sparks fire A military fighter jet crashed southwest of Hope and sparked a small wildfire Wednesday, officials reported. The pilot safely ejected from the Air Force QF-4 Phantom before it crashed and
burst into flames at about 10:30 a.m., officials said. The aircraft was flying out of Holloman Air Force Base and the plane landed on the edge of Chaves County.
Base officials originally reported a drone crashing. The jet has the capability to be remotely pilot-
ed. “(It was) a manned aircraft,” said Arlan Ponder, HAFB spokesman. “We only operate the drone over the range and anytime we fly outside the range, it’s manned.” Air Force officials gave little information surrounding what led
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* Hay catches fire * Gov praises RISD for fiscal responsibility * The Rockets’ Red Glare * Until next year: 2011 * WS blasts Invaders
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MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizonans are calling it the mother of all dust storms. The mile-high wall of ominous, billowing dust that appeared to swallow Phoenix and its suburbs is all that locals can talk about. It moved through the state around sundown Tuesday, halting airline flights, knocking out power to nearly 10,000 people... - PAGE A6
July 7, 2011
Mark Wilson Photo
Emergency personnel scramble along a dirt road southwest of Hope Wednesday morning, searching for the remote crash site of a U.S.Air Force manned QF-4 Phantom Drone.
Courtesy Photo
An Air Force QF-4 similar to the one shown here crashed south of Hope, Wednesday. The aircraft was assigned to Det.1, 82nd Aerial Target Squadron at Holloman AFB.
to the crash. Ponder would say only that a team would be assembled to investigate the incident. “We won’t know anything until the accident investigation board is set up,” he said.
Eddy County, Bureau of Land Management and federal officials responded to the crash about six miles southwest of Hope. The incident sparked a 28-acre fire that was 100 per-
Yo-Yo magician wows crowd
cent contained by Wednesday afternoon, according to State Forestry officials. “Crews from Chaves and Eddy counties, as well as
See DRONE Page A3
INSIDE SPORTS
SWEDEN BEATS U.S.
WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Lisa Dahlkvist converted a penalty, Nilla Fischer scored on a free kick and Sweden beat the Americans for the first time in World Cup play on Wednesday night, a 2-1 victory that forces the U.S. to play Brazil in the quarterfinals. Abby Wambach got the Americans back in the game in the 67th minute with her first goal of the tournament... - PAGE B1
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Linda Hogue Grant Bettie Witt Inez Baeza Inez Morales Betty Ruth Huxtable - PAGE A6
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CLASSIFIEDS..........B5 COMICS.................B3 ENTERTAINMENT.....B5 FINANCIAL .............B4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
Mark Wilson Photo
Luje Renner, the Yo-Yo Magician from Farmington, entertains youngsters during the Roswell Public Library’s Storytime Wednesday afternoon.
Nuclear weapons lab reopens ALBUQUERQUE (AP — Smoke still hung in the air from a northern New Mexico wildfire that came dangerously close to the nation’s premier nuclear weapons laboratory, but life was returning to normal Wednesday as thousands of employees showed up for their first day of work in more than a week. Although the threat to
Los Alamos National Laboratory and the town that surrounds it has passed, the largest fire in New Mexico’s history continued to bur n in remote areas. The fire, which began last month, had forced the closure of the lab along with the evacuation of thousands of residents in nearby communities.
Lab officials say they
have a “methodical and careful” plan to resume operations suspended by the blaze known as the Las Conchas fire. “There’s going to be a lot of assessing over the next two or three days of where exactly we are on key research projects,” lab spokesman Kevin Roark said.
Containment lines dug for Donaldson Fire HONDO (AP) — Fire crews in southeast New Mexico are digging cont a in m en t lin es an d dealing with spot fires as t h ey a t t e mp t t o douse the Donaldson Fire near Hondo. Other cr ews ar e wo rk in g t o p r even t e r osion fr om su mm er r ain s wh ile
repairing any damage from fire and suppression act ivit ies. F ir e information officers say t h e b u r n ed acr eage n u mb er s d id n ot ch an ge T u esd ay an d remain 101,513 acres wit h 9 0 p er cen t c ontainment.
Is old Edgewood Elementary the school district’s WIPP? See LAB, Page A2
JONATHAN ENTZMINGER RECORD STAFF WRITER
INDEX
Jonathan Entzminger Photo
Edgewood Elementary, 701. N. Garden Ave., is the storage facility for mold and asbestos remediation materials from Roswell Independent School District remediated buildings.
Part 2 of 3 Edgewood Irony The second most intriguing piece of infor mation found in mold documents leaked to the Roswell Daily Record in April, is the revelation about where moldy materials from Roswell Independent School District remediated schools, like Goddard High School and Sierra Middle School, were being stored: the old Edgewood Elementary School building, 701 N. Garden Ave. In 2005, Edgewood was closed down by the Roswell Independent School Dis-
trict. According to a source close to the district, RISD believed that the school was underpopulated, expensive to run and therefore expendable as a place of learning. Joan Accardi, newly appointed Valley View principal, was the principal at Edgewood during its closing, She spoke to the Roswell Daily Record last fall about her Edgewood experience. Accardi said that she fought hard to keep the school open, in a community riddled with gang violence and other social issues. Accardi is known throughout the community as “a voice for those who had no voice.” Before Edge-
wood’s closing, she spoke out at RISD school board meetings in protest of Edgewood’s closing. Accardi elaborated on her courageous move to speak out against the district. “I think some of my boldness comes from my background and my strong passion for education and to see justice for all. I wish that more people would stand up for what they know is right,” she said. Today, Edgewood sits desolate, yet occupied with moldy remediation materials and other potential harmful items that RISD maintenance workers have See EDGEWOOD, Page A3