07-01-2011

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Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Vol. 120, No. 157 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

July 1, 2011

FRIDAY

www.rdrnews.com

Valley fire takes home, 73K acres

GLENN BECK DEPARTS FOX NEWS

NEW YORK (AP) — Glenn Beck said goodbye to Fox News Channel on Thursday, airing his final show before going into business for himself. He told his fans that he was determined “to his last breath” to fix this country. The colorful commentator will begin streaming a daily two-hour show - PAGE A8

TOP 5 WEB

For The Past 24 Hours

• Winds shift; Valley blaze explodes • Planes load slurry at RIAC • All dirt, no rain • Cops will enforce ban • UFO Fest adds Alien Wine event

INSIDE SPORTS

Firefighters battling the Donaldson Fire work to keep the flames from homes in the Alamo Canyon near Hondo, Thursday afternoon.

The Donaldson Fire continues to threaten hundreds of homes after charing at least 72,650 acres, or more than 113 square miles, near Hondo, and was 10 percent contained Thursday evening, officials said. The wildfire is burning in steep, rocky, inaccessible terrain on private and Mescalero Apache Tribal lands. Wind picked up the erratic blaze that destroyed a home and six outbuildings in its path, said Jennifer Myslivy, a fire spokeswoman. Residents in Alamo Canyon are still under evacuation precautions. “The fire has been very active

SHARAPOVA CRUISES INTO FINALS

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — So what if Maria Sharapova managed to win only two of the first 13 points of her Wimbledon semifinal Thursday, dropping the first three games? So what if she bungled her serve so badly that she double-faulted 13 times? All that mattered to Sharapova was that she roared — well, shrieked — her way back into the match, taking 12 of the last 16 games to beat wild-card entry Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-4, 6-3 and return to the final at the All England Club for the first time since 2004 ... - PAGE B1

TODAY’S OBITUARIES

• Orville Brackeen Jr. • Howard Heath - PAGE A3

HIGH ...97˚ LOW ....70˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLASSIFIEDS..........B4 COMICS.................B3 FINANCIAL .............A6 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERY ...............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8

INDEX

LOS ALAMOS FIRE

LOS ALAMOS (AP) — Firefighters were confident Thursday they had stopped the advance of a wildfire that headed toward the Los Alamos nuclear lab and the nearby town that now sits empty for the second time in 11 years, even as they battled the blaze that crept into a canyon that descends into the town and parts of the lab.

Roswell’s 2011 UFO Festival is in full swing beginning this morning. After months of preparation, city officials and event organizers say they are ready to kick things off and begin the festivities with opening ceremonies at the UFO Museum and Research Center and Pioneer Plaza. Events begin at 9 a.m. “This is going to be a great event,” said Mayor Del Jurney. “The community has really come together to make this happen and the committee has worked so hard.” Jurney noted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the festival being held in the city. Friday is packed with guest lecturers and entertainment at Pioneer Plaza, the Chaves County Courthouse lawn and along the side streets off Main Street. “It’s just going to be a great event,” said Julie Shuster, director of the UFO Museum and one of

Mark Wilson Photo

A C-130 dumps fire retardant to protect homes in Alamo Canyon,Thursday afternoon.

Are you excited? Get excited! See HONDO, Page A3

Mark Wilson Photo

Matthew Arco Photo

Workers with Colorado-based Distortion Unlimited set up a new display for the UFO Museum and Research Center in time for this year’s UFO Festival.

the festival’s organizers. “With the responses we’ve been getting it’s going to be awesome.” Saturday kicks off with the Alien Chase race at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center, 912 N. Main St., at 7 a.m. The Alien Costume Contest will be at 3 p.m. at the Roswell Independent School District’s administration building,

300 N. Kentucky Ave. The Alien Pet Costume Contest will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in the north courtyard of the Roswell Museum and Art Center. Endless music, vendors and street entertainment will be set up in the downtown area. Additional information the festival can be accessed at ufofestivalroswell.com.

Of 1,000 firefighters on the scene, 200 were battling the blaze in Los Alamos Canyon,

See LOS ALAMOS, Page A3

UFO Festival Schedule, July 1

9 a.m. Opening Ceremonies, UFO Museum and Pioneer Plaza; Vendors open in Museum parking lot 9:30 a.m. Lecture Library: Denis Denocla,“Presence and the UMMO File” 10–11:30 a.m. Lectures Video Room: Travis Walton, “Fire in the Sky” North Library: Diana Perla Chapa, “The Mayan Predictions: Extra Terrestrial Input” 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Vendors and entertainment downtown 10 a.m.–11 p.m. Entertainment downtown 1–2:30 p.m. Lecture Library: Richard Alaniz, “Xops DVD director’s cut” (Mr. Alaniz is at the festival Friday only) 1:30–3 p.m. Lectures Video Room: Robert Salas, “UFOs, Nuclear Weapons and Cover-Ups” North Library: Stanton Friedman, “UFOlogy in 2011” Upstairs: Derrel Sims — TBA 2–4 p.m. Sam Dunahoo and Maxwell Vance concert at the Wine Festival 2–8 p.m. Wine Festival at Reischman Park for $10. 3:30–5 p.m. Lecture Library: Tom Kirkbride, “Gamadin” 4–5:30 p.m. Lectures Video Room: Mark Easter, “MUFON: Do you have what it takes to be a certified UFO field investigator?” North Library: Don Schmitt & Tom Carey, “Witness to Roswell” Upstairs: Derrel Sims — Workshop (fee). 4–6 p.m. Tom Blake Trio concert at the Wine Festival 6:30 p.m. Museum closes; doors open in the North Library for Abduction Panel 7 p.m. Abductions with Kathleen Marden, Derrel Sims, Yvonne Smith and Travis Walton 7 p.m. Music and dancing, Route 66 Cruisers, parking lot 7:30–9 p.m. Grupo Maldad, Courthouse lawn

Adair wins county redistricting bid; conflict of interest? EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER

In a 3-2 vote, and after about 30 minutes of heated debate, county commissioners voted Thursday during a special meeting to award the task of redistricting Chaves County Commission districts to state Sen. Rod Adair. County purchasing director Tammy Johnson said Adair, RRoswell, owner of New Mexico Demographic Research in Roswell, submitted the lowest bid — $15,889 — out of the three compa-

nies which gave quotes to the county clerk in June. Albuquerque-based Research and Polling Inc. bid $19,260, and Sterling Fluharty, of the community organizing group SouthWest Organizing Project, also based in Albuquerque, bid $19,693. County Commission chairman Greg Nibert, along with Commissioners James Duf fey and Kim Chesser, voted to accept the quotes given to the clerk, and later voted to give the job to Adair’s company, rather than proceeding with a formal Request For Proposal process. “It seems that unless there’s

some significant problem or savings, that we ought to award the bid to somebody on board and start undertaking this process,” Nibert said, adding, “I don’t see the conflict between (Adair’s) legislative duties and redistricting the County Commission seats.” Commissioner Richard Taylor, who voted against the measure with commissioner Kyle “Smiley” Wooton, strongly urged the commissioners to proceed with the RFP process to avoid a conflict of interest. He said that granting the job to Adair would not “pass the smell test,” since it would be accepted by

“our Republican county clerk and ... five Republican county commissioners.” “I also question whether Sen. Adair has an ethics or independence situation here,” Taylor added. “I, as an auditor, have to have independence in doing an audit. I cannot audit the books of the county because I am a county commissioner. I would not be independent. I would like transparency and independence so that everyone knows what we have done in the See ADAIR, Page A3


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