Roswell Daily Record
2 houses, vehicles burned in suspicious fire THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 165 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
BY TIMOTHY P. HOWSARE RECORD EDITOR
The Roswell police and fire departments are investigating a suspicious fire that burned two neighboring houses and four vehicles early Wednesday in the 1600 block of South Stanton Avenue. Roswell Fire Chief Chad Hamill said the fire spread quickly and was fully involved when firefighters arrived at the scene around 1:25 a.m. “It is definitely suspicious,” he said. “The arson task force is looking into it as a suspi-
July 10, 2014
THURSDAY
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cious fire.” Hamill said the fire started in a vehicle outside of one of the r esidences and then spread to another vehicle. Once the second vehicle was on fire, one of the houses caught fire and then the fire spread to the house next door, he said. “There was significant damage to both houses,” he said. Among the four vehicles burned was a motorcycle, he added. Authorities are investigating more than a dozen suspicious car fires that have occurred in Roswell so far this year. Several of those fires were set in
driveways, according to the RFD Facebook page.
Detectives from the RPD and RFD are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a person of interest in what they are calling an arson case.
If anyone has information on the fire, call the RPD at 575-624-6770. Randal Seyler Photo
Authorities are investigating a suspicious fire that caused substantial damage early Wednesday to two houses in the 1600 block of South Stanton Avenue. The fire started in a vehicle parked at one of the houses.
Renovations to schools making good progress
BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Jeff Tucker Photo
Two renovations of Roswell schools should be completed by the start of the school year, while the other two school renovations should be completed by the end of the calendar year, a school official told the Roswell school board Tuesday night. Looking down the road, school leaders said Tuesday they plan to propose a bond election in February to renovate four more schools in the school district, so that 16 of the school district’s 20 schools could realize overhauls in little more than 10 years. In total, the price tag of the four projects underway is bud-
geted at $49.1 million, although the bulk of the costs, $35.4 million, are being paid by the Public School Capital Outlay Council. The PSCOC is a nine-member council directed by the State Legislature to manage the allocation of state funding to public school facilities in New Mexico’s 89 school districts. The school district is funding $13.7 million of the construction costs of the four schools being renovated with local school bonds. Assistant Superintendent of Finance Chad Cole provided the school board with an update of all four projects at Tuesday
Amateur radio club 31st Bottomless Triathlon Saturday helps keep runners safe, tracks storms Drew Dacy of DDC Construction of Roswell looks over a large cement turtle in the playground area of Berrendo Elementary School. The school’s new library can be seen in the far right, while the school’s new kindergarten wing is shown in the far left. The playground area has an artificial turf surface.
See SCHOOLS, Page A3
BY TIMOTHY P. HOWSARE RECORD EDITOR
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Whether you’re running in the Alien Chase, the Reindeer Run, or this weekend’s Bottomless Triathlon out at Bottomless Lakes, the Pecos Valley Amateur Radio Club is there. Even though you might not notice them, amateur radio enthusiasts from Roswell are on hand at local runs helping officials keep track of the athletes and communicating with each other. “Bottomless Lakes is one
of the bigger events we help coordinate,” said Jim Tucker, club member. “We have a lot of area to cover.” Typically, the radio operators set up where they can see each other all the way around the track, but that is a challenge in an environment such as the Bottomless Lakes. The radio operators help keep runners safe and make sure everyone makes it home at the end of the event. Club member Leland Jones agrees, and notes that the amateur radio
Submitted Photo
The swim start at last year’s Bottomless Triathlon.
and runs. Athletes at Saturday’s race will begin with a 400-meter swim in Lea Lake, followed by a 14K (8 mile) bike ride on the park’s perimeter road and
then end with a 4K (2.5 mile) run. Shorter triathlons, such as the Bottomless, are often called sprint triathlons.
For more information, call race director Jan Olesinski at 575-937-6196 or visit facebook.com/BottomlessTriat hlon.
Martinez faults Obama, Congress on immigrant surge See RADIO, Page A2
SANTA FE (AP) — Gov. Susana Martinez is blaming President Barack Obama and Congress for the surge in Central American immigrants attempting to enter the country illegally.
Martinez
Athletes say they love the Bottomless T riathlon because of the short distances, beautiful lake water and scenic course. Now in its 31st year, there are plenty of athletes who can say they have competed in the race. The triathlon begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Bottomless Lakes State Park, 13 miles east of Roswell. Late registration ends Friday at the Holiday Inn Express, where athletes can pick up race packets from 6-8 p.m. The cost is $45 for individuals and $60 for relays. It is free for athletes under the age of 18. A triathlon is a threestage event in which each athlete swims, bike rides
The nation’s only Latina governor said in a statement Tuesday the latest wave is a result of mixed signals from federal authorities and “a direct failure of gridlocked Washington lawmakers and President Obama.” “Children, no matter TODAY’S FORECAST
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where they come from, are not political footballs. Immigrants flood across the border — or parents drop their children there — expecting the federal government to just throw up its hands and let them in,” said Martinez, a Republican. “That’s not an immigration policy — that’s a failure of leadership.” A spokesman for Martinez also said she has spoken with officials from U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• CELIA BRADY LUCERO
to express her concer ns over security issues involving a temporary detention center in southeastern New Mexico.
criticism from immigrantadvocacy groups of her own policies in New Mexico — especially her push to repeal the law that allows immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally to obtain state driver’s licenses.
Her comments come after immigration authorities opened Artesia’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center as a detention center for around 700 Central American women and children.
The three barracks at the Artesia site will hold people as they await deportation or seek asylum amid an influx of women and chil-
dren fleeing gang violence and poverty in Central America. But the opening of the center has sparked anger from some area residents over safety and health concerns. A rising star within the GOP, Martinez has told her party in the past to tone down its rhetoric around immigration. She is leading an effort in the Republican Party to recruit more Hispanic and African Americans to run for office. Yet Martinez has drawn
• BETTY EVELYN MORRIS
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
FINANCIAL ..............B4
LOTTERIES .............A2
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
COMICS .................B5
On Wednesday, a coalition of immigrant-rights advocacy groups announced it was suing the federal government over accusations that few minors have legal representation during deportation proceedings.
HOROSCOPES .........A8
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8