06-02-2011

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Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Vol. 120, No. 132 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

TOP 5 WEB For The Past 24 Hours

• Nightclub group drops appeal • Wind slams tent into RFD windshield • Judge postpones Arias prelim • Nation honors veterans, war dead... • Goose Crew triumphs again at HISI

INSIDE SPORTS

DESERT SUN GOLF NAMES RUSSELL John F. Russell II a founding member, past president and permanent secretary of the Roswell Pecos Valley Rotary Club was named the 2011 Rotary Deser t Sun Classic Golf Championship honoree on May 18. Russell is the first posthumous honoree in the tournament’s 21-year history. - PAGE B1

TODAY’S OBITUARIES • John Michael Hale • Kimberly A. Fleck • Elizabeth J. Collins • Patricia Ann Penn • Austin Mairot - PAGE B3

HIGH ...97˚ LOW ....65˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

THURSDAY

www.rdrnews.com

Drought spurs fires, hurts farmers

HOPI AG TOURS SHOWCASE CULTURE BACAVI, Ariz. (AP) — The small plots below the curve of a steep gravel road seem an unlikely place to grow crops, as does the sandy slope near a busy freeway and the cliff side of a tribal village. Hopis know that these places aren’t .... - PAGE A3

June 2, 2011

Mark Wilson Photo

Ominous thunderstorm clouds roll slowly to the north and northeast of Roswell at nightfall Wednesday bringing localized rainfall to some areas.

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Albuquerque and Roswell are on pace for their driest years on record, mirroring conditions across New Mexico that have bolstered large wildfires, hurt crops and forced ranchers to sell livestock they can’t afford to feed. Rain has been scarce throughout most of New Mexico, and weather records from Albuquerque and Roswell offer this stark example: The cities have not been this dry during the first five months of a year since 1892, when the state began keeping track. The rest of the state is not much different. It’s the third driest year in state history so far. “We’re experiencing a drought of truly epic pro-

portions,” said Matt Rush, executive vice president of the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, an organization of farmers and ranchers. Albuquerque has gotten about 0.19 inches of rain so far this year, a fraction of the normal average of 2.62 inches, the National Weather Service said. About 0.09 inches of rain has fallen in Roswell this year, compared with the average of 2.92 inches. The only part of the state not battling extremely dry conditions is the northwest in the Gallup area. “They’re OK, but nearly everyone else in the state is getting bad or already See DROUGHT, Page A6

Fire calls increase MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER

The severe drought affecting Chaves County and greater New Mexico has undoubtedly impacted local ranchers and agriculture, but the people who could arguably be af fected by it the most, say current conditions are the worst they’ve witnessed in nearly decades — with little reprieve in sight. Firefighters with the Berrendo Volunteer Fire Department sat down with the Daily Record Wednesday to explain how extreme conditions are, and say the number of calls for response and fires are unprecedented in recent memory. T.J. Smith, the department’s deputy chief and who has worked in the realm of emergency medical services and firefighting since 1978, says it was only a short time ago that the department would run an average of about two calls in a week. “We’re running three to four a day now,” Smith said. He explained that what is just as unsettling is the number of entire county department pages, or responses for calls, that have been issued in only the first five months of 2011. He said they have already more than doubled the entire annual numbers from previous years. “This is probably the driest year I can remember,” said Jamie HigSee FIRE, Page A6

Mark Wilson Photo

Lance Cpl. Eric Sosa and his father Felix pose for photos, Wednesday, at Peter Piper Pizza, upon the Marine’s return home to Roswell.

Family attacks Marine with hugs, kisses EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER

With flags flying high on Main Street, family and friends fighting back tears of joy welcomed home Roswell native and U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Eric Sosa from

Aghanistan with a surprise homecoming party. Passing cars honked their horns as they drove past the New Mexico Patriot Guard Riders flag line outside of Peter Piper Pizza, and throngs of relatives cheered as Sosa drove into the parking

lot, ushered in by a procession of police cars and a fire truck with sirens wailing. A mob of relatives then attacked Sosa with hugs and kisses. “I’m so proud of him,” Sosa’s mother Susie Earnest, said, wipSee SOSA, Page A6

Gulfstream resumes Obama meets with GOP leaders testing ... in Georgia JONATHAN ENTZMINGER RECORD STAFF WRITER Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., resumed its G650 flight-test program in Savannah, Ga., Saturday, following a temporary suspension of flying after an April 2 crash that killed four Gulf-

stream employees at Roswell International Air Center. The decision to resume testing was a joint one, made by the Federal Aviation Administration and Gulfstream. Gulfstream has not See G650, Page A6

WASHINGTON (AP) — Face to face at the White House, GOP leaders complained to President Barack Obama on Wednesday that he had not produced a detailed plan of spending cuts and accused him of playing politics over Medicare as the nation careens toward a debt crisis. House Speaker John Boehner said he was ready to negotiate personally with Obama if that would hurry

things along. The White House said Obama had in fact led on the issue and made clear that he had no intention of dropping what Democrats believe is a winning political issue: accusing the GOP of trying to destroy the popular health care program for seniors. “He doesn’t believe that we need to end Medicare as we know it,” said press secretary Jay Carney. Republicans said their

plan would save Medicare, not end it, and they in turn accused Obama of failing to present any proposals to preserve Medicare or drive down deficits at all. Later, Boehner told reporters at the Capitol he hoped deficit-reduction talks could be wrapped up within a month and “the president agreed.” Boehner said private talks being led by Vice See OBAMA, Page A6

Car explodes in Libyan rebel capital parking lot, no one injured CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8

INDEX

AP Photo

In this photo taken on a government organized tour a watchtower is among the debris left by an airstrike at Moammar Gadhafi’s Bab al-Aziziya compound, a regular target of NATO airstrikes, in Tripoli, Libya, Wednesday.

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — A car exploded Wednesday in front of a hotel where foreign diplomats and journalists stay while visiting Benghazi, a rare attack in the Libyan rebels’ de facto capital. Jalal el-Gallal, a rebel spokesman, said the blast in the parking lot of the T ibesti Hotel in central Benghazi caused no injuries or deaths. The burning car sent plumes of black smoke into the air. “It’s a cowardly act,” he said, adding that rebels

assume it was carried out by supporters of Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi. The regime, which has suffered a series of diplomatic setbacks in recent weeks, suf fered another blow Wednesday when Gadhafi’s oil minister appeared in Rome and confirmed he had defected. On Thursday, at least three NATO strikes hit targets in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. It was not immediately clear what was targeted. Opponents of the Gad-

hafi regime rose up against the Libyan dictator in midFebruary, and have wrested control of the eastern half of the north African country. The rebels have set up their de facto capital in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, and many Western and Arab diplomats who travel there to meet with rebel leaders stay at the Tibesti Hotel. The rebels insist Gadhafi must relinquish control of the government and leave See LIBYA, Page A6


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