Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 243 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
October 9, 2014
THURSDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Heavy rains mean damages to farms, colder winter BY DYLANNE PETROS RECORD STAFF WRITER
Due to the heavy rains in the past couple of months, President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster for the state of New Mexico. Obama has ordered federal aid be sent to the state for recovery effects, according to a press release from Sen. Tom Udall’s office. In the month of September, Roswell received 4.84 inches of rain, said T im Shy, meteorologist for the
National Weather Service in Albuquerque. The 4.84 inches, Shy said, was determined from the Roswell International Air Center. “(The airport) is the official measuring point,” Shy said. On average, Roswell only receives 1.53 inches of rain in September, Shy said. Last September, Roswell received 3.74 inches, Shy said. “What’s interesting is most of that fell in a twoday period,” he said.
The magic of the media
for the crop, that is when (the rain) is too much,” she said. The constant rains have not been kind to some of the farmers that produce alfalfa hay, Barraza said. “The farmers that grow alfalfa hay, once they cut that hay and it’s laying down in that field, the moisture conditions have to be just right for it to cure and dry and then for (the farmers) to be able to bale,” Barraza said.
From Sept. 11-12 last year, 3.25 inches of rain fell. The excess of rain that Roswell received could be bad for farmers and their crops, said Sandra Key Barraza, county director and extension agriculture agent of the Chaves Chaves County Extension Office. “When it gets to a point when the farmers are trying to harvest the mature crop and get it out of the field and it rains so much that they can’t — and staying in the field is not good
See WEATHER, Page A3
Dylanne Petros Photo
Corn is one of the biggest crops of the season right now, but the frequent rains have been somewhat detrimental to the crop. Farmer Doug Whitney said that while the September rains pushed his farm back a few weeks off schedule, Whitney Farms is back on track.
Salvation Army preparing for holiday dinner
Volunteers, donations sought BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
Timothy P. Howsare Photo the gifted classes in the station and TV station. As Friday. The work of the
Sixth- and seventhgrade students from the gifted class at Dexter Middle School watch as Daily Record graphic designer Sandra Martinez works her magic designing an ad on her Macintosh computer Wednesday. Their teacher, Tami Garcia, teaches all
Dexter school district. The students were given a tour of the newspaper of fice and lear ned everything from how reporters come up with story ideas, to how the advertising department functions to how the printing press works. The class is studying the media and plans to also tour a radio
a special project, the students created their own “mini newspaper,” called The Dexter Demon Press, that is being published in the pages of the Daily Record today and Friday. The news and feature articles are published today on page B5. The sports stories will be published
students is excellent and they all should be commended for their efforts. Any teacher who wishes to bring his or her class to the newspaper for a tour and/or to do a similar project can contact editor T imothy P. Howsare at 575-622-7710 or editor@rdrnews.com.
The Salvation Ar my of Roswell is preparing for the holidays, and the church is seeking donations to help with the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. Capt. John Dove said the Salvation Army will be providing approximately 350 meals for shut-ins on Thanksgiving, and it needs donations of food items, including 15-20 pound turkeys, pumpkin pies, instant potatoes, instant stuffing, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls. “Of great importance, are volunteers to deliver these meals in a timely fashion on Thanksgiving Day,” Dove said on Tuesday. Nov. 20 will also kick off the annual Kettle Season for the Salvation Army, and the season begins with a ceremony honoring Ed Cruise for 30 years of bell
ringing for the holidays. During his career as a bell ringer, Cruise has raised more than $75,000, along with Barry Stone and Bob Maples, said Dove. The kettles will start ringing on Nov. 28, and the Salvation Army will need volunteers to help man the 22 to 25 bell ringing sites around Roswell. The church is seeking volunteers especially to fill Friday, Saturday and some Thursday slots, Dove said. The plan is to limit the number of paid bell ringers. “We usually have paid bell ringers on Mondays through Thursdays, because most volunteers are working during the week, and they have a better chance of being able to help on Fridays and Saturdays,” Dove said. For people who don’t have the time to volunteer,
State police officer October brings ‘Character’ to county injured by drunk driver returns to duty BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
STAFF REPORT
A New Mexico State Police patrol officer who was struck in Hobbs by a drunk driver in late June is back on duty. Officer Carlos Verdugo will be back to full duty on Friday. “It’s been a long couple of months of recovery, but Officer Verdugo has prevailed,” said Lt. Emmanuel T. Gutierrez, public information officer for NMSP. “He will once again be patrolling the streets of Lea County in full uniform.” At approximately 6:11 p.m. on Saturday, June 28,
Roswell State Police Dispatch was notified of a NMSP officer being struck by an intoxicated male driver while on a traf fic stop. The location of the stop was near the intersection of Navajo and US 62 in Hobbs.
State Police Chief Pete Kassetas stated, “I have followed the progress of Officer Verdugo since he’s in the line of duty injury. I am impressed with his resolve to return to work. He is a true testament to the commitment state police officers have to protecting the citizens of this great state.”
Randal Seyler Photo
A committee of Roswell Public Library Board of Trustees members and librarians met Tuesday to discuss ways to handle overflow crowds at the library’s popular summer reading program. Attending the meeting were, from left, Board Member Magil Duran, Library Director Betty Long, Children’s Librarian Deanne Dekle, Board Member Randy “Lewie” Montgomery and Board Member Michelle Hembre.
HIGH 89 LOW 56
TODAY’S FORECAST
October brings “Character” to Roswell schools, in the for m of the annual Character Counts event. “This year we will be celebrating ‘Character Counts’ starting on Oct. 17 with the kickoff celebration,” said Tim Fuller of Character Counts in Chaves County. Fuller was speaking to the Roswell Kiwanis Club on Tuesday. Character Counts is a national program developed by the Josephson Institute Center for Youth Ethics, and it presents a framework centered on basic values called the
See SALVATION, Page A3
public agencies and nonprofit organizations. These groups receive support and development from a national of fice, which offers training programs, free e-newsletters, resources, products, and free consultation.
Randal Seyler Photo
Tim Fuller of Character Counts in Chaves County, left, discusses on Tuesday the upcoming Character Counts! week, while Roswell Kiwanis Club member Dennis Pabst listens. Character Counts will be celebrated Oct. 20-24 with a number of activities for children.
“Six Pillars of Character.” The six pillars include trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
According to the website, charactercounts.org, the progam has been embraced by thousands of schools, communities,
The program is sponsored as a nonprofit program, and is not religious or political, although it has been used by both secular and faith-based groups, and supported by public of ficials of both major parties, according to the website. “Character Counts” is not a curriculum or addon, but a powerful means
Library committee discusses attendance BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
ber Randy “Lewie” Montgomery.
A committee consisting of Roswell Public Library Board of T rustees and librarians grappled with the problem of attendance at the summer reading program events in a special meeting on Tuesday. “It’s a good problem to have, and we certainly don’t want to discourage anyone from coming to the library,” said Board Mem-
Children’s Librarian Deanne Dekle explained to the committee that the Bondurant Room can hold only 150 people per the fire marshal’s decree, and often many more children show up, especially when the library is presenting special
• MARGARET LORENE WALDO • BETTY COMPTON
• BARBARA ANN TURNER • SANDY ERNEST BASS
Board Member Michelle Hembree and Board Vice President Magil Duran were also serving on the attendance committee.
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
programs.
“I stand at the door with a counter and stamp hands, but when we get to 150 then that is it,” Dekle said.
“I think the purpose of this committee is to come up with a procedure for handling the over flow crowd at these events,” said Library Director Betty Long. “If we have a procedure in place when ‘The Kilted Man’ comes on Oct. 18, we can try it out.” CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B4 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3
See CHARACTER, Page A3
Matthew Gurnsey, “The Kilted Man,” will perform traditional Irish and Scottish music at 3:30 p.m. in the Bondurant Room. The per for mance is free and open to the public. “Since ‘The Kilted Man’ will attract more adults, we might not have the crowd problems we had with the summer reading program,” Dekle said. Dekle said that during See LIBRARY, Page A3
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8