Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 236 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
October 1, 2014
Former Roswell Police officer claims harassment BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
A former Roswell police of ficer has filed a complaint stating he was harassed at work and faced racial discrimination and a hostile work place. Brandon Beverly, 24, was a police officer with the Roswell department for 10 months, and according to his representative Noe Hernandez, the racial insults began on Beverly’s first day at the department.
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“It started when he was in the hiring pr ocess, when the interviewer told him he was going to be called ‘Urkel,’” said Hernandez. The nickname was a reference to Steve Urkel, a character from the TV sitcom “Family Matters,” which aired from 1989 to 1998. Her nandez said he is not an attorney, but under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission statutes he is legally entitled to represent Beverly
ment,” Her nandez said. “When he documented the incident, then everything went downhill.” Beverly is married and has two children, and he has a master’s degr ee, Hernandez said. Beverly is also in the National Guard, and he is eligible to be captain. “He is a very ‘by the book, to the letter of the law’ kind of guy,” Hernandez said. “When these incidents were happening, he was pr etty much appalled and didn’t know
in his complaint against the city of Roswell and the police department. “He was not only hazed and harassed, but he was subjected to a hostile work environment,” Hernandez said. Another incident occurr ed in the police department’s weight room, where Beverly was teased for having skinny legs. “They asked him if he shaved his legs, and it just got worse — people were talking about the incident thr oughout the depart-
how to react to it.” On Aug. 15, in desperation, Beverly filed a complaint with the EEOC. “It wasn’t only the hiring incident and the weight r oom; ther e wer e other incidents,” Her nandez. “He was being yelled at in front of other officers in the department, and other officers witnessed it, the way he was being treated.” Things came to a head when Beverly was away on National Guard duty, and he was written up for being absent from work.
Beverly was also called in to work while out sick and subjected to a “preemployment physical” — even though Beverly had been working for the department for several months, Hernandez said.
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday said it’s committed to cleaning up and resuming initial operations at the federal government’s troubled nuclear waste dump in southeastern New Mexico as early as 2016, work that’s expected to cost more than $240 million.
radiation several days later contaminated 22 workers and forced the closure of the plant. Mark Whitney, acting assistant secretary for the Department of Energy’s Of fice of Environmental Management, said officials estimate that 90 percent or more of the nuclear waste dump is free of radiological contamination. But the ventilation system will need to be improved and a new exhaust shaft constructed before full operations can resume, Whitney said. That could take as long as three years and as much as an additional $309 million. “Once we understand the extent of the contamination, we’ll have a better idea of what our approach to decontaminate will be,” he said. “But the report
“Other officers did try to speak up for him, but they got shut down real quick,” Hernandez said.
Police of ficials also harassed Beverly at his home, leaving threatening
Sextortionist gets 2-year probation Feds unveil cleanup BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
A Roswell woman who pleaded guilty in connection to a scheme to extort money from a prominent Roswell business owner has been sentenced to two years of probation. Stacy Renee Campbell, 30, was also sentenced to pay $2,000 restitution to the victim. According to federal court records, Campbell had an affair with the victim and subsequently participated in a plan to extort money from the victim between May 31 and June 7 of 2013. Campbell pleaded guilty Feb. 11 in federal court in Las Cruces to being an accessory after the fact. Campbell admitted to the crime and signed the following statement: “On June 13, 2013, I made knowing and mate-
Campbell
White
rial misstatements of fact to Roswell Police Department Detective Scribner,” the statement reads. “Detective Scribner told me that a person identifying themselves as ‘Stacy’s boyfriend’ had extorted $2,000 from (the victim) on May 31, 2013. Detective Scribner asked me who my boyfriend was, and I stated that I did not
have a boyfriend. At the time, I had been dating Steven White for approximately 18 months, and I also knew that, at White’s direction, I had picked up a $2,000 wire transfer sent by (the victim) on May 31, 2013. I lied to Detective Scribner in order to prevent him from learning White’s identity and to aid White in avoid-
ing arrest and prosecution for his extortion of (the victim).” For the charge of being an accessory after the fact, Campbell faced a maximum possible statutory penalty of 10 years in prison, followed by three years of probation, a $125,000 fine and a $100 special penalty assessment. Federal prosecutors recommended a two-year probation sentence in light of Campbell’s confession. U.S. District Judge Robert Brack followed the recommendation during sentencing on Sept. 3. Brack did not level a fine against Campbell. The judge also waived a $100 court assessment. Under special terms of her probation, Campbell
See HARASSMENT, Page A3
plan for WIPP site
The timeline and cost details were included in a recovery plan developed by the department over several months with help from nuclear industry experts. The plan outlines what needs to be done to decontaminate the underground Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
Shipments of plutoniumcontaminated waste from federal installations around the country have been on hold since early February. That’s when a truck fire and an unrelated release of
Union sues over new Parks department to purchase software teacher-eval system Program will allow online recreation registration
SANTA FE (AP) — A union representing New Mexico school workers filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to invalidate a new teacherevaluation system that places a heavy emphasis on student per for mance on standardized tests. The National Education Association-New Mexico filed the lawsuit in state district court in Santa Fe against Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera. National NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia expressed support for the New Mexico lawsuit. “We need to make sure we are using our schools to foster and promote the success of all students, and ending toxic testing that ignores true measurements of success is a crucial step in that process,” she said in a statement. The evaluation system was implemented through
regulations by the Public Education Department after Republican Gov. Susana Martinez was unable to win legislative approval in 2011 and 2012 of proposals for overhauling how teachers are rated.
The lawsuit contends the evaluation plan is unconstitutional because its requirements conflict with state laws governing school personnel.
“The challenged regulations fundamentally upset the balance of power prescribed by statute between local school districts and the PED,” the lawsuit said.
Department spokesman Larry Behrens said in a statement the administration will fight “another attempt to uphold the old, broken system because our students deserve better.”
See SEXTORTION, Page A8
See WIPP, Page A3
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
Signing up kids for soccer or reserving a park pavilion for a birthday party might soon be just a click away. The Parks and Recreation department is looking to add a new software program that will better allow the city to manage the parks and recreation programs, said Director Tim Williams. The software the department is planning to buy, Book King, will cost about $3,000 for the initial package and then around $490 a month — which is much less expensive than other similar software packages that are out there, said Damian Cheatem, supervisor of sports and technology for the department. “Some of the software programs out there cost $75,000,” Cheatem said.
Randal Seyler Photo
The Parks & Recreation Commission discusses purchasing a new software program that will allow residents to reserve facilities and sign up for sports activities online during Monday’s meeting.
“This one is relatively inexpensive.”
Williams said he had for med a committee of staff members to evaluate
the available software and come back with a recommendation.
Cheatem gave a presentation to the Parks and
Recreation Commissioners Monday night on the benefits of the Book King soft-
Chaves County CASA helps provide a voice for children
BY DYLANNE PETROS RECORD STAFF WRITER
The CASA Program of Chaves County aims to provide a voice for children who are abused, neglected or at-risk. CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, is one of 17 agencies that will be receiving money from the United Way campaign. CASA has been operating in Roswell since 1987 and helps around 2,000 clients a year. “The United Way is an incredible community partner,” said Carrie-Leigh Cloutier, executive director of CASA.
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The vision of CASA is that each child has a “forever” home, according to the mission statement.
To place kids in “forever” homes, CASA works to make sure children are safe in their current homes and, if the children are not safe, volunteers work to make sure the child gets out of the home.
“There was a baby born to a drug addict who severely abused the child,” Cloutier said. “The battering was so severe that the child was expected to die. The baby’s CASA volunteer fought for her, believed that she would live and advocated for her to be
• LEONA E. STOCKARD • MIGUEL GARCIA LUNA • DONALD J. BRUBAKER
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A8
placed in an incredible foster home. “Not only is that baby alive and thriving, but she was adopted by the foster family and named the baby after the CASA volunteer.” CASA doesn’t only make sure that children are safe and happy in their homes; the program also makes sure that kids are mentally well. CASA offers programs such as sand tray therapy and transitions, which is a program that offers books and support for children who are transitioning from a foster home to a permanent home. Another thing that CASA offers to kids to help them feel safe are CLASSIFIEDS ..........B7 COMICS .................B6 ENTERTAINMENT ...A10 FINANCIAL ..............B4
See SOFTWARE, Page A3
courthouse dogs. CASA has two courthouse dogs, Emma and Moose, who are trained to ease trauma. The courthouse dogs stay next to the child during a trial and are even allowed to sit with a child on the witness stand. “Emma and Moose do incredible work with children in this community,” Cloutier said. A lot of what CASA does though would not be possible without the help of the United Way. “(United Way’s) unflagging support has kept us going through thick and thin,” Cloutier said. Staff writer Dylanne Petros can be reached at 622-7710, ext. 307, or vistas@rdrnews.com.
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