Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 124, No. 80 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
April 3, 2015
Friday
www.rdrnews.com
Dairy hearings to start in Roswell By Jeff Tucker Record Staff Writer The New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission will begin holding public hearings in Roswell on Monday to consider proposed amendments to the commission’s Ground and Surface Water Protection Rule, known as the “Dairy Rule.” Monday’s hearing begins at 1 p.m. at the Bassett Auditorium in the Roswell Museum and Art Center at 100 W. 11th St. The formal hearings are scheduled through Friday, if needed. Time will be reserved each day of the hearings for pub-
lic comment at approximately 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. If warranted, the WQCC said it will schedule future regional meetings to hear public comment on the Dairy Rule in other impacted areas throughout the state. The amendments, proposed by the Dairy Industry Group for a Clean Environment, would establish revised rules for the dairy industry that specify measures to be taken to prevent water pollution and to monitor water quality. In September, the WQCC scheduled the hearings on the proposed Dairy Rule amendments to be held in Roswell from Dec. 9-12.
The WQCC said Roswell is the ideal location for the hearings because Roswell, the county seat city of Chaves County, is centrally located in the heart of the state’s dairy industry and those who would be most impacted by the proposed dairy amendments. However, the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club sued the WQCC in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, claiming that the dairy rule-making hearings must be in Santa Fe, rather than Roswell, because state law requires regulations of statewide applications to be held in Santa Fe. On Nov. 25, First Judicial
District Court Judge Jennifer Attrep ruled in favor of the WQCC and the New Mexico Environment Department to hold the dairy-rule hearings in Roswell, denying the Sierra Club’s emergency petition to hold the hearings in Santa Fe. The Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club appealed the decision to the New Mexico State Supreme Court, which on Dec. 15 upheld the lower court decision to keep the hearings in Roswell. “I think it’s the right thing to do, to have it in the area that’s directly affected by the rule-making,” state Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, said Thursday.
The state Legislature recently passed a bill, Senate Bill 276, that would require administrative hearings hosted by the Office of the State Engineer/Interstate Stream Commission to be held in the county in which the water right at issue is located. The state engineer sits on the WQCC. Senate Bill 276, co-sponsored by Pirtle and state Rep. Bob Wooley, R-Roswell, was passed by the Senate on Feb. 23 by a 36-5 vote and was passed by the House on March 18 by a 36-23 vote. It awaits the governor’s signature or veto. A bill offered by state Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell,
R-Roswell, that would have removed the language in state law requiring the WQCC to hold water hearings of statewide application in Santa Fe failed to clear the New Mexico Senate. House Bill 87, as amended, was passed by the House on Feb.16 by a 43-21 vote. The bill stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee before the March 21 end of the legislative session. For more information about next week’s hearings, go to nmenv.state.nm.us. Staff Writer Jeff Tucker may be contacted at 575-6227710, ext. 303, or at reporter01@rdrnews.com.
Nora Espinoza bills await action
Lots of lovely lilies
By Jeff Tucker Record Staff Writer
Bill Moffitt Photo
Dee Dyess waters a tableful of Easter lilies at the House of Flowers, 405 W. Alameda St., Thursday afternoon. Dyess said the majority of the popular plants are for churches for their Easter services this Sunday. In 1906 the poet, Mrs. S.R. Allen wrote: “Another pilgrim on the journey from the cradle to the tomb, shall receive a name and blessing, while the Easter lilies bloom.”
Panel adjusts payment to MainStreet Roswell By Jeff Jackson Record City Editor Organizers of this year’s UFO Festival are in good shape to receive money from the city of Roswell once again except they likely won’t get it in advance this time. A divided Finance Committee gave a two-thirds vote approval Thursday to award MainStreet Roswell’s request of $86,000 to help cover expenses for the July 2-5 UFO Festival with the stipulation that MSR be reimbursed up to that amount after the festival. Councilman and committee chairman Caleb Grant was the holdout, while Art Sandoval and Jason Perry were in favor. With the committee’s approval, the request was moved to the April 9 city council agenda for a final decision. Grant was first to suggest MSR receive the funds as reimbursement but also wanted the amount lowered to $75,000, matching last year’s figure, because the merchants association has not sufficiently answered why the additional $11,000 is needed. “This is about the fourth
or fifth month that I’ve asked for the form regarding the city side of this thing that we still don’t have,” Grant said. “So I would expect that to be done by next month or I’m just apt not to do it anymore at all. We’ll just shut down lodger’s tax if we can’t get that to track the city resources for these festivals. We need that ahead of time so we know what we’re getting into. That’s been part of the issue in the past. Organizations like this, we’ll give them $80,000 and we used another $20,000 out of (Hayduk advertising funds) and another $20,000 out of city resources so it really costs $120,000 not $80,000.” The financial reports from the 2014 UFO Festival were due Oct. 6, but the complete documents were turned in March 24. Another concern Grant expressed was awarding the additional $11,000 when MSR has not secured speakers or entertainers for the 21st annual downtown festival. Two representatives of MSR, Darryl Burkfield and Peggy Seskey, conceded at Thursday’s meeting they
have “verbal agreements” but no signed contracts. “I have no problem paying for these events but I think we’re kind of behind the 8-ball, and throwing more money at it isn’t going to fix anything,” Grant said. “I have no problem spending $150,000 on the UFO Festival if it works. That’s what I’d love for us to get to. We’ve talked about that. This is our flagship festival. We should be funding it at least $150,000 a year but we’ve got to figure it out on our end and on Main Street Roswell’s end to have an event of that caliber absolutely.” Speech makers at the festival will be paid by MSR, unlike in previous years when the UFO museum covered that, Burkfield said. His board associate, Seskey, added that MSR will pay only those speakers who do not charge a fee to festival-goers. “One of the goals was to make sure as much of the entertainment as possible was free so people would not only attend and have a lot of fun, they have more spending cash for not only our vendors that come in but for our area business-
es, which is part of our MainStreet mission statement, to bring economic vitality to the Main Street corridor,” Burkfield said. “We want to make sure people have enough funds to go out and spend money. With that being said, we have taken on the expense of the speakers, to make sure that we have them set up in venues where people can go see them for free.” Last year’s event drew 15 to 20 speakers who were paid from the city’s $75,000 stipend, Seskey said. Individuals who provided security, off-duty police officers or otherwise, also were paid from that fund, she added. Perry gave MSR a boost by saying the full $86,000 was needed because advertising eats up a large chunk of the festival’s budget and for personnel challenges within MSR. “Knowing where they are now compared to where they have been in years past, it’s still ahead of the ball game,” Perry said. “It’s embarrassing to even say so but there’s been a change of guard at MSR See PAYMENT, Page A2
Today’s Forecast
Today’s Obituaries Page B4
HIGH 73 LOW 42
• Debra (Debbie) Coleman • Lester Glass • Alan Kent Graves
Three bills sponsored by state Rep. Nora Espinoza sit on the governor’s desk for action after clearing both the New Mexico House of Representatives and the New Mexico Senate in the 2015 legislative session. Espinoza, R-Roswell, introduced 12 bills in the 60-day session, three of which were adopted by both chambers and await the governor’s signature or veto. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez has 20 days from the March 21 end of the session to sign or veto legislation approved by both the House and Senate. The deadline to do either is noon April 10. Any legislation not signed within the 20-day window is pocket-vetoed and thereby not enacted. Espinoza, the chair of the House Education Committee in the new Republican-controlled House, had five bills die in the Democrat-controlled Senate, including two that died on the Senate calender, just a vote away from being sent to the governor’s desk.
Three bills awaiting approval
Espinoza sponsored House Bill 53, which would enact a new section of the Public School Code to prohibit school personnel from compelling students to use psychotropic medications. The bill would also amend a section of the Children’s Code to provide that a parent’s or guardian’s refusal to consent to the administration of a psychotropic drug to a child is not grounds for the child being placed in protective custody. The bill also proposes that school personnel shall not require students to undergo psychological screening without written consent from parents or guardians.
Espinoza The state Public Education Department expressed some opposition to the bill, according to a fiscal impact report of the bill prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee. “PED notes that language prohibiting school personnel from denying any student access to programs or services because of refusal to place the student on psychotropic medications may be problematic in regards to situations where refusal to administer psychotropic medications contributes to substantial behavioral issues,” the report states. “PED considers that there may be situations in which it is appropriate for the school to deny the student access to a specific activity or program where students whose parents have refused the administration of psychotropic medications, but whose behavior may be deemed to substantially impair the education of other students in the program.” The LSC said the bill’s enactment could create some administrative costs for school districts. “This bill does not contain an appropriation, but requires school districts and charter schools to promulgate rules,” the report states. House Bill 53 passed the House by a 67-1 vote on March 12 and the Senate by a 39-0 vote on March 21. It See ESPINOZA, Page A2
Gov signs Rio Grande Trail law ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Gov. Susana Martinez signed legislation Thursday to create a commission to define the best routes and reach necessary agreements to build a 500-mile, statewide recreation trail stretching from Colorado to Texas. “Establishing a trail the length of the Rio Grande would be a historic achievement for New Mexico,” Martinez said at a Rio Grande Nature Center State Park bill signing.
Called the Rio Grande Trail, the pathway is envisioned as being similar to the Appalachian Trail or the Continental Divide Trail. The commission will act as the conduit to designate a path that would weave through majestic vistas, monuments and cultural areas of the state. Commission members would include cities, counties, tribes, federal agencies, conservancy districts and private citizens.
Index Classifieds...........B6 Comics..................B5 Entertainment. ....A8 Financial..............B3
General...............A2 Horoscopes.........A3 Lotteries. ............A2 Nation..................B4
Opinion.................A4 Sports. ................B1 Weather...............A8