Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 124, No. 20 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
January 23, 2015
FRIDAY
Mental health provider to stop services in county www.rdrnews.com
Law enforcement prepares for ‘devastating failure’ BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD CITY EDITOR
When Turquoise Health and Wellness shuts its doors in March, Chaves County law enforcement officers are going to face some difficult decisions. New Mexico Human Services Department spokesman Matt Kennicott confirmed that an Arizona-based nonprofit will stop serving indi-
gent patients in eastern New Mexico at the end of March. The Associated Press reported on Jan. 14 that Turquoise Health and Wellness offers mental health services to Medicaid patients in Carlsbad, Roswell, Clovis and Tucumcari. “I have been involved with a local group being led by Judge (James) Hudson on this very issue,” said Chaves
It’s snowtime!
County Sheriff Britt Snyder in an email on Thursday. “Turquoise is a big part of all mental health services here in Chaves County and its failure will be devastating to law enforcement, detention and the courts.” Snyder said the group has sent a proposal offering an evaluation of the effect the closure of Turquoise Health and Wellness will have on Chaves County to the southeastern New Mexi-
co legislative delegation.
“That was delivered to them last week, and I spoke to them yesterday at the Roundhouse about that and other issues,” Snyder said. “What is the answer? We don’t know, but we are alerting the state about the ripple effects and hope they can find a solution to a problem that is theirs to See TURQUOISE, Page A3
Timothy P. Howsare Photo
Ezzell, Espinoza chosen to chair House committees Wooley tapped to Turquoise Health and Wellness, 110 E. Mescalero Road, will close its doors in March.
vice chair committee
BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Bill Moffitt Photos
Above: Snow decorated homes throughout the Roswell area including this yard near Roswell High School. School was called off for the day due to the weather. Bottom left: As this winter driver found out Thursday morning — the forecast for Roswell is “clear and still.” That is the snow is clear to the curb and still falling.
Right: Christina Stock Photo
Downtown North Main Street Thursday morning looked more like it was in Ruidoso than Roswell. Snow continued to fall throughout the day as Chaves County was on a winter storm watch.
Two state lawmakers from Roswell have been appointed committee chairs and another has been chosen as a committee vice chair in the new Republican-controlled New Mexico House of Representatives. House Speaker Don T ripp has appointed Republican state Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell as chair of the Agriculture, Water and Wildlife Committee and state Rep. Nora Espinoza as chair of the Education Committee. In addition, on Thursday Tripp announced he had appointed state Rep. Bob Wooley, R-Roswell, as vice chair of the Regulatory and Public Affairs Committee, meaning all three of Roswell’s state representatives now have influential posts in the House for the 60-day legislative session that began Tuesday, Republicans, who officially took control of the House Tuesday for the first time in 60 years, reconstituted the House’s committee structure, as often occurs when there is a change in party control in legislative bodies.
Larry Larrañaga, of Albuquerque, was appointed chair of the Appropriations and Finance Committee; Jane Powdrell-Culbert, of Corrales, was appointed chair of the Business and Employment Committee; James Strickler, of Farmington, was appointed chair of the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee; James Smith, of Sandia Park, was appointed chair of the Gover nment, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee; Terry McMillan, of Las Cruces, was appointed chair of the Health Committee; William Rehm, of Albuquerque, was appointed chair of the Safety and Civil Af fairs Committee; Zachary Cook, of Ruidoso, was appointed chair of the Judiciary Committee; Yvette Herrell, of Alamogordo, was appointed chair of the Regulatory and Public Committee; Af fairs Cathrynn Brown, of Carlsbad, was appointed chair of the T ransportation and Public Works Committee; Jason C. Harper, of Rio Rancho, was appointed chair of the Ways and Means Committee and Paul
IRS warns phone scams House heads to vote soon on border security continue to be a concern SUBMITTED BY IRS
Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain near the top of the annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams for the 2015 filing season, the Internal Revenue Service recently announced. The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams in recent months as scam artists threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation and other things. The IRS reminds taxpayers to guard against all sorts of con games that arise during any filing season. “If someone calls unexpectedly claiming to be from the IRS with aggressive threats if you don’t pay immediately, it’s a scam artist calling,” said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “The first IRS contact with taxpayers is usually through the mail. Taxpayers have rights, and this is not how we do business.” The Dirty Dozen is compiled annually by the IRS
and lists a variety of common scams taxpayers may encounter any time during the year. Many of these con games peak during filing season as people prepare their tax returns or hire someone to do so. This year for the first time, the IRS will issue the individual Dirty Dozen scams one at a time during the next 12 business days to raise consumer awareness. Phone scams top the list this year because it has been a persistent and pervasive problem for many taxpayers for many months. Scammers are able to alter caller ID numbers to make it look like the IRS is calling. They use fake names and bogus IRS badge numbers. They often leave “urgent” callback requests. They prey on the most vulnerable people, such as the elderly, newly arrived immigrants and those whose first language is not English. Scammers have been known to impersonate agents from See SCAMS, Page A2
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TODAY’S FORECAST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is moving toward a vote on a bill aimed at securing the U.S. border with Mexico as majority Republicans try to show they can chart their own course on immigration, not just oppose President Barack Obama’s. The legislation passed the House Homeland Security Committee late Wednesday on a party-line vote of 18-12, and the full House is expected to take it up next week. “For God’s sakes, if we can’t unite around border security what can we unite around?” said GOP Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the committee’s chairman. It’s uncertain whether House Republicans will unite behind the measure. Conservatives who have scuttled past attempts by GOP leaders to deal with the issue expressed concerns that the legislation does too little to stem illegal immigration. Several also groused that leadership was trying to rally support for the border security bill instead of making a strong stand against recent executive actions by Obama granting relief from deportation to millions. The border bill “is a show horse, not a work horse, and as such it is an effort to convince the American people that we are doing something substantive to secure the border when in fact nothing substantive is being done,” said Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala.
• VEVA O. BYRD • LISA DIANE STEPHENS
See COMMITTEES, Page A2
AP Photo
Isabel Aguilar, right, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Jan. 14, on the House Republican's immigration policies. Republicans in the House of Representatives voted recently to overturn President Barack Obama’s immigration policies and remove protections for immigrants brought illegally to America as kids.
The Obama administration said the bill “would actually leave the border less secure.” In a statement released Thursday night, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said, “The bill sets mandatory and highly prescriptive standards that the Border Patrol itself regards as impossible to achieve, undermines the Department of Homeland Security’s capacity to adapt to emerging threats, and politicizes tactical decisions.” He
• MILDRED ARCHER • LINDA RUTH FILES
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....B6 FINANCIAL ..............B4
called the bill “unworkable, plain and simple.”
Congressional Democrats said the bill was filled with unrealistic mandates that would make it harder for border agents to do their jobs, while proposing to spend $10 billion on an array of drones, surveillance systems, radar, fencing and other technologies that might do little real good. INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........B6 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8