05-10-2011

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Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Vol. 120, No. 112 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

FIRST FULL US FACE TRANSPLANT BOSTON (AP) — The nation’s first full face transplant recipient said the first thing his young daughter told him when she saw him after the operation was “Daddy, you’re so handsome.” Dallas Wiens, sporting a goatee and dark sunglasses, joined surgeons Monday at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston in his first public appearance since the 15-hour procedure in March. - PAGE A5

TOP 5 WEB For The Past 24 Hours

• Lift off! Balloons waft over Roswell • Party all about cars, choppers and country • Rockets advance • China, Central Asian states hold anti-terror drill • Colts are state champions!

INSIDE SPORTS

May 10, 2011

www.rdrnews.com

TUESDAY

Drought descends on Texas, Southwest

AP Photo

This May 4, file photo, taken from a Kansas National Guard helicopter, shows a dry field in Haskell County, Kan., that has failed to grow wheat because of lack of moisture. The region has severe drought conditions.

Wildfires hit NM towns MAYHILL (AP) — Dry conditions and wind were helping fan wildfires around New Mexico as one blaze burned two buildings and prompted evacuations in the village of Mayhill while another in the rugged Gila Wilderness caused officials to urge residents of about 35 homes to leave the area, authorities said Monday. The fire near Mayhill started in the nearby Sacramento Mountains along a highway, Lincoln National Forest spokesman Joe Garcia said. No other central New Mexico communities were threatened and authorities were hoping winds would continue to blow in a direction that would keep the blaze away from the town. Officials couldn’t say how many people were being asked to leave or what type See WILDFIRE, Page A7

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — With much of the nation focused on a spring marked by historic floods and deadly tor nadoes, Texas and parts of several surrounding states are suf fering through a drought nearly as punishing as some of the world’s driest deserts. Some parts of the Lone Star State have not seen any significant precipitation since August. Bayous, cattle ponds and far m fields are drying up, and residents are living under constant threat of wildfires, which have already burned across thousands of square miles. Much of Texas is bone dry, with scarcely any

moisture to be found in the top layers of soil. Grass is so dry it crunches underfoot in many places. The nation’s leading cattle-producing state just endured its driest seven-month span on record, and some ranchers are culling their herds to avoid paying supplemental feed costs. May is typically the wettest month in Texas, and farmers planting on non-irrigated acres are clinging to hope that relief arrives in the next few weeks. “It doesn’t look bright right at the moment, but I haven’t given up yet,” said cotton producer Rickey Bearden, who grows about

two-thirds of his 9,000 acres without irrigation in West Texas. “We’ll have to have some help from Mother Nature.” That the drought is looming over the Southwest while floodwaters rise in the Midwest and South reflects a classic signature of the La Nina weather oscillation, a cooling of the central Pacific Ocean. This year’s La Nina is the sixth-strongest in records dating back to 1949. “It’s a shift of the jet stream, providing all that moisture and shifting it away from the south, so See DROUGHT, Page A7

Local wildfire

Jessica Palmer Photo

Gateway Christian School was threatened by a grass fire west of Sycamore Avenue, Monday. The fire started around 1 p.m. Driven by 35 mph winds, students were evacuated from the school grounds to a place of safety around 1:30 p.m. A total of 11 units were brought in from both city and county. Roswell Deputy Fire Chief Chad Hamill estimated that 300 to 500 acres were burned, but the fire was put out within an hour. He reported no injuries or structures were damaged as a result of the fire.

Lawmakers name panel to work on NM redistricting

HEAT TAKE 3-1 OVER CELTICS BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James scored 35 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Miami to a 98-90 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday night and give the Heat a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. - PAGE B1

TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Gladys Phillips • Eva Hammond • Nickie Tegeda - PAGE B3

HIGH ...90˚ LOW ....54˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8

INDEX

SANTA FE (AP) — Legislative leaders named an 18-member committee on Monday to start work on redistricting, but a top Senate Democrat complained that lawmakers will be hindered because the governor vetoed $100,000 for the panel’s expenses. Senate President T im Jennings of Roswell said the veto likely will force cost-cutting by the Legisla-

ture, including possible limits on some lawmakers attending interim study committee meetings in New Mexico and travel to out-ofstate legislative conferences. “I think it does severely handicap us,” Jennings told the Legislative Council, a House and Senate leadership group that appointed members to the redistricting panel and other com-

mittees that meet when the Legislature isn’t in session. Two Democrats will serve as the redistricting committee’s co-chairwomen: Rep. Mary Helen Garcia of Las Cruces and Sen. Linda Lopez of Albuquerque. Eleven Democrats and seven Republicans are voting members of the panel, and 23 other lawmakers are advisory members. Republican Gov. Susana

Herrera murder trial stalled JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

A pre-trial conference was held on the Israel Herrera murder trial, Monday. Herrera, 22, is charged with the first-degree murder of Stephen Foster, on Nov. 22. Foster, 25, was shot in the head while driving a friend's van near the intersection of West Walnut Street and South Ohio Avenue, according to court documents.

Martinez used her line-item veto powers to eliminate $100,000 for the redistricting committee from the state budget last month. She described it as “unnecessary” in her veto explanation. The money was for the panel to hold hearings in cities across the state this summer and for the daily expense reimbursements that legislators receive when they attend a meeting

or the Legislature is in session. Legislators get the expense payments rather than a salary. Because of the veto, costs of the redistricting panel must be covered out of money set aside by lawmakers for interim legislative expenses, which includes study committees See PANEL, Page A7

Gomez attorney: no evidence JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

Foster was the son of Dana Dryden, publisher of the Roswell Daily Record between 2006 and 2008. The Roswell Police Department arrested Herrera after he was caught running from the scene of the crime. Officer Jeff Gazdik testified in Magistrate Court, Dec. 15, that he found Herrera in the alley with blood on his jacket and on his hands.

Defense attor ney Michael Gomez presented a motion to dismiss the charges against Jesus Carranza, 27. Carranza is the co-defendant, along with James Gomez, who was arrested for the stabbing death of 16-year -old Zachary Perez. He is charged with first-degree murder. Perez’s body was found by

See HERRERA, Page A7

friends and family on a vacant lot near the intersection of East Fifth Street and Mulberry Avenue, around 2 a.m. on Feb. 13, 2010. He had been stabbed 22 times. “The argument is simply this: That the state has no evidence that would allow a rational and reasonable jury to convict my client beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Gomez. He said that the co-defendant See GOMEZ, Page A7

Kautz charged with murder, child abandonment, Bodge was diabetic JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

Detectives arrested Steffanie Kautz, 29, for the death of 14-year-old Breanna Bodge, Saturday. The Roswell Police Department responded to a 911 call about 6:30 a.m. on May 3. Officers were called to 1203 W. Hobbs, where they found the girl deceased. Kautz, girlfriend of the victim’s father, is charged

with two counts of child abuse, one resulting in death. The 14-year -old Bodge was left in Kautz’s care, while the father, Michael Bodge, was at work. “The girlfriend neglected the care of the child’s diabetic condition. She had a 24-hour period to get help for the child,” said RPD spokesman, Officer Travis Holley. No official cause of death

Kautz

has been determined. The autopsy results have not been received from the

Office of Medical Investigation, but the most likely cause was diabetic coma. Holley called the case “one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen.” He reported that the medication was available in the home to treat the girl’s condition. “There are indications of drug use,” Holley said. Kautz has a no-bond warrant outstanding from the state of Texas for pro-

bation violation, following charges of possession of a controlled substance. “She (Kautz) indicated that she knew that she had other warrants and that was why she did not take the girl in for treatment,” said Holley. Kautz who also has a 1year-old child, was charged with abandonment or abuse of a child. See KAUTZ, Page A7


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