Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 121, No. 12 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
Saturday 14, 2012
SATURDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Lovelace to purchase RRH VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER Roswell Regional Hospital will soon be owned and operated by Lovelace Health System Inc. The announcement comes just a few months after Roswell Regional Hospital administrators began
taking necessary steps to allow a subsidiary of Community Health Systems Inc., to purchase the hospital. Easter n New Mexico Medical Center is already an affiliate of CHS — which made it impossible, in the end, for RRH to be owned by the company as well.
These new services may help keep more Roswell patients in Roswell, instead of having them travel to get the medical treatment they need, Stern said during a visit to RRH Friday morning.
It was the Federal Trade Commission that halted the sale.
“Having common ownership of both (Roswell) hospitals was not consistent
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A Russian tanker has muscled its way through hundreds of miles of Bering Sea ice several feet thick to deliver fuel to Nome. Now comes the tricky part: Getting more than a million gallons of diesel and gasoline to shore through a mile-long hose without a spill. - PAGE A3
Colo., has never been in politics before. But that has not kept him from pursuing the highest seat in the land — that of president. Davis, who said he has
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tensions rising by the day, the Obama administration said Friday it is warning Iran through public and private channels against any action that threatens the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. The Navy revealed that two U.S. ships in and near the Gulf were harassed by Iranian speedboats last week. Spokesmen were vague on what the United States would do about Iran’s threat to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, but military of ficials have been clear that the U.S. is readying for a possible naval clash. That prospect is the latest flashpoint with Iran, and one of the most serious. Although it currently overshadows the threat of war over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, perhaps beginning with an Israeli military strike on Iran’s
See DAVIS, Page A2
See IRAN, Page A2
TOP 5 WEB For The Past 24 Hours
INSIDE SPORTS
John Davis prepares to spend the afternoon campaigning for president in downtown Roswell, Friday.
Brandishing a starsand-stripes painted pipe wrench, John Davis is taking the slogan, “Let’s Fix America,” to every
DEXTER — There are many different ways to get recognized in sports. One way is for a team or individual to pull a Joe Namath and predict a Super Bowl. Aside from marrying a Kardashian, however, the most sure-fire way to get the proverbial front page is to win. That is exactly what the Dexter boys basketball team is doing. The Demons (12-4) beat Hagerman for the third time this season, 63-39, on Friday at the 45th annual John Reid Dexter Invitational ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARY • Jack Waide - PAGE A7
HIGH ...59˚ LOW ....25˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
Mark Wilson Photo
Presidential hopeful Davis visits city VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
DEMONS DEFEAT BOBCATS
See RRH, Page A2
‘Don’t block Gulf’
TRICKY TRANSFER AHEAD
• Voters to decide on additional tax • Wooten to head County Board • Bubba Jo, 6 months, needs a home • 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting in progress • NMMI downs Lake Arthur, 32-16
with competition,” said Rod Schumacher, CEO and administrator of RRH. Just hours after the FTC’s announcement on Monday, RRH administrators were contacted by Lovelace Health System. A letter of intent between
county in the nation as he gathers momentum for his 2012 presidential campaign. Davis and his wife Debra are riding around the country in a patriotically decorated motor
home. They visited Chaves County and made a stop in the 100 block of North Main Street, Friday afternoon. The homebuilder and small-business owner from Grand Junction,
New Mexico regulators push RPD arrests Rue back hearing on pit rule
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A weeklong public hearing aimed at revamping rules that govern how oil and gas developers handle drilling waste has been put on hold by New Mexico regulators, parties in the case said Friday. The hearing before the Oil Conservation Commission was set to begin Jan. 23. Two industry groups and a watchdog group filed a joint motion late Thursday asking that the hearing be continued. The commission approved the motion but a new hearing date has not been set. The delay will give the parties more time to prepare, but lawyers working on the case said it might also open the door for stakeholder meetings to see
if there is any common ground. “This is a very important and very complex issue and there a lot of moving pieces and parts. Everyone just felt like it did warrant extra time,” said Wally Drangmeister, a spokesman for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, one of the groups that sought the continuance. Eric Jantz, an attorney with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, said the delay will also give the courts more time to sort out jurisdictional and constitutional issues raised by his client, the Oil and Gas Accountability Project. Earlier this week, a state district judge put on hold legal appeals related to the pit rule fight so the Oil Conservation Commission
could tackle the issues administratively. The court has yet to rule on a separate filing made Tuesday by the Oil and Gas Accountability Project in which the group sought to stop the commission’s proceedings. Jantz said earlier this week that the industry is taking advantage of a change in administration and that allowing the commission to settle the issue would result in “this endless cycle” of rulemakings and appeals. The pit rule was designed to prevent ground and surface water contamination. It governs how oil and gas producers handle wastes from drilling operations in buried tanks, sumps, pits See REGULATORS, Page A2
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Roswell Police Department found itself in a standoff situation Wednesday evening after an of ficer on patrol heard the sound of gunfire. The officer called for backup as he saw a subject run from a residence in the 100 block of North Lea Avenue. Under questioning, officials discovered that the man running from the house was the victim. Both detectives and officers responded and prepared for the worst. The police used the public address system to persuade the suspect to leave the residence. According to the criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court, the
Steven Hernandez Rue Jr.
victim was trying to collect items from the home because he was moving. The victim and his girlfriend went to the house the first time around 3 p.m. to retrieve four 13inch rims with red spokes. The victim then talked to a police officer to file a complaint and was told that this was a civil matSee RPD, Page A2
Dan Ortega passed up USPS promotion to stay in Roswell JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B3 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............A6 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 NATION .................A3
INDEX
Jessica Palmer Photo
Dan Ortega
Dan Ortega, 60, has deep roots in Roswell and in New Mexico history. “I supposedly have family lineage that goes back to Billy the Kid.” He said that a relative showed him documentation to support that fact. He hopes as soon as he retires that he can research more on his family history to see if this is correct. Ortega can trace his roots on his mother’s side of the family back to the Mescalero. “My greatgrandmother lived in the Hondo Valley in 1850, and
my grandfather was a true cowboy in Oklahoma. I respect that. It was a hard life.” His family moved to Roswell during the Depression. His maternal grandparents came from Tinnie. His father came from Carlsbad. He grew up on the east side of town with his five brothers and two sisters, and attended school at St. John’s. He is a 1978
graduate of Eastern New Mexico University in Portales. Ortega remembers the days when Walker Air Force Base was still active. “It was a booming town then. The population went down after the base was closed, then it began to pick back up again.” His family used to sell newspapers and then his grandfather went into the
construction industry. Ortega learned his skills as a builder from his father and his grandfather. Ortega still likes to work with his hands. “I love to get an old piece of furniture and refinish it. I did that as a kid with my dad.” Ortega is a devoted family man. He and his wife Josephine (Montoya) celebrated their 39th anniversary this week. His son works for Chaves County and his daughter is employed by the Roswell Police Department. The couple have another son See SPOTLIGHT, Page A2