Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 124, No. 57 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
March 7, 2015
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SATURDAY
Sunday could be last time to change clocks By Jeff Tucker Record Staff Writer
As New Mexicans “spring forward” one hour this weekend, it could be the last time clocks change in the state as a bill that would place New Mexico permanently on Mountain Daylight Time awaits legislative action next week. The last time change would take effect early Sunday, when the state moves forward from Mountain Standard Time to Mountain Daylight Time. Senate Bill 377 is scheduled to be heard Monday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, said state Sen.
Cliff Pirtle, the bill’s sponsor. “So that will be good timing,” said Pirtle, R-Roswell. “Everybody will be groggy and feeling the effects. So hopefully it will help me get the votes to get it out of committee.” Pirtle’s “Permanent Mountain Daylight Savings Time” bill, his top legislative priority, was passed by the Senate Public Affairs Committee Feb. 26 by a 5-1 vote. Pirtle said most New Mexicans prefer daylight saving time and want to stop changing their clocks. He also said his bill has bipartisan support.
Pirtle said if the bill passes the Judiciary Committee next week, it will head to the Senate floor for consideration. If it passes the Senate, the bill would head to the New Mexico House of Representatives, where state Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, is sponsoring the time change bill. “So hopefully, we can get it heard in a quick manner on the House side,” Pirtle said. “We close up shop on Saturday, March 21 (when the 2015 state legislative session ends).” Pirtle said his bill would end the confusion of setting
Steve Stone Graphic
See TIME, Page A3
High-rent units given a good sign
Sick trees be gone
By Jeff Jackson Record City Editor
Bill Moffitt Photo
A stand of trees stands no more after city workers finished cutting down half of the trees along University Boulevard near the Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell campus Thursday afternoon. A spokesman for the City of Roswell said that the removal is part of a citywide plan to remove sick trees from city property.
“Coming soon,” states the sign on Sycamore Avenue for new apartments that has been standing in empty land for two years. Now it might be for real. The City Council will consider three items at its 6 p.m. meeting Thursday related to the planned 256-unit luxury complex on the northwest corner of Sycamore and College that would be Roswell’s most expensive apartments. The finance committee on Thursday approved asking for public hearings to change two ordinances concerning fee structures, and the third item would amend the capital budget to reallocate $250,000 for water and sewer lines connected to the complex. Rents for the planned
apartments, tentatively named Spring River Luxury Apartments occupying about 20 acres, would start at $895 a month for a one-bedroom/one-bath unit and climb to $995 for two-bedroom/one-bath, $1,095 for two-bedroom/ two-bath and $1,295 for three-bedroom/two-bath. In addition, the developer, Emery Stephen Holdings based in Tucson, Arizona, would apply income requirements to tenants, starting at $36,000 a year for the smallest apartment up to $47,000 for the largest. The idea behind the costly apartments is to provide plush housing for a workforce that earns twice the average hourly wage in Roswell, two city figureSee COMMITTEE, Page A3
Three new regents Police: Crash damages five vehicles appointed at ENMU Submitted by RPD
PORTALES — Three new regents have been appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez to the Board of Regents at Eastern New Mexico University. The new appointees are Terry Othick, Susan Tatum and student regent Veronica Ayala. Othick, of Albuquerque, has more than 40 years experience in the information technology field through a career in the private, public and education sectors. He was chief operations officer for the Los Lunas School District, chief information officer for both the New Mexico Department of Labor and the Department of Workforce Solutions, and worked 25 years with the Public Ser-
vice Company of New Mexico. Othick served on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Golden Apple Foundation and the ENMU Alumni Association. He earned the ENMU Distinguished Service Award in 2013 for his success in raising scholarship funds for the University. Othick has taught undergraduate and graduate technology courses at ENMU and the University of New Mexico. He holds a bachelor of business administration and a master of business administration from ENMU. He replaces Chad Lydick. See ENMU, Page A2
Police investigated an accident Friday that involved five vehicles (four were parked and unoccupied) in the 300 block of East McGaffey Street. The crash occurred about 10:20 a.m. Friday. It is believed the male driver of a maroon pickup may have suffered a medical incident while driving east with a male passenger, who was uninjured in the crash. The driver was conscious after the accident and had no or minimal injuries resulting from the crash, but was taken to a hospital to be checked following the sequence of events.
Submitted Photo
Roswell police investigate the scene of a crash Friday that damaged five vehicles. The maroon pickup he was driving struck one parked pickup initially and then struck the blue pickup, sending it into the gold vehicle.
Meanwhile, the maroon vehicle then struck a fence, causing damage to another vehicle on the other side of the fence. East McGaffey Street
between South Stanton Avenue and South Grand Avenue was closed for a short time during the investigation.
State looks to change investment in behavioral health
AP Photo
In this October 2012 photo, Gallup Community Service Aide Timothy Hughte, left, and police officer Matthew Graham check on a man who had passed out in a restaurant parking lot in Gallup. In a state with some of the highest rates of suicide, mental illness and substance abuse-related deaths, legislation targeting high-risk areas with more money and treatment programs proven to work is winning bipartisan support. Today’s Forecast
HIGH 53 LOW 33
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — In a state with some of the highest rates of suicide, mental illness and substance abuse-related deaths, legislation targeting high-risk areas with more money and treatment programs proven to work is winning bipartisan support. A bill that would establish behavioral health investment zones across New Mexico passed the House on a 62-1 vote earlier this week and is now pending in the Senate. Democratic Rep. Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup, the bill’s sponsor, says New Mexico can no longer afford to throw money at the
problem. The bill, she says, would provide a roadmap for the state and communities like her own to determine if they’re investing wisely. “It’s not necessarily a matter of pointing fingers for me. It’s a matter of let’s get focused,” she said in an interview. “Let’s get razor-sharp focus on evidence-based programs that work, instead of this willy-nilly let’s try this and let’s try that. We’re far beyond that now, and we need to put money where the need is.” Lundstrom tells her fellow lawmakers to look no further than Gallup, a city
of 22,000 that sits at the edge of the Navajo Nation. For decades, the community has been struggling with alcohol addiction and the problems that come with it — from domestic violence and aggressive panhandling to people dying from exposure after passing out in fields or parking lots following a drinking binge. Church groups, social workers and elected officials describe it as a revolving door: inebriates are picked up by police, hauled into protective custody and then released after sobering up. Gallup Police Chief Robert Cron said more than
Index
Today’s Obituary Page B4
• Reymundo M. Jimenez
1,900 people were picked up just last month. In a year’s time, that number can top 24,000, a figure more representative of a big city with more police officers and more behavioral health services. “Our community is tired of it and I can get a general feel from the populace, they want more action because this behavior is not acceptable,” said Gallup Mayor Jackie McKinney. “We need to help those who are reaching out and let them know there are alternatives and there are choices.”
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