Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 124, No. 73 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
March 26, 2015
Thursday
www.rdrnews.com
MSR gets $86,000 for festival with a catch By Jeff Jackson Record City Editor A merchants coalition has been approved to receive city funds to support this year’s UFO Festival, but first got an eerie lecture from those doling out the money. Main Street Roswell was granted $86,000 from the city of Roswell’s Occupancy Tax Board on Tuesday to help cover expenses for the 21st annual UFO Festival, held over the Fourth of July weekend, but the expenditure still will need to pass through the Finance Committee and City Council. While approving the group’s request, even with a bump of $11,000 over last year’s, the city
panel expressed a slight displeasure that Main Street Roswell was more than six months tardy in verifying its expenses from the 2014 event. Those financial reports were due Oct. 6, three months after the festival ended, but the reports started trickling in only by January, said Janice Self, the board’s coordinator. The last of the financial reports came in at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, just before the board’s 2:30 meeting at city hall, Self said. “All of this is agreed upon within 90 days. Now I understand life happens, things happen, emergencies happen, but my concern is we have stated that we received these requests, and in return the agency or organization or whatever is going to submit everything
that they need within that period of stated time,” committee chairwoman Julie Morrow said, directing her comments at MSR board member Darryl Burkfield. “To my knowledge, we’ve not received everything on time and in whole, completeness before coming for another request.” In previous years, the merchants coalition has complied satisfactorily with the financial reports, Self said. “Everything has usually been received prior to them asking (for the following year.) Maybe it wasn’t received exactly on time, but the bulk of the information was received prior to the due date. This is the first one that had not actually made their due date with their information,” Self
said. While careful not to imply there was any misuse of the $75,000 from 2014, both women said the Occupancy Tax Board needs to verify that payments went to eligible parties. For example, prize money for contests cannot be drawn from the city’s grant, which comes from the lodgers’ tax fund. They also want to avoid setting a precedent for accepting late reports. “We want to see how they dispersed it, how it was spent, that is was actually spent for eligible expenses. We just want documentation it was spent correctly,” said Self, adding that MSR’s expenses exceeded $75,000 for the 2014 festival. “And we want the report sub-
mitted on time,” Morrow said. Main Street Roswell has had to endure a hectic period with the retirement of Executive Director Dusty Huckabee last week and another staffer’s family issues, Burkfield told the five-member Occupancy Tax panel. “First and foremost, there’s really no excuse that will make it right that we didn’t get the stuff in within the 90 days that we were supposed to,” Burkfield said. “What I will in defense, say is ... we’ve been dealing a lot with our director situation. Dusty has since retired but over the last year or so he’s been a challenge. A lot of two-steps. One step forSee FESTIVAL, Page A3
RPD now patrolling with body cameras
‘Optimism’ essay winners announced
Submitted by RPD
Arnold Roe Photo
Essay winners in the Sunrise and Noon Optimist clubs 2015 contests were presented with their medals and award checks Wednesday morning at a joint meeting of the two clubs. Pictured are, from left, Leanne Bratland, treasurer of the Noon club; first-place winner Kylie Stover of Roswell High School; third-place winner Briana Hodge of RHS; Clair Willden of Goddard High School; and Karen Hamilton, Sunrise club president. Each essayist wrote on “Optimism Should Be a Priority.” The first-place essay will be entered into an Optimist Club regional contest for the New Mexico and south Texas region.
The Roswell Police Department’s new body cameras are hitting the streets. RPD patrol officers and sergeants are now wearing the latest technology that will record video and audio that will essentially show what the officer or sergeant saw and heard during a call or other incident. The small camera is worn on the side of the head using a specifically designed holder or attaching it to sunglasses or eyeglasses. The cameras are intended not only to bolster prosecution of cases by producing good video “testimony” of what occurred during an encounter, but also to provide a tool to assure the public that an officer acted properly and did his or her job in a professional manner. If an officer acts improperly,
Submitted Photo
that too could be indicated by the video, and the police department will be able to take necessary action. “It’s an outstanding thing for any community, for community members to feel secure and feel there is transparency,” says RosSee CAMERAS, Page A2
Transparency bills How long could solar power benefits last? killed during session By Stewart McClintic Silver City Daily Press
SANTA FE (AP) — A slew of measures that sought to shine more light on the inner workings of government in New Mexico ended up as casualties of the just-ended legislative session, leaving watchdog groups disappointed that the call for transparency was largely ignored. Of about a dozen bills to boost transparency — from requiring independent groups to disclose campaign donations to a two-year break for former legislators before they can become lobbyists — only a couple of measures made it to Gov. Susana Martinez’s desk. “It was not a great session for disclosure and transparency,” said Susan Boe, the executive director of the New Mexico Foundation of Open Government.
The biggest disappointment, said Viki Harrison, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, was a bill that required independent groups to disclose on what issues they are spending money. In previous years, the measure won unanimous approval from the Senate. This year, it was assigned to three committees, which advocates call a “death knell.” Polls show an overwhelming majority of people in the state support the measure, Harrison said. “New Mexicans are sick and tired of all these groups spending money and not knowing where it comes from,” she said. “This is ridiculous. This is a basic thing. If you spend
See SESSION, Page A3
SILVER CITY— Electricity has become more expensive over the past decade, but as the cost of photovoltaic cells drops, some residents and businesses in Silver City have decided to install their own solar panel systems. According to Craig Wentz, owner of Wentz Electric Co. LLC, right now the cost of a solar panel is about 89 cents per watt. “In the old days it would be like two or three dollars a watt,” Wentz said. “This is also why PNM is really interested in solar, they can put more megawatts online for less money than any other method… Except for wind.” Despite this, the only fall back is storing the power produced by renewable energies, he added. A small scale example is one citizen in Silver City who has his own solar panels and a way to store the energy they produce. Alan Leake said he is upgrading his solar system and making repairs. Leake said his system is rather small, but it is still able to help power his
Stewart McClintic Photo
Solar Panels sit just outside the Silver City Waste Water Treatment Plant to help power the facility. Silver City uses structures such as these to help power the plant and the visitor center. Some residents throughout Silver City also use solar panels to help power their homes and businesses. home — he gave an example that it usually produces enough electricity to power his energy-efficient refrigerator, a light and a small television. Leake added he also has a back-
up battery system, which is charged by his solar panels. In the future, he said he plans on installing more See SOLAR, Page A3
American crash victims: US government contractor, daughter WASHINGTON (AP) — Three Americans were presumed dead in the plane crash in the southern French Alps, including a U.S. government contractor and her daughter, the State Department said Wednesday. Identified victims were Yvonne Selke of Nokesville, Virginia, an employee for 23 years at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. in Washington, and her daughter, Emily Selke,
a recent graduate of Drexel University in Philadelphia. The U.S. government did not identify the third American it said was on the plane. Yvonne Selke performed work under contract with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s satellite mapping office, Booz Allen and the Defense Department confirmed in statements after the AP had reported her
identity and employment. “Every death is a tragedy, but seldom does a death affect us all so directly and unexpectedly,” NGA Director Robert Cardillo said. “All of us offer our deepest condolences and will keep her family and her colleagues in our thoughts.” Booz Allen’s chief personnel officer, Betty Thompson, described Selke as “a wonderful co-worker and a dedicated employee who spent
her career with the firm.” A person who answered the phone at Selke’s home said the family was not providing any information. AP Photo
This photo shows Emily Selke in St. Andrews, Scotland, on Aug. 1, 2013. She is among the three Americans presumed dead in the plane crash in the southern French Alps, according to the U.S. State Department.
Today’s Forecast
Today’s Obituaries Page A6
HIGH 64 LOW 36
• Lorene Croka Bost • Ralph Knight • William G. Liakos
Index Classifieds...........B5 Comics..................B4 Entertainment. ....A8 Financial..............B3
General...............A2 Horoscopes.........A8 Lotteries. ............A2 Nation..................A6
Opinion.................A4 Sports. ................B1 Weather...............A8