Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 124, No. 113 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
May 12, 2015
Tuesday
www.rdrnews.com
Community investment program underway By Jeff Tucker Record Staff Writer
Civic leaders on Monday officially kicked off a cleanup campaign also intended to connect Roswell residents with various city departments and charitable organizations. Roswell Reaches Out, a community investment project involving various city departments and private organizations, is targeting four areas of Roswell for cleanup efforts and outreach programs from May 1 through Aug. 31. The summerlong project will target different sections of the city every month, beginning with the Loveless Park area in May. The Loveless Park designated area is College Boulevard south to East Second Street, and Railroad Ave-
nue east to city limits. The Carpenter Park area will follow in June, followed by the Poe Corn Park area in July and the Esplanade Park area in August. The Roswell Police Department will have its command vehicle parked in each designated area during the summerlong project, serving children free hot dogs and refreshments donated by Farmer’s Country Markets and WalMart from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, said Commander Fil Gonzales of the RPD. Gonzales said the summertime project is a tangible effort by the RPD to connect with the community it serves. The Roswell Fire Department plans to set up an obstacle course for local children. “Instead of it just being
a thought, we have started to make it a reality now,” Gonzales said. “So we’re trying to bridge the gap between the community and the police department, along with other agencies.” Gonzales said cadets from the New Mexico Youth ChalleNGe Academy in Roswell and city employees will tackle weeds and alleyways. An honor guard from the academy presented the colors at Monday’s kickoff. Roswell Code Enforcement Department Director Bill Bartlett said the collaborative effort involving several city departments, such as the city’s Sanitation/Landfill Department, is meant to help residents in need. “We’re actually going door to door in hopes of See RRO, Page A2
Jeff Tucker Photos
Roswell City Councilor Natasha Mackey sings the national anthem at Monday’s kickoff of Roswell Reaches Out, a cleanup program intended to connect Roswell residents with city agencies, such as the police department.
Take me home
Mary Morgan Photos
Ceetco a “chug,” or a Chihuahua pug mix, poses for his picture Saturday during the Roswell Humane Society’s monthly adoption event at Petco.
Driver on U.S. 285 not speeding, driving erratically before rollover By Jared Tucker Multimedia Journalist
Police are trying to find out why a driver suddenly lost control of his white pickup Monday afternoon south of Roswell around 1 p.m. According to New Mexico State Police Officer J. Torrez, a white Ford Ranger pickup was traveling South on U.S. 285 a short distance south of the rest area when, for an unknown reason, the driver lost control of the vehicle and rolled it across the median into Northbound lanes. “A witness said that he wasn’t speeding or driving erratically. Just observed the vehicle begin to fishtail and roll over,” Torrez said. The driver’s name was
Jared Tucker Photo
A firefighter from the District 8 Volunteer Fire department waits for a local towing company to remove a rolled over pickup on U.S. 285 south of Roswell Monday afternoon. Police said witnesses reported no erratic driving or excessive speed of the driver prior to the crash. not released since he was removed it from the road. transported to a local hosThe accident remains pital before Torrez arrived under investigation, Torrez on scene, Torrez said. said. The north lanes of U.S. Multimedia journalist 285 were closed for a short Jared Tucker can be contime while a local tow- tacted at 575-622-7100, ing company flipped the ext. 301, or mmnews@ truck onto its’ wheels and rdrnews.com.
The Roswell Humane Society held its monthly adoption event at the Roswell Petco Saturday. Ben Dexter, an ENMU-R student, says hello to one of the dogs up for adoption.
Governor spends $27,000 on travel in 3 months
SANTA FE (AP) — State records show New Mexico taxpayers have spent more than $27,000 on out-ofstate travel expenses for Gov. Susana Martinez, her staff and security during the first three months of the year. Some of the trips were for meetings of the Republican Governors Association in February and March. Martinez was elected vice chairman of that group late last year. There was also a trip to Fort Hood, Texas, to see New Mexico National Guard soldiers as they departed for the Middle East, and two trips to Chihuahua, Mexico — one for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new highway and the other for a border commission meeting. Martinez on Tuesday will be wrapping up a trip of several days with New
Mexico Amigos, a private group of business leaders that promotes the state. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Monday that for the first three months of the year, most of the travel costs involved lodging, food and transportation for the state police officers assigned to protect the governor. Typically, groups that invite Martinez to out-ofstate functions pay for most of her personal traveling costs, but the state pays for staff members and officers who travel with her. The records on the February and March trips provided by the state Department of Finance and Administration showed that the state paid a total of $2,651 for the governor and her staff and nearly 10 times that amount — $25,189 — for her security
detail. Almost all of those costs are for the governor’s State Police detail, which she is required to have, said Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez. Administration policy states for the safety of the governor and her staff, actual receipts or vouchers weren’t included in Martinez’s monthly expense reports. The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government has argued those are public records that people should be able to have access to them. It’s not unusual for taxpayer dollars to fund travel for security, such as when then-Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, traveled to promote Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008.
employees had “in general been harmonious.” The release said workers chose to organize “to guarantee workplace rights and benefits with a legally binding and lasting agreement.” Richard Vigil was elected president of Local 513. “We negotiated for essential workplace rights that were missing, including a grievance and disciplinary procedure that guarantees workers have representa-
tion should they face intimidation or retaliation if they blow the whistle on wrongdoing,” Vigil said in the release. Also included in the contract is language establishing a labor management committee, an article protecting employees who become whistleblowers and annual procedures for negotiating wages and benefits. Town Manager Rick Bel-
lis is expected to present the tentative contract for approval at a council work session this week. — The Taos News
Communication issues tie up agenda; news from around New Mexico LOVINGTON — Talk of countywide communication services took over most of the Lea County commission meeting May 7. During the meeting, the county passed a resolution in which Hobbs, Lovington and Lea County would share the cost of building a communications tower. Lea County Manager Mike Gallagher spoke
about an upgrade to the existing communication system, which needs at least three towers to operate. Two towers are already located in Hobbs and the third will be built in Lovington. The Lovington city commission approved building the tower last month and sharing the cost of the tower. — Lovington Leader
Today’s Forecast
HIGH 68 LOW 54
Union ratifies first contract with town of Taos
TAOS — Members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFSCME Local 513 Town of Taos employees, voted overwhelmingly to ratify its first contract May 1. According to a press release, relations between the town management and
• James (Jim) W. Holdman • Edgar Willard
SANTA FE — Federal officials are pumping more than $9 million into four See STATE, Page A3
Index
Today’s Obituaries Page A6
• Linda Sue Stoltz • Jerry C. Lykins
Conservation projects drawing federal dollars
Classifieds...........B6
General...............A2
Opinion.................A4
Comics..................B5
Horoscopes.........A8
Sports. ................B1
Financial..............B4
Lotteries. ............A2
Weather...............A8