Vol. 124, No. 36 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
www.rdrnews.com
WEDNESDAY
February 11, 2015
By Jeff Tucker Record Staff Writer
Ads may have led to Hagerman’s zero voter turnout Record, stating voting for the Hagerman school board, for the Roswell Independent School District and school bond, and for the Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Community College Board would take place on Election Day at eight voting convenience centers in Roswell. The issue became further muddied on four occasions, Nov. 29, Jan. 20, Jan. 27 and Jan. 30, when ENMU-R ran classified ads in the Daily Record stating the Hagerman Town Hall would be used as one of the voting convenience centers on the Election Day. Cindy Fuller, bureau of elections chief for the Chaves County Clerk’s Office, said the decision by the clerk’s office not to hold a polling site in Hagerman on Election Day was made after the clerk’s office placed its initial Resolution and Proclamation of Regular School District Elections ad in the Daily Record on Dec. 14 and after a Dec. 30 deadline for school board write-in candidates. “We had to wait until that,” Fuller said. “Then we published the public notice twice. The problem with all the publications is the proclamations had to be in the newspaper before that decision could have been made. So the original proclamations that ran do list Hagerman as a voting location. It wasn’t until we listed our public notice that we were able to say, ‘No, we’re not going to do that.’” Fuller said the Chaves County Clerk’s Office handled the legal advertisements for school board elections in Dexter, Hagerman, Lake Arthur and Roswell. “I think part of the problem, too, with that is that the college kept doing their own thing publishing things,” Fuller said. “All of the school districts left that up to us, to publish in the newspaper forum, except the college, and their’s was continually wrong. I think they published it four times. “Yes, that was an issue. The other schools allowed us to take care of all their publishing, but the college did their own. I’m not sure why they ran theirs four times either.” The Chaves County Clerk’s Office said it was bound by law not to hold a polling site in Hagerman in Election Day, although a polling site for Hagerman had been advertised in advance of last week’s elections. “Hagerman had three positions up for election, with no bond question or mill levy,” Chaves County Clerk Dave Kunko said in a written statement provided to the Daily Record Tuesday. “Three people came in on filing day and signed up for separate positions. The three candidates were not currently on the Hagerman school board. There were no write-in candidates.” Fuller said the decision not to have a polling site in Hagerman on Election Day not only followed the state law, but also saved some money. “It really was a financial matter, too,” she said. “We See HAGERMAN, Page A3
Erroneous classified ads placed in the Daily Record days before last week’s school elections may have contributed to a zero-turnout election in Hagerman that one statewide political observer said is an embarrassment to the democratic process. The Chaves County Clerk’s Office placed a classified ad in the Daily Record on Dec. 14, stating there would be a polling place in Hagerman on Election Day, Feb. 3. On Jan. 24 and 31, the clerk’s office placed other classified ads in the Daily
County awarded for safety
Municipal golf By Jeff Jackson Record Staff Writer Golfers who play at Spring River Golf Course could be springing for higher fees if a proposal meets approval. Green fees at Roswell’s municipal golf course are part of the Parks and Recreation Department’s fee-restructuring proposal to take effect as soon as April. The current charge of $28.39, which includes a cart and taxes, for an 18-hole round will rise by 12 to 15 percent, meaning golfers will pay $32.64 that same round of golf. The higher fee would apply only at the cityowned Spring River course, not the two other courses in Roswell. Spring River Golf Club is in the rough financially and needs to show more revenue, said Tim Williams, director of the Parks and Recreation Department. “The golf course is about 50 percent cost-recov-
rates may increase ery, so they bring back 50 cents on the dollar that they spend. So with a program like that or a project like that it needs to bring in more money,” Williams said Tuesday. “Golf is trending down. ... Golf is on the decline. A lot of them say it is going to plateau out. But you can see it in our revenues. They’re just slowly dipping. There’s been some months greater than last year but most of them are down, below what we had last year.” First, however, three levels of city government must review the proposal starting with the volunteer-staffed Parks and Recreation Department commission that meets Feb. 23. That panel would then send the proposal to the Parks and Recreation Department Committee for its March 2 meeting, and then it would reach the City Council but probably not until the See GOLF, Page A3
Courtesy Photo
The New Mexico Association of Counties presented Chaves County with a safety award in recognition of the county’s efforts in making the workplace safer. During the previous three years, Chaves County demonstrated a positive trend in its worker compensation losses for a county its size. The county received the award at the New Mexico Association of Counties 2015 Legislative Conference in Santa Fe. “Chaves County’s commitment to safety awareness has resulted in not only making the workplace safer, but has reduced costs to the community,” said NMAC Risk Management Director Taylor Horst. “The leadership and employees of Chaves County are to be commended for their hard work.” Shown are Chaves County engineering technician Angelo Gurule, middle, and Chaves County Commissioner Robert Corn.
ACA webinar for Center offers activities for most ages business owners to be held today By Randal Seyler Record City Editor Staff Report If you are a business owner and have questions about the Affordable Care Act and its impact on you and your business, this webinar from the New Mexico District Office of the Small Business Administration is for you. SBA, in partnership with Health and Human Services and the IRS, will conduct an Affordable Care Act webinar today from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Get your questions answered without leaving your office or home. An overview of the ACA will be conducted in a question and answer format. Get questions answered about small business options, deductions, tax credits, enrollment and resources. Open question format for all participants. The presenter will provide an overview of the options and answer questions. Enrollment counselors will be online to help answer questions about the website. You can join by web or by phone. Once you register through Eventbrite, the link for the webinar and phone number will be emailed to you. For questions, contact See WEBINAR, Page A2
The Roswell Adult and Senior Center isn’t just for senior citizens. “We have classes and activities for most ages,” Recreation Supervisor Sheila McKnight told the Roswell Kiwanis Club on Tuesday. “We are offering classes for some of the children’s activities, such as jazz and tap dancing, at the RAC because of the situation with the Yucca Recreational Center.” “We are really a family activity center, and not just a senior center,” McKnight said. The Roswell Adult and Senior Center has been serving adults over the age of 18 for nearly 40 years, according to the city website.
Randal Seyler Photo
Sheila McKnight, recreation supervisor for the Roswell Adult and Senior Center, discusses the various activities and classes offered at the city-operated facility with the Roswell Kiwanis Club on Tuesday. The facility was once the Memorial Youth Center but with the closure of the Walker Air Force Base the City of Roswell decided to attract seniors to this area to help the economy. The campaign was successful, and the adults soon outgrew the facility that they were using and saw a great possibility to utilize this center. The youth were moved to the Yucca Recreation Center, a former middle school, and the youth programs are still at that location with many programs directed to the
youth of the community, McKnight said. However, recent troubles with the Yucca facility have resulted in part of the building being closed to usage, and the overflow classes are making their way to the center. “Especially in the summer, we expect to see an increase in classes for the youth,” she said. However, that doesn’t mean there will be fewer things for adults to do at the center. “We just refurbished our pool tables, at a cost of $4,000,” McKnight said. “We offer art classes, dance classes, and we now also offer computer classes.” Most classes cost $10 to $30 a class for a 10-week session, McKnight said. See CENTER, Page A3
AP Photo
In this Dec. 19 photo, oil pump jacks work in unison, in Williston, N.D. After falling nearly 60 percent from a peak last June, the price of oil has now bounced back 19 percent since late January, closing Monday near $53.
NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is on a wild ride, and there is little agreement on where it’s headed. After falling nearly 60 percent from a peak last June, the price of oil bounced back more than 20 percent as January turned to February. Then, on Tuesday, it sunk 5 percent, closing just above $50. Oil has fallen or risen by 3 percent or more on 14 of 27 trading days so far this year. By comparison,
Oil prices on wild ride — how will it end? the stock market hasn’t had a move that big in more than three years. Predicting prices is especially tricky now because the oil market has never quite looked like this. Oil price collapses of the past were triggered either by plummeting demand or an increase in supplies. This latest one had both. Production in the U.S. and elsewhere has been rising, while slower economic growth in China and weak economies in Europe and Japan means demand for oil isn’t growing as much as expected. As recent trading shows, any sign of reduced production inspires traders to buy oil, and every new sign of rising supplies sends prices lower. In a report Tuesday the U.S. Energy Department, citing unusual uncertainty, said the price of oil could end up anywhere from $32 to $108 by December.
“There are many more laps to come on this roller coaster,” said Judith Dwarkin, chief economist at ITG Investment Research. As oil bounces up and down, so will the price of gasoline, diesel and other fuels. Almost no one expects a return to the very high prices of the last four years, so drivers and shippers will continue to pay lower prices. It’s a question See OIL, Page A8
Today’s Forecast
HIGH 53 LOW 32
• Sarah Louise Harrington • Samuel B. Valdez • Joy Hunt • Johnnie J. White
Today’s Obituaries Page B6 & B8
• Charles Ray “Chick” Murphy • Eunice Dorthy Wright • Patricia Ann Clark • Yolanda Hawley
Index Classifieds...........B8 Comics..................B7 Entertainment. ..A10 Financial..............A8 General...............A2 Horoscopes.......A10 Lotteries. ............A2 Opinion.................A4 Sports. ................B1 Weather.............A10