Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 124, No. 72 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
March 25, 2015
Wednesday
www.rdrnews.com
City reviews change to street-name policy
By Jeff Jackson Record City Editor
The city of Roswell will pay up to $2,000 to change a street name but higher costs likely will have to come from someone else’s pocket. In addition, a minimum of 51 percent of a street’s property owners who would have responded to a survey will need to approve the name change. Those are two key elements in a revised draft that was discussed Monday at the city of Roswell’s Streets and Alleys Committee. Renaming streets in Roswell after Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez or anybody else won’t occur soon, however. A
second version of the draft ordinance will be presented to the Streets and Alleys Committee when it meets in late April and, if approved at that level, will proceed to the City Council in May at the soonest. Changing the name of one street sign will cost $148.97, based on the price of in-stock materials when calculations were made Monday by the city’s Street Department, said City Engineer Louis Najar. The breakdown includes $49.80 for the sign itself, $64.80 for a two-foot post bracket and $34.37 in wages. The initial $2,000 from the city, which the city manager would be able to adjust or waive for “good cause,” would cover 13
1 / 2 signs on average; the citizens requesting the name change would have to pay to cover the work that exceeds $2,000, plus a $150 application fee, and one city councilor wants that money in advance. “I think there needs to be a guarantee of some sort from the applicant or community or whatever,” said councilwoman Jeanine Corn Best. “(They) are gonna have to come up with X amount of money to finish this project because if it passes we’ve spent our $2,000 on certified mail or advertising and the city’s left holding the bag.” While two other councilors on the Streets committee favored most of the draft’s provisions,
Corn Best asked for other language and also reiterated her previous opinion that the city has bigger priorities than renaming streets. “I would love to see the water situation fixed, the sewer fixed, the potholes fixed instead of — and I believe in Martin Luther King and I believe in Cesar Chavez and I believe in Poe Corn,” Corn Best said. “Whoever the street is named after I believe in that person. Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez should have been taught in our schools. My kids know about it, your kids should know about it. We shouldn’t have to have a street named after them. “We have a park (named after
MLK). It is not necessarily a waste of money, and that’s probably the wrong verbiage saying it’s a waste of money, (but) we need other things to keep this city going. It is a business. And we have slacked up on a lot of our stuff in the city. There’s a lot of stuff in this city that’s been proposed and it’s been ignored and it’s moved on. We’ve had to pick up the pieces and take care of it. Again, I think we need to know that the money is there to follow through with the application. “I’m just trying to protect the hen house.” Councilors Juan Oropesa and Steve Henderson, who offered his See POLICY, Page A3
Partisan fighting killed law to help the mentally ill
Doggone fun
Timothy P. Howsare Photo
31/2-year-old
Canine friends Mira, left, a Heeler-pitt bull mix, and Maui, a 10-month-old Standard Poodle, share a drink Tuesday at the “doggie fountain” at the Woof Bowl Dog Park. Established in 2012 by the city of Roswell, the Woof Bowl is located just south of the famed Wool Bowl. The dogs’ owners, Cassandra Brobano (Mira) and Dana Mayadag (Maui) said the dogs had never met before, but instantly became friends and had a frisky playing session before taking a much-needed water break.
Roswell Humane Society helping create bonds for almost 50 years
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Lost in the partisan bickering of the New Mexico Legislature’s final moments was a measure aimed at helping residents with severe mental illness who refuse needed treatment. Since lawmakers failed to pass the bill, New Mexico remains one of only a handful of states without a “Kendra’s Law.” That law would have allowed judges in some counties to order patients to take medication and undergo treatment if they are deemed a danger to themselves and their community. The proposal came after calls in Albuquerque following more than 40 police shootings since 2010. Officials say 75 percent of the suspects shot suffered from some sort of mental illness and likely did not receive the
needed treatment. Despite calls from mental health advocates and hours of testimony, time ran out before the Senate could vote on a revised version of the bill. The House passed the measure with minutes to go in the session, but there wasn’t enough time for the Senate to vote. A partisan battle over public-works spending held up the bill and others, as lawmakers stalled proposals in protest over the capital-spending fight. “The Senate held it up because of a filibuster,” said House Majority leader Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque. Jack LeVick, executive director of the New Mexico Sheriffs’ Association, said he didn’t care whose fault it was See LAW, Page A3
Spring’s arrived
By Dylanne Petros Record Staff Writer
There are more than 50 animals waiting to be adopted by loving families at the Humane Society. The Roswell Humane Society is approaching the “puppy and kitty season,” said Jamie Howe, public relations officer for the Humane Society. “That’s always a full house,” Howe said. The Humane Society has been up and running in Roswell since 1967, right after the air base closed, Howe said. The society was started See HUMANE, Page A3
Dylanne Petros Photo
Jamie Howe, public relations officer for the Humane Society, tells the Kiwanis club Tuesday about all the animals at the Roswell Humane Society that are looking to be adopted. Kiwanis President Abel Esquibel listens.
Plane crash kills 150 in French Alps SEYNE-LES-ALPES, France (AP) — A black box recovered from the scene and pulverized pieces of debris strewn across Alpine mountainsides held clues to what caused a German jetliner to take an unexplained eight-minute dive Tuesday midway through a flight from Spain to Germany, apparently killing all 150 people on board. The victims included two babies, two opera singers and 16 German high school students and their teachers returning from an exchange trip to Spain. It was the deadliest crash in France in decades. The Airbus A320 operat-
ed by Germanwings, a budget subsidiary of Lufthansa, was less than an hour from landing in Duesseldorf on a flight from Barcelona when it unexpectedly went into a rapid descent. The pilots sent out no distress call and had lost radio contact with their control center, France’s aviation authority said, deepening the mystery. While investigators searched through debris from Flight 9525 on steep and desolate slopes, families across Europe reeled with shock and grief. Sobbing relatives at both airports were led away by airport workers and crisis Today’s Forecast
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counselors. “The site is a picture of horror. The grief of the families and friends is immeasurable,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after being flown over the crash scene. “We must now stand together. We are united in our great grief.” It took investigators hours to reach the site, led by mountain guides to the craggy ravine in the southern French Alps, not far from the Italian border and the French Riviera. Video shot from a helicopter and aired by BFM See CRASH, Page A2
Bill Moffitt Photo
In this photo taken Tuesday afternoon, trees on the north side of City Hall can be seen showing their true, spring colors.
Index
Today’s Obituaries Page A6
• Ralph Lee Knight • Thomas Lloyd Pearson
• Daria Prieto de Perez • Carl “Mike” Speegle
Classifieds...........B6 Comics..................B5 Financial..............B3 General...............A2
Horoscopes.........A8
Opinion.................A4
Lotteries. ............A2
Sports. ................B1
Nation..................A6
Weather...............A8