Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 124, No. 108 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
May 6, 2015
Wednesday
www.rdrnews.com
Woman hiding in bathtub spared from tornado
By Jared Tucker Multimedia Journalist And Bill Moffitt Correspondent Amanda Fambrough was watching Netflix with her dogs on the couch when she heard what sounded like something “shredding” Tuesday afternoon at her boyfriend’s family’s ranch west of Roswell Tuesday around lunch. She got up and went to the window and saw something she’ll likely never forget — a tornado coming at her from the southwest side of the property located East of Eisenhower Road on La Quinta Road. “I saw that building right there being destroyed and decimated,” Fambrough said, pointing at the remains of a storage shed that was severely damaged by the tornado just East of Eisenhower Road on La Quinta road around 12:48 p.m. Fambrough, 26, lives in the home with her boyfriend Matthew Jennings, who was on duty as an EMT at the Carlsbad Fire Department at the time.
“I heard the noise and went to see what it was,” Fambrough said. “I saw it moving across the field and it started shredding everything. I grabbed my two dogs and ran back inside. I could hear large crashing noises. It only lasted a minute or two, but it was the longest minute ever. It blew the garage door (from a storage building) up our telephone pole.” Fambrough grabbed her dogs and immediately ran to the bathroom where she hid in the bathtub with with them, something the dogs didn’t think to highly of, at first. “The dogs weren’t very willingly doing that...they were scared, too,” Fambrough said. The tornado proceeded to partially destroy a recently renovated garage mere feet from the home and wrap its door around a nearby fullsize electric pole complete with four transformers. The damage was estimated between $40,000 to $100,000 worth of damage. Luckily there were no injuries, according to Sierra Volunteer Fire Department Chief Don Ford.
Aric Loomis Photo
Above left: The funnel cloud as seen from the Daily Record public parking lot. “It’s insane. It’s not normal. It’s not something that should happen,” Fambrough said. “If it had been 40 feet over (north) it would have
totally destroyed the house,” said Randy Jennings who owns the property along with his father, Kenneth Jennings – partners of Jennings Farm. “It blew the cover (for the cab) off of a (Oliver brand) tractor and bent the fender (over the back left tire). I’ve never seen anything like it.” Jennings said that he could have lost a $200,000 tractor — that would have been in the path of the twister — but he had moved it into the shelter of his nearby shop after hearing that the weather forecast was for hail in the area. Roswell Independent Schools Superintendent Tom Burris said all schools were placed on lockdown for around 45 minutes, and
Bill Moffitt Photo
A garage door falls to the ground after workers from Xcel Energy pry it loose from the top of a power pole after a tornado hit a farm three miles west of Roswell about 1 p.m. Tuesday. The twister destroyed the brick storage building that the door was on along with two other buildings. The Oliver tractor had the cab torn off, a fender bent 45 degrees out of position and a piece of wood siding slammed into the engine by the twister. No one in a nearby home was injured. kids were instructed to stay away from windows. T h e N a t i o n a l W e a t her Service in Albuquerque said there were many reports of “cold air funnels” from North of the Mesa rest stop on U.S. 285 North of Roswell to areas near Berrendo Middle School Northeast of Roswell. No injuries were reported by Roswell Police. Xcel reported some downed lines near LaQuinta and Eisenhower, and
this affected a handful of customers. “Our crew already has repaired the damage and the customers have been restored to service,” Xcel spokesman Wes Reeves said in an email around 3:15 p.m. Multimedia journalist Jared Tucker can be contacted at 575-622-7100, ext. 301, or mmnews@ rdrnews.com. Bill Moffitt Photo
Kenneth, left, and his son, Randy Jennings, co-owners of Jennings Farm, stand in front of a brick storage building that was totally destroyed by a twister shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday at the property they own about three miles west of Roswell. The building had just been renovated and enlarged several weeks ago and the garage door they had added ended up wrapped around a power pole about 50 yards away. Miraculously the twister missed a house and no injuries were reported. “If it had been 40 feet over it would have destroyed the house,” said Randy Jennings.
Harvest Ministries, churches getting together for National Day of Prayer Staff Report
the world. This year’s event will take place in Roswell on the west steps of the Chaves County Courthouse from noon to 1 p.m. Any-
Every year on the first Thursday in May, millions gather across our nation and in 10 other nations around the world for the National Day of Prayer. Here in Roswell, pastors and civic and governmental leaders from our city, Chaves County and New Mexico will gather together to observe the National Day of Prayer by offering up prayers for our city, county, state, nation and
See PRAYER, Page A3 File Photo
Christian faithful sing and pray during last year’s National Day of Prayer at the Chaves County Courthouse.
German culture shared through exchange program By Dylanne Petros Record Staff Writer The teacher who changed the way the community thinks of the German language will be retiring at the end of the school year. Sharon Bell, the German teacher at Goddard
High School, brought the German language to Roswell when she and her husband Steve moved. “I swore I’d never be a teacher,” she said. Bell was in school to receive her master’s in German and political science. “Very, very practical
Today’s Forecast
HIGH 83 LOW 48
skills,” she said with a laugh. After meeting her husband she realized one of them needed to work and earn income so Steve could go to law school so Bell decided to get her teacher’s certificate. “I did what my momma always said would be a
good comeback,” she said. While in school for her certificate, Bell said she fell in love with teaching. She taught at a school in a suburb of Austin before her husband moved them to Roswell. “You can still see my See EXCHANGE, Page A3
Local MD appointed to state medical board Staff Report A Roswell pediatrician has been appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez to the New Mexico Medical Board, the state agency that regulates the licensing of physicians and physician assistants. Dr. Karen Lynn Carson was appointed as a
Artesia man gets 10 years on federal charges Staff Report An Artesia man was sentenced Tuesday to 120 months in federal prison on methamphetamine trafficking and firearms convictions. Angel Guadalupe Ochoa, 38, was also sentenced in federal court in Las Cruces to four years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Ochoa was arrested on Feb. 28, 2014, on a criminal complaint alleging that he possessed
methamphetamine with intent to distribute in Eddy County on Feb. 20, 2014. He subsequently was indicted on May 14, 2014. The four-count indictment charged Ochoa with distribution of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of firearms. See OCHOA, Page A3
Index
Today’s Obituaries Page A7
• Mark S. Capps
Carson
See MEDICAL, Page A2
Classifieds...........B8 Comics..................B7 Entertainment. ..A10 Financial..............B6
General...............A2 Horoscopes.......A10 Lotteries. ............A2 Nation..................A7
Opinion.................A4 Sports. ................B1 Weather.............A10 World................B10