Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 10 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
January 11, 2014
AG spends thousands to fight Valley Meat JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Attorney General Gary King’s office spent nearly $15,000 in addition to paying its legal staff in August and October to battle horse slaughter and Valley Meat Company, according to financial receipts obtained by the Record Friday. Salaries for five staf f attorneys assigned to fighting horse slaughter for the of fice total nearly $416,000. The expenditures do not include money spent by
In flight
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King’s office recently in an internally initiated lawsuit against Valley Meat that will resume Monday.
The Record’s of ficial request, submitted Dec. 26, asked for all records of expenditures by the AG’s office in any way related to horse slaughter, including attorney’s salaries, costs and fees paid to any expert.
The receipts provided show records of public funds of $14,493 paid for experts, travel expenses and attorney consultations when the AG’s office joined in a lawsuit against the
U.S. Department of Agriculture and to fight against Valley Meat’s state wastewater discharge permit.
The federal lawsuit was filed by the Humane Society of the United States against the USDA and was eventually vacated in December by an appeals court.
The cost to file the lawsuit was $877. The AG’s office hired William Olson Consulting Services to assist in preparing for the lawsuit that was heard in August at the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.
Olson is a private consultant on water quality issues. He served as bureau chief of the New Environment Mexico Department’s Ground Water Quality Bureau from 2004 to 2011.
Beginning in July, Olson’s office was paid $80 an hour to help review temporary restraining order documents and participate in more than five hours of phone conferences with the attor ney for the HSUS’s attorney Bruce Wagman. See SPENDING, Page A3
SATURDAY
Richardson recognized for anti-slaughter efforts ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — For mer Gov. Bill Richardson said Friday that he hopes an agreement he is negotiating with the Navajo Nation becomes a model for saving horses from slaughter. Richardson said he and the tribe are close to finalizing the pact, which would give the Navajos
Geese fly over a farm field in search of a landing zone, Wednesday morning.
See RICHARDSON, Page A3
Family creates fund for assault survivor JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
philanthropic support for horse sanctuaries, equine birth control and other programs to help it manage feral horse populations that the tribe has said are drinking wells dry and causing ecological damage to the drought-stricken range.
The family of a woman, who was the victim of a home invasion, stabbing and sexual assault Jan. 4, has set up a fund for her. “She has no disability and she is still listed in critical condition, but she’s recovering. It’s going to be a long recovery,” said cousin Nancy Sanchez. Family members will be gathering this weekend to move her furniture from her house because she cannot afford to keep it while she is in the hospital. Kenneth Whiteside, 18, broke into her home in the 900 block of Pecan Drive around 6 a.m. He took televisions, jewelry and a gaming station. He stabbed, raped and beat the woman before he left. She had to go to a neighbor’s house to call police. Doctors at a local
emergency room confirmed the victim had been stabbed in the neck and sides. “She is a single mother. She has three kids. Her children are pretty traumatized, but they were not hurt. They were staying with their dad at the time,” said Sanchez. The children will continue to stay with their family members until their mother can come home. Speaking for the family, Sanchez said: “We are pretty shocked. You don’t know what to do in a situation like this.” The shock was shared by the community. Her neighbors held a candlelight vigil for her Jan. 5. “We have set up a fund for her through Wells Fargo Bank at any location in any state,” said Sanchez. She explained that anyone who wants to donate can go to Wells Fargo and mention the account by name: “The Roswell Victim Fund.”
Food giveaway at Boys 17 reclaim items recovered by RPD officers & Girls Club Sunday
Burnt out from the holidays? Need a little help? Feel like lending a hand? Community organizer Johnny Gonzales will host a food giveaway at the Boys & Girls Club, 201 S. Garden Ave., 10 a.m. on Sunday. The event includes a breakfast of bacon and eggs, a hot dog lunch and distribution of baskets of non-perishable and other food items. This is the sixth year Gonzales has organized the occasion, which he refers to as a “party” — and the party is open to everyone. Gonzales put the bash together after receiving calls from community members who said their resources were tapped due to holiday purchases. He said he expects 80 to
100 people to show up.
“Out of those 40 who called, I’m expecting them to bring about 40 more,” he said. The giveaway will run until resources diminish, probably until 1 p.m. or 2 p.m., according to Gonzales.
Event organizers plan to collect food and monetary donations from 1-8 p.m. today at Lawrence Brothers IGA Grocers, 900 W. Second St.
Those seeking to make donations can also call Gonzales at 624-7579. Gonzales said he is still in need of volunteers to serve food Sunday.
“And we’re looking for girls to bake us a homemade pie,” he added.
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
A total of 55 individuals went to check the items located by officers of the Roswell Police Department during a warrant service. Of those who went to see what was on display, 17 were able to reclaim their personal possessions. In other words, a little less than one-third of those who attended recovered their property. The items have been linked to 17 area burglaries, and police will only be able to charge the subject with receiving stolen property since they cannot link him directly to the burglaries. Items recovered by those who went to the viewing included jewelry,
Derek Chan and fellow artist and friend Paula Wilson pose for a photograph during Chan's exhibit at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, Friday evening.
HIGH 66 LOW 29
TODAY’S FORECAST
Individuals look through recovered stolen items at the Roswell Police Department, Thursday.
tools and lawn and garden equipment. The alien abductee that was featured in Tuesday’s Daily Record was happily
reunited with its owner and was returned to his home at Galaxy Car Wash on North Main Street.
remain unclaimed are: a coin collection, a baseball card collection, other lawn
Some of the items that
See VIEWING, Page A3
nally slotted to go on display in September with an official opening in October. The show was delayed by a leak in the roof of the museum’s Marshall and Winston Gallery, where the exhibition is installed. Chan, who grew up in San Francisco, Calif., spoke during his lecture about his upbringing and his development as an artist. He said he and his cousins comprise the first
generation of their family raised in America. Chan’s family immigrated from Hong Kong.
Chan’s work hard to categorize — and that’s good TESS TOWNSEND RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
Mark Wilson Photo
“Causation” opened Friday evening at the Roswell Museum and Art Center with a lecture by exhibition creator and RoswellArtist-in-Residence fellow Derek Chan and a preview of the show. The exhibition focuses on man’s imbalance with nature and the ultimate rebalancing that has occurred in times past.
• JACK RAYMOND KLEVER
Residency Director Stephen Fleming described Chan’s art as hard to categorize, which he said is a good thing. “I think kind of not knowing what it’s about is part of the interest in it,” he said. Chan is the last of the 47th cohort of residents to display his art at the RMAC. The 48th cohort is now just beginning its time in Roswell. “Causation” was origi-
TODAY’S OBITUARY PAGE B4
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3
He said that being first generation Americans made it “more natural and possible” for him and his cousins to “have creative paths” in life. One of his cousins is an illustrator and another has worked as a designer See CHAN, Page A3
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD ..................B4