Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 121, No. 27 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Roundhouse debates SCOTUS ruling
WEDNESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Democratic and Republican lawmakers held a spirited debate on the House floor Tuesday over ideological differences regarding the Supreme Court’s decision on the Citizens United case. Although the Supreme Court came to a decision two years ago in January, the case of Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Com-
ONLINE WON’T REPLACE TV
February 1, 2012
“It was the most interesting debate we’ve had so far. Most philosophical, I will say that,” Kintigh said.
mission is still stirring up bipartisan heat among lawmakers nationwide. The root of the case centered around Citizens United’s desire to distribute a video critical of Hillary Clinton on the Internet. In its 5-4
Roadwork in progress
decision, the Supreme Court held that corporations and unions could directly contribute to “independent” political campaigns, reasoning that the political speech of corporations and unions was equal to free speech under the First Amend-
ment. “In the oral arguments one of the justices asked the deputy solicitor general if their position supporting the FEC went all the way to the concept of banning books. While the deputy solicitor general would not use the term banning, he did maintain that the gover nment could prohibit the publishing of a book and the distribution of a
NEW YORK (AP) — The television set won’t be the only place to watch video of the New York Giants and the New England Patriots this Sunday. For the first time, U.S. football fans will be able to watch the Super Bowl live on a computer or on a phone. You may be wondering ... - PAGE B6
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Happy Birthday El Capitan • Maples seeking election for Ward I • Fire destroys everything couple had • Del Norte students get new playground • Roswell girls top Las Cruces
INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
Coaches preach many things, but one of the main talking points is setting the tone early in a game. When coaches talk about setting the tone early, they mean so in a positive way. Unfortunately for Goddard, the tone it set early was not good as the Rockets fell to Artesia 61-36 on Tuesday night in the District 4-4A opener for both teams. The Rockets won the opening tip and had a chance to grab the early lead with a layup, but ... - PAGE B1
Chaves County Sheriff Rob Coon completed a fiveyear study about the number of people who enter the courthouse. “The figures have shown a steady rising peaking in 2009. The figures (pertaining to visitors) were down in 2011 while the number of prisoners are up. Why this is the case, I couldn’t say. You would think they would stay the same,” Coon said. The study indicates number of visitors average around 11,565 in a month.
“These figures are counted by the magnetometer. We don’t generally count the lawyers, the judges and the normal courthouse staff who enter the court every day on business,” Coon said. He noted that the Chaves County Courthouse was one of the busiest buildings in Roswell. “There’s a lot of traffic. We count juries and we can have 100 people in a jury panel.” In the normal course of business, the courts may have more than one jury
HIGH ...70˚ LOW ....32˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B6 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
See GOP, Page A3
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
OBITUARIES
Virginia Beasley Juanita Grace Fry Juan Herrera Jr. Manuel S. Tafoya - PAGE A6
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Mitt Romney routed Newt Gingrich in the Florida primary Tuesday night, rebounding smartly from an earlier defeat and taking a major step toward the Republican presidential nomination. Gingrich vowed to press on despite the one-sided setback Romney, talking unity like a nominee, said he was ready to take the Republican helm and “lead this party and our nation.” In remarks to cheering supporters, the for mer Massachusetts gover nor unleashed a strong attack on Democratic President Barack
See MAYOR, Page A2
AP Photo
Mitt Romney greets supporters at his Florida primary night rally in Tampa, Tuesday.
Roswell hosts Leadership New Mexico program See SHERIFF, Page A3
TODAY’S • • • •
With the March municipal election nearly a month away, Mayor Del Jurney held an intimate and informal meeting where a handful of attendees were able to ask questions about his proposal to add a municipal infrastructure gross receipts tax to the city’s current gross receipts tax. The addition of the MIGRT would result in an increase of the city’s current gross receipts tax, which would shift from
Sheriff completes Mitt routs Newt in Florida courthouse study A road construction crew continues work on the extension of College Boulevard, west of Sycamore Avenue, Tuesday.
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
LADY ROCKETS FALL
Mayor touts MIGRT
See DEBATE, Page A3
Mark Wilson Photo
Leadership New Mexico is concluding its fifth annual Connect New Mexico program this week in Roswell, where 29 participants will tour the city and analyze state issues before graduating Friday at the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. The program, open to business people ages 2540, aims for its participants to develop fresh ideas and techniques for solving problems in government
and education. Patty Komko, co-founder and president of Leadership New Mexico, said the program was created in 2007 to network young professionals, helping them to gain skills needed to take on the state’s most complex issues. “When we put a class together we look at four different areas of diversity,” Komko said. “We look at gender diversity, ethnic diversity, business diversity and geographic diversity. So we’re really putting a group of people together that might not have ever
known each other. The outcome from that is, hopefully, that the false barriers, which are geography or business-affiliation, will go away. And we’ll start seeing people work better together.”
Participants represent various regions of New Mexico, brought together in what Komko sees as an opportunity to build a brighter future for the state. “We get somebody, for instance, who is in oil and gas — and they may or
Task force eyes rural, tribal exposure to violence A group with Leadership New Mexico tours Dean Baldwin Painting, Tuesday evening.
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The epidemic of children being exposed to violence in communities across the nation will have to become more of a public discussion before the cycle can end, members of a national task force assembled by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday. The National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence held its second public meeting in Albuquerque to gather testimony from victims and experts on violence in rural and NativeAmerican communities — two areas often plagued by higher incidents of poverty and child abuse but with fewer options for help. Robert Listenbee Jr., co-chair of the 13-member task force, ticked off a list of statistics that painted a grim picture of the challenges facing those communities.
See ROSWELL, Page A3
Native Americans and Alaska Natives have the highest poverty rate of any racial group in the nation, he said. They also have a higher rate of gang involvement than Latinos and AfricanAmerican youth, and suicide ranks among the leading causes of death for young Native boys.
“These facts are staggering,” Listenbee told the crowd. “But perhaps even more alarming is the difficulty many children and families face in getting help.”
The isolation of tribal and rural communities complicates matters. Victims of domestic violence and clergy sex abuse testified about having nowhere to turn for help and the difficulties See VIOLENCE, Page A3
AP Photo
Elsie Boudreau testifies about her childhood experiences at the National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence in Albuquerque, Tuesday.