Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 122, No. 40 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Mexican gray wolf No. 1105 was shot dead by wildlife managers after having a tryst — and puppies — with a common ranch dog. No. 1188, an alpha female, was almost executed, then taken away from her pups and pack, for killing cattle. ... - PAGE A2
www.rdrnews.com
Around midday, four days after the 893-foot ship was crippled by an engine-room fire in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, the more than
4,200 passengers and crew members suffered another misfortune with towline issues that brought the vessel to a dead stop just when it was getting close to port. The towline was replaced, and the crawl to Mobile resumed. The ship was expected to arrive around midnight Thursday. Officials said it would take passengers up to five hours to get off the ship, and then most faced hourslong bus rides or other travel hassles to get back home.
See SHIP, Page A3
After a discussion that lasted more than an hour, City Council voted 6-3 Thursday to pass an ordinance that will immediately increase water and sewer rates by 22.11 percent. The ordinance will then increase rates by 7.69 percent in 2014, 7.13 percent in 2015 and 6.67 percent in 2016. After 2016, water and sewer rate increases will be based on the annual Consumer Price Index of utility maintenance and operation. The increases will benefit the Joint Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund. Wastewater Manager Art Torrez said the city needs to generate at least $30 million in 20 years to perform necessary water projects and repairs to infrastructure. For more than 20 years, Mayor Del Jurney said the city’s governing bodies had not addressed the situation as they should have and “now we have a chance to fix it and fix it for the people 40 years from now.” “We’ve got to be consistent where we haven’t been,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we don’t put a Band-aid on this again.” Because it is the first major increase in so long, Jurney said to catch up,
For The Past 24 Hours
INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photos
Above: Kandace Loya assists as a flower decorator
as the team at House of Flowers fulfills Valentine's
Day orders, Thursday.
Right: A red rose arrangement at House of Flowers awaits delivery on Valentine’s Day.
OBITUARIES
• Debbie Jean Silva • Robin Troublefield • Sergio Lerma - PAGE A7
HIGH ...56˚ LOW ....28˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B4 COMICS.................B3 FINANCIAL .............A6 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A7 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Carnival Triumph is towed near Dauphin Island, Ala., Thursday.
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
• Couple renews vows at Villa Del Rey • Valentine’s Day Party is tonight! • State Senate passes Servers legislation • Man shot twice after altercation • Cowboys fend off ...
TODAY’S
AP Photo
Roswell comes up roses on Valentine’s Day City raises water rate
WEB
Winning is the goal of any game, but when it comes to late-season games that don’t affect district play, there are other goals coaches can have. For the Dexter girls basketball team, who have a District 5-2A game with Eunice tonight, staying healthy and fresh was ... - PAGE B1
FRIDAY
Frustrations with the cruise line simmered on and off the ship, as passengers and their relatives questioned why it had taken so long to get back to dry land. The ship left Galveston, Texas, a week ago. Television images from CNN showed passengers with signs of “Help” and “I love you” hanging from their cabin rooms. As the vessel drew within cellphone range, passengers
TOP 5
DEMONS DOWN LADY COLTS
February 15, 2013
Crippled cruise ship makes its way to land
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — This is not at all how it looked in the brochure: Pulled by a tugboat at a maddeningly slow pace, the cruise ship Carnival Triumph finally drew within sight of land Thursday as miserable passengers told stories of overflowing toilets, food shortages, foul odors and dangerously dark passageways.
SLOW RETURN FOR GRAY WOLVES
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
See WATER, Page A3
Committee touts Hudson and Senate GOP blocks Pittman for District Court Judge Hagel vote, for now JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The District Judicial Nominating Commission met at 9 a.m., Thursday, at the Chaves County Courthouse to select among four applicants to fill the vacancy for the 5th Judicial District Court Judge created by the death of Judge Ralph Shamas. The applicants under consideration were James L. Hudson, of Hinkle, Hensley, Shanor & Martin, LLP; Michael Murphy, chief deputy district attorney 5th Judicial Dis-
trict; John A. Phinizy II, assistant district attorney, 5th Judicial District; and Judy A. Pittman, Pittman Law Firm. After discussion in closed session, the committee recommended Hudson and Pittman as the names to put forward to the governor. Barbara Bergman, dean of law from the University of New Mexico, officiated. She outlined the process for the committee and the members of the public. Each candidate was allotted 30 minutes for the interviews. The applicant
was also given five minutes to address the committee. Meanwhile, each member of the committee was allowed a single question. Controversy surrounded the eligibility of Phinizy who recently returned to his hometown of Roswell after practicing as an attorney for 35 years in state and federal courts in Texas. Phinizy is scheduled to take the state bar in less than two weeks. He told the committee that the statutes indicate that the applicant See JUDGE, Page A3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked the nomination of former GOP senator Chuck Hagel as the nation’s next defense secretary over unrelated questions about President Barack Obama’s actions in the aftermath of the deadly raid on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya. Obama accused Republicans of playing politics with national security during wartime, and Democrats vowed to revive the nomination after Congress’ weeklong break. By 58-40, with one abstention, the Senate fell short of the 60-vote threshold required to advance Hagel’s nomination to a final, up-or-down vote on his confirmation. Four Republicans voted with Democrats to end the debate and proceed to a final vote: Sens. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Lisa Murkowski of AlasSee HAGEL, Page A3
In Timbuktu, al-Qaida fighters left behind a manifesto TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) — In their hurry to flee last month, al-Qaida fighters left behind a crucial document: Tucked under a pile of papers and trash is a confidential letter, spelling out the terror network’s strategy for conquering northern Mali and reflecting internal discord over how to rule the region. The document is an unprecedented window into the terrorist operation, indicating that al-Qaida predicted the military intervention that would dislodge it in January and recognized its own vulnerability. The letter also shows a sharp division within al-Qaida’s Africa chapter over how quickly and how
strictly to apply Islamic law, with its senior commander expressing dismay over the whipping of women and the destruction of Timbuktu’s ancient monuments. It moreover leaves no doubt that despite a temporary withdrawal into the desert, al-Qaida plans to operate in the region over the long haul, and is willing to make short-term concessions on ideology to gain the allies it acknowledges it needs. The more than nine-page document, found by The Associated Press in a building occupied by the Islamic extremists for almost a year,
See MANIFESTO, Page A3
AP Photo
Neighborhood resident Mohamed Alassane ducks under a wire to enter the Ministry of Finance's Regional Audit Department in Timbuktu, Mali, Feb. 6.