Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 121, No. 59 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
March 9, 2012
FRIDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Council OKs Lodger’s Tax fund requests JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
100 TRUMPS 150
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico is in the middle of celebrating its statehood Centennial and some residents say another commemoration remembered in other states is getting overshadowed: the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. That’s because historians say few know the role New Mexico and other western ... - PAGE A7
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Consumers complain to PRC about Sprint • El Cap hosts RFD at CC! assembly • Police seek Kaprice Conde (Gabaldon) ... • No. 1 Rockets upset in quarterfinals • Pit not kind to second seeded Roswell
INSIDE SPORTS
With the help of three newcomers, the Roswell City Council approved seven Lodger’s Tax funding requests for seven separate events set to occur in the community, at its regular business meeting Thursday evening. The council approved $4,000 in Lodger’s Tax funding for Xcel Energy’s Tour de Ocho Millas; $2,000 for the 11th annual Dragonfly Festival; $567.50 for a presentation and book signing by author Heloise at the Friends of the Roswell Public Library; $15,000 for the Roswell Hike It! & Spike It! 4-on-4 Charity Flag Football tournament; $1,000 for the 28th annual Milkman Triathlon; $1,000 for the
Mark Wilson Photo
Officials elected Tuesday take their oaths of office prior to the City Council meeting, Thursday evening. From left, they are Municipal Judge Larry Loy, Savino Sanchez Jr., Jeanine Corn-Best, Steve Henderson, Elena Velasquez and Juan Oropesa.
Kids get career advice at DHS NTSB offers update See COUNCIL, Page A3
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
Dexter High School held its fourth annual POS-i-Tive Change Fair, Thursday, where about 350 students in grades 811 received college and career advice from high school seniors and community experts. Industry professionals and college representatives were on hand to of fer their expertise to Noah Vernau Photo students on an informal Admissions recruiter Daniela Garcia explains Eastern New basis, something Dean of Mexico University programs to 10th-grade student Jimmy Webster, Thursday, in the Dexter High School library. See DEXTER, Page A3
Syrian official jumps ‘sinking ship’
UNDERDOG COYOTES REACH FINAL GAME
ALBUQUERQUE — This was the year that the Roswell Lady Coyotes were supposed to fall short of Albuquerque. They weren’t supposed to reach the Final Four for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons. And it certainly wasn’t the season they were supposed to get over the hump in the semifinals and ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s deputy oil minister appeared tense as he looked at the camera and announced in a video that he has defected from President Bashar Assad’s regime, acknowledging he expects government forces to “bur n my home” and “persecute my family.”
Abdo Husameddine, a 58-year-old father of four, on Thursday became the highest-ranking civilian official to join the opposition, and he urged his countrymen to “abandon this sinking ship” as the nation spirals toward civil war.
In the YouTube video, Husameddine seemed to address Assad directly, accusing him of vast crimes in the past year as government forces pummel the opposition with tanks and snipers. The U.N. estimates 7,500 people have been killed since the uprising began. The authenticity of the video could not be verified, and he did not disclose his location. Damascus did not comment on the video. Husameddine was appointed by Assad in 2009. Assad’s regime has suffered a steady stream of
HIGH ...50˚ LOW ....30˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B5 COMICS.................B3 ENTERTAINMENT.....A8 FINANCIAL .............B4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 STATE ...................A7 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
An accident report related to a fatal plane crash at Roswell International Air Center in 2011 has recently been made public by the National T ransportation Safety Board. On April 2, a Gulfstream GVI experimental aircraft exploded during takeof f from Runway 21 at the RIAC, killing two pilots and two flight test engineers. The 705-page accident report does not give a cause for the accident. The email that includes the link to the report states that the report is factual and pro-
vides a detailed account of the accident’s investigation thus far. The report does not provide any analysis.
The aircraft was undergoing field per for mance testing as part of manufacturer testing for Federal Aviation Administration certification at the time of the accident. Considered a “high risk test” by the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, which owned the plane, the accident occurred during a simulated engine failure. During takeoff, the airplane’s right wing dropped
Bye-bye, birdies
See NTSB, Page A3
Mark Wilson Photo
Birds take flight under cloudy grey skies after feeding in an irrigated farm field east of Roswell, Thursday afternoon.
Latest solar storm not nearly as bad as it could have been
OBITUARIES
• Albert E. Scott • Les Mason • Elsie Gisi • Metta Jean Dayhoff • Kevin Mario Smith • Felix Padilla • Renee Miranda - PAGE A7
low-level army defectors, who have joined a group of dissidents known as the Free Syrian Ar my, now numbering in the thousands. Brig. Gen. Mostafa Ahmad al-Sheik, who fled to Turkey in January, was the highest ranking officer to bolt. In late August, Adnan Bakkour, the attorney general of the central city of Hama, appeared in a video announcing he had defected. Authorities reported he had been kidnapped and said he was being kept
VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
AP Photo
See SYRIA, Page A3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Our high-tech world seems to have easily weathered a solar stor m that didn’t quite live up to its advance billing. While some experts think the threat from the solar storm passed by Thursday afternoon, space weather forecasters said it’s still too early to relax. That’s because there’s a chance
the storm’s effects could continue and even intensify through Friday morning. And while this solar stor m may have fizzled, others may be lining up in the cosmic shooting gallery in the coming days, months and year, the scientists agree. “It looks to me like it’s over,” NASA solar physicist David Hathaway said late
trate and Metro Judges Association for three years. As a magistrate, Cor n was instrumental in the relocation of the Magistrate Court into the new courthouse on Virginia Avenue. He established video conferencing and video arraignments statewide, which is used daily in municipal, magistrate, and district courts. Corn estimated that video arraignments have saved Chaves County more than $200,000. If elected, Corn plans, “to use technology as a way to
get more work done, while saving the taxpayers money.” Additionally, he would ensure Chaves County continues to run its government efficiently. His top priority is to maintain a conservative county government. “Big government is not better government,” he said.
Thursday afternoon, after noticing a drop in a key magnetic reading.
That conclusion is premature, said Doug Biesecker, a space scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder,
Robert Corn seeks GOP nod for District 4 commission seat The sun rises over Mount Hood in Portland, Ore., Thursday.
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
A retired Chaves County magistrate judge and former state legislator, Robert Corn says he is seeking the GOP nomination for the District 4 Chaves County Commission seat. Commissioner Dick Smith, who will complete his second consecutive term and is not eligible for re-election, currently represents the district. A member of a fifth-generation pioneer ranching family in Chaves County,
Corn and his wife Nancy, a retired public school administrator, have two grown children and four grandchildren. “I was bor n where the County Commission building is, at St. Mary’s Hospital. It’s time for me to go home,” Cor n, a lifelong Roswell resident, said. Elected to the state Legislature in 1980, Cor n served eight years in the House of Representatives. He was elected magistrate judge in November 1994, and served 15 years. He was president of the Magis-
Of his wide breadth of state and county government experience, Cor n said, “Anytime that you have a better understandSee CORN, Page A3
See SOLAR, Page A3
Robert B. Corn