Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 121, No. 99 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
870,000 NYC PIX ONLINE
NEW YORK (AP) — The two men were discovered dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in a 12-story Manhattan building, as if dumped there, one man sprawled on top of the other. The city Department of Records officially announced the debut of the photo database Tuesday. ... - PAGE A3
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
APRIL 25, 2012
Obama talks student loan rates at CU
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Thousands of college students waited hours through inter mittent rain and record-setting heat Tuesday to see President Barack Obama deliver his studentloan pitch at the University of Colorado at Boulder. But Democrats don’t have to worry about the throngs who turned out to hear Obama pitch lower cost student loans in Colorado and two other states he won in 2008 — Iowa and North Carolina. Instead, Democrats need to worry about voters like Alex Cutter, a 21-year-old
WEDNESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
junior from Colorado Springs. She voted for Obama last time, joining young voters nationwide who helped Obama carry for mer Republican bastions. Cutter’s still a big fan of the president, but she couldn’t attend his speech despite free tickets because she’s working two part-time jobs to make ends meet and couldn’t miss her shift at an of f-campus cof fee shop. Cutter says she could owe up to $15,000 in student loans after graduating. “We’re all worried about this coming out of school,”
Cutter said.
Those fears explain why the president has been on Colorado college campuses twice in the last year talking about student loan debt. In October, Obama chose a downtown Denver campus to announce a plan to accelerate a measure passed by Congress that reduces the maximum payment lenders can require on student loans from 15 percent of discretionary income annually to 10 percent. See OBAMA, Page A9
AP Photo
Wait ’em out
President Barack Obama greets people at The Sink Restaurant and Bar, in Boulder, Colo.,Tuesday.
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Group gets heated at trapping discussion • Report of a gun shuts down school • Old Timers Day one big party • A good DI can make a recruit cry • Broncos qualify for nationals
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
NMMI Ropes emphasizes teamwork New Mexico Military Institute cadets perform rescue exercises during the Ropes Course Facilitation and Leadership class at the Yates Leadership Challenge Ropes Course, Tuesday afternoon.
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
New Mexico Military Institute cadets enrolled
DALLAS SHOULD GET DEFENSIVE
IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys addressed some pressing needs during a flurry of free-agent signings They added two veteran offensive linemen who are expected to be starters, got a proven backup for quarterback Tony Romo, a starting cornerback, a safety, a linebacker and a fullback in just a couple of days. Now they need to get really defensive in the draft, starting with their No. 14 overall pick Thursday night. “It would look like there is going to be potentially top ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Delores E. Dobbins • Ramon T. Barrera - PAGE B6
HIGH .100˚ LOW ....61˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B7 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B7 FINANCIAL .............A6 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ......A10 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ............A10 WORLD .................D4
in the Ropes Course Facilitation and Leadership course underwent their final skill set unit on Tuesday, per for ming a
Law enforcement to buy new equipment JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
In a continued effort to remain technologically updated, the Roswell Police Department and the Chaves County Sheriff’s Department have invested in new equipment with money received from a Justice Assistance Grant. The federal gover nment provides the grant to local and state law enforcement agencies annually. This year, the two entities received $33,082 from the grant. Last year the two departments received
$40,822. The funding is typically distributed between the two departments by a 70-to-30 ratio. This split is largely based on the number of cases each department encounters. The RPD will receive $23,167 and the Sheriff’s Department will receive $9,924. Under the JAG, money must be spent for operational equipment and training purposes. The money must be spent within three
variety of high angle rescue activities. The skill set, or pinnacle piece, combined all of the techniques students had been
learning throughout the semester, including wall climbing, rappels and equipment evaluation. See NMMI, Page A9
Roswellites are getting to know army cutworm moths quite well this spring. Perhaps too well. The species, also known as the miller moth, has reached unusually high numbers across New Mexico, bothering residents at their homes, cars and workplaces. Chaves County extension agriculture agent Sandra Barraza said the moth’s 2012 levels stand out from previous years, and that she has received several calls lately about the species. She says a variety of factors determine their encompassing presence. “It’s due to our climatic conditions,” Barraza said. “Everything is just right — the temperature is just right, and moisture levels are just right for these moths to be coming out of their pupas right now.” Barraza said the moths enter their pupa stage in the winter, and that mild See MOTHS, Page A9
City marks Healthy Schools Day JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Joining a nationwide effort, the city of Roswell celebrated the 10th anniversary of National Healthy Schools Day, Tuesday. Mayor Del Jurney issued a proclamation declaring April 24, 2012, as Roswell Healthy Schools Day. The anniversary coincided with Earth Week, which usually runs from April 16 to April 22, Earth Day. More densely occupied than offices and in worse See SCHOOLS, Page A9
Mark Wilson Photo
Mayor Del Jurney reads a proclamation declaring April 24, 2012, as Roswell Healthy Schools Day as Nicole Vargas looks on, Tuesday.
City Clerk Dave Kunko seeks return to county clerk position
INDEX
Dave Kunko JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER Seeking a new challenge, City Clerk Dave Kunko has announced his candidacy for Chaves County clerk in
See GRANT, Page A9
2012. The position is currently held by Rhoda Coakley, who has served as clerk for 24 years and is retiring at the end of this year. Born in Roswell, Kunko graduated from Roswell High School. He attended New Mexico State University, where he ear ned a degree in agricultural business management and a minor in economics. He maintained that his business background has provided him with a valuable knowledge in his position. Prior to serving as city clerk, now in his seventh year, Kunko worked in the county office for 16 years. He spent 11 of those years as chief deputy clerk. A registered Republican,
Kunko served as county clerk from 2001 to 2004. For a time, he was president of the New Mexico Association of County Clerks, the statewide organization made up of county clerks representing all 33 counties. If elected, Kunko would welcome working and partnering with the members of the association again. Specifically, he would like to address election codes, and help lobby for or against legislation, a large function of the association.
Kunko asserted that his experience in running elections and in recording property, would greatly benefit him, if elected. A unique accomplishment, Kunko established an
archive of the majority of the city’s older records. The city had very few backups of their documents. “I’m pretty proud of that because you’re kind of preserving history,” Kunko said. He has assisted with three redistrictings, the process of drawing electoral district boundaries to adjust for population changes determined by the decennial census.
A proponent of open government and open records, Kunko said, “It’s really important to have an open of fice where people get information that they need and that they want. Those public information requests have started to take on a bigger role for the city clerk,” he said.
Kunko has seen an increase, from when he first took of fice, in the requests for public records. Thirty to 40 percent of Kunko’s time is now spent handling public information requests. At the start, he spent 10 percent of his time dealing with these requests. Kunko listed his communication skills and his election experience as attributes he’d bring to the position of county clerk. “I’m the type of manager who thinks people should enjoy coming to work. A happy employee is somebody who’s going to do a lot better job. If I can create that atmosphere, you’re going to have a much more productive office,” Kunko said. j.bergman@rdrnews.com