Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 102 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
April 28, 2013
KRB volunteers tidy the town
SUNDAY
www.rdrnews.com
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
VEGGIES, YUM!
Not so long ago, there was a certain image associated with being vegetarian. It usually involved Birkenstocks, lentil loaf and an agenda. There still are plenty of all three in the meatless movement, but a growing number of Americans are finding they can have cauliflower and kale ... - PAGE B8
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• NMMI dumps Alumni Association • Kautz gets 7 yearsplus • Burglars busy on S. Union • Basic Education instructor receives ... • Roswell falls to Artesia at home
INSIDE SPORTS
Jill McLaughlin Photo
From left, Crystal Dellavecchio, her son Elijah Brunson, her mother Maria Balttles and her sister-in-law Tracy Hutcherson pick up trash on East McGaffey, Saturday, as part of Great America Cleanup Day.
The small group of four yellow Tshirt-wearing family members went mostly unnoticed by passers-by Saturday morning as they picked up garbage along the streets of southeast Roswell. But for Crystal Dellavecchio who put together her team for Keep Roswell Beautiful Day, the effort was immensely important. In just a few hours, the group filled 10 large, green plastic bags, found four discarded hypodermic needles, five razor blades, a used condom on church steps and “some sad poetry.” “You would be amazed at what we found,” Dellavecchio said. As a mother of a 6-year -old, Dellavecchio said the idea to begin cleaning the neighborhood of trash began two years ago. One day as See FAMILY, Page A3
AMY VOGELSANG RECORD STAFF WRITER
A high level of energetic whoops and hollers were heard along Main Street Saturday as a group of New Mexico Military Institute cadets walked north collecting trash for the 23rd annual Great America Cleanup sponsored locally by Keep Roswell Beautiful. Decked out in bright red T shirts, cadets could be seen doing their part to clean the streets of Roswell while still having fun. “As long as you come out yelling and screaming, you’ll have a good time,” Cadet Pvt. Charlie Laabs said. As a national event, GAC is about residents showing they care about their communities by volunteering to clean up the area. In Roswell, more than 900 volunteers, includ-
Amy Vogelsang Photo
New Mexico Military Institute cadets take a break during their energetic trash pickup project along Main Street as part of Keep Roswell Beautiful Day, Saturday.
Roswell hosts annual Girl Scout gathering See NMMI, Page A3
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
STEELERS DRAFT JONES
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Steelers are starting to think about life after Ben Roethlisberger. Well, kind of. Pittsburgh drafted Oklahoma star Landry Jones in the fourth round of the NFL draft on Saturday, the highest the club has taken a quarterback since using the 11th overall pick on Roethlisberger nine years ago. “I just think it was time to start grooming a new player, freshen up the room if you will,” quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner said. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S • • • •
OBITUARIES
Jesus G. Vega III Virgil Thomas Burns Jesse Lofton Paul Garland Hubbard - PAGE B7
Mark Wilson Photo
From left: Alyssa Smith, Christina Brown, Anizia Barrera and Sienna Macias clown around during the Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest annual Business Meeting at Christ’s Church, Saturday morning.
Youth conference stresses civic leadership, speaking up
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TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........D1 COMICS.................C5 ENTERTAINMENT.....D6 GENERAL ..............C4 HOROSCOPES ........D6 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B2 WASHINGTON .........B7 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................D4
Roswell submitted the winning bid this year to host the Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest annual leadership meeting Saturday, held at Christ’s Church. Faith Simitz, of Goddard High School, received a Gold Award — the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve — during the event. “I’m very happy,” Simitz said. “It’s very prestigious and I’m very glad I finally got it.” Simitz, whose brother committed suicide before
INDEX
Amy Vogelsang Photo
New Mexico Youth Alliance Project Manager Moneka StevensCordova encourages students to be proactive leaders in their communities, at the Regional Youth Conference, Saturday.
AMY VOGELSANG RECORD STAFF WRITER
In an effort to encourage middle and high school students to be proactive in their communities and to teach them about civic leadership, the New Mexico
Youth Alliance along with Engaging Latino Communities for Education New Mexico held a Regional Youth Conference, Saturday, at Mesa Middle School.
The New Mexico Youth Alliance is a council of
youth representatives who have political input in state youth policies, and ENLACE is a statewide partnership of representatives who speak out for unrepresented children and families. This first annual conference included a series of workshops on various teenage related issues, from reaching for goals and having a voice to dealing with abusive relationships and bullying. Adults as well as high school students, who presented some of the workshops, organized the conference. Student coordinator and high school freshman Teo Le spoke on abusive teen relationships. “I want them to experience what others felt and what they can do help stop See YOUTH, Page A3
his 18th birthday, said she was inspired to create a video dealing with suicide awareness as her project to earn the Gold Award. “One late night, I was sitting and typing at my computer and his picture was up there,” she said. “I said, ‘I know what I’m going to do for my Gold Award.’ My brother had always been a big influence in my life. It just came to me that I needed to help other people who feel suicidal.” Simitz said she hopes the video will help others feel less ashamed. The video will play in school health classes and premiered dur-
ing this year’s Women’s History Month luncheon. “There’s kind of a stigma to suicide and I don’t think there should be,” Simitz said. “I think people who are feeling suicidal should be able to get help and realize they are not such horrible people; they just need to find help.” Simitz, a senior, plans to attend New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology next year and become a forensic scientist. Her father sat beside her as she told her story and held her certificate. See SCOUTS, Page A3
Lengthy investigation
Jill McLaughlin Photo
The main access to Roswell Walmart on North Main Street was blocked for several hours beginning at about 2:30 p.m., Saturday. According to RPD spokeswoman Sabrina Morales, a suspected shoplifter was detained either by store security or by law enforcement, but broke loose. To avoid capture, the woman reportedly hid inside the bed of a parked pick-up truck. Then the truck began to drive away. The woman then jumped out of the moving vehicle, landed on the hot pavement and sustained injuries. Police were still investigating the incident at 5 p.m.