Roswell Daily Record
INSIDE NEWS
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Martinez speaks at NMMI’s 118th
Vol. 121, No. 115 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
May 13, 2012
SUNDAY
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NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
O’KEEFFE EXHIBIT OPENS
ALBUQUERQUE(AP) — Georgia O’Keeffe could handle the inhospitable conditions of the American Southwest, with its intense sun and rugged terrain. Her clothes tell part of the story — jeans worn at the knees and sneakers scuffed. Her handwritten letters tell even more about the dust, the biting gnats ... - PAGE C5
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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — C.J. Wilson really wanted to pitch against the Texas Rangers, so much so that he became the first major leaguer in 11 seasons to start consecutive games. After the rain-interrupted series opener when he faced only five batters against his former team, Wilson worked into the sixth inning Saturday to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-2 win over Texas. - PAGE B1
Mark Wilson Photo
‘Art is all about expressing yourself’; Celebrate! Gov. Susana Martinez congratulates a NMMI honor grad during commencement ceremonies, Saturday morning.
VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
A child’s work of art at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center Saturday stated the spirit of the day’s event best, as it proclaimed: “Welcome to Paulina’s Art Studio.” With a school year’s-worth of children’s artwork on display and art instructors ready to guide children to create on the spot, the Creative Learning Center hosted the sixth annual Celebrate the Arts Day. Panels that featured children’s artwork from haikus to raku, from flipbooks to watercolors, seemed to share Paulina’s warm invitation to relax and enjoy the art. “Art is all about expressing yourself,” said 11-year-old Mikaela Graham. The fifth-grader who attends Valley View Elementary got the chance not only to share her flipbook — a book with the drawing of a ball on its pages that, when flipped quickly, makes it look like it’s bouncing — but also her ability to play the recorder, an instrument she proudly keeps in its case, snug in her pocket.
“It’s a really good time for everyone to get together, meet your friends, express yourself, and just hang out,” Graham said of the event. CLC Director Mona Kirk said the event showcases the art created by Roswell children from kindergarten through sixth-grade. The art was created with the guidance of CLC instructors who visit area schools every week during the school year. The CLC has 10 teachers, Kirk said, two per grade levels 1-5 so that one may teach performing arts and the other, visual arts. All CLC teachers instruct kindergarten, Kirk said, while sixth-graders produce raku in the Raku-to-Go program. Raku, or raku ware, is a form of Japanese pottery. The Celebrate the Arts event was a culmination of the best work produced by students. Even the raku ware created through a partnership with the Roswell Museum and Art Center and the Pecos Valley Potters Guild found a place toward the entrance of the Civic Center’s banquet hall. “We invite the public to come out
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INDEX
Mark Wilson Photo
Shanel Wright, left, and Lily Moore check out artwork during Celebrate the Arts Day at the Civic Center, Saturday.
... and celebrate the arts,” Kirk said. For third-grade visual arts teacher Steve Ackerman, the day’s event was a way of reiterating the importance of art to young students.
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Mitt Romney’s Mor mon faith has shaped his life, but he barely mentioned it as he spoke to graduates at an evangelical university Saturday. And he hardly touched on hot-button social issues like abortion and gay marriage, instead of fering a broad-based defense of values like family and hard work.
OBITUARIES
Edward Paul Garcia Ina King Jeffrey Lawton Arnold Elisa Luna Velasco Coreene Odell - PAGE A3, B6
See NMMI, Page A7
“It’s our day to validate their work, as a visual (and a) performing artist,” he said. Ackerman had
Romney urges grads to honor family commitments
TODAY’S • • • • •
New Mexico Military Institute held its 118th commencement program Saturday at Pearson Auditorium, issuing diplomas to about 200 high school and junior college graduates. Gov. Susana Martinez was guest speaker at the ceremony, and talked about the unique history and traditions of the school. Addressing the graduates, Martinez praised the Institute’s system of instruction, where the responsibility of teaching and training new cadets rests solely on the old cadets. She said she believes this structure makes NMMI a school for other institutions to follow. “Within this structured environment of discipline,
AP Photo
Mitt Romney delivers the commencement address at the Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., Saturday.
“Culture — what you believe, what you value, how you live — matters,” Romney told graduates gathered in the football stadium on Liberty University’s campus in the Virginia
Candidate forum Monday night JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Leadership Roswell Alumni Association will host its 29th candidate forum at First Baptist Church, 500 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Monday, starting at 6:30 p.m. The forum is co-sponsored with the Roswell Daily Record. It will feature all area candidates running in a contested primary race. Twelve hopefuls seeking six contested positions have indicated they will be attending. They are: Fire Chief Chad Hamill, RHagerman, Roswell Farmer Cliff Pirtle, a Republican, both seeking the state Senate District 32 seat; Reps.
Dennis Kintigh, R-Roswell, and Bob Wooley, R-Roswell, who are competing for the state House District 66 seat; Republican judges Lisa Riley and Les Williams, who are running for the position of 5th Judicial District Court judge, Division 9; incumbent District Attorney Janetta Hicks and attorney Janet Ellis, both Republicans, who are running for district attorney in the 5th Judicial District; City Clerk Dave Kunko and Bureau of Elections Chief Stephanie De Los Santos Amaro, both Republicans, who are seeking the position of county clerk; and Robert Corn, a retired magistrate judge, and Mike Kakuska, Roswell
Independent School District assistant superintendent of human resources, who are running for the only contested County Commission seat, District 4. Candidates running for the same positions will be asked the same questions. The candidates, who are unaware of the questions ahead of time, will then direct their questions back to moderator Rick Kraft and the public. Each candidate will have three minutes for an opening, a minute and a half for each of five questions and two minutes for closing. The primary election is June 5.
j.bergman@rdrnews.com
mountains. “The American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity of work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than self, and at the foundation, the preeminence of the family.” Instead of a red-meat conservative policy speech, Romney discussed his own family and of fered a defense of Christianity, saying, “there is no greater force for good in the nation than Christian conscience in action.” Still, he was inclusive: “Men and women of every faith, and good people with none at all, sin-
See ART, Page A7
cerely strive to do right and lead a purpose-driven life.” He had one sustained applause line in a 20minute speech delivered days after President Barack Obama historically embraced gay marriage. “Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman,” Romney said to a cheering crowd of students who have to follow a strict code of conduct that considers sex out of wedlock and homosexuality to be sins. On Saturday, Obama was not seeking to revisit See ROMNEY, Page A7
Hale Astronomy Club guest
Mark Wilson Photo
Alan Hale, co-discoverer of the Hale-Bopp comet, was on hand at the Goddard Planetarium to speak with the Roswell Astronomy Club, Friday evening.