Roswell Daily Record
Anti-Muslim actions rise in UK
Vol. 122, No. 126 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
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THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
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WASHINGTON (AP) — When Haynes Johnson visited Selma, Ala., months after a civil rights crisis there gripped the nation, he wrote in The Washington Evening Star that he’d found “no discernible change in the racial climate of the city.” - PAGE A2
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Officials warn of increasing sentiment following slaughter of soldier LONDON (AP) — Police, politicians and activists in Britain are warning of rising anti-Muslim sentiment following the slaughter of an off-duty British soldier in a London street, an apparent act of Islamic extremism that has horrified the nation. Metropolitan Police investigating
JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR JOHNSON DIES AT 81
May 26, 2013
the killing of Lee Rigby, a 25-yearold soldier who was run over by attackers then butchered by knives, arrested three more men in the murder investigation Saturday. Stun guns were used on two of the three men, aged 24 and 28, police said. The latest arrests came as an
estimated 1,500 members of an extremist right-wing group called the English Defense League marched in the northern English city of Newcastle, chanting Rigby’s name. In the southern English city of Portsmouth, police arrested two men for a racially motivated assault as hundreds of demonstrators
gathered near one mosque, while several more people were detained for alleged racist offenses elsewhere. The two men suspected of killing the soldier, Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, See UK, Page A3
CLASS OF 2013
Goddard endures storm to graduate as ‘family’ JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mortarboards and tassels were flying before the ceremony started as Goddard High School students walked onto the Wool Bowl to begin the graduation ceremony Saturday night, enduring 25 mph wind gusts under dark cloud cover. But the ominous weather conditions couldn’t contain the spark of exuberance as a “family” of 195 seniors crossed the threshold to become graduates as scores of family and friends filled the stadium’s south side. “We are not just the graduating class of 2013, no. We are the graduating family of 2013,” said Karin Mims, class salutatorian. “We were placed on this Earth to fulfill a purpose, whether minor or major. I hope we will leave it better than before. Graduation is only a concept. In life, everyday you graduate. A mere metamorphosis into reality. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day we are on this Earth. If you can grasp that you will make a potent difference.” Mims, who was one of 26 students to graduate Goddard with a 4.0 GPA or higher, told her
Mark Wilson Photo
Gateway grads ponder identity as they move on See GODDARD, Page A3
Goddard High students hold on to their caps as gusty winds swirl through the Wool Bowl during graduation ceremonies, Saturday evening.
AMY VOGELSANG RECORD STAFF WRITER
As each of the 15 Gateway Christian School graduates proceeded down the aisle of Gateway Christian Church Saturday afternoon, recordings of individual speeches they had each written professed an abundance of gratitude for parents, grandparents, siblings, teachers and friends. The intimate relationships formed between the class of 2013 was evident in their looks and smiles that said, “We have jokes no one else understands.” As the graduates took turns standing in front of their families and peers, a few bit back tears, others chuckled at their own speeches and some simply smiled
Mark Wilson Photo
HIKE IT & SPIKE IT RETURNS
Hike It & Spike It XVIII, the world’s largest flag football tournament, began its two-day takeover of Roswell on Saturday at Cielo Grande. The 18th version of the annual 4-on-4 tournament attracted more than 560 teams and more than 3,600 players and resumes on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S • • • • •
OBITUARIES
Una Hewett Kent Jordan Ross Sykes Gerald C. Walton Daron Robertson
- PAGE B7
HIGH ...98˚ LOW ....63˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
INDEX CLASSIFIEDS..........D1 COMICS.................C3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 NATION .................B7 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
Gateway Christian School students have fun during a last second photo session prior to commencement ceremonies, Saturday.
Hezbollah chief commits to victory in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group vowed to help propel President Bashar Assad to victory in Syria’s bloody civil war, warning that the fall of the Damascus regime would give rise to extremists and plunge the Middle East into a “dark period.” In a televised address, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah also said Hezbollah members are fighting in Syria against Islamic radicals who pose a danger to Lebanon, and pledged that his group will not allow Syrian militants to control areas along the Lebanese border. He pledged that Hezbollah will turn the tide of the conflict in Assad’s favor, and stay as long as necessary to do so. “We will continue this road until the end, we will take the responsibility and we will make all the sacrifices,” he said. “We will be victorious.” The Hezbollah leader’s comments offered the clearest public confirmation yet that the Iranianbacked group is directly involved in Syria’s war. They also were Nasrallah’s first remarks since Hezbollah fighters have pushed to the front lines of the battle for the strategic Syrian town of Qusair near the Lebanese frontier. The fighting in Qusair, which
gover nment troops backed by Hezbollah pounded with artillery on Saturday, has laid bare the Lebanese Shiite group’s growing role in the Syrian conflict. Hezbollah initially tried to play down its involvement, but could no longer do so after dozens of its fighters were killed in the town and buried in large funerals in Lebanon. Nasrallah, who was speaking on the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, used his speech in part to brace the community for the possibility of more of its men returning home in coffins. The fight in Qusair has proven a deadly grind for both sides. On Saturday, gover nment forces backed by Hezbollah militants shelled the town in the heaviest barrage yet of a week-long assault to dislodge rebels from the opposition stronghold, activists said. Since the regime of fensive began Wednesday, Syrian state media has said government forces have steadily gained ground. Local activists deny that pro-Assad forces have made headway and say rebel fighters are defending their positions. The Britain-based Syrian See SYRIA, Page A3
See GATEWAY, Page A3
Jill McLaughlin Photo
The Roswell Elks No. 969 Lodge held its 10th annual Veterans Prayer Breakfast Saturday, marking the 30th anniversary of the Lodge’s honor guard.
Memorial prayer breakfast marks guard’s 30 years JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER The Roswell Elks Lodge marked a few anniversaries during its 10th annual Veterans Prayer Breakfast Saturday as several residents participated in the special event. As Elks Lodge 969 members ushered in Memorial Day with prayer, ceremony and tradition,
they also took time to mark the 30th anniversary of its Veterans Honor Guard and the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean Conflict. “The Elks have a saying that so long as there are veterans, the benevolent and protected order of Elks will never forget them, and See BREAKFAST, Page A3