Roswell Daily Record
INSIDE NEWS
VENUS TRANSITS SUN
HONOLULU (AP) — None of us will likely see Venus pass, like a moving beauty spot, across the face of the sun again. From the U.S. to South Korea, people around the world turned their attention to the daytime sky on Tuesday and early today ... - PAGE A2
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Repair work on water line break has begun • If you catch it, you have to touch it • Folklorico espectacular dazzles • Udall leads round tables on city visit • Roswell alum A.J. Peralta headed to ...
INSIDE
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Primary voters narrow fields
Vol. 121, No. 135 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
The first set of the Ruidoso Downs’ “Big Six” races takes to the track on Saturday with the running of the Grade 1 Ruidoso Derby and the Grade 1 Ruidoso Futurity. Today, we will take a look at the field for the 19th running of the Ruidoso Derby (Purse, $679,207; Winner’s share, $285,266): Post 1 — Bills Last Bills Last, the son of Shazoom and Crystalinas, was the 10th-fastest qualifier with a time of 20.309 and won the third of the six trials ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S • • • • •
OBITUARIES
Eva M. Aragon Irene Lavern Tyler Louise Lentz Jesse Ray Ratliff Bessie Webre-Tally - PAGE A6
HIGH ...94˚ LOW ....66˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B6 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
WEDNESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Heinrich to face Heather Wilson
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Rep. Martin Heinrich Tuesday won the Democratic nomination for New Mexico’s open U.S. Senate seat and will face former GOP Rep. Heather Wilson in the general election. Heinrich defeated state Auditor Hector Balderas on Tuesday. The two-term congressman had 60 percent of the vote with almost half of the expected tur nout counted, according to unof ficial results. Wilson easily defeated Las Cruces businessman Greg Sowards for the GOP nomination, receiving 70 percent of the vote. With Democratic Sen. Jef f Bingaman retiring after 30 years, New Mexico is expected to become a national battleground as Republicans seek to gain control of the Senate. And the partisan barbs began immediately. In a statement shortly after her race was called, Wilson vowed to be an independent leader, willing to seek bipartisan compromise to get things
done. Then she launched into criticism of Heinrich, who replaced her in Washington four years ago. “Three years ago, we were in tough economic times,” she said. “When Martin Heinrich joined the Congress, he promised to make things better. Instead, he made things worse. Washington politicians like Congressman Heinrich have made things worse for New Mexicans because he believes Washington knows best.” New Mexico Democratic Party Chair man Javier Gonzales countered that “New Mexicans are smarter than that.” “They remember her time in office, when Congresswoman Wilson voted six times to raise her own pay, even as she voted six times against raising the minimum wage for New Mexico workers,” he said in a statement. “She gave us two wars and a prescription drug program that weren’t paid for. And See HEINRICH, Page A3
SPORTS
RUIDOSO DERBY PREVIEW
June 6, 2012
Mark Wilson Photo
State Representative Candy Spence Ezzell, left, and Nancy Corn, wife of Robert Corn, watch election results Tuesday evening at the Chaves County Administrative Center.
Mark Wilson Photo
Locals mostly stay home Jason Perry, Dorothy Hellums, chairman of the Chaves County Republican Party, and Alice Eppers tally votes Tuesday evening at the Chaves County Administrative Center.
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Of the nine contested state and local races, primary voters chose to reelect the Republican incumbent legislator for state House District 66, allow an appointed district court judge to continue to serve in her current capacity, and selected their choice for the GOP nominee for the only contested County Commission seat. The 2012 primary election results will become official only after being signed by the State Canvassing Board on June 26. More than 20 incumbent legislators decided against seeking re-election this year, including Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, first elected to the state Senate in 1996, meaning many legislative seats will change hands. Seventeen candidates were unopposed on Tuesday’s ballot. The lack of contested races may explain light voter turnout locally. A mere 2,236 individuals cast their ballots early,
with 1,790 voting at the County Administrative Building, 428 at the Roswell Mall and 18 in Hagerman. In total, 6,768 ballots were cast in Chaves County, 1,585 Democratic and 5,182 Republican. Area Democrats will now step into the ring as none faced an opponent Tuesday. Chaves County Democrats weighed in on only two contested races: U.S. Senate and New Mexico Court of Appeals. Securing nearly 70 per-
cent of the vote, children's court judge Monica Zamora beat fellow Democrat and workman’s compensation judge Victor Lopez in the race to serve on the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Zamora will now face Judge Miles Hanisee, a Republican, who was appointed to the position by Gov. Susana Martinez in July 2011. Roswell farmer Cliff Pirtle slid past Roswell Fire Chief Chad Hamill, to win See LOCALS, Page A2
Mark Wilson Photo
Voters sign in at Washington Avenue Elementary, Tuesday.
US drone strike in Pakistan Wis. Gov. Walker kills escaped al-Qaida No. 2 survives recall ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A U.S. drone strike in northwest Pakistan has killed al-Qaida’s second-in-command, officials from both countries confirmed Tuesday, the most significant victory so far in the controversial bombing campaign and the biggest setback to the terror network since the death of Osama bin Laden. AP Photo Abu Yahya al-Libi was considered a media- This image of al-Qaida militant Abu Yahia al-Libi, March 25, 2007, was made from video posted on a website frequented by Islamist militants and provided via the IntelCenter. See DRONE, Page A3
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker beat back a recall challenge Tuesday, winning both the right to finish his term and a voter endorsement of his strategy to curb state spending, which included the explosive measure that eliminated union rights for most public workers.
The rising Republican star becomes the first gover nor in U.S. history to survive a recall attempt by defeating Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and the union leaders who rallied for
months against his agenda. Democrats and organized labor spent millions to oust Walker, but found themselves hopelessly outspent by Republicans from across the country who donated record-setting sums to Walker. Republicans hope the victory carries over into November and that their get-out-the-vote effort can help Mitt Romney become the first GOP nominee to carry the state since Ronald Reagan in 1984. The recall was a rematch
Dogs OK in city parks 400-plus square miles, $15.4M JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The City of Roswell’s Parks and Recreation Committee met Monday night. One of the topics under discussion was park safety and dogs in the parks, following two incidents in local parks. In the first that took place on May 19, an American Staffordshire terrier (pit bull) attacked and killed a Pomeranian at a soccer game in Cielo Grande Park. The second incident occurred when an
85-year -old woman was rushed by a pit bull.
“We will not be banning dogs from parks,” said Parks and Recreation Commissioner Bob Edwards.
These incidents at the parks followed a week of attacks on people by pit bulls. City Councilor (Ward I) and Parks and Recreation Chairman Dusty Huckabee said that people should not pick on a single breed because of bad owners. “You can have bad poodles, See DOGS, Page A3
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A rugged swath of forest in southwester n New Mexico pumped out more columns of smoke Tuesday as U.S. Forest Chief Tom Tidwell surveyed the bur n scar being left behind by what has developed into the largest wildfire in the nation. T idwell took an early morning aerial tour of the blaze, which has scorched more than 400 See FIRE, Page A3
See RECALL, Page A3
AP Photo