Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Little Bear fire 40 percent contained
Vol. 121, No. 143 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
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BEIRUT (AP) — Smoldering buildings, looted shops, smashed cars and a strong stench of death greeted U.N. observers who entered the nearly deserted Syrian town of Haffa on Thursday, a day after ... - PAGE A7
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NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
SMELL OF DEATH GREETS UN
June 15, 2012
Containment of the Little Bear fire climbed to 40 percent after firefighters continued to make headway on eastern and southern portions of the fire, which has consumed 37,912 acres, 224 residential structures and 10 outbuildings. Total personnel surpassed 1,300 by Thursday morning, with 34 incident management crews. Resources committed included 74 fire engines, 10 helicopters and six bulldozers. Dan Ware, spokesman for New Mexico Forestry Division, credited the increased containment to favorable weather conditions this week and hard work on the ground. He said work on the southern end of the fire is crucial to keeping the fire out of areas that would lead it into the upper canyon area outside of Ruidoso. “The risk to communities south of the fire like Ruidoso is greatly reduced,” he said. “That’s not to say that (crews) are just going to go away now that those con-
tainment lines have been done. There are still crews in that area, and there is still a precautionary alert for folks who live in that area. They need to be vigilant. They need to be ready to go should the fire break through those containment lines.” Crews executed successful burn out operations along Ski Run Road on Wednesday, and spent Thursday cleaning up the area. On the east, crews mopped up hot spots and provided structure protection, while suppression efforts on the north end of the fire increased Thursday, Ware said. “The northwest flank is still very active. And that’s where crews are focusing a lot of their attention right now, with a lot of our arial operations going up there. We have some lines dug in, we have hand crews up there, and the goal is to just strengthen those lines.” The Lincoln County Sheriff’s office began the property owner notification process Wednesday, meeting individually with many of the people who lost their homes.
“The plan is to have the identification process completed by (Thursday evening), and the notification is ongoing,” said Dan Bastion, public information officer. “As soon as they are able to identify who owned the property that was damaged and find contact infor-
mation, the Sheriff’s office will be contacting those people.” An all-hazards incident management team from Texas will be joining crews to help property owners once re-entry is possible. Ware said that considering the personal devastation
and taking attendees through the historic progression of our nation’s flags. Bob Bergmark, the Lodge’s district Americanism chairman, shared how the Elks played a critical role in the observance of Flag Day in the United States. “The Elks are the first
fraternal organization in the nation to decree that all the lodges in our organization would observe the Flag Day ceremony every year on the fourteenth of June,” Bergmark said. “This was decreed in 1907. In 1911 it was made a rule, an Elks statute, and then in 1949, when Harry Truman was president, he made it a
national day of observance. So the Elks are very proud of the fact that we were very instrumental in getting the ball rolling on this.” Bergmark said the importance of Flag Day cannot be understated, citing the positive effect that ceremonies have on younger genera-
AP Photo
A burned SUV at a home located on Wolf Springs Loop near Ruidoso shows the devastation caused by a wildfire, Monday.
Elks, Girl Scouts celebrate Flag Day Liquor NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Roswell Elks Lodge teamed up with Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest to perform the annual Flag Day ceremony at La Villa Assisted Living Center, Thursday, honoring America’s emblem of sovereignty
See FLAG DAY Page A3
TIGER STEALS THE SHOW SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The lead at the U.S. Open belonged to Michael Thompson. The buzz came from Tiger Woods. And the struggles came from the three players in the world ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • There are no obituaries today, June 15.
HIGH .103˚ LOW ....70˚
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CLASSIFIEDS..........B5 COMICS.................B3 ENTERTAINMENT.....A7 FINANCIAL .............B4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A7 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................A7
INDEX
that comes with property loss, he has been struck by the patience he has seen throughout the entire ordeal. “I can’t personally imagine what it would be like to go through this. I
Mark Wilson Photo
Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest present flags during the Elks Flag Day Ceremony at La Villa Assisted Living, Thursday morning.
See FIRE Page A3
license approved by CC
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
The City Council gave its 7-3 approval to a request for a liquor license, to include wine and beer only, for Mi Cabana restaurant, 1622 S. Main St. The owner of Mi Cabana noted that the license would help his business, as many of his customers have asked if he sold alcohol. No one spoke against the request for the license. The council made a motion to send a request for bid for a half ton pickup truck back to the Roswell Parks and Recreation Department staff asking them to rebid the pickup. Councilor Steve Henderson, chairman of the Finance Committee, requested that the bid be separated from the other bid recommendations to allow for discussion. “I just felt like in Roswell, New Mexico, a half ton pickup we should have more than one bidder. In talking
Pentagon to mark Egypt court dissolves Islamist-led parliament CAIRO (AP) — Judges appointgay pride month ed by Hosni Mubarak dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliaWASHINGTON (AP) — Last summer, gays in the military dared not admit their sexual orientation. This summer, the Pentagon will salute them, marking June as gay pride month just as it has marked other celebrations honoring racial or ethnic groups. In the latest remarkable sign of change since the military repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the Defense Department will soon hold its first event to recognize gay and lesbian troops. It comes nine months after repeal of the policy that had banned gay troops from serving openly and forced more than 13,500 service members out of the armed forces. Details are still being worked out, but officials say Defense Secretary Leon Panetta wants to honor the contributions of gay service members. “Now that we’ve repealed ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ he feels it’s important to find a way this month to recognize the service and professionalism of gay and lesbian troops,” said Navy Capt. John Kirby, a spokesman.
See PRIDE Page A3
AP Photo
Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq addresses his supporters during an election rally in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday. Judges appointed by Hosni Mubarak dissolved the Islamist-dominated parliament on Thursday and ruled that Mubarak's former prime minister can stand in the presidential runoff this weekend —derailing Egypt's transition to democracy and setting the stage for the military and remnants of the old regime to stay in power.
See LIQUOR, Page A2
ment Thursday and ruled his former prime minister eligible for the presidential runoff election this weekend — setting the stage for the military and remnants of the old regime to stay in power. The politically charged rulings dealt a heavy blow to the fundamentalist Islamic Brotherhood, with one senior member calling the decisions a “full-fledged coup,” and the group vowed to rally the public against Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister to serve under Mubarak. The decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court effectively erased the tenuous progress from Egypt’s troubled transition in the past year, leaving the country with no parliament and concentrating power even more firmly in the hands of the generals who took over from Mubarak. Several hundred people gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square after the rulings to denounce the action and rally against Shafiq, See EGYPT Page A3