Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 121, No. 145 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
June 17, 2012
Rain, steady progress on Little Bear
SUNDAY
www.rdrnews.com
SAGE NEEDS A FEW GOOD MEN
Sage, the poster girl and canine extraordinaire, is looking for a few good men. Specifically, the Sage Foundation for Dogs Who Serve seeks bachelors for auction to help raise funds for medical treatments and grants for other service dogs. Sage herself is a cancer survivor and her story inspired the creation of the Foundation ... - PAGE A2
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• RPD arrests Mary Beth Lawrence • Clay Walker Country Rocks Pearson • Jo Hicks: Paralegal, thrift shop junkie ... • Progress in Little Bear fire efforts • Invaders into first
INSIDE SPORTS
TIGERS NIP ROCKIES
DETROIT (AP) — Jim Tracy knows that his Colorado Rockies are going to make youthful mistakes from time to time. Saturday, they just happened to make several of them on the same day. The first run Friedrich allowed was understandable — a solo homer to Miguel Cabrera — but the next two were tough. In the fourth inning, he loaded the bases on a single, a walk and a hit batter, and then walked Austin Jackson to force in a run. Rookie pitcher Christian Friedrich struggled ... - PAGE B1
Mark Wilson Photo
The Little Bear fire burns in steep, rocky, inaccessible terrain in the White Mountain Wilderness of the Lincoln National Forest near Ruidoso and Alto, June 6. As of Saturday, the fire had consumed more than 38,000 acres, more than 234 structures and was 51% contained. NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
Firefighters continued to attack active areas of the
Little Bear fire, which held at 51 percent containment Saturday and is 38,144 acres in size. Lincoln County emergency managers
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
Members of the community gathered Saturday at Cahoon Park to commemorate Juneteenth, coming together as one in a celebration of equality. Juneteenth marks the day, June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with word about the abolition of slavery, two-and-a-half years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation became official. The day offered a host of fun outdoor activities, including a watermelon eating contest, swimming, sack races, basketball and horseshoe tossing, while delicious free foods like smoked brisket and turkeys filled the park with an irresistible aroma. Musical per for mances from church choirs, solo artists, blues bands and rap artists entertained all those who attended throughout the day. Eastern New Mexico University-
Roswell President of Student Affairs Robert Bowman was the event’s featured speaker, and provided a breakdown of what the day is all about. “The way it confirms in history is that when African-Americans found out they were free, most of them decided to just take off all of their old slave clothes, in exchange for something much better,” Bowman said. “That’s where the celebration really started from: They got rid of the old, and brought in the new. “... Some people were in shock because they didn’t know anything but slavery. So, many decided to stay with their slaveowners, and became paid employees. Many others left to find family that were in different parts of the South, and many tried to move North, where there was more of an idea of freedom. “So it was a big change, getting rid of the old and bringing in the new. And that’s what it’s really all about — freedom.”
HIGH ...98˚ LOW ....69˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........D1 COMICS.................C3 ENTERTAINMENT.....A8 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B5 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
See LITTLE BEAR, Page A7
Mark Wilson Photo
J’Vaughn Johnson, 2, sits on Uncle Wesley Maxwell’s shoulder while watching dad play basketball during the Juneteenth Festival 2012 at Cahoon Park, Saturday.
Audrey Bass, Juneteenth celebration committee treasurer, commented, “This brings everybody together; it’s a day for everyone. We
want everybody to enjoy this, and
have fun, and get along as one.
Lawrence Brothers IGA honors first responders NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
OBITUARIES
Rev. William Hartman Mary Wood Walter F. Knapp John Rhodes - PAGE B6
Crews improved containment lines on the west side of the fire, where the fire is most active. Patrol and mop up continued around
Community gathers, commemorates Juneteenth
TODAY’S • • • •
have estimated that damages caused by the fire, which has destroyed 234 structures, stands at more than $22 million.
the remainder of the fire. “The focus continues to be where there is active burning,” said Victoria Fox, incident information officer. “It’s a 24/7 operation, and so each day steady progress is being made in those areas toward containment.” Lincoln County received rain Saturday for the first time since the beginning of the Little Bear fire. Residents within 100 yards of creeks and streams in low lying areas were asked to evacuate their homes Saturday after noon due to heavy rain over areas affected by the Little Bear, White and Donaldson fires. The evacuation was lifted about two hours later after the potential for flooding diminished. Anne Jef fery, incident information officer, said crews estimated that the majority of the fire received one-tenth to a quarter of an inch of rain, and that the southern perimeter of the fire received half an inch of rain. Congressman Steve Pearce, R-N.M., has publicly questioned whether bureaucracy prevented fire-
Mark Wilson Photo
A Native Air Ambulance sits on display during a Lawrence Brothers IGA celebration to honor first responders, Saturday.
Roswell’s first responders were honored at Lawrence Brothers IGA, Saturday, allowing a chance for the public to meet those in emergency medical services and thank them for their service to the community. A Native Air helicopter from the Roswell International Air Center flew into the parking lot at the start of the event, a special moment for Blake Meek, IGA store director. Meek’s son Jacob had a stroke in
November 2010, and was flown to Lubbock in the same helicopter that landed Saturday. “I can’t say enough. They saved my son’s life,” Meek said. “And we’ve had a couple other problems since the stroke, and have had to call on emergency vehicles. So on a personal level, they mean very much to me. “... And, of course, it’s not just Lawrence Brothers — overall in the Roswell community, they do so much for us. I think a lot of times it goes a bit unappreciated.”
See JUNETEENTH, Page A7
Cindy Maxwell, critical care paramedic with Native Air, said Saturday provided an opporunity for the community to learn more about the emergency medical services in Roswell. “It’s not every day that you get to land in the middle of town!” she said. “So it’s nice that the public can just come out and see us. Sometimes they don’t know what we do, they don’t know that we’re located here in town. They think sometimes we have to fly in
Wildfire destroys most homes in Colorado history DENVER (AP) — Additional crews were arriving Saturday at a wildfire in northern Colorado that has scorched about 85 square miles and destroyed at least 181 homes, the most in state history. The High Park Fire burning 15 miles west of Fort Collins surpasses the Fourmile Canyon wildfire, which destroyed 169 homes west of Boulder in September 2010.
Fire information officer Brett Haberstick said Saturday that more than
1,500 personnel are working on the Fort Collins-area fire. The lightning-caused blaze, which is believed to have killed a 62-year -old woman whose body was found in her cabin, was 20 percent contained. The fire’s incident commander said full containment could be two to four weeks away. Haberstick said hot and dry conditions were expected to continue, but crews have made progress in containing a 200-acre spot fire that erupted Thursday after noon north of the
Cache La Poudre River, a critical line of defense against northward growth. “We’re hopeful that we will be able to contain it today, but that will be deter mined by Mother Nature,” Haberstick said. Firefighters have extinguished other incursions north of the river, but the most recent one appeared to be more serious. National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin said some rain was expectSee COLORADO, Page A7
AP Photo
See FIRST, Page A7