Roswell Daily Record
Work after wildfires begins THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 146 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
CHRYSLER AGREES TO RECALL FIRE RISK JEEPS
DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler abruptly agreed to recall 2.7 million older model Jeeps Tuesday, reversing a defiant stance and avoiding a possible public relations nightmare over fuel tanks that can rupture and cause fires in rearend collisions. In deciding on the recall, Chrysler sidestepped a showdown with government safety regulators that could have led to public hearings with witnesses providing details of deadly crashes involving the Jeeps. The dispute ultimately could have landed in court and hurt Chrysler ’s image and its finances. The company said calls from customers concerned about the safety of their Jeeps played a part in its going along with the government’s request. - PAGE A6
INSIDE SPORTS
June 19, 2013
WEDNESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A handful of wildfires have charred nearly 100 square miles of dry, rugged terrain around New Mexico since the end of May. The largest fire, the 39-squaremile Silver Fire, was still raging in the Gila National Forest on Tuesday, but teams of scientists have already started scouring scorched areas in an effort to assess the damage and prepare for the postfire threats of erosion and flooding. The teams are looking at the severity of the burns, damage to the soil and possible effects to streams, roads, wildlife habitat and private property.
Road work set to continue
Federal budget cuts have resulted in fewer dollars for firefighting efforts, but officials do not expect to cut corners when it comes to the BAER program given that it’s aimed at emergency situations, such as stabilizing hillsides or removing hazardous materials that are the result of a fire.
Rain has already brought rocks, dirt and charred debris down from some of the mountainsides burned by the Tres Lagunas Fire north of Pecos. “This is part of nature — fires are part of nature and rains are part of nature,” said Beth Mitchell, a specialist with the Burned Area Emergency Response team assigned to the fire. “The
Making a pit stop
truth is as much as we all work together and do the very best we possibly can, there’s no way we can completely stop the effects of the rains in the fire areas.” While the U.S. Forest Service spends much of its money on suppressing fires, dealing with the aftermath in recent years — when many states have had recordbreaking fire seasons — has also
become a big ticket item. Last year, the agency spent about $48 million on burned-area recovery efforts. This year, the bill is expected to be the same given the forecast, said agency spokesman Larry Chambers. Federal budget cuts have resulted in fewer dollars for firefighting efforts, but officials do not expect to cut corners when it comes to the BAER program given that it’s aimed at emergency situations, such as stabilizing hillsides or removing hazardous materials that are the result of a fire. See WILDFIRES, Page A3
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
As summer approaches, residents can count on two things: higher temperatures and more road construction. The city has several construction and rehabilitation projects planned this year, many of which have already begun. Since June 3, a project to remove and replace 3" of pavement along North Main Street, from College Boulevard north to Country Club Road, has caused traffic to crawl. City Engineer Louis Najar said he’s received many complaints.
Mark Wilson Photo
A B1 bomber from Dyess AFB in Texas sits at the Roswell International Air Center, Tuesday morning, after it had been diverted because of thunderstorms on Monday in Texas. The crew came to town to refuel and had timed out, grounding them overnight.
School district completes $6.5 million bond sale See WORK, Page A3
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
HEELS OUST LSU IN CWS
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Home runs are few and far between at the College World Series these days, which made Brian Holberton’s firstinning shot all the more important for North Carolina. Holberton staked freshman starter Trent Thornton to a two-run lead before he even took the mound Tuesday, and No. 1 national seed Carolina went on to beat LSU 4-2 in an elimination game. “We certainly are happy to have survived this one,” Tar Heels coach Mike Fox said. “I thought the home run by Brian was really crucial for us, just kind of let the air out a little bit and let us play with a lead, something we seemed to haven’t done in a while.” - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Farrell Lane Watson • Gary Hill - PAGE A3
HIGH .102˚ LOW ....72˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B5 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....A8 FINANCIAL .............A6 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Jill McLaughlin Photo
Roswell Independent School District recently remodeled Pecos Elementary School using state matching funds and money from its general obligation bonds. The project cost was $7.6 million.
US, Taliban to start talks on ending Afghan war KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban and the U.S. said Tuesday they will hold talks on finding a political solution to ending nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan, as the international coalition for mally handed over control of the country’s security to the Afghan army and police. The Taliban met a key U.S. demand by pledging not to use Afghanistan as a base to threaten other countries, although the Americans said they must also denounce al-Qaida. But President Barack
Obama cautioned that the process won’t be quick or easy. He described the opening of a Taliban political office in the Gulf nation of Qatar as an “important first step toward reconciliation” between the Islamic militants and the gover nment of Afghanistan, and predicted there will be bumps along the way. Obama, who was attending the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland, praised Afghan President Hamid Karzai for taking See WAR, Page A3
Roswell Independent School District is prepared to construct a new school and remodel three others after selling $6.5 million in general obligation bonds last week. “The bond sale went really well,” said Chad Cole, RISD assistant Superintendent for Financial Operations. “ The district received seven bids to purchase the bonds last week, with all willing to pay at least a $300,000 premium or more plus $2.65 percent interest, Cole said. The transaction allowed RISD to start contracting out the latest projects on its list to remodel or replace schools. This year’s targets are El Capitan Elementary, which will be rebuilt, Mili-
Fire in the sky
tary Heights Elementary, Berrendo Elementary, Valley View Elementary and Del Norte Elementary schools. “That’s a lot of construction with a very limited amount of funding, and every dollar counts on these projects,” Cole said. Local voters supported the funds when they passed the sale of general obligation bonds in August 2011. The district is in the process of upgrading or reconstructing several of its 19 schools. Many of the buildings haven’t been upgraded since 1965. With many of the projects, the state will provide 72 percent in Capital Outlay Construction matching funds. In the past five years, RISD has spent $71 million on the projects, Cole said. See SALE, Page A3
Mark Wilson Photo
The sun rises Tuesday morning over the UFO murals created by John Cerney that reside in a farm field along U.S. 285 south of Roswell.