Roswell Daily Record
INSIDE NEWS
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Nearly $25 million has already been spent to prepare for the immediate after math of this year’s wildfires, putting the U.S. Forest Service on track for another possible record year of spending on bur ned-area recovery efforts.
PRODUCER ZANUCK DEAD AT 77
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Film producer Richard Zanuck, who won the best picture Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy and was involved in such blockbuster films as Jaws and The Sting after his father, Hollywood mogul Darryl F. Zanuck, fired him from 20th Century Fox, died Friday. He was 77. - PAGE A6
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Post-fire cleanup, recovery costly
Vol. 121, No. 168 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
So far, nearly all of the money is going toward building water bars, removing hazardous trees and spreading seed across hundreds of square miles in southern New Mexico. The state recorded both its
July 14, 2012
SATURDAY
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largest and its most destructive wildfires in the past two months. Neighboring Colorado is also having its worst fire season in a decade. Teams of biologists, hydrologists and soil scientists are on the ground there, analyzing what it will take to deal with post-fire flooding and other hazards. Once their work is done, U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Harris Sherman said he expects spending to increase significantly. “This is a very critical
stage in the process,” Sherman told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “Obviously if we can deal with potential flooding and erosion concerns early on, we will all be much better off.” Scientists weigh everything from weather forecasts and topography to the location of streams and the severity of the bur n when deter mining how much will have to be spent on each acre to keep the damage from getting worse.
Getting ready for Election Day
See FIRE, Page A3
Mark Wilson Photo
Council reverses P&Z decision
This vehicle met its demise in Bonita Park near Ruidoso during the Little Bear fire.
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Roswell police custody death ruled 'accidental' • Ash, silt from Little Bear fills Bonito Lake • Mayor honors Roswellite’s 99th ... • Troubadour Cory Branan to perform ... • Invaders drop 2nd straight to Alpine
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
Kevin Bell paints the windows of the Republican Party of Chaves County headquarters and call center readying for the upcoming elections in November, Wednesday afternoon.
The Roswell City Council overturned a decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission to deny a request to rezone an R-3 Residential District to C-2 Community Commercial District, at its regular business meeting Thursday evening. The P&Z commission voted 3-2 to deny the request of applicant Bill Fenn, of Fenn Foods Inc. One of the commissioners recused himself due to a conflict of interest. Fenn’s See COUNCIL, Page A3
Interim super discusses UN blames Syrian gov’t for massacre district’s report card BREES TO GET $100M
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drew Brees and the Saints reached a deal on par with the quarterback’s record-setting play, giving New Orleans’ fans some news they can celebrate after an offseason rife with turmoil. The team announced Friday that it had agreed to a five-year contract with Brees. A person familiar with the deal said it’s for $100 million, with $60 million guaranteed. The deal will also pay the quarterback $40 million the first year, the person told The Associated Press on condition of ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Dale Freiberger • Agustin Juarez Corona • Sandra Vale • Stoney Waide - PAGE A6
HIGH ...95˚ LOW ....67˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B3 ENTERTAINMENT.....A8 FINANCIAL .............A7 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
On Monday, the state rolled out its first 2012 grades for more than 800 of New Mexico’s elementary, middle and high schools, providing the Roswell Independent School District with a base of how to structure next year’s curriculum. New Mexico Military
Institute and Parkview Early Literacy Center each received a question mark, meaning the two are viewed by the Public Education Department as private institutions and thus not evaluated by the department. Of the 22 schools in the Roswell Independent
BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N. singled out government forces Friday for blame in the latest massacre in Syria, a frenzy of killing that raises new questions about whether diplomacy has any chance to end the crisis more than 16 months into the bloodiest revolt of the Arab Spring. As the violence turns
AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN
Black smoke rises from buildings near a mosque from purported forces shelling in Homs, Syria, Wednesday.
Obama administration proposes welfare-to-work waivers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has quietly opened the door for states to seek major changes in how they meet federal welfare-to-work requirements for some of their poorest residents, and leading conservatives are crying foul. In a memo to states issued with little notice late Thursday, the federal Health and Human Services Department said it is interested in approving state experiments that will help “find more effective mechanisms for helping families succeed in employment.”
See RISD, Page A3
See SYRIA, Page A3
States will not be able to escape the work requirements of the landmark 1996 federal welfare reform law, the administration said, but they may get federal approval to try to accomplish the same goals by using different methods than those spelled out in the legislation. Signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton as he steered his administration toward the political center, the welfare refor m law replaced a federal entitlement with grants to the states, while putting a time limit on how long families can get aid and requiring recipients
to eventually go to work. The program is now called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF for short. What started out as just another bureaucratic memorandum drew a swift rebuke from one of the authors of welfare reform, as well as from senior Republican lawmakers. Having battled to a standoff over President Barack Obama’s health care law, welfare could become another social policy flash point between Republicans in Congress and the administration. “They have arrogated to them-
selves complete control over this program, and they did it through what’s essentially foul play,” Robert Rector, a nationally known social policy expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Friday. Rector, who helped draft the original legislation, said the administration’s move amounted to an end-run around the law’s work requirement and therefore violates the law. See WAIVERS, Page A3
The secret to being 90 and still playing racquetball: You have to keep going CHAUNTE’L POWELL RECORD STAFF WRITER
INDEX
Chaunte’l Powell Photo
Les McPherson enjoys exercising at Senior Circle (when he’s not playing racquetball).
Leslie “Les” McPherson is not your average 90-yearold. When he’s not exercising at Senior Circle, he can be found two or three times a week for about an hour and a half each time playing racquetball. McPherson is no beginner to the game. He picked up racquetball 30 years ago and has been playing ever since. He also offiers unofficial lessons to those who are interested. Though he tur ns 91 in August, he
doesn’t see any of this as out of the ordinary.
“The secret to being 90 and still playing racquetball, is you have to keep going,” he said. “I have a friend I’ve been playing with, I taught him how to play and he’s 93.” He made sure to add, “and we still have a pretty good game!” McPherson said he came
to Senior Circle several years ago after his wife passed away and he closed his store, the Cobean Stationery Co., in search of activities to occupy his time. He got exactly what he asked for.
“This place here has been a lifesaver. I came here with See SPOTLIGHT, Page A3