Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 121, No. 170 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
GRAND CANYON AS A FRESCO
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
July 17, 2012
Sportsmen back a new hunting access bill
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Sportsmen in New Mexico and elsewhere are throwing their support behind federal legislation that aims to improve access to millions of acres of public land. The measure introduced by U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., calls for an inventory of all public parcels larger than a square mile where hunting, fishing and other recreation are allowed but where access is blocked. It also asks agencies to acquire easements and rights of
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way for improving access. The bill is just the latest in a decade-long effort to overcome access issues created by a combination of population growth, changing demographics and the landownership checkerboard that defines the American West. John Gale, a regional representative for the National Wildlife Federation, characterized access as the No. 1 issue for sportsmen. “There are a lot of places with gates up on roads and
things like that. We’re looking to secure access to places for people to go and enjoy,” he said. “We have this wonderful resource in public lands and it’s there for all of us to enjoy, not the privileged few.” The access issue is of particular interest across the West, where New Mexico and many other states have large tracts of public land and where sportsmen and other outdoor recreationists represent large voting blocks. Heinrich’s bill is circulat-
ing just as election season ramps up. He’s in a key race against Republican Heather Wilson for the seat held by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, who is retiring. The political action fund of the National Wildlife Federation is among a coalition of environmental groups that are funding ads aimed at Wilson and other candidates. Heinrich’s office maintains that the congressman has been working on the access issue long before campaign season.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Uninspired by modern art, Kurt Wenner set out to learn how European masters made architecture soar and figures float in ceiling frescoes. - PAGE A3
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INSIDE SPORTS
Murder case has new leads
See LAND, Page A7
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 • Battery victim recalls harrowing ordeal • Interim super discusses district’s report card • The secret to being 90 and still playing ... • Old West returns ... • Invaders drop second straight to Alpine
Aside from the nationwide inventory, the legislation calls for setting aside 1.5 percent of the Land and Water Conservation Fund — supported by oil and natural gas revenues — to pay willing sellers for rights of way and conservation easements for better access to public lands. Supporters contend that the funding mechanism is what gives the legislation a better chance of producing results.
AP Photo
This image made from amateur video released by the Ugarit News and accessed June 19 purports to show smoke rising from buildings in Khaldiyeh neighborhood, Homs province, Syria.
Syrian rebels push war into capital Damascus BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels fired grenades at tanks and troops while regime ar mor shelled Damascus neighborhoods on Monday, sending terrified families fleeing the
most sustained and widespread fighting in the capital since the start of the uprising 16 months ago. A ring of fierce clashes nearly encircled the heavily guarded capital as
rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar Assad pushed the civil war that has been building in Syria's impoverished provinces closer to the seat of power.
While the clashes were focused in a string of neighborhoods in the city's southwest, for many of its 4 million people the See SYRIA, Page A7
The Roswell Police Department executed search warrants on several homes on Thursday, in association with the July 6 homicide of Arnulfo Villela Jr. The 18-year -old was shot multiple times outside a residence at 826 E. Hendricks St. Police responded to a report of shots fired around 10 p.m. on July 6. When they arrived at the address they found Villela dead. Their investigation at the time revealed that the murder may have started with a physical altercation. Police believe there were several eyewitnesses to the crime. On Sunday, detectives spoke with Israel Vigil, 18, a person of interest in the case. He was subseSee MURDER, Page A7
Child killed in ATV crash Know the signs of illegal car sellers JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
RICE, FORTE GET LONGTERM DEALS Ray Rice and Matt Forte got what they wanted Monday: long-term contracts that sometimes elude NFL running backs. Neither Rice nor Forte was enamored of playing under the ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Charles Treadwell • Charles Martin • Mary Pearson Smith • Tonita Flores • Ravae Holloway • Elizabeth Burnett - PAGE B3
RAINFALL
On July 16, as of 10 p.m., 0.02 inches of rain was recorded at the Daily Record
HIGH ...96˚ LOW ....71˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
A Roswell child was killed in a rollover ATV crash on Friday. Around 7 p.m., officers from the New Mexico State Police responded to the scene of a single ATV crash on Oasis Road within Chaves County. The crash involved a Honda Recon ATV, driven by Raelynn Holloway, 8, of Roswell. Initial investigation by the State Police determined that Raelynn Holloway was operating the ATV with her 4- year -old sister Ravae Holloway seated behind her and their 7-year-old friend Alessandra Castillo seated at the rear of the ATV. They were travelling on a
private property dirt road when Raelynn Holloway lost control of the ATV and it rolled over. All three occupants were able to walk back to their residence where Ravae Holloway collapsed and was rushed to Easter n New Mexico Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries. Alessandra Castillo suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from ENMMC. Raelynn Holloway was uninjured. Requirements for OHV (off highway vehicles) were passed by the legislature and signed by former Gov. Bill Richardson in 2005. They became law in JanuSee CRASH, Page A7
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
An age-old scam has accelerated in Roswell, exploiting unsuspecting, and at times naive, car buyers. Curbstoning, or “curbing” for short, is the repeated practice of illegally flipping cars. The curbstoner, or private individual, often purchases these vehicles at salvage title auctions, resulting in a car that has previously been wrecked or damaged rendering it uneconomical to repair. The cars are then parked on street corners or in parking lots and
misrepresented as the curbstoner’s personal vehicle. If you sell more than four cars a year, you need to have a dealer’s license, says Derek Marker, executive director of New Mexico Independent Automobile Dealers Association. Marker is also the owner of Albuquerque-based Marcar Auto Inc. “Roswell is rampant with this stuf f. It has been for a long, long time. It should be a state-addressed issue because the state is getting robbed of the most taxes. The city is too. But mainly the state, because the sales tax goes to the
state,” said Pat McCarty, owner of Economy Motors. “They should attack this on a statewide basis, but they don’t. State legislatures are all asleep at the wheel. ” Curbstoners do not pay the three percent motor vehicles sales and use tax, that is based on a vehicle’s sale price, as legally required. They leave the title open, transferring it directly from the prior owner to the buyer. “If you have 100 cars, the average selling price is $10,000 at three percent sales tax. That’s
See CARS, Page A7
Cronyism, outsourcing: Mitt Romney, Pres. Barack Obama trade jabs
CINCINNATI (AP) — Using unusually vivid language, Mitt Romney tried to take the political offensive against President Barack Obama on Monday, accusing Obama of cronyism that “stinks” in steering federal contracts to supporters. He also dropped hints through a spokesman that a vice presidential pick could come any day. Unfazed, Obama needled his Republican rival for finally having a job-creation plan — for people overseas. At the same time, though Romney endeavored to switch the campaign focus, questions about his tenure at Bain Capital, a venture capital company, seemed destined to shape the conversation at least a while longer. On a day devoted mainly to raising money, Romney went on Fox News to complain that all Obama can do “is attack me” on Bain and other subjects
AP Photo
Republican presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney leaves a fundraiser that included Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., on Monday, in Baton Rouge, La. rather than taking useful steps to improve the economy. Rallying for support in
crucial Ohio, Obama said Romney’s proposal to free companies from taxes on their foreign holdings
would displace American workers. The president cited a study he said concluded that “Gov. Romney’s economic plan would in fact create 800,000 jobs. There’s only one problem, the jobs wouldn’t be in America.” Romney, speaking to donors in Baton Rouge, La., said Obama had a policy of “taking your tax dollars and putting it in businesses owned by contributors to his campaign. And that is smelly at best. It stinks.” Romney aides cited some well-known cases, such as Solyndra, a California solar energy company that went bankrupt, and some lesspublicized cases. They include Westly Group, a venture capital firm whose affiliated companies have received federal loans and grants. Steve Westly, the company’s founder, is a major
Obama campaign fundraiser. Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the Energy Department’s decisions “were made without regard to political connections.” She said some grants have gone to projects with “just as robust connections to Republican campaigns and donors.” While Obama held a freewheeling town hall in Ohio, Romney raised money in the safely GOP states of Louisiana and Mississippi. He told donors who paid as much as $50,000 to attend a Jackson, Miss., fundraiser that it was a good time to be a friend of the Obama campaign, but not a good time to be in the middle class. “I know that people in this room are probably doing relatively well, relaSee CAMPAIGN, Page A7