Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Council OKs capital improvement plan Vol. 123, No. 196 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
August 15, 2014
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Missouri Avenue Park to become Altrusa Park BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The City Council approved a no-frills Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan Thursday night, with the top five choices listed being all infrastructure projects. Missing from the top five were the Yucca Community Center and the proposed
splash pad projects, which were topics of discussion at the Aug. 5 workshop where the ICIP was discussed by councilors, department heads and state legislators. At the Aug. 5 meeting, City Water and Wastewater Manager Art Torrez asked the councilors to consider two major water projects, including a large valve replacement project expect-
A sweet cause
ed to cost $1.5 million and the first phase of a large diameter water line replacement project expected to cost $2 million. Those two projects were at the top of the list the council adopted Thursday, followed by the fire training center completion, a $207,000 project; Phase 1 of a street paving project in South Park Cemetery, which is expected
to cost $443,000; and Phase 1 of a manhole rehabilitation project that will cost $250,000. The ICIP is a preliminary list of projects the city would like to accomplish in the next five years, City Manager Larry Fry explained at the Aug. 5 workshop. The plan is an eight-page list which encompassed more than $130 million
Mary Morgan Photo
Miss New Mexico Jessica Burson visits Dairy Queen as part of the Miracle Treat Day, Thursday. Clients from Tobosa Developmental Services of Roswell were at Dairy Queen eating Blizzards when they got to meet Burson. One dollar from each Blizzard sold was donated to Children’s Miracle Network.
worth of projects. The city needs the official list of projects, which is required to be filed with the state by Sept. 2, to be eligible for both state and federal funding, Fry said. Including projects on the list also makes them eligible for some grant funding, but does not guarantee that any of the projects will actually receive funding from the
state.
“I was disappointed to see that the splash pads are not in the top five list,” said Councilor Juan Oropesa. Splash pads are shower-like play stations for children — like a super sprinkler — and councilors discussed building a splash pad at the Boys
Feral horse fight brewing in New Mexico village
PLACITAS (AP) — For decades, free-ranging horses have roamed this mountain village in New Mexico, galloping on residents’ property, dashing along roads and attracting tourists and wildlife fans hoping to catch a glimpse. Their presence has long defined Placitas. But the horses are now drawing the ire of some residents who say their growing numbers are hurting the delicate desert landscape because they eat what little vegetation there is amid an ongoing drought. “We’re going to be living in a dust bowl in a few years,” said resident Peter Hurley, noting that it may take possibly a decade before the vegetation in some areas in the village north of Albuquerque returns to normal. Horse advocates say the drought is to blame for
See COUNCIL, Page A3
damaging landscape and state officials have blocked their attempts to administer a female contraceptive to help control the horse population.
A roundup of some of the 125 or so horses by state authorities and a plan by federal officials to remove some from nearby federal land have raised the potential for a standoff between horses advocates and federal officials over the animals’ fate.
“People are willing to die for these horses,” said Gary Miles of the Placitas Animal Rescue. “I know I am.”
Miles said any new roundup of horses could spark a “Cliven Bundy situation,” referring to the Nevada rancher and his armed supporters who got into a confrontation in April with federal government over public land use.
15-year-old admits Championship Ranch Rodeo begins tonight killing mom, sister TUCUMCARI (AP) — A 15year-old boy charged with killing his mother and sister in 2012 pleaded guilty Thursday and avoided facing adult sanctions of up to two consecutive life sentences. After the boy entered his plea, District Judge Albert Mitchell sentenced him to detention and treatment in a state Children, Youth and Families Department facility until age 21. That’s the maximum the boy could receive after a judge ruled last month he was amenable to treatment. The teen shot his adoptive mother, Sue Day, 67, and stabbed his sister, Sherry Folts, 48, in their home on the outskirts of Tucumcari, authorities said. An adopted brother, then 15, wrested the rifle from the teen.
The Associated Press is not identifying the teen because he is a juvenile. His lawyer, Jeff Buckels, presented evidence at the hearing last month that showed his client was abused and neglected as a child and that his biological parents had their parental rights terminated by the time he turned 7.
A psychologist testifying at the hearing also said the teen had a faulty grasp on reality and an inability to accurately interpret events and people’s motives.
According to investigators, the teen later told police at the time that he also intended to kill his adoptive father, Mike Day, who had been in the home at the time of the killings, as was a 9-monthold foster baby.
BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
A longstanding tradition of family fun returns to Roswell tonight when the 26th annual New Mexico Championship Ranch Rodeo kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Eastern New Mexico State Fairgrounds. “I can’t tell you how much fun it is,” says Mike Pierce of the Chaves County Rodeo Association. “My wife’s 90-yearold grandmother will be there, and I don’t think she’s missed one yet.” The family-oriented event is a ranch rodeo, and is sanctioned by the Working Ranch Cowboy Association out of Amarillo, which means the winners of the Roswell rodeo go on to compete for world championship titles.
Members of Chaves County Search & Rescue discuss plans for the future during a recent regular monthly meeting. From left at the head table are Howard Hicks, treasurer; Gary Wells, secretary; Jason Burns, president; and Rick Overmier, vicepresident.
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TODAY’S FORECAST
Submitted Photo
Ranch rodeo action returns to Roswell tonight at the Eastern New Mexico State Fairgrounds when the 26th annual Championship Ranch Rodeo kicks off at 7 p.m.
County SAR volunteers well-trained to help find those who get lost in wilderness BY BILL MOFFITT RECORD CORRESPONDENT
Bill Moffit Photo
Ranch rodeos dif fer from professional rodeos in that the skills used are those traditionally used by ranch cowboys, and the time limits are longer. “It’s not eight seconds and done,” Pierce said. “And in a ranch rodeo, you see more events that happen every day on a ranch.” There is also a branding exhibition, which shows how animals were traditionally marked for identification. “The professional rodeos developed from the ranch rodeos, and they are performed in a more professional style,” Pierce said. “At the ranch rodeo, you see people who you see every day around town competing in the rodeo, and all their family
It’s called Chaves County Search & Rescue, but it’s not an agency of Chaves County. It is headquartered in Roswell, but members can be called out to work up to 300 miles away. They are well-trained, certified and professional, but work on a volunteer basis. If you’re lost, these are the men and women that
• SUSAN V. HOBBS • JAMES EDGAR MASON • RIKEY RAY REID
See RODEO, Page A3
you hope will be out looking for you. The 15 members of the Chaves County SAR work closely with other groups of like-minded individuals whenever someone is reported missing. SAR is actually an arm of the NM State Police, the agency that usually initiates the investigation to see if foul play might be involved. The volunteer members work with other SAR teams around the
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state along with the Civil Air Patrol. The SAR team in Roswell relies mainly on four wheel-drive vehicles. When needed, another SAR team will bring in dogs while a third has horses for a mounted search. The state police and the U.S. Border Patrol often help with the searches, which may involve several hundred searchers altogether. This coming together of
the various SAR teams and law enforcement agencies means that searchers are well-equipped for searches over rugged or densely forested terrain. Some of the Chaves County SAR members are also ham radio operators who provide critical radio communication during the searches. Chaves County SAR
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COMICS .................B6
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See SAR, Page A3
OPINION .................A4
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