Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 121, No. 200 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
NM SHOP SELLS ‘METH CANDY’ ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The owner of an Albuquerque candy store is selling a product she’s calling “meth candy” as she tries to play off the popularity of the hit TV-show “Breaking Bad.”
August 21, 2012
Obama defends campaign, slams Romney
TUESDAY
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Denounced by his Republican rival for divisiveness, President Barack Obama on Monday defended the tone of his campaign in a combative election year and insisted it’s actually Mitt Romney’s ads that are “patently false.” But Obama did distance himself from a particularly provocative negative ad by a political group that supports him. Obama also joined the cascade of criticism from both parties for comments on rape and abortion by a Republican Senate candidate in Missouri, using that new controversy to draw sharp distinctions between his views on women’s health issues and those of Republicans. Obama made a surprise
visit to the White House briefing room, at least partly upstaging a joint campaign appearance by Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, in New Hampshire. The rally by Romney and Ryan, their first appearance together after a week of vigorous campaigning separately, had been highly anticipated, drawing an enthusiastic crowd and wide media attention. The president turned the day into a long-distance point-counterpoint debate with his opponent. He took questions from four reporters, the most he has taken from the national press corps in two months, dealing to an extent with complaints about his inaccessibility. What’s more, the flap over rape-and-
abortion remarks by Republican Rep. Todd Akin gave the president a chance to make a direct appeal to women, who both campaigns say make up a majority of undecided voters. At issue was Akin’s answer in an interview that aired Sunday that women’s bodies can prevent pregnancies in “a legitimate rape” and that conception is rare in such cases. He later said he misspoke and apologized, but he said he would not get out of the race despite such urging from several prominent fellow Republicans. As for the tone of the campaign, Obama declared that it See CAMPAIGN, Page A3
AP Photo
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shakes hands with his vice presidential running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, RWis., during a campaign rally, Monday, in Manchester, N.H.
RPD seeks leads on homicide
- PAGE A2
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• New rules require proof chile grown in NM • Investor sues promoter of failed hospital project • Refreshing discovery • It’s harvest time at the vineyard • Noon Op set for trip to regionals
INSIDE SPORTS
Joseph Padilla and Jeff Rueffer, of Xcel Energy, hoist an electrical pole to be set in the ground near West Country Club Road and North Louisiana Avenue.
Padilla (foreground) and Rueffer frame an electrical pole to be set in the ground near West Country Club Road and North Louisiana Avenue.
How Roswell keeps going—rain or shine JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER STORY AND PHOTOS
As temperatures hovered around one hundred degrees, Joseph Padilla and Jeff Rueffer, equipped with long-sleeve, fire retardant clothing, leather gloves, steel-toe boots and
five gallon jugs of water, began framing a 50-foot pole that would be placed seven feet into the ground near West Country Club Road and North Louisiana Avenue. The pole was the sixteenth of 25 to be placed in the ground, as part of the first phase of a four phase project to
improve reliability and strengthen Xcel Energy’s service to the northwest area of Roswell, accounting for future development. In Roswell, Xcel services around 21,000 customers, ranking it the company’s second largest service area behind Amarillo.
Within an hour, Rueffer and Padilla have set the pole into the ground. On days when four men are on hand the process of framing the pole, placing all the hardware on it to render the pole ready to hold a wire, and setting it
See XCEL, Page A3
TIMBERLAKE/ RAINBOW WINS The New Mexico Championship Ranch Rodeo took over Bob Crosby Arena on Friday and Saturday and Timberlake/Rainbow Ranches took home the top overall prize. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Shirley Hoskins • Ira Idran Brooks - PAGE B3
HIGH ...92˚ LOW ....67˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 NATION .................B3 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
United Way of Chaves County 2012 campaign co-chairs Luke and Adriann Ragsdale.
Julia Bergman Photo
With half a million dollar goal, UW campaign is on
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
A record attendance at the Civic Center aided the United Way of Chaves
County in kicking off its 2012 fundraising campaign, Monday, with fresh co-chairs who have plans to target a new demographic, particularly those
Missouri congressman fights to save GOP Senate bid
AP Photo
In this Thursday photo, Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., talks with reporters in Sedalia, Mo.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rep. Todd Akin fought to salvage his Senate campaign Monday, even as members of his own party turned against him and a key source of campaign funding was cut off in outrage over the Missouri congressman’s comments that women are able to prevent pregnancies in cases of “legitimate rape.”
Akin made no public appearances but went on forSee RAPE, Page A3
who have not been asked to give before. This year’s campaign co-chairs are Adriann and Luke Ragsdale. The fundraising goal is set at
$500,000, which is lower than the 2011 goal of $575,000. Last year the campaign raised $486,000. See UNITED, Page A3
Accident Monday kills 52-year-old man on bike
A 52-year-old man died early Monday morning as the result of a vehicle accident at the intersection of Garden Avenue and Deming Street.
According to police, Clark Wolf was driving eastbound on Deming a little after midnight when he ran a stop sign. Wolf swerved to avoid a collision with another vehicle. The second vehicle clipped him. Wolf was thrown off his motorcycle and onto a metal pole. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to injuries.
“It has been determined that alcohol was a factor in the accident, and the driver of the second vehicle will not be cited,” said RPD spokesman Sgt. Jimmy Preston.
Marquis Franco, 35, was found dead in the 1400 block of West Hendricks Street sometime between 3 and 3:30 a.m. Sunday. According to the police incident report, a witness heard a crash, looked outside and saw the body. Roswell Police officers responded to the mandown call to find Franco deceased. Originally reported by RPD Public Information Liaison Sabrina Morales as a suspicious death pending a ruling by the Offices of the Medical Investigation, Sgt. Jim Preston confirmed Monday the death is now considered a homicide. Officers remained at the scene investigating the circumstances surrounding the death throughout much of Sunday. Franco’s body was sent to Albuquerque for autopsy. Preston declined to comment on whether the murder is suspected to be gang-related. “We have no suspect information,” said Preston, although he urged people who may have information about the victim or the incident contact the Roswell Police Department at 575-627-6770, or call Crime Stoppers, 1-800594-TIPS (8477). Callers may remain anonymous. Callers to Crime Stoppers may be eligible for a reward.
‘Significant deficiencies’ at border IBWC
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The agency tasked with overseeing the U.S.-Mexico water boundary has been plagued by what federal auditors call “significant deficiencies” involving taxpayer dollars, including $1.2 million in unaccounted real property, a newspaper reported Monday. State Department audits reviewed by The El Paso Times found that the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission has struggled to account for hundreds of millions of dollars. Auditors discovered the agency used handwritten notations, for instance, while trying to balance $117 million in expenditures. The agency also overstated unpaid invoices by an estimated $4.1 million, and auditors said they could not identify property associated flood control projects paid with federal stimulus money. Edward Drusina, the agency commissioner, told the newspaper the problems were related to bookkeeping and other administrative proSee WATER, Page A3