Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 121, No. 209 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
RETAIL SALES ON THE RISE
NEW YORK (AP) — This summer, Americans were walking contradictions: They opened their wallets despite escalating fears about the slow economic recovery and surging gas prices. A group of 18 retailers ranging from discounter Target to department-store chain Macy’s reported August sales on Thursday that rose 6 percent ... - PAGE B4
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
August 31, 2012
FRIDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Romney accepts Republican nomination
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Republican Mitt Romney has a message for the millions of Americans who voted for Democratic President Barack Obama: It’s OK to be disappointed. The biggest moment of his political career at hand, Romney looked to appeal to the feelings of anxiety that are rippling through the electorate as the nation faces stubbor nly high unemployment and fears about its future place in the world. “Hope and change had a power ful appeal. But tonight I’d ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now he’s President that
Obama?” Romney said as he formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination Thursday night. “You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.” In 2008, Obama swept to victory with a message of hope and change — and as the first black person to earn the nomination of a major party, his candidacy was historic. He won in states like Virginia, Indiana and North Carolina, turning out African-Americans and excited young people in record numbers. To win, Romney needs to convince some of those voters that “hope and change”
didn’t really work out — and that he is the man to fix the problem. “To the majority of Americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this: If Barack Obama is re-elected, you will be right,” Romney said. Aides said the speech was the most important of Romney’s political career and will forever change his family’s legacy. In winning his party’s presidential nomination, the for mer Massachusetts governor has succeeded where his father failed a generation ago. But facing a twomonth sprint to an Election See ROMNEY, Page A3
AP Photo
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney addresses the
Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday.
Attorney position stirs debate
Truck flips on North Main
TOP 5 WEB
• Balloon Fiesta this October • ‘Please scrunch over and make room ... • Lawrence Bros. Family Day success • Often uncredited, group helps the needy • Remembering Sage, ‘everybody’s dog’
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
A state police officer marks off the distance following a one-vehicle wreck of a pickup truck traveling northbound on North Main Street between Pine Lodge and the bypass, Thursday morning. The truck was hauling a large liquid tank on a trailer when the trailer began to fish tail, hitting a curb which caused it to become airborne, which flipped the truck and tossed the tank about 30 feet into an adjacent field. There were no injuries.
WARRIORS TOP CAPITAN
Gateway Christian volleyball coach Kerri Pirtle missed her team’s first match of the year because of a family emergency. She returned Thursday to see plenty of good things from her team. The Warriors swept Capitan in three sets, 25-15, 25-14, 26-24, at the Red Rock Warrior Center to even their ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Mabel Childs Butler • Juanita LaTurner - PAGE A6
HIGH ...96˚ LOW ....64˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B5 COMICS.................B3 FINANCIAL .............B4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B5 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
RPD to take recruits to Michigan JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Roswell Police Department is planning to take its recruitment program on the road this fall. A trip to Michigan has been approved, which will last from Oct. 8 to Oct. 15. Sgt. Jim Preston and Of ficer Erica O’Bryon, along with two officers who made a lateral transfer from Michigan, will travel to 11 different academies across the state to speak with classes. “The classes run between 35 to 50 students, which means we could talk with up to 350 potential candidates,” O‘Bryon said. She explained that Michigan’s system of training is different from New Mexico’s where the students pay between $5,000 to $10,000 to get their certification.
“Once they are certified (in their home states), they then become a lateral transfer.” O’Bryon referred to them as committed to their careers because of the investment they have made in their education. The benefits for Roswell is that the successful applicant only has to go through the certification by waiver course in Santa Fe and not the 22-week basic training in New Mexico’s Police Academy. As a result they will be ready to go on the street sooner. “People ask us why we are going all the way to Michigan, but in the three years we’ve been recruiting in Michigan we’ve had 65 percent success with Michigan officers staying with the department compared to 33 percent recruits we get locally.” She said that 11 of the
officers they have on staff originated in Michigan.
While the desire of the Roswell Police Department to have its own attorney is overwhelmingly supported by the City Council, there has been much debate about where the money will come from to fund that position. During a police committee meeting, Thursday evening, of which Councilor Savino Sanchez is chair and councilors Barry Foster and Jeanine Corn-Best are members, discussion on the issue lasted around an hour. Deputy Chief Brad McFadin and Chief Al Solis presented a job description, which McFadin indicated was not set in stone, for the attorney position. Under that description, the minimum See ATTORNEY, Page A3
Suzy Wood retires
Of ficers R yan Craine, who has one year with RPD, and Scott Wrenn, a two-year veteran, have been selected to accompany Preston and O’Bryon. “They are good officers and real go-getters,” she said. “Once we get there, we will split up into two teams so we can cover all the entire state.” Each one of the classes where they will speak will have graduated by the end of November, the beginning of December. “We will conduct our preliminary interviews while we are there. We have 14 positions left, and we hope to fill all our open positions by the end of the trip,” O’Bryon said. j.palmer@rdrnews.com
Mark Wilson Photo
Suzy Wood, left, receives a hug from Nicole Vargas during Suzy’s retirement party at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center, Thursday. Wood has been the Visitor Center representative for the past eight years, greeting travelers new to the city with a warm and loving touch and always with a smile.
Boy Scouts serving Roswell faithfully Lopez trial under way
This article is one in a series of stories focusing on local agencies that receive support from the United Way of Chaves County, which is currently conducting its annual fundraising campaign. CHAUNTE’L POWELL RECORD STAFF WRITER
The Boy Scouts Conquistador Council has been serving the Roswell community faithfully for nearly a century. Many don’t know all that they do, and according to District Director Jim Bethel, that’s just how they like it.
“We have projects going on all the time, rather than try and focus on one big thing,” he said. “We prefer to be behind the scenes doing lots of little things as the needs arrive, which sometimes doesn’t work to our benefit because no one knows we’ve done it. But we’re not here for praise, we’re here for service.” This mission of the Boy Scouts is “to help young people make ethical and
moral choices over their lifetime by instilling in them the values of the Scout oath and law,” with service being a key component in a Scout’s experience. Bethel said the Scouts undertake various projects in the community and log a certain amount of hours of service before moving up in rank. The activities can be as simple as a Scout cleaning an elderly neighbor’s yard, to the more intensive Eagle projects, which he said require a couple hundred hours of See SCOUTS, Page A3
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Joel Cordoba-Lopez, 21, was bound over for trial in District Court Tuesday after noon by Judge John J. Halvorson on charges of two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving. Lopez is the suspect in an accident that occurred in the early morning hours of Aug. 5 that killed two people at the intersection of Southeast Main Street
and Brasher Road. According to the criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court, the white Cadillac Escalade careened into the 2007 Hyundai Sonata, which was waiting at the stoplight. The Escalade then drove up and over the smaller vehicle. The driver escaped on foot, leaving Mandy Miranda, 30, and her son Joe Albarez III, 5, dead at the scene. Assistant District Attor ney Matt Stone See LOPEZ, Page A3