Roswell Daily Record
DOJ sues to block merger
Vol. 120, No. 210 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
PECOS TO GET FACELIFT
Pecos Elementary School, which welcomed its first students in the fall of 1954, has never had a major facelift, until now. With a ceremonial groundbreaking to mark the occasion, a group of students and school district officials gathered at the school near its playground, Tuesday morning. - PAGE A2
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department took the unusual step Wednesday to try to block AT&T’s $39 billion purchase of T -Mobile USA, arguing that the proposed merger would lead to higher wireless prices, less innovation and fewer choices for consumers. Now AT&T, the nation’s No. 2 wireless carrier, and No. 4 T-Mobile are plotting
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
September 1, 2011
THURSDAY
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a legal response to challenge federal regulators. In its civil antitrust lawsuit, the Justice Department said the merger would stifle competition in the wireless industry. The deal, which is still under review at the Federal Communications Commission, would catapult AT&T past Verizon Wireless to become the nation’s largest wireless carrier, leaving Sprint Nex-
‘Daddy’s home!’
tel as a distant third-place player and certain to struggle. AT&T quickly signaled that it won’t abandon the transaction, leading to expectations of a fierce court battle. AT&T has several incentives to take up a legal fight with regulators. In court, the burden is on the Jus-
NMML holds forum AP Photo
See DOJ, Page A6
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Family feud sparks courthouse brawl • RPD arrests Chacon on multiple charges • NMML Crashes in Roswell this week • RISD bond passes in low turnout • Roswell finds scoring touch in win
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
Army Spc. Joshua Hedgecock receives a welcome home kiss from daughter Isabella Joyce Hedgecock, 5, during a party held at Peter Piper Pizza, Wednesday evening. Hedgecock, who just finished his third tour of Iraq, returned home earlier in the day just in time to help his daughter celebrate her birthday, which was Tuesday.
ROCKETS TO HOST TIGERS, FRIDAY AT 7
When I approached Goddard football coach to ask him about his team’s opponent this week, I didn’t even have to ask a question before he offered the same statement he’s made about the Alamogordo Tigers each of the last two seasons. “They’re big, they’re fast and they’re strong,” said Jernigan of the Tigers.... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Donald D. Miller • Steven Lee Peck • Elva J. Simmons • Ernest Judson Bennett • Samuel Horton Jr. • Thomas Robert Ross • Emmett Shirley Burns • Robert Lujan - PAGE B3
Tribes: Leave our Parks: City needs forester 9 districts alone
SANTA FE (AP) — Native American leaders urged lawmakers on Wednesday to safeguard Indian-majority districts when the Legislature redraws the boundaries of New Mexico’s elective office districts. There are nine districts — six in the House and three in the Senate — in which Indians account for at least 65 percent of the population. The districts are in northwestern and north-central New Mexico. A group representing
tribes and pueblos in New Mexico on Wednesday outlined redistricting proposals to a legislative committee that will continue that number of Indian-majority districts. Native Americans represent 9 percent of New Mexico’s total population and account for 4 percent of legislators — five out of the 112 members of the House and Senate.
See NMML, Page A3
EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Park of ficials are imploring the city to reinstate the urban forester position to better manage trees within city limits. Parks Superintendent Ken Smith says he and his 15 full-time employees spend too much of their time on hazardous tree removal instead of maintaining the city’s 485 acres of the 32 parks and recreation trails and 200
Emily Russo Miller Photo
Some of the city’s trees, as seen from the rooftop of the Bank of America building on Fifth and Main streets.
Irene-caused swelling decreases Red Cross, sign of See TRIBES, Page A6
HIGH ...98˚ LOW ....67˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
Underage drinking, infrastructure financing, the judicial roles of governing bodies, the roles of the state land office and capital improvements were all discussed at the gover ning body forum of the New Mexico Municipal League Conference, Wednesday morning. Glenn Wieringa, underage drinking prevention coordinator for New Mexico’s Traffic Safety Bureau, opened with statistics from the New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey. He noted that New Mexico’s leading the country in the number of youth who drink before age 15. “Drinking before the age of 15 increases the chances
INDEX
AP Photo
The residents of Rochester, Vt., built this footbridge to replace a bridge that was washed out by hurricaneturned-tropical-storm Irene.
KILLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Swollen rivers began falling Wednesday in much of the Northeast, allowing relief crews to reach the last of the tiny Vermont towns that had
been entirely cut off from help by Hurricane Irene’s fast-moving floodwaters. The receding water eased the flooding that had paralyzed parts of the region and revealed more
See TREES, Page A6
damage to homes, farms and businesses across the flood-scarred landscape. Repair estimates indicated that the storm would almost certainly rank among the nation’s costliest natural disasters, despite packing a lighter punch than initially feared. Of the 11 towns that had been severed from the outside world, the final one to be reached by rescuers was tiny Wardsboro, a village of 850 residents in the Green Mountains. The community is little more than a post office and some houses standing along Route 100, a highway popular in the fall with tourists searching out autumn colors. Gov. Peter Shumlin said the previously isolated communities all have vehicle access now, though some require
See IRENE, Page A6
hope, is always there JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
This article is one in a series of stories focusing on local agencies which receive support from the United Way of Chaves County, which is currently conducting its annual fundraising campaign.
The logo for the American Red Cross is the second most recognizable symbol in the world, according to Rahim Balsara, chief operating of ficer for the Red Cross in New Mexico. “When a Red Cross truck shows up on a scene, it is a sign of hope,” Balsara says. The Red Cross started in New Mexico in 1916, and provides a wide array of services to help deal with emergencies. “We respond to single-family fires, floods, wildfires; provide communication to armed services; lead health and
safety training; provide international tracing; and our big focus this year is preparedness,” says Cindy Adams, regional CEO. Due to the wildfires that affected many parts of New Mexico, the Red Cross wants to make sure families have a plan for this type of emergency. “Those who were prepared suffered less than those who were not.” Every day the Red Cross responds to a family losing its home in New Mexico. The most frequent cause of this loss is single-family house fires. The organization’s primary concern in responding to these families is ensuring they have a safe, secure place to sleep, and that they have food as See RED CROSS, Page A6