Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 219 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
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September 12, 2013
THURSDAY
Berrendo bursts forth Observers from the Chaves County Sheriff's Office and the City of Roswell watch as Berrendo Creek begins to spill over the N. Red Bridge Road bridge, Wednesday.
Mark Wilson Photos
Flood waters close roads, damage property JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Flooding unleashed by a sudden gush of rushing water delivered into Berrendo Creek Wednesday caused widespread road closures, property damage, accidents and displaced residents. Rainfall was expected to continue through Thursday morning, with a flash flood warning in effect until 6 a.m. today. Roads throughout the city would remain closed today for public safety until water has receded, Chaves County Road Department officials said. “Right now, I can’t even assess the damage, it’s raining so hard,” said Chaves County Flood Control Superintendent Dick Smith. “We’ve got a really severe problem.” The water that caused the Berrendo Creek to overrun its banks came from the Blackriver Draw region, north of Arabella. That area received up to six inches of rain Tuesday night. Berrendo Creek is a tributary off the east side of Capitan Mountain, according to Smith.
“That’s where all this water is coming from,” Smith said. Law enforcement and Chaves County Road Department crews will continue to block off several Roswell roads Wednesday night and Thursday until the region dries out from the flooding of Berrendo Creek and rainfall. Crews are expected to continue block off several roads until the county is certain that conditions are safe for public use, said Chaves County Road Operations Director Terry Allensworth. “Crews will be out all night and all day tomorrow,” Allensworth said. The county closed East Berrendo Road when the creek washed it out after 11 a.m. Country Club was closed behind Bright Sky. Brown Road between Pine Lodge and Berrendo was closed. Sycamore Avenue between Berrendo and Pine Lodge was closed and Montana between Berrendo and Country Club was also closed. Crooked Creek at Berrendo was closed off of Atkinson.
Above: Flooding on the Salt Creek rapidly flows and rises under a bridge along US 285 north of Roswell, Wednesday morning. Left: Fast moving flood waters from Berrendo Creek force the closure of Brown Road west of town, Wednesday morning. As of 10:05 p.m., Wednesday, there were 2.32 inches of rain in the gauge at the Daily Record.
RAINFALL
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See FLOOD, Page A3
How the Syria plan came through in time
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Audrey W. Snow • Benita Sanchez Zamora • Lee Anderson Walker • Gonalzo J. Samario • Alice Joy Baker Rankin - PAGE A6
HIGH ...86˚ LOW ....65˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....A8 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 NATION .................A6 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Jessica Palmer Photo
Judge Freddie Romero (right) swore K.C. Rogers into his new offices as Magistrate Court judge. Rogers’ wife, Mary, held the Bible while three generations of family members stood beside him as he took his oath of office.
Rogers sworn in as magistrate judge JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Keith (“K.C.”) Rogers was sworn in to his new post of Magistrate Court Judge for Chaves County Division 1 on Wednesday, by Judge Freddie Romero
of the 5th Judicial District. Gov. Susana Martinez appointed Rogers on Aug. 14 to fill the vacancy created by Judge Eugene M. De Los Santos’ retirement on May 31. More than 50 people attended, including Judge
De Los Santos, District Court Judges Steven Bell and James Hudson, District Attor ney Janetta Hicks and other members of the District Attorney’s See ROGERS, Page A3
WASHINGTON (AP) — “We’ve kind of hit a wall,” President Barack Obama commented last week on his way to Russia. He meant his relationship with Moscow, but the remark came to apply as well to other leaders abroad, lawmakers at home and Americans at large, all standing in the way of what he wanted to do about Syria, which was to attack it. Just days later, military action is on hold, a diplomatic effort to have Syria tur n over its chemical weapons has some steam and Obama no longer looks so terribly alone. The potential way out took shape with an episode akin to palace intrigue: Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin pulling up chairs in a cor ner of a stately room at the summer home of Peter the Great, after a very late night of fireworks and lasers etching the St. Petersburg sky.
And it grew from there. It’s all been enough to stir some gushing admiration in the halls of Congress for a clever president who knows how to conduct statesmanship when the pressure’s really on. The president of Russia, that is. “Those people who have been demonizing Putin and pushing him away have been doing a great disservice to our country and to the cause of peace,” said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, RCalif. That sentiment is far from unanimous in Congress. But the sense of relief that has washed over lawmakers is palpable. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has been pushing Obama’s case for military strikes, commented that, really, “I’m not a blood and thunder guy. I’m not for shock and awe.” Instead, almost everyone seems up for dither and defer at the moment.