Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 122, No. 243 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
October 10, 2013
www.rdrnews.com
THURSDAY
US cutting hundreds of millions in aid to Egypt WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Wednesday cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to its Mideast ally Egypt, responding to the military ouster last summer of the nation’s first democratically elected president and the crackdown on protesters that has sunk the country into violent turmoil. While the State Department did not provide a dollar amount of what was being withheld, most of it is linked to military aid. In all, the U.S. provides $1.5 billion in aid each year to Egypt. Of ficials said the aid being withheld included 10 Apache hel-
icopters at a cost of about $500 million, F-16 fighter jets, M1A1 tank kits and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The U.S. also is withholding $260 million in cash assistance to the gover nment until “credible progress” is made toward an inclusive government set up through free and fair elections. The U.S. had already suspended the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets and canceled biennial U.S.-Egyptian military exercises. In Cairo, military spokesman Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali declined immediate comment. Before the announcement, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the Egypt-
ian military leader, described his country’s relations with the United States as “strategic” and founded on mutual interests. But he told the Cairo daily, Al-Masry al-Youm, in an interview published on Wednesday that Egypt would not tolerate pressure, “whether through actions or hints.” Neighboring Israel also has indicated concern. The Israelis consider the U.S. aid to Egypt to be important support for the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. The State Department stressed that the long-standing U.S. part-
nership with Egypt would continue and that it sees the aid decision as temporary. Still, the decision puts ties between the U.S. and Egypt at their rockiest point in more than three decades. “The United States continues to support a democratic transition and oppose violence as a means of resolving differences within Egypt,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. “We will continue to review the decisions regarding our assistance periodically and will continue to work with the interim gover nment to help it move toward our shared goals in an
Jam session
atmosphere free of violence and intimidation.” The U.S. will continue to provide support for health and education and counterterrorism, spare military parts, military training and education, border security and security assistance in the Sinai Peninsula where near-daily attacks against security forces and soldiers have increasingly resembled a fullfledged insurgency. The U.S. officials providing the details did so only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment by name.
PED finds mixed results on English proficiency tests TESS TOWNSNED RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
Young trumpet player Geoffrey Gallante jams with Mariachi Nuevo Comienzo upon arriving at the Roswell International Air Center Wednesday afternoon for this weekend’s Jazz Festival.
The state Public Education Department (PED) analysis of Roswell Independent School District results in tests of proficiency in English among students designated as current lear ners of English was released last week and presented at Tuesday’s district Board of Education meeting. The analysis of the results for the 2012-2013 school year show that the district has met state standards for improvement and proficiency in English as tested by the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Lear ners (ACCESS) test used nationally, but that the district
lags behind on the State Based Assessment (SBA) of academic proficiency in English. Kenneth Bewley-Cadena is the district director of bilingual programs and Title III programs, which relate to English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. He said that while the district did not meet state standards for SBA results, it has shown improvement in the assessments of both tests over time. “It’s not as if we’re stagnant,” he said. He said that the district was considering amending the measure to just reflect growth, in part because it is counter -intuitive to measure the proficiency of students who have been See TESTS, Page A3
2 hurt when balloon CVE opens new headquarters in Artesia crashes into power line
RIO RANCHO (AP) — A balloon flying in Albuquerque’s Inter national Balloon Fiesta hit a power line as it tried to land Wednesday, sending two men to the hospital with burns and injuries from a 40-foot fall, officials said. Police in Rio Rancho, a northwest Albuquerque suburb, said the balloon got tangled in the line at about 8:30 a.m. When the passenger reached out to free the balloon, he was shocked, festival spokesman Tom Garrity said. The balloon was freed, but the gondola crashed to the ground. One man suffered serious bur ns on his face,
chest and arms and underwent surgery at the University of New Mexico Hospital, police said. The other man was in stable condition with bur ns to his head.
Rio Rancho police identified the pilot as Mark Kilgore, 59, of Albuquerque, and the passenger as Daniel Lovato, his 66-year -old crew chief. Police didn’t specify which man had which injuries.
Although photos from the scene showed flames, Garrity said it was unclear if the gondola caught fire.
“We know there was arcing of electricity,” he said. “We are still trying to figure out the specifics.”
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Central Valley Electric Cooperative opened a new, state-of-the-art $7.5 million building in Artesia Wednesday. “We’re really excited to open this facility and to show people what we’ve done,” said General Manager Chuck Pinson. CVEC started work on the Artesia facility in November and moved in Sept. 11. “The biggest thing is the space for us to be able to house our employees,” Pinson said. An enthusiastic crowd of contractors, employees and community leaders waited outside as an offi-
Walk and Roll
cial ribbon-cutting ceremony unfolded and the doors opened. Attendees walked through the halls, across the new floors and examined the fixtures before heading to a lunch of barbecued ribs and potato salad. The office building, at 1403 N. 13th St., is about 33,500 square feet and was budgeted to cost $8.3 million. It was specifically designed to be energy efficient and built using geothermal heating and cooling systems and LED lighting.
The geothermal system will convert ground temperatures to heat the See CVE, Page A3
Washington Avenue Elementary students walk en masse to school Wednesday morning, participating in the Healthy Kids Chaves County Walk and Roll, which hopes to promote healthier lifestyle choices for children.
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TODAY’S FORECAST
• RICKY JOHN APODACA
General Manager Chuck Pinson, second from left, shakes hands after cutting the ribbon on the new Central Valley Electric Cooperative headquarters in Artesia Wednesday.
Charity to pay military death benefits
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration, scrambling to tamp down a controversy over suspended death benefits for the families of fallen troops, announced Wednesday that a charity would pick up the costs of the payments during the government shutdown.
Mark Wilson Photo
Jill McLaughlin Photo
“The Fisher House Foundation will provide the families of the fallen with the benefits they so richly deserve,” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement, adding that the Pentagon would reimburse the foundation after the shutdown ended. Hagel said Fisher House,
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which works with veterans and their families, had approached the Pentagon about making the payments. The Defense Department typically pays families about $100,000 within three days of a service member’s death, but officials say the shutdown was preventing those benefits from being paid. A senior defense official said the government could not actively solicit funds from private organizations but could accept an offer. The failure to make the payments has stirred outrage on Capitol Hill and at the White House. Obama spokesman Jay Car ney
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said Wednesday that the president was “disturbed” when he found out the death benefits had been suspended and demanded an immediate solution. “The commander in chief, when he found out that this was not addressed, he directed that a solution be found, and we expect one today,” Carney said before the Pentagon announced the agreement with Fisher House. The Republican-led House unanimously passed legislation on Wednesday to restore the death benefits. But it’s unclear whether See BENEFITS, Page A3
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