Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 121, No. 256 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
WILDFIRES BURN IN NM, COLO
TAOS (AP) — A fire burning in the Carson National Forest east of Taos has grown to more than 300 acres and fire officials have asked people staying in three campgrounds to be ready to evacuate if necessary. - PAGE B3
October 25, 2012
Superfund treatment facility complete
THURSDAY
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NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER Construction of a treatment facility at the McGaffey and Main Ground Water Plume Super fund Site is complete. The polluted site consists of a groundwater plume that extends southeast about 1.5 miles from the intersection of Main and McGaffey streets. The contamination is linked to multiple dry cleaning businesses that operated in the area from 1956-1963. The
contaminant of concern is perchloroethylene, a chlorinated solvent commonly used in the dry cleaning industry.
Environmental Protection Agency remedial project manager Michael Torres said the state found PCE in 1994 while cleaning up an underground storage tank in the area. The site was later referred to the superfund program at EPA, which listed the site on its national priority list in 2002.
Torres said the treatment facility is designed to take care of three remedial components: vapor intrusion mitigation system contamination, soil vapor contamination and groundwater pump and treatment systems.
Torres said it took the EPA several years to confirm the extent of the contamination before it closed its remedial investigation phase in 2008 and wrote a record of decision that proposed how the site would be cleaned up. In 2009 and
Miriam & Jeannine & Matilda & Charlie
2010, estimates placed the project in a price range of about $25 million in federal funds. Torres said at this point he decided to prioritize taking care of the health risks associated with indoor air vapor intrusion in six buildings locat-
ed in the 1100 block of South Main Street. Ron Courts, Roswell Environmental Services officer, said the treatment facility is connected via PVC plumbing under the foundation of these buildings, and through a process of filtration that involves sizable carbon filters, ensures that harmful vapors do not rise up into the buildings. Courts said the contami-
Crime Stoppers back on track
TOP 5
See SUPERFUND, Page A3
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Heated words fly at Candidate Forum • Sometimes, problemsolving can get ... • Job Corps Makes A Difference • Rockets win on Dig Pink Night • Lady Rockets topple Bulldogs
Chaves County Crime Stoppers will make payouts of more than $1,000 this week to three individuals who provided infor mation leading to three arrests. Crime Stoppers president Steve Wolfe said, “I’m particularly proud we could help to catch (Donald) Buechner who has created such havoc in the community. Buechner’s picture came out in Roswell’s Most Wanted, and we had him the same day.” Buechner was wanted for the fraud of three victims, adding up to $10,000. After his appearance in Roswell’s
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
Miriam Bertlshofer, left, and her friend Jeannine Wilkens walk their dogs Matilda and Charlie along Spring River Trail while enjoying the autumn colors, Wednesday morning.
UN Security Council Character Counts! taps Stone, endorses holiday truce Torrez for 2012 Badge honors
BOBCATS CLOSE, REALLY CLOSE
You play all season, no matter the sport, to put yourself in position to win championships. The Hagerman Bobcats are in that position this week. The Bobcats (7-1, 1-0) are one hurdle away from winning the District 2-1A championship, but that one hurdle is a mighty big one — perennial power and defending state runner-up Fort Sumner. “This is it,” said Bobcat coach Casey Crandall. “If we win this game, we’re the district champions.” - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Edyth Grove Mosher • Lois Clark-Tandy • Sophia B. Ayala - PAGE B3
HIGH ...74˚ LOW ....43˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N. Security Council gave unanimous backing Wednesday to a four -day truce proposed by the international mediator for Syria to mark a major Muslim holiday after he warned that the failure of yet another cease-fire plan would only worsen the fighting. Yet even this modest effort — the international community’s only plan for scaling back the violence — appears doomed. Previous cease-fire missions have failed, in part because neither Syrian President Bashar Assad nor rebels trying to topple him had an incentive to end their bloody war of attrition. Both sides believe they can still make gains on the battlefield even as they are locked in a stalemate, and neither has faith in negotiations on a political transition. Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy to
Syria, has proposed that both sides lay down their arms during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins Friday. The Security Council is normally divided on Syria, but Assad allies Russia and China joined other council members in endorsing the idea of a temporary truce that is meant to pave the way for talks on ending Syria’s 19-month-old conflict. The response on the ground ranged from lukewarm to downright rejection. Syrian government officials said they were still studying the idea, while Syria’s political opposition said it was skeptical of the regime’s promises. A rebel commander dismissed the plan as irrelevant and a radical Islamist group fighting alongside the rebels said it won’t comply with any truce. As Brahimi briefed the
See CRIME, Page A3
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF REPORTER
Chaves County Character Counts! presented plaques Wednesday to two lawmen who exemplify “building and upholding the public trust” during the annual Honor the Badge ceremony held at the Chaves County Administrative Center. The colleagues of Officer Julian Torrez of the New Mexico State Police, District 3, Roswell and Matthew Stone of the District Attor ney’s Of fice acknowledged them as public servants who exhibit the six pillars of character (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship) in their professional and personal lives. Torrez, a Roswell native, has served in the New Mexico State Police
Ilissa Gilmore Photo
From left, Matthew Stone, of the District Attorney’s office; and Officer Julian Torrez, of the New Mexico State Police, during the Honor the Badge ceremony, Wednesday night.
for 15 years. In her nomination letter to the Character Counts! Committee, his supervisor, Capt. Dina Orozco, lauded Torrez for his dependability, self-
lessness and mentoring of younger officers. “Officer Torrez has rendered faithful, conscien-
Obama talks 2nd term; Romney says economy matters
INDEX
AP Photo
Mitt Romney campaigns in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Wednesday.
See SYRIA, Page A3
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — President Barack Obama is confidently predicting speedy second-ter m agreement with Republicans to reduce federal deficits and overhaul immigration laws, commenting before setting out Wednesday on a 40-hour campaign marathon through battleground states that could decide whether he’ll get the chance. Republican Mitt Romney looked to the Midwest for a breakthrough in a close race shadowed by a weak economy. With 13 days until Election Day, opinion polls depicted a close race nationally. Romney’s campaign claims momentum as well as the lead in Florida and North Carolina, two battleground states with a combined 44 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Obama’s aides
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insist the president is ahead or tied with his rival in both of those states and in the other seven decisive battlegrounds.
Not even Obama, in an interview with radio host Tom Joyner, predicted that fellow Democrats would win control of the House from Republicans, who are looking to renew a majority they won two years ago in a landslide triggered by the tea party. The Democrats and Republicans are struggling uncertainly for control of the Senate. And for the second time, a hard-fought Senate campaign was jolted by a dispute over abortion, in this case a statement by Republican Richard MourSee OBAMA, Page A3
AP Photo
President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign rally in Denver, Wednesday.