Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Obama asserts US a Pacific power
Vol. 120, No. 277 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
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NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices hit $100 a barrel on Wednesday after a six-week surge that may drive gasoline prices higher in coming months and slow the fragile economic recovery. For now, there are few reasons to explain why oil jumped 30 percent higher since early October. One is promising. The U.S. economy continued to show signs of strength.... - PAGE A6
OIL HITS $100
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DRIVE F0R 4A TITLE FUELS GODDARD
One of the most important aspects of being a head football coach is to motivate and focus your team for every game. Goddard coach Sam Jernigan doesn’t have to worry about that aspect of the job. “I think it all takes care of itself now,” he said as his team prepares to host eighthseeded Moriarty in the state quarterfinals on Friday at the Wool Bowl at 7 p.m. “I think this time of the year, the playoffs get everyone’s adrenaline up a little bit. That will tend to itself there. - PAGE B1
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November 17, 2011
THURSDAY
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AP Photo
President Barack Obama speaks with John Hogg, president of the Australian Senate, before addressing the Australian Parliament in Canberra, today.
USCofC rep visits Roswell
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Signaling a determination to counter a rising China, President Barack Obama vowed Thursday to expand U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region and “project power and deter threats to peace” in that part of the world even as he reduces defense spending and winds down two wars. “The United States is a Pacific power, and we are here to stay,” he declared in a speech to the Australian Parliament, sending an unmistakable message to Beijing. Obama’s bullish speech
came several hours after announcing he would send military aircraft and up to 2,500 Marines to northern Australia for a training hub to help allies and protect American interests across Asia. He declared the U.S. is not afraid of China, by far the biggest and most power ful country in the region. China immediately questioned the U.S. move and said it deserved further scrutiny. Emphasizing that a U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific region is a top priority of his administration, Obama
stressed that any reductions in U.S. defense spending will not come at the expense of that goal. Virtually everything Obama is doing on his nine-day trip across the Asia-Pacific region has a Chinese subtext, underscoring a relationship that is at once cooperative and marked by tensions over currency, human rights and military might. The expanded basing agreement with Australia is just one of several initiaSee OBAMA, Page A3
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
A representative from the United States Chamber of Commerce made a visit to the Roswell Chamber of Commerce to speak about current issues af fecting workers across the country. Ted Phlegar, senior counsel for the workforce freedom initiative, spoke about unfairness and balance of playing field in the workforce. The visit was sponsored by the Association of Commerce and Industry, which is hosting grassroots informational meetings in cities across the state. Before beginning his talk, Phlegar emphasized the U.S. Chamber does not take a position on unionization. “The chamber is not an anti-union organization. But there are times and events that we absolutely disagree on, and policies we absolutely disagree on because we’re representing our constituency, America’s businesses, and
Mark Wilson Photo
Maxine Kilness fills her plate with turkey, yams and all kinds of other goodies, Wednesday, during the Thanksgiving potluck dinner held at the Country Club Road Church of Christ.
Church hosts annual Turkey Day potluck VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
For Leanita Langford, the annual Thanksgiving Day potluck dinner at the Country Club Road
Church of Christ means an opportunity to share the bounty of her own yard. “I have pecan trees,” said the pecan pie-baking volunteer during the
potluck event, Wednesday. Volunteering for the event, which attracts hundreds of area senior citizens every year, gives Langford an opportunity to share some extra pecans while
making the holiday season special for those who may not have another way to celebrate. “They look forward to
Regulators OK dairy settlement KCKN sells for $500K See CHAMBER, Page A3
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — New Mexico water regulators on Wednesday adopted a settlement that puts to rest a dispute over millions of tons of dairy industry waste produced each year in the state. The Water Quality Control Commission voted unanimously during a hearing in Santa Fe in favor of the settlement brokered by state attorneys, dairy farmers and environmentalists. The dairy rule was first approved by the commission last year in the final month of former Democratic Gov. Bill Richard-
son’s administration. It was meant to protect New Mexico’s groundwater from dairy waste, but the state’s $2.6 billion industry appealed and months of negotiations ensued. Dairy owners complained that the costs of implementing the rule would force some dairies out of business. Environmentalists, meanwhile, tried to hold on to the gains made during the year leading up to the rule’s approval. The settlement was finally reached in July. “To be honest, everybody got a piece of what they wanted,” said Dan
Johnny’s helpers
INDEX
Mark Wilson Photo
Los Chismosas members unpack 13 turkeys that they donated to the Johnny Gonzales Community Volunteer Program, Wednesday afternoon, preparing for the Thanksgiving celebration to be held at Veterans Memorial Hall of American Legion Post No. 28, 1620 N. Montana. Surrounding Johnny are, from left: Mirna Gonzalez, Elouise Ortega, Judith Otero and Bernice Martinez.
Lorimier of the Sierra Club’s Rio Grande chapter. “Now, it’s just a matter of getting it implemented because we have been in limbo for way too long now.” Environmentalists had feared the dairy rule would be one of many Richardson-era environmental initiatives that would face a rollback under Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, who has vowed to make New Mexico more businessfriendly. The Environment Department and its legal
See CHURCH, Page A3
Those people who enjoy classic country will have to tune to another station besides 1020 AM soon. Roswell’s Classic Country Music station KCKN has been sold to Radio Vision Cristiana, a New Yorkbased firm. According to FCC documents, the company consists of six Hispanic religious stations in five states. The contract between James Crystal Enterprise, and Radio Vision was signed Nov. 2. According to the FFC records, KCKN sold for a total of $500,000. The closing date for the deal in the purchase agreement is Dec. 1, although the sale is dependent upon FCC approval of the Radio
Vision’s license. The radio station will be run from its main station New York City. Radio Vision Cristiana is registered as noncommercial and educational. It will feature Spanish Christian music. Part of the purchase agreement, dated Oct. 26, includes $150,000 pre-tax donations to the seller. The monthly payments are $2,830. The Record made repeated calls to Rick Hines, chief financial officer of JCE for his comments, which have not been answered. However, the contract stipulates that no employee or officer of JCE is allowed to talk to the media.
schools. The Legislative Finance Committee and Legislative Education Study Committee said the school funding for mula has “generally served the state well” but needs to be modernized. “Some elements of the funding for mula create incentives that run contrary to, or do not effectively support, recent education policy and research,” the report said. For example, the current financing system rewards schools for placing students into special education programs rather than intervening earlier to help those children, lawmakers were told. The formula pro-
vides a base amount of funding for all students but then provides for extra aid tied to other factors, such as the size of the school and student needs including special education services. The report said New Mexico fails to effectively allocate money to serve the neediest students, such as those from low-income families and English-language learners. About 10 percent additional state aid goes to “at-risk students” while some other states provide much more per student, with Texas offering 25 percent more and an addition-
Report faults school funding system See DAIRY, Page A3
SANTA FE (AP) — New Mexico needs to revamp how it distributes more than $2 billion a year in taxpayer money to public schools because the current system is too complicated, difficult to administer and shortchanges needy students, according to a report released Wednesday. Two legislative committees issued the report critical of the state’s school funding for mula, which was established in the 1970s and is supposed to treat districts equitably. Nearly half of the state’s annual budget goes to pay for operations of New Mexico’s more than 170 school districts and charter
See REPORT, Page A2