Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 303 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
December 19, 2013
www.rdrnews.com
THURSDAY
Budget deal cuts oil and gas royalties to states
WASHINGTON (AP) — The budget deal in Congress will cost Wyoming, New Mexico and other states $415 million in lost oil and gas royalties over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Legislation implementing the agreement makes permanent an effective 51-49 percent split that favors the federal gover nment in dividing the 12.5 percent royalty collected from ener-
gy companies on oil and gas production on federal land. Until 2008 when the Interior Department began setting aside 2 percent of the royalties as an administrative fee, the split between the federal and state government had been 50-50. The administrative fee, renewed several times by Congress, had been scheduled to expire in January. The government last year paid $2.1 billion to 35
states under the royaltiessplitting program for onshore oil and gas production on federal lands. The largest payments went to five Wester n states: Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and California. Returning to the effective 50-50 split would have provided Wyoming an extra $19 million next year and nearly $200 million over the next decade. New Mexico would have collected an
additional $10 million next year and Utah $2.8 million. While supporting the budget deal, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said making the 51-49 split on royalties permanent “has an extremely negative impact, primarily on the Mountain West.” Rep. Cynthia Lummis, RWyo., called the 51-49 split unfair. “By perpetuating the polSee ROYALTIES, Page A3
AP Photo
Workers tend to a well head during a hydraulic fracturing operation at an Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. gas well outside Rifle, in western Colorado, March 29.
Pearce’s memoirs detail early life of poverty, humility JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
Congressman Steve Pearce signs copies of his book, “Just Fly the Plane, Stupid!,” at the Historical Society For Southeast New Mexico, Wednesday.
Revenge leaves families haunted JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Vendetta leaves a trail of terror behind for those who have lived through it, and some have decided it is time to speak up, to try and stop the cycle. One grandmother offered to tell her tale, after seeing her family shot at and one family member killed before her eyes and the eyes of her grandchildren. “The shooter started to rain bullets upon the home from outside before he stepped inside the door to finish the job,” she said. She remembers confronting the killer. “He did nothing to hide his face. He didn’t care that I was watching him. He didn’t care if I saw,” she said. For her, the incident is recalled as a series of splitsecond images: her son-inlaw lying on the floor bleed-
ing, clutching at his chest, blood seeping between his fingers. She remembers the light fading from his eyes and knowing that he was gone. She also recollects the scent of gunpowder. “The whole house smelled like fireworks.” Memory also comes as snippets of sound: the sound of people screaming which she eventually realized was the sound of her own screams, the sound of him choking on his own blood. One sound is bur ned indelibly upon her brain, the slap of her bare feet against the wooden floor as she ran to scoop up the children and take them from harm’s way and her breath harsh in her throat as she ran to escape. “I knew he was dead. I couldn’t help him, but I got my babies out before they were hurt.”
The grandmother has no doubt that this was an act of revenge. It was callous and premeditated. The killer ignored her as he left the home to catch a ride he had already arranged. “He didn’t care about the children. He could have killed them, but he just kept on shooting.” Bare feet pattering across the floor, she raced to get the children out of the house, fear ful that the shooter might return. She carried them past their father. The grandmother remains haunted by this, racked by guilt. “I didn’t cover their eyes.” She weeps. “I should have covered their eyes. They did not need to see their father there bleeding to death on the floor, but all I could do was try to get them out of the house before they were shot.” She admits to anger, not only against the killer, but
Dan Dellinger, national commander at The American Legion, second from left, is greeted by a member of the Legion Riders and other veterans during a visit to American Legion Post 28 during a tour of Southeastern New Mexico, Wednesday.
HIGH 76 LOW 32
TODAY’S FORECAST
See PEARCE, Page A3
CCFRW celebrates Christmas
Jessica Palmer Photo
The Chaves County Republican Women held its annual Christmas luncheon, Wednesday. Loris DeKay told a story about how Santa got his job bringing joy to children for Christmas. Jessica De La Rosa Kirk sang carols. Jean Snyder gave an updated report on the CCFRW’s gift to University High School family and read a thank you letter. President Joan Boué wished everyone a happy, healthy and Republican New Year’s.
National commander visits American Legion to talk politics, thank members
TESS TOWNSEND RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
against her neighbors. “There were 15 shots. You can’t tell me that no one looked out the window. There are people out there who know things. People who saw something. “The police are looking for witnesses, but people are afraid to testify. The police are trying to solve crimes, this and others, but people won’t speak up.” The grandchildren are going through counseling. One has developed behavioral problems at school and anger issues. One was only a few days old at the time of the shooting and will never remember the father. “They wake up every day without their daddy and don’t understand why. How do you explain it to them?” Meanwhile, the sound of her own footsteps across the floor will always act as a haunting reminder about the horrors of that day.
Congressman Steve Pearce (R-District 2) held a signing at the Historical Society’s Archive Building from noon until 2 p.m. Wednesday for his book, “Just Fly the Plane, Stupid!: The Memoirs of a New Mexico Congressman.” Pearce said that he spent about two-and-a-half to three years working on his biography, which covers his life from the time he lived with his family, who were sharecroppers, to the present day. He had to write at night after work and on the weekends.
“The hard part was that I had to write it in pieces. I’d write a piece here and I’d write a piece there. We had 25 to 30 rough drafts printed out, and then I had to get the pieces to mesh, ” Pearce explained. He said his inspiration for the book came from his constituents. “Kids kept watching me in the of fice. ... They’d think their family was too poor or they had no personal skills.” Pearce wanted people to know that an individual can come from a background of poverty and still succeed.
The Legion Riders escorted a special visitor to American Legion Post 28 Wednesday morning. National Commander of the Legion Daniel M. Dellinger visited to speak about the impact of the national budget on veterans and thank local legionnaires for their support of
• JAMES “JIM” W. DAVIS • CISSY CAVIN
veterans and the community. Dellinger devoted part of his talk to a provision in the proposed federal budget that would limit increases to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for military veterans aged 18-62. He said the cap on the increase is an unfair attempt to balance the books. “They’re trying to put it on the backs of veterans,”
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B4
he said. He encouraged legionnaires to call their representatives and senators in Congress and ask them to oppose the budget. Dellinger’s 10 a.m. visit was part of a tour of New Mexico that the commander began Sunday in Albuquerque. The five-day round includes visits to 12 localities. Local lifetime member of the legion, Larry Montano,
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B3
attended the greeting Wednesday. The date happened to be the WWII army veteran’s 90th birthday. Montano was a prisoner of war and is a survivor of the Invasion of Normandy. “It’s the first time I ever met a high-ranking officer and I’m just glad to be here and I appreciate the invitation,” he said. See COMMANDER, Page A3
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2 NATION ..................B4
OPINION .................A4 SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8