Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 310 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
December 27, 2013
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FRIDAY
AG’s Valley Meat lawsuit not heard this week JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
The lawsuit filed last week by Attorney General Gary King against Valley Meat in Santa Fe will not likely be heard in the next few days, according to the attorney for the proposed horse slaughter facility. King asked the court to immediately block Valley Meat from opening after a federal appeals court in Colorado vacated a temporary ban on the U.S.
Department of Agriculture inspections at horse slaughterhouse facilities. Valley Meat was expected to open Jan. 1. The plant’s attorney asked for the first judge to be dismissed. The case will be reassigned, said Attor ney A. Blair Dunn. King’s move is the latest roadblock Valley Meat has faced in a long line of legal battles in the past two years. The small slaughterhouse, owned by Rick De
and logic, and literally believe someone was abducted by an alien, to believe this story.” The suit called for immediate action because the plant posed a threat to human health. “It requires you to first believe that every horse that enters the plant is toxic. That’s just not true,” Dunn said. “First, there is no scientific basis for that claim. The basis for all these claims is made-up facts and bad science.”
Los Santos, plans to process 120 horses a day. The packaged meat will be shipped and sold outside of the U.S. King’s 25-page lawsuit — that describes maggot mounds, accusations of violations and animal medication — is misleading, Dunn said. “This is one of those that you have to believe an alien abduction occurred in this story line, for any of this to be true,” Dunn said. “You have to suspend reason
King did not have time to comment Monday, his spokesman said. His office had not yet answered questions about the case Thursday night. “He’s pretty much spoken about it,” said his spokesman, Phil Sisneros. King sued Valley Meat under New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act, attempting to define Valley Meat’s proposed business as an unfair or deceptive trade practice meant to mislead or confuse buyers.
By filing the suit this way, King was able to skirt the issue of having to post a bond to pay for loss of potential business to Valley Meat if a judge puts in place a temporary restraining order. “We sued under the unfair practices act,” Sisneros said. “It exempts (the state) from having to present a bond.” Sisneros questioned the nearly $500,000 bond
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
additional lock, such as broom handle or a dowel wedged into place, to prevent opening. A piece of wood wedged into a window also works for added security. • Double-hung windows can be made more secure by the pin method. Drill a small hole at a 45-degree angle between the inner and outer frame. Place a nail in the hole, which can be removed when not using it. • Illumination is a key element to prevent burglary. Motion sensitive lights will illuminate a yard when most needed and startle a burglar. • Some passive security systems lend themselves well to the Roswell environment. A cactus or some other spiny plant placed under windows may deter a burglar who would rather not get spiked. However, if you pick an evergreen shrub, make sure it is low growing. Tall plants and trees need to be
Bring home safety into the new year Give yourself the gift of added security this New Year’s.
AP Photo
Obama signs bipartisan budget deal President Barack Obama speaks to members of the military and their families in Anderson Hall at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Wednesday, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
HONOLULU (AP) — Rounding out a tough and frustrating year, President Barack Obama signed a bipartisan budget deal Thursday easing spending cuts and a defense bill
cracking down on sexual assault in the military, as the president and Congress began pivoting to the midter m election year ahead. Obama put his signa-
ture on both hard-fought bills while vacationing in Hawaii, where he has been regrouping with his family since Saturday. The bill signing marks one of Obama’s last official acts
in a year beset by a partial government shutdown, a near-default by the Treasury, a calamitous health care rollout and near-perpetual congressional gridlock.
• Consider adding a deadbolt lock to your outside doors. An in-handle key and lock system is often not enough to prevent entry into a home. • A great lock does not help if the home has a flimsy door. Get a steel door or a solid wood door. Doors with full-length windows may look good, but the window can be broken and someone could simply reach through the window and unlock the mechanism. • Experts recommend a peephole or wide angler viewer, so residents can look through the door to make sure they recognize a visitor. If you don’t know the person, don’t open the door. Even if a person asks for help, tell him or her you will call 911 to get the needed assistance. • Sliding doors require an
See LAWSUIT, Page A3
See SAFETY, Page A3
Health insurance mandate Vet cemetery dedication ceremony Monday has been dropped for some TESS TOWNSEND RECORD STAFF WRITER
Some who had health insurance in 2013 can skirt the Af fordable Care Act mandate that almost all individuals have health plans by March 31. Holders of health insurance plans cancelled due to not meeting new guidelines set down by the act can apply for catastrophic coverage plans usually reserved for patients under the age of 30, according to a recent press release from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Dec. 19 release states that these patients may also apply for a hard-
ship exemption allowing them to forgo health insurance altogether for 2014. Health plan holders whose plans were cancelled should have been notified by their carriers. Presbyterian Health Plan and Lovelace Health System were among carriers in New Mexico affected by the new health plan standards established as part of health care refor m. The change in standards meant 23,000 holders of Presbyterian plans had to change coverage. Presbyterian and some other carriers of fered affected members modified See MANDATE, Page A3
AP Photo
Confetti flies over New York's Times Square, Jan. 1, after the clock strikes midnight during the New Year’s Eve celebration as seen from the Marriott Marquis hotel.
HIGH 52 LOW 21
TODAY’S FORECAST
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Roswell-Chaves County Veterans Cemetery will be dedicated Monday, Dec. 30, during a groundbreaking ceremony at its newly improved site at South Park Cemetery. The event will begin at 10:30 a.m. and feature proclamations by Mayor Del Jur ney, Rep. Steve Pearce and Ret. Col. Ron McKay. The Veterans Cemetery Board expects to propose to name the cemetery the Roswell-McBride Veterans Cemetery to honor the McBride Family, McKay
said. The family dedicated the 20-acre parcel, adjacent to South Park Cemetery, that the group hopes will eventually become a state-recognized official veterans cemetery. “That’s what we’d like to name it,” McKay said. The city recently allocated $75,000 to pay for improvements to install a water system, sprinklers, electrical work and a drive-up area. The veterans board decided to start development on at least a 1-acre parcel to begin burials, See CEMETERY, Page A3
Jill McLaughlin Photo
Improvements were completed on a cul-de-sac on property earmarked for a new veterans cemetery at South Park Cemetery. The site will be dedicated at 10:30 a.m., Monday, Dec. 30.
Poll: Americans hopeful for a better year in 2014
WASHINGTON (AP) — A large number of Americans see 2013 as anything but a banner year and aren’t reluctant to wave goodbye on New Year’s Eve, a new AP-T imes Square poll says, reflecting anxiety stretching from the corridors of power in Washington to corporate boardrooms, statehouses, and city and town halls. Although the poll shows that people generally are looking forward to the new year with optimism and no
blatant sense of foreboding, it also unmasks pentup worries about international crises and instability, and concerns at home about the standard of living, health care and schools. On the whole, Americans rate their own experience in 2013 more positively than negatively. But when asked to assess the year for the United States or the world at large, things turn sour. All told, 32 percent say
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A7 • JOSE A. “TONY” • VALERIE CHARMAINE • DAVID VANCE KNOLL RODRIGUEZ SR. SEELY • SANDRA SUE MARTIN • LARUE “GRAMA CAT” • WILLIAM C. WHITE TANNER GIBBS • HELEN DENNIS
2013 was a better year for them than 2012, while 20 percent say it was worse and 46 percent say the two years were really about the same. Young people were more apt to see improvement: 40 percent of people under age 30 called 2013 a better year than 2012, compared with 25 percent of people age 65 or older. The public splits evenly on how the year turned out for the country, 25 percent saying it was bet-
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B4
ter than 2012, 25 percent saying it was worse. As with most questions about the state of affairs in the U.S. these days, there’s a sharp partisan divide. Democrats are more apt to say the U.S. turned out better in 2013 than 2012 (37 percent) than are Republicans (17 percent). Thinking about the world at large, 30 percent say 2013 was worse than 2012, while just 20 percent say it was better.
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8