Roswell Daily Record
Gun control bill clears 1st hurdle
Vol. 122, No. 88 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
WORK ON IMMIGRATION BILL WRAPS UP WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic and Republican negotiators have reached agreement on all the major elements of sweeping legislation to remake the nation’s immigration laws and expect to ...
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
April 12, 2013
FRIDAY
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress’ most serious gun-control effort in years cleared its first hurdle Thursday as the Senate pushed past conservatives’ attempted blockade under the teary gaze of families of victims of December’s Connecticut school shootings. The bipartisan 68-31 vote rebuffed an effort to keep debate from even starting, giving an early victory — and perhaps political momentum — to President Barack Obama and his gun control allies. Four months after 20 first-graders and six staffers at Sandy Hook Elementary School were killed, relatives watching the vote from a gallery overlooking the Senate floor dabbed at tears and clasped hands, some seeming to pray. Even so, few supporters of the legislation are confident of victory. Several weeks of emotional, unpredictable Senate debate lie ahead, and a mix of gun-rights amendments, opposition from the National Rifle Association and skepticism from House Republican leaders leave big questions about what will emerge from Congress. Foes of the proposed new restrictions say they would penalize law-abiding citizens and do nothing to curb gun violence. See GUN Page A3
Light, cameras, ENMU-R
CC adopts revised dog, cat ordinance AP Photo
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio takes questions from reporters on gun control, immigration and the budget during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday.
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TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Local reaction to newest gun ... • Accident on North Garden St. • Key issues discussed at Lunch and Learn • Roswell’s Most Wanted: Joel Aragon • N.M. State vehicle ...
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
Robert Mendoza, center, and Aaron Godfrey of KOBR film ENMU-R student Moises Veleta in the school library during a photo shoot, Thursday morning. The university will be running the ads that feature students in campus scenes in the near future.
The Roswell City Council voted to adopt a revised proposed ordinance that is an effort to regulate the selling and breeding of cats and dogs Thursday during its monthly meeting. During a council meeting last month, the city’s animal lovers and caretakers raised concerns over the wording in Ordinance No. 13-06, saying it didn’t take into account various factors. The council held a workshop last week to review the ordinance and made several changes, such as eliminating the cost for a litter permit and adjusting prices of
Chaves County Sheriff’s staff attend conference JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
2 SHARE LEAD AT MASTERS AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Sergio Garcia might have written himself off too quickly at the Masters. When last seen walking off the course at Augusta National, the impetuous Spaniard ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Andres H. Gonzales Jr. • Verl Derrick • Gregory E. Alley • Winifred “Vickie” Mayes • Dodi Lerner - PAGE A6
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INDEX
Sheriff Rob Coon and other staff from the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office attended a three-day conference in Albuquerque held by the New Mexico Sheriffs Association from April 3-4. NMSA Executive Director Jack LeVick said a total of 379 people attended, from various departments and agencies including The New Mexico chapter of the FBI National Academy, police chiefs, N.M. county jail administrators and command staff from all four agencies. Wardens from the New Mexico Department of Corrections and Department of Corrections Cabinet
Secretary Gregg Marcantel held a planning session during the conference. Oscar Hagelsieb, head of the Strategic Air Command based in El Paso, spoke about Mexican cartels and their presence in New Mexico. “We have them all over New Mexico. They have reached as far north as Farmington,” said Coon. The border areas — such as Columbus, Deming, Las Cruces and Alamogordo — are among the hardest hit. However, Roswell is not immune. “We’re only 180 miles from Mexico and Highway 285 is a major throughfare for the cartels,” he said. The cartels are involved with drug trafficking and often come through Chaves County on their
way to larger cities. The cartels are well organized and almost like paramilitary groups. Coon explained: “Many are ex-military. They police their own. Rarely does the average citizen run into them … unless they are in the wrong place at the wrong time.” The lecture is timely since the Mexican Office of Attorney General (Procuraduria General de la Republica) decided to restrict access to official reports about organized crime for 12 years. According to the Mexican-based Reforma journal, PGR head Jesus Murillo Karam argued that disclosure of these facts would affect strategies for fighting organized crime. Under Mexico’s Transparen-
See ADOPTS Page A3
cy Law, Reforma asked for information about the cartels and was refused. Coon reported that there are a total of seven cartels, including the Juárez Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, the Tijuana Cartel and the Gulf Cartel. He said the Juárez Cartel operates in southeast New Mexico. Another class presented by the NMSA covered posttraumatic stress disorder in law enforcement. The lecturer, Karen Lansing, developed her skills in Northern Ireland. She estimates that between 15 and 30 percent of all law enforcement officers suffer from some form of
PVACD reaffirms RMW: Miller apprehended opposition of priority call on Pecos River ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
During its monthly meeting Thursday, the Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District’s Board of Directors reaffirmed its opposition to the Carlsbad Irrigation District’s demand for a priority call on the Pecos River. PVACD Chairman Bill Netherlin read a statement approved by the board that says if the CID’s effort were successful, the PVACD area “would suffer historic and crippling economic, cultural and social injury which would take decades to repair.” “At risk is over 110,000 thousand acres of irrigated farmland along with municipal and industrial water supplies,” the statement says. “Agriculture, oil and gas, manufacturing, large and small businesses and municipalities contribute approximately one billion dollars annually to the area economy. “The economic impact of a priority call will devastate the entire Pecos Valley, and will not selectively ignore any user of water.” In 2003, the PVACD entered into a settlement with the CID, the State of New Mexico, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to ensure that the state met its water delivery obligations to Texas and to provide water to the CID in times of shortage. The statement says that the state’s drought has reduced See PVACD Page A3
See ATTEND, Page A3
Chaves County Sheriff’s officers apprehended Aubrey Miller, 22, Saturday. Miller was wanted by the Roswell Police Department on charges of criminal sexual penetration of a minor. The RPD listed him as Roswell’s Most Wanted on April 5. According to the criminal complaint, Miller knew the family for years.
A family member became aware of the incident when a letter written to Miller by the 13-year-old victim was returned to the victim’s address from Chaves County Detention Center where Miller was detained and subsequently released for charges of failure to appear on previous municipal charges. “One of our deputies saw a car that was not registered, stopped it and recognized him,” said Lt. Britt Snyder. The arrest occurred without incident.
Aubrey Miller
Courtesy Photo