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INSIDE NEWS
SHEA DEAD AT 104
MONTREAT, N.C. (AP) — George Beverly Shea, whose booming baritone voice echoed through stadiums, squares and souls during a decades-long career with evangelist Billy Graham, died Tuesday. He was 104. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association spokesman Brent Rinehart said Shea died in Asheville after a brief illness. - PAGE A6
April 18, 2013
THURSDAY
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans backed by a small band of ruralstate Democrats scuttled the most far-reaching gun control legislation in two decades Wednesday, rejecting tighter background checks for buyers and a ban on assault weapons as they spurned pleas from families of victims of last winter’s school massacre in Newtown, Conn. “This effort isn’t over,” President Barack Obama vowed at the White House moments after the defeat on one of his top domestic priorities. Surrounded by Newtown relatives, he said opponents of the legislation in both parties “caved to
the pressure” of special interests. A ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines also fell in a series of showdown votes four months after a gunman killed 20 elementary school children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary. A bid to loosen restrictions on concealed weapons carried across state lines was rejected, as well. That last vote marked a rare defeat for the National Rifle Association on a day it generally triumphed over Obama, gun control advocates and many of the individuals whose lives have been af fected by mass shootings in Connecticut
and elsewhere. Some of them watched from the spectator galleries above the Senate floor. “Shame on you,” shouted one, Patricia Maisch, who was present two years ago when a gunman in Tucson, Ariz., killed six and wounded 13 others, including former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Vice President Joe Biden gaveled the Senate back into order after the breach of decorum. Gun control advocates, including Obama, had voiced high hopes for significant action after the Newtown shootings. But See GUNS, Page A3
AP Photo
From left, Neil Heslin, father of Newtown victim Jesse Lewis; former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz.; and President Barack Obama in the Rose Garden, Wednesday.
Curtis fire forces evac
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
• Standoff ends peacefully • PSAs may make comeback • Knowledge Bowl slated for Sunday ... • Vandal arrested Friday • Hubbard hits 2 HRs, GHS downs RHS
INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photo
Dexter High kids get brutal lesson Dexter High students react while watching a staged drunk driving accident in front of the school during the Every 15 Minutes program, Wednesday morning.
BLACKWELL SIGNS LOI WITH NMMI
Brad Blackwell isn’t your prototypical college recruit. He doesn’t look like most of the athletes you see at the next level. But he doesn’t let that stop him from excelling on the baseball diamond and that’s exactly why NMMI Bronco baseball coach Chris Cook decided to sign him. Blackwell recently signed his national letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic career at the Institute. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Maggie June Martin • William L. Goodall • Leo Fajardo Jr. • William Roberts • Teresa Romero - PAGE A6
HIGH ...62˚ LOW ....33˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B3 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B3 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
A few feet from the vehicle, a girl lay bloodied and still on the pavement. T ricia Hart of the Office of the Medical Investigator pronounced the girl dead at the scene.
other to jail.
ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
Local police and fire crews responded Wednesday to a grisly car crash outside Dexter High School that claimed the lives of three students and sent one
Sirens blared and red lights flashed as the entire student body watched firemen use axes, sledgehammers and the Jaws of Life on a crumpled vehicle in an effort to save the teens trapped inside.
See DEXTER, Page A3
Lincoln National Forest fire crews battled a blaze Wednesday night that forced residential evacuations near Mayhill. The Curtis fire was reported just before 3:30 p.m. some two miles southwest of Mayhill near Curtis Canyon, north of Hwy. 130, according to Loretta Benavidez, spokeswoman for the Lincoln National Forest. Firefighters evacuated five homes and told another 12 homeowners to leave as a safety measure, Benavidez said. Within a few hours the fire grew from two acres to 100 acres, fueled by sustained high winds from 35 to 45 mph, gusting to 65 mph at times. At least 50 responders were at the scene by 6:30 p.m., including two hotshot crews, three engines and several emergency response resources from Otero County. “The fire has been moving in a south, southwesterly direction, away from the community of Mayhill,” Benavidez said. “Firefighters have been successful in keeping the fire from spreading south across Hwy. 130. They are focusing their efforts on the northern flank.” The cause of the fire that is consuming mostly mixed conifer and grass is under investigation, Benavidez said. “As the temperatures get cooler and the winds settle down a little more that’s going to give firefighters a better advantage,” Benavidez said. “They’re not showing any containment as of now and I don’t anticipate seeing a number until 10 p.m. It could be that late until I see an estimate on containment.”
Boston official: Video Local singer celebrates libraries footage shows suspect
BOSTON (AP) — In what could be a major break in the Boston Marathon case, investigators are on the hunt for a man seen in a department store surveillance video dropping off a bag at the site of the bombings, a local politician said Wednesday. Separately, a law enforcement official confir med that authorities have found an image of a
potential suspect but don’t know his name. The development — less than 48 hours after the attack, which left three people dead and more than 170 wounded — marked a possible turning point in a case that has investigators analyzing photos and videos frame by frame for
JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Singer Eva McCollaum entertained a quiet crowd Wednesday, but only because most of her audience was busy reading. As part of National Library Week, the Roswell Public Library invited the entertainer to perform her
Jill McLaughlin Photo
Eva McCollaum performed at the Roswell Public Library, Wednesday.
Spring storm closes Wyoming roads, scratches baseball game See BOSTON, Page A3
See RPL, Page A3
DENVER (AP) — Skiers rejoiced and stores pulled snowblowers out of storage as a persistent spring storm delivered another round of wet snow to parts of Wyoming, Colorado and the Dakotas on Wednesday.
AP Photo
Tulips struggle in Denver snow, Tuesday.
Slick conditions and reduced visibility closed big stretches of two interstates in Wyoming and Colorado. The storm delayed flights out of Denver and postponed another Colorado Rockies-New York Mets game.
Three feet of snow has fallen in Colorado’s mountains so far, build-
ing the snowpack at a time when, normally, the levels have already peaked for the year. The weather also has delayed the start of wildfire season in the northern and central mountains and foothills. By this time a year ago, Colorado already had one massive wildfire that killed three people. But the state still remains in a drought, and the storm has so far been weak or simply bypassed the farms and ranches of southern and eastern Colorado. The snow that fell along the
Front Range captured both sides of the story. It carried dif ferent shades of dust likely from parched parts of Colorado, Arizona and Utah, said state climatologist Nolan Doesken. Meanwhile, crews in Rocky Mountain National Park burned brush piles to prevent wildfires in knee-deep snow.
Doesken said the Front Range snowfall means homeowners can put off watering for at least three weeks, but it’s not enough to pull the state out of the drought given See STORM, Page A2