Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 121, No. 55 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
March 4, 2012
Gabriella, Kelci to wear crowns
SUNDAY
www.rdrnews.com
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
GILA RIVER’S FUTURE
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Stemming from America’s first wilderness area, the Gila River flows through the mountains of southwestern New Mexico, across the high desert and through the heart of Arizona, providing water to farmers and communities along the way. The last free-flowing river in New Mexico and one of the few in the Southwest to hold on to so many ... - PAGE B6
TOP 5 WEB
For The Past 24 Hours
Mark Wilson Photo
Gabriella Baker is crowned the new 2012 Miss ENMU-R during the 2012 Miss Roswell, Miss Chaves County, Miss ENMU-R Scholarship Pageant, Saturday, at the ENMU-R Performing Arts Center.
With talent and beauty out of this world, the Miss Roswell, EMNU-Roswell Scholarship Pageant was held Saturday, at the Perfor ming Arts Center, where contestants vied for the crowns of Miss Roswell and Miss ENMURoswell. The pageant, a franchise of Miss America, was hosted by Keep Roswell Beautiful, ENMU-Roswell and the City of Roswell Recreation Department. In front of a lively crowd of about 200 people, Kelci 22, was Johnston, announced as the new Miss Roswell, while Gabriella Baker, 17, was
Mark Wilson Photo
Kelci Johnston is crowned the new 2012 Miss Roswell during the 2012 Miss Roswell, Miss Chaves County, Miss ENMU-R Scholarship Pageant, Saturday, at the ENMU-R Performing Arts Center.
The Corps, 770 strong, march against cancer See CROWNS, Page A3
NOAH VERNAU RECORD STAFF WRITER
• Seuss at Pioneer Plaza • EGP celebrates Seuss • Investigation continues • Oscar Fairfield at 90 remains self-reliant ... • • No. 2 Coyotes rip Deming, on to ABQ
INSIDE SPORTS
RHS ROUTS PIEDRA VISTA
The second-seeded Roswell Coyotes put a new spin on the old phrase, “a tale of two halves,” on Saturday at the Coyote Den. Usually that phrase is reserved for when a team plays bad in one half and good in the other. But, on Saturday, it meant one guy carried his team in the first half and another carried his team in the second half. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• Valentina Trujillo • Pearlene Crenshaw • Alfred Louis Mantelli • Corinne F. Stevens • Connie Conrad - PAGE B6
HIGH ...73˚ LOW ....33˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........D1 COMICS.................B9 ENTERTAINMENT.....D2 FEATURE ...............C5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........D2 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 STATE ...................B6 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Mark Wilson Photo
New Mexico Military Institute’s corps of cadets hosted its sixth annual Corps Against Cancer, Saturday, on the NMMI campus, where about 770 cadets marched to raise awareness and funding for cancer research. The march, which lasted nearly 10 hours, brought cadets on a series of 1.1 mile laps on Stapp Parade Field. Donations to the event went to the Chaves County Corps Cancer Fund. Against Cancer raised about $3,000 for the fund during last year’s march, according to Col. Jeff Cunningham. Cunningham said they hoped to raise $5,000 on Saturday. “It’s always important for the Institute to support the community, that’s one of our No. 1 priorities,” Cunningham said. “This particular march is important to us because we can actually
Election Day, Tuesday; polls open 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. New Mexico Military Institute cadets march toward Stapp Field during the 6th annual cancer awareness march, “Corps Against Cancer,” Saturday.
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
More than 600 Roswellians cast their votes early in favor of the candidates they would like to see elected to the positions of city councilor and municipal judge. With 12 hopefuls on the ballot and only one position uncontested, residents are encouraged to get out and vote Tuesday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. This year few stepped up to run against incumbents — one from every city ward is seeking re-election. Bob Maples, Steve Henderson, Judy Stubbs, Amarante Fresquez and Elena
Velasquez are all hoping to represent Wards 1 through 5, respectively. Juan Oropesa, longtime executive director of the Roswell Hispano Chamber of Commerce, is running against Maples for the Ward I seat. Henderson’s opponent for Ward II is tax consultant Billy Wood. Jeanine Corn Best is challenging Stubbs to represent Ward III. Ward IV is the most contested, with Milburn Dolen, general manager at Applebee’s, and Savino Sanchez Jr., associate pastor at Roswell’s Church on the Move, vying for the seat currently held by Fresquez. Velasquez is the only candidate for Ward
V.
Municipal Judge Larry Loy is opposed by Kevin Utterback Roe. There will be one question on the ballot which will ask voters if they are in favor, or against, the city of Roswell imposing a oneeighth of one percent municipal infrastructure gross receipts tax to be dedicated for municipal infrastructure purposes and economic development plans and projects. Mayor Del Jurney is reintroducing the proposal for the additional tax, which has not passed in the past
See NMMI, Page A3
MOST LOCAL LEGISLATORS OPPOSE TAX JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Just days before the city election, Roswell lawmakers are making their stance on the mayor’s proposal to add a municipal infrastructure gross receipts tax to the city’s current gross receipts tax known. The mayor is reintroducing the proposal for the additional tax, which has not passed in the past two attempts. The addition of the MIGRT would
result in an increase of the city’s current gross receipts tax, which would rise from 7.125 percent to 7.25 percent, or 12.5 cents for every $100 spent. It would apply to all taxable goods and is projected to create revenues of $1.2 million annually. According to a brochure about the proposal for the tax increase, the money can be spent on the purchase, lease, grant, construction, reconstruction,
Fresh assault on Homs as Red Cross seeks access BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian forces launched a fresh assault on Homs on Saturday as the Red Cross pressed forward with ef forts to deliver badly needed aid to thousands of people stranded in a besieged neighborhood despite war nings from regime troops of land mines and booby traps.
Two days after they fought their way into the rebel stronghold of Baba Amr, gover nment forces shelled several other neighborhoods of the city, the country’s third largest with about 1 million people.
They included districts where many of Baba Amr’s residents had fled, activists said.
The Syrian regime has said it was fighting “armed gangs” in Baba Amr, which has become a symbol of the nearly year -old uprising against President Bashar Assad’s authoritarian rule. The revolt has killed more than 7,500 people, according to the U.N.
The Local Coordination Committees activist network said mortars slammed into the districts of Khaldiyeh, Bab Sbaa and Khader.
See ELECTION, Page A3
Conditions in Baba Amr are believed to be dire, with extended power outages, shortages of food and water, and lack of medical care. Syrian government forces took control of the neighborhood Thursday after rebels fled the district under constant bombardment that activists said killed hundreds of people since early February. The Red Cross said the regime blocked its entry to Baba Amr on Friday, one day after the group received government permission to See SYRIA, Page A3
See TAX, Page A3
AP Photo
Children attend the funeral of three Free Syrian Army fighters in a park converted to a cemetery in Idlib, north of Syria, Saturday.