Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 122, No. 278 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
November 20, 2013
www.rdrnews.com
WEDNESDAY
City moves ahead with convention center plans JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
City leaders are moving ahead with plans to construct a convention center in downtown Roswell, despite knowing New Mexico Military Institute wanted to partner with them to build a similar facility less than a mile away. The city plans to add onto its existing Civic Center, tear it down or rebuild it to accommodate concerts, weddings, tractor
shows and conventions. City Councilors imposed a new, controversial tax in July that is expected to generate $500,000 a year to fund the project, most likely at the site near 11th Street on Main Street. At the same time, city leaders knew about NMMI’s master plan that included building a new events center that would accommodate 4,000 or more eventgoers for concerts, games, rodeos and other happenings. “This could be all of our
facility,” said NMMI’s Superintendent Major Gen. Jerry Grizzle, last week. “It would just be incredible what we could do in there.” NMMI’s administration had met several times with the city over an 18-month time period attempting to work in collaboration to build the events center, said Mayor Del Jurney. But the city decided to lobby state Legislature to allow it to pass a new lodging fee and build its own facility instead. And, the
convention center fee cannot be used to build an events center. “They’re totally different facilities,” Jurney said. Councilor Jason Perry spearheaded an effort on the city’s behalf to support legislation that allowed Roswell to impose the new convention center fee. “I led the charge to allow the Legislation to give all communities equal opportunity,” Perry said. See PLANS, Page A3
Tick tock...
Hotels, motels remain opposed to new bed fee JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Hotels and motels in Roswell started collecting the newly imposed $2.50 per room, per night lodging fee this month. But most are still opposed to it.
Dee Dyess, co-owner of House of Flowers, adds a holiday decorative touch outside of her shop recently.
Memory screening raises dementia awareness AMY VOGELSANG RECORD STAFF WRITER
Memory loss has a sort of ring to it that scares people. But taking preventative measures and catching early signs of dementia can help both individuals as well as their families. As part of National Memory Screening Day, Comfort Keepers helped host the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s annual memory screening at the Elks Club Tuesday. The free screenings were designed to help those who either worry about losing their memory, or for families and spouses who believe another is showing early signs of memory loss.
With cookies, coffee and other snacks, as well as many health related organizations and companies offering information, the lodge had a homey feeling. It was designed to make people feel comfortable. “It’s not just about giving a test or explaining information,” explained Cindy Vogelsang, a nurse practitioner who conducted screenings. She said it was important to develop a rapport with the patients who came in, and “get them to relax a little.” If people were stressed or nervous, they had a tendency to score poorly. The See SCREENING, Page A3
The cast and crew of the local film series, “TAILED,” anxiously await the web show’s release Thanksgiving Day. From left to right: writer Boyd Barrett, Director Donovan Fulkerson and actors Dominic Batista and Rachel Graves.
HIGH 75 LOW 43
TODAY’S FORECAST
The Chaves County Sheriff’s Office and High Chaparral Café, 5500 N. Main St., held a charity pancake breakfast, Saturday, to collect funds for Sgt. Steve Meredith, who was hit by a truck during an accident that occurred on Oct. 21 on Hwy. 285 near Chickasaw Road. Meredith was severely injured and flown to Lubbock for treatment. The accident resulted after a road block was set up along the highway while of ficials investigated a crime scene. A commercial vehicle ran into a pickup truck, which was then pushed into a second vehicle. The truck veered into the median strip.
CCSO Lt. Britt Snyder said the event this past Saturday was a success, collecting nearly $3,400 to assist with Meredith’s family medical costs. “High Chaparral donated all the food for the breakfast; the waitresses donated their tips and many people contributed money to the jar,” said Snyder. A second all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast will be held Saturday, Nov. 23, at High Chaparral Café for 39year-old Rosemary Becerra, of Lake Arthur, another victim of the same accident. She died when her pickup was rammed from behind. Snyder hopes as many people will come to the second pancake event. “The woman was really See ACCIDENT, Page A2
Mark Wilson Photo
Joyce Fisher, left, talks with Victoria Candelaria of Gentiva Hospice during the ninth annual Memory Screening Day at the Roswell Elks Lodge, Tuesday morning.
‘TAILED’ series set for Thanksgiving premiere AMY VOGELSANG RECORD STAFF WRITER
Amy Vogelsang Photo
See FEE, Page A3
Pancake breakfasts raise funds for two families affected by Hwy. 285 accident JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Mark Wilson Photo
“It’s created major havoc,” said Edie Stevens, director of sales at La Quinta Inn and spokeswoman for the Roswell Hotel/Hospitality Association.
The long awaited premiere of the local Web series is finally almost over. After you’ve stuf fed yourself with turkey and are too tired to do anything but sit, on Nov. 28 — Thanksgiving Day — ”TAILED” will be there to watch, launching publicly for the first time at 2 p.m. MST. Although the episodes
• BELEN P. JUAREZ • RUTH GILBERT • BETTY L. KENNEDY
will eventually require payment to be downloaded and watched from iTunes, the first episode will be free. It will be just enough to clinch your interest. The first showing of the pilot episode was Nov. 9, when sponsors had the opportunity to see what this show is all about. It was only thanks to the community and sponsors that it ever got of f the See TAILED, Page A2
• MARY WILSON • ROETTA OVERSTREET
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A7
Pamela Whitt, 44, is wanted for two counts of remote financial service act violation by using someone else’s debit/credit card without permission. She is described as 5 feet, 4 inches, 205 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. Anyone with information about Whitt or her whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 888594-TIPS (8477). Callers may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward.
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B7 COMICS .................B6 ENTERTAINMENT......B4 GENERAL ...............A2
INDEX HOROSCOPES .......A10 LOTTERIES .............A2 NATION..................A7 OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1 STOCKS .................B4 WEATHER ............A10 WORLD ..................A8