Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 124, No. 116 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
May 15, 2015
Friday
www.rdrnews.com
NMMI vs. NMMI legal costs exceed $1.2M
By Jeff Tucker Record Staff Writer
The former alumni association of New Mexico Military Institute has incurred more than $750,000 in l e g a l f e e s i n a n u n r esolved lawsuit between the military school and its estranged alumni group. The Institute Alumni Association had paid $752,644 in legal fees since April 17, all payable to Keleher & McLeod of Albuquerque, according to legal records obtained by the Daily Record this week. By contrast, the military school through March paid $468,174 for its legal costs in the lawsuit, all paid to
Hinkle, Hensley, Shanor & Hensley of Albuquerque. The military school’s board of regents initiated the lawsuit in June 2013. Since then, the two entities have collectively incurred $1,220,798 of legal bills and the nearly 2-year-old case remains unresolved. A June 11 presentment hearing is scheduled in Fifth Judicial District Court in Carlsbad at 9 a.m. June 11. A five-day bench trial was held Dec. 8-12. The Daily Record requested and reviewed legal records from both the military school and the Institute Alumni Association, formerly the New Mexico Military Institute Alum-
ni Foundation, pursuant to the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act. Both entities responded promptly and professionally and provided the records without objection. Dan Whitfield, executive secretary of the Institute Alumni Association, had estimated the alumni association had spent $750,000 to $800,000 in legal costs to defend the lawsuit, which is essentially about the control of approximately $5.2 million of alumni association assets. The alumni association’s assets entail more than $3 million in restricted funds See NMMI, Page A3
File Photo
Over the past two years, NMMI and its alumni association have spent $1.2 million in a legal battle over who controls $5.2 million in assets.
Complaint: Garcia wanted man he shot ‘neutralized’
Dancing angels
By Jared Tucker Multimedia Journalist
Bill Moffitt Photo
They may not be the state champion dance team like Roswell High School’s ‘Charlie’s Angels’ but they can still kick up their heels. With only one exception, the members of this senior dance team — the Rac-a-Taps — are all over the age of 70. The dancers usually meet at the Roswell Adult Center (hence the “rac” in the name) on Tuesday and Thursday nights to give their legs a workout. This Thursday though they were performing for the residents at Casa Maria, 1601 S. Main St. Linda Wethers, second from the right, leads the dance troop. The group performed at nursing homes throughout Roswell to raise awareness for National Nursing Home Week, which ends on Saturday.
Local briefs Walk for Hope set to kick off
The 2015 Walk for Hope will be held from 6 p.m. to midnight tonight at Cielo Grand Recreation Area. The Walk for Hope is similar to the Relay for Life events held across the country that raise money for cancer treatment and research. The two main differences are that Walk for Hope is an all-volunteer organization and that all the money raised stays in Chaves County. To receive assistance from Walk for Hope, an individual must live in Chaves County and have a cancer diagnosis.
ENMU-R to host spring graduation
Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell will hold two commencement ceremonies tonight at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center, 912 N. Main St. In total, more than 200 candidates for graduation will participate in the 63rd Commencement Convocation. The first ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. for those graduation candidates receiving Associate of Applied Science, Associate of Science, and Associate of Arts degrees. Students receiving both a certificate and an associate degree will participate in the 5:30 p.m.
ceremony. Bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates from ENMU will also participate in the 5:30 p.m. ceremony. The second ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. for those graduation candidates receiving Certificates of Employability, Certificates of Occupational Training, and Certificates of Completion. New Mexico Youth ChalleNGe graduation candidates will also participate in this ceremony. The commencement speaker will be Danielle Clements, who will be receiving a Certificate of Employability in Human Services, an Associate of Arts in Human Services, and an Associate of Arts in University Studies. Clements is a 2013 graduate of Roswell High School and was Valedictorian of her class. She enrolled as a Presidential Scholar at ENMU-Roswell in the fall of 2013. She is also a member of the PTK honor society.
Come have a cup of java with a cop
Citizens can visit with officers and supervisors of the Roswell Police Department this Monday morning during RPD’s monthly “Coffee with a Cop.” The event will take place at the Red Onion (1400 W. Second St., Suite E) at 7 a.m. See BRIEFS, Page A2
A self-defense claim by a man who has admitted to shooting another man to death April 4 west of Roswell isn’t holding up with authorities, since they’ve charged him with murder. A statement by the victim’s girlfriend suggests jealousy may have been the motive. Christian Garcia, 25, was charged Wednesday with the second-degree murder of Manuel Montez, 34, who was shot to death outside his home April 4 in the 4700 block of Cass Street. According to the criminal complaint filed in Chaves County Magistrate Court, there are two different sides to the story and evidence to support each account. Garcia claims he feared for his life and property when a disagreement occurred
Garcia about Garcia selling his car to Montez, and that Montez and his girlfriend, Jessica Bocelli, were attempting to break into his house and had already entered his pickup and began removing items. Bocelli told investigators Garcia got upset and began acting strange when See COMPLAINT, Page A2
Maintaining a sustainable bear population EDGEWOOD — With over 20 years of experience studying, living with, and protecting bears, Jan Hayes knows bears, and she’s worried. As the founder of Sandia BearWatch, Hayes has seen the bear population in the Sandias get smaller and smaller over the years. She explained in a phone interview that New Mexico Game & Fish estimated there were 50 to 100 black bears in the Sandia Mountains, but that over the last three to four years Game & Fish killed or removed over 140 bears on their own. “In the last two years there has not been a single report of a sow with cubs in the Sandias,” Hayes said. On top of Game & Fish removals and kills, legal hunts, and poaching, Sandia black bears have also had to deal with drought, deep freezes, and their own slow reproductive cycle — making it difficult for them to maintain a sustainable population. “I’ve done this for over 20 years and things have gotten worse for the bear,” Hayes said. “Unless people really, really decide to protect every single bear we’re not going to have any left.” Rick Winslow, bear and cougar biologist for Game & Fish, said the number of bears Hayes says have been killed or removed from the Sandias is “not very accurate.” When
asked what a more accurate number would be, Winslow said, “I would have to pass you up the chain before making any direct statement on that.” A Bear Depredation and Roadkill Update report dated May 4, 2015 compiled by Winslow shows that five bears have been killed in the whole state of New Mexico for the reported time period, with one of those being in the Sandia and Manzano Mountains. The one killed in the Manzanos is listed as the only female bear killed in the state for the recorded time period. As for the total bear population in each zone, Winslow said there is an ongoing study to determine the exact numbers: “It’s really hard to say. The populations are always fluctuating.” As a general estimate, Winslow said on the low side there are about 14 bears per 100 square kilometers; so with 216 square kilometers of space in the Sandias there should be about 28 bears left, a far smaller number than has been estimated in the past. Hayes explained that bears typically reproduce twice in their lifetime, once after they’ve reached the age of five, when they will have one cub, and then again later in life when they may have up to three See BEAR, Page A3
Today’s Forecast
Today’s Obituaries Page A8
HIGH 82 LOW 53
• James A. (Jay) Bruin • Wilma “June” Swartz Mims
Submitted Photo
The owner of Ten Points General Store was in for quite a surprise when he showed up to work to find a hungry, lost baby bear at his store. The cub was later taken to a refuge in Española by an employee of New Mexico Game & Fish.
Index Classifieds...........B8 Comics..................B7 Feature................A7 Financial..............B6
General...............A2 Horoscopes.......A10 Lotteries. ............A2 Nation..................A8
Opinion.................A4 Sports. ................B1 Weather.............A10 World..................B5