Roswell Daily Record
What’s scary about Ebola, reasons not to fear it THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 192 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States’ top disease detective calls Ebola a “painful, dreadful, merciless virus.” The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak in West Africa an inter national emergency, killing more than 900 people and spreading. That’s scary and serious. But it also cries out for context. AIDS alone takes more than a million lives per year in Africa — a thousand times the toll of this Ebola outbreak so far. Lung infections such as pneumonia are close behind as the No. 2 killer. Malaria and diarrhea claim hundreds of thousands of African children each year. In the United States, where heart attacks and cancer are the biggest killers, the risk of contracting the Ebola virus is close to zero. Americans fretting about their own health would be better off focusing on getting a flu shot this fall. Flu is blamed for about
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24,000 U.S. deaths per year. To put the Ebola threat in perspective, here are some reasons to be concerned about the outbreak, and reasons not to fear it:
WHY IT’S SCARY
There is no cure for Ebola hemorrhagic fever. More than half of people infected in this outbreak have died. Death rates in some past outbreaks reached 90 percent. It’s a cruel end that comes within days. Patients grow feverish and weak, suffering through body aches, vomiting, diarrhea and internal bleeding, sometimes bleeding from the nose and ears. The damage can spiral far beyond the patients themselves. Because it’s spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of sick patients, Ebola takes an especially harsh toll on doctors and nurses, already in short supply in areas of Africa hit by the disease. Outbreaks spark fear and
Getting on with life
WHERE IT IS
The outbreak began in Guinea in March before spreading to neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia. A traveler recently carried it farther, to Nigeria, leading to a few cases in the giant city of Lagos. Ebola emerged in 1976. It has been confir med in 10 African nations, but never before in the region of West Africa.
Columnist Stu Pritchard recently passed away. He was a columnist for The Roswell Daily Record for many years and was very active in the community of Roswell. Pritchard wrote about the history of Roswell since he was born and raised in the town. Pritchard was the first telegram boy in the town as well. Read a tribute about his life and legacy, written by Vision Editor Rey Berrones, on page A4.
charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue, distribution of a controlled substance analogue, and possession of a controlled substance analogue with intent to distribute. The indictment also charged Plumlee with money laundering offenses. The indictment was superseded in March 2014, to add an additional possession with intent to distribute charge against the three
See GUILY, Page A2
Stu Pritchard TODAY’S FORECAST
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AP Photo
In this Thursday photo, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Tom Frieden testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Ebola is a "painful, dreadful, merciless virus," the United States' top disease fighter says.
Lack of experience with the disease there has contributed to its spread. So has a shortage of medical personnel and supplies, widespread poverty, and political instability.
from a decade of civil war in which children were forced into fighting. Liberia, originally founded by freed American slaves, also endured civil war in the 1990s.
Former New Mexico police chief charged with rape
In this photo provided by the All Veterans Group, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills, bottom, makes a parachute jump with the help of an All Veterans Parachute Team member over Northern Maine, Saturday. Travis, who ended up losing all four limbs during combat operations in Afghanistan, made the jump with the All Veterans Group Parachute Team along with the wife of Maine Gov. Paul LePage, to raise money for a veteran center and museum in Fort Kent.
Former head shop pleads guilty to federal charges
SUNDAY
panic. Health workers and clinics have come under attack from residents, who sometimes blame foreign doctors for the deaths. People with Ebola or other illnesses may fear going to a hospital, or may be shunned by friends and neighbors. Two of the worst-hit countries — Liberia and Sierra Leone — sent troops to quarantine areas with Ebola cases. The aim was to stop the disease’s spread but the action also created hardship for many residents.
AP Photo
ALBUQUERQUE — Garlan R. Plumlee, 62, of Carlsbad, entered a guilty plea Friday in Las Cruces federal court to distribution of a controlled substance analogue and money laundering. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Plumlee will be sentenced to two years of probation. Plumlee and his codefendants, Phillip Larez, 33, and Justin E. Thompson, 33, also of Carlsbad, were indicted in Dec. 2012, and
August 10, 2014
Sierra Leone still is recovering
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A for mer New Mexico police chief is facing charges that he raped a woman while she was in police custody. A grand jury indicted fired Jemez Springs Police Chief Shane Harger on Thursday on charges of kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact and extortion. State police arrested Harger at his Edgewood home, authorities said. According to a complaint filed in January, the 19-year -old woman said she and three men were stopped by Jemez Springs police and Harger raped her while holding her at the police station for three hours. State police spokesman Emmanuel Gutierrez said an investigation found a “sexual act did occur.” Harger’s attorney, Thomas Grover, said the charges stem from a January case when Harger was on duty as a police officer and assisted another of ficer with a traf fic stop involving four subjects suspected of trafficking heroin.
See EBOLA, Page A3
“Harger is innocent of these charges, and that will become abundantly clear as this case moves forward,” Grover said in a statement. “This is yet another instance where police officers must be forever vigilant when they take people into custody.” Harger was fired in February over what town officials called questionable judgment after Transportation Security Administration agents discovered he has two names. Harger had been detained by TSA agents at Albuquerque International Sunport for having a dif ferent name on his boarding pass. The name on his New Mexico driver’s license is Braxton Haze. Harger told authorities he changed his name after a 2007 case involving former Albuquerque police officer Levi Chavez. Chavez was acquitted of killing his wife, T era Chavez, and making it look like a suicide in Los Lunas. Harger said he used to be a deputy in Valencia County and was the first to arrive at the scene the night Tera Chavez was found dead.
Local judge retires, gave hope and purpose to those around him BY RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Friends, family and professional peers gathered Thursday at the Chaves County Courthouse to honor District Court Judge Charles Currier, who retired from the bench on Aug. 2. Currier, longtime community leader, was appointed District Court Judge for the Judicial District in March of 2002. Besides Chaves County Courthouse staff, judges came from all over the state to honor him. Supreme Court Justice Petra Jimenez Maes of Santa Fe and Appeals Court Judge J. Miles Hanisee were among the dignitaries in attendance. “This is a great honor, and I am humbled by your appearance,” Currier said to the crowd. As a general jurisdiction trial court judge, Currier presided over criminal cases, domestic relations cases, civil and probate
• IGNACIA “MAXINE” SOSA • EDRA L. CHILDERS • JUAN “PUN” GONZALES
cases, and Children's Court cases. In spite of his impressive professional accomplishments, it was his humanitarianism and his concer n for the people who came before him, especially families, that was remembered at his retirement celebration. “I learned a lot from you as a judge, and as a teacher,” attorney Judy Pittman said to Currier, as she gently roasted him before a full courtroom. “As a teacher, you taught us the rules of civil procedure because we had to use them. I learned them from you better than in law school.” Currier graduated from Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1970. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of New Mexico in 1975. After passing the bar, he was in the private practice of law in both
• DOROTHY JEAN WHEAT
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6
• JUANITA GONZALES VALDEZ
Randal Seyler Photo
Zemen Abebe, left, wipes away tears as her children hug Judge Charles Currier, who retired from the 5th Judicial District Court on Aug. 2.
Albuquerque and Roswell for 27 years. “Something few people know about Judge Currier is that he is both an Aggie and a Lobo,” joked DisCLASSIFIEDS ..........D1
COMICS .................C5
trict Court Judge Freddie Romero. Romero described Currier as a private and hum-
See CURRIER, Page A3
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
SPORTS .................B1
OPINION .................A4
WORLD ..................A7
HOROSCOPES .........A7
WEATHER ..............A8