Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 121, No. 50 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
NEW YORK (AP) — Peter Brouwer turns 56 on Wednesday. But if you count the times he’s celebrated his true bir th date, he’s only turning 14. Brouwer is a leap-day baby. And like a lot of people born Feb. 29, he relishes the uniqueness of his - PAGE A5
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• County Extension holds Novice Day... • NMMI hosts 2012 JROTC drill meet • Bingaman meets with ENMU-R students • Wizard’s chess? • Rockets win District 4-4A title
INSIDE SPORTS
Judge issues decision in House redistricting ing a redistricting plan he developed last month but that was overturned by the justices. However, the judge’s decision doesn’t immediately settle the redistricting dispute in New Mexico. His order can be appealed to the Supreme Court again and there’s a pending request by Republicans for a panel of three federal judges to take over the job of drawing new district
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Emmanuel Galindo • Fanny Landers Goldfarb • John B. Pryor • Janice Verneil Youngs - PAGE A6
HIGH ...74˚ LOW ....34˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B3 COMICS.................B7 ENTERTAINMENT.....B8 FINANCIAL .............B6 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
san changes Democrats in the Legislature advocated. This map equalizes population and gives the voters on Albuquerque’s west side and Rio Rancho the representation they deserve,” said Scott Dar nell, a spokesman for Martinez. Lawyers for the Democratic-controlled Legislature had wanted the court to adopt a plan approved by lawmakers last year but vetoed by the governor.
Redistricting is necessary to adjust the boundaries of political districts for population changes during the past decade. The goal is equalize district populations as much as possible to meet the legal doctrine of one-person, one vote. The judge’s latest plan creates three new seats in See REDISTRICT, Page A3
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
In four out of the five contested races for city positions, challengers have outspent their incumbent counterparts in campaign expenditures, according to the latest campaign finance reports. Councilor Steve Henderson is the only incumbent candidate, of the four contested council seats, to outspend his contender Billy Wood. With the upcoming municipal election only a week away, candidates will make a last effort to pitch themselves to voters. Thus far, candidates are spending the majority of their money on advertisments in the form of lawn signs, brochures and the like. Candidates for city council and municipal judge filed their campaign contributions and expense reports on Feb. 23. They will be required to file a second report on Mar. 1. Councilor Bob Maples, who is seeking re-election for his Ward I seat, raised $3,500 and spent $850. Former Executive Director of the
Julia Bergman photo
Selma Brown and her son Nikk, 13, look over pamphlets to learn more about the GEAR UP, a program available to sixth and seventh graders, at an event for area middle school students at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center Monday evening.
GEAR UP program up and running JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Hundreds of sixth- and seventh-graders, accompanied by their parents, gathered at the Convention and Civic Center Monday evening to learn how
US: Afghanistan turmoil won’t change US war plan
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Kobe Bryant got the scoring record, Kevin Durant the MVP, and the West got the win — barely. Even after that duo piled up the points, the NBA AllStar game came down to a defensive play. ‘ - PAGE B1
boundaries. The federal judges have a hearing scheduled Tuesday in the redistricting case. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez was muted in her assessment of the latest redistricting plan. “While the governor feels the Supreme Court’s reversal was partisan and wrong, she is grateful Judge Hall adopted a redistricting map that did not make the drastic parti-
Campaign contributions spent for race
See CAMPAIGN, Page A3
WEST TRIUMPHS IN ALL-STAR GAME
TUESDAY
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SANTA FE (AP) — The longest-serving member of the New Mexico House will be paired with a fellow Democratic incumbent in a newly consolidated northcentral New Mexico district under a redistricting plan ordered Monday by a state district court. The latest map ordered by retired State District Judge James Hall meets a deadline set by the state Supreme Court for revamp-
LEAP-DAY BABIES RELISH BIRTHDAYS
February 28, 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is sticking determinedly to its stay-the-course message in Afghanistan despite a week of antiAmerican riots, the pointblank killing of U.S. military advisers and growing election-year demands to bring the troops home. In an echo of the Bush administration on continuing the unpopular war in Iraq, the White House and Pentagon insisted Monday that the wave of violence against Americans will not derail the war strategy in Afghanistan or speed up the calendar for bringing American forces home. Administration spokesmen were at pains to answer the larger question of whether to keep fighting a war that has lost support not only in the United States but also among the people the U.S. has pledged to protect. The
perception that Afghans are ungrateful for U.S. sacrifice and are turning on their American advisers complicates President Barack Obama’s plan to ease out of combat against Taliban extremists over the next two years. Under current strategy, tens of thousands of U.S. forces will remain in Afghanistan at least through the end of this year and Afghan forces would have full control of the country’s security by the end of 2014. Both Democrats and Republicans have said the timetable should move up. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the violence will not mean faster troop withdrawal. He pointed to Obama’s rationale for expanding the war early in his presidency. Administration officials See AFGHAN, Page A3
they can strengthen their academic performance, prepare for post-secondary education, and ear n scholarships to further their education. The purpose of the gathering was to educate those in attend an c e a b o ut Gain i ng E ar ly
Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP. GEAR UP is federally funded by the United States Department of Education and sponsored by Eastern New MexSee GEAR UP Page A3
Activist group: 144 dead across Syria BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian activist group reported Monday that 144 people have been killed acr oss the country, scor es of them in the embattled opposition stronghold of Homs by security forces as they tried to flee. A team from the Syrian ar m of the Red Cross delivered aid to one of the city’s most danger ous neighborhoods after days of trying to reach the area.
The activist group did not say whether all 144 died on Monday or were killed over the past few days. Many of the casualties were believed to be from the rebel-controlled Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, which the Syrian Arab Red Cr escent enter ed late Monday. Also in the neighborhood are two wounded foreign jour nalists along with the bodies of two of their
AP photo
Free Syrian Army fighters walk to meet their comrades as the Syrian Army advances towards the town of Sarmin, north of Syria, Monday.
colleagues who wer e killed last week. European and American diplomats and aid workers have been trying desperately to find a way to evacuate them, but Red Cross spokeswoman Carla Haddad said late Monday that the Red Crescent had not managed to get them out.
She did not know whether the group had stopped trying for the evening. Homs has emerged as the center of the 11month-old uprising seeking to oust authoritarian President Bashar Assad and has borne the brunt
See SYRIA, Page A3
Longtime Dexter Councilor Caffall seeking re-election JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
Norman Caffall
Dexter councilor Norman Caf fall, who has served for around 20 years on the town’s council, says he’s seeking reelection for his council seat during the valley elections in March. Dexter has two four year council seats slated to be on its ballot. Now retired, Caffall, a carpenter by trade, owned
the Dexter Lumber and Hardware Company for many years.
Indicating his and other Dexter councilors’ support of the town’s fire and rescue department, police department, in addition to the rest of the town employees, Caffall said, “We have a really good crew and we would like to keep it that way.” He added that the council attempts to aid these employees with any prob-
lems they may be having. Caffall said that he’d like to explore the possibility of pay raises for these employees at the next budget hearing. A project that Caf fall would like to see through is the repairing of Lincoln Avenue, which runs north and south through town. The road is arguably the most traversed in town and its streets are in need maintenance. The implementation of restrooms
and showers at Lake Van, the replacement of water lines throughout town and the cleaning up of highways are other projects he’d like to get accomplished if he is reelected.
“I sure need everybody to get out and vote,” Caffall said, “I’ve got quite a bit of experience on the council and I would like to keep using it for a while, one more time anyway.”
j.bergman@rdrnews.com