Leaders and readers give thanks; talk Thanksgiving food

Jared Tucker, PVON Founder/Senior Journalist
plainsvalleyonlinenews@gmail.com

ROSWELL- Health and family are the two biggest things area leaders and PVON readers seem to be the most thankful for this year.

Lupita Cano is especially thankful for her family as she continues to rebuild her life after fire destroyed the house she was living in on Kansas Street back in May.
“I look at it as a blessing because we all are still alive and healthy and the plus side is we have a better house with better heating and won’t have to worry about being cold this winter,” Cano told PVON.

Cherie Sanchez is thankful for her family she has after losing five of them within a few month’s time period last year.

“It made me so much more thankful for the ones I still have in my life because you never know when u will lose them,” Sanchez said.
Jeneva Martinez won her battle with breast cancer at the young age of 31.  Diagnosed at 27, Martinez is thankful to be alive.

“When you are close to losing your life, you see things in a very different light, and that light I am seeing is shining bright!” Martinez said.

Thanksgiving was deemed a federal holiday upon the signing of a proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln on Oct. 3, 1863, according to abrahamlincolnonline.com.  Secretary of State William Seward authored the proclamation.
Lincoln’s proclamation, according to the website, was the prompt and swift response to a 15-year effort for a national day of thanksgiving by 74-year-old  magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale, who worked for Godey’s Lady’s Book.

“Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.  No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things,” Lincoln proclaimed.

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On the same date in 1789, 74-years prior to Lincoln’s proclamation, President George Washington declared a national day of Thanksgiving, the website states.

The root of the holiday came when the pilgrims celebrated their first harvest in the new world in 1621.  The celebration lasted three days and included in the festivities were 90 Native Americans and 53 pilgrims, as counted by Plymouth Colony leader Edward Winslow.

Celebrating that harvest means food, and a lot of it.

Mayor Dennis Kintigh said he’s thankful for his healthy children, his supportive wife, and is a huge fan of green bean casserole.
“We went to some place recently and I was so excited because you only see it around Thanksgiving,” Kintigh said.

Of course, a common struggle in the Thanksgiving dinner plan is…turkey, ham or both?

Kintigh and Roswell Police Chief Phil Smith prefer turkey, along with many PVON readers.
Reader Gail Miller said the main course depends on the holiday.

“Turkey for Thanksgiving ham for Christmas. That’s just the normal way!” Miller said.

No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without the sweet potatoes, all can agree.

“The sweet potato dish because I’m not a big sweet eater, but with the thanksgiving meal it adds the perfect amount to the mix,” reader Chenet Nichol said.
With a little over a month left in 2014, some people are giving thanks for God’s grace and favor as they look to the future.

“I am thankful for God because of the life I used to live I know I am only alive today because of him and I am thankful for my family for never giving up on me even when I thought I had given up on myself,” reader Janel Patton said.

Patton’s words truly resonate in modern day with Lincoln’s proclamation.

“They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.  It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the American People.”

 

 

 

No arrests, two juveniles and one adult remain suspects in stolen vehicle case

(Jared Tucker, PVON photo) Devette Aragon was detained Sunday but not arrested after being caught riding in a stolen vehicle. Aragon said she was not aware the car was reported stolen. Police said the case is under investigation.

 

Jared Tucker, PVON Founder/Senior Journalist
plainsvalleyonlinenews@gmail.com

ROSWELL- Two juveniles and one adult female were detained, not arrested, for the stolen car incident we reported in a video report Sunday morning on our Facebook page.  Police say though not in custody, those three subjects are still under investigation.
According to Roswell Police Public Information Officer Todd Wildermuth, the two juveniles were turned over to the custody of their parents, while the adult female was later released.

Sunday morning around 12:30 a Roswell Police Officer recognized a Toyota Corolla that had been reported stolen while conducting a traffic stop in the area of 17th and Washington Streets.
After flooding the area with officers, the vehicle was not found until a Chaves County Sheriff’s Sergeant found it at the Allsup’s store at Second and Lea Streets.

Devette Aragon said she was the female detained that night, and had no clue the car had been reported stolen.

“I didn’t know what the heck was going on,” Aragon said.

Wildermuth said the two juveniles were released to their parents, and the investigation is ongoing.

 

Woman in serious condition after being struck by car on Roswell’s East Side

(Jared Tucker, PVON photo) Roswell fire and EMS crews work on a woman who was struck by an SUV just before 6:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Police said the woman is in serious condition.

 

 

Jared Tucker, PVON Founder/Senior Journalist
plainsvalleyonlinenews@gmail.com

ROSWELL- One woman is in serious condition after being struck by an SUV on Roswell’s East Side, and the driver that hit her will not be facing negligence charges.
Roswell Police Sergeant Cruz Zavala said the victim was attempting to cross Atkinson Street just north of Second just before 6:00 p.m. when she was struck by a brown Dodge Durango which was traveling Southbound.
Zavala said negligence is not a factor in the crash and the driver is not facing charges for hitting the woman.

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“She’s not facing charges, at least not for negligence,” Zavala said.

The victim is in serious condition at a local hospital, Zavala said.

The identities of the victim and driver were not immediately released.

Look for updates on this story as soon as they are available.

Crews begin repairing two busted water mains in NE Roswell

Jared Tucker, PVON Founder/Senior Journalist
plainsvalleyonlinenews@gmail.com

ROSWELL-Roswell Water Crews are getting started repairing two broken water mains in northeast Roswell, and crews say an estimated thirty residents will be without water until thier fixed.
The first line broke on North Atkinson across from the Spring River Park and Zoo early this morning, and the second just minutes ago to the North of that location near the intersection of Atkinson and College.
Roswell Water and Sewer Line Supervisor Lorenzo Sanchez said the repairs are a result of aging infrastructure in the city.

“We’re waiting on locates and should have it repaired within four to five hours,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said crews are shutting down the two eight-inch lines right now, and at least thirty homes between Atkinson and Garden could be without water along College Avenue.

Local politicians react to Obama executive order on immigration

Jared Tucker, PVON Founder/Senior Journalist
plainsvalleyonlinenews@gmail.com

SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO- There’s a mixed reaction by local politicians  to President Barack Obama’s executive order signed Friday which will affect over 5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.  Because the action was not passed by Congress, it can be undone after Obama is out of office in 2016.
According to RT America, the order states that undocumented immigrants who have resided in the country for five years or more who are parents of legal residents or lawful citizens can defer deportation and start paying taxes after passing a national security and criminal background check.
“President Obama’s decision to use executive powers to alter immigration policy for 5 million people is a gross abuse of power,” Congressman Steve Pearce said in a press release on his website. “Very simply, these actions are illegal and unlike those taken by any other President.”

Obama defended his action Friday.
“To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill,” Obama said.

The plan calls for around 5 million undocumented immigrants to be eligible for a temporary reprieve from deportation if they have been in the country for over five years, and are parents or spouses of U.S. citizens or permanent residents.  They will possibly be eligible for work permits but not federal benefits such as food stamps and medicaid, RT reports.

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Congressman Tom Udall defended the President’s executive order.

“New Mexicans have seen firsthand the problems caused by House Republicans, who have dragged their feet on immigration for too long – it has been 511 days since the Senate passed a bipartisan comprehensive reform bill. Because the House won’t act, the president is justified in taking commonsense steps to fix our broken immigration system under existing law,” Udall said.
The plan also calls for improved security at the border to focus on potential terrorists and drug dealers, RT reports.

To read more details about what Obama’s executive order means for the country and for immigrants, see RT America’s full report.

 

Mendenhall, person of interest, arrested Sunday morning

(Century 21 photo) Police say 42-year-old David Duer was found dead at his home on West Sherril lane Friday around 5:00 p.m.

 

Jared Tucker, PVON Founder/Senior Journalist
plainsvalleyonlinenews@gmail.com

ROSWELL- Police have arrested the person of interest in the suspicious death case of prominent business man David Duer.

According to a press release from Roswell Police Public Information Officer Todd Wildermuth, 27-year-old Justin Tyler Mendenhall was found in a home shortly before 11:00 a.m. about three miles Northeast of Roswell, after an anonymous tip led them to the home where the homeowner gave consent for officers to search.
“The homeowner had allowed Mendenhall to stay in a separate ‘shop’ building on the property, but Mendenhall happened to be inside the house at the time officers arrived,” Wildermuth said.
The homeowner was not aware police were looking for Mendenhall, Wildermuth said, and will not be facing any charges.  Mendenhall was arrested on a warrant for failure to comply with conditions of release for an unrelated fraud charge, Wildermuth said.

An autopsy has been performed on Duer’s body, and no exact cause of death could be determined, Wildermuth said.  Mendenhall’s not saying a word about it, either.

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“Mendenhall’s attorney told investigators Mendenhall would not be making any statement. Acting with a search warrant, investigators collected clothing and DNA samples, as well as fingerprints, from Mendenhall before he was booked into the Chaves County Detention Center,” Wildermuth said.
Further tests are being done to try and determine how Duer died, Wildermuth said, but those results won’t be available until at least mid-week or later.

The victim, 42-year-old Duer, was found by a friend who had stayed the night at Duer’s home on the 2600 block of Sherril lane, Wildermuth said.  That friend called 911 just before 5:00 a.m. when Duer was found unresponsive.
He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Police say the investigation continues as a suspicious death, but like all suspicious deaths, are conducted as homicide investigations.

Mendenhall is being held on a $5,000 cash-only bond.

 

Rescue crews extricate passenger from rolled over SUV

Jared Tucker, PVON Founder/Senior Journalist
plainsvalleyonlinenews@gmail.com

CHAVES COUNTY- Four people were hospitalized Saturday night after rolling an SUV in a rural area East of Roswell.  Rescuers had to  cut one man out of the vehicle.

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The call came out around 10:19 p.m. Saturday on River Road about three miles south of Second street.  Roswell Fire Department Lt. Matt Stewart said alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

“Basically they said they were out here doing donuts, the tires grabbed traction and they rolled over,” Stewart said.
Stewart said the extent of the trapped man’s injuries is not fully known.  The man, along with the three other occupants were taken to Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in unknown condition.

The victim’s identities and any possible, pending citations have not yet been obtained from police.

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