Rash of copper thefts hits Roswell

From KOB-TV.com - By: Amber LaVail, KOB Eyewitness News 4  - Copper thieves went ‘prime time’ in Roswell. They recently hit television towers and a private home. They left behind tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
     Two television towers were left without cooling systems. Chaves County Lt. Britt Snyder says, "There is a huge rash of copper thefts going on." Rubble is all that is left of the air conditioners at KOBR-TV. "Years ago they would try and break into your house, now it just seems like they are trying to steal the air conditioner," says Snyder.
     Chief Engineer Gary Babcock found the dismantled air conditioners and says, "Copper thieves are back. We see this every year whenever the prices go up a little bit." County Sheriffs say thieves took their time with the coolers and copper. Snyder says, "In the case of the tower sites they were dismantled in place vs. trying to take the entire unit. They actually took the time to try and disassemble them in place."
     Even though the repair costs of the KOBR-TV air conditioner will be over eleven thousand dollars, the thieves only made out with about a hundred bucks. According to Babcock, "We have called the sheriff out there. We have set up camera surveillance and so on like that so hopefully we catch somebody and put a stop to it."
     Snyder says, "We will also work with our recycling companies to help identify the individuals who are bringing these items in." No television service was lost due to the theft. But engineers say it was close. Read more
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Finalists for NMSU president to host community forums

New Mexico State University has announced that all five finalists to become the school's new president will hold community forums starting next week.

 Former New Mexico Gov. Garrey Carruthers is scheduled to meet with the public Monday at the Corbett Center Auditorium. He will be followed by former Texas Tech President Guy Bailey the next day. 

David Ashley, former Las Vegas President University of Nevada-Las Vegas will hold his forum the following Thursday and Elsa Murano, Texas A&M President Emeritus, will meet with the community April 29. 

University of Colorado Denver Dean Daniel Howard has scheduled his forum May 1. Regents are expected to select the new president by early May.



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APS signs deal for techbooks

Albuquerque Public Schools just signed a multimillion deal to bring digital techbooks to every school. 

To access techbooks, students need a device with Wi-Fi. Once teachers log on, it’s like a digital classroom, complete with videos, pictures and models catered to every lesson. 

Last year, APS was part of a pilot program with Discovery Education, a private company. In all, 30 schools took part. 

APS signed an $11 million contract to get the science techbook for all grades. All teaches will have access to the streaming content. The president of the teachers’ union said that techbooks are a great resource, but she wondered if APS has the money to buy more laptops, tablet and desktops so every student can log on. 

APS stands by the investment and said techbooks will save the district money in the long run.
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NM corrections audit to be released


The first details of the New Mexico Department of Corrections' massive audit of inmate files are scheduled released at the end of April. 
Department spokeswoman Alex Tomlin said Monday that the first phase of the audit will be publicly be released later this month and will include information on inmates mistakenly released from September 2010 to September 2012. 
Last week, the New Mexico Department of Corrections said Dion Henderson, a man convicted in a 1994 double-murder case, was mistakenly released in February 2012. According to the department, state officials discovered the mistake last Monday. 
The mistake comes as prison officials comb through 25,000 inmate files going back to 2006 after a series of early releases were discovered.

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