Southwest Senior Spotlight

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Seniors still spiking in volleyball. Southwest Senior’s February Athletes of the Month

Readers can nominate others to be our Southwest Senior athlete of the month by e-mailing contact information to swsenior@comcast.net
by Roger McCandless, Southwest Senior

It’s not your Sunday school picnic volleyball.

Every Tuesday morning, anywhere from twelve to twenty athletes assemble at the Meerscheidt Recreation Center on Hadley Street for a few spirited games of volleyball. These are not your typical athletes, nor is it your typical game of volleyball.

The evolution of volleyball from a rainy-day activity in elementary school to a world-wide Olympic power sport is apparent here. Tough serves, powerful spikes, brilliant defensive digs… they’re all here. But these guys are all over 50 years of age!

The ability levels vary greatly, mostly due to experience. A former head coach of the Oakland Raiders once told me that volleyball is the most difficult eye-hand coordination sport every devised. That’s quite an admission for a football guy!

All seniors are welcome. Beginners may find the game pretty challenging, but should try to learn rules and techniques quickly for the enjoyment of all concerned.

The object for the receiving team remains much as it has for years. Pass-set-spike.

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Local Headlines

Crime Stoppers seeks help solving 1979 slaying of NMSU student
Sun-News report

LAS CRUCES — Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is seeking help in solving a 1979 case that involved the slaying of a New Mexico State University student.

On Oct. 4, 1979, 39-year-old Ann Billings was found murdered in her apartment at 505 W. Griggs Ave. in Las Cruces. Billings had recently moved from Silver City to Las Cruces and was attending classes that fall semester at NMSU, according to the Las Cruces Police Department.

Billings was last seen alive, by her parents, around 8:15 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 1, 1979. Billings then failed to attend her 9:30 a.m. class the same day.

Her body was discovered several days later with a fatal stab wound to her torso.

The killer was never found, but Las Cruces police believe the homicide is now solvable because of the amount of evidence recovered at the scene and recent advances in forensic science.

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New Mexico Headlines

Udall challenges Pearce to three televised debates
Associated Press Writer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Democratic Senate candidate Tom Udall has challenged Republican opponent Steve Pearce to three televised debates to be held after Labor Day.

Tuesday's challenge comes days after a Pearce spokesman charged that Udall "put his foot down" to a debate proposed by the New Mexico Farm Bureau on July 26.

In a letter to Pearce's campaign that was released to the media, Udall's campaign manager Amanda Cooper wrote, "... New Mexicans deserve to see the candidates side by side, engaging in a vigorous exchange of ideas with each other."

Cooper also wrote that the debates should be coordinated to reach every corner of the state and consist of a variety of formats to allow the most interaction with voters.

The Pearce campaign agreed that "at least three debates" be made available to all media in New Mexico "in a format that provides the widest discussion of ideas," Pearce campaign manager John Billingsley wrote to Cooper.

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National Headlines

Obama campaign unveils Spanish-language radio ad
Crucesnews.com

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is out today with his first Spanish-language radio ad, a personal look at his life in which he aims to relate to Hispanic voters.

“Some people have power and connections. But most of us have to make our own way through life. This is true even for the man who could become the next president, Barack Obama,” the ad’s narrator says in Spanish. “He grew up without a father -- raised by his mother with the support of his grandparents. Through student loans and hard work, he graduated from college.”

“Obama never forgot his roots. He worked with churches to help families get job training and after-school care for their children. In the state Senate, he passed a law that helped reduce the welfare roles by over 80 percent by helping families to secure jobs,” the narrator states. “And despite the political pressure, Obama has stood with us for immigration reform and spoke out for our veterans.”

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Health Headlines

Cancer center director warns of cell phone risks
Memo based on early, unpublished data; other studies show no danger
The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer.

The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that don’t find a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Herberman is basing his alarm on early unpublished data. He says it takes too long to get answers from science and he believes people should take action now — especially when it comes to children.

“Really at the heart of my concern is that we shouldn’t wait for a definitive study to come out, but err on the side of being safe rather than sorry later,” Herberman said.

No other major academic cancer research institutions have sounded such an alarm about cell phone use. But Herberman’s advice is sure to raise concern among many cell phone users and especially parents.

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