The attorney for Larry Kenneth Harris waived the right to a preliminary hearing in order to concentrate on a motion for reduction of bond from $500,000 cash only bond for his client, Wednesday. Harris, 48, is charged with the Jan. 12, 2000, killing of John Bugarin.

Magistrate Court Judge Eugene M. De Los Santos accepted the motion to waive the preliminary hearing. While he upheld the request for a reduction from $500,000 cash only to a $500,000 cash assurity, he denied the request for any further reductions.

Retirement plans for Roswell’s city manager may be hampered by a City Council unwilling to let him leave, officials said Wednesday.

The question of whether John Capps should leave City Hall for good beginning Sept. 1, without a known replacement, came up during a Finance Committee meeting Wednesday morning. The committee went into closed session to discuss personnel matters after its chairman, Councilor Steve Henderson, said city staff want to “work out some kind of extension.”

Delinquents beware. The Roswell Public Library is preparing to administer a new method of tracking down its outstanding debtors.

Beginning in September, library officials say they will use an Indiana-based collection agency that works exclusively with libraries to try and recoup some of its outstanding debts. The new contract with Unique Management Services Inc. will begin the first Monday after Labor Day as a 90-day free trial.

A Roswell man was arrested and charged with two sexual offenses, Tuesday, after a family member accused him of forcing himself on her.

Steven Aguilar, 58, is charged with criminal sexual penetration, a third-degree felony, and criminal sexual contact, a misdemeanor.

After the county’s Planning and Zoning director received 14 applications for solar panels in a single day, he knew the issue merited some discussion.

“Is this the tip of the iceberg, or is this just a case of getting in applications by the deadline? This has been two-thirds of my job the last week and a half,”said Marlin Johnson, the county’s P&Z director.

Mariachi music filled the air Tuesday night as a tuneful non-profit organization dedicated its new recording studio.

“The studio brings two issues. It teaches our kids how they sound and how they record, and it will get them into engineering. It’s also a source of funding for our school,” said Bobby Villegas, a founding member of S.O.Y. Mariachi Inc., a non-profit that teaches kids how to play Mariachi music and then deposits the money the group earns performing — $350 per hour — in college funds set aside for each child. 

Chief Rob Smith announced during a staff meeting, Monday, that he will be retiring from the Roswell Police Department. His last day is officially Aug. 31, but he will be departing Aug. 11 to take some vacation time he has accrued.

Smith began his 33-year career in law enforcement with the Provo (Utah) Police Department in July 1977. He stayed there for five years before becoming a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol.

The County Commissioners will vote whether to approve the 2010-2011 final budget in a special meeting, Thursday.

Total expenditures outlined in the interim budget are about $600,000, or .06 percent, up from last year’s, while revenues are down about 22 percent. According to County Manager Stanton Riggs, roughly 75 percent of the budget will go to three departments — roads, detention and sheriff. 

Roswell’s outgoing police chief is lobbying city and state officials, as well as members of the community, for support of a citywide curfew for minors.

Chief Rob Smith addressed members of the City Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee Monday night, regarding the possibility for an ordinance making it illegal for minors to be in public late at night and in the early hours of the morning, without the supervision of a parent or guardian. Smith, who on Monday announced his plans to retire from the Roswell Police Department, says a curfew would be an effective crime fighting tool.