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FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009142 YEARS, STILL ON THE JOB PUEBLO, COLORADOVOL. 142 ■ NO. 68 ■ 50¢

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Congress OKs $2B refill of ‘cash for clunkers’By DAVID ESPOTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS________________________________________

WASHINGTON —Pedal to the metal, Con-gress sent PresidentBarack Obama legislationThursday night with anadditional $2 billion for

‘ ‘ c a s h f o rc l u n k e r s , ’ ’t h e e c o -n o m y -boosting re-bate program that caughtthe fancy of car buyersand instantly increasedsales for an auto industry

long mired in recession.The Senate approved

the money on a 60-37vote after administrationofficials said an initial $1billion had run out inonly 10 days. The Housevoted last week to keepalive the program, which

gives consumers up to$4,500 in federal subsi-dies if they trade in theircars for new, moreenergy-efficient models.

Without action, law-makers risked a wave ofvoter discontent as theyleft the Capitol for a

monthlong vacation.‘‘Cash for clunkers has

been a proven success,’’Obama said in a writtenstatement issued shortlyafter the vote. ‘‘The initialtransactions are gen-_________________________________________

SEE CLUNKERS, 3A

________________

RELATED STORY,PAGE 1B________________

Postal Serviceseeks endto Saturdaymail deliveryBy CARRIE WELLSMcCLATCHY-TRIBUNE_____________________________________________

WASHINGTON — U.S.Postal Service plans to cutbillions of dollars in losses,would like to end regularSaturday mail delivery andreduce health benefits to re-tired postal workers, officialsw a r n e d C o n g r e s s o nThursday.

The Postal Service lost$2.4 billion in the last quarterand estimates it will lose $7billion this fiscal year.

‘‘Our situation is moretenuous than ever,’’ Postmas-ter General John E. Pottertold a hearing of the SenateHomeland Security and Gov-ernmental Affairs Federal Fi-n a n c i a l M a n a g e m e n tSubcommittee.

As a result, he suggestedcutting Saturday service, ex-plaining, ‘‘It is the lowest-volume delivery day, butwith the same level of fixedcosts as other delivery days.’’What’s more, he said, ‘‘Mostbusiness and professional of-fices are open Mondaythrough Friday, with manyclosed on Saturday.’’

The Postal Service, whichhas been battered by the re-cession and a loss of custom-ers to the Internet, faces a$700 million cash shortfall bythe end of the fiscal year,Sept. 30. On the same day, apayment of up to $5.8 billionfor retirees’ health benefitscomes due.

Congress is consideringlegislation that would delaythe health benefits payment.

‘‘If the legislation is notpassed, we will not make thepayment,’’ Potter said.

Killing Saturday deliverywould save the agency $3 bil-lion a year, he said. Six-day-a-week delivery was mandat-ed in the Postal Account-ability and Enhancement Actof 2006, however, and endingSaturday delivery would becontroversial.

Senators vowed to helpthe 234-year-old institution,but some said they opposedSaturday cuts.

‘‘Is this really the right re-sponse to this crisis?’’ askedSen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.‘‘The Postal Service cannotexpect to gain more businessif it is reducing service.’’

AP PHOTO/MARY ALTAFFER

Supreme Court Justice designate Sonia Sotomayor waves as she leavesManhattan Federal Court in New York on Thursday.

Sotomayor wins confirmation__________________________________________________

Senate vote is 68-31 withunanimous support fromDemocrats.__________________________________________________

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVISTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS___________________________________________________

WASHINGTON — Sonia So-tomayor won confirmationThursday as the nation’s firstHispanic Supreme Court justice,a history-making Senate votethat capped a summer-long de-bate heavy with ethnic politicsand hints of high court fights tocome.

The third woman in court his-tory, she’ll be sworn in Saturdayas the 111th justice and the firstnominated by a Democrat in 15years.

The Senate vote was 68-31 toconfirm Sotomayor, PresidentBarack Obama’s first SupremeCourt nominee, with Democrats

unanimously behind her butmost Republicans lining up in ashow of opposition both for herand for the president’s standardsfor a justice.

The 55-year-old daughter ofPuerto Rican parents was raised

in a South Bronx housing projectand educated in the Ivy Leaguebefore rising to the highest legalechelons, spending the past 17years as a federal judge. ___________________________________________________

SEE SOTOMAYOR, 3A

CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/JOHN JAQUES

Erna Schulzkump, a resident at the Trinidad State Nursing Home, is surrounded by her daughter, Carol Ortega, and her son-in-law, Steve Ortega, after shewas named the 2009 Colorado State Fair Silver Queen.

Trinidad woman is Silver Queen_______________________________________

An avid crocheter,Erna Schulzkumpsays to think of thefuture._______________________________________

By JAMES AMOSTHE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN________________________________________

Busy, thoughtful and — as of Thursday — veryhumbled, Erna Schulz-kump was named the2009 Silver Queen.

T h e 9 2 - y e a r - o l d

resident of the TrinidadState Nursing Home saidshe’s never been nominat-ed for the contest before.

But as she sat Thurs-day afternoon, robed insilver and with a crownand bouquet of roses,Schulzkump said she wasdeeply moved.

“I’m so honored,” shesaid. “I’ve very surprisedand very honored.”

This was the 35th yearfor the contest, which isan early part of the Colo-rado State Fair.

The first runner-upwas Mavis Kerr, 95, of theArkansas Valley Regional

Medical Center NursingCare Center in La Junta.

The second runner-upwas Lucy Grant, 93, of theWestwind Campus ofCare facility in Pueblo.

A tie for the thirdrunner-up position wasshared by Billie Carter,90, of the Chateau atSharmar Village in Pueb-lo, and Annemarie Keller,96, of the Belmont Lodgein Pueblo.

Schulzkump was oneof 14 nominees vying forthe crown. They werejudged on appearance, in-terview, talent, personali-ty and other t ra i t s

Thursday morning.Schulzkump’s talent is

crocheting and othercrafts. She said sheshowed an afghan, table-cloth, baby blanket andheavy sweater that shehad crocheted. She alsobrought some of her nee-dlepoint and embroiderywork to show what shecan do with her hands.

Crochet hasn’t been alifelong pastime for theNebraska native. She saidshe learned how 20 yearsago by reading a book andteaching herself.

“They showed how itcould be done and I

followed it,” she said.The large number of

crochet and other needle-arts projects are gifts forher family, she said. Shehas two daughters, threegrandchildren and sixgreat-grandchildren.

Schulzkump said shetruly loves living at theTrinidad nursing home.

And she offered advicefor others.

“Think of the futureand forget the past,” shesaid with a smile. “And Ihave a lot of faith in thedear Lord.” jamos@chieftain.com

Pueblo Hispanicsapplaud confirmation

By PETER ROPERTHE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN___________________________________________________

When he joined in voting toconfirm Sonia Sotomayor as ajustice for the Supreme Court,New Jersey Sen. Robert Menen-dez told his Senate colleaguesthat “an anxious Hispanic com-munity” was watching the histor-ic decision Thursday.

Menendez seemed to be de-scribing the Pueblo Hispaniccommunity as well, according toreactions gathered Thursday.

Chief District Judge DennisMaes, who has been a lawyer andjudge for 37 years, called Soto-m a y o r ’ s c o n f i r m a t i o n“monumental.”

“For those of us who have

DennisMaes

CarlaBarela

AlGurule

JoyceVigil

___________________________________________________

SEE PUEBLO, 3A