Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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A Portales man accused of fighting roosters in Texas says police got it wrong — he was at a private “poultry show.” Kenny Grubbs faces felony charges of cockfighting following his arrest on July 28. That’s when law officers raided a house north of Levelland, Texas, where 45 individuals were detained in the midst of what police said was a rooster fighting match with gambling and illegal drug use. Police said they found a ring, bird cages, more than 100 birds — five of which were deceased — and blades for the rooster’s l...
CLOVIS — Clovis Community College accepted a financier Wednesday for their energy conservation project as they wind down to the final steps of preparation. Brad Angst, Vice President of George K. Baum investment firm, and Tom Drake, vice president of administration at CCC, presented the options to the board before landing on BBVA Compass. The energy conservation project will focus on upgrading hardware such as air conditioning and ventilation for savings in the long run. Angst said the school will then use the savings to p...
A Portales man is accused of running a cockfighting ring north of Levelland, Texas, after a multi-departmental investigation over several weeks. A property on the 100 block of America Road in Levelland was searched Friday by Hockley County-area law officers, according to a press release from the Hockley County Sheriff’s office. “When officers arrived at the location, the alleged illegal activities were ongoing,” the release said. Hockley County Sheriff Ray Scifres said law officers were tipped off in mid-July and immed...
With the start of school comes homework and early mornings, but also one of the most anticipated shopping weekends of the year — Tax Free Weekend. The event allows families to buy back-to-school items without the tax, including computers, clothes and supplies. Tax Free Weekend is Friday through Sunday in New Mexico and Aug. 11-13 in Texas. In New Mexico, customers may buy clothing up to $100 without tax, school supplies up to $30 and computers up to $1,000. In Texas, customers may get clothing, supplies and backpacks all u...
CLOVIS — Local nonprofits are making it big with bingo games and pull tab machines at Red Arrow Bingo Hall, according to local leaders. Steve Reshetar, Matt 25 executive director, said his organization has made more than $100,000 from weekend bingo games in the past year. “There have been a few people who have felt like (a religious organization and gambling) is a conflict of interest but our board decided that it is in the best interest of the organization,” Reshetar said. Matt 25 is not the only organization benef...
CLOVIS — A civil complaint has been filed against Clovis Christian School, its superintendent and a former track coach alleging sexual abuse of a teenage student-athlete. The complaint, filed Wednesday afternoon in the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo, seeks punitive damages in excess of $25,000 for counts of alleged battery, sexual batteries and intentional infliction of emotional distress. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with the allegations. T...
CLOVIS — Local panhandlers are not treated like a problem, according to stationary panhandlers and law enforcement. Local panhandler Robert Smith said he has been passively panhandling in Clovis for over six months. He said the people here are some of the nicest he has panhandled to. "Sometimes I get offered jobs, cleaning people's garages and stuff. The people here are really nice," he said. Smith said he is never chased away from his spot on North Prince by business or law e...
The Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority swore in new members Tuesday and narrowly elected Clovis Mayor David Lansford as its new chair. Lansford was elected 4-3 in the meeting at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library. Portales Mayor Sharon King was elected as the vice chairman, while Curry County Commissioner Robert Thornton was elected secretary. Thornton was among two of the new members along with Clovis City Commissioner Ladona Clayton. Veteran member a...
CLOVIS — The legend rolls on. But Clovis police aren’t quite sure where it went. A Harley-Davidson motorcycle displayed at Clovis’ North Plains Mall was stolen about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. Police said a man and woman took the bike away on a dolly without anyone asking any questions. “It is not abnormal for vendors to change out their products but they usually alert security when they do that sort of thing,” Clovis Police Capt. Roman Romero said on Monday afternoon. “Nothing of that sort was done.” While Romero theorized the...
CLOVIS - Stagnant water - a result of sprinklers broken for several weeks - led to cholera in the pond at Hillcrest Park, city officials said on Thursday. The pond has been drained to remove the cholera after it was discovered Monday. Gevion Lewis, 12, was critically injured while swimming in the pond with friends on July 4. City officials on Monday told rescue workers who pulled the boy from the pond that they needed to seek medical attention because of the cholera. The Cente...
CLOVIS - The Curry County Detention Center's population has risen 20 percent since the implementation of new bond procedures, officials said Tuesday. CCDC Administrator Mark Gallegos, the usual inmate average for the detention center is 220 per day. But on Monday, logs showed the inmate count was at 265. Gallegos said it's attributed to procedures intended to decrease jail populations. "Usually, the majority of people would bail out immediately," Gallegos said. "What we are...
PORTALES - With the temperature staying consistently over 90 degrees this summer, the heat is here and it is not going anywhere. But there are several ways to beat the heat. Here are some of those stories: If it is a water activity, Allison Ciancio will be using it to cool down this summer. Ciancio said her preferred activity is swimming but she has also been taking cold showers and playing in her front lawn with a hose. "Those things are fun and keep me cold," she said. She...
TEXICO - Trucks and their drivers will have a new welcome-to-New-Mexico location in five months, if all goes as planned for the new Port of Entry. The port's building, about a mile west of Texico, is the state's former visitor's center, which closed in September 2014. The project is expected to cost $2 million, which was awarded to Curry County by Gov. Susana Martinez in capital outlay. Foreman Kenneth Truelock said the project began construction in mid-June and should be...
CLOVIS - Firefighters and police officers pulled a 12-year old boy from the bottom of Hillcrest Park pond on Tuesday afternoon, but it wasn't known early Wednesday if their heroics will save the child's life. The child, along with friends, had been swimming in the lake when a bystander called rescue workers to report one of the boys had disappeared under the water. Firefighters from the station a few hundred feet away arrived four minutes after receiving the call, Clovis Fire...
CLOVIS - Amanda Romero arrived home from the "Smoke on the Water" fireworks show Tuesday night to find a more frightening show - flames 15 feet tall coming from her garage. The fire consumed Romero's garage around 9:20 p.m., but left her home largely undamaged. "I usually park my car in there but, for whatever reason, I had parked it on the street so there was no damage to my car," she said. Clovis Fire Chief Mike Nolen said investigators are speculating fireworks were...
Although larger cities nationwide have recently been approaching opioid addiction as a disease rather than a crime in an approach called “do no harm,” rural areas such as Clovis and Portales take a different stance to opioid use. The new initiative invites drug users to admit their problem to police officers in order to be led to assistance. Clovis Police Department Captain Roman Romero said the new approach to opioids is “interesting” but not necessarily viable. “Having people come forward to admit their problem is genera...
A local Facebook page promoting the painting, hiding and finding of rocks recently hit 7,600 users from all across the nation. Jill Foster McCall of Olton, Texas, one of three sisters who started the Tex New Mex Rocks page, said she got the idea from a nationwide craze. “We add tons of people every day from all over. We have members from other states, and we had a rock posted from Belize and the Bahamas,” said McCall. She said she visited her sister, who lives in Ohio, and saw that they had a page for this rock-sharing hob...
CLOVIS — Plateau lost connection with an estimated 100 customers on Monday after a contractor clipped its fiberoptic line on Mabry Drive, officials said. The contractor, Republic Telecom, is not associated with Plateau but was being contracted by ADP to install a different fiberoptic line. "This is pretty much the worst place they could have clipped it for us. This is a challenging area," said Vince Tyson, chief operations officer with Plateau. Tyson said repairs are d...
CLOVIS — A California-bound train engine burst into flames Monday just west of Cannon Air Force Base. The incident happened about 9:40 a.m., but the fire was out of sight by the time firefighters arrived, said Clovis Fire Department Battalion Chief Joel Gershon. "It was smoking when we arrived and we didn't find the fire until we opened the cabinets," Gershon said. Train personnel were evacuated without injury, officials said. Gershon said about 100 gallons of water was u...
The High Plains saw welcome rain on Sunday night, but high winds also brought down multiple trees and kept cleanup crews busy throughout Monday. A Muleshoe elementary school was among the hardest hit. "We had three trees that were uprooted and two trees that were split in two, more than likely from lightning," said Sam Whalin, Muleshoe Independent School District's facilities director. Mary De Shazo Elementary also saw damage to a roof and gas line because of high winds....
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University is reporting an unusually large loss of faculty in the past semester due to the New Mexico economy and lack of commitment to a small town. Retiring President Steven Gamble said the university lost 12 faculty members this past semester, a number higher than he is used to seeing. “We always have some that leave but this is by far the most I have seen in my 16 years,” Gamble said. He said the primary issue is compensation. ENMU’s budget was recently cut $3.9 million, which is prevent...
CLOVIS — The Plateau Custom Classic slow-pitch softball tournament has brought hundreds of players and their supporters to Clovis this weekend, with games through today. Some are serious about winning, many are just here to have fun. They all have a story. Here are a few: Signs show love of game Sign language is an integral part of sports strategy. The secret communications among teams can win games - or lose them if a sign is missed. John Markowski knows a lot about that t...
CLOVIS — Sorry. They're mostly sold out. Sorry, that is, if you're looking for a hotel room in Clovis this weekend. "This weekend is looking amazing and we're excited," said Abbie Virgil, director of sales for the Fairfield Inn by Marriott. Fairfield Inn is one of a dozen city hotels considering themselves sold out for a weekend that brings music fans, softball players and car enthusiasts to town. More than 350 rooms have been rented, hotel managers said. Clovis is hosting t...
CLOVIS — The annual Clovis Music Festival always attracts Buddy Holly fans. This year, the fans started coming in earlier than usual. Larry Adamson, of Franklin, Tennessee, was in Clovis last week, part of his three-week Holly-themed tour of the United States. Adamson's love for the rocker was born when he saw Holly perform in 1958. "We saw him get out of his car in a T-shirt and jeans and just thought to ourselves, 'this guy isn't cool,'" Adamson said about the first time h...
The United Way of Eastern New Mexico is trying to collect 20,000 diapers for Roosevelt and Curry County this month as part of its third annual diaper drive. UWENM Executive Director Erinn Burch said the program started because of high poverty rates among children in the surrounding counties. "It's really hard when a family is dealing with rent, groceries, getting formula and other baby supplies and are on a limited income. Diapers can be a big chunk of those expenditures,"...
