Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Roosevelt County farmer William “Billy Joe” Watson’s fate was handed over to a jury late Monday. Watson is accused of hiring an Aryan Brotherhood gang member to kill local rancher Jimmie Bo Chunn. Attorneys finished final arguments earlier in the day and the jury had not reached a verdict by the end of the day. The jury will resume deliberations Tuesday. Watson is also charged with attempt to manufacture methamphetamine. Chunn was shot in his home July 4, 2005. Donald Taylor of Roosevelt County pled guilty last year to pulli... Full story
Roosevelt County farmer William “Billy Joe” Watson’s fate was handed over to a jury late Monday. Watson is accused of hiring an Aryan Brotherhood gang member to kill local rancher Jimmie Bo Chunn. Attorneys finished final arguments earlier in the day and the jury had not reached a verdict by the end of the day. The jury will resume deliberations Tuesday. Watson is also charged with attempt to manufacture methamphetamine. Chunn was shot in his home July 4, 2005. Donald Taylor of Roosevelt County pled guilty last year to pulli...
Freedom New Mexico: Argen Duncan Eastern New Mexico University students, from left, Jazmin Loya, Daniela Garcia, Aric Serrano and Rey Coss work Friday to plan the annual Cinco de Mayo banquet that honors graduating seniors. A national trend of growing Hispanic student populations hasn’t escaped eastern New Mexico’s institutions of higher learning. Clovis Community College and Eastern New Mexico University offer programs and services designed to appeal and retain their growing Hispanic student population. A recent nat... Full story
Roosevelt and Curry counties are ranked among the 10 healthiest in the state. The University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released the results of their nationwide study of counties’ health Wednesday. The study included factors such as individual behavior, quality of and access to health care, education, jobs and environment, according to a news release from the two organizations. Roosevelt and Curry counties ranked eighth and 10th respectively, with Los Alamos County com... Full story
Roosevelt and Curry counties are ranked among the 10 healthiest in the state. The University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released the results of their nationwide study of counties’ health Wednesday. The study included factors such as individual behavior, quality of and access to health care, education, jobs and environment, according to a news release from the two organizations. Roosevelt and Curry counties ranked eighth and 10th respectively, with Los Alamos County com...
Portales mayoral candidates expressed their views on youth activities, affordable housing, water and more during a forum Thursday night at the Memorial Building. Radio station 105.9 KSEL Country hosted the event. Members of the public submitted questions online and at the forum, and each candidate had 90 seconds to answer. On bringing in weekend youth activities: Candidate Dennis Lopez: The biggest barrier for bringing in activities for youth is money, and children also need things to do at times besides weekends. He...
The Roosevelt County Commission is taking the next step to having a more lenient county ordinance on dogs and cats running loose. Commissioners unanimously approved a notice Tuesday to modify the ordinance and set a public hearing for March 16. The changes would allow deputies to issue two warning citations to owners of pets running loose before charging them in Magistrate Court. The exception would be if the animal was endangering people or livestock, or damaging property. Deputies could cite the owner into court or destroy...
Portales saw drops in the number of reported cases of larceny, assault, motor vehicle theft and criminal damage, but an increase in burglary in 2009, according to information from the Portales Police Department. Police Chief Jeff Gill and Deputy Chief Lonnie Berry presented their annual report for 2009 at the Portales City Council meeting Tuesday night in City Hall. According to police department numbers, motor vehicle theft dropped 61.5 percent, criminal damage 29.1 percent and assault 11.5 percent in 2009 compared to 2008.... Full story
Roosevelt County could have more lenient rules on dogs and cats running loose if the county commission votes for changes in the relevant ordinance today. The commission meeting is set for 9 a.m. in the county courthouse. County Attorney Rick Queener said the county is considering changing a county ordinance to allow pet owners two warning citations for their dogs or cats running loose before they’re cited to appear in Magistrate Court. Owners currently do not receive warnings. “So we’re trying to be kinder and gentl... Full story
Portales students zoomed past the competition in a recent state aviation art poster contest. One James Elementary School student and four Portales Junior High School students scored among the top three places in their age categories at the state level of the 2010 International Aviation Art Contest earlier this year. They have advanced to the national level. In the state contest, 160 participants competed in three age divisions, PJHS art teacher Jon Birdsong said. The theme was “Flying with the Sun,” focusing on sol... Full story
Freedom New Mexico: Argen Duncan Western Dairy Transport LLC Chief Executive Officer David Shelton stands with his trucks at its new Portales location. With Greatwide Logistics Inc. trucking company also expanding in Portales, around 100 net new jobs are expected. Two trucking companies are bringing around 100 jobs to eastern New Mexico, a local economic development official said Friday. Greatwide Logistics Inc. is beginning to operate in Portales after winning a countywide milk-hauling contract with Dairy Farmers of...
Two trucking companies are bringing around 100 jobs to eastern New Mexico, a local economic development official said Friday. Greatwide Logistics Inc. is beginning to operate in Portales after winning a countywide milk-hauling contract with Dairy Farmers of America, according to a news release from Roosevelt County Community Development Corp. Executive Director Greg Fisher. The company has hired dozens of local employees and established contracts with local vendors. Also, in the release he said Western Dairy Transport LLC,...
The unemployment rate in Roosevelt County has almost doubled compared to a little more than a year ago, and officials are blaming hard times in the dairy business. Matt Barela, co-manager of the Curry County Workforce Connections office and spokesman for the Roosevelt County office, said Roosevelt County unemployment was 5.5 percent in December 2009, up from the normal rate of 2.8 percent in December 2008. “A lot of it had to do with the dairies and layoffs,” he said. Barela also said the approximately 75 employees laid off...
PORTALES —...
Eastern New Mexico University has a record spring enrollment this semester. The university has 4,359 students taking classes, an increase of 8.4 percent over last spring, according to a news release from ENMU. The enrollment is the second-highest of any semester in the school’s history. According to the release, only last fall had a bigger enrollment with 4,685 students. Also, student credit hours are 45,494, up 8.2 percent from last spring, according to the release. ENMU President Steven Gamble said it is unusual for s...
Altrusa, the New Mexico Christian Children’s Home, Portales Women’s Club, Habitat for Humanity, the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors — Portales volunteer Gaynelle Thomas has participated in them all, and Tuesday, she was recognized for it. Thomas was named Workhorse of the Year for her community service and Ambassador of the Year for her participation in the Ambassadors program at chamber of commerce’s annual banquet in the Eastern New Mexico University Campus Union Building. “I can’t imagine even why...
Courtesy photo: Cheryl Casey Patricia Romero, back, far right, daughter of Cannon Forces Support Squadron Marketing Director Yolanda Romero, played the title role in the play “Robin Hood” at the Joint Air Force and Navy Youth Conference in Dallas last week. The part with the Missoula Children's Theatre was her first lead role. A local girl has walked “a pathway to my dream” in the lead role in a play performed in front of 600 people. Patricia Romero, the 14-year-old daughter of Cannon Air Force Base Forces Sup...
Courtesy photo: Cheryl Casey Patricia Romero, back, far right, daughter of Cannon Forces Support Squadron Marketing Director Yolanda Romero, played the title role in the play “Robin Hood” at the Joint Air Force and Navy Youth Conference in Dallas last week. The part with the Missoula Children's Theatre was her first lead role. A local girl has walked “a pathway to my dream” in the lead role in a play performed in front of 600 people. Patricia Romero, the 14-year-old daughter of Cannon Air Force Base Forces Sup...
Opening arguments began Thursday in the slaying trial of Roosevelt County farmer William “Billy Joe” Watson. Watson is accused of hiring Aryan Brotherhood member Donald Taylor, a Rogers native, to kill Causey rancher Jimmy Bo Chunn, 71, in July 2005 in exchange for providing anhydrous ammonia for methamphetamine manufacture. Taylor has pleaded guilty to killing Chunn. Watson faces possible execution because his is a murder-for-hire case. Although Gov. Bill Richardson signed a repeal of the death penalty last March, a gra... Full story
The Roosevelt County Commission has declined to accept ownership of the Milnesand Community Center. Commissioners voted unanimously on the issue at their meeting Tuesday morning in the county courthouse. Members of the Milnesand community had asked the county to take ownership of the center so the county would pay for liability insurance. Now, the center has none. After the meeting, County Manager Charlene Hardin said other community centers in the county provide their own insurance and the Milnesand facility has its own...
Cowboy poet Baxter Black can’t stand spaghetti, but he greatly appreciates a rural, Western way of life for the values of its people. “That includes work ethic, independence, entrepreneurism, family, loyalty, patriotism,” he explained during a telephone interview Monday. “I could keep going and say belligerence, cantankerousness, etc. There’s a resiliency in them.” Even though people in agricultural production are trying to make a living, Black said, it’s not all about the money. “You’re in it because it’s there in you...
Cowboy poet Baxter Black can’t stand spaghetti, but he greatly appreciates a rural, Western way of life for the values of its people. “That includes work ethic, independence, entrepreneurism, family, loyalty, patriotism,” he explained during a telephone interview Monday. “I could keep going and say belligerence, cantankerousness, etc. There’s a resiliency in them.” Even though people in agricultural production are trying to make a living, Black said, it’s not all about the money. “You’re in it because it’s there in you... Full story
With icy roads and four to six inches of snow Thursday, police and emergency management personnel stepped in to deliver for Portales Meals on Wheels. Meals on Wheels chairwoman Fayrene Powers said she was concerned about the program’s drivers, many of whom are older adults, risking injury on the roads or snow-covered driveways and porches. She called the police department and reached Emergency Management Coordinator Keith Wattenbarger, who volunteered to make sure meals reached the approximately 16 intended recipients. “I thi...
Building community and dancing all night — people age 21 and older can do both at Late Nighter events at The Landing at Cannon Air Force Base. The dance is open to Cannon personnel and the surrounding community. It includes free snacks, alcohol and two disc jockeys playing at the same time, one with Hispanic music and one with hip-hop, club Manager Ted Watson said. Watson said the event aims to get airmen and civilians to socialize. “We want people to know what we do,” he said, adding organizers also want the base to...
Building community and dancing all night — people age 21 and older can do both at Late Nighter events at The Landing at Cannon Air Force Base. The dance is open to Cannon personnel and the surrounding community. It includes free snacks, alcohol and two disc jockeys playing at the same time, one with Hispanic music and one with hip-hop, club Manager Ted Watson said. Watson said the event aims to get airmen and civilians to socialize. “We want people to know what we do,” he said, adding organizers also want the base to...
