Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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On this date ... 1939: John Sparks, the son of Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Sparks, had learned a valuable lesson about riding his bike alongside a car. The boy was riding to the Portales swimming pool alongside a car driven by his friend Billie Kenyon when the bicycle “dumped him underneath the car,” according to the Portales Daily News. “His arm was run over,” the paper reported. Fortunately, both boys were Boy Scouts and they used their first-aid skills to stop the flow of blood from John’s arm. He was rushed to the Portales hospital...
Two area teams begin defense of state titles this week when the 2024 season kicks off on Friday night. Melrose in 8-man and Texico in Class 2A open with intriguing matchups, the Buffaloes playing defending Colorado 8-man runnerup Haxtun in a 6 p.m. kickoff at Colorado State-Pueblo. Meantime, Texico will be at home to face longtime rival Santa Rosa in a 7 p.m. start. For Melrose, it’s the first of two consecutive outings against Colorado finalists. The Buffs take on defending champion Mancos in a 4 p.m. start on August 30 a...
It's a new year for the Portales High football team. Last season, the Rams fell one game short of their ultimate goal, losing in the Class 4A state finals to then-District 4-4A rival Lovington. This year brings a mostly new district and a quite different schedule. "Every team has its own identity," said Rams coach Jaime Ramirez, entering his 13th campaign at the helm. "We have some returning guys from last year's team who are super-hungry. They're trying to work at their...
Clovis High’s cross country team is set to open the season on Friday when the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats host the Clovis Invitational at Ned Houk Park. The varsity boys race is slated to begin at 3:30 p.m., followed by the varsity girls and middle school and junior varsity events. Fourth-year CHS coach Liz Ledezma said she expected to see around 10 schools for the meet. Ledezma said her squads return a lot of experience from last season. The Lady Cats were eighth in the 15-team Class 5A state meet, led by senior Gabi Foggie (...
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and his fellow Democrats ratified ample changes during the two years they’ve had control of the Minnesota Legislature -- from expansions of abortion and LGBTQIA+ rights to tax credits and other forward initiatives aimed at making life easier for families. Walz has been an activist governor of Minnesota with a strong progressive agenda. And I’d like to focus on one key element of that agenda: requiring public and charter sch...
Jake, a highly intelligent fourth-grader with autism, changed my perspective on teaching. Jake was interested in math and science but found it very hard to engage in reading and social studies. When it came time for my annual Market Day project, in which students design a product to sell, advertise it, and then make and sell it, all within a budget, Jake refused to participate. I was at a loss. At the time, I was a teacher ambassador for the New Mexico Public Education...
Clovis High's girls will try to keep their streak going of reaching Class 5A state competition, while the boys are looking for the first trip to state since reaching the semifinals in 2018. The CHS boys open the 2024 campaign on Monday, hosting Roswell Goddard in a 6:30 p.m. kickoff at Leon Williams Stadium, then travel to Albuquerque for a 6 p.m. tilt on Thursday against Hope Christian. Meantime, the Lady Wildcats are slated to face Centennial on Friday in a 4 p.m....
On this date ... 1905: A post office was established at Tolar in Roosevelt County. It closed April 5, 1946, according to a study by L. Keith Payne, less than two years after a train carrying 46 tons of military explosives leveled or caused major damage to nearly every building in town when it blew up. 1916: Portales was preparing for its annual city picnic, with 2,000 people expected to attend. The Clovis Ladies’ Band was scheduled to kick things off with music at 10 a.m., followed by a few short speeches and then more m...
PARIS - The 2024 Olympics worked at a time when the Olympic movement needed them to work. They were safe. They were accessible. The backdrops were spectacular. Fencing inside the Grand Palais. Equestrian at Versailles. Skateboarding next to the Luxor Obelisk. Beach volleyball beneath the Eiffel Tower. "My first couple matches, stepping onto the court with 12,000 people cheering, it was just an incredible atmosphere," said Chase Budinger, the La Costa Canyon, Calif., High Schoo...
Portales High’s soccer boys are looking to turn the corner this season while the girls are also looking to improve with a new coaching staff. Both teams open the new season at home, with the Lady Rams welcoming Las Vegas Robertson for a 3 p.m. encounter on Wednesday and both squads hosting Ruidoso at 11 a.m. (girls) and 1 p.m. (boys) on Saturday at Greyhound Stadium. Girls – Laci Lozoya, who played at Eastern New Mexico University, is taking over for David Sweet and will be assisted by PHS alum Zoe Roy. The Lady Rams (4-...
Clovis and Portales High's football teams had home scrimmages last week in preparation for Friday night's regular-season openers. The Wildcats entertained Lovington on Thursday night at Leon Williams Stadium. On Friday night, the Rams hosted a four-team get-together with Las Vegas Robertson, Lubbock Trinity Christian and New Mexico Military at the PHS practice facility which was cut short by lightning. This week, CHS opens with a cross-state trip to Farmington while the Rams...
Entering her second season at the helm, Portales High volleyball coach Bailey Greenwalt knows her squad has its work cut out as usual in District 4-4A. Still, she hopes her team’s returning experience bodes well against the likes of 2023 state semifinalists Artesia and Roswell Goddard. “We have more experience than we’ve had in the past,” said Greenwalt, a PHS alum. “Almost all (the main players) have played varsity before. “We’re still in our tough district. We have lots to prove, but the girls are really motivated.” T...
When we studied the Declaration of Independence in grade school -- we didn’t call it elementary school then -- the one concept from the preamble we had to memorize above all else was: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” I sometimes wonder what percentage of high school graduates could quote that line....
New Mexico has its own unique culture and lifestyle, but I’m not sure all New Mexicans see it. This state is influenced heavily by its neighbors — Texas, Colorado, Arizona and Mexico. We are clearly impacted and even inspired by these next-door neighbors, in both good and bad ways. Take “chile” and “chili” as an example. I’d wager that residents of the Rio Grande Corridor refer to our beloved “chile” far more than they do on the east side of the state, where Texas infiltrates our state with beef-and-bean-bas...
SANTA FE — Amid a dispute with lawmakers over high crime rates, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration is contesting the findings of a legislative report about unspent public safety appropriations. After a legislative report found about 56% of the roughly $424 million appropriated over the past five years for public safety initiatives had been spent, a state budget agency conducted its own review. Its analysis concluded about 72% of such one-time funding has been spent or is in the process of being spent. Wayne P...
On this date ... 1941: A Wichita Falls teenager was charged with killing two traveling companions and placing their bodies on the train tracks four miles south of Clovis. Officials at first believed J.V. Harden and Arthur William Hall had fallen from the tracks and been run over by the train. Charles Alexander then told authorities that the dead men had been traveling with him and Jess Fuller, but went ahead without them when Alexander and Fuller decided to rest for the night. Alexander, 15, theorized the dead men had...
Editor's note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local officials and community leaders. Lucio Marin is helping coordinate a celebration of the Lincoln Jackson school's 100th birthday later this month. Q: Tell us about Celebration and Closure: A Century of Excellence. A: To commemorate this momentous occasion, we have planned a celebration to take place at iAcademy (the current name for Lincoln Jackson) on Aug. 31 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please come out and...
Clovis Police Chief Roy Rice is facing harsh criticism for his handling of criminal allegations against a former cop. From here, it looks like Rice is not the only one to blame for justice delayed. The trouble began in February 2023 when a burglary suspect told Clovis police investigators she “knew some information about a cop who was providing her with information and drugs,” court records show. Eighteen months later, that Clovis police officer, Frank Careri, was arrested on charges that include drug trafficking and acc...
Violence and horror continue to haunt Black Americans. Most Americans are likely to be aware of the horrific death of Sonya Massey at the hands of a sadistic police officer. Massey, a 36-year-old Illinois mother, had called 911 because she believed an intruder had entered her home. Two Sangamon County deputies arrived, and one of them, Sean Grayson, began spewing a tirade of profanity-laced threats during an argument over a pot of boiling water she was holding. Grayson shot...
A former Clovis police officer charged with drug trafficking and as an accessory to residential burglary turned himself in to authorities on Friday. Frank Careri, 34, under criminal investigation since February 2023, was charged July 26. Since he was out of state at the time, prosecutors gave him until Friday to turn himself in. Court records show Careri was booked into the Curry County Detention Center and released on a personal recognizance bond. Careri waived his... Full story
On this date ... 1941: Clovis was about to become the “most important cold storage point” in New Mexico, according to Railways Ice Co., which was constructing cold-storage lockers. Facilities under construction in Clovis would ultimately contain storage for 55 carloads of produce, including butter, eggs, poultry and fresh vegetables, the Clovis News-Journal reported. Nearest comparable cold-storage facilities were in Oklahoma, Denver and El Paso, officials said. 1942: Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing, was hon...
Editor's note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local officials. Quentin Ray is district attorney for Curry and Roosevelt counties. Q: Two high-profile crimes have been committed in Clovis over the past year and outside prosecutors have become involved in both. Tell us what you know about the status of the prosecution of the Walmart fire suspect and the man accused of killing two women, shooting a child and kidnapping a baby at Ned Houk Park. A: Both...
Nobody has ever accused me of being some sort of cockeyed optimist. Any rose tint that may have once colored my spectacles has faded due to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. I’m a kind of a hope-for-the-best, plan-for-the-worst kind of guy. On the other hand, every morning when I wake up and pour a cup of coffee in me to get my heart started, I feel blessed. In casting a jaundiced eye over the current world situation, it seems to me that we are neck deep in a p...
Editor's note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local officials. Toni Whitecotton is the Roosevelt County Fair secretary. Q: Let's talk county fair dates. When does the fair start/end, when are deadlines for submitting entries and how does one go about entering crafts, critters, etc.? A: The Roosevelt County Fair dates are set for Aug. 20-25. Livestock entries were closed on July 26, but there is still time to enter for team roping, which is Aug. 21. You...
On this date ... 1940: More than 6,000 New Mexico farms were being serviced with electricity. “This means that nearly 15% of the farms of the state or about one farm out of seven is now receiving high-line service,” a New Mexico Extension Service spokesman said. 1941: Farmers Electric Cooperative announced plans to string 35 miles of power lines over the next year. “All the new wire will be laid in territory immediately around this area and will be designed to fill up the gaps in the existing coverage,” said project Superin...
