Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 759
Col. Mary Kay Hertog, The Air Combat Command’s Sexual Assault Assessment Team chief, right, will assess the sexual assault response program at Cannon Air Force Base. 27th Fighter Wing Vice Commander Col. Jeff Stambaugh is at left. Photo: Eric Kluth CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — A six-member Sexual Assault Assessment Team arrived Thursday afternoon at Cannon and will review the base’s programs designed to detect and prosecute sexual assault cases, as well as programs designed to help victims. “The message is pretty clear: We are...
Incumbent Mayor David Lansford sailed to an easy victory Tuesday night as Clovis voters returned him to office with the highest margin he’s received in three elections. Lansford won with 73 percent of votes cast over two competitors — Stephen Muscato with 15 percent and Raymond Atchley with 11 percent. Lansford won in every precinct of every ward. A check of city records showed he won by comfortable margins in his earlier races, but not so large — 55 percent in 2000 compared to opponents with 32 and 13 percent; and 54 perce...
Parmer County Sheriff: Reason for death remains a mystery. Parmer County Sheriff Randy Geries said he doesn’t know what he could have done differently to prevent the Feb. 22 hanging death of one of his jail inmates. Phillip Morris Griggs Jr., 22, of Bovina was found hanging that afternoon in a cell where he was housed alone. Geries said the death occurred sometime between routine cell checks at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. that day. “We have no earthly idea why he did this; we’ve found no motive,” Geries said. “We do everythin...
Samplings of recent calls received by Clovis-area law enforcement officers, according to reports: Police received two reports on Feb. 25 from the county health department regarding a 13-year-old girl in the juvenile detention center. The girl had a vaginal infection and reported an ongoing sexual relationship with two men, one 18 and the other 22. Officers reported they would treat the incidents as cases of criminal sexual penetration of a minor. • • • A Clovis school principal called police about 3 p.m. on Feb. 25 regar... Full story
Members of Cannon Air Force Base’s 27th Fighter Wing civil engineer squadron install an electrical circuit box while deployed in Kuwait last year. Courtesy Photo Civil engineers from Cannon Air Force Base racked up a long list of combat achievements during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Last month, they picked up a prestigious award for their efforts — the Curtin Award for small bases. Cannon had not won it in 15 years. “I think the major reason we won is we had a massive deployment of our military, did an outstanding job while...
Clovis resident LeRoy Chavez poses for a picture after his dog Brutus won Best of Show at a 2003 dog show. Reporter's Notebook LeRoy Chavez loves his Yorkshire Terriers. The retired Clovis resident travels all over the western United States showing his purebred Yorkies — most recently from Feb. 13 to 16 at the Rocky Mountain Cluster Dog Show in Denver. Nearly 4,000 dogs competed there, representing all 162 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club. Chavez showed “Brutus,” a golden and black-haired male who he said doesn... Full story
Judge Richard Knowles from Albuquerque said the 2nd Judicial District’s drug court program has a recidivism rate of less than 5 percent. The judicial district covering Curry and Roosevelt counties is one of only three in the state with no type of drug court for nonviolent offenders. Ninth Judicial District Judge Teddy Hartley would like to change that. Drug court is a program that imposes strict probation conditions and mandatory treatment and work programs on nonviolent drug and alcohol offenders. It also offers the o...
The Region V Drug Task Force arrested two people accused of drug trafficking last weekend, Sgt. Jay Longley said. The Clovis Police Department called task force officers to La Quinta Inn on Feb. 20 and arrested Terrance Jones, 21, on a charge of possession with intent to traffic a controlled substance. Jones was jailed in lieu of a $25,000 cash or surety bond, court records show. On Feb. 22, task force agents responded to the corner of 14th and Norris streets to assist the Clovis Police Department’s canine unit with a s...
Shortly after midnight Feb. 21, police responded to the 100 block of Fireball where a resident reported that door knockers were coming to her house. She also said it appeared someone had been trying to start a fire near her house and showed police a damaged satellite dish in her back yard. • • • A state alcohol agent requested assistance from Clovis police after stopping a 2000 Mitsubishi SUV for weaving about 9:15 p.m. Feb. 21 near the corner of Purdue and Mitchell. The 26-year-old male driver failed field sobriety tests...
When a missionary to the Islamic world told Pastor Rob Hollis of First Baptist Church of Texico that he’d be available to speak, the church jumped at the chance to offer a presentation on Islam to the community. On Sunday, David Witt of the Voice of the Martyrs organization, a ministry that a number of church members have supported for years, will lead seminars at 9 and 10:15 a.m. at the church. “Because we don’t know enough about the Muslim religion and the movement and the focus of Islam, and he is a... Full story
Children Youth and Families Division staff called police about 2:45 p.m. Feb. 17 regarding two possible incidents of criminal sexual penetration. A social worker reported that a 13-year-old Clovis girl came to the public health office regarding a vaginal infection. During the course of treatment, the girl said she had an ongoing sexual relationship with a 20-year-old Clovis man. The social worker also reported that a 15-year-old girl had told social workers she was going to marry a 52-year-old wheelchair-bound man who had...
Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” opened Wednesday in Clovis for a sellout crowd. Many churches are purchasing tickets for their parishioners to watch the movie as a group. CNJ staff photo: Eric Kluth. Painful. Violent. Graphic. So was described “The Passion of the Christ,” which opened at theaters around the country on Wednesday. Mel Gibson’s new film about Christ’s death played to sellout crowds at Clovis’ North Plains Cinema — emotional crowds that appreciated its realism. “It’s graphic,” said Pastor Rob Hollis...
Law officers responded about 2:30 a.m. Thursday to a crash involving a pickup and a train near Mabry Drive and Sugarbeet Road. Officers had some difficulty locating the wreck but eventually found a 1987 Ford F-150 whose front end had been hit by the train, deflating both front tires and causing other minor damage. The driver, a 21-year-old Clovis man, failed field sobriety tests and was arrested for driving while intoxicated; subsequent breath alcohol tests showed results of 0.16. The train engineer said he was operating the...
Two Clovis men face charges of open murder following their arrests Monday night in connection with the Jan. 4 shooting death of Carlos Murillo. Santiago Calbert, 19, and Christopher Meier, 20, were both arrested without incident at their residences, Clovis Police Det. Keith Bessette said. “We found out their addresses and picked them up (Monday) night around 9 p.m.,” Bessette said. “We have no motive yet. We have a scenario we are working with right now but we can’t yet release it.” Two other people connected with the shoot...
Clovis High School juniors Carlene Tucker, 16, left, and Jennifer Ulibarri, 17, throw snow at each other while clearing off their ride Tuesday in the high school parking lot. CNJ staff photo: Eric Kluth. Heavy snows Monday night and Tuesday shut down expressways and county roads, closed colleges early, dumped up to 6 inches of snow on local cities, and led to a number of crashes on area roads. While Clovis public schools remained open through the day, Clovis Community College closed at 3 p.m., Eastern New Mexico University...
Lt. Col. Pete Schaub, left, explains the Chemical Warfare Ensemble flight suit as 1st Lt. Kyle Wallace listens during an interview Friday at Cannon Air Force Base. CNJ staff photo: Eric Kluth CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — Eight air crew members with the 523rd Fighter Squadron have been getting strange looks recently on base. “People look at us and they don’t know what we are,” said Lt. Col. Pete Schaub, operational support systems commander with the squadron. What’s different about Schaub and the other seven is they’re wearing a s...
Shutting down Cannon Air Force Base would cost the state of New Mexico at least $122 million each year in value-added income, according to a new study by a research team at New Mexico State University — and that’s on top of $111 million in lost payroll from Cannon and $52 million in annual procurement spending to purchase items needed for the base. “I am an economist — we don’t usually spend a lot of time dealing with the public, but it’s interesting to see people’s interest in this,” said Christopher Erickson, a eco...
Shutting down Cannon Air Force Base would cost the state of New Mexico at least $122 million each year in value-added income, according to a new study by a research team at New Mexico State University — and that’s on top of $111 million in lost payroll from Cannon and $52 million in annual procurement spending to purchase items needed for the base. “I am an economist — we don’t usually spend a lot of time dealing with the public, but it’s interesting to see people’s interest in this,” said Christopher Erickson, an ec...
Glenice Jones of Clovis stands outside her house Friday in Clovis. Jones’ husband Walter and their son David are in the Army and their other son, Brian, is in the Army National Guard. Master Sgt. Walter Jones learned Friday he will become a grandfather the same way he’s learned about other events in recent weeks — during a telephone call to his wife in Clovis, Glenice Jones, placed from Fort Bliss in Texas. That’s the Army base from which he’s been getting ready to leave for Iraq. It turned out to be Jones’ last call home bef...
While local evangelical Christians have enthusiastically supported bringing Mel Gibson’s film on the death of Christ to Clovis, the film has ignited controversy nationally as some Jewish organizations objected to the film’s graphic images. Much of the Jewish criticism has focused on the history of “passion plays” — a genre of dramatic representations of the suffering and death of Jesus — that in medieval Europe often blamed Jews for Christ’s death. Susan Seligman, director of the New Mexico Anti-Defamation League in Alb... Full story
Thanks to a group of anonymous donors, Mel Gibson’s new film, “The Passion of the Christ,” will be coming to Clovis on the film’s Feb. 25 opening day, which is Ash Wednesday on the church calendar. According to the movie’s promotional material, the film is a graphic presentation of the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus, including bloody scenes of his trial and crucifixion. “The way that I understand it, it costs more to have a movie at its release date,” said Michael Covington, general manager of the Master’s Christian Books... Full story
While on patrol about 11 p.m. on Feb. 13 near the corner of 12th and Edwards streets, police noticed a male walking down 12th Street carrying a television set. The man claimed to be carrying the television set home from his girlfriend’s house and was sweating profusely despite the cold weather and appeared to be nervous. Officers asked the man for his driver’s license and noticed a shiny object in the man’s hand they later determined was an electric socket stuffed with cocaine. Police arrested him for possession of cocaine an...
Ninth Judicial District Attorney Brett Carter announced Friday that a Curry County grand jury has indicted Steve Robert Duran on murder charges in connection with the death of Ricardo Gallegos, 49, of Clovis. Carter said Duran shot and killed Gallegos on Jan. 13 during the commission of a robbery on Sunrise Street in Clovis, fled the scene, and was later arrested. An eyewitness and several Clovis police officers testified before the grand jury on Friday, which also indicted Duran on charges of armed robbery, possession of met... Full story
Tuesday’s special traffic enforcement operation at the corner of Prince and Commerce will bring many people into contact with a part of the court system that doesn’t always get much attention — the Clovis Municipal Court, served by Judge Jan Garrett. While police often write citations in a form that allows recipients to admit guilt by signing the ticket and mailing it in with a predetermined fine, Lt. Ron Hutchinson of the Clovis Police Department said that’s not the procedure they used Tuesday and most if not all of the peo...
Responding about 8 a.m. Feb. 13 to a burglary at the 500 block of Wallace, police spoke with a 17-year-old girl whose mother had reported her as a runaway. The girl said she had been living with her boyfriend for the last six months because her mother had thrown her out of the house, that she had actually been raised by her grandmother for the first 16 years of her life until custody reverted to her biological mother after her grandmother’s death, and that her mother had been fraudulently collecting Social Security checks o... Full story
