Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 798
CLOVIS — A panel of three district attorneys from other parts of the state are still reviewing the case of the Oct. 8 officer-involved deadly force incident in Clovis. Officials said last week there’s still no telling when they might make a decision on whether to press criminal charges against Officer Brent Aguilar or proceed differently. Rick Tedrow, district attorney for the 11th Judicial District’s first division, is the liaison for the New Mexico District Attorney’s Association panel system for evaluating conflic...
CLOVIS — A land purchase under consideration Thursday by the Clovis City Commission was tabled pending additional review by the city’s Economic Incentive Board for potential water issues. The recommended purchase of 633 acres west of Cannon Air Force Base carries a fiscal impact of $1.25 million, but would amount to “converting cash assets to tangible assets,” Clovis Mayor David Lansford explained during Thursday evening’s commission meeting. There could be additional revenues from leasing the property while also allowing...
CLOVIS — Let the sun shine: Clovis City commissioners on Thursday will consider purchasing more than 600 acres of land west of Cannon Air Force Base for the development of solar energy and other resources. The request for approval notes a fiscal impact of $1.25 million from the city’s Economic Development Tax Fund for the purchase of about 633 acres belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Sam Snell, according to documents released on the city website in advance of Thursday evening’s commission meeting. “The City has considered acquiring th...
CLOVIS — One thing at a time, then: discussions of adding a Denver route to flights from the Clovis Municipal Airport are on the back-burner for the time-being, officials told The News this week. “We’re still looking at possibly doing that,” said the airport’s manager. “A lot of our efforts and focus have been in getting the defense travel system set up for Cannon Air Force Base to be able to utilize Boutique.” Joshua Matekovic spoke of the recent plane upgrade for Boutique Airlines, which has since June 2014 served Clovis...
ALBUQUERQUE — Not so fast: the long-anticipated award of the state’s sixth racino license was tabled Thursday while the New Mexico Racing Commission addresses a lawsuit it received days earlier from one of the applicant groups. Hidalgo Downs, LLC and individuals affiliated with the proposal for Lordsburg disputed the validity and fairness of a feasibility study evaluating its application and those of its four competitors, prompting puzzlement, disbelief and disappointment from others eager to hear a decision. “The commi...
CLOVIS - Recently orphaned and joining her siblings in a state barely older than herself, opportunities were limited in 1940 for Viola Large. She was then all of 16 years old, but already with hardships behind her and years of hard work ahead, coming to Clovis from a Texas sharecropper family and with a limited formal education. One of her sons - who would spend decades writing on race and social inequality for the Seattle Times - recalled some of the sacrifices, lessons and...
FARWELL - Some know it simply as the old burying ground or potter's field and some struggle to describe how to even get there. "Is that the one with the guy who murdered his family?" said a gas station clerk answering a question from The News as to the location of the Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Yes, that's the one. It does not hold George Jefferson Hassell himself, but it does contain the mass grave of his wife, Susie, and her eight children, all of whom he murdered by a...
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — The U.S. Air Force could face thousands in daily fines if it does not quickly comply with state recommendations regarding chemical contamination to groundwater supplies linked to military firefighting activities at Cannon Air Force Base. A Notice of Violation (NOV) was served Nov. 30 to the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) and announced publicly in a news release from the New Mexico Environment Department late Tuesday morning. “While NMED understands that the Air Force is addressing PFAS con...
CLOVIS — Officials are still investigating an armed robbery early last month in Clovis that has so far resulted in one arrest with multiple felony charges. Richard Thomas, the “wheelchair bound and extremely immobile” victim, told police that five men forced their way Nov. 7 into the Clovis residence where he has a personal production license for medical marijuana. They bound his hands with zip ties, took clippings of the plants and other property valued in excess of $3,500, and threatened his life if he spoke of the incid...
CLOVIS — A caravan of Clovisites supporting a racino for the city plan to venture into Albuquerque on Thursday, and they’ll return that evening either elated or deflated depending on what the New Mexico Racing Commission announces. The special meeting starts 10:30 a.m. Thursday with a two-hour closed-door executive session, a final deliberation period for commissioners “tying up any loose ends,” NMRC’s executive director told The News. Izzy Trejo said the meeting venue — the African American Performing Arts at the New Mexico...
PORTALES - Look for a stacked few days of holiday celebrations in Roosevelt County, starting with a double whammy of music and pageantry Thursday evening, the annual Christmas parade on Friday and "Santa Cop" on Saturday. Today's the last chance to submit a float application for Roosevelt County's 32nd Annual "Christmas Jubilee Light Parade" on Friday night. The only condition is that "no live Santa Clauses are allowed on floats," as organizers will have one of their own...
An "elite guy," but humble, hardworking and coolheaded: that's how his military family last week remembered Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan Elchin, the youngest of three servicemen killed Tuesday when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan's Ghazni Province. "We all lost out Tuesday," said Master Sgt. TJ Gunnell, who knew Elchin for years at Cannon Air Force Base. "I was pretty upset; to me it makes me angry when we lose guys so young, 25 years old. But...
CLOVIS - Members of the city's Senior Center Task Force met Wednesday afternoon to consider architects' latest rendering of schematics for a new senior center. But a vote to proceed will have to wait another week or so for the group to have a quorum. Plans presented for the forthcoming Hillcrest Park Senior Center focus on accessibility and versatility, with a sliding wall in the dining area that can split the space containing 54 six-head tables into a separate section for...
Police are still investigating a fatal collision in March at the intersection of 21st and Sycamore streets in Clovis. But while criminal charges were being pursued, they were quashed in October after the defendant entered a health care facility in Lubbock before dying there last month. Officials said last week misdemeanor charges of negligent driving in the case had been filed against Bobby Kimbrough, 63, in connection with the March 10 crash that killed Tara Williams and Corey McKenna. District Attorney Andrea Reeb said...
CLOVIS - Bundle up, because December kicks off in Clovis with a day of seasonal programming near downtown that culminates in the annual "Christmas Lights" parade down the city's Main Street. Organizers are looking toward 75 or more float entries for this year's parade, which starts at 6 p.m. Saturday at 14th Street and continues southbound on Clovis' historic brick road toward 2nd Street. That should bring much of the action toward 7th and Main streets in time for a 6:15 p.m....
CLOVIS — In a special meeting Tuesday, Curry County Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a resolution that specifically declares support for the area receiving the state’s sixth and final racino license. The decision comes just in time for one of the ultimate scheduled meetings on the matter by the New Mexico Racing Commission, which convenes today in Santa Fe to hear tribe input and final pitches from the five applicants for the horse racing and slot-gaming license, of which three have proposed projects in Clovis. County Man...
CLOVIS — A woman was arrested this weekend in connection with a late-night crash that sent a young child to a Texas hospital for treatment. Angelee Molinas, 50, of Clovis, was charged with great bodily harm by vehicle, a third-degree felony, and aggravated DWI, among other charges, following a collision just before midnight Saturday in Clovis. Clovis police were nearby conducting a traffic stop when they heard the crash between two pickup trucks around 11:36 p.m. at the intersection of Prince Street and Wilhite Road. “I immed...
CLOVIS — Two men were arrested early Sunday after one allegedly pointed a gun at a Clovis bar employee and another nearly hit a police officer while driving from the scene. Terrance Martinez, 27, was charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor negligent use of a deadly weapon after witnesses said he “had brandished a firearm and had it pointed at the chest of a Kelley’s security staff member,” before leaving the bar riding passenger in a pickup truck, according to a criminal complaint. The driver, Hayden Blanton...
CLOVIS - Next stop: North Plains Mall, if you have even a passing interest in the pursuit of model trains or if you're simply looking to marvel at a miniature locomotive. Not to be confused with the local public transportation service with which it shares an acronym, the Clovis Area Train Society debuted on Friday an HO-scale modular layout across four 6-foot sections in an ovular track inside the room used previously to hold the local mall's food court. That's only about a...
CLOVIS - A woman arrested in March for embezzling over $12,000 from a local grocery store was sentenced Tuesday to five years supervised probation through a plea agreement. Rosa Davis, 58, was initially charged with over 150 counts of embezzlement across a two-year period, each count ranging from petty misdemeanor (under $250) to a fourth-degree felony (between $500 and $2,500). Those charges were narrowed to 31 counts when bound from magistrate to district court in May, and...
PORTALES — A New Mexico Association of Counties news release last week trumpets a successful defense of a Roosevelt County civil rights lawsuit. The lawsuit stemmed from a July 2, 2014, incident in which a Roosevelt County jail inmate hit a county employee with a pickax and then fled in a county vehicle. Senovio Mendoza had a violent history and was facing murder charges prior to the incident at the Roosevelt County fairgrounds. Leroy Manzanares, the county employee, was left for dead, but survived the extensive head i...
There was thanksgiving throughout eastern New Mexico, as volunteers once again worked together to feed the masses with community meals in Clovis and Portales. The Lighthouse Mission in Clovis and a volunteer group in Portales both estimated just under 500 people fed at each of their meals with the Thanksgiving staples of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy and plenty of desserts to go around. Lighthouse officials noted 70 volunteers, 225 eat-in diners and 249 meal deliveries as...
One common explanation for the term "Black Friday" is that it signifies the start of a business' most profitable time of the year, when the books go from being "in the red" to "in the black." The owner of Penny Lane on Clovis' Main Street agreed with that assessment, and felt even more optimistic about the holiday shopping weekend with the introduction this year of "Small Business Saturday" to further incentive local purchases. "I'm excited because we always do well," Pat...
CLOVIS - Hark, for bell and kettle season is nigh upon us. Clovis' Salvation Army office is recruiting volunteers to take part in its iconic seasonal fundraiser, ringing the bell and collecting donations in a kettle container outside local businesses between Friday and Christmas Eve. Organizers are hoping the community will turn out with bells on, and they already have 40 or 50 volunteers enlisted from among supporting community entities. You may see them any time from 9 a.m.... Full story
There's no need to eat alone this Thanksgiving, not with free community meals prepared to serve hundreds in Portales and Clovis. Two such annual events are entering their 16th or 17th year running, according to their organizers. In both cases the meals run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the Lighthouse Mission planning to serve at least 500 in Clovis while the "Community Outreach" group is preparing to serve as many in Portales' Memorial Building. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post...
