Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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On this date … 1921: The headline across The Portales Valley News read: “Most revolting crime in history of Roosevelt County.” A secondary headline reported a father had shot his son and daughter-in-law dead while they were eating breakfast. The newspaper reported Lewis Hawes was confined in the county jail, “as the result of a family row, facing the gallows as the result of his hasty temper.” When law officers arrived at the death scene six miles south of Portales, Lewis Hawes admitted his deed. “Father and son Clinton had...
Shad Mayfield had to play through pain all year. The reward was his first All-Around World Championship secured Saturday night at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nev. Mayfield scored the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association's biggest honor by earning $335,474 over 80 rodeos throughout 2024. He finished just $675 ahead of second-place Coleman Proctor of Oklahoma. Mayfield, primarily a calf roper who has won a PRCA tie-down title and finished second this year, said...
An early morning fire Saturday claimed the lives of three children and left five other people hospitalized, officials said. Firefighters were called to a trailer home on Conestoga Trail south of Clovis at 2:33 a.m. Clovis Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Elam said the home was “fully involved” when firefighters arrived and the injured were in the yard outside. “It appears everyone was asleep (when the fire began). The children perished inside the residence,” Elam said. Two of the adults were initially in critical conditi... Full story
On this date … 1936: C.V. Steed Undertaking was “serving Clovis since Clovis began,” according to its newspaper advertisement. Anyone needing ambulance service or funeral service could reach Steed at phone number 14. 1954: Fourteen floats were entered in the upcoming Christmas Pageant Parade in downtown Clovis. The parade route was set to begin at West Seventh and Mitchell streets, then proceed down Mitchell to West First, over to Main Street and then to Ninth Street, where it would end. All of the floats were spons...
A fall three days before a Clovis toddler’s death last month was the result of “rough play from his siblings,” a Clovis police report shows. The report also shows the 12-month-old boy and his siblings, ages 3 and 2, were taken from their home by New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department about a year ago. They were returned to their mother on Oct. 23. That was about a month before Calian Skywater was hurt, his mother told police at Plains Regional Medical Center where Calian died after she reported he was not breat...
On this date ... 1906: Portales and railroad officials were looking for those responsible for the theft of the Saturday night mail sack. It had contained about 1,000 letters, officials estimated. The mail sack was located late Sunday afternoon, but only a dozen letters remained inside. "It seems it must have been a deliberate plot to rob the sack and the robbers must have been laying for it," the Portales Times reported on Dec. 15, one week after the heist. "This is shown by...
A Clovis murder suspect accidentally released from a Lea County jail in October is back in custody, Clovis police said Thursday. Alex Zapata, 27, was booked into the Curry County Adult Detention Center at 2:12 p.m. Thursday, online court records show. A police news release issued Thursday stated Zapata was located at 3104 Smith Ave. in Clovis, the home of a “known associate,” Mikyla Sandoval. Agents from the U.S. Marshal Service, Region V Drug Task Force and Clovis police surr... Full story
Clovis police are looking for a suspected killer after he was mistakenly released from a Lea County jail in October. Police on Friday were called to an apartment complex in the 1000 block of North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard for a domestic disturbance. In the process of looking into that, police said they learned Alex Zapata, 27, may have been in the complex. Clovis police had learned the day before that Zapata had been mistakenly released from jail in Hobbs. Assistant... Full story
On this date … 1957: Hazel Stone, head of the linens department at Clovis’ C.R. Anthony’s, had been “buying and planning for a wonderful array of practical gifts for your gift shopping.” Chenille bedspreads were $4.99. Quaker lace table cloths ranged from $16.90 to $3.98. Orlon blankets were $10.99. 1961: An ice storm hit much of eastern New Mexico, leaving many rural residents without power for two days. Crews from Farmers Electric were working all hours to restore service to Fort Sumner and multiple farm homes, the Clovi...
A Roosevelt County man involved in a fatal car crash last week is facing additional charges, including vehicular homicide, and may now be asked to wear an ankle monitor as part of the terms of his release. Court records show Fredy Portillo, 31, was released from Roosevelt County Jail on Thursday on a personal recognize bond, charged with leaving the scene of an accident, abuse of a child and driving without a license. An ongoing investigation has since revealed Portillo was driving without headlights and with an open...
Military leaders have instituted a voluntary “operational pause” with their fleet of V-22 Ospreys after an aircraft assigned to Cannon Air Force Base experienced problems last month. “While performing a local training mission, a CV-22 Osprey from Cannon … made a precautionary landing (on Nov. 20) near Melrose Air Force Range,” Maj. Jackie Pienkowski told The News on Monday. Pienkowski, Cannon’s chief of public affairs, said there were four personnel on board, but no injuries occurred and there was no known damage to the aircr... Full story
On this date … 1946: Lloyd Jordan and Don Litchfield had been named captains of the 1947 Clovis High School football team. Coach Bill Gibson made the announcement at the annual football banquet. Also at the banquet, John Fila had been presented the Holmberg Award, symbolic of the most outstanding football player on the squad. The award, given by Wildcat supporter and jewelry store owner A.A. Holmberg, was a 14-carat solid gold miniature football. Attitude, ability and sportsmanship were the primary factors considered in s...
Embezzlement allegations against the Eastern New Mexico University rodeo coach were not heard by a grand jury on Friday as had been scheduled. Albert Flinn, 83, was charged last month with two counts of embezzlement (under $20,000) and one count of cruelty to animals. Prosecutor Quentin Ray and Flinn’s attorney, Tye Harmon of Clovis, both said they are trying to reach an agreement prior to the criminal case going forward. “We canceled the grand jury … Depends on what information Tye has on how we move forward,” Ray stated...
A Clovis grand jury on Friday will be asked to decide if three juveniles accused of murder should stand trial as adults. A fourth juvenile charged with murder in the Nov. 14 slaying of Marcos Ramirez, 26, may also face adult sanctions, but he remains under medical care and in the custody of his guardians, Assistant District Attorney Jake Boazman said. “We had 10 days to file notice of attempt to seek adult sanctions … now we have 10 more days to get in front of a grand jury,” Boazman said. “Because it’s a first-deg...
On this date … 1948: Paul and Dizzy Dean became owners of the Clovis Pioneers baseball team. Paul, whose nine-year Major League career had ended in 1943, would be player-manager for the Class C West Texas-New Mexico League team. Dizzy Dean, who would be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1953, said he would be active in the team behind the scenes. 1954: High winds and dirt turned regional skies reddish brown. Winds whipped up to 64 mph and visibility was reported at less than two miles in Fort Sumner. 1960: An exhibit from the S...
Quay County, the village of Logan and more than a dozen landowners on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking to stop construction of the Ute Water Pipeline project. The Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority is building the 130-mile pipeline to bring water from Ute lake near Logan to Clovis, Portales, Texico and Elida. The lawsuit alleges the authority has only “a small portion” of the money it needs to complete the project and asks the 10th Judicial District Court to stop construction until it’s fully funded. ENMWUA offic...
On this date … 1915: The Clovis Woman’s Club appointed a sanitation committee to ensure the city’s livery stable was cleaned out twice a week. Club minutes also tell us, “Mrs. Anna Janes reported that the box supper will be December 8, proceeds of which will be used for the library fund. Be sure to bring your husband and remind him that his bids are to be very generous.” 1969: A black airman at Cannon Air Force was being court-martialed for refusing to cut his hair. Airman First Class August Doyle said he believed the order...
Fire destroyed most of his roof, but Richard Mares is still in business. The longtime car repair shop at 14th and Thornton in Clovis – Richard's Auto Service -- caught fire early Wednesday morning, but Mares said the roof took the brunt of the damage. The building is without power, but he's still able to do some work inside and the rest he's continuing at home. "I'm not giving up," he said Friday morning. "Just like Trump: Fight, fight, fight." Clovis Fire Department Deputy C...
Clovis Municipal Schools Superintendent Renee Russ has told lawmakers she has "grave concern" regarding practical implications of changes the state Legislature made in 2023 to the New Mexico Human Rights Act. Russ said she emailed her concerns last month to all state legislators, asking they "revisit this matter and amend the New Mexico Human Rights Act in a way that allows schools to protect all students while restoring unity and trust within our communities." House Bill 207...
Editor’s note: This is the second in an ongoing series of questions/answers related to the Ute Water Pipeline, a project intended to provide a sustainable municipal and industrial water supply for several eastern New Mexico communities and Cannon Air Force Base. The water will come from Ute lake reservoir in Quay County. Editor David Stevens is submitting the questions to Mike Morris and Orlando Ortega, chairman and director, respectively, of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority. Readers may suggest questions by e...
Two Eastern New Mexico University athletes were among those named to the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024, according to an ENMU news release on Monday. Greyhound football players Steve Loy and Michael Sinclair are in the class that also includes New Mexico State’s Randy Brown (basketball) and Fredd Young (football), rodeo’s Roy Cooper, and Paralympian Alana Nichols. “These athletes and coaches have had significant careers, achieved high standards of athletic success, and contributed to sports, thereby bestowi...
On this date … 1956: The White House Christmas tree was scheduled to make a stop in Clovis prior to heading east, Santa Fe Railway officials said. The 65-foot spruce cut in the Lincoln National Forest was slated to be shipped via two flat cars. The tree would be on the cars “considerably west” of the passenger depot, officials said, before being loaded onto a different freight train sometime during the night. 1957: Big news in Elida: Mr. and Mrs. Claud McDowell were driving a new Mercury car, the community was still talking a...
Editor’s note: Some content in this report is sexually explicit and may not be appropriate for some readers. A Clovis occupational therapist is facing additional charges alleging sex crimes against children. Jared Cordum, 29, was initially arrested in July and charged with one count of criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13, multiple counts of criminal solicitation to commit criminal sexual contact of a minor and practicing medicine without a license. He is now f...
On this date … 1952: Cannon Air Force Base personnel were preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving with a traditional turkey and dressing feast served in both airmen dining halls and the officers open mess. A Thanksgiving eve dance was also on the calendar, as well as Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic services. Many airmen also had invitations to dine with local families in lieu of spending the holiday on base. 1956: A pair of Clovis teens had confessed to robbing the juke box at Juarez Café. One boy told Chief of Police Nelson Wor...
Eastern New Mexico University has fired its strength and conditioning coach and banned him from the campus, the coach told The News on Monday. Cory Bell was arrested following a Nov. 1 altercation in the ENMU football field house. Court records show Bell pushed a graduate assistant coach to the ground, causing him to strike his head against a wall. Bell was arrested the same day as the incident and charged with battery, a third-degree felony. Bell said he was notified of his dismissal from ENMU in a document delivered the...
