Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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CLOVIS - With the Curry County Fair now on the back burner, the county can set its sights on preparing for the next big event - the 2019 New Mexico Association of Counties' (NMAC) 83rd annual conference to be hosted by Curry County in June. First up is the design for a poster promoting the equipment "roadeo," a competition between road department employees from across the state that has been held at the past 10 NMAC conferences. Officials said $300 is up for grabs for the...
While Hawaii’s Big Island has experienced flooding due to the torrential rains from Hurricane Lane, those with Clovis-area connections who are on the ground in the Aloha State have remained relatively unscathed. Cathy Haynes, formerly of Clovis and now living in Lubbock, is on vacation with her family in Kaui. She said so far the storm has been “pretty uneventful.” “You read these weather reports and watch the news and they predict all these high winds and the highest wind we’ve seen is 15 or 20 miles per hour,” Haynes said o...
FORT SUMNER - Long before the days of the internet, email and social media, people used good old handwritten letters to spread information. Now 150 years later, some of the original letters from the Bosque Redondo reservation, with the help of some Fort Sumner High School students, will bring yesterday to life. The "Summer Letters from the Reservation" event begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bosque Redondo Memorial. Historic Site Manager Aaron Roth said he went through the...
PORTALES — Bulk trash items are no longer allowed to be placed next to Portales dumpsters as the Portales City Council by a 4-1 vote approved a new dumping ordinance during Tuesday's meeting. The new dumping ordinance requires bulk items to be placed behind a customer's home, should they not be brought to the convenience center or the Clovis landfill. Councilor Oscar Robinson cast the lone vote against adopting the ordinance. After the meeting Robinson told The News that he was not opposed to the ordinance but took issue w...
CLOVIS — The potential racetrack and casino in Clovis dominated discussion for about half of Tuesday’s Curry County Commission meeting as individuals both for and against the racino made their case. Several residents opposed to the racino gave a presentation to the commission while members of the public and Vision 2020, the group advocating for the selection of Clovis as the site for the next racino, addressed the commission during the public input portion of the meeting. Kathy Elliott, a member of Vision 2020, pointed to...
PORTALES — Four Portales city employees will be honored at tonight’s city council meeting for their actions earlier this month at the city’s communications office. Keith Wattenbarger, the emergency manager and 911 coordinator for Portales and Roosevelt County, said on Aug. 8 dispatchers received two calls within seven minutes of each other. One involved a one-car accident on NM 206 that included a child with severe lacerations; an unrelated call involved an injured player at the Eastern New Mexico University football field...
PORTALES — The Roosevelt County Fair kicks off Tuesday for six days of family fun. But Fair Board President Wayne McAlister wants people to know this won’t be your grandfather’s county fair. “This is not the same county fair it’s always been,” McAlister said. “We’ve put a lot of work into this fair and we’re changing some things up trying to make it more appealing to a broader set of people and we feel real good about the show that we’ve got coming.” McAlister listed off a host of changes to the fair this year, including...
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University officials want people to rethink the concept of a library. For starters, the $26 million renovated Golden Library will now be known as the Golden Student Success Center (GSSC). A grand opening is set for 5 p.m. on Aug. 28 to show off the new facility, which Jeff Elwell, president of the Portales campus and chancellor of ENMU's three-campus system, said he hopes will become the new hub of activity. "The hope is that unlike nowadays w...
CLOVIS — About 100 area youth left the Curry County Fair on Friday with some extra cash in their bank account following the annual Junior Livestock Sale in which animals raised by 4-H and Future Farmers of America students were auctioned. Curry County Extension Agent Janelle Duffey said Friday night's sale brought in $301,600, not including add-on dollars from sponsors, falling short of last year's total of $370,000. That marks the second straight year the total money spent h...
CLOVIS — Senior Marissa Cabrera, the student-body president at Clovis High School, said she wanted to create a fun event for her classmates to take photos and set a tradition for the years to come. Critics are saying students' plans will be having an adverse effect on the environment. Cabrera and other seniors are planning to meet at 5:45 a.m. today at Leon Williams Stadium to release balloons with their goals written on them. Since it was announced, the event has received a mixed reaction from the community. “Release em and... Full story
New Mexico Public Education Department scores for 2017-18 show mixed results for eastern New Mexico — 11 schools saw their letter grades go down while eight saw them rise. Area administrators expressed their belief that what is shown in that one letter grade does not truly reflect performance at those schools. In Portales, four of the district’s six schools saw their scores drop a letter grade from the previous school year. “Well you know, it’s kind of a mixed reaction of how we did because I don’t think in any ways thes... Full story
CLOVIS — Three separate compensation increases for Clovis city employees totaling about $415,000 were unanimously approved at Thursday’s Clovis City Commission meeting. The bulk of the cost comes from a 2.5 percent salary increase for all city employees except City Manager Justin Howalt and a 2.5 percent increase to salary midpoints, totaling around $365,000 annually. Howalt said for any employees with a current salary of 120 percent or more of the midpoint, the increase will be annualized over the remaining pay periods in...
CLOVIS - While some of the larger animals will likely bring in the most money at Friday's Junior Livestock Sale, raising quality chickens and rabbits for the Curry County Fair is also a lot of work. Julie Garrison of Texico said that by raising chickens during the summer, her son Jait, 11, and daughter Tylie, 13, learned a sense of responsibility. It kept them pretty busy too, as Tylie said each day her schedule was based around taking care of the animals. "They don't sleep... Full story
CLOVIS — It's not every day you get the chance to see someone engulfed in flames dive 30 feet into a pool filled with 9 1/2 feet of water. But Curry County Fair attendees will have 16 chances this week to witness just that during the Great American High Dive Show. "Kids, do not try this at home. You've seen it on television, you've seen it in the movies, but you're going to see it here at the fair live, that's how we sell it," Clark Kocourek said. Kocourek is one of five a... Full story
PORTALES — Last month, the New Mexico Christian Children's Home in Portales completed construction on a $6 million project called Hope Haven, located at 19th Street and South Avenue B. It includes 15 duplexes for members of its single-parent homes program. The new homes were funded by private donations and were built as money came in to avoid taking on any debt, officials said. Expected to take five to 10 years, construction wrapped up in July after just over three years. "The...
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Yes, that was a familiar name announced last month as the new commander/leader of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. Lt. Col. John Caldwell was stationed at Cannon Air Force Base from 2005 to 2007. He was selected to head up the group of 12 Thunderbird pilots who perform awe-inspiring aerial demonstrations all over the country. "It's a very unique opportunity, I'm very excited about it," Caldwell said in a telephone interview last week. "... Full story
CLOVIS - There's no "I" in team. But there is one in fair, and this year attendees of the Curry County Fair will get a chance to become that "I" at the photo opportunity sign, which was unveiled on Friday. The sign, created by eight Texico High School Future Farmers of America students with the help of FFA instructor Terry Whitener, features a large metal "F," "A," and "R" with a space for people to pose as the "I." Whitener said the partnership between the fair and Texico... Full story
CLOVIS — From the podium at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta to the Clovis Aquatic Center, gold medalist Sheila Taormina spent the past week in Clovis working with the Wildcats' middle- and high-school swimmers. Taormina said she has been coming to Clovis to host clinics for the Wildcats just about every year since she met Vincent de Maio, former Clovis swim team head coach and now director for high performance swimming, in 2010 or 2011. "She's here because she cares a... Full story
CLOVIS — Carson Ellis, a senior at Clovis High School, recently combined his two passions of scouting and faith as he completed his eagle scout project at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. For the project, a requirement to reach the rank of eagle scout, Ellis arranged for the installation of a memorial to the unborn located on the lawn just outside the church. Ellis said the project was suggested to him by Rev. Simon Carion, the former pastor at Sacred Heart, and Ellis "thought th... Full story
CLOVIS — As Clovis Municipal Schools celebrated the opening of the new Parkview Elementary School with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, students, parents and community members were given their first chance to tour the new building. Those in attendance said they were blown away by the size of the classrooms, storage availability and natural lighting. "I'm really impressed," said Lora Harlan, a former Clovis school board member. "Lots of space for all the classrooms, l... Full story
CLOVIS — Lt. Gov. John Sanchez was in Clovis on Wednesday and Thursday to meet with city officials and constituents, along with visits to Cannon Air Force Base and Southwest Cheese. With his eight years as New Mexico’s second-highest ranked elected official set to come to a close in January, Sanchez spoke to The News on Wednesday about some of the issues facing the Land of Enchantment over the coming years and reflected on his time in office. Q: The potential sixth racino license is much sought after here in eastern New Mex...
CLOVIS — Transitioning to a new school can bring anxiety. So Clovis Municipal Schools is looking to combat those fears with today's transition camp for sixth-grade students preparing to enter middle school for the first time. "We know that a student transitioning from one school to another is kind of a big deal, especially when we look at an elementary child moving to a middle school," Marshall Middle School Principal Todd Morris said. "It can be a little bit scary, be a l...
PORTALES — The Roosevelt County Commission on Tuesday unanimously voted to rescind the burn ban in the unincorporated areas of the county that had been in place since April 17. Portales Fire Chief Gary Nuckols told commissioners that since it last discussed the burn ban, drought conditions on the eastern side of the county have improved. "We do have some areas that are OK and some areas that are not so it's kind of 50-50 right now," Nuckols said. "Obviously we're not wet by a...
PORTALES — The Portales City Council breezed through several water items at Tuesday’s meeting, unanimously approving each action item at the meeting, which lasted just 21 minutes. Among the four water items were $100,000 in well-field improvements previously allocated by the state Legislature. Phase two of that project will include well rehabilitation and construction as well as drilling exploratory pilot wells. Public Works Director John DeShea said the project came in about $21,000 over budget, with the difference to be mad...
CLOVIS — Eighteen teams of two took to the Clovis Christian School gymnasium on Saturday to try their hand at cornhole, the popular lawn game which includes just bean bags and a board with a hole in the middle, all while raising money for a good cause. The cornhole tournament was a fundraiser for the Clovis area Senior Olympics, a group which has been keeping senior citizens active for nearly 40 years. Those in attendance at Saturday's tournament enjoyed the competition, c... Full story
