Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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CLOVIS — The ongoing school turnaround program at Clovis Municipal Schools has shown that a quick handshake can go a long way. The Clovis Middle School Initiative (CMSI), a school turnaround program in partnership with the University of Virginia, is wrapping up its second of three years and this week CMS officials took stock of how the program has helped teachers and staff connect with students at the district’s three middle schools. “I think everything we have done so far is really geared towards helping principals creat...
CLOVIS — The Clovis Municipal Schools Board of Education moved one step closer to naming the district’s next superintendent last week, selecting three finalists and conducting interviews during a pair of special meetings on Wednesday and Saturday. Following a 65-minute executive session during Wednesday’s special meeting, the board selected: • Rene Russ, CMS deputy director of federal programs • Rebecca Benedict, assistant superintendent, director of curriculum and instruction and high school principal for Central Consolidate...
CLOVIS - Wednesday's legislative recap at the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce featured discussion about how not to get a bill passed. Rep. Randy Crowder, R-Clovis, the namesake for the event "Chowder with Crowder," discussed some of the behind-the-scenes methods employed by Republicans to slow the passage of legislation during a session that featured the House, Senate and governor's office all dominated by Democrats. "It's the best thing in the world for you because...
PORTALES - The Portales Municipal School Board of Education approved the 2019-20 district calendar during Monday's meeting. And while students may not like the big change the board made come August, they likely will appreciate it in October. Assistant Superintendent Henry Montano said the calendar for the upcoming school year is similar to the district's current calendar, with the biggest change being an additional day off for students in October. Montano said that extra day...
CLOVIS — Friday night will be a time for celebrating the past and looking ahead to the future for Clovis Christian School, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. “I’m excited about the event and the opportunity to celebrate 25 years of providing Christian education here in the Clovis community and the surrounding areas,” Superintendent Ladona Clayton said. In addition to a great meal, Clayton said those who attend Friday’s banquet will be treated to performances by the school’s kindergarten students, a historical...
CLOVIS - For the second straight year, artwork created by Clovis students will be on display at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, scheduled for April 22. Arts Academy at Bella Vista Principal Shelly Norris said the school was contacted by the U.S. Department of Education a few weeks ago to say that the school had been recommended for creating a painting for the event, which was made official at the end of March. Norris then enlisted Sharon Cathey, a fifth-grade teacher...
CLOVIS — A hearing officer has determined that Clovis Municipal Schools violated federal law based on the Individualized Education Program (IEP) provided to a now-fifth grade special education student. According to Due Process Hearing Officer Nancy Simmons’ conclusions reached in February, the district failed to provide the student a free and appropriate public education, or FAPE, as required by the Disabilities Education Act. That’s because CMS improperly lowered the student’s expectations, and thus failed to impleme...
PORTALES — The Portales City Council approved an incentive program for the Portales Police Department that will offer certified officers up to $10,000 to join the force for a minimum of three years. “We have been having trouble recruiting certified officers,” Police Chief Pat Gallegos said. “We haven’t had any certified officers come to the police department in over three years.” Gallegos said the program will be funded by year-to-date cost savings from the police department being understaffed, with incentives coming in t...
CLOVIS - Wednesday's meeting of the Clovis Community College Board of Trustees began on a somber note as the board recognized the passing of trustee Russell Muffley. Muffley, a member of the board since 2003 and former municipal judge for the city of Clovis, died Tuesday after an 18-year battle with cancer. At Wednesday's meeting, a rose was placed in front of Muffley's name plate and the robe he would wear at graduation was draped over his usual seat. "Russell was an...
CLOVIS - The Curry County Commission heard just shy of $290,000 worth of funding requests for the upcoming fiscal year during Tuesday's meeting. The commission began the process of setting the budget for the upcoming fiscal year by holding budget hearings for two county departments, as well as the county extension office and a request from the New Mexico State Library Rural Bookmobile. County Clerk Annie Hogland said her office was requesting $53,000 for software upgrades...
PORTALES - About a dozen local senior residents on Thursday met with Community Services Center staff members in Portales to discuss the needs of the local senior community. Multiple requests had to do with accessibility, as Joyce Cox, one of CSC's foster grandparents, asked that more automatic door openers be located around town as seniors with walkers or canes can have trouble opening doors. That led to discussion of the accessibility of the CSC meal site itself, leading to q...
SANTA FE — Clovis Community College President Becky Rowley is headed west. On Wednesday she was selected by the Santa Fe Community College governing board to serve as the school’s next president, Rowley confirmed. “I’m really excited about the position,” Rowley said. “I feel like it’s a good fit for me and hopefully I’m a good fit for them and it’s a good time for me to, I think, try to make a change.” Martha Romero, a member of the SFCC governing board and chair of the school’s presidential search committee, said Rowley was...
PORTALES — Residents of eastern New Mexico will have a chance to show off their trivia knowledge and raise money for local youth during the Battle of the Brains scheduled Saturday night at Eastern New Mexico University. Teams of eight will compete in a trivia competition covering 10 different categories including math, science, history and art. “It’s going to be funny, entertaining and we’re doing something good, too,” Jeff Gentry, dean of ENMU’s college of fine arts said. “To me primarily this is not a fundraiser as...
The New Mexico Public Education Department released the graduation rates for the 2017-18 school year on Tuesday and nearly all of the local districts in eastern New Mexico once again topped the statewide average, including one of the two districts in the Land of Enchantment to receive a perfect 100 percent. Melrose Municipal Schools joined Springer Municipal Schools as the only districts to tally a 100 percent graduation rate, up from 79.7 percent in the 2016-17 school year in Melrose. Superintendent Jamie Widner said he was...
PORTALES — The Portales City Council heard a report on the award-winning school community garden at James Elementary during Tuesday’s meeting. Caron Powers, Roosevelt County’s coordinator for Healthy Kids Healthy Communities New Mexico, said the school garden was started three years ago with six raised planter beds to grow spinach, lettuce, radishes and carrots for six second-grade classes. “One thing that I really wanted to emphasize is how much this is not just a fluff project, that we really are educating our youth over th...
PORTALES - Four area lawmakers took to the Yam Theater on Thursday to reflect on the 60-day legislative session that wrapped up last week. The main point made by Rep. Randy Crowder, R-Clovis, Rep. Martin Zamora, R-Clovis, Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales and Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, was the same: the state can't sustain the $7.1 billion in spending that came out of this year's session. "Record, records amount of money. Absolutely unbelievable amounts of money compared to...
GRADY — The Grady Municipal Schools formally adopted a new tobacco policy during Monday night’s school board meeting, joining seven other school districts around the state to meet the Department of Health’s “24/7 tobacco free” standards. Superintendent Elnabeth Grau told The News prior to Monday’s meeting that the district saw a need to update its policy based on the rise of vaping and e-cigarettes use this school year. “Of course we’ve had a smoke-free campus for quite some...
CLOVIS — Take two: The Curry County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved road improvements on Curry Road 11 for the county’s annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project this year — a shortened version of last year’s selected project. In 2018, a three-mile stretch of improvements to CR 11 was selected by the commission for CDBG funding. But the application was never submitted because cost estimates came in nearly triple what the county was expecting. After the meeting, Administrative Services Coordin...
SANTA FE — If we didn’t know 60 days ago, we know now: New Mexico is under Democrat control. “I feel like the state of New Mexico turned left,” Rep. Randy Crowder, R-Clovis, said as the state Legislature wrapped up its annual session on Saturday. “At 3 o’clock (Friday) morning the House floor approved $210 million worth of tax credits for Hollywood and most of what we’re doing is simply not sustainable.” “It’s all tied to revenue from the oil and gas industry and that is a very cyclical industry. It is a boom-bust industry,...
SANTA FE — While the capital outlay and “junior” spending bills are far from set in stone, the current proposals contain considerable funds set to flow through eastern New Mexico. Each legislator was alloted at least $400,000 in the two junior bills, House Bill 548 and Senate Bill 536, a method of funding the state hasn’t seen since 2007. Rep. Randy Crowder, R-Clovis, who is a member of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, said the junior bills were brought back this year due to excess funds from the oil and gas...
CLOVIS — The Clovis school district was one of several public entities targeted in a payroll phishing scam according to a press release from the state auditor’s office, but school officials said the scammers did not take any money. A press release last week from the office of State Auditor Brian Colon said Clovis Municipal Schools, along with the Public Education Department, Santa Fe Public Schools, New Mexico Military Institute, Bernalillo County and Central New Mexico Community College reported to the state auditor that the...
PORTALES - Starting July 1, Portales Area Transit is set to receive what officials said would be the public transportation program's first fare increase in its dozen years of operations. That's after city approval of a 25-cent-per-ride bump during Tuesday's Portales City Council meeting. The proposal passed by a 6-1 vote, with Councilor Chadrick Heflin casting the lone vote in opposition. After the meeting Heflin said as a fiscal conservative he does not believe in raising...
CLOVIS — The Clovis Municipal Schools Board of Education approved the advertising for its superintendent search during a special meeting Tuesday. According to the approved advertising, minimum requirements for applicants include a master’s degree, New Mexico administrative licensure, principal experience, administration experience, as well as a commitment to reside in the district, which was an addition the board made on Tuesday. “If we want them to be visible and a member of the community, then certainly we’d prefer they liv...
As New Mexicans set their clocks forward an hour today, two dueling bills being considered in Santa Fe seek to end the practice, one by adopting daylight saving time year round and the other by abstaining from it completely. On February 19, the House of Representatives narrowly approved House Bill 73, which would exempt New Mexico from daylight saving time, by a 35-32 vote. If adopted, New Mexico would be two hours behind Texas for about eight months out of the year and remain one hour behind for about four months. Two days...
PORTALES - High school students in Portales may soon be competing against others around the state in video games. The Portales Municipal Schools Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved a proposal to move forward with the formation of an e-sports team. Athletic Director Mark Gallegos said there are about 40 schools taking part in the New Mexico Activities Association's inaugural e-sports season, which kicked off last month. Gallegos said e-sports is being played in...
