Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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CLOVIS - The owner of a now-shuttered Clovis dairy said he is pleased the Environmental Protection Agency has announced its intent to list several per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous chemicals under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Art Schaap is also pleased with a rule change that clarifies a state's authority to require cleanup of any waste that meets the RCRA standard. All of it should have happened years ago, Schaap said. "It's about...
At the New Mexico Department of Health COVID-19 update press conference on Wednesday, DOH Cabinet Secretary Laura Parajon announced since March 2020, the number of people in New Mexico who have died from COVID totals 5,027. It is estimated that 1.8% of the number of people who get COVID will die, Parajon said. She said the rate of the number of people in NM who are fully vaccinated against the virus is slowly increasing. In the 18-plus age group, 72.3% have been fully vaccinated and 54.2 of those age 12 to 17 years have been...
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission voted at its Thursday meeting to approve a city of Clovis logo that will be released to use on city marketing materials and press releases instead of the city seal. Kelsey Knight, the city’s marketing, communications and grant coordinator said the logo is a spin-off of the one first adopted by the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce as a community brand. The purpose of the logo is to unify materials released from Clovis and will be used on marketing materials and press releases, Kni...
Dora, Portales, Elida, Grady and Melrose school districts are asking the voters to approve a $2 million capital improvements tax to extend to 2027 in the Nov. 2 election. Portales Public Schools Superintendent Johnnie Cain said this tax is $2 per $1,000 of assessed value and is a continuation of an existing tax. If passed the district would use the money to pay for maintenance of the grounds, a new water heater and air conditioner as well as new equipment to do maintenance. “It’s one of the more important tax levies we nee...
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — Cannon Air Force Base has started contacting landowners near the base to get permission to perform water and soil samples to determine the extent of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances coming from the installation. In March 2019, the Air Force found three sites near the base that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for safe drinking water, according to the base release. In March 2021, the base installed Point of Use Filtration Systems. The remedial investigation will determine the...
The following is a Q&A with candidates for Position 4 on the Portales Municipal Schools Board of Education. Antonio Sanchez is running for re-election. He is running against Braden Fraze, William Hilliard and Meredith Seifert. Attempts to contact Hilliard were unsuccessful. Candidates were asked the same questions over the phone. The election is Nov. 2. Why did you decide to run? Fraze: I want to be involved in my community and I grew up in a family where both my parents were teachers. I got married and my wife and I intend...
CLOVIS — At the Civil Aviation Board meeting on Tuesday, the board voted to recommend to the city commission an increase in its markups on full service gasoline prices at the airport from $1.00 to $1.50 a gallon for low lead and an increase from $1.30 to $1.75 a gallon for Jet A-1 fuel. The board also voted to recommend adding markups of 25 cents a gallon to the cost of self-service low led gasoline at the airport and a markup of 50 cents a gallon for self-service Jet A-1 fuel. In other business, the board recommended c...
The following is a Q&A with candidates for District 1 of the Clovis school board. Kyle Snider is running for re-election against Sharon Epps and Rosa Sanchez. Candidates were each asked the same questions via phone. The election is Nov. 2. Why did you decide to run? Epps: I decided to run because I have a passion for Clovis schools and student achievement is my No. 1 goal. I am a native of Clovis and attended all 12 years of school in Clovis. Sanchez: I decided to run because there are issues currently on the surfaces and in...
The following is a Q&A with candidates for Position 4 of the Dora school board. Jana Roberts is running for re-election against Shauna Wade. Candidates were each asked the same questions via phone. The election is Nov. 2. Why did you decide to run? Roberts: This would be a re-election for me. I have been on the board for 17 years and I’d like to continue supporting the community and the school. Wade: I decided to run to be more involved with my children’s school. What experience and/or skills do you have that you believe wil...
PORTALES - Bill Joy was one of the loudest fans at Eastern New Mexico University sports events for as long as many can remember. But his service to the university was much more than talk. Joy, who died Sept. 6 at 85, was remembered as one of the college's biggest supporters. "I think we never imagined ENMU or Portales without Bill," said Noelle Bartl, director of the ENMU Foundation. "Everyone knew (Bill) in the stands at games with his animal pelt fur vest and big black...
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission, in a short meeting Thursday, approved $56,970 in lodger’s tax disbursements for September to nine events. A total of $68,000 was requested. Disbursements included $10,000 for the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce community profile, $4,000 for the Halloween HoWWWl softball tournament, $5,000 for the Lions Club Gun, Knife and Coin Show, $3,470 for the Clovis Community College Cultural Arts Series, $7,000 for Halloween on Main, $11,000 for the Christmas Lights Parade, $3,500 for the...
Local hospitals, like many around the nation, are reporting staff shortages as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. "We have experienced extreme staff shortages in the past four-to-six weeks with the recent surge, so we had a rapid hiring event on Wednesday and were able to make several offers," said Kaye Green, chief executive officer of Roosevelt General Hospital in Portales. Green said RGH staffing is down to the "bare bones, but we're working hard to improve that." She said...
Cannon Air Force Base hosted its third virtual meeting Wednesday to update the community on its progress to determine whether contaminants called Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have leaked off-base into the area’s water system is an unacceptable risk by the government’s definition. Cannon officials said the Air Force is legally required to conduct the investigation in a way that begins with an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis Pilot Study. The study is preliminary to a full scale remedial inv...
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission voted Thursday to start taking applications for the District 1 commissioner seat, officially vacated by Leo Lovett on Wednesday. Applications will be accepted through the city manager’s office until 5 p.m. Oct. 1. The commission is likely to fill the appointment at its Oct. 7 meeting, one day before the 30-day window to fill the vacancy expires. Whoever the commission appoints to the seat vacated by Lovett’s resignation will serve through March. The final two years of the term will be pa...
CLOVIS — After assuaging concerns they weren’t “foaling” things up by setting a precedent, the Clovis Planning and Zoning Commission recommended a conditional use permit for a Clovis resident and his horses. The lone item on the Wednesday agenda concerned Steven Mullins, who keeps four miniature horses at his residence on Hall Street. Mullins believed he had permission to keep the animals at the residence, but City Manager Justin Howalt said the horses put him out of code compliance. City code an acre of land per horse,...
Ron Milam was always goal-oriented and self-driven, in college and in the Army. That's how Darwin Pauley remembers him anyway. "Once he set his mind to something, he went after it so promotions were probably easy for him; not for many - but for him. He knew his job. He knew what he was there for. He shined that way and that's the way people saw him," said Pauley who played basketball with Milam at Eastern New Mexico University in the late 1980s. The nation is remembering...
Now that the United States has withdrawn its military forces from Afghanistan, the men and women who served in Afghanistan have time to reflect about their time there and what it meant to them. Two airmen stationed at Cannon Air Force Base — 9th Special Operations Squadron Commander Lt. Col. David Robertson and 16th Special Operations Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Paul Andrews — spoke on Thursday with The News about their experience serving in Afghanistan. Citing national security issues, Cannon personnel declined comment on...
CLOVIS — The Clovis Industrial Development Corporation on Friday launched Clovis Remote, a program to help connect people in the community with remote job opportunities. “There are a lot of people who say they want to work remotely but they are not prepared,” said Andrea Corpening, owner of Elite Business Performance, LLC, a contractor working for CIDC. “Clovis Remote participants will receive training on how to start a remote working career, as well as a variety of support including resume and interview preparation, virtual...
New Mexico Department of Health Secretary David Scrase said Wednesday during a COVID-19 update that New Mexico hospitals could reach a crisis in standards of care this week. According to the state’s Crisis Standards of Care Plan posted at the DOH’s website, “A pandemic or catastrophic emergency may strain medical and aligned resources and thereby require a shift in care from that which was previously focused on the individual patient to that which is focused on doing the most good for the greatest number.” The goal would b...
CLOVIS — The Clovis Public Works Committee on Wednesday approved the department’s recommendations for $700,000 in residential street paving for this year’s budget. Public Works Director Clint Bunch and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Bryant told The News the department identified the following streets in most need of repaving: • Lakeview from Fairway Terrace North to Colonial Parkway • Fifth Street, between Prince and Axtell • Beta Street between Seventh and Debra • Lore Street from Mañana Boulevard to Echols. Bunch also referenced a ...
President Joe Biden announced his support on August 9th for Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s plan to add the COVID-19 vaccination to the list of required vaccinations for service members by mid-September. The News asked Misty Mercado, chief of media relations at Cannon Air Force Base about the requirement Wednesday. Q: What percentage of Cannon personnel are vaccinated as of right now? How many with at least one dose, and how many with both shots? A: The vaccination rate among Cannon Air Force Base personnel is on par w... Full story
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission approved the final adoption of its cannabis ordinance at its meeting Thursday. The ordinance approved by the city commission, among other things, creates a new section that states cannabis retail businesses are only allowed in Commercial General and Industrial zones and that cannabis manufacturing businesses and cannabis production businesses are only allowed in Industrial zones, said city attorney Jared Morris. The ordinance will go into effect on Sept. 1, at which time the city can s...
CLOVIS — Raymond Mondragon, governmental specialist for the Eastern Plains Council of Governments, spoke Wednesday at the board meeting about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act recently passed by Congress. “Based on formula funding,” Mondragon said, “New Mexico is expected to receive $2.5 billion in funding.” Some of that, Mondragon said, will be towards the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System. Mondragon said during a conversation with Clovis Mayor Mike Morris, he was informed the legislation would fund the feder...
The first day of school for students in the Floyd Municipal School District happened without a noticeably significant level of empty seats, Superintendent Damon Terry said Monday. The opening of the school year followed weeks of disputes with the Public Education Department’s requirement for all elementary school students to wear a face mask in school. The Floyd school board decided in a July 26 meeting to make the PED’s COVID-19 mitigation practices optional, and declined to change its stance in an Aug. 2 special mee...
PORTALES — The Portales Municipal School Board voted 4-1 Monday in favor of approving state Public Education Department guidelines, which require elementary school students wear a face mask while in school. Board member Rod Savage, after making a long statement about the New Mexico constitution, cast the lone vote to make face coverings optional for students. About 100 people attended the meeting on Monday, many of whom expressed their displeasure with mask mandates in the public comment period. The News covered the t...
