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  • Work begins on Kilgore Road improvement project

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 26, 2022

    Work began on the first phase of the Kilgore Road improvement project in Portales Monday with preliminary surveying. The four-phase project will stretch from Highway 70 to 18th Street and the first phase will extend from 3rd Street to 18th, said John DeSha, Portales public works director. The work will involve completely replacing the road with six inches of asphalt, DeSha said. “The asphalt that was there has failed and the amount of traffic on it has caused it to breakout,” he said. This stretch of road is one-mile long and...

  • EPCOR considering new wellfield close to Cannon

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 26, 2022

    The Clovis City Commission voted Thursday to serve as the applicant for a loan from the New Mexico Environment Department to fund a study to determine the feasibility and costs of filtering per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – known as PFAS — contaminants out of the well water south of Cannon Air Force Base. The first step would be to submit what is called a pre-application to the NMED Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund program. EPCOR, the Clovis water utility company, approached the July 21 commission meeting to ask the...

  • City, county discussing financial support of dispatch center

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 23, 2022

    The city of Portales has asked Roosevelt County to contribute financial support towards the cost of operating its dispatch center, the Portales Police Communications Center. The city and county have been discussing that request but have yet to come to an agreement. “The call center is responsible for all E-911 and non-emergency dispatch calls,” said Sarah Austin, Portales city manager. “This includes all emergency medical calls, fire calls, lockouts, home alarms, law enforcement calls, animal control, civil disputes, (and)...

  • CCC gets state money for mental health

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 23, 2022

    Clovis Community College has been awarded a $50,000 grant to pay for mental health services for students from the New Mexico Higher Education Department. The Clovis Community College grant is part of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s $1 million Mental and Behavioral Health Grant Initiative across the state “to expand existing services, add new resources, conduct staff training, and engage in outreach campaigns encouraging students to seek help,” as stated in a press release. Marcus Smith, CCC’s director of counseling, advisin...

  • Grady teen picks up national honors

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 19, 2022

    William Drake, 14, who will be a Grady Municipal High School freshman next fall, won a Gold in the nationals in the Snatch event at the Olympic Weightlifting Youth Division competition in Las Vegas, Nev., at the end of June. At that competition, he also came in third place in the nation in the 14-15 age group and 49 kilos weight class, said his mother Rene Drake, who is herself a professional weightlifting coach. "William snatched 55kg (131.25lb) and Clean and Jerked 65kg...

  • Roosevelt commission votes to increase salaries

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 16, 2022

    The Roosevelt County Commission voted 3-2 in favor of increasing the salaries of elected officials by 10 percent at its meeting Tuesday. The salaries resolution states: “no salary increase shall take effect until the first day of the term of an elected county official who takes office on or after January 1, 2023, nor shall they go into effect until the first day of the term for any elected official who takes office on or after January 1, 2025.” Commissioners Rodney Savage, Dennis Lopez and Tina Dixon voted in favor of the...

  • Portales council discusses city officers for Elida

    Kathleen Stinson The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 10, 2022

    The Portales City Council voted Tuesday to enter into negotiations with Elida to provide the town limited law enforcement services. The council voted to instruct Town Manager Sarah Austin to draw up an agreement for possible approval at a future council meeting. Elida Mayor Durward Dixon spoke to the council saying the town’s main concern is “we need a little traffic control.” The town wants to pay Portales off-duty officers to monitor the school zones during the school year once or twice a week, the mayor said. The rate...

  • Clovis holds informational pipeline meeting

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 9, 2022

    The city of Clovis held a public meeting Wednesday to update residents on the status of the Ute Pipeline Project. Clovis Mayor Mike Morris made the presentation at the meeting. Prominent in the discussion, which included questions from the public, was detailed information on the water levels in the Ogallala Aquifer and the Ute Reservoir. These are the two sources that will provide water sustainability to the city of Clovis and other nearby communities in the future. The city is proposing increasing its mill levy by one to...

  • Soapbox Derby winner off to nationals

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 5, 2022

    It's summer and that means it is time for the All-American, now gone global, tradition of soap box derby races. Clovis, New Mexico held its local soap box derby race June 25 and 10-year-old DJ Padilla finished First Place. He will go onto the FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby World Championship in Akron, Ohio held from July 17-23. "The Local Race Program is a race held annually by this Soap Box Derby licensed Local Race Organization," as stated on the...

  • Agreement sought to reduce drain on aquifer

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jul 5, 2022

    The Ogallala Land & Water Conservancy, along with other members of the Clovis-Curry County community, have been working to forge an agreement with 10 farmers who own land to the north and west of Cannon Air Force Base. The mission is to take the water in the aquifer accessed by their wells out of production for irrigation for three years. An agreement is expected to be reached this month. The farmers would be paid to conserve the water in their wells, using only enough water for dryland farming, cattle grazing and personal...

  • Applications being accepted for funding assistance

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jun 28, 2022

    Clovis Economic Development (CED) announced it is now accepting applications from businesses to qualify for funding assistance under the Local Economic Development Act. The purpose of the funding is to incentivize new retail businesses to come to Clovis and existing ones to expand, said Lee Malloy, president of the Clovis Economic Development Corporation. The types of businesses eligible for the funding are ones that fall into categories the city has identified as underserved. The City of Clovis had a gap analysis done that i...

  • Curry, Roosevelt students earn awards in 4-H contests

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jun 25, 2022

    The 2022 Curry and Roosevelt County 4-H Contest Awards have been handed out. Mindy Turner, Family and Consumer Science Agent for the Curry County Extension Office of New Mexico State University, said the awards were given out on Friday June 10 and included several youth who will go on to compete in the district and state competitions. “These are educational activities that we are providing to build life skills for our youth,” said Mindy Turner, Family and Consumer Science Agent for the Curry County Extension Office of New...

  • Clovis mayor says city must raise mill levy for pipeline

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jun 25, 2022

    Clovis Mayor Mike Morris says the city needs to increase its mill levy by one to pay a share of the cost of constructing the Ute Pipeline, because the Ogallala Aquifer is running out of water. Morris spoke at the June 16 commission meeting about the critical need for the Ute Pipeline, which would provide a sustainable source of drinking water to the city. He addressed the proposal to increase the residential and non-residential property tax. Morris said in an interview Thursday that the need for the pipeline is “extremely c...

  • ENMU summer camp space still available

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jun 21, 2022

    Eastern New Mexico University's summer camps, which are held on various dates from June to July, are now in full swing. Some space is still available for participants to sign-up. Inquiries are directed to [email protected]. The summer camps program "gives an opportunity for Eastern New Mexico University coaches and student athletes to instruct local youth and pass on their knowledge and skills on basketball courts to youth," said Cameron Brennan, ENMU Assistant Sports...

  • ENMU changes slogan

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jun 18, 2022

    Eastern New Mexico University’s slogan will change this summer to more closely reflect the school’s commitment to every student’s success. The new slogan, “Student Success! That’s What We’re About!” will appear on all published university materials and will replace the former slogan, “Explore, Experience, Excel.” A focus group of faculty, staff and student leaders reviewed the old slogan last spring and decided to change the slogan to one that more closely reflects “a core value of the university,” the ENMU release states....

  • Clovis 'unlocks' playgrounds for use

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jun 18, 2022

    Clovis Municipal School District announced this week that it has “unlocked” its elementary parks and playgrounds for public use for the first time since the pandemic. “We want to make sure the community knows we unlocked our playgrounds,” said Jay Brady, Superintendent of Operations Clovis Municipal School District, adding the district previously had to close the playgrounds due to the pandemic. “On Tuesday, the superintendent of schools Renee Russ met with district cabinet members and a decision was made to open our playg...

  • Higher Education Department accepting loan repayment applications

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jun 18, 2022

    The state of New Mexico Higher Education Department announced this week it is accepting applications for its 2022 Teacher Loan Repayment Program, which is designed to help pay off some of the burden of the federal student loans veteran teachers incurred paying for their education. Higher Education Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez said in an interview on Thursday that this program, which began in 2001, increased since 2019 by $3 million and this year has a total of $5 million in the fund available for applicants. Rodriguez said...

  • Grady student Olympic hopeful

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jun 14, 2022

    William Drake, 14, who will be a Grady Municipal High School freshman next fall, is competing in the Olympic Weightlifting Youth Division competition in Las Vegas, Nev., at the end of this month. 2022 USA Weightlifting National Championships Week will be held from June 25-July 3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. William's mother, Rene Drake, who is herself a professional weightlifting coach, said the "annual competition is one of nine national meets. Athletes must qualify...

  • Juneteenth celebration set for Sunday in Clovis

    Kathleen Stinson, The Staff of The News|Updated Jun 14, 2022

    This Sunday the entire community is invited to celebrate Juneteenth Freedom Day, which commemorates the effective end of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth Freedom Day is celebrated on June 19th every year and became a federal holiday in 2021, said Alisia Johnson, spokeswoman for MECA Therapies LLC Early Intervention, a sponsor of the event that will bring many area agencies to Potter Park at 601 Upsilon Street in Clovis from 9 am to 4 pm. The event is free and open to the public. “Juneteenth (short for “June Nin...

  • Clovis commission discusses changes to sign code ordinance

    Kathleen Stinson, Staff writer|Updated Dec 4, 2021

    CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission discussed a sign code ordinance at its meeting on Thursday, voting to approve the introduction of the ordinance. Some changes the commission discussed include increasing the distance between billboards to 1,000 feet instead of 500 feet, reducing the time before an abandoned sign must be removed from six months to three months, and to allow one temporary sign that can be within 10 feet of the front door in the business district and cannot stay out overnight. Mayor Mike Morris said the p...

  • DOH: Children's vaccines are 'taking off quickly'

    Kathleen Stinson, Staff writer|Updated Nov 20, 2021

    Vaccines for children five to 11 years of age “are taking off quickly,” according to the New Mexico Department of Health’s Wednesday update. To schedule a vaccination for a child, go online to VaccineNM.org/kids. Children five to 11 require two doses taken three weeks apart and two weeks beyond that for the vaccination to work, according to the DOH. The vaccine for children is 91 percent effective in preventing COVID-19. As of Wednesday, the percentage of New Mexicans who are fully vaccinated is 61.4%. A total of 274,1...

  • Dark comedy on ENMU playbill

    Kathleen Stinson, Staff writer|Updated Nov 16, 2021

    PORTALES - Eastern New Mexico University's Theatre and Digital Filmmaking Department is hoping some dark comedy can be a little relatable to their audiences this weekend. The play, "Gruesome Playground Injuries" by playwright Rajiv Joseph, will be performed in the University Theatre Center at 7 p.m. nightly, Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Director Ricky Quintana, an instructor at the ENMU Theater Department, said: "It's a dark comedy. We do have laughter in...

  • In tribute: Jesse Merl Porter never turned down the unfortunate

    Kathleen Stinson, Staff writer|Updated Nov 13, 2021

    Jesse Merl Porter of Portales, who died Oct. 4 at the age of 81, was well known for his fairness, generosity and belief in people. He served as Roosevelt District Magistrate Judge from 1972 to 1999. "I can tell you my dad was an extremely fair and honest person," daughter Kristi Cacy said. His son, Alan Porter said: "He never turned down anyone who was just plain unfortunate." Cacy said her father "really impacted people's lives - not only us kids but people in the community....

  • State receives 30,000 vaccine doses for children

    Kathleen Stinson, Staff writer|Updated Nov 6, 2021

    Last week New Mexico received 30,000 doses of vaccines for children ages five to 11 years old, according to health experts at the New Mexico Department of Health COVID-19 update held on Wednesday. Secretary of Health David Scrase said this is part of a three-wave shipment of an initial 90,000 doses in total. The second group of doses was scheduled to arrive Friday, and the third group Wednesday. Deputy Secretary of Health Laura Parajon said: “I don’t think there will be any delay in the doses; you can get a scheduled appointm...

  • Clovis sets legislative priorities for 2022

    Kathleen Stinson, Staff writer|Updated Nov 6, 2021

    The Clovis City Commission set priorities for requests for funding from the 2022 legislative session at its meeting Thursday. After discussion, the commission ranked by way of priorities to bring before its legislators first Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard reconstruction between 7th and 21 streets at an estimated cost of $1 million, second Ray Walker Recreation Center HVAC and roof improvements at a cost of $600,000, residential lighting third at a cost of $200,000 to start, fourth the Fixed Base Operator design for a...

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