Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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MELROSE - An athlete of Devon Bailey's physical stature and ability are rarities for a school the size of Melrose. Bailey realized on Wednesday, while fighting through tears of joy, a chance to play college football was even rarer. Bailey, who hopes to be a few weeks away from an eight-man state championship repeat with the Buffaloes, secured his next step in football by signing a letter of intent with nearby Eastern New Mexico University. The ceremony was held in the...
CLOVIS - While it's easy to get wrapped up in it, Clovis football coach Cal Fullerton insists national signing day is just another day on the calendar. But it's fair to say Wednesday was no ordinary day for the Wildcat program, with three players signing national letters of intent and two of them heading to Division-I University of New Mexico. Ernesto Acuna and Jeston Webskowski, who had both made non-binding verbal commitments to Eastern New Mexico University, had the...
PORTALES — From a numbers standpoint, national signing day went about like previous ones did for Eastern New Mexico University, with 56 players inking letters of intent to join the Greyhound program. From a talent standpoint, Kelley Lee thinks he might have his most talented signing class ever, in no small part due to the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on football at the Division II level. With Division II schools largely sitting out the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic, and athletes not using up a year of e...
PORTALES - Nothing has been normal for the Eastern New Mexico University football program since the COVID-19 pandemic began last March. The last 10-plus months started with the Greyhound spring training season wiped out. Then the university decided it would sit out the 2020-21 Lone Star Conference season that got pushed into the spring. And that decision became a moot point when the LSC canceled spring football plans. Today brings a rare moment of normalcy, with coach Kelley L...
ALBUQUERQUE — New Mexico Activities Association board members during an emergency meeting Monday adopted an adjusted sports calendar where the condensed fall sports seasons of football, cross country and volleyball would begin on Feb. 22. Practices for those traditional fall sports also would officially begin Feb. 22. If those dates hold, it would be the first time prep sports would be played in New Mexico in more than 11 months because of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Football season would be limited to five g...
CLOVIS — In their first meeting of 2021, the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority had a sense of optimism on many fronts, with Finished Water 2 wrapping up and Finished Water 3 construction possibly beginning in the second quarter. The authority covered a wide amount of topics in its Thursday meeting at the authority offices. The News attended the meeting via telephone. Federal consultant John Ryan said there are plenty of matters to be sorted that impact the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System, which would e...
CLOVIS - The cancellation of the annual Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce banquet due to COVID-19 restrictions meant outgoing Chamber President Greg Southard couldn't go to a celebration of his year at the helm. So chamber officials brought the celebration to him, surprising Southard with a convoy at his workplace Friday morning to mark a president's term unlike any other. Chamber Executive Director Ernie Kos welcomed Southard to the rank of "PP" - past president, but no...
CLOVIS — The Clovis Municipal Schools Board of Education met on Tuesday, as it generally does near the conclusion of a month. But the timing was of note, with the state announcing earlier that day that in-person learning would soon happen again for all grades for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began last March. Superintendent Renee Russ was admittedly short on details for the Tuesday evening meeting, given that administration received state timelines and expectations only a few hours prior. Hybrid learning can e...
CLOVIS — Whoever wins the next two election cycles for Curry County positions, they’ll see a significant bump in their paycheck. The Curry County Commission, by a 3-2 vote, approved a 10% increase for elected official salaries, effective when the next elected term for each office begins. When fully implemented, the change would run the county about $400,000 annually. The current salaries of elected officials are $64,346.77 for the sheriff, $61,699.85 for the assessor, clerk and treasurer, $24,599.45 for each commissioner and...
CLOVIS — After voting down a transition to county-issued email addresses in their Jan. 12 meeting, the Curry County Commission reversed course. By a 4-1 vote, with Chairman Robert Thornton voting a begrudged, “Yes,” the commission agreed to have currycounty.org email addresses tied to a county-issued tablet or laptop that would only be used for county business. Commissioner Chet Spear, who was part of a 3-2 vote against county email addresses last meeting, brought the issue back to the table because he was made aware of th...
New Mexico officials have repeatedly stressed that the data, not the date, would determine when public health orders would be relaxed for various activities around the state as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Sports teams in the Land of Enchantment finally got a date, as Tuesday afternoon the New Mexico Activities Association announced it can tentatively begin sports seasons on Feb. 22. New Mexico Activities Association Executive Director Sally Marquez said Tuesday afternoon...
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission will take about a week to look at hopefuls for the now-vacant District 4 commission seat. It took them just a few minutes to create the format. Mayor Mike Morris led a quick discussion at Thursday’s commission meeting to suggest the application process he’d like to see to fill the remaining 14 months of the term of R.L. “Rube” Render. Render, who won the seat in 2018, is moving to Lubbock to be closer to family. Based on Render’s Wednesday resignation date, the commission has until Feb....
On their current downward trends with COVID-19, both Curry and Roosevelt counties may be crossing their fingers Wednesday they could move from red to yellow and get slightly relaxed restrictions on businesses and social gatherings. Friday’s report from the governor’s office indicated Curry County confirmed 16 new COVID-19 infections while Roosevelt County confirmed seven. Every two weeks since Nov. 30, the state has measured each county based on whether they meet the two gating benchmarks of 8 daily cases per 100,000 res...
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University regents took care of a pair of important contracts in a half-hour special meeting Thursday afternoon, but spent the majority of the meeting addressing various non-action items, including the status of Greyhound sports. Athletic Director Matt Billings said changes to the regulations for intercollegiate sports issued Monday mainly benefit Division I New Mexico and New Mexico State. He was hopeful changes would happen that could benefit ENMU and other smaller New Mexico colleges, but n...
CLOVIS - Forced online for the first time in a history that's spanned parts of four decades, a Clovis celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. covered successes, obstacles and the work that still remains toward achieving the slain civil rights leader's dreams. In place of the normal scholarship breakfast the Saturday before and the walk through the city streets on the day of, Martin Luther King Jr. Committee members and speakers went to a Zoom meeting format Monday morning...
TEXICO - Even when you're part of a program that's won four consecutive state championships, it's still difficult to get college looks playing at Class 3A Texico. Now imagine doing it when your body of work largely occurred two years ago, and it's even more impressive Seth Griego found himself on Monday at the Texico Sports Arena, signing a letter of intent as friends and family dressed in Oklahoma Panhandle State shirts looked on. Griego, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound pitcher and out...
Following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and last week’s House of Representatives vote to impeach President Donald Trump, The News caught up with Donald “Doc” Elder, a history professor at Eastern New Mexico University, for his perspective on it all: Q: What elements of the last 10 days have precedent? A: It has been precedented in American history for election results to be challenged, most famously in 1876 when three states sent in two completely different sets of election results. It literally wasn...
The New Mexico Legislature finished its 2020 regular session just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, and it’s affected everything since — including the necessity of two special sessions later on in the year. The pandemic is still having impacts as the House and Senate prepare for the 60-day session that begins Tuesday. The News reached out to all six area legislators, and was able to make contact with five to briefly discuss concerns and goals for the session, and what a largely virtual format will mean. Dis...
PORTALES — The Portales Municipal Schools Board of Education took about 30 minutes in December to evaluate Superintendent Johnnie Cain in closed session. It appears the time was positive, as board members took just over a minute Monday night on a one-year extension to Cain’s contract through the 2023-24 school year. “I’d like to commend Mr. Cain for a job well done,” board member Rod Savage said before the 5-0 vote. “We’re fortunate to have him.” Cain’s salary for that year will be determined during the budget process, m...
CLOVIS — With a little bit of disagreement, and some degree of concession, Curry County Commissioners transitioned into 2021 year with a new chairman and one new commissioner aboard. The commission’s Tuesday meeting, which stretched just over 90 minutes, featured a dispute at the beginning and near the conclusion. With former chair Ben McDaniel no longer on the commission — he termed out, and James Ridling was elected to replace him — the first act by Vice Chair Seth Martin was to field candidates for the new chairma...
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission will be down a member in less than two weeks, as District 4’s R.L. “Rube” Render tendered his resignation, effective Jan. 20. In his resignation letter presented at Thursday’s commission meeting, Render referred to recent events in his personal life that led to “some difficult decisions.” He referred to his time on the commission as a good fortune and a high honor, and thanked the mayor, commissioners and the city administration and employees for all they have done. The move was not a sur...
CLOVIS — Durwood Billington, coworkers surmised, knows more about wastewater and takes more pride in it than most people do about anything. The longtime superintendent of the city’s wastewater treatment plant was congratulated on his retirement after 20 years with the city during Thursday’s Clovis City Commission meeting. “I don't think I know anybody else around,” Public Works Director Clint Bunch said, “that knows more about their field than Durwood does. It's not all math, it's not all science. There's a touch needed, and...
CLOVIS — Plains Regional Medical Center was in no way out of the storm that is the COVID-19 pandemic. But Interim Administrator Jorge Cruz said the waters were a little calmer last week. Cruz told the Clovis City Commission during its Thursday virtual meeting the hospital started the day with 15 COVID-19 patients after having 25 to 30 daily over recent months. More relieving, Cruz said, the hospital had no patients, COVID-19 or not, in its intensive care unit for the first time in months. “We did things we never imagined we...
PORTALES — The spring 2021 semester at Eastern New Mexico University will look much like the spring 2020 semester finished — with a largely empty campus intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. But there is some portion of in-person classes returning this semester when the college begins its new term on Jan. 19. Monday marked the first day for employees to return to campus. “It was wonderful to see people after the holiday,” Chancellor Patrice Caldwell said in response to questions from The News. “Even in virtual meetings,...
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission will consider introducing a pair of ordinances in its Thursday meeting, with one laying the groundwork to renew a tax for the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System. The meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. virtually, with broadcasts on Suddenlink Channel 10, the cityofclovis.org website and the city’s Facebook page. The commission by a 7-1 vote in February 2011 passed Ordinance 1953-2011 to create a 0.25% gross receipts tax “obligated to the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority for t...
