Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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ENMU nursing program receives accreditation PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University has received accreditation for its Bachelor of Science in Nursing Completion Program and its Master of Science in Nursing Program from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, according to a school release. The accreditation from ACEN is through spring 2029, when the next site visit is scheduled. The university is required to submit annual reports and various updates. “The nursing program faculty and staff have worked dil...
CLOVIS — In what is likely to be its last meeting of 2021, the Clovis Parks, Recreation and Beautification Committee heard about a variety of items to move the parks and recreation department forward over the next few years. The board, which meets on the third Monday of each month, traditionally skips November and December because park activities somewhat slow down over those months and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays usually create various scheduling conflicts. The November meeting was canceled, and it was p...
PORTALES — With the exception of death, life’s biggest inevitability remains taxes. That’s the case in Roosevelt County, as well, but the inevitable is being delayed a few weeks. Treasurer Layle Sanchez said at Tuesday’s county commission meeting that county property owners would normally be receiving their tax bills right now. However, that will be delayed for a few weeks because the county is waiting on the Nov. 2 election. On the ballot are six different tax questions — two general obligation bond questions and four capi...
PORTALES — The city of Portales hopes to have its pool back open again in May, but public works officials have their fingers crossed due to supply chain issues. The city council on Tuesday approved a pair of items totaling roughly $375,000 for the pool, which was closed in 2020 for COVID-19 concerns and stayed closed this year with repairs needed. The first, totaling $336.530.63, was for refinishing. The work from WWRC, Inc. will include sand blasting, joint sealant removal and new pool coating in both the main pool and k...
CLOVIS — The Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, while building its initial water infrastructure to connect Clovis and Portales, aims to add laterals to also deliver bulk water to authority members Texico and Elida. The city of Clovis, meanwhile, has received state economic development funds to extend its water system to the Clovis Regional Airport off of NM 523, which connects Clovis and Texico. During an hour-long Wednesday study session, authority members and Texico village representatives felt it just made s...
PORTALES - Supply chain issues are wreaking havoc on home renovations, and Eastern New Mexico University is no exception. Still, university officials are hopeful a completed renovation for the University House could be quite the Christmas gift. University Chancellor Patrice Caldwell provided a tour of the work in progress Friday to ENMU Regent Lance Pyle and members of the Sodexo food service team. The News was invited on the tour by Pyle. The house, which the university...
CLOVIS — The Curry County Commission has received a warning from the New Mexico Department of Health for repeatedly failing to follow public health guidance on face masks at its meetings. The Sept. 30 letter from Deputy Secretary and General Counsel Billy Jimenez notes that video of recent commission meetings shows county commissioners, other county employees and citizens attending the meetings are frequently not wearing masks or wearing them incorrectly. The state has required face coverings in indoor settings, regardless o...
CLOVIS — The Clovis Community College Board of Trustees will swear in a new board member in its Nov. 3 meeting. Who that is remains to be seen, with the board announcing during its Wednesday meeting it is seeking applications through Oct. 15 to replace Arnold Martinez, who resigned his District 2 post Aug. 16 due to a move out of the district. Martinez was appointed to the position in December 2004, and had won re-election ever since. Board Chair Lora Harlan said the appointment was one of the more important tasks the c...
CLOVIS - Whether it gets served on a kitchen table or a cafeteria line, state education officials said Thursday, good food is the product of labor and love. The staff of Clovis Municipal Schools was recognized for both, as CMS was proclaimed New Mexico's inaugural school food champion. The district's 63 employees were honored in a ceremony at the Marshall Middle School courtyard. According to a PED release, the award was given to CMS based on a quality of food survey taken in...
The following is a Q&A with candidates for the District 3 position on the Portales Municipal Schools Board of Education. Angela Smith and Jimmie Standifer are running for the open seat, with incumbent Alan Garrett not running for re-election. Candidates were each asked the same questions via phone. The election is Nov. 2. Early voting began Tuesday. Why did you decide to run? Smith: There are many reasons. One of the reasons is I think God has been leading me to do this for some time and I’ve also been very concerned about t...
CLOVIS - James Burns said he has been more than happy with the decisions and the directions the city of Clovis has taken over the last several years. Still, he saw a vacancy on the city commission as the right way to help play his part. In a 4-3 vote, the hardware store owner was selected to be a District 1 representative through at least March. Also applying for the position were George Jones, Justin Nutt and Michael Thalleen. "I plan to do the best job I possibly can,"...
Local named to council for firm CLOVIS — Mindy Watson, executive director of planning and sponsored projects for Clovis Community College, has been named to the Student Success Innovation Council for education firm EAB, according to a school release. Watson is one of 23 new SSIC members serving one-year council terms to network and cooperate on EAB’s strategies and products. “We have the opportunity to shape the direction of innovation in this industry for the success of our students,” Watson said in the release. “Being...
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE - The 17th Special Operations Squadron, which stood up Friday at Cannon Air Force Base, will do many of the same things it did on Thursday. But the Jackals have a clearer path going forward, and sound much better than the 27th Special Operations Group Detachment 2 that ceased to exist once the ceremony was complete. The new squadron is not expected to significantly impact the population at Cannon going forward, as many of the initial members were already...
CLOVIS - A staff attorney for the Ninth Judicial District is moving to the bench, as Benjamin Cross last week was selected for the vacant judge's position. Cross, 41, confirmed to The News on Thursday evening he received a phone call from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham informing him of his appointment to the position. He was one of four candidates recommended to the governor in late August by a committee of local and state representatives. A swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for...
CLOVIS - From domination to collapse to comeback, Friday had a crazy five minutes for the Clovis Wildcats and their new district rival. Senior Milo Acosta, just minutes after throwing what appeared to be the deciding pick-six, escaped a sack just long enough to deliver a 91-yard strike to Robert Nora that just flipped a 25-24 decision the Wildcats' way at Leon Williams Stadium. Clovis, in avoiding its first 0-5 start since 1999, did just enough to come away with a victory....
CLOVIS - Ladona Clayton was more than prepared to call it a career in education and start retirement in Angel Fire. But the only job that could change her mind came up, and she will restart her efforts on local water issues as executive director of the Ogallala Land and Water Conservancy. Clayton's first day in the position was Friday, and she is handling the early tasks remotely until she takes up office space in downtown Clovis on Oct. 11. "I'm excited, and I'm thrilled to...
After a year of sitting on the sidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Clovis and Portales bands are getting set for some lighthearted themes in their competitive band routines this month. Both the Clovis High and Portales High bands are heading to Texas this week to open up an October generally known as band competition season. “They’re extremely excited,” Clovis High Director Bill Allred said. “Last Friday was our first performance in two years. In years past … kids would be scared the first time. The kids were exci...
CLOVIS - Parks, Recreation and Beautification Committee members got a first look Monday at a shooting range that is nowhere near completion but starting to take shape. The committee met for about an hour just outside of the Joe C. Thomas Archery and Winged Shooting Training Center and discussed the range, potential new donation policies and hopes for various grants. City Manager Justin Howalt provided a brief tour of the facility named for the former city manager, mostly by...
PORTALES — Following a brief executive session, Portales city councilors voted Tuesday night to accept a settlement with the state that will put just over $75,000 in the city coffers. By a 6-0 vote, councilors followed their 10-minute closed session with approval of the settlement with the New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department. The city was one of 44 municipalities that sued the department over underreported gross receipts taxes between 2010 and 2017. City Attorney Steve Doerr told The News following the meeting the total s...
PORTALES — In a 20-minute special meeting, the Portales Municipal Schools Board of Education joined other school districts in an effort to delay new social studies curriculum for a year, with instructors and board members criticizing what they referred to as critical race theory. Board President Alan Garrett said the board’s effort came after he’d talked with a member of Artesia’s school board, and the goal is to have around 40 districts opposed to implementation of the standards. The News attended the meeting virtual...
PORTALES — Police suspected a large supply of methamphetamine. But the material found in a Portales hotel on Sept. 17 turned out to be sodium chloride, or table salt. Portales police testing initially identified the substances found in multiple locations around the Super 8 Hotel as meth. But New Mexico State Police said precise testing at a police lab found the material to be the kind of salt one puts on French fries. It was an easy mistake to make, NMSP spokesperson Dusty Francisco said, because the method used to test the c...
ALBUQUERQUE — The identity of Billy the Kid is shrouded in some level of mystery, unless you ask the three towns in three states that claim to host the gunslinger’s grave. A New Mexico filmmaker who has become one of the legend’s biggest fans is planning a different way to argue who’s right. And Michael Giudicissi expects to get “The Final Trial of Billy the Kid” to cause some disagreements. “The story of Billy the Kid has been transformed and pulled and twisted for 140 years,” Giudicissi said. “If anybody comes away with a c...
FARWELL - The Texico Wolverines made plenty of stops Friday just across the tracks, getting host Farwell to come up short on three drives in Wolverine territory while also notching a defensive touchdown and a kickoff return touchdown. More impressive for the host Steers, however, is all of that happened and the boys in blue still managed a three-touchdown victory, rolling out 580 yards in a 56-34 victory that seemed all but certain midway through the second quarter. Sophomore...
CLOVIS - To an outsider just pulling into an empty grocery store parking lot on a clear Tuesday night, the gaggle of trucks and low light suggested something nefarious was happening in north Clovis. The real answer is a lot less scandalous, and a lot more interesting and/or complicated. A sizable portion of the Eastern New Mexico Amateur Radio Club had gathered informally to communicate with other radio enthusiasts across the country - with a little help from above. Members...
CLOVIS — Parents of Clovis High School Freshman Academy students understood lost instruction time was a No. 1 priority for school administrators. But they felt a policy the school announced Wednesday, and subsequently flushed Thursday, was a well-intended effort that missed the mark and created issues downstream. The policy announced Wednesday informed parents that to reduce lost instruction time to the restroom, students would receive punch cards limiting them to five in-class breaks every nine weeks, and that students were...
