Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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CLOVIS — Charles Nwankwo’s first board of trustees meeting as president at Clovis Community College was a short one, with board members joking they may hold him to that standard. The trustees met for 20 minutes Wednesday morning at the college, approving a variety of routine items with Nwankwo taking over for Interim President Robin Kuykendall at the trustee table. Nwankwo thanked Kuykendall for her service, noting “She left the college in a stronger position, and I am pleased for that.” He reported his initial meeting...
WASHINGTON — Sen. Martin Heinrich expressed disappointment Tuesday with the U.S. Air Force on its work so far in remediating water contamination near Cannon Air Force Base. Heinrich, speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, addressed Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett in response to comments the Air Force was working with communities experiencing water contamination from the Air Force’s decades-long use of firefighting foams that contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS. “In the c...
PORTALES —Maintenance is one of those things that, if done right, nobody else gives it a second thought. Portales Municipal Schools board members and administrators were thinking about it plenty as they bid an early farewell during Monday night’s board meeting to longtime district Director of Maintenance Nat Gomez. Gomez, who has served the district in that position since November 2002, is leaving later this month for a position with the Lancaster Independent School District in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Board mem...
CLOVIS - Over the last few months, Clovis Mayor David Lansford has spearheaded an effort to "put skin in the game" and try to get $90 million in funding to complete an interim underground pipeline to connect Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority members before the pipeline makes its final connection to the Ute Reservoir. At Wednesday's Clovis water policy advisory committee meeting, he began another effort to give the best chance to ensure groundwater is available for...
CLOVIS — Before approving the 2020-21 district calendar in a unanimous vote, Clovis school board members noted overwhelming positive feedback from community members. They received a few more hurrahs at the Tuesday meeting from elected officials, confident they’d gotten more than a fair deal. The district calendar begins July 1 for K-5 Plus programs, with most students reporting Aug. 17 and preschool and kindergarten students Aug. 24. Curry County Commissioners Chet Spear and Seth Martin expressed thanks because the ins...
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission on Thursday gave preliminary approval for a liquor license transfer to a reborn Clovis eatery. But the item might come back to the commission again, depending on the definition of a school. By a 7-1 vote, the commission approved the license transfer from Brickyard Pizza in Albuquerque to the Guadalajara restaurant set to open in the next few months inside the Master’s Centre. The Guadalajara, first opened in 1951 by Librado Casillas, was operated by the family near Clovis’ railyards until 2...
CLOVIS — In the last few weeks the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority received its biggest federal award in project history with $15 million, and its biggest award from the governor’s office with $1 million. Chairman David Lansford hopes this is a good launching point for future awards to fulfill the 20/30/40 plan to fund an interim groundwater pipeline. Members had an overall positive feeling about the recent legislative session that concluded a week before the authority met Thursday at the authority offices at the...
CLOVIS - Shooting enthusiasts are looking forward to the day they'll be able to have practice and competitions at Ned Houk Park. Disc golf enthusiasts are hoping to stay there, but grow the game a few miles beyond the park. Both sports were covered during discussions at Monday's Clovis Parks, Beautification and Recreation committee meeting. Disc golf is played with flying discs, most of them around 8.5 inches in diameter, metal baskets that serve as targets and concrete pads...
CLOVIS — Under the right light, 30 days can seem like a marathon — or a blink of the eye. Enter the New Mexico legislative session. The 30-day session included plenty of spending, including $1 million for the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, capital outlay worth $5.3 million throughout Curry County and $3.8 million throughout Roosevelt County and an additional $500,000 for road improvements in Roosevelt County. The News reached out to local legislators for their thoughts on the 30-day session that concluded Thu...
CLOVIS - The only thing left to do now is vote. There was a palpable sense of relief once candidates in each Clovis city race left the dais of the Clovis-Carver Public Library's North Annex on Wednesday night. They left knowing the Big 101.5 forum was the last scheduled for the election season, with early voting continuing Monday through Saturday and Election Day March 3. Sixteen candidates attended the forum covering four different races - mayor, city commission districts 1...
CLOVIS — A somewhat familiar bunch of faces is coming back into town for the summer’s Draggin’ Main Music Festival. Music fans will, however, see a drop from three concerts to two when the festival runs June 13-20. The details were discussed during the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce’s board meeting on Wednesday. Board President Greg Southard said Penrose, Colorado-based Gravel is on to do the opening act for .38 Special in the June 19 headliner concert. Southard announced during the January chamber banquet that .3...
GRADY — Chisum Rush didn’t dream of playing college baseball a few years ago, but striking out the side for six consecutive innings tends to change things. That happened Rush's sophomore year, he had an even better junior year and now Rush is college-bound after signing a letter of intent with Luna Community College. Rush, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior, said he also looked at Wayland Baptist but decided the two-year route with T.C. Nusser was the best starting point. “We prayed about it and thought about it,” Rush said. ...
CLOVIS — In the 2012 film “Argo,” CIA agents plot to smuggle six American embassy workers out of Iran by pretending they’re part of a film crew. The agents’ pitch to higher-ups covers how they know it’s a longshot but, “It’s the best bad idea we’ve had.” Curry County commissioners are still weighing what the best bad idea is with the county’s sparingly used juvenile detention center: Keep it open and shoulder the burdens of a state juvenile system with dwindling housing options, or close it and take on the logistics of loca...
CLOVIS — For now, the coronavirus doesn’t seem to be an issue for the health of Curry County, and it might never become one. Financially? That seems like more of a certainty. County financial advisor Rob Burpo told Curry County commissioners Tuesday the impact from the virus could stretch over a few financial quarters because of its impact to the Chinese economy and the ripple effects created. When investors panic over the news of the day, Burpo said, the normal reaction is to put money into treasury bonds, which impacts inte...
CLOVIS - It's pretty rare for a political forum to be held for one specific district on the Clovis City Commission. But it's just as rare to have a candidate field as crowded as this District 1. All seven candidates made their case Thursday as the Clovis Rotary Club held its second of three political forums on the March 3 municipal election. The seven candidates are the most for any municipal race since 2002, when 10 people ran for the open municipal judge position. The...
CLOVIS — Plenty of transition was either happening, or about to happen, as the Clovis Community College Board of Trustees convened for the first time in 2020 on Thursday morning. Members welcomed incoming college President Charles Nwankwo, marked the coming end to Robin Kuykendall’s term as interim president, welcomed a new trustee in Carolyn Spence and parted ways with their auditing firm. Nwankwo, scheduled to step into the president’s office on Monday, attended the meeting as a spectator. He said he would take a littl...
CLOVIS — City commissioners on Thursday tabled a request to condemn a home on the 900 block of Purdue Street. Building Safety Director Pete Wilt said the home had been without utilities for years, and the person living there had set fires inside and outside of the house to keep warm. Wilt noted two years of attempts to resolve the issues at the home. William Jones Jr. of Houston called into the meeting and said he is the owner of the property and was not aware of the issues until he was sent a letter in January. Curry C...
CLOVIS - Motorists heading south of Clovis had a smoke-filled and possibly detoured drive Friday, as Clovis fire crews spent the morning fighting a blaze just south of the Prince Street Overpass. Clovis Fire Department Battalion Chief Joel Gershon said there were no injuries, but one firefighter was resting at home Friday afternoon after going to the hospital for an asthma attack. Crews got the call for the fire about 7:20 a.m. About 20 minutes in, the fire created what...
CLOVIS — The animals of the Hillcrest Park Zoo have seen plenty from the people who travel the sidewalks of their residences, from Christmas light displays to Halloween crowds of kids. They’re about to get a cocktail party, as the Clovis City Commission approved a variance allowing Red Door Brewing to offer alcoholic beverages as part of the May 2 Jazzoo fundraiser. The evening event was not without its critics, as it passed with a 5-3 vote following an explanation by event organizer Jenni Hanson. The Jazzoo event, Han...
Editor’s note: Following publication of this article online, Kasel’s parents posted on Facebook that he would not be able to compete due to injury but was still planning to attend. A few years ago, Dalton Kasel was just another kid in west Texas between towns. "I grew up in Muleshoe," Kasel said. "We lived about 15 miles outside of town. We didn't go to Muleshoe except for groceries. I went to school at Farwell, and my siblings went to school in Lazbuddie." A few months ago, K...
PORTALES — The finance department at Portales Municipal Schools uses too many staples in its documents, and John McKinley added that smiley faces on receipts have got to go. That was how McKinley, a CPA with Woodard, Cowen and Co., noted a worry-free 2018-19 audit of the Portales district at Monday’s school board meeting. The audit had no findings for the second consecutive year, and McKinley said the only reason he was there was the state required an in-person report. “Control structures are still very strong here,” McKinle...
CLOVIS — The city’s water provider informed customers over the weekend about the presence of the “forever chemical” PFAS in a number of its wells. EPCOR said it has taken 10 wells out of commission for now after tests indicated each had a level between 4 and 7 parts per trillion of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The Environmental Protection Agency does not have a requirement to treat PFAS or a drinking water standard, but recommends people consume water with concentrations of less than 70 PPT combined of PFAS and PFO...
By Kevin Wilson EDITOR [email protected] MELROSE - The Melrose and Logan girls basketball teams expect to see each other multiple times between Thursday and the conclusion of the season, and possibly for the Class 1A championship. But for as much as both teams appreciate and respect the other, they're admittedly tired of seeing each other and crossing one potential meeting off the list was a victory in itself. With a big fourth quarter from Karli Webb, the visiting...
CLOVIS — Wildcat football coach Cal Fullerton started Wednesday’s college signing celebration by noting he tells his players to leave things better than how they found them. With Bryce Cabeldue, Ethan Culiver and Malik Phillips aboard, the Wildcat program went to its first state semifinal round in 10 years. Now they’re looking to make a pair of college football programs better, with Cabeldue joining Division-I Kansas and Culiver and Phillips heading the juco route at New Mexico Military Institute. The three were honored Wedne...
PORTALES — Any given year in New Mexico prep football, a team in Class 4A with one of the best five players in the state is a good bet to win a state championship even with an average supporting cast. Philip Blidi was certainly that for the Portales Rams, but the teammates joining him on signing day Wednesday showed exactly why the Rams not only won the 4A title but dominated the field. Blidi kept to his season-long commitment to Texas Tech, Wromiah Gbassagee and Justin Paden joined Eastern New Mexico and Jalen Allen s...
