Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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PORTALES — A quick look at Class 4A football in the Land of Enchantment looks like you’re playing a dice game, with four different title winners in each of the last four seasons. The better gambling metaphor, however, would be the World Series of Poker. Whatever cards get dealt, the same people always seem to find their way to the final table. The safest bet for 4A’s final four has been Portales, the only team to make every semifinal round in that time. They’re hoping to make...
Imagine if your supervisor said you and your coworkers should each set aside $50 of your paycheck so the office can make a major purchase. The donation is voluntary, but there will be a list of who does donate (meaning you’ll also know who doesn’t donate). I don’t suppose it would matter how well-intentioned that money pooling was. Whether it be for donut Fridays, a Christmas party or helping a coworker befallen with medical expenses, you’d feel like you were being squeezed. Now imagine you’re not getting paid. That’s so...
PORTALES - On a night of many positives, the biggest one from Ram football might be that they expect to be a lot better. With eight days remaining before their season opener at Hope Christian, Portales generally outplayed Robertson in its home scrimmage and showed it expects to make a run for its second 4A title in four seasons and its fifth-consecutive year reaching at least the semifinal round. "I thought we did well on both sides of the ball," Portales coach Jaime Ramirez s...
CLOVIS — A familiar face returned to the front of the Clovis water policy advisory board, and local partners had discussions on protecting water and securing future rights. Mayor David Lansford was reappointed as chairman during the board’s regular meeting Tuesday at Clovis’ City Hall. Lansford rejoins the advisory board following the departure of former District 1 Commissioner and Chair Ladona Clayton. David Robinson has been appointed to serve the final eight months of Clayton’s term, and has no plans to run for re-elec...
PORTALES - Philip Bildi looms large on the field for the Portales Rams. At last count Friday, 6-foot-3 and 253 pounds big. His college decision no longer looms, as the defensive end and lineman verbally committed to Texas Tech, then led the Rams through their final practice of the week Friday evening. Blidi, who ended the Ram practice by leading the chant of "1-2-3-family," had eight Division-I suitors in all - including Texas-El Paso, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Tulsa and...
CLOVIS — In what was a relatively short Clovis City Commission meeting, commissioners said farewell to one of the city’s unsung heroes and said thanks to their police department and other first responders. Commissioners also handled a handful of building condemnations, which made up the lion’s share of discussion items in about 45 minutes of meeting time. All eight commissioners and Mayor Lansford attended, with all votes mentioned below 8-0. The city took a moment to recognized welding supervisor John Bowman for 23 years...
There’s of course more involved, but two of the most important qualities for a journalist to have go hand in hand. One is to be as inquisitive as possible about anything and everything. The other is to know a little bit about anything and everything. The former has led to some of my favorite stories. I once asked a college volleyball player how she got all the way across the country to play in New Mexico. Short answer: Her sister got sick. Long answer: She and her sister played on the same high school team in California, a...
CLOVIS — The Clovis Community College board of trustees updated many of its department heads on the search to find a new president, then took a look at its biggest off-campus asset for whoever assumes the position in January. The board approved a slew of infrastructure items during its regular monthly meeting Wednesday at the college, then held a brief executive session on the house the college owns as a presidential residence on 1621 E. 21st St. After concluding the e...
CLOVIS - Sara Hennessy was happy just to be recognized, but still figured something was coming her way for being last year's Clovis Municipal Schools teacher of the year. "I was thinking, 'I'm going to get to put up a plaque in my room,'" said Hennessy, thinking of her music classroom in the Arts Academy at Bella Vista. Guess bigger. She and Mary Helen Urioste instead got to drive their awards home following the presentation of two new vehicles at the end of CMS'...
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE - There was plenty of pomp and precision Wednesday morning at Cannon Air Force Base, with dozens of airmen in formation practicing every step and rotation hours in advance of the change of command ceremony that accompanies every odd-numbered summer. But the unmistakable elements that filled the hangar on the base's south side were pride and camaraderie as Lt. Gen. James Slife didn't say much about departing Col. Stewart Hammons or incoming 27th Special...
CLOVIS — Sometimes you can’t wait three years between opportunities. While acknowledging the community will only be able to help fund so many opportunities, Clovis school board members on Tuesday seemed amenable to making changes to the current policy for long trips. As she introduced the current policy and her suggested edits, Superintendent Renee Russ said, “I believe we’ve had a somewhat restrictive travel policy in place,” and had a pair of extracurricular advisors discuss its impacts. Under current policy, “no group...
“They say the recipe for Sprite is lemon and lime, but I tried to make it at home. There’s more to it than that. You want some more homemade Sprite? Not until you figure out what the (expletive) else is in it.” — Mitch Hedberg That’s pretty much how I feel when it comes to my favorite beverage, the cream soda. I’ll look up ingredients for it, but if I ever tried to make it you’d get a scene similar to the one described by the late Mr. Hedberg. According to what I could Google very quickly, cream soda has been around long b...
PORTALES — City councilors on Friday agreed unanimously to declare a dangerous building at the site of a weekend fire. The 7-0 votes on three separate issues with the matter came during a special meeting at the Memorial Building, with Mayor Ron Jackson and all city councilors except Oscar Robinson attending. The resolution to declare the dangerous property at 201 N. Ave. I, owned by Brady Brunson, allowed the commission to decide the framework for just how the property issues could be alleviated following the July 30 fire t...
CLOVIS — More than a century ago, the Golden West Flour Mill stood tall and proud, one of many users of the railroad economy that helped establish the still-young city of Clovis. The building was no more Sunday morning, reduced to a city block of burned rubble by a fire that roared into the evening and also claimed a small local business. There was no cause determined for the fire Sunday morning, and Chief Mike Nolen said neither the department nor the state fire m... Full story
A few assignments ago I found myself at a local softball game, looking to fill a small spot in the sports section. A member of the crowd recognized me as a photographer — the camera is apparently a dead giveaway — and asked for a favor. A player on one of the teams had just gone through a difficult family ordeal, and she said a picture of him in the newspaper would mean so much. I had no idea what would unfold in the game, and I make no guarantees because news can break at any time. I told the person I’d keep it in mind,...
CLOVIS — As it greets the 2019-20 fiscal year and waves goodbye to the 2018-19 fiscal year, the Curry County Commission heard phrases anybody would want to hear — under budget and $10 million in the general fund. That was the financial picture county officials gave during Friday’s special meeting largely dedicated to final passage of the $37.312 million budget. County Finance Director Carol Pipes said every county department came in under budget for the year, with the departments averaging 19% below budget, and reven...
CLOVIS — A dozen people might not feel like a lot of people at many events, like a football game or any restaurant on Mother’s Day. But for a public meeting about infrastructure, it’s certainly a crowd. About a dozen attended the city’s Infrastructure and Capital Improvement Plan meetig Thursday at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library. It is the first of two city meetings to gather public input for the plan. The second meeting will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Friendship Senior Center. While most partici...
CLOVIS — A pair of events involving one of Clovis’ newest businesses drew some opposition, but in general won support from the Clovis City Commission after discussions about whether alcohol belonged at certain places and certain functions. By separate 5-1 votes, the commission approved the sale of the Levine’s building on the 400 block of Main Street and allowed a beer garden for the Aug. 6 Under Over Art Festival in Hillcrest Park. Both events involved Red Door Brewing Company, which is Albuquerque-based but has established...
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission officially replaced Ladona Clayton as District 1 commissioner last week, when David Robinson was sworn in for the final eight-plus months of Clayton’s term. On Thursday, the commission will take the next step in reassigning Clayton’s positions on lower boards and committees. Prior to her departure to Dallas for an educational administrative position, Clayton was the District 1 representative for the Public Works Committee and the Chamber of Commerce’s railroad committee, in additio...
Nichole Washburn is preparing for her senior year at Portales High School. But right now, she’s a little busy being Sen. Washburn. Washburn is currently in Washington, D.C., as part of Girls Nation, an American Legion Auxiliary program that gives high school girls a hands-on experience into how government works at local, county, state and federal levels. It is a partner program with Boys Nation offered by the American Legion. Both programs run through Saturday. The candidate pool for Girls Nation is first created at high s...
This week’s best sports radio segment had little to do with sports. This week’s best criticism of ESPN came from inside ESPN. They were the same thing. Wednesday night saw President Trump at a political rally in North Carolina speaking about Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, an American citizen who is originally from Somalia. The crowd began to chant, “Send her back.” Trump basked in the chant for about 10 seconds that night, disavowed it on Thursday, then reversed course Friday and called those crowd members “incred...
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — There was plenty of pomp and precision Wednesday morning at Cannon Air Force Base, with dozens of airmen in formation practicing every step and rotation hours in advance of the change of command ceremony that accompanies every odd-numbered summer. But the unmistakable elements that filled the hangar on the base’s south side were pride and camaraderie as Lt. Gen. James Slife didn’t say much about departing Col. Stewart Hammons or incoming 27th Speci...
CLOVIS — The Clovis police officer who discharged a weapon during a July 6 standoff has not been identified by either the department or the New Mexico State Police, but he was returned to full duty four days after the standoff. The weapon was discharged, officials said, in response to Damon Smith, 42, brandishing a weapon during the two-hour standoff that began around 5 p.m. July 6. Police were called to a report of a domestic disturbance with shots fired on the 2700 block of Wallace Street. Smith remains in the Curry County...
PORTALES - Members of the Portales City Council took the first steps to increasing the salaries for their positions. But they'll have to win another term to reap any benefit. Councilors, by a 6-0 vote, approved introducing a pair of ordinances that would increase the salaries for the mayor, mayor pro team, councilors and municipal judge. Mayor Pro Tem Michael Miller and Councilor Jessica Smith did not attend. City Manager Sammy Standefer said the changes would be up for final...
CLOVIS — President Trump has produced a laundry list of justifications in his threat to veto the National Defense Authorization Act, including border wall funding. New Mexico’s congressional delegation has chosen to focus in on one particular disagreement that impacts the groundwater supply at Cannon Air Force Base and numerous other military installations. Adjacent to Cannon, and many other installations, is an underground plume of water contaminated with perfluoroalkyl substances. More commonly referred to as PFAS, the che...
