Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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The Portales City Council on Tuesday moved one step forward in securing a Safe Haven baby box for the city. Council members had an in-depth discussion with City Attorney Steve Doerr on some of the legal language required for getting a baby box in New Mexico. Doerr wanted to address concerns he had with the council on the New Mexico Safe Haven for Infants Act. The document he went over is New Mexico statute; what governs and regulates having a baby box in New Mexico. Some of the language Doerr wanted to make sure the council...
Early voting continues through Nov. 4 across the region for multiple school district and municipal board seats. Election Day is Nov. 7. Local ballots also include three tax questions, for voters in school districts in Dora, Portales and Texico. All are continuation of taxes voters have previously approved, superintendents said. In Portales, the tax levy – if approved -- will continue to be used to “purchase new computers, chrome books, smart projectors, cameras, IT infrastructure, infrastructure for WiFi, network infrastructu...
A new regional emergency air transport service is set to launch Tuesday at Roosevelt General Hospital. AeroCare 12 will service eastern New Mexico communities with its primary focus being Roosevelt and Curry counties. In a statement from AeroCare, the Bell 407 helicopter “allows rapid transport from rural communities to tertiary healthcare facilities in Lubbock, Amarillo and Albuquerque.” This new addition is to provide the deployment and transport of critically ill or injured patients at a much faster response time, acc...
Portales and Roosevelt County could see three new businesses soon, according to the Roosevelt County Community Development Corp. Jodi Diaz, executive director for RCCDC, told county commissioners Tuesday that one of the three potential new neighbors is closer to making it final than the others. “The one that we are very close, we are all the way down to waiting on a contract,” Diaz said. “… (I)t is retail, but aimed at ag and kind of rural agriculture.” Diaz declined to name the businesses, but said the other two were in t...
Doug Pfaffenberger Q: What made you decide to run for the school board? A: As a parent and as a spouse of someone that works in the school district, I want to see a different direction that things are going and see if I could help to maybe guide it in a different direction. Q: How are you qualified? A: I’ve run my own business for 20 years, and I kind of see a school board as basically the managers of a big business. You want to create a good work atmosphere. Obviously, you need to budget, and you want to put out a good p...
In three days, I’ll officially be one month out from my due date. This week marks week 35, and it’s all starting to feel real. Apparently baby girl is as big as a pineapple this week. It doesn’t feel like she’s nearly that big, but I always forget how she’s probably pretty crunched up in there. She’s just a little over 5 pounds and about 18 inches long. While the last few months have been super productive and we’ve been able to get things ready, I still feel like I have a million things to do. If only I could get up and ge...
Making cancer a top priority is something one Clovis native has dedicated much of his time and effort into. George Barber, 54, recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent the state at the annual American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Leadership Summit and Lobby Day. "We were just there to remind them the need for these bills for cancer in general, whatever cancer," Barber said. A survivor of colon cancer for 14 years, Barber said he and four other...
A search committee has been approved to help Clovis Community College in its efforts to hire a new president. Marcus Smith was selected as a liaison between CCC and ACCT, the firm hired to lead the search. Smith is the dean of Student Services/Government Relations for CCC. “I believe this is an excellent choice for all concerned,” Trustees Chair Lora Harlan said. The person in this position needs to be an administrator that can be a “voice for the campus,” according to Harlan. They are to help with logistics, communi...
Portales Fire Chief TJ Cathy is hoping to enter into a contract with the Roosevelt County Commission on providing services outside city limits. Cathy presented to the Portales City Council on Tuesday, asking for its approval to present to the county on why he believes Portales Fire Department is the best option for providing these services. "It will help the overall system," Cathy said. Last fiscal year, Cathy reported PFD responded to 683 calls outside city limits, which is 1...
Editor’s note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local school board candidates. For the Clovis School Board, in District 5, Nathan McCreery is challenging incumbent Terry Martin, the board president. Nathan McCreery Q: What made you decide to run for the school board? A: I made the decision to run for school board because the things that I’m seeing in our schools are not the direction I think we need to head as a community. Q: How are you qualified? A: I have run a small business in Clovis since 1978. I w...
Editor's note: Reporter Landry Sena is a Melrose native and the daughter of former Melrose Superintendent Jamie Widner. Melrose is home to one of the oldest school buildings in New Mexico that's still in operation. But demolition may be drawing near. Superintendent Brian Stacy held a community forum Tuesday evening to discuss the status of the buildings on the school campus and possible monies available from the Public Schools Capital Outlay Council. Area residents expressed...
The Roosevelt County Commission on Tuesday passed an ordinance it says would challenge the governor, should she ever try to enforce a law the county did not want to enforce. “It gives Roosevelt the chance to say we're not going to enforce an unconstitutional mandate,” Roosevelt County Attorney Michael Garcia said. Larry Marker, a Chaves County resident, told commissioners the ordinance means: “If she comes down and challenges the ordinance, then the governor must presume that you guys acted within the law. And then she's...
A new president for Clovis Community College is set to be announced in early April with the help of ACCT Searches, the company that was hired last month to assist CCC trustees in the search. Chair Lora Harlan on Wednesday went over the process outlined by ACCT. “ACCT has been very diligent, and they've done this enough times,” Harlan said. “They know about how long it needs to take to go from one step to another.” Harlan said the next step will be to have a special meeting in mid-October to approve the search committ...
The Clovis City Commission on Thursday approved employee pay increases. City Manager Justin Howalt said the process to make this possible has lasted a couple of years. “We have been working hard to get our compensations within the correct range based off the market,” Howalt said. Over the last several years, the city has increased the ranges for each position, according to Howalt. While this did move each salary forward, Howalt said the downside of increasing pay is that it created some compression within the salary ran...
Clovis Fire Chief Mike Nolen had high praise for firefighters who battled the Sept. 3 blaze at Walmart. “The personnel in my department performed as well as anybody ever has. I am so proud,” Nolen told city commissioners at Thursday’s meeting. Crews from Pleasant Hill, Farwell, Texico, Ranchvale, Grady, Broadview, Melrose, Portales and Bovina also helped extinguish the fire Walmart officials estimated caused $42 million in damages. Nolen said it was a major challenge, and not something anyone could really be prepared for....
Today’s daily fact: my baby’s thumb is the size of a jelly bean. How are we already at 33 weeks? That’s only like … seven more weeks to go. It’s hard to believe this 4-pound baby will be earth side and in my arms so soon. Apparently week 33 of pregnancy is a good time to start packing my hospital bag. Because this is my first time doing this whole thing, I’m not sure what’s really needed and what’s not. Just like everything else, there are a lot of gadgets and gizmos out there that can be overwhelming for a first-time mom. So...
The Portales City Council on Tuesday approved a 50-foot tall electronic billboard to be placed at 1603 W. Second St. The sign will be 10 feet by 32 feet wide. Some council members had concerns with the sign's size, stating they wanted the city to look clean and inviting. Some also were concerned it might distract drivers. Tom Palmer, who was there to represent the Lindmark advertising company, told councilors the city's Planning and Zoning committee had also expressed...
Clovis city commissioners on Thursday named Debbie Zamora to fill the empty seat in District 3. Zamora, Douglas Pettigrew and Christopher Davis all applied to fill the spot after Commissioner David Bryant resigned last month. Bryant submitted his resignation on Aug. 23, after he had stopped attending city commission meetings in June, when Mayor Mike Morris accused him of lying about attending a taxpayer-funded training session in Santa Fe. "I do see the need to serve," Zamora...
Kevin Wilson remembers Professor Sue Strickler's pop quizzes that weren't so fun at the time. It was his freshman year in the fall of 1996 at Eastern New Mexico University. Wilson, a longtime local journalist, was confident he was doing well in his American government class. Strickler thought the class wasn't reading the material. So, she decided to implement a series of pop quizzes. "They (the questions) consistently got harder as it went," Wilson said. "She said, 'if you...
Editor's note: This is one in a continuing series of state-of-the-entity interviews with local officials. Bill Priest is the newly hired hospital chief executive for Plains Regional Medical Center. Q: What is your background in healthcare? Where did you grow up? A: I've been in healthcare for 25 or 30 years now. I have been in healthcare leadership for roughly that length of time, I started off actually doing cardiac rehab. I worked with cardiac patients in the hospital on...
This marks week 31, and I’m happy to report Baby Sena and I passed our glucose test with flying colors. Now that we’re in the home stretch, the nesting and stress is getting more and more intense. Working around the house and trying to get things done is becoming a bit challenging considering my lungs are getting more and more squished in there. I often find myself having a hard time catching my breath. And even though she’s only a little over 3 pounds, I would guess she weighs at least 5 because of how my center of gravi...
A flyer is being circulated reminding Curry County residents that the Melrose Health Cinic is "now open," but the clinic has been in operation since May. Plains Regional Medical Center (PRMC) opened the primary care clinic in Melrose through a partnership with Curry County in May, and providers say it has been a resource well-received by the small community. Curry County Manager Lance Pyle said, however, area residents had told him they were not aware the clinic was open. The...
Curry County employees will be making more money after a 2% increase in pay was approved by the county commission Tuesday morning. County Manager Lance Pyle presented the pay raise resolution to the Curry County Commission Tuesday, which read in part that the commission “is committed to retaining its qualified employees and desires to offer competitive pay in order to draw and attract qualified employees as may be needed when vacancies occur.” The resolution also states that the pay raise accounts for inflation and other fac...
Curry County commissioners completed their annual tour and inspection of the Curry County Detention Center (CCDC) Tuesday. Joe Alaniz, an administrator for CCDC walked the commissioners through the jail and went over the process of getting someone booked in. Commissioners addressed different needs for the jail with Alaniz, and also discussed numbers and various updates. Commission chair Robert Thornton told the News, "Mr. Alaniz is doing a very good job in taking over and...
Editor's note: This is one in a continuing series of state-of-the-entity interviews with local officials. Quentin Ray is the district attorney for the ninth judicial district. This interview was conducted before Jimmy Guillen was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Lubbock. Q: How do you prioritize the cases that come across your desk? A: There is a sense of, we have to narrow it down and focus on what can we accomplish. So we try to do that with the more serious crimes. We...
