Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Liliana Castillo: Freedom New Mexico Clovis Municipal Schools Executive Director of Operations Gene Bieker said he enjoys ensuring that Clovis students learn in safe and clean buildings. Clovis resident Gene Bieker has worked for the Clovis Municipal Schools for 13 years and is headed for retirement this summer. Bieker retired from a career in the military after four years spent in the Navy and 22 years spent in the Air Force. As executive director of operations for CMS, Bieker oversees maintenance, custodial,...
CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo Rockell Horton, back, and Chloe Cowman race down Sycamore Street during the semi-finals of Saturday's Kiwanis Club Soapbox Derby. Taylor Chavez said she’s going to race in the Clovis Rotary Club Soapbox Derby until she wins or turns 18, whichever comes first. After seven years of racing, Chavez has come close to winning, with three third places and one second place. She’s never taken home the golden trophy but missing it again this year didn’t discourage her. “You try to find the tricks...
Clovis and Portales officials are asking residents to watch their water use this weekend and during the summer. New Mexico American Water said Clovis residents consumed 10.8 million gallons per day on Wednesday and Thursday. That’s close to NMAW’s per day production capacity of 11.3 million gallons, according to External Affairs Manager Evan Jacobs. Jacobs said water use often multiplies when temperatures are high. “It’s not just Clovis, it’s everywhere,” Jacobs said. “And most of the use is outdoors. People irrigate, use...
Freedom New Mexico Clovis and Portales officials are asking residents to watch their water use this weekend and during the summer. New Mexico American Water said Clovis residents consumed 10.8 million gallons per day on Wednesday and Thursday. That’s close to NMAW’s per day production capacity of 11.3 million gallons, according to External Affairs Manager Evan Jacobs. Jacobs said water use often multiplies when temperatures are high. “It’s not just Clovis, it’s everywhere,” Jacobs said. “And most of the use is outdoors. Peo...
File photo Clovis Municipal Schools Superintendent Terry Myers congratulates Brandon Boydstun at Clovis High Schools commencement in May. CHS's graduation rate for the 2009-2010 school year was 82.9 percent. Clovis High School’s graduation rate for the 2009-2010 school year jumped to 82.9 percent, more than 15 percent higher than the state graduation average. CHS’s rate increased 9.2 percent from 74.3 percent the previous year. Clovis Municipal Schools Superintendent Terry Myers said the district is pleased with the gra...
Liliana Castillo Freedom New Mexico Vern Witten sits in a special chair in his Portales home. His grandfather came in from working one day and sat in the chair to rest and died. Portales resident Vern Witten is the oldest of four and was milking cows and working in the field by the age of 10. He is an Army and Air Force veteran who served during World War II and the Korean War. After farming for a few years, he became a math teacher and taught at Eastern New Mexico University for 27 years. After he retired in 1991, he volunte...
The Eastern New Mexico Youth Connection is looking for 1,000 volunteers by the end of July. Some might say that’s a lofty goal and many have expressed that to the chair of the volunteer committee, Christina Martinez-Guajardo, but she’s not phased. “If bigger cities can do it, we can do it. We’re more close knit. We’re nicer. We care about each other,” Martinez-Guajardo said. The volunteers will work in kindergarten through third grade to help teach more children to read. In Curry County, Adequate Yearly Progress reports show...
Courtesy photo Eastern New Mexico Youth Connection teens and children take a break from renovating and painting a mural in a basement room at the Matt 25 Hope Center in February. The Eastern New Mexico Youth Connection is looking for 1,000 volunteers by the end of July. Some might say that’s a lofty goal, and many have expressed that to the chair of the volunteer committee, Christina Martinez-Guajardo, but she’s not phased. “If bigger cities can do it, we can do it. We’re more close-knit. We’re nicer. We care about each othe...
CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo David Vargas, 11, counts the number of items he placed in an egg carton as an example of how fractions work Wednesday at Marshall Middle School's Kitten Math Camp. Clovis resident Carman Richard had trouble getting her daughter Joy Richard to read until she found a story that interested her. Richard is hoping for the same thing to happen with her daughter and math at Marshall Middle School’s first Kitten Math Camp. Beginning Monday, more than 40 students are spending two hours a day, five d...
CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo John Neibling has spent five years as president of Clovis Community College. He is retiring next month. After five years at the helm of Clovis Community College, President John Neibling is retiring in mid-July. Neibling was selected as the third president of the college in April 2007. Neibling has worked in education administration for more than 25 years. Neibling holds a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from Arizona State University, as well as degrees in English from...
Liliana Castillo: Freedom New Mexico Barbara George worked as a teacher for 25 years at Portales High School. Portales resident Barbara George has been teaching people most of her adult life. She has taught physical education, history, track, volleyball, how to wind a maypole and how to drive a car. After being maypole director for Portales High School for 25 years, George said she has seen the dress rehearsal or winding every year since 1965. “I just like how proud they are. They feel like they’ve really accomplished som...
CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo The New Mexico Army National Guard 717th Brigade Support Battalion's float was a crowd favorite. The large vehicle on the left automatically unloaded and loaded the Humvee on its back. Parade organizers raved about the weather for the 41st annual Pioneer Days Parade held Saturday morning on Main Street. Even with temperatures in the upper 80s, a breeze kept parade spectators cool, said Parade Chairman John Montano. The parade featured 65 entries, down from 76 the previous year, but Montano sa...
CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo Eight-time PRCA all-around champion Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, competed during the PRCA Pioneer Days Rodeo Thursday in the tie-down roping and team roping events. Trevor Brazile has had many good nights en route to Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association records of $4 million in earnings and eight all-around cowboy titles in the last nine years. Thursday wasn’t one of them in the 41st Pioneer Days Rodeo at Curry County Event Center. Brazile, in the midst of competing in three rodeos t...
CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo Clovis Police Department Community Relations Officer Daron Roach gathers trophies in his office Thursday for the Cops and Kids Basketball event Saturday. Numerous items were donated, including goodie bags, goodies, bottled water, trophies and T-shirts. Clovis youth will have an opportunity to interact with area law enforcement, but see them as civilians, on Saturday. Children from 6 to 13 years old in teams of five will play 10-minute games of basketball against five area law enforcement...
CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo Siblings Jacob Howell, back, and Hannah Howell begin reading Wednesday for the Summer Reading program at Clovis-Carver Public Library. The program begins Friday and runs through July 29. A cook-off, Minute to Win It games, a pet parade and lots of reading will combine for the annual Summer Reading program at Clovis-Carver Public Library. The two-month free program begins Friday with a free viewing of the movie “How To Train Your Dragon” and runs through July 29. The program rewards chi...
The Clovis Municipal Schools board of education approved a budget with an increase of more than $11 million Tuesday, despite budget cuts to education across New Mexico. The 2011-2012 budget was approved at $115,633,295. The 2010-2011 budget totaled $104,492,504. CMS Chief Financial Officer Jose Cano said the increase is due largely to the amount of money the district has budgeted for capital outlay improvements. Capital outlay money is more than $39 million of the overall budget, which will be used for the numerous...
CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo Cannon AFB Senior Airmen Gilbert Cuhen got an armbar on opponent Derek Cansino while upside down during the first round of their mixed martial arts fight Friday during Fright Night Fights at the Clovis Civic Center. Cansino submitted to Cuhen 52 seconds into the first round. Gabriel Monte Gilbert Cuhen said he was prepared to go all three, five-minute rounds in his second professional fight Friday night at the Clovis Civic Center. But he only needed 52 seconds. Cuhen, a senior airman at...
Liliana Castillo: Freedom New Mexico Clovis resident BJ Bernet enjoys teaching dance and says her staff of dance instructors are different and provide great support for one another. Clovis resident BJ Bernet toured with the Beach Boys across the country in the 1980s. Bernet, 44, worked as a “moving prop” as she jokingly called herself and other back up dancers. She said it was exciting and met many people, including Roy Orbison. The Bernet’s moved to Clovis in 2004 with orders to Cannon Air Force Base for her husband and she...
Cannon Connections: Liliana Castillo Brandy Clay, from the Youth Center, gives flowers to the cast after the performance. The Cannon Youth Center’s Drama Club served up a mystery for their first performance in front of an audience May 20. The Moolah Mystery Dinner Theater included dinner and, three-fourths the way through, a break for attendees to try and guess who called the police. The story was about the Harper family. Robin and Rodney Harper’s mother mysteriously disappeared four years earlier, but writes to her two child...
Cannon Connections: Liliana Castillo Brandy Clay, from the Youth Center, gives flowers to the cast after the performance. The Cannon Youth Center’s Drama Club served up a mystery for their first performance in front of an audience May 20. The Moolah Mystery Dinner Theater included dinner and, three-fourths the way through, a break for attendees to try and guess who called the police. The story was about the Harper family. Robin and Rodney Harper’s mother mysteriously disappeared four years earlier, but writes to her two child...
File photo Clovis Municipal Schools administration has asked that architects incorporate the front of the current James Bickley Elementary School into a new building for the school if the project is approved by the state. With cost estimates to renovate James Bickley Elementary School coming in at about $9 million, Clovis schools is planning to build a new school for $1 million more. The district has been awarded design money by the New Mexico Public Schools Facilities Authority and plans to meet with them and the Public...
CNJ staff photo: Liliana Castillo Portales resident Sara Allison checks her employer's post office box Thursday at the Gidding Street post office in Clovis. The post office has changed from almost 14,000 square feet to a 2,500 square foot space in the same building. Patrons to the Gidding Street post office are adjusting to the new entrance, which is three yards south of the previous entrance. Most patrons get as far as pushing on the previous, now locked, doors, before noticing signs that point the way to the new entrance....
Cannon Connections: Liliana Castillo Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, from left, Col. Timothy Leahy and Col. Stephen Clark take part in the change of command ceremony in May 2009 held at Cannon Air Force Base. At the ceremony, outgoing commander Leahy formally handed the reins to new commander Clark. Philip Breedlove is vice chief of staff for the Air Force. Roy D. Bridges Jr. became an astronaut. Sarah P. Wells became the top nurse in the Air Force, serving as chief of the Nurse Corps. Kenneth W. North, Jon A. Reynolds and Robinson...
Cannon Connections: Liliana Castillo Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, from left, Col. Timothy Leahy and Col. Stephen Clark take part in the change of command ceremony in May 2009 held at Cannon Air Force Base. At the ceremony, outgoing commander Leahy formally handed the reins to new commander Clark. Philip Breedlove is vice chief of staff for the Air Force. Roy D. Bridges Jr. became an astronaut. Sarah P. Wells became the top nurse in the Air Force, serving as chief of the Nurse Corps. Kenneth W. North, Jon A. Reynolds and Robinson...
Liliana Castillo: Freedom New Mexico Melrose schools superintendent Jamie Widner comes from a family of 11 children. Melrose native Jamie Widner has been in education as a teacher and administrator for 26 years, all in New Mexico. Coming from a family of 11 children, all who graduated from Melrose High School, he is family-oriented. Widner said the village of Melrose is like a family. “Melrose is a unique small town. Melrose is like a family where everyone cares about everyone else. We have our family squabbles but we are u...
