Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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The outgoing district attorney and a longtime public defender are vying for the top position in the district defender’s office, which will become open after Oct. 29. Assistant public defender Jim Wilson, an Idaho native, and District Attorney Brett Carter are scheduled to meet with the state’s top public defender in two weeks to discuss the position, Wilson said. Both are looking to fill the position of 9th Judicial District defender Calvin Neumann, who is retiring after 25 years in the Clovis office. Gov. Bill Ric... Full story
The outgoing district attorney and a longtime public defender are vying for the top position in the district defender’s office, which will become open after Oct. 29. Assistant public defender Jim Wilson, an Idaho native, and District Attorney Brett Carter are scheduled to meet with the state’s top public defender in two weeks to interview for the job, Wilson said. Both applicants are looking to fill the position of 9th Judicial District defender Calvin Neumann, who is retiring after 25 years in the Clovis office. Gov. Bil...
Fourteen of 17 Clovis schools met the state’s standards for performance and participation, according to ratings released Monday by the New Mexico Public Education Department. Clovis High School, Cameo Elementary and Marshall Junior High School failed to meet the department’s yearly progress standards. Cameo failed to meet state standards for the second straight year, meaning the school will be placed on “school improvement” status and be forced to develop an improvement plan. The ratings were based on student perform... Full story
Clovis Christian senior Corey Hastings prays before the start of a game against the New Mexico School for the Deaf on Thursday at Jim Hill Field in Clovis. (Staff photo: Eric Kluth) When Corey Hastings was 4, his father ordered him an adult’s steak-finger basket at a Dairy Queen. Surprised at the boy’s appetite, the woman behind the counter told Corey’s father if the youngster could eat the entire meal, then she’d buy it. Not only did he finish his meal, he ate a few of his father’s fries, Terry Hastings said. For many peop...
Clovis Mayor David Lansford said the city tried to ban smoking in public acess building five years ago. Clovis Mayor David Lansford is spearheading an effort to ban smoking in all public access buildings, including restaurants. The issue has smokers clawing to keep their “rights” intact. Lansford said the city attorney is in the process of drafting the introduction to the smoking ordinance, which could come before the city commission in September. If the introduction passes, the commission could adopt the ordinance 30 day...
Larry Kitchens, left, is escorted by Bailey County Sheriff Richard Willis as the two return from lunch recess Wednesday during Kitchens’ murder trial. (Staff photo: Eric Kluth) MULESHOE — The defense attorney for a Muleshoe man charged with killing three people told a jury Wednesday his client accidentally shot his ex-wife and another man he barely knew. Larry Brent Kitchens, 52, drove to Vince Simnacher’s home in October of 2003 and in the heat of “passion” killed him with a semi-automatic assault rifle, Kitchens...
Local and state school officials admit the state-mandated testing system has had its fair share of critics, among them superintendents, teachers and parents. But school officials believe the number of people who attack the state’s measurement of knowledge will diminish in the upcoming year with a set of standards-based tests slated to be administered to students in grades 3-9. The old tests compared New Mexicans to students nationwide, and were not a good measurement of knowledge, state and local school officials said. “It’s... Full story
Joshua Metrejean, 14, of Clovis, crest a hill on his dirt bike as he rides the trails at Ned Houk Park last month. File photo. Comments from about a dozen people Tuesday night prompted City Manager Ray Mondragon to rescind a recommendation that would restrict the use of all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles to 500 acres at Ned Houk Park. Instead, the Parks and Recreation Board voted to form an ad hoc committee of city officials, a board member and recreational users of the park. The group is charged with finding a plan that...
Clovis Mayor David Lansford feared if every city commissioner commented on how valuable city manager Ray Mondragon is to Clovis, Thursday’s commission meeting would last all night. Blanketed by a flurry of praise on commission row, Mondragon on Thursday accepted a contract renewal as the Clovis city manager. The contract allows him to be city manager as an at-will city employee until he either quits or gets fired, said Don Clifton, the city’s finance director. He will make $95,000 annually and will be a city employee ins...
LUBBOCK — Fighting back tears and battling to keep control of his emotions, Ernest Galvan told a funeral congregation on Saturday at Lubbock’s St. Theresa Catholic Church the story of his son Daniel’s life. He talked about the day his son was born, when his 4-year-old sister wanted to trade him in for a baby girl. By the end of the day Daniel had won her heart. He spoke of the day he was called in from work because Daniel had taken a bet or a dare — to this day Ernest is unsure which it was — to jump off a balcony for a dol...
Clovis city commissioners gave a group of police officers the pay raise they were excluded from in June. But with that raise came some harsh words for the roughly 35 officers who signed a petition to form a union. The commission approved the pay raise by a 7-1 vote, with Commissioner Isidro Garcia dissenting. Garcia said he is unhappy by the fact that officers decided to sign a petition to form a union when city officials were working at addressing their complaints, which include staffing, money and the promotions of... Full story
MULESHOE — A Muleshoe man charged with capital murder in the deaths of three people including his ex-wife will not face the death penalty, court officials said Wednesday during jury selection at the Bailey County Courthouse. Larry Kitchens, 52, dressed in a light, white, button-down shirt and jeans, listened intently as his attorney explained to potential jurors the reasons for reasonable doubt and the definition of crimes of passion. It took about six hours to interview and select a jury from a pool of about 80. All but o...
Jon Dowker, 31, has been riding BMX bikes for 17 years, working on perfecting tricks like this one performed Tuesday at the Curry County Fair. CNJ photo by Mike Linn. They do flips and spins, cycle backwards on one tire and get excited with their audience, many of whom rarely get the chance to see such tricksters on two wheels perform live. For Jon Dowker, 31-year-old member of Wheels of Freestyle, a threesome of BMX gurus performing at this year’s Curry County Fair, his love for freestyle biking came after he watched the 1...
Farwell assistant coach Doug Boyd gets a ride on the blocking sled during Tuesday’s practice. CNJ photo by Mike Linn. Most of Farwell’s players got a good taste of the Class 1A football playoffs last fall, and the Steers are anxious to build on that success. Only four seniors graduated from last season’s 9-2 squad which reached the second round of the playoffs. It was the Steers’ first winning season and first playoff berth since 1999. “We’ve got a lot of kids back, and that helps things go a lot smoother,” fourth-year c...
David Zacarte and his puppet Benito squabble about girls and politics Monday evening during the first show at the Curry County Fairgrounds. CNJ photo by Mike Linn. Twenty years ago, when David Zacarte said he was making half a million dollars a year as the chief executive officer of an investment firm in Los Angeles, his grandfather came to his office and gave him a crash course in the art of being a ventriloquist. Later that night, Zacarte tried what skills he learned on his two oldest daughters. “They started laughing h...
A Cannon Air Force Base staff sergeant charged with more than 100 counts of manufacturing child pornography has verbally accepted a plea agreement, defense and prosecuting attorneys said. Rockey Fleming, 40, is accused of paying three girls — ages 13, 15 and 16 — up to $2,000 to have sex with themselves or another man in a span of about four months dating back to last summer, Clovis police said. Fleming, who lured the females via a Yahoo Internet New Mexico chat site, videotaped the sexual encounters and manufactured copies,...
Samplings of recent calls received by Clovis-area law enforcement officers, according to reports: Police responded to the 700 block of North Thornton early Thursday evening in reference to a drunk subject passed out on the sidewalk. After several minutes police were able to wake up the man, who appeared highly intoxicated. The man was unable to walk without assistance. Police believed the man to be a danger to himself and others so they took him into protective custody. n n n Last Sunday police were dispatched to the 900...
A 33-year-old Clovis police lieutenant has been accepted into the FBI National Academy, an exclusive three-month course that trains law enforcement in administration, terrorism and violent crime investigation. Lt. Patrick Whitney will leave in January for the academy in Quantico, Va. The course runs from Jan. 9 to March 16, and only two law-enforcement personnel from New Mexico are accepted for each of the two annual courses, Whitney said. Last year, Clovis Lt. Ron Hutchison completed the course. Whitney, who is working on a...
Tim Morrison, Erica Carr-Romero (with her K-9 dog, Karlo) and Sheila Morrison work in law enforcement. CNJ photo by Rick White On Sunday mornings, during breakfast at a Clovis restaurant, a family of law-enforcement personnel speaks in a code guests at surrounding tables don’t typically understand. Clovis Police dispatcher Tim Morrison talks about how crimes start; his mother, Sgt. Sheila Morrison of the county jail, talks about how crimes end; and his cousin, K-9 officer Erica Carr-Romero, often fills in the blanks. Many t...
On a ranch northwest of Kenna, where the wind meets his thoughts, Jeff Bilberry finds solace. There, the vice president of the High Plains Junior Rodeo Association often thinks about life, God and his 3-year-old son Trey, who died in a 2003 horse-riding accident near Kenna. He remembers family dinners when Trey would insist on blessing the food, even though he didn’t always make sense. Or the days on the ranch when the youngster would help his father move cattle, which never seemed to scurry fast enough for Trey, Jeff’s you...
For Jeff Bilberry, the High Plains Rodeo Association has become a “family” of support since the death of his youngest son 17 months ago. (CNJ staff photo: Eric Kluth) A story of a 3-year-old son’s death, and a family’s will to go forward. On a ranch northwest of Kenna, where the wind meets his thoughts, Jeff Bilberry finds solace. There, the vice president of the High Plains Junior Rodeo Association often thinks about life, God and his 3-year-old son Trey, who died in a 2003 horse-riding accident near Kenna. He remembers fami...
CLOVIS — The first time Kourtnie Cole got on a horse — at the ripe old age of 3 — she got bucked off. She didn’t want to get back on, but after some coaching from her grandfather she decided to give it a shot. The 16-year-old has been in love with horse riding ever since. Her devotion to riding and the many hours she spent practicing paid off for the Clovis High student at this year’s High Plains Junior Rodeo Association Finals, when she took first place for the year in 13-15 girls barrel racing. “Coming into the finals I wa... Full story
Dustin McDaniel, left, gets a hand from friend Logan Potts on Wednesday in preparation for his run in the 13-15 breakaway roping. CNJ photo by Eric Kluth. During the week, two teenage brothers just a year apart participate in friendly roping competitions at their Clovis home. The loser does the other’s chores, the winner gloats. On the weekends the sibling rivalry turns to teamwork for Dustin, 16, and Ethan McDaniel, 15, Texico High students with an affinity for riding horses and lassoing calves. Partners in some team r...
CLOVIS — During the week, two teenage brothers just a year apart participate in friendly roping competitions at their Clovis home. The loser does the other’s chores, the winner gloats. On the weekends the sibling rivalry turns to teamwork for Dustin, 16, and Ethan McDaniel, 15, Texico High students with an affinity for riding horses and lassoing calves. Partners in some team roping events at this year’s High Plains Junior Rodeo Finals, the brothers enjoy watching each other succeed. “He’s been coaching on me quite a bit. It...
Former Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley is coming back to Clovis, and he’s bringing the milk mustache with him. The Clovis native whose experience on dairies came from milking his grandmother’s cow recently accepted a position as director of government and industry relations for Dairy Farmers of America’s Southwest region, which includes New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Bradley said he will be moving to his hometown within a few weeks from Albuquerque, where he works now for DFA after leaving his post with the State Land Offic...
