Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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The sign on the door of Hilltop Bottle Shop in Clovis doesn’t mince words. Written by the liquor store’s owner Kyle Brewer, the sign reads: “The Governor of our state has decided that we are not essential. She would rather you go to Walmart with 400 people than come in here with only 7 people. So, we will have to close temporarily. We will update everyone on our facebook page. Thanks for the support and we hope to see you soon.” Scorn? Little bit, yeah. Justified scorn? Brewer thinks so. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham...
CLOVIS - On a breezy mild Monday, members of the Clovis Fire Department were shooting baskets behind the station house, waiting for a call to go rescue citizens in distress. Seemed like a normal day, with department members in calm-before-the-storm mode. But everyone knows these are anything but normal times, and though the atmosphere at Clovis FD was calm Monday, the storm has long since been upon us. COVID-19 has altered life for everyone, everywhere. It has changed...
PORTALES — Roosevelt County is officially an emergency area. Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the measure via teleconference. The resolution allows the county to accept federal and state funding related to COVID-19 and also authorized the county manager to modify the county personnel policy and establish policies in response to COVID-19. County Manager Amber Hamilton updated residents on ways the Roosevelt Commission has been dealing with the virus. “In terms of COVID-19, there is more going on obviously tha...
CLOVIS — Sandra Taylor-Sawyer rarely gets a break these days. The director of the Curry, Roosevelt and De Baca County Small Business Development Center has been answering more questions than usual. Not surprising. These are not normal times for the local counties, the state of New Mexico, the United States and the world because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Businesses are in trouble. And though New Mexico’s coronavirus cases are relatively low compared to the rest of the nation, even lower for the local counties, it is still a s...
CLOVIS - The coronavirus has forced businesses into action, or in some cases inaction. Some have had to close after being deemed non-essential. Some have had to close because the reduced business from virus fears and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's stay-at-home order have made it difficult to remain open for now. Those staying open have seen business that is far less robust than before the pandemic, which is not surprising. Dan Coleman's store, DC Tactical gun shop in the...
CLOVIS - A long list of people have stepped up, doing what they can to help during this unprecedented health crisis. First-responders, physicians, nurses, law enforcement, the list goes on. Among those summoning their expertise to assist in the fight against COVID-19 are pharmacists. Because among the many items that have dwindled down to short supply - or in some cases, no supply - during the pandemic-fueled hoarding runs is one of the most crucial. Hand sanitizer. People...
CLOVIS — If Mark Sena had continued down his original path, his part in combating the current pandemic might have involved dealing with COVID-19 patients directly. Sena, now a Clovis High chemistry teacher and boys track and field coach, was initially bound for the medical profession. “I went to school to be a doctor; I was a pre-med guy,” Sena said. “And about halfway through college I got really nervous about having to tell parents that I wasn’t able to save their kid. I was watching too much TV at the time and I got freake...
Editor's note: The coronavirus pandemic has changed our world in ways most of us could never have imagined. The Eastern New Mexico News is reflecting those changes in a series of stories and photos that will continue until the return of a relative normal. You've wiped down the car-door handles and the steering wheel and you're ready to take that trip to the grocery store. Then you look down and see that one of your tires is flat. It's a good thing tire stores are classified "e...
CLOVIS - COVID-19 has altered life. And perhaps how we choose to live our everyday lives, how we choose to relax and spend our down time, were aspects of life that were most taken for granted. Something as simple as being able to lounge in a coffee house was a part of life nobody ever thought would be snatched away. But it has been due to coronavirus restrictions designed to prevent too many people from gathering. Blackwater Coffee Co. in Clovis has been able to remain open...
PORTALES - Diane Gallegos already had a full plate. The Portales resident is a small-business owner and a single mother of two daughters, the younger of which has Down syndrome. COVID-19 made the plate even fuller. Gallegos has owned Making the Cut Hair Studio in Portales since 2017, and that business is among the many affected by the coronavirus. To help contain the virus' spread, on Monday afternoon Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a stay-at-home order for New Mexico,...
Kathy Branfield was already a social-distancer, long before the second week of March when it all of a sudden became a thing everyone was being urged to do. Branfield was already immune-suppressed and suffering from asthma. And then along came COVID-19. “So I’m not leaving my house at this point unless I absolutely have to. I am not seeing anybody outside of my husband,” said Branfield, whose husband is retired military, having deployed multiple times after 9/11. Branfield is lucky she has him to run errands, pick up groce...
“Bullet Bob” Vilandry and his wife were on a cruise of all things when the world turned upside down. Then they returned to Clovis, and the Vilandrys couldn’t believe how things had changed. The coronavirus had turned into a pandemic, people were scared, shoppers were hoard-buying at supermarkets all over town. When he saw the Walmart paper product shelves stripped bare as a turkey on Thanksgiving night, Vilandry was shocked. And then his world turned a little more haywire. Last Monday afternoon, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grish...
CLOVIS — Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. You’ve probably watched an old movie, maybe in black-and-white, where a prisoner was singing that line, perhaps with some accompaniment on the harmonica. These days, it’s a fitting line for the world as it battles the COVID-19 pandemic. Ironically, though, real-life prisoners may know a bit less trouble lately than those on the outside. Think about it. The coronavirus is spreading through social interaction, especially in large crowds. The best way to contain it is to isolate, isol...
Despite all the COVID-19 turbulence, the local Chambers of Commerce are open for business. Just not in the traditional sense. As far as literal doors being literally unlocked and literally open, no, the Roosevelt County and Clovis/Curry County Chambers are not open that way. But they are open in the most important way for members — they’re available. “Our staff is working remotely. But we’re answering a lot of calls and we’re helping a lot of people,” Karl Terry, executive director of the Roosevelt County Chamber said Tuesda...
CLOVIS - Thomas Paine wrote in 'Common Sense:' These are the times that try men's souls. If Payne had been alive to write about the coronavirus he might have referred to these times as trying men's and women's souls, especially those who work in the supermarket industry. Since COVID-19 became a pandemic in the United States two weeks ago, grocery stores have been crowded, and some of those crowds have been hoarding essential items like paper products, cleaning supplies, meat...
The coronavirus has its grip clenched on every aspect of life — and death. An important and necessary part of the human experience is what happens at the end of it, and funerals are a prime example of events where people gather in large groups, saying goodbye to their departed loved ones. As of Tuesday, no New Mexico deaths had been reported due to COVID-19. But in these days of the virus, while large groups of people can still gather to mourn, they cannot do it in the same room. “That is true. We are limited to no more tha...
MULESHOE — Talk of COVID-19 is everywhere. And seems to be impacting everything. Even more so across the state line in Texas than in New Mexico. While New Mexico — through Saturday morning — had remained among states reporting fewer than 100 coronavirus cases, Texas is well over that number. On Saturday morning, Texas was nearing 200 confirmed cases, with five deaths from the virus. So, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order limiting public gatherings to 10 peopl...
CLOVIS — The coronavirus is affecting every phase of life everywhere, especially businesses that have had to alter hours or in some cases just flat out close. Local Chambers of Commerce are determined to do anything they can to prevent that from happening. Communicating with member businesses and the community in general is always an important part of the Clovis/Curry County and Roosevelt Chambers of Commerce missions. In these troubled times, it’s crucial. “Absolutely. That...
TEXICO — In a perfect world, Texico’s baseball team would be starting its quest for a fifth consecutive state championship this Thursday. But as we know from turning on any news at any time during the past few days, the world is far from perfect and the coronavirus is right now the leading cause of that imperfection across the globe. What went from people good-naturedly washing their hands long enough to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice has transformed into a pandemic, resulting in life being interrupted with school closing...
A week ago, life was relatively normal. Now, not so much. Self-quarantining and social distancing have become things people are supposed to do. Bathroom tissue has become white gold. All thanks to the coronavirus. Troubled times indeed. Throughout the area, like the country and the world, people are experiencing shock and in some cases, panic - hence the run on toilet paper. But others, while dealing with the pandemic with caution, are taking a more measured approach. In...
MELROSE — There’s that saying, ‘You can’t keep a good man down.’ In Saturday morning’s case, you could have also included women, teenagers and children to the phrase. In the common section of the main Melrose Public School building, a group of 20-plus Melrose basketball fans gathered on Saturday to watch the second-seeded Lady Buffaloes defeat top-seeded Logan for the state Class 1A championship. The Pit in Albuquerque was off limits to fans and any non-essential personnel tha...
TEXICO — Maybe if enough people cross their fingers, there will be a 2020 high school baseball season. Texico’s baseball team, a four-time defending state champion, must wish it were just that easy, wish that simply crossing fingers could make the coronavirus go away, and get life — along with the Wolverines’ quest for a fifth straight title — back on schedule. It there is a season, head coach Ty Thatcher thinks his team is built to contend for a fifth consecutive state crown. “Oh yeah, I think we can be at least as good as...
PORTALES — There they were, the Eastern New Mexico University women’s basketball players and coaches, hanging out together on campus Thursday afternoon, a day before they were supposed to visit Lubbock for a game against Texas A&M-Commerce in the NCAA Division II tournament’s opening round. There they were, Eastern New Mexico head track & field coach Jeff Kavalunas and Greyhound athlete Ivar Moinat, in Birmingham, Alabama, preparing for Moinat to compete in the NCAA Division II 800-meter run. But then came the annou...
CLOVIS — Saturday night was the first Clovis boys basketball state playoff game at Rock Staubus Gymnasium since 2013. And the Wildcats’ last game there, period, for another nine months. Clovis marked the occasion with a solid tip-off-to-final-buzzer performance against La Cueva, as the eighth-seeded Wildcats beat the ninth-seeded Bears 71-60 in Saturday’s state 5A first-round clash. The ’Cats went ahead for good late in the second quarter and rolled on to earn a state quarterf...
The Clovis High softball team is off to a 3-1 start this season, but can’t get too comfortable. After all, last year’s Lady Wildcats began 3-0 but wound up 5-19. So, there’s still a long way to go this year. But 3-1 is 3-1, a good foundation for second-year head coach Emery Sierra to build upon, as Clovis looks to make its way toward a respectable season. “There’s quite a bit of potential there,” Sierra said. “As long as they work together and make plays and hit the ball I think they can compete. It’s just those little th...
