Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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A friend of mine introduced me to the term “windshield time” a few months ago. When you look it up on the internet, that phrase is riddled with negative connotations. The expressions “wasted time,” “unproductive” and “worthless” are bandied about. I had a bit of windshield time last week. Forget all of the thumbs down on the web, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Before I get into the details, let me be the first say this kind of road trip may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Simply put,...
Bet you’ve got a name of your favorite auto mechanic. Guessing you also have a favorite place to grab breakfast, lunch or dinner. Wagering, too, there’re favorite places you enjoy shopping — whether it be for clothing, groceries or home furnishings. Well, now’s the time to let us know who your “bests” are in Clovis and Portales. The ballots for these wildly popular publications appear in today’s edition on Pages 4C and 5C in our Lifestyles section. This marks the 22nd cons...
It’s been one of those weird and wacky weeks of news, both locally and nationally. Let’s take a few minutes to recap some of those happenings and put them in perspective: • Kathy Griffin made a photo with a bloody face of President Trump, posted it on Twitter and caused the masses to go into an uproar. Of course the comedian / TV host / actress quickly backtracked and apologized. But let’s remember, she certainly said sorry because of the “reaction” not for her “action.” S... Full story
The end of this month has marked an important time in so many young peoples’ lives. That’s right, May is graduation season. Whether it’s of the high school or college variety, graduation can — and should — be a meaningful time. It’s so much more than just collecting a diploma. Take a moment and enjoy the hard work and success accomplished, whether it is for you, a friend or a loved one. For the outgoing high school seniors, it’s a time to begin processing what college life...
Constance Williams remembers spending her days learning in Rosa Briseño's second-grade classroom. That was in Pampa, Texas. The calendar showed 1989. Fast forward 28 years. Williams now lives in Clovis with her husband, Jamaal, and their three children. She graduated from Eastern New Mexico University, but returned to Clovis in 2011 when Jamaal landed a job at Southwest Cheese. Briseño now lives in Clovis as well. She's been teaching elementary school for 35 years. Her t...
It’s been six months now since we launched The Eastern New Mexico News. In reality it seems like yesterday, but as they say, time flies when you’re having fun. For those who aren’t familiar with the history, we created The News after combining the resources of the Clovis News Journal and the Portales News-Tribune. It created one newspaper with a broader reach and larger audience. Our goal has been, and continues to be, to bring our readers a wider balance of news, sport...
You might not recognize the name. Jared Gomez is a senior on the Clovis High School varsity baseball team. He isn’t the team’s leading hitter, nor is he the Wildcats’ top pitcher or star defensive player. He’s what you call a “role player” in athletic speak. He knows his job and he gets it done on a regular basis. He’s the kind of kid that a coach relishes to have as part of the squad. Gomez and his family moved to Clovis in August 2015 at the start of his junior year a...
Tragedy is always a tough and delicate topic to delve into. It’s difficult to describe the heartache that came on Tuesday when I learned there had been a fatal house fire in Clovis. Elizabeth “Lizzy” Reid died after her family’s home was engulfed with flames shortly after 4 a.m. Lizzy was just 20 months old. She never realized the full opportunity to live her life. Her 3-year-old sister was spending the night at a relative’s house. The two girls’ mother, 26-year-old Amber Mart... Full story
AMARILLO — One of the particularly neat things about my job is the chance to talk with people about journalism and the newspaper industry as a whole. The conversations always go in different directions and the topics cover the gamut. It's fun, invigorating and sometimes even refreshing to hear folks' views about today's newspapers from people young and old, male or female, affluent or poor. This weekend I've had the opportunity to spend a few days in Amarillo at the 107th P...
When the clock ticks from 11:59 p.m. on Monday to midnight, the bell will toll. That’s the tax bell in case you had forgotten your obligation to Uncle Sam. Tuesday marks the deadline to pay your 2016 taxes — or pull the trigger on filing for a six-month extension. It’s Tuesday and not the usual and infamous April 15 because of the way Emancipation Day falls, basically giving you three extra days to get your paperwork in the mail or filed online. In recognition of Tax Day,...
There are plenty of folks around who got their yardwork, garage cleaning, chores, honey-do lists, etc. out of the way already. That was done with the sole intention of clearing their schedules for a little TV time today. After all, the world’s most famous golf tournament wraps up late this afternoon. If you tune in — like millions will across the world — you’ll undoubtedly hear CBS announcer Jim Nantz tell you the Masters is “a tradition unlike any other.” And you’re boun...
Just when is a dog not a canine? It may sound like one of those trick questions such as: Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways? It’s not that complicated. The dog I’m referring to is the dreaded, pesky, rodent called the prairie dog. These furry little annoying characters reared their ugly heads again this week in a story in The News by staff writer David Grieder. At issue is the latest “town” of prairie dogs near Clovis Community College. Accusations falsely... Full story
For even the casual basketball fan, you know March Madness descended upon us last week. The first two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament have become an amazing spectacle. It’s non-stop basketball from morning ’til night on the first Thursday and Friday of the event. That’s 16 games each day. As an avid college basketball fan — give me a Duke game over a Cleveland Cavaliers tilt anytime — I have had the opportunity to attend some of these sessions in person duri...
As publisher, I’m ultimately responsible for all aspects of the newspaper. That includes making decisions that will sometimes upset people. It’s unfortunate and I certainly don’t take any pleasure in it. But as they say, it’s the nature of the beast. You often have to have thick skin to be in this industry. Newspapers, like so many other businesses, will never make everyone happy all of the time. We get second-guessed occasionally, and we take potshots from people — especially...
Take a moment as you indulge in your morning coffee to consider this scenario with me. You and your family are avid skiers. You have a couple of kids who’ve learned to love the slopes and they — like you — look forward to little getaways whenever it fits in the schedule. Last weekend, you had the chance to venture to the Santa Fe area for a little taste of the slopes and some rest and relaxation. The trip was going well. There was always a cozy fire burning in the lobby of the... Full story
Decades ago — and probably centuries in many cases — people started giving nicknames to cities. Some stuck, others went by the wayside. Denver is often referred to as the “Mile High City,” New Orleans is noted as “The Big Easy” and Los Angeles has been dubbed the “City of Angels.” We even have some popular ones a little closer to home as Albuquerque is labeled “The Duke City” and Roswell is known as the “Alien Capital of the World.” One of the U.S.’ most famous monikers rest...
Time to put on another hat. Beginning this morning, I'll be the newest "face" each Sunday on our "Voices" pages. As publisher of the newspaper, my job description includes a variety of boxes to check if you were listing them out on a piece of paper. But essentially, it's the last box — the one that reads "all of the above" — that sums it up best. I'm looking forward to sharing some of our successes — and undoubtedly some of our failures — in this space. As a newspaper, we stri... Full story
Science fair projects, admittedly, were never my forte while working through elementary and middle school. I was — and continue to be to this day — a “words guy.” I knew history, mathematics, foreign languages and the other electives were important, too. But I was the kid who was always asking: “Just when exactly will I have to find the sine, cosine or tangent of this triangle later in life?” Now, 30 years after high school graduation, I’m still waiting. But I digress. Spri...
Dad would have celebrated a birthday this past Thursday. The candle count would’ve been 76. Every Feb. 9 is a tough one. It’s gotten easier over the years since he died in 2002 at just age 61. But as anyone who has lost their dad knows, it really never gets “easy” — nor should it. I make sure Mom and I talk that day. Robert C. Langrell Jr., whom I was named after as Mom and Pop’s first-born child, was a father of four. Dad was an elementary school teacher — as was Mom — so...
I read a study recently that touted the benefits of being a dog owner. Having two furry kids at home, it piqued my interest. The study claimed that people who welcome canines into their homes have reduced blood pressure, an improved cardiovascular fitness, less stress in their lives and enjoy longer lifespans. Wow, sure beats going to the gym on a regular basis. I never had a pet when I was growing up. It just wasn’t a part of the lifestyle that our family lived. So it really...
The debate has raged for two weeks, but it all gets settled this afternoon. Super Bowl LI is here and, like any good discussion, opinions on today’s result vary across the board. By virtue of living in Las Vegas for 18-plus years, Super Bowl Sunday was always an entertaining day to have “action” on the game’s outcome and the hundreds of proposition bets available. That’s off the table, as they say, for this year. I won’t be able to take part in the fun / challenge / idiocy of...
“Hi, my name is Rob and I’m an astronaut who lives here in Clovis. I’ve traveled to the moon five times.” I figured if that didn’t get the attention of the various groups of eighth-graders whom I was speaking to, nothing would. In case you didn’t know, that’s a tough crowd to crack. I also presumed that at least one teen would fire out a “No way, man.” That guess was spot on. It happened in all four of the sessions earlier this week where I had an opportunity to sp...
There was a mountain of debate last week over recent election results. You could find ranting posts on Facebook, attacks and criticism on Twitter and an abundance of comments and complaints posted across your choice of websites. Objections were lodged, while others posted support of their winning candidate. Televisions were abuzz with coverage. Talk show hosts, pundits and guests bantered and argued and tried to weigh in on the ramifications of the latest ballot results. In a...
PORTALES — There was laughter. There were tears. There was good food and drink. And, there was a lot of applause — actually a whole lot of hand clapping. That was the night in a nutshell when the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce held its annual banquet. The shindig took place at the Yam Theatre on Thursday evening and my wife and I had the opportunity to enjoy the festivities along with a group of other staffers from our Portales bureau of The Eastern New Mexico News. The...
