Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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The United Way of Eastern New Mexico raised $522,599 during its 2010-11 campaign, according to a release Monday from the organization. The amount raised is up about 1 percent from last year’s total of $514,694. But the total is about 10 percent below the 2008 total of $580,000 raised between Curry and Roosevelt counties. The split is $433,977 for Curry County and $88,622 for Roosevelt County. — PNT staff reports...
Portales woman receives prison sentence Athena Shepherd, charged with abusing her then-10-year-old stepdaughter in September 2009, was sentenced to three years in prison and one year of probation in the case on Jan. 5, according to Ninth Judicial District Court records. She was given one year of pre-sentence confinement credit. Shepherd pleaded guilty and was sentenced under a plea agreement, according to the records....
A fire caused by a child playing with matches burned a shed to the ground Monday, said Portales firefighter Steven Cain. The shed in the 1500 block of South Roosevelt Road 7 and its contents were a total loss, but there were no injuries or other damage. Cain said the shed was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived just before 4 p.m. They had the fire under control in seven minutes and remained on the scene for the next hour, he said. The child admitted to firefighters that he had been playing with matches, Cain...
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish will be conducting three spring hunter education classes in January, February and March. This class is required by anyone under the age of 18 in order to obtain a hunting license in New Mexico. Successful completion of this class is recognized in all states requiring a hunter education card. To register for these classes go to the Game and Fish website www.wildlife.state.nm.us. Click on education and follow the online instructions to register for the class of your choice. The deadline... Full story
Abengoa Bioenergy USA is restarting its Portales bioethanol plant today after nearly two years of inactivity, Roosevelt County Community Development Corporation Executive Director Greg Fisher said Tuesday. The Portales plant will employ 47 people to manufacture 25 million gallons of bioethanol per year, using dryland sorghum, according to a news release from Fisher. Fisher said he was pleased that Abengoa was able to restart the Portales facility. “Abengoa is a global leader in clean energy, and we are grateful that they were...
CLOVIS — Area listeners will have to look elsewhere for their sports talk now that KCLV-AM 1240 in Clovis dropped its ESPN Radio programming. KCLV switched to a talk radio format on Jan. 1. Rick Keefer, general manager of Zia Broadcasting, said ESPN Radio had been on KCLV for 10 years. “It garnered a small, but very loyal audience and the key to that is being very small and loyal,” Keefer said. “It had very few listeners, but they listened for a long period of time.” Keefer said sports radio usually doesn’t do well i...
Agriculture this year saw good harvests overall, an increase in cotton and a little relief for dairy owners. Floyd farmer Allen Deen said Roosevelt County had 75 percent more cotton than normal this year, and Kenny Whitecotton of Strippers Custom Harvesting estimated the county had 5,000 to 6,000 acres of the crop. Predictions of and contracts with favorable cotton prices led farmers to plant more of the crop this year. “It was one of the best yields we’ve had in our area, and price,” Deen said. The price was the highe...
Roosevelt General Hospital had a year of change in 2010. In January, Larry Leaming replaced the retiring James D’Agostino as administrator. Leaming came to Portales from a position as president of the Institute for Rural Health Leadership in Grand Junction, Colo. He had goals of improving the hospital’s financial status, looking at treatment costs and customer service to see what needed to change and bringing in doctors so people didn’t have to leave the community. Leaming had employee and patients surveys done and has been a...
PNT Staff Reports In 2010, growth in the local trucking business promised about 100 new jobs for the Portales area, on top of other advances in the local business scene. In February, Greatwide Logistics Inc. began to operate in Portales after winning a countywide milk-hauling contract with Dairy Farmers of America. The company hired dozens of local employees and entered into contracts with local vendors. At the same time, Western Dairy Transport LLC branched out into new non-dairy hauling markets, after losing the DFA...
PNT Staff Reports Samplings of recent calls to Portales law enforcement, according to police records: Thursday Two officers were sent to the 1700 block of 18th Street about 7:20 p.m. to handle a report of a dog being shot with a pellet gun. An officer spoke with a 20-year-old woman who said she returned home from work about 3 p.m. and noticed her male husky mix had a large bump on his side and blood on his chest. She took him to a veterinarian, who said the dog had two pellets in his chest and a collapsed lung. The dog was...
PNT Staff Reports Roosevelt County has seen several burglaries in the past month and a half, and deputies suspect the motive is drug money, said Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Malin Parker. Parker estimated there have been four to five incidents. Someone stole copper wire and scrap metal from private individuals, and a green 2009 Polaris 4-by-4 four-wheeler was taken from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center on N.M. 467. Parker said deputies are investigating and have suspects. He said people with p...
Consolidating Lindsey Elementary and Steiner Elementary into one school was one of many changes in education in 2010. The Lindsey and Steiner buildings were in the top 10 of the state education department’s list of schools in need of renovations. Superintendent Randy Fowler said refurbishing both buildings would cost $26 million, but creating one building would cost $12 million, or less than half. Lindsey-Steiner Elementary opened in August and is for Portales fifth- and sixth-graders while first- and second-graders attend J...
PNT staff reports A fire destroyed about 500 tons of hay and damaged a barn Sunday at Westra Dairy in Portales. Portales Fire Department Battalion Chief Lance Hill said Portales and Arch firefighters battled the blaze from just after 11 a.m. until 5:50 p.m. He said they provided protection for dairy workers to use fork lifts to save about 30 bales from the burning hay barn, and fought the fire until it was at a safe level for the dairy owner to watch. Hill said the fire was still smoldering Monday. Hill said the cause of the...
The new Portales Quality of Life Committee is looking for community residents to participate in focus groups, according to a news release from the Regional Growth Planning Office. Multiple focus groups are set to meet at the end of January at various times of the day for no more than two hours, according to the release. Each group is to be categorized based on related interests, such as education, activities and local businesses. Regional growth planning personnel plan to dedicate at least one group to students, parents and...
A grass fire sparked by downed power lines Wednesday burned an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 acres about 14 miles south of Elida. Speaking from the scene as crews finished mopping up hot spots, Elida Fire Chief Darrell Chenault said the fire started about 3 p.m. and burned oil field equipment, power lines and one old barn near an unoccupied house before crews had it under control about 6:30 p.m. No one was injured. “The wind was rough,” Chenault said. “It was hard out of the west, probably 30 mph.” About 40 people and 27 fire tru... Full story
PNT Staff Reports The Winter Wine Fest is back and in the newly renovated Yam Theatre. The Portales MainStreet Program fundraiser is set to offer selections of both beer and wine, served by Pecos Flavors Winery from Roswell, according to a news release from MainStreet. The Winter Wine Fest is scheduled for 7-10 p.m. Saturday at the Yam, 219 S. Main St. Tickets are $25, and participants must be at least 21 years old. Entertainment and refreshments will be provided, according to the release. During the event, the Portales...
The Little Miss Merry Christmas contest is returning for another holiday season, with a few changes this year. The annual contest raises money for white lights displayed on the Roosevelt County Courthouse and other places around town during the Christmas season. This year, according to a news release from the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce, the contest has undergone changes to create a formal atmosphere around the Coronation Ceremony and the Royal Court contestants. A new Coronation Ceremony is scheduled for the day...
This Christmas season, the Portales MainStreet Program is featuring the Portales Christmas Crawl to promote local shopping, according to a news release from the organization. Participants can win gift certificates and products from local merchants. People interested have from Friday to Dec. 11 to get a promotional booklet with instructions from a participating business or other designated location, visit at least 15 of the 19 businesses and get a stamp, and turn in the completed form. The forms are to be entered into a...
Political sign taken down A political sign in the state right-of-way on Second Street has been taken down. The banner urged viewers to vote and said "Republican Party." It was displayed during the week of Oct. 25. A Signman Signs employee who declined to give his full name said the business had been putting up banners for the Republican Party about once a month for the last year. When someone complained about the most recent banner, Signman Signs called the state for information. They learned there is a regulation against...
Traffic was snarled in south Clovis Friday afternoon for more than an hour after a pickup truck crashed into six other vehicles. Police said the truck initially hit a curb at Prince and McDonald streets south of the overpass, then crashed into a vehicle on the overpass, another in the intersection at Prince Street and U.S. 60/70/84, and another four vehicles at First and Prince streets. The pickup driver, who has not been identified by police, and one other person were transported to the emergency room at Plains Regional...
Traffic was snarled in south Clovis Friday afternoon for more than an hour after a pickup truck crashed into six other vehicles. Police said the truck initially hit a curb at Prince and McDonald streets south of the overpass, then crashed into a vehicle on the overpass, another in the intersection at Prince Street and U.S. 60/70/84, and another four vehicles at First and Prince streets. The pickup driver, who has not been identified by police, and one other person were transported to the emergency room at Plains Regional... Full story
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Angelo State overcame a seven-point deficit in the third set to finish off Eastern New Mexico University 25-12, 25-19, 29-27 Thursday night in Lone Star Conference volleyball. The Rambelles (17-10, 12-1 LSC) moved into a tie for second place in the conference with Abilene Christian (24-4, 12-1), which lost to West Texas A&M at home 26-24, 25-21, 25-20 in a battle for first place. Angelo will have a chance to tie for the title on Saturday when it hosts WT (23-8, 13-0), while the Zias (13-15, 4-9)...
A 42-year-old Portales woman has been arrested on charges of abusing her 11-year-old son. Rhonda Gorrell is charged with a second offense of abuse of a child, a second-degree felony. According to the affidavit for the arrest warrant: • A Portales Police officer met with a teacher and counselor at Lindsey-Steiner Elementary School on Friday. • The teacher said the boy had complained of jaw pain, had a strong odor and had a bruise on his right wrist. The counselor said the child also had bruises on his arms and... Full story
Someone vandalized three picnic tables at Lindsey Park over the weekend, a City of Portales Parks Department employee said. Groundskeeper Tony Flores, who also lives near the park, said the wooden tables were missing boards when he and his co-workers arrived to clean the park 8 a.m. Monday. The boards had been thrown into trees and two of the tables had been moved, one to the top of the merry-go-round. Flores said city employees removed the tables because of the damage. Problems with graffiti and other vandalism has been... Full story
Status updates on high-profile criminal cases, according to the 9th Judicial District Attorney's Office: • Lucio Ramirez, was charged with aggravated battery for hitting Marvin Silva, 34, of Belen with a hammer during the fight in which Marco Bonilla of Portales was stabbed to death in November 2009: The case was dismissed because the victim failed to appear for trial. • Leroy Salaz, was indicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter in Bonilla's death: A jury trial is set for Jan. 10-12. • Mern Shepherd, was... Full story
