Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is quietly preparing to run to be New Mexico’s next governor, according to news reports last week, fueling speculation about a potential high-profile Democratic primary matchup between her and the state’s senior U.S. senator. Sen. Martin Heinrich’s political future has been the subject of speculation amid talk for the last year that he is also mulling a run for governor in 2026. Neither Heinrich, who was reelected to the Senate in November, nor Haaland, who will leave her post as inter...
On this date … 1921: The headline across The Portales Valley News read: “Most revolting crime in history of Roosevelt County.” A secondary headline reported a father had shot his son and daughter-in-law dead while they were eating breakfast. The newspaper reported Lewis Hawes was confined in the county jail, “as the result of a family row, facing the gallows as the result of his hasty temper.” When law officers arrived at the death scene six miles south of Portales, Lewis Hawes admitted his deed. “Father and son Clinton had...
The long-planned sale of a helium storage reservoir, enrichment plant and pipeline system near Amarillo, Texas, to a private firm was finalized early this month, finally allowing a federal agency to hand off responsibility for the entity after nearly a century of management. The Bureau of Land Management's New Mexico office announced in a Dec. 12 news release it had transferred $460 million in proceeds from the sale of the Federal Helium System to the U.S. Treasury. The state BLM office long had served as the manager of the...
The Ute Water Pipeline Project has a fresh infusion of $20 million in a loan/grant agreement from the state of New Mexico. The news came at the December meeting in Clovis Thursday of the board of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, the agency that is overseeing the construction of the pipeline from Ute Reservoir to various municipalities in the area as well as Cannon Air Force Base. In other business, the board approved plans, specifications and construction bid packaging for the part of the pipeline called Raw...
Curry County commissioners on Tuesday tentatively approved naming the county's Events Center after a long-established Clovis bank. The Citizens Bank of Clovis Curry County Events Center will be the facility's new name following completion of negotiations by center General Manager K. C. Messick, bank President Kent Carruthers and bank management staff member Richard Hadley. Terms of the agreement were not released. Messick said he would not reveal the amount Citizens Bank will...
What is being built in the 800 block of Schepps Boulevard, across from the Civic Center? Is Clovis finally getting a Target? No, it’s not quite big enough for that kind of retail space. “It’s a barndominium. You’ve heard of a condominium? This is a barndominium,” City Clerk Leighann Melancon said Wednesday. Melancon said the construction combines elements of a home and a barn. According to an article on barndominiums on the company website for TruLog Siding, the structures are cheaper to build than traditional residence...
Jennifer Bussey believes in Santa Claus. "He is real. It's the idea of giving not receiving. It's the spirit of Christmas. Better to give than receive," she said. She shared more about her life in an interview with The News last week. Q: Where did you grow up? A: Petersburg, Texas. Petersburg is 15 miles off I-27 between Lubbock and Plainview. I graduated from Petersburg High School, I attended South Plains College in Levelland then transferred to Texas Tech. I have two degree...
It probably was a silent night over 2,000 years ago when Baby Jesus was born — at least until the heavenly host struck up the chorus. Last week, I went caroling with my church and even though we had a book of about 34 carols I made sure we sang “Silent Night” at each of our stops. We also sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” at each place but only did the “Figgy Pudding” verse once. In my mind there is no doubt that “Silent Night” is far and away the most popular Christmas...
Portales City Manager Chris Moyer on Tuesday outlined his hopes for the city in the upcoming year. The presentation came in a routine regular session of the Council, the last session of 2024. Moyer said he hopes to see Portales increase training and personnel budgets. “Taking care of our people and making sure we have a highly qualified workforce,” Moyer said to council members. Moyer’s second point is working the continuing process of finding new water sources and the funding to secure them. Moyer wants to put artif...
Eastern New Mexico University has named Karli Bustos its next head volleyball coach. Athletics Director Kevin Fite made the announcement in a news release last week. "She has head coaching experience that includes turning a program around and reaching postseason competition," Fite said in the release. "From our first conversation it was clear to me that Karli and I shared a philosophy on how to build a successful program; with high character student-athletes, a commitment to...
Clovis Municipal Schools has been awarded a $20,000 grant through New Mexico’s Outdoor Equity Fund. The money will be used to “provide transformative outdoor experiences” for students in grades 3-12 for the next 12 to 18 months, according to a school news release. Activities will include fishing, animal identification and wildlife photography, the release stated. “Investing in these programs provides immediate benefits to youth and communities and also builds long-term economic opportunities in the outdoor recreation sector,...
Clovis police are investigating a fight among a crowd of juvenile girls that took place at Dennis Chavez Park around noon on Tuesday. Video posted on social media shows more than a dozen girls running around with some hitting and pushing each other while a Clovis police officer attempts to break them up. A police incident report shows the officer happened to be in the area when someone reported a “public affray” in the park. A female juvenile provided police with video she said she took when she “just happened to walk up wh...
Later this month, the Consensus Revenue Estimate will be released, providing the basis for the state’s budget when lawmakers meet next month in Santa Fe. And the expectation is a continuation of the oil-fueled revenue boom, leading to another record budget. The estimate is prepared twice a year. The August report predicted lawmakers will have $659.6 million in “new money” to add to the record $13.4 billion budget for the current fiscal year. It’s a dramatic reversal from the days of the Richardson administration, when la...
The torrential downpour greeting WNBA star Caitlin Clark over comments made during an interview at a Time magazine event have been both amusing and disturbing. Clark, the Indiana Fever star who was recently named Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year, expressed her admiration and respect for Black women who have paved the way in female basketball and the importance of promoting diversity as well as diverse voices in the sport. She also expressed hope to utilize her platform t...
Immigration is, and will continue to be, a controversial topic. The least controversial aspect, however, is naturalization. Becoming a U.S. citizen is the pinnacle of my practice, and it is the pinnacle of the immigration process. Last week, I was honored to be asked to be the keynote speaker for the swearing-in of 30 new citizens at a courthouse in the suburbs of Philadelphia. These were my remarks: Most people, when asked to give an address before an audience say that “it i...
Have you unhitched your wagon from the dying mule of government? If not, why not? It’s not helping you, in spite of the claims of its public relations team, but is holding you back. You could be better without it getting in your way and siphoning off the labor of your hands to benefit itself. More liberty, more wealth, more health, more self-respect. For many people, talk of the end of political government is crazy. Their ancestors thought any talk of ending slavery -- excuse...
The Clovis Municipal Schools Board on Tuesday began the process of liquidating some system properties in a sealed bid process that must be approved by the state. CMS Deputy Superintendent of Operations, Technology and Athletics Jay Brady outlined the process for board members, noting each property for sale must first have a resolution passed by the board for a sale. The downsizing is part of the system's master plan introduced earlier this year. "Downsizing, selling...
Roosevelt County commissioners on Tuesday said farewell to two members who have reached their term limits. The terms of District 1 Commissioner Dennis Lopez and District 2 Commissioner Rodney Savage expire Dec. 31. Replacing the two are Fabian Muñoz in District 1 and former County Sheriff Malin Parker in District 2. Their terms officially begin Jan. 1. Remaining members - Commission Chair Tina Dixon and Commissioners Paul Grider and Roy Lee Criswell paid compliments and asides with Lopez and Savage. Lopez and Savage...
Clovis cannabis consumers may soon be allowed to shop later for the product. Clovis City Commission on Thursday tentatively approved a plan for extended hours cannabis businesses can stay open – from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. The retailers can continue to open at 9 a.m. and they can still operate daily, assuming the change introduced Thursday is formally adopted at the city’s next meeting in January. Commissioners approved the new hours by a 7-1 vote with Debbie Zamora opposed and Helen Casaus absent. Alex Stalker, manager of Clo...
For at least four years beginning in 1950, when Santa rolled into Portales after Thanksgiving, it was in a sleigh pulled by four real, honest-to-goodness reindeer. According to newspaper accounts at the time, locals turned out in droves to see them. The man behind bringing those real-life versions of Dancer, Prancer, Donner, and Blitzen to the courthouse square in Portales was a Texas rancher named Grady Carothers. Originally from Goldthwaite, in the heart of Mills County,...
Shad Mayfield had to play through pain all year. The reward was his first All-Around World Championship secured Saturday night at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nev. Mayfield scored the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association's biggest honor by earning $335,474 over 80 rodeos throughout 2024. He finished just $675 ahead of second-place Coleman Proctor of Oklahoma. Mayfield, primarily a calf roper who has won a PRCA tie-down title and finished second this year, said...
An early morning fire Saturday claimed the lives of three children and left five other people hospitalized, officials said. Firefighters were called to a trailer home on Conestoga Trail south of Clovis at 2:33 a.m. Clovis Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Elam said the home was “fully involved” when firefighters arrived and the injured were in the yard outside. “It appears everyone was asleep (when the fire began). The children perished inside the residence,” Elam said. Two of the adults were initially in critical conditi...
In New Mexico's sprawling northeast corner, residents have only one health care option, for everything from medical emergencies to annual physical exams: Union County General Hospital, a full-service facility in Clayton, the tiny county seat. In just over a month, it might be forced to close its doors for good. UCGH faces many of the same pressures that are straining rural hospitals throughout New Mexico and across the country. Declining populations and low reimbursement rates...
On this date … 1936: C.V. Steed Undertaking was “serving Clovis since Clovis began,” according to its newspaper advertisement. Anyone needing ambulance service or funeral service could reach Steed at phone number 14. 1954: Fourteen floats were entered in the upcoming Christmas Pageant Parade in downtown Clovis. The parade route was set to begin at West Seventh and Mitchell streets, then proceed down Mitchell to West First, over to Main Street and then to Ninth Street, where it would end. All of the floats were spons...
Shad Mayfield is atop the rodeo world. The Clovis native captured the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association All-Around World Championship Saturday night before 17,227 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Mayfield, primarily a calf roper, earned $335,474 for the all-around title, edging second-place Coleman Proctor, a steer roper from Pryor, Okla., by just $675. Mayfield also finished second in the PRCA’s final tie-down roping standings, trailing only Riley Webb of Dento...
