Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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New Mexico voters will decide the fates of two proposals that would expand property tax exemptions for veterans who own homes in the state — and mean increased tax rates for other homeowners. The proposals are among four constitutional amendments appearing on this year's general election ballot after being approved by the Legislature. House Minority Whip Alan Martinez, R-Bernalillo, who was one of the sponsors of both veteran-related measures, said the proposals could make New Mexico a more attractive place to veterans. A...
Sammy Lopez, longtime New Mexico newspaper publisher and most recently executive director of New Mexico Press Association, died Sunday. "His family was with him at the hospital, after having suffered a stroke the day before," said Barbara Beck, NMPA president, in a letter to the organization's membership. Lopez, former publisher at Fort Sumner and a half-dozen other state newspapers, was named executive director of NMPA in 2019. He was elected to the press association's Hall...
Following one of the hottest months on record throughout New Mexico, the first week of September is expected to see high temperatures more like fall in the Clovis-Portales area, with a chance for rain most days. The National Weather Service predicts highs in the mid-80s all week with lows in the mid-50s. Thursday night offers a 20% chance of rain, forecasters say. “We have a backdoor front coming through Wednesday night. It’s going to give us enough moisture for isolated storms late [in the] week into the weekend,” said Matt...
The climate at the Republican National Convention has changed from what was expected – “but not in that we’re fearful, just the opposite. We are more determined and united than ever,” said Tina Dziuk on Monday. Dziuk of Clovis is a member of the New Mexico delegation serving on the RNC Committee on Arrangements for the convention being held this week in Milwaukee. Following Saturday’s apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, Dziuk said “there is nowhere in the nation that is more secure than...
Jonathan Fuentes remembers playing school when he was a young child. "It was funny because we'd have a teacher and ... I was either the principal or the superintendent, so I knew I wanted to lead in education," he said. "At that age, I didn't know it was higher education until I got to about college and grad school," Fuentes said. His dream has been realized. He becomes the sixth president of Clovis Community College on July 1. First as a student in the 1990s, the past five...
Bill Walton, a two-time NBA champion and member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, passed away on Monday at the age of 71, after a battle with cancer. “Bill Walton was truly one of a kind. As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a league statement. "Bill then translated his...
SANTA FE -- Hundreds came out Wednesday to honor three fallen law enforcement officers during a ceremony in the courtyard of New Mexico’s Law Enforcement Academy in Santa Fe. Those honored were: • Curry County Sheriff Mike Reeves • Anthony Dale Ferguson, an officer with the Alamogordo Police Department • and former Alamogordo Officer James Sides All three died in 2023. Their names were added to a memorial wall that now includes 220 officers who have died on duty in New Mexico going back more than 100 years. Reeves died in...
Public school officials representing more than 50 districts, including Clovis, Portales and most in eastern New Mexico, have filed a lawsuit against the state Public Education Department. They’re asking a court to halt the 180-instructional day mandate imposed in March. The lawsuit, filed April 18 in Curry County by the New Mexico School Superintendents Association and individual superintendents, comes as schools across the state attempt to draft budgets and academic calendars for next year — a process complicated by the new...
Jaremy Alexander Smith, a man suspected of killing a New Mexico State Police officer early Friday, was apprehended Sunday by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office following a pursuit and a shooting by deputies that left him injured. Smith, 32, of Marion, S.C., is accused of fatally shooting Officer Justin Hare on Interstate 40 near Tucumcari after Hare had offered to assist him with a flat tire, authorities said. State Police issued an arrest warrant charging Smith with first-degree murder and armed robbery, among several o...
School superintendents across New Mexico are considering a lawsuit against the state’s Public Education Department. The mission is to prevent PED from implementing its 180-day rule set to go into effect with the 2024-2025 school year, Clovis Superintendent Renee Russ said last week. Clovis’ school board on Tuesday night was expected to consider a resolution supporting Russ’ joining the New Mexico School Superintendents Association’s opposition to the 180-day rule. The resolution calls for “a Legal Defense Fund … in their ef...
New Mexico is the deadliest state for pedestrians, according to rankings by the Governors Highway Safety Association. It’s been that way since 2016, and the most recent GHSA preliminary report, released late last month, has New Mexico ranked No. 1 for 2023 as well. The Albuquerque area was deadlier than ever for those on foot last year, with drivers striking and killing a record 56 people and surpassing the previous record of 49 in 2021. And Clovis is trending with the state’s largest city. Clovis Police Department rec...
SANTA FE -- The state Public Education Department announced Thursday it will enact a rule requiring 180 instructional days at schools, a plan that has drawn ire from teachers, administrators and lawmakers throughout the state. The version approved by the agency allows exemptions for schools with four-day weeks, early college high schools, and districts and charter schools with significant growth in reading proficiency rates. “We’ve had it with being the last and the worst performing state in the union,” Public Education Secre...
Wildfires continued to engulf the Texas Panhandle and parts of Oklahoma on Friday as officials were concerned warming temperatures and growing winds could elevate fire conditions through the weekend. The Smokehouse Creek fire, which ignited Monday, has burnt through more than 1 million acres becoming the largest wildfire in state history. The fire - which grew in size after merging with a smaller 687 Reamer fire ― is among the largest in the Lower 48 since record-keeping b...
Some of New Mexico’s prominent business leaders – including some in eastern New Mexico -- still oppose a bill that would provide employees with paid leave for self or family medical needs. That’s despite lawmakers’ efforts to make it more palatable this legislative session. “I’m working on our legislative priorities sheet today,” said Portales Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karl Terry on Monday. “Opposing paid family medical leave will be at the top unless it’s greatly different from last year. I haven’t heard of...
Some Democratic lawmakers hope their persistence in trying to push through a green amendment will pay off in the upcoming legislative session and allow voters to decide in November whether to make a clean, healthy environment a constitutional right in New Mexico. The sponsors of the proposed amendment think a fourth attempt at passage could see success, even if the 2024 session is only 30 days, creating a narrow funnel that allows only a fraction of competing bills and measures to pass. Some local Republicans hope the plan...
David L. Norvell, a former New Mexico attorney general who in 1969 became the youngest-ever speaker of the state House of Representatives, died Thursday at age 88. Norvell died after a lengthy illness at his home in Albuquerque “embraced by his family and loved ones,” according to a statement issued by the New Mexico House Democrats. The Clovis attorney was first elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives in 1962 and served four terms before stepping down in 1970. He was elected House speaker in 1969 at age 34. A Cur...
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – 'Tis the season for broncs and bulls, riding and roping. The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is back. The 65th NFR is celebrating its 38th year in Vegas. It begins Thursday and lasts through Dec. 16 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Clovis native Shad Mayfield has qualified again in tie-down roping. He comes in with $206,603 in prize money for the year, second only to Riley Webb of Denton, Texas, who has earned $280,404. This is Mayfield's fifth consecutive s...
When the state Legislature meets again in January, one issue it’s expected to consider is public records access. Eddy County officials said this month the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act will be a legislative priority for the New Mexico Association of Counties. “We have 60 to 70 active (IPRA) requests per day,” said Eddy County Manager Roberta Gonzales. “The complexity of them is a lot. One of them could be 50 hours of video footage the staff are looking through and redacting.” Eddy County has three full-time employe...
President Joe Biden is set to visit New Mexico next week as part of a three-state swing through the West promoting efforts to combat climate change. The visit will also include stops in Arizona and Utah. The president's last visit to New Mexico was in the final days before last year's midterm election. He also traveled to the state amid the devastating wildfires last summer. In next week's visit, a White House official said, Biden is expected to tout provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act addressing climate change and...
SANTA FE – Legislation that would ensure earlier parole hearings for teenagers convicted of first-degree murder passed the House on Monday and is on the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The House voted 37-25 along partisan lines to approve Senate Bill 64, which entitles children convicted before they are 18 to a parole hearing - and, potentially, parole - after 20 or 25 years in prison, depending on the initial sentence. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, was among those opposing t...
New Mexico agricultural producers have seen a decline in cash receipts and income since 2019, according to the latest agricultural statistics published by ag agencies. the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Statistics Services of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When compared to 2020, though, state total agricultural productivity grew about 5% in 2021, according to New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte in his introductory letter to the 2021 New Mexico Statistics Bulletin. “New Mexico a...
The city of Clovis is looking for individuals to fill openings on two of the city’s boards. According to a news release from the Clovis city manager’s office, the city is looking for a utility representative (i.e. gas, electric, water and telecommunications) to serve on the Economic Incentive Board (EIB). The city also has a vacancy for a city resident to serve on the Clovis-Carver Public Library Board. Those interested should contact the city manager’s office at 575-763-9654 or email: [email protected] . Appli...
A magnitude-5.4 earthquake rattled West Texas on Friday, officials said — exactly one month after an earthquake of the same magnitude shook the region, sending tremors through Mexico. The earthquake, which hit about 5:35 p.m. CST, was reported 12 miles north-northwest of Midland, according to the National Weather Service. Odessa Fire Rescue division chief Terrey Brumbalow told the Odessa American there were no reports of damage. It was the fourth-strongest earthquake in Texas history, the weather service said. A map from t...
ALBUQUERQUE — Clovis native Raul Rosas Jr. made history on Saturday night as the 18-year-old became the youngest fighter ever to win a UFC fight. The former Clovis resident dominated his opponent, Jay Perrin, into submission during the first round of their featherweight fight. “Man, this is crazy, but I knew I was going to be here at this age,” said Rosas Jr., currently a high school senior in Las Vegas, Nevada. “So right now I’m just living the dream. “I had no nerves, no pressure, felt free. I’m doing what I love to do. A...
JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi State University football coach Mike Leach was in critical condition Monday at University of Mississippi Medical Center after being hospitalized Sunday due to a “personal health issue,” school officials said. "Mike's family is with him and appreciates the overwhelming expressions of love and support for the coach, but also requests that their family's privacy be respected at this time,” a school statement read. Leach, 61, was transported by ambulance from his home to the university's medic...
