Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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In her office at the high school in Boulder, Colorado, the assistant principal has a large cardboard box where she can toss the spoils of her ongoing battle with the newest student addiction. “This is what I call the box of death,” said Kristen Lewis. “This is everything that we’ve confiscated.” The box is filled with vape pens like Juuls, the leading brand of e-cigarettes, dozens of disposable pods for nicotine liquid, and even a lonely box of Marlboros. At Boulder High, students are prohibited from smoking cigarettes or vap...
A strong cold front is expected to bring snow to northern New Mexico and send temperatures plunging throughout the state over the next few days. Eastern New Mexico can expect its first hard freeze Thursday night and Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service. “There’s still a lot of uncertainty with this system,” meteorologist Kerry Jones said. “But we’re pretty solid on the cold temperatures. ... Temperatures are going to drop substantially into Thursday.” He said the state will be getting “a piece of a bi...
A 460,000-pound piece of equipment was successfully transported Friday from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Clovis, passing through the heart of Santa Fe, on its way to a repair site across the country. The truck-and-trailer rig being used to carry the massive load - a rotor that is 69 feet long and 6 feet in diameter - caused a few delays for drivers, but also drew plenty of stares as it made its way through the Land of Enchantment before a train ride east. New Mexico...
CLOVIS — In a few weeks, you can cross the state’s largest retailer off of your list for firearms purchases. Effective July 27, Walmart plans to stop selling firearms at all New Mexico locations, including its stores in Clovis and Portales. The stores will continue to sell ammunition, along with BB guns, airsoft guns and similar items. “It will be good for us small dealers,” said Larry Reeves, who has owned the R&S Gun Shop in downtown Clovis for 47 years. “It will be good for the bigger dealers too, like Big 5 and Gebo’s. I...
Eastern New Mexico received its first tornado scare of the season on March 12 when watches were issued throughout the region. Curry, Quay and Roosevelt counties avoided the twisters that night, but neighbors to the south in Dexter saw a touchdown that resulted in multiple minor injuries and several damaged homes. The night reminded old-timers of the deadly tornadoes that struck eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle on March 23, 2007. Heleneta Blevins and Walter Cravy,...
The state Environment Department and Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday morning filed a lawsuit seeking to compel U.S. Air Force officials to acknowledge, address and remediate contamination caused by discharge of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFOS/PFOA) at Cannon and Holloman Air Force bases. “No one has a right to pollute New Mexico’s vital water resources,” said Attorney General Hector Balderas in a news release. “... The New Mexico Environment Department will move swiftly and decisively to ensure protectio...
Welcome to Between Editions, our online update for the latest news from eastern New Mexico and around the region. We'll do this as often as we can in effort to keep readers of The Eastern New Mexico News informed beyond our print editions, which publish each Wednesday and Sunday. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment on Facebook or via email: [email protected] • Portales Public Works Water Department officials are working to repair a "sudden unplanned water break in the area of Western Skies, Territorial Estate... Full story
SANTA FE — As expected, the House District 63 race is going into a recount. The Secretary of State’s Office currently has Clovis Republican Martin Zamora holding a 27-vote lead over incumbent Democrat George Dodge — 2,982-2,955. It’s one of three legislative races going into a recount, and it’s by far the closest. Democrat Abbas Akhil leads Jim Dines by 109 votes in their District 20 race, while Republican Gregg Williams Schmedes leads Jessica Velasquez by 138 votes in District 22. An automatic recount is triggered when the...
NEW YORK — Former Clovis High receiver Rishard Matthews will soon be back on an NFL roster, as he has reportedly agreed to sign with the New York Jets. ESPN reported the news Tuesday morning. The 29-year-old was released by the Tennessee Titans in September after he had requested a release or trade, citing displeasure with his limited role in the offense. He was released after the Titans couldn’t find any suitors. Coming off injuries that limited him through the offseason and preseason, Matthews had not started once. He als... Full story
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Motorists streamed inland on highways converted to one-way evacuation routes Tuesday as about 1.7 million people in three states were warned to get out of the way of Hurricane Florence, a hair-raising storm taking dead aim at the Carolinas with 140 mph winds and potentially ruinous rains. Even as far west as New Mexico, statewide organizations were monitoring the situation and preparing to send aid as needed. The American Red Cross’ senior manager for donor recruitment in Albuquerque told The Eastern New...
It’s a trend states and districts are feeling nationwide: teacher shortages. And New Mexico’s larger districts — including the state’s largest and in Clovis — are still on the hunt to fill positions for the coming 2018-2019 school year. Numerous positions are available, including 56 in Clovis. U.S. Department of Education data for the just completed 2017-2018 school year showed that teacher shortages were affecting every state in the country. Now, with schools looking ahead to the coming school year, Albuquerque Public Sc...
SANTA FE — Allsup’s Convenience Stores, the Clovis-based chain that operates throughout New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, is giving its employees a grand bonus. That’s a grand as in $1,000 to each full-time, non-executive employee, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. Allsup’s said in a statement to the New Mexican that the windfall was “a result of the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed” in December. The bonus went to employees who have been with the company at least a year. Allsup’s operates 317 stores in New Mexico, West...
ALBUQUERQUE — A hearing examiner is urging New Mexico regulators to reject an earnings proposal related to Xcel Energy’s two planned wind farms along the Texas-New Mexico border. One of those proposed projects is the Sagamore Wind Project, a 522-megawatt wind farm that would be located 20 miles southeast of Portales. At issue is a proposal that would allow the utility to recover lost earnings that accumulate between the time when the wind farms actually come online and when the state Public Regulation Commission approves new...
SANTA FE — Two Clovis-area female attorneys who filed sexual harassment complaints against Chief Deputy Public Defender Chandler Blair are still pursuing their claims after the New Mexico Disciplinary Board declined to take action. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that one woman’s complaint has been sent to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a second alleged victim has asked the state Supreme Court to review the Disciplinary Board’s decision. No criminal charges have been filed in either case. Blair has denie...
ALAMOSA, Colo. — The president of a university in Colorado has been placed on leave amid accusations she bullied faculty and staff, failed to improve declining student enrollment and mocked workers with an offensive Halloween costume. The Denver Post reports Adams State University President Beverlee J. McClure was placed on leave last week after photos of her in the costume in October 2016 began circulating on campus. McClure was president at Clovis Community College from 1999 to 2005. McClure became Adams State’s first wom...
The New Mexico State Police are looking for a man just escaped from the DeBaca County Detention Center in Fort Sumner. Nicoles Davis, 20, is 5-foot-11, 165 pounds with hazel eyes. He was last seen on foot near 17th Street by the railroad. He is believed to be wearing a white t-shirt, orange pants and black flip flops. Anybody who has seen Davis is asked to call 911. UPDATE: The NMSP reported just after 1 p.m. Davis was taken into custody without incident...
EL PASO, Texas - The FBI questioned two brothers from Portales in the death of a border patrol agent in Texas, according to federal court documents that have been sealed. Jeanette Harper, a spokeswoman for the FBI's El Paso office, said Thursday that the investigation is ongoing into the death of agent Rogelio Martinez and serious injuries sustained by his partner. FBI officials said previously that they were investigating the incident as a "potential assault" but they have no...
Embracing a historic change, the Boy Scouts of America announced Wednesday plans to admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year and to establish a new program for older girls using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts. Under the plan, Cub Scout dens — the smallest unit — will be single-gender, either all-boys or all-girls. The larger Cub Scout packs will have the option to remain single gender or welcome both genders. The program for older girls is expected to sta...
ALBUQUERQUE — It’s now official: The high school football season will end on Thanksgiving weekend, beginning in 2018. By an overwhelming majority of 66-7, members schools in the state have voted to confirm a new calendar that will go into effect for the 2018-19 school year and beyond. It will push up by one week the season openers, and it will mean a Thanksgiving finish to the season for the upper classes, with championship games on Black Friday or the following afternoon. This year, Dec. 2 falls on a Saturday, and that is...
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday it is abandoning a test meant to determine whether nuclear waste can be buried far underground. That’s because of changes in budget priorities, the agency said. But the plan’s critics and supporters, at least in Quay County, all say the battle is far from over. The Trump administration sent Congress a federal spending plan that seeks $120 million to revive the mothballed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The repository was closed in 2012 after heavy opposition by for...
ALBUQUERQUE — Athletics are losing out in the competition for limited dollars as one of the nation’s largest school districts prepares for a 2 percent cut in state funding. Albuquerque Public Schools is dropping its middle-school athletics program for the coming school year because of anticipated spending reductions linked to New Mexico’s state budget crisis, the district announced Thursday. School district spokeswoman Monica Armenta said eliminating intermural middle-school volleyball, basketball, and track and field will...
Eastern New Mexico University’s PBS station and New Mexico PBS have each announced bringing a California-based television network dedicated to Native Americans to their audiences. Both KENW-TV in Portales and KNMWE-TV in Albuquerque have brought First Nations Experience under their broadcast umbrellas. The station is available locally on digital Channel 3.4, and in Albuquerque on Channel 5.3, and will feature programs focusing on Native American and indigenous people around the world. The public TV network known as FNX is a...
The New Mexico Livestock Board received a judge's permission Friday to remove about 1,000 emaciated cattle from a drought-stricken ranch near Fort Sumner. New Mexico Livestock Board officials served a search warrant at the sprawling Double V Ranch on May 17 and found at least 25 dead animals and others at risk of starving to death, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant. The owner of the ranch, Richard Evans, was charged with 25 counts of cruelty to animals Thursday evening. A number listed for Double V Ranch was a...
Former Portales High coach Mark McAfee knew Lovington's Brian Urlacher had a bright future when he coached against him as the Rams' defensive co-ordinator in the mid-1990s. McAfee didn't necessarily see him as an eight-time Pro-Bowl middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears. "He was a stud," McAfee said Wednesday night. "I knew he could play at the next (college) level, and I was glad he had what I would consider to be a successful college and NFL career." Urlacher announced his retirement on Wednesday through social media...
Representatives from Raton, Tucumcari and Lordsburg told New Mexico racing commissioners on Thursday they are interested in applying for the state's sixth racino license, even though discussion of that license had been removed from the meeting agenda. The long-delayed and still unfinished La Mesa Racetrack in Raton earlier this week appealed the loss of its racing license to the state Supreme Court, putting the availability of that license in limbo. An unnamed group has also expressed interest in opening a racino in Clovis.... Full story
