Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Editor’s note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local officials. Sen. Greg Nibert, R-Roswell, was appointed to succeed longtime state Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, earlier this month. Q: Talk about your time growing up in Clovis and how did that beginning get you to where you are today? A: I was 5 years old when we moved to Clovis. I lived on Reed Street south of the then hospital. I went to Mrs. Sanders’ kindergarten on South Prince. I then went to first grade at James Bickley Elementary for first and...
Thursday *Roosevelt County Commission special meeting - 9 a.m., Commission Room, Roosevelt County Courthouse, 109 W. First St., Portales. Information: 575-356-5307 Jan. 29 *Clovis-Carver Library Board – 5:30 p.m., North Annex, Clovis-Carver Public Library, 701 N. Main St., Clovis. Information: Margaret Hinchee at 575-769-7840 *Clovis/Portales Microplex Legislative Dinner in Santa Fe – 6:30 p.m., Hotel Santa Fe, 1501 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe. Sponsored by Clovis Economic Development (CED), the Clovis/Curry County Cha...
Tuesday *Blood drive — 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Bloodmobile, Wheatfields Estates, 4701 N. Prince St., Clovis. Register online at www.bloodhero.com. Advance appointments strongly recommended. Information: 877-258-4825 *Books and Babies: “Snug as a Bug” — 10:30 a.m., Portales Public Library, 218 S. Ave. B, Portales. Open ages 0-3. Information: 575-356-3940 *Afterschool S.T.R.E.A.M. (Science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, math): Outrageous Oculus/Mario Mania — 4:30 p.m., Portales Public Library, 218 S. Ave. B, Portales....
Booked The following were booked into local jails (Tuesday - Friday): Clovis • Elias Soto-Valdez, 24, battery against a household member, battery • Randy Lopez, 31, parole violation, probation violation • Brad Ramos, 25, probation violation • Dalila Lares, 21, failure to pay fines • Jonathan Pacheco, 38, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge • Catrina Owen, 32, probation violation, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge • Stephen Levenshown, 37, out of state fugitive • Andrew Petersen, 60, probation violation • Mar...
SANTA FE – Eastern New Mexico University regents on Wednesday extended the contract of Chancellor James Johnston through 2027 and increased his pay, according to a university news release. Johnston, who came to ENMU a year ago, will see his pay increase from $284,080 to $301,125 annually, university spokesman John Houser told The News. Johnston will also receive an increase to his car allowance, and a one-time retention payment if goals and performance expectations are met at the end of his contract term, which will now e...
New retail businesses are interested in locating to Clovis, according to a consultant group that’s been partnering with the city for the past four years. The news came out at Thursday’s regular session of the Clovis City Commission. Madison Neal and Megan Jimenez with Retail Strategies spoke at the session via teleconferencing. While declining to name specific companies due to business confidentiality, Neal said he and Jimenez have a prospect list of 139 companies for possible location to Clovis. “Thirty of those have no in...
On almost every issue, from crime to gun control to public education, Republican state legislators said the governor’s State of the State address sidestepped many of the realities New Mexicans live in. “Did you hear anything about border security?” Rep. Jim Townsend, R-Aztec, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon shortly after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s speech. “Did you hear anything about fentanyl? Not a single word.” Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen, said despite the optimistic tone of the governor’s...
This year’s 30-day legislative session began at noon Tuesday at the state Capitol. Here are things to know if you plan to attend before it wraps up Feb. 15. Where can I park? There is a free multistoried parking structure just behind the state Capitol. The entrance is off Galisteo Street, and it’s easy to find. Can I bring my dog or gun? No to dogs, unless they are assistance dogs. No to guns or any other kind of weapon; lawmakers voted to prohibit people from bringing them in (except for law enforcement personnel) sev...
The surname Domenici likely will again appear on a New Mexico ballot later this year. Nella Louise Domenici, the daughter of former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, has declared herself a candidate for the Senate seat held by Democrat Martin Heinrich. Nella Domenici filed a statement of candidacy Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission declaring she’ll run as a Republican, the party her father championed for several decades in New Mexico. Her entrance into the race less than five months before the June 4 primary adds to a GOP r...
Clovis is doing well in a number of important areas, according to Mayor Mike Morris who offered his annual "State of the City" address Thursday. About 50 people attended the gathering at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library. "We are the Clovis/Cannon community, we are one community. A growing and vibrant community that provides an opportunity for everyone to succeed. To be prosperous, healthy and successful," Morris said. Morris thanked all city employees...
Trump. Climate change. Liberals. Conservatives. Socialists. Capitalists. Bet you don’t think any of these charged-up words are funny, but maybe you should. “All comedy starts with anger,” Jerry Seinfeld once said, explaining that stand-up comedy turns anger into laughter. But of course, it’s not just anger that generates laughs. It’s also pain, insecurity and other human frailties. And as it turns out, one of the most therapeutic approaches we can take in dealing with our problems is by laughing about them. My brother D...
There are two things that should be completely off limits: a person’s children and a person’s grief. You do not mock a child, something that we often forget when that child happens to belong to a politician we despise, and you do not make fun of someone in the depths of mourning. I have never had a child, but I have experienced grief. The greatest pain I ever felt, and the greatest I ever will carry, happened 10 years ago when my mother passed away. No matter how deep you...
The New Mexico Legislature is different from anything else I’ve ever covered. Part of that is structural, with arcane rules limiting sessions to 30 or 60 days and calling for legislators to work without pay or staff. And part of it is cultural. The time limitations mean every session is a sprint to the finish, with hundreds of bills dying a quiet death when the clock strikes noon on the final day. And yet, during each day of the session official business is temporarily set aside to make time for dancers, musicians, poets a...
When I left active duty in 1980 and went to work in the civilian economy, I knew who my boss was and who my boss’ boss was. After that, the line of who was in charge, up to the chief executive of the company, was kind of fuzzy. This was not true in the military, where I could name my bosses’ bosses, from my individual commander, up through the military rank structure to commandant and then secretary of defense and the commander in chief. We were required to learn this cha...
Most politicians remind me of bungling bank robbers who get foiled in their clownish attempts to rob a bank. Rather than being sorry or changing their ways, they decide they’ll rob two banks tomorrow. Instead of robbing banks, though, they keep committing the greater crime of “gun control.” New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, seems to want to be on the Most Wanted list for gun-law criminals, right up there with the worst dictators in history. On one hand, how emb...
As expected, Donald Trump earned an easy victory in the Iowa Republican caucus on Monday, breaking records in the process. The result moves him closer to recapturing the GOP presidential nomination, although he still has significant work ahead of him. Trump took 51% of the vote, beating Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 30 points and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley by 32 points. His performance easily broke the previous record for margin of victory in Iowa during a contested caucus, set in 1988 when Bob Dole beat runner-up Pat...
The city of Portales will be looking into introducing a new water efficiency plan (WEP) and establishing a water advisory committee by February. That’s what area residents heard Thursday at a community meeting at the Memorial Building. City Manager Sarah Austin said the plan is being developed to provide the city with a framework for coordinating a response to water supply/production emergencies, including droughts and infrastructure or equipment failures. “The purpose of the WEP is to establish an effective and sys...
Country music’s Rodney Atkins is scheduled to perform April 27 at Greyhound Arena on the campus of Eastern New Mexico University. A university news release said the concert is set for 6 p.m. The release said Atkins has recorded six No. 1 singles, including “Watching You,” which was named No. 1 song of the decade by Country Aircheck. Also performing will be Clovis’ Matt Ancira and Lubbock’s Mason & the Gin Line. Tickets are $50 for standing-room-only floor access, $30 for lower-level reserved seating, and $20 for upper-lev...
Road construction scheduled last week on Curry Road 15 has been rescheduled for this week, according to a news release from Southland Contracting. Construction is now planned for Tuesday and Wednesday. Contracting will close east- and west-bound lanes on CR15 from State Road 311 to Curry Road R both days. Detours will be in place for traffic control, the release stated....
Clovis Municipal Schools’ Mandy Carpenter on Friday was named Administrator of the Year by the New Mexico School Personnel Association during its 2024 annual conference in Albuquerque. According to a news release from CMS, Carpenter is executive director of Talent Management & Development for the district. “Carpenter has been instrumental in revolutionizing recruitment and hiring processes for the district, streamlining employee placement, management processes, and documentation systems, contributing to drastic imp...
The man accused of starting the Clovis Walmart fire on Sept. 3 has been indicted on federal charges of arson and attempted arson, officials said. Ninth Judicial District Attorney Quentin Ray said Friday he has dismissed state charges so that Jimmy Guillen, 59, can be prosecuted under federal law. “They have a higher range of punishment and I think a different system may work better if there are any defenses that the defendant tries to bring up,” Ray said. Under state law, Guillen faced up to 25 ½ years in prison if conv...
Can Clovis’ code enforcement department immediately seize property for whatever they deem a violation of city code? I read this allegation recently on a social media post and I find it hard to believe such a thing may happen without due process. The post alleged the information was told to them by a person on the code enforcement staff. “The city does not have the ability to seize property for code enforcement violations, other than abandoned vehicles,” City Attorney Jared Morris wrote in an email response to The News. Morri...
As much as I love crisp cotton sheets dried on a clothesline, when the mercury dips as low as it did last week, the dryer becomes the source of comfort and luxury in my house. I’m old enough to remember before we got the first magical box that transformed soggy laundry into cozy cushions of warmth in only 30 or 40 minutes. Fortunately, I was too young (and therefore too short) to draw much clothesline duty back then. I remember my mother’s red and aching hands, chapped fro...
Results from the statewide wastewater testing at New Mexico schools have been published on the governor's website. But local school officials said the results announced Tuesday leave them with more questions than answers. Testing for opioids and stimulants within schools' sewage water began in October, as part of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's recent public health order on drugs. "While we applaud what are surely good intentions on the part of the state, and we are always...
From operating heavy machinery to saving motorists in car crashes, Clovis High School students last week got a peek at everyday jobs through virtual reality. Clovis High School Principal David Fredericks said the goal of the Be Pro, Be Proud event was to provide insight and resources for students to prepare them for a future career. "I want our kids to see a wide variety, so that they have more knowledge with what they can be and see what careers actually exist within our...
