Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission will take about a week to look at hopefuls for the now-vacant District 4 commission seat. It took them just a few minutes to create the format. Mayor Mike Morris led a quick discussion at Thursday’s commission meeting to suggest the application process he’d like to see to fill the remaining 14 months of the term of R.L. “Rube” Render. Render, who won the seat in 2018, is moving to Lubbock to be closer to family. Based on Render’s Wednesday resignation date, the commission has until Feb....
It has been a bittersweet experience seeing the mailbox flooded with college recruiting brochures addressed to my son Gideon. Bittersweet because, speaking as a science fiction fan, each “road not taken” represents an alternate timeline involving different friends, different instructors, a different spouse, a different career path, a different city, a different strategy for administrators to hound grads for alumni donations. It’s also bittersweet because I’m a little jealous. I don’t remember receiving that many invitatio...
RICHARDSON, Texas — Angelo State, which finished 19-3 in a Lone Star Conference season cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, is the top pick to be the champion once everything is settled in May. The Rams took 23 of the 34 first-place votes and garnered 438 points in the sampling of head coaches, sports information directors and media representatives throughout the LSC. Eastern New Mexico, which went 3-19 last season, was picked last in the 13-team poll. Joining the Rams in the top four were Texas-Tyler, which went 20-3 last sea...
RICHARDSON, Texas — A solid start to a 2020 season that was suddenly cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic gained the Eastern New Mexico University softball team a few new fans, but there are still plenty of people left to convince. The Greyhounds notched a first-place vote and finished 10th in this year’s LSC’s preseason softball poll, a jump from its 15th-place selection in the 2020 poll. The Greyhounds weren’t expected to do much last year coming off a 12-30 2019 campaign while sporting a roster with 15 freshmen, but went 11...
FARWELL - Down by 12 points in the third quarter and struggling mightily on offense, Olton's boys found some late answers. In a battle for the District 3-2A lead, the Mustangs revved up their defensive pressure down the stretch and turned it into offense to pull out a 45-41 victory over Farwell on Friday night. Senior Israel Santillan hit a key 3-pointer early in the fourth segment, then added three free throws in the final 40 seconds to help Olton nail down the win. The...
FARWELL - Even though her role has changed over the years, Farwell senior Presley Agee's ability to score the basketball has been remarkably consistent. A starter for the Lady Blue since her freshman campaign, the 5-foot-4 guard tallied 482 points that year, 526 as a sophomore and 530 during 2019-20. On Friday, Agee was held to a season-low six points in a 44-34 District 3-2A home win over Olton, boosting her career total to 2,004 points with 466 this season. Despite the off-n...
On this date ... 1961: High winds and a “surprising” amount of snow slapped eastern New Mexico. Weatherman Karl Kramer said 4 inches of snow fell on the Clovis area as temperatures “plunged to a frosty 9 degrees,” the Clovis News-Journal reported. Planes at Cannon Air Force Base and local municipal airports were grounded due to the wintry blast. Clovis police reported 12 minor automobile accidents, with no injuries. 1971: Mike Cassan, Bill Montgomery, Clyde Perkins and Ralph Williams had represented Gattis Junior High, f...
The following marriage licenses were recently issued at the Curry County Clerk’s office: • Darren Goddard, 40, and Ariane Roth, 36, both of Clovis, NM • Austin Koehn, 21, and Maria Froese, 21, both of Albuquerque, NM • Richard Carman, 25, of Clovis, and Victoria Palandech, 26, Cibolo, TX • Jaron Cummings, 19, of Clovis, and Hannah Mauldin, 18, of Parkton, North Carolina • Henry Zaring, 26, and Alisha Geisler, 24, both of Clovis, NM • Nigel Jefferson, 63, of Clovis, and Michelle Davis, 48, Lawton, OK • Zachery Fulton, 37, and...
New Mexico FFA District IV's annual Creed Contest took place over Zoom last Wednesday. Usually held at a local high school or university, this year things were moved online so that young FFA members would not miss out on the opportunity only available to middle schoolers and freshman. Jerry Faver, Portales High School’s agriculture teacher, was the official host of the event and helped transition the contest onto the virtual format. “That was pretty stressful for an old ag teacher; it seems like the newer generation gets alo...
CLOVIS — Construction of the Clovis Winged-Shooting Complex has been underway for nine weeks but the City of Clovis recently posted an update of the projects progress showing a smoothed out foundation spot. The sporting facility is being built in the Ned Houk Park area on city land, but it is adjacent to the Ned Houk Motor Sports Complex and far away from any play grounds or walking trails. “We want this to be an all-around sporting complex for firearms, archery, air rifle, while also having the classroom for teaching the...
CLOVIS — Curry County submitted a request for a new 4H-Cooperative Extension Office in its 2021 capital outlays to the state this year. The new facility would be constructed at the Curry County Fairgrounds and provide additional space and resources for the expanding extension office. “What we, and what the county is hoping to do because this is a county request and it's coming from them, is to offer a place where we can do more programming for more diverse audiences and larger audiences. The location where we are now, we'...
On their current downward trends with COVID-19, both Curry and Roosevelt counties may be crossing their fingers Wednesday they could move from red to yellow and get slightly relaxed restrictions on businesses and social gatherings. Friday’s report from the governor’s office indicated Curry County confirmed 16 new COVID-19 infections while Roosevelt County confirmed seven. Every two weeks since Nov. 30, the state has measured each county based on whether they meet the two gating benchmarks of 8 daily cases per 100,000 res...
People often try and sound profound by quoting Santayana’s apocryphal statement, “Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” But Santayana had his finger on the pulse of my nation in this moment. There is a lot of hysteria spreading among the cultured classes, but since they are the cultured classes, it is repackaged as concern for social norms and national security. What appears to the naked eye and the unbiased mind as a dance with totalitarianism is descri...
LAS CRUCES — Trumpism was an ugly and violent political movement that was always destined to die an ugly and violent death. A mere election loss was never going to be enough to kill the movement, regardless of how decisive that loss may have been. Donald Trump told us before the vote in 2016 that he was bigger than our elections. Of course he wouldn’t agree to abide by the final decision. If he lost, it must be rigged. Five people died in the riot on the U.S. Capitol, including Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick. He...
And so we reach the end of an unpresidented era. The reference is, of course, to one of Donald Trump’s many Twitter misspellings, this one found in his 2016 description of the seizure of a US. Navy drone. He meant to call it “unprecedented.” But Trump’s mistake gave us a coinage perfect for this moment. For four years, America has been an unpresidented nation — in some fundamental sense, a nation without a president. Yes, I know. Trump was in the Oval Office, duly elected and...
Everyone agreed the inauguration ceremony was nice. Lady Gaga was Lady Gaga. Garth Brooks was Garth Brooks. Everyone also agreed President Joe Biden’s speech was nice. Nothing plagiarized. Nothing too fancy. Nothing that presidential historians will be quoting a month from now. Biden’s call for national unity and political healing was widely praised by Democrats, the mainstream Democrat media and even some easily impressed Republicans. But what did our new uni...
Inaugural addresses are meant to be aspirational, so President Joe Biden might as well have doubled down on his call for unity in his address. After the events of Jan. 6, there’s much to be said for more unity, or at least less poisonous division, and Biden’s emphasis on the theme was deeply felt and entirely sincere. But by making it his goal and the standard by which he’ll be judged, Biden is setting himself up for failure. When he was walking the final leg of the inaug...
An Albuquerque state lawmaker has unfortunately once again filed a bill to keep secret the names of those who apply for leadership positions in New Mexico like police chief or school superintendent. Under the bill filed by state Sen. Bill Tallman, all “appointive executive positions” would be subject to exemption from the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act. In addition to police chiefs, fire chiefs, school superintendents, city managers and other top taxpayer-funded positions, Tallman’s bill would exempt nonelec...
Local institutions of higher education began classes for their spring semester this past week. Both Eastern New Mexico University and Clovis Community College will hold some in-person classes as well as continue with many online classes. Professors at both entities weighed in on the complexities of teaching during a pandemic and returning to their in-person classes. Students approached by The News declined interview requests. Question: How do you feel about how the college campus has changed in the past year? What do you...
Monday • Clovis-Carver Public Library Stitch Addicts stitch — 6:30 p.m., via Google Meet. Contact Sara at [email protected] to RSVP or to obtain Google Meet link. Information: 575-763-9687 Tuesday • Virtual Afterschool S.T.E.A.M. (Science, technology, engineering, arts, math): “Wintry Trees” — 4:30 p.m., Portales Public Library Facebook page. Open to kindergarten-sixth grade. Materials available in advance for pickup while supplies last. Information: 575-356-3940 Wednesday • Virtual preschool storytime: “Polar Pals...
Meetings are subject to change due to coronavirus concerns Tuesday • Curry County Commission — 9 a.m., via Zoom. Information: https://www.currycounty.org/open-government/meeting-portal or 575-763-6016 • Clovis Municipal Schools board — 5:30 p.m., via Zoom. Information: 575-769-4300 Jan. 28 • Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority — 3 p.m., ENMWUA Offices, Sitterly Professional Center, 801 Pile Street, Clovis. Public invited to attend via phone because of public health seating restrictions. Conference call-in number is +1-...
CLOVIS — The city of Clovis is seeking a representative from the hotel industry for its Lodger’s Tax Advisory Board. The board advises the city on disbursement of lodger’s taxes charged to hotel and motel customers to help defray costs of various local events. It meets at 5:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every odd-numbered month. Applications are available at the city manager’s office and will be accepted through 5 p.m. Feb. 5. Information: 575-769-7828...
CLOVIS — A water main installation will require the closure of a section of Williams Avenue to through traffic for three weeks, starting Wednesday, according to a release from the city of Clovis. J&H Services Inc. will perform the work on Williams between West 21st Street and Starlite Drive. Traffic control devices will be installed in the area, and the public is asked to plan alternate routes and observe signs and workers if in the area. Access will continue for local businesses and residences in the work area. I...
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University regents took care of a pair of important contracts in a half-hour special meeting Thursday afternoon, but spent the majority of the meeting addressing various non-action items, including the status of Greyhound sports. Athletic Director Matt Billings said changes to the regulations for intercollegiate sports issued Monday mainly benefit Division I New Mexico and New Mexico State. He was hopeful changes would happen that could benefit ENMU and other smaller New Mexico colleges, but n...
The Clovis Fire Department was a zoo in the late 1920s. Literally. Ralph Vaughn Miller, Clovis' city manager and fire chief in the 1920s and 1930s, started the community's zoo in an empty lot next to the firehouse in late 1927, records show. And it wasn't just a couple of prairie dogs and coyotes back then either. In December 1927, the Clovis News reported the fire station was becoming "a very interesting and instructive organization," home to a "big owl, a brown hawk, a...
