Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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CLOVIS — The seven current members of the Clovis City Commission will consider five candidates on Thursday night to be their eighth. The commission meeting falls on the 29th day of the 30-day window the commission has to fill the vacancy created when District 4 Commissioner R.L. “Rube” Render submitted his resignation. Render, elected to the position in 2018, plans to move to Lubbock to be closer to family. Amy Corbin, Lynn Culberth, Raymond Mondragon, Megan Palla and Stephen Whittington have applied to fill the remai... Full story
The New Mexico Human Services Department will host a virtual community forum to obtain input on how HSD can best serve the residents of Portales and Roosevelt County. The virtual forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday. It will be in conducted in English and will include an American sign language interpreter for the hearing impaired. There will also be a Spanish interpreter available for the Q & A portion of the forum. What: Virtual community forum for Portales and Roosevelt County Where: Zoom Meeting http...
U.S. life expectancy plunged by a full year in the first half of 2020, the biggest drop since World War II, as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the country. Life expectancy at birth dropped to 77.8 years from 78.8 in 2019, according to provisional data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The report also showed widening disparities along racial and gender lines. Black men saw a three-year decline in life expectancy, while the gap between the sexes rose to 5.4 years, the most in more than two decades. The figures...
Clovis Community College has joined six other colleges around the country in an initiative called Building Resiliency in Rural Communities for the Future of Work. A CCC news release stated the initiative “will increase rural colleges’ capacity to succeed with whole-college reform efforts, provide students with the workforce skills needed in today and tomorrow’s economy, and connect students with careers in the digital economy that pay family-sustaining wages.” In addition to CCC, participating colleges are: • Berkshire...
Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh died Wednesday after a battle with lung cancer. He was 70. Limbaugh, a Missouri native, was unflinchingly supportive of former President Donald Trump, who bestowed upon him the nation’s highest civilian honor -- the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- during the 2020 State of the Union address. He was known for his fiery and articulate rhetoric. "The Rush Limbaugh Show” was syndicated in 1988 and served as the prototype for the modern-day rig...
Ten years ago, when power plants in Texas succumbed to freezing temperatures and triggered rolling outages, Texas lawmakers took action. They passed a law requiring power plants to file plans with regulators on their annual preparations for winter weather. The regulation didn’t prevent this week’s outages. As lawmakers again investigate power plant outages in frigid temperatures, they will likely think about tougher laws for power plant operators and grid operators, as they should. But we hope lawmakers will also con...
Voters in Curry and Roosevelt counties approved bond questions in all-mail elections that concluded Tuesday evening. A pair of questions were approved by Clovis voters. A question to renew $10 million in bonds, last renewed in 2017, passed with two-thirds of the vote, 2,479-1,228. A separate question on a capital improvements tax question just missed a 60% yes vote, with 2,168 votes for and 1,463 against. A total of 3,835 mail ballots were returned by voters in the Clovis district. The bond question had 124 undervotes and... Full story
Wednesday’s announced cancellations and delays: • Portales Municipal Schools will be on a two-hour delay for both in-person and virtual learning. Grab and go meal service will proceed under its usual schedule.... Full story
I don’t wish to be indelicate (gotcha; those words guarantee an audience as surely as “viewer discretion advised”), but it’s increasingly difficult to venture out of your house and not step into a pile of ... lawyer droppings. Neither can you drink a cup of coffee; buy a garden hose, wheelbarrow, or power tool; install a computer program; take a pill; or breathe — without encountering what might more politely be called “lawyer litter.” Maybe it could just as easily be cal... Full story
CANYON — Farwell’s girls ran into a buzzsaw on Monday night. The season came to an end for the Lady Blue in a 65-37 loss to Panhandle in a Class 2A bi-district matchup played at Canyon H.S. The Pantherettes (19-3) may be one of the better teams in 2A. Panhandle’s only losses this season were twice against Class 4A Canyon (24-1) and once against Class 3A Idalou (24-4). Panhandle led 17-5 at the quarter and carried a 59-16 advantage into the final stanza before the Lady Blue (19-11) outscored the Pantherettes 21-6. No indiv... Full story
SANTA FE — With New Mexico at the center of a climate change debate, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration has asked the U.S. Department of Interior to clarify the workings of a recent order dealing with oil and natural gas drilling on public lands. In a letter last week, state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst said uncertainty caused by the order has already caused oil rigs to leave New Mexico for Texas, where federal land is more sparse. “The recent DOI order achieves impor... Full story
SANTA FE — In a unanimous verdict issued Monday, the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the power of the governor’s office and Department of Health to restrict or close businesses through a public health order, rather than imposing such restrictions through a rulemaking process. The decision upheld the state’s decision to ban indoor dining in July due to the increasing spread of COVID-19. The decision was challenged by a group of New Mexico businesses, and a temporary restraining order was issued July 21 by District Court... Full story
Like many on the High Plains, we woke up without water on Monday morning in the sub-zero weather. It was a preventable problem, at least at our house, but I had grown complacent after a string of winters when we had dodged that icy bullet. Out here in the country, water and electricity go hand-in-hand. Our water flows with the aid of pumps powered by electricity. Most of the times we do not have water, it's because we don't have power. In fact, we are so well-trained that at... Full story
Maybe you heard him saying it on his virtual campaign trail, or maybe you heard the media chatter during his flurry of first-week executive orders: President Biden is focusing his efforts on “four converging crises” — the pandemic, the economy, climate change and racial injustice. Let’s take a quick look at each and where they’re heading. If we weren’t such a divided nation perhaps we could have tackled the pandemic more effectively to this point, but of course we are and we didn’t. After a sluggish rollout of the vaccines,... Full story
There comes a point in every child’s life when he or she first learns of the sin of slavery in America. While it’s a jolt to all children, those of us who are not African American can only imagine the dismay felt by young Black children when they first learn that their ancestors were dehumanized under the U.S. Constitution and state laws. That’s what makes Black History Month so important, and unique. We are a melting pot of diversity, a nation with a history of wrongs and rights, but it should go without saying that one o... Full story
It’s so nice of New Mexico’s political overlords to allow businesses to re-open a bit — until they change their minds again. We should gather in the frozen fields and sing hymns to their glory. Wearing two or three masks each, obviously. If you don’t praise the bully when he beats you slightly less, you’re ungrateful. The past year has been educational. I have learned people will tolerate anything, on the flimsiest of excuses. They will allow politicians to destroy their bus... Full story
Booked The following were booked into local jails (Friday-Tuesday): Clovis • Kevin Coble, 42, failure to appear at time and place stated in citation • Kristie Moreno, 49, failure to pay fines • Joseph Steward, 54, assault with intent to commit violent felony • Christopher Shufelberger, 38, out of state fugitive • Justice Dunn, 26, battery against a household member • Julian Cheromiah, 39, criminal sexual penetration in the third degree, aggravated battery against a household member • Mark Suniga, 22, failure to pay fines • B... Full story
On this date … 1956: Two women, “out looking for their adventurous sons,” had stumbled onto a safe stolen Jan. 31 from the Clovis bus terminal. Mrs. John Cornell and Mrs. James Patterson found the battered safe along a fence row beyond North Wallace Street west of LaFonda Drive-In movie theater. It was hidden by a “tangle of tumbleweeds,” the Clovis News-Journal reported. The safe had more than $300 in it when it was stolen. Officials found $7.75 in change scattered on the ground when the safe was located. As for the young bo... Full story
CLOVIS — A campaign against domestic violence was launched by the Ninth Judicial District Attorney's office last week. “Break the Cycle” is an effort headed by Ninth Judicial District Attorney Andrea Reeb to help men and women get out of and stay out of abusive relationships. “We noticed through the pandemic an increase in domestic violence crimes,” Reeb said. “This is not totally surprising due to people being home, struggling economically, and all the other stresses that the pandemic has brought forth. We wanted to t... Full story
ALBUQUERQUE — BeWellnm, also known as New Mexico’s health insurance exchange, began its special enrollment Monday for the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange. The enrollment period, which continues through May 15, is a special three-month reopening of the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace. “BeWellnm encourages all uninsured New Mexicans to begin the enrollment process as soon as possible because of the limited amount of time to find comprehensive, affordable health insurance options. People who have lost job-based in... Full story
PORTALES — The New Mexico Human Services Department will host a virtual community forum for Portales and Roosevelt County residents to obtain community input on department services. The forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 24 on Zoom, with meeting ID 999 6475 0287 and password 867012. The department is considering permanently closing its Income Support Division office in Portales, but the release only referenced department efforts to hold public listening session to hear from individual communities. The department will c... Full story
SANTA FE — A proposal to repeal a 1969 anti-abortion law moved closer to final passage Monday as it cleared the House Judiciary Committee. The legislation, Senate Bill 10, could be taken up by the full House later this week, the last step necessary to send the measure to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has made its passage a priority. The proposal would repeal a state law that makes it a crime to end a woman’s pregnancy, except in certain circumstances. It’s largely unenforceable now because of the Supreme Court’s decisio... Full story
Roosevelt County experienced a rarity Monday in the COVID-19 pandemic, one it hopes will become more consistent. When the Department of Health released its daily COVID-19 infection numbers, Roosevelt County was not among the counties confirming a new case. That is the first time since Sept. 29 that Roosevelt did not record a COVID-19 infection, according to daily DOH reports. At that point, the county had confirmed 282 cases throughout the pandemic. That number was at 1,817 as of Monday, with 1,255 of those designated as... Full story
Snow, record cold and power outages left most eastern New Mexico and Texas Panhandle residents huddling at home early this week. Most schools closed Tuesday due to a mix of difficult weather conditions on the roads and controlled power outages in the morning. Xcel Energy spokesman Wes Reeves said the challenges with most winter storms are inclement weather damaging power lines and transformers, but this week's difficulties are more fundamental. "What happened this (Tuesday)... Full story
PORTALES — A former Roosevelt County sheriff’s deputy was convicted Monday of a petty misdemeanor for possession of stolen property. Chris McCasland, 34, was found guilty by District Judge Drew Tatum during a two-hour morning bench trial. Tatum took about 20 minutes to reach his decision. Sentencing will be set at a later date. McCasland faces up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. The charges arose from allegations McCasland was involved in 2014 burglaries in Angel Fire while he worked for its police department. He was... Full story
