Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Jonathan Fuentes, presently vice president of academic partnerships at Odessa College in Odessa, Texas, on Thursday was named president of Clovis Community College. The action came after a 20 minute executive session by the CCC Board of Trustees. Trustees also voted for board Chair Lora Harlan to enter into contract negotiations with Fuentes. Fuentes is expected to take the office July 1. He is the college's sixth president. Fuentes appeared before the board via internet...
LOVINGTON – Clovis High’s boys had four scores in the 80s on Thursday en route to a fifth-place finish in the Lovington Invite golf tournament. Lovington shot 321 and edged Artesia by two strokes for team honors. Carlsbad was third at 341, followed by New Mexico Military 344, CHS 348 and Hobbs 350. Senior Jett Stone led the Wildcats at 44-41 – 85, followed by senior Jacob Rowley 44-43 – 87 and sophomore Gavin Anderon at 45-42 – 87, freshman Jakob Stone 47-42 – 89 and eighth-grader Zak Spearman 49-45 – 94. Clovis Christ...
ARTESIA – Portales High's baseball team doubled up Artesia in hits on Thursday night 10-5, but it didn't pay off on the scoreboard. PHS dropped the finale of its opening District 4-4A series with the Bulldogs 3-2 as Artesia completed a three-game sweep. Artesia (9-11 overall) scored single runs in the first, third and fifth innings and made it stand up after the Rams (9-8) rallied for two in the top of the sixth. Portales had runners at second and third with two out in the s...
ESTANCIA – Ten players combined on a 17-hit Melrose attack and the Buffaloes pounded Magdalena 19-7 on Wednesday in a neutral-field baseball game. The Steers (3-6) opened a 7-2 lead with a seven-run first, but never scored again as senior Dathan Yeary tossed 3 1/3 hitless innings in relief, with one walk and six strikeouts. The game was called after five innings on the 10-run rule. Trailing 7-5, the Buffs (7-3) produced back-to-back seven-run frames in the fourth and fifth to take control. Junior Josiah Roybal led the way, g...
RIO RANCHO – Clovis and Portales High’s girls placed a combined 16 lifters en route to a third-place team finish last weekend in the large-school divisions of state powerlifting competition at Rio Rancho Events Center, sponsored by the New Mexico Activities Association. The Lady Rams finished with 34 points in 16-team Class 4A, trailing Lovington (59) and Silver (36). Meantime, the Lady Wildcats finished with 28 points in the 19-school Class 5A division, trailing Rio Rancho (39) and Rio Rancho Cleveland (32). Portales had 10...
CARLSBAD – Clovis High’s baseball team had a chance to steal one in a place where it’s been tough for them to win over the years. But the Wildcats weren’t able to close the deal as Carlsbad rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fifth on Thursday to claim a 7-5 victory in the District 4-5A opener for both squads. “We had a great chance to come down here and win a ballgame,” CHS baseball coach Richard Cruse said. “But we gave up 12 free (baserunners) with walks, hit-by-pitches and errors.” After falling behind 2-0 in t...
On this date ... 1951: Two Clovis teenagers had suffered broken legs when they were hit by a taxi cab while crossing West Grand at Rencher Street. Joe Lujan and Robert Lucero told police they thought they could easily cross before the car — three-quarters of a block away — reached them. The taxi driver said he was traveling 25 mph. He was cited for out-of-date vehicle inspections. 1955: Roosevelt County Sheriff P. F. Turner reported three dogs killed 30 chickens in a hen house at the western edge of Portales. Farm owner Jim...
A Portales man on Wednesday was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trafficking controlled substances. Alton Pete Smith, 56, was arrested June 6, 2021, when deputies from the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on U.S. 70, according to a news release from District Attorney Quentin Ray. A search of Smith’s vehicle led to “a trafficking amount of methamphetamine, a scale, and baggies,” the release stated. He was convicted by a jury on Feb. 15. District Judge Donna J. Mowrer handed down the sentenc...
Roosevelt County is accepting applications to serve on its Protest Valuation Board. “This individual must have demonstrated experience in property valuation. The Protest Valuation Board hears and decides protests of county assessor determinations,” according to a county news release. Officials are seeking applicants willing to serve a two-year term. The county will accept letters of interest until April 30 and the County Commission will appoint a new member in May. Letters of interest can be submitted to County Adm...
Portales began enforcement of its automated speed camera program last week “to encourage safe driving in school zones,” according to the Portales Police Department’s Facebook page. The enforcement program began with a 30-day warning period, “giving motorists time to change their driving habits before payable notices of violation begin,” police said. The program uses fixed speed cameras to enforce the speed limits located at: • Portales Junior High School (South Abilene Avenue) - Southeast bound • Portales Junior High S...
The Portales High School Chamber Choir won the Class 4A state competition on April 13 at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho. Portales' score was 95.33. Moriarity High was second with a 90.333, followed by Lovington at 81.333. Clovis High finished second in the Class 5A competition. Clovis scored 95.000, trailing Piedra Vista High in Farmington, which scored 95.667. "The Portales Chamber choir has won six out of the last seven state choir competitions," said Portales Choir...
The Eastern New Mexico Board of Regents on Friday publicly approved the contract that had been awarded university Chancellor James Johnston early this year. Regents in January said they had approved an extension and pay increase for Johnston, but no public vote had taken place, a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act. At Friday’s regents meeting, Regent Lance Pyle introduced a motion for a public vote on Johnston’s contract. “Although there was no vote in the (January) executive session … I move to publicly ratify th...
The Clovis Community Band is giving a free concert at 3 p.m. today at Clovis Community College’s Town Hall. So what is this group? What’s their story? The band’s present director, Steve Baldock, said the band was founded in 1978 by Norvil Howell. “(This was) after his extensive and impactful career as the Clovis High School band director and later as the (Clovis Municipal Schools) music coordinator,” Baldock wrote in an email. Baldock went on to note the community band “provided a means for CHS alumni to unite again to pe...
Editor’s note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local officials. Joe Alaniz is the acting Curry County Detention Center administrator. He’s filling in for Administrator Mark Gallegos who is in military service with the Naval Reserve. Q: What trends are you seeing with arrests? A: Recidivism is quite high, but the influx of new arrests also seems to be on the rise. Q: How is staffing? Recruiting and retaining? A: Like so many agencies and businesses we are still experiencing the residual effects of COV...
Everybody wants to start at the top. And so, of course, the deep-pocketed investors behind the attempt to build a centrist third party under the No Labels banner started with a presidential election. And not just any presidential election, but one in which the Republican nominee is a former president who is facing 88 felony indictments in four separate cases and is vowing vengeance if he wins. Democratic voters with sour memories of Ralph Nader and Jill Stein still haunting them greeted the No Labels effort with fear and...
What if I told you that one federal government policy could do the following: 1) Undermine Russia’s war against Ukraine (without the U.S. spending a dime); 2) Strengthen economic ties between the U.S. and Asian and European nations; 3) Reduce CO2 emissions; 4) Increase U.S. tax revenues and American jobs (including in New Mexico). The policy I’m referring to is to allow American exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Thanks to American technological prowess the U.S. is pro...
I’m pretty sure the number of people who are mourning the death of OJ Simpson can fit into the trunk of the smallest car Hertz ever rented. He was a man who killed his wife Nicole, as well as innocent stranger Ron Goldman, and was acquitted because he played the race card. As a human being, I am repulsed by the fact that he treated women like a punching bag. As a lawyer, I am repulsed by the fact that he did the same with our legal system. But perhaps his death can serve a p...
To say I’m skeptical of the institution of government is an understatement. If individuals make bad choices, a collective of people with an incentive to do bad things and very little chance of being held accountable -- unless they anger some opposing faction within this institution -- won’t do any better. Quite the opposite. Organized evil is worse in every way than disorganized incompetence. It doesn’t matter if this institution has been around “forever.” The same excuse wa...
Edward Luttwak is an American author, generally considered one of the premier military theorists in the West. He is known for his works on grand strategy, military strategy, geoeconomics, military history, and international relations. Luttwak recently published two articles in Britain that at first glance are 180 degrees out. The first of these was published in The Telegraph on March 15 under the headline, “Europe is a continent of pacifists – no amount of money can fix NAT...
As chief executive officer of the New Mexico Restaurant Association, I am compelled to address a growing concern cropping up in dining establishments across our state — the presence of non-service dogs in restaurants. While we understand the love and companionship our furry friends bring, it is important to recognize the potential health and safety risks of allowing dogs in food service establishments. New Mexico Health Department regulations clearly state that only ADA service animals are permitted inside restaurants. U...
Did Clovis schools Superintendent Renee Russ hire her husband as the school’s security chief? No. Clovis Municipal Schools does not have a chief of security. Glenn Russ, the superintendent’s husband, was hired by the school board as the district’s Title IX coordinator. Russ, a former law enforcement officer, was hired last Aug. 23. Glenn Russ is supervised by Joe Strickland, deputy superintendent of employee services. Glenn Russ’ salary is $71,294 annually. School board members were made aware of the family connect...
When young Ashley Prewett was growing as part of the third generation to live on his family's farm west of Pep (a tiny community in southern Roosevelt County), "I was all about baseball, basketball, and hunting," he said. But by the time he graduated from Dora High School in 2002 - president of the 13-member senior class - he was quite literally singing a different tune. In the 2002 yearbook, there's a photo of Prewett assisting the Dora School music teacher Ginger Tull by...
A case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or bird flu) was found at a poultry facility in Roosevelt County, agriculture officials confirmed last week. Initial testing of the unnamed facility was performed on April 10 for the presence of HPAI, according to a news release from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. Further testing by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed HPAI was at the facility, the release stated. All of the birds at the facility will be destroyed. Shelton Dodson, director of...
The Hampton Farms peanut shelling facility in Portales, destroyed by fire on Monday, will be rebuilt, said Hampton Farms Vice President R.P. Watson. "We'd like to be prepared to handle and mill the 2025 peanut crop in October (2025)," Watson said. He said the fire caused an estimated $20 million in damages. Watson, from Hampton Farms corporate headquarters in Severn, N.C., was on the scene in Portales last week. He said one Hampton Farms worker was injured in the blaze. "He wa...
A Portales woman is charged with arson following a house fire Wednesday night. Court records show Patricia Villanueva, 43, is accused of willfully starting a fire or causing an explosion that destroyed a home at 725 N. Ave. M in Portales. Damage was estimated at more than $20,000. Witnesses told authorities they saw a vehicle identified as belonging to Villanueva leave the scene of the fire “at a high rate of speed” immediately after the trailer house caught fire. Records show Villanueva lived at the home, along with a man...
