Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
In four years of playing volleyball at Portales High, recent graduates Megan Kabrick and Morgan Hill showed they had all the natural physical gifts to play the sport. In their second of two championships, a knock-down, drag-out battle with Pojoaque in the 2005 Class 3A title game, Kabrick and Hill showed they also had the grit. With the talented tall ones now gone, along with their athleticism and determination, the Lady Rams naturally will struggle in their absence, right? Not so fast my friend, might be the response from Po... Full story
The Eastern New Mexico University football team should have plenty of time to get ready for its first game. Around 140 players reported Wednesday for the start of preseason workouts, which begin today. School doesn’t start until Aug. 28, with the Greyhounds scheduled for a Thursday night season opener (Sept. 7) at Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla. Second-year coach Mark Ribaudo said players spent Wednesday working on “logistical things,” including physicals and registering for school for those who hadn’t already done th... Full story
Keavin Lawdermilk protects a flock of country singers who have ruffled the feathers of some Americans. The 44-year-old former Clovis resident travels the world as a bodyguard for the Dixie Chicks, a Grammy-award-winning trio that garnered criticism three years ago when lead singer Natalie Maines told a London audience they were “ashamed” President Bush was from their home state of Texas because of Iraq. The Dixie Chicks refer to the London performance as “the incident,” which led to Lawdermilk’s landing the job title of...
The framework will soon be laid for a volunteer group that will consider growth challenges that may arise with the new mission at Cannon Air Force Base, according to officials. As Cannon transitions into the home of the 16th Air Force Special Operations Wing, issues of infrastructure will likely be the principle concern of the group, said Clovis Mayor David Lansford. The Wing is scheduled to assume ownership of Cannon in October 2007, according to the Air Force. “We are looking at some possible housing issues, which means s...
Area residents could see higher gas prices in the coming weeks, according to AAA New Mexico spokesperson Jeanie Chavez. The recent announcement that an Alaskan oil company has shut down in order to replace a corroded pipe line is the latest in a string of events that led to record gas prices in New Mexico this week, she said. BP Oil Co. is the nation’s single biggest source of domestic crude oil. It pumps out about 400,000 barrels a day. The pipeline repairs — and loss of more than half of Alaska’s crude oil — are likely...
Around a bend on a narrow road, pockets of sorghum, canola, sunflowers, cow peas and corn sprout from the rutted brown soil. The crops are the research of about a dozen New Mexico State University researchers and staff. At the Agricultural Science Center north of Clovis, the group uses about 160 acres of flat land as a bed for practical studies. Local farmers, ranchers and dairymen were shuttled into the heart of the center Wednesday for an annual field day. “We want to give producers practical advice they can take back and u...
Local residents can expect to see a film production crew around town in September, according to the film’s location manager. R. Michael Charske confirmed Wednesday he scouted several locations throughout Clovis for the movie “Seasons of Dust.” “I looked at tons of locations,” Charske said, “but no contracts have been issued.” The movie is a period piece set in the 1930s, so Charske said he searched for sites that would reflect that specific time period. “Obviously I wasn’t looking at Hastings,” Charske said. The location...
A man wanted in connection with two shooting deaths in Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested Tuesday night in Clovis, police said. Darcy Wiley, 21, was arrested about 10 p.m. Tuesday walking in the 900 block of Edwards Street. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Wiley and a friend, Christopher Gatewood, had planned to rob Marcus Sardin of money and marijuana on July 28 in Fort Worth. Sardin and Gatewood were shot multiple times during the robbery. Both died at the scene, and investigators were still trying to sort out who shot... Full story
Best-selling author Robert Fulghum says, “All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten” and at L.L. Brown Early Childhood Center in Portales, there will be more room for learning during this critical stage. When pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students begin filling the halls on Aug. 21, there will be a whole new wing near completion. By October or November, Brown school will have 12 additional classrooms ready to be moved into. The extra space will be a welcome addition because, according to principal Jackie Bur...
School mission statement: “Good morning! Buenos dias Steiner Stars. At Steiner Elementary, we will have a 100 percent day where readers are leaders and leaders are readers and everyone is a star.” School spirit will be the focus as Steiner Elementary School students begin classes Tuesday by reciting the school’s mission statement. School officials say they hope to carry that spirit through the entire school year. Steiner Principal Becky Flen, now in her third year as principal, is looking forward to ringing in a new schoo...
At Valencia Elementary School, one of the first thing students will learn when school bells ring Tuesday is that “Everyone is in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing to learn.” As principal of Valencia Elementary, Todd Morris wants to make sure that fourth- and fifth-graders also have all of the help they need to learn. “Our overall goal at Valencia is to really focus on students who are not succeeding and ask, ‘What are we going to do to best meet their needs and create a learning environment that is...
Second- and third-graders at R.M. James Elementary School will get educated in the three R’s – Reading, ‘riting and rithmetic – but principal Michael Terry really wants to stress the first R this school year. “Our goal is to make sure that every student is reading on level by the third grade and my personal goal, as principal, is to provide teachers and students with the support they need to meet this goal,” Terry said. The 2006-2007 school year begins on Tuesday for Portales Municipal School students. According to Terry, t...
Sixth-graders will enter a world of more independence as they begin at Lindsey Middle School on Tuesday, but with that independence will also come responsibility and accountability. Lindsey Middle School Principal Rick Segovia said, “Middle schoolers are at that age where they can keep up with their homework in the evenings and bring it back to school, be prepared and be on time. This year they are going to notice that they are going to be working a lot more independently. With that comes responsibility and accountability.” A...
TEXICO — Aaron Vaughan, a 2006 Texico High School graduate, has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at Howard College, a junior college program in Big Spring, Texas. Vaughan played baseball, football and basketball and competed in track at Texico. He helped the Wolverines win the Class 1A state baseball championship in 2005 and earn a runnerup finish in 2006. Vaughan, who said he plans to major in business in college, had drawn interest from Division II schools Eastern New Mexico University and West Texas A... Full story
PORTALES — The Eastern New Mexico University football team should have plenty of time to get ready for its first game. Around 140 players reported Wednesday for the start of preseason workouts, which begin today. School doesn’t start until Aug. 28, with the Greyhounds scheduled for a Thursday night season opener (Sept. 7) at Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla. Second-year coach Mark Ribaudo said players spent Wednesday working on “logistical things,” including physicals and registering for school for those who hadn’t... Full story
A man wanted in connection with two shooting deaths in Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested Tuesday night in Clovis, police said. Darcy Wiley, 21, was arrested about 10 p.m. Tuesday walking in the 900 block of Edwards Street. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Wiley and a friend, Christopher Gatewood, had planned to rob Marcus Sardin of money and marijuana on July 28 in Fort Worth. Sardin and Gatewood were shot multiple times during the robbery. Both died at the scene, and investigators were still trying to sort out who shot...
Clovis adminsitrators exploring programs that target school’s elite. Morning after morning, Alan Herman struggled to motivate his son to go to school. “He didn’t want to go to school because it was boring,” Herman told the Clovis Municipal Schools board Tuesday during a special work session. Herman’s son is gifted and talented. In other words, he is extremely smart. “For some of these kids, it’s almost a disability that goes along with this high ability,” said Herman’s wife, Cindy. To qualify for gifted and talented programs...
Paul Gutierrez, the associate dean and associate director of the New Mexico State Cooperative Extension Service, outlines his vision for the school’s dairy program Wednesday during a field day at the school’s research center north of Clovis. Around a bend on a narrow road, pockets of sorghum, canola, sunflowers, cow peas and corn sprout from the rutted brown soil. The crops are the research of about a dozen New Mexico State University researchers and staff. At the Agricultural Science Center north of Clovis, the group use... Full story
National Tejano and country music performers highlight the entertainment portion at next week’s Curry County Fair . “(The fair) is the largest annual event in Curry County and it’s just the best of family entertainment,” said Cheri Christensen, marketing consultant for the Curry County Fair. “We’re anticipating at least 30,000 people.” On Aug. 17, nationally recognized Tejano band Grupo Vida, also know as the Electric Cowboys, will perform with Grupo Eclipse as their opening act. Headlining the Aug. 19 concert event is coun...
Volunteer committee will examine growth issues attached to new base mission. The framework will soon be laid for a volunteer group that will consider growth challenges that may arise with the new mission at Cannon Air Force Base, according to officials. As Cannon transitions into the home of the 16th Air Force Special Operations Wing, issues of infrastructure will likely be the principle concern of the group, said Clovis Mayor David Lansford. The Wing is scheduled to assume ownership of Cannon in October 2007, according to...
Area residents could see higher gas prices in the coming weeks, according to AAA New Mexico spokesperson Jeanie Chavez. The recent announcement that an Alaskan oil company has shut down in order to replace a corroded pipe line is the latest in a string of events that led to record gas prices in New Mexico this week, she said. BP Oil Co. is the nation’s single biggest source of domestic crude oil. It pumps out about 400,000 barrels a day. The pipeline repairs — and loss of more than half of Alaska’s crude oil — are likely... Full story
Location manager says film crew expected in Clovis next month. CNJ staff Clovis residents can expect to see a film production crew around town in September, according to the film’s location manager. R. Michael Charske confirmed Wednesday he scouted several locations throughout Clovis for the movie “Seasons of Dust.” “I looked at tons of locations,” Charske said, “but no contracts have been issued.” The movie is a period piece set in the 1930s, so Charske said he searched for sites that would reflect that specific time... Full story
After a brief interlude when the United States took a hands-off position toward the fighting in Lebanon, the United States has teamed up with France to offer a cease-fire resolution in the U.N. Security Council. Because of opposition from Lebanon and other Arab states the resolution is unlikely to succeed. And even if it were passed in the cavern of winds on the East River, one wonders whether it would actually bring about a cease-fire. A U.N. cease-fire resolution is an optimistic gesture, but if one of the parties to... Full story
Samplings of recent calls received by Clovis-area law enforcement officers, according to reports: Around 3:30 p.m. Friday, an officer met with a man at the police department who said he had been battered by an employee at a bank in the 200 block of Main Street. The man said he was asked to step into a bank office to discuss an incident which occurred earlier in the week. He said they were both getting upset when the man began pushing him in the chest and then escorted him...
Stop what you are doing right now. Get a pad and pencil. This is important. What I am about to report will save you thousands. Ready? OK, here goes: If you buy generic drugs rather than brand-name drugs it will be cheaper. A whole lot cheaper! Listen, don’t lavish e-mail praise all over me. Just call your local editor and tell him the Columnist Guy just saved you some big bucks. Tell him you would like to pay in advance for a three-year subscription. Want more? Here’s more. You can save $3,168 a year by purchasing the gen...