Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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PORTALES — The Roosevelt County Detention Center reported Friday an officer has tested positive for COVID-19. The officer, who was not named, was tested on Tuesday and is currently quarantined at home. The positive test is the first confirmed by the Department of Health at the facility, according to a county release. The release indicated on May 19-20, all of the RCDC staff and about 75% of detainees voluntarily took tests, with all coming back negative. In partnership with Wellpath, the center’s onsite medical provider, a n...
CLOVIS — There may be no official Smoke on the Water public gathering at Greene Acres Park this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Curry County and the city of Clovis may ensure there’s still a July 4 fireworks show. The entities are considering covering the $20,000 expense for Western Fireworks to provide an Independence Day fireworks display. The Clovis City Commission called a special meeting for 5:15 p.m. Friday, with administration’s request to cover the $20,000. It’s the only item on the agenda. After the city po...
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday ruled a Portales man’s conviction for fleeing law enforcement was correctly overturned because the law enforcement vehicle involved in the pursuit wasn’t adequately marked. The case of Roy Montano was combined with a similar case against William Daniel Martinez of San Juan County. Montano and Martinez were charged for aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Both defendants argued the sport utility vehicles that chased them bore no decals,...
CLOVIS -- Out with the Curry County Fair, in with the Curry County Expo. The Curry County Commission unanimously approved on Wednesday a pair of actions to deal with uncertainty over large public gatherings and the fair that was scheduled for Aug. 11-15. The first motion, following more than 45 minutes of discussion, postponed the Curry County Fair until 2021 due to limitations on gatherings pursuant to public health orders. The second motion created the expo, using only the Kevin Roberts Show Arena and the Home Arts...
CLOVIS - There was a hint of rain, and the wind that is no stranger to eastern New Mexico was no friend to the candles residents aimed to light Saturday in honor of George Floyd. But overall, there were only minor problems and multiple suggestions of solutions going forward in local responses to Floyd, whose May 25 death in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department sparked protests in all 50 states throughout last week. A crowd that started off with just under 100 soon...
A glance through the window on the other side of the room tells me that we’re “in for it” again. It’s mid-morning and the trees are already waving their branches maniacally, flailing arms raised in surrender, as the wind lashes them unmercifully. They seem to know that they are facing another withering day of wind-scourging, aided and abetted by blistering, unrelenting, sap-boiling, life-sapping heat. The calendar says that it’s not officially summer yet. But the window an...
New Mexico’s coronavirus death toll has hit 400, after four additional deaths were reported Monday. The four deceased all lived in the state’s northwestern region, which has a high Native American population and has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile the virus has had little impact on the health of eastern New Mexico residents with just 109 confirmed cases and no deaths reported in Curry or Roosevelt counties through Monday. Statewide, New Mexico’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was at 9,062 on Monda...
Booked The following were booked into local jails (Friday-Tuesday): Clovis ∞ Alejandro Jimenez, 21, aggravated driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, careless driving, expired registration plate ∞ Manuel Lopez, 18, failure to pay fines ∞ Jose Vasquez, 19, conspiracy to commit non-residential burglary, contributing to the delinquency of a minor ∞ Esmeralda Acosta-Jaime, 20, battery ∞ Roberto Telles, 80, battery upon a peace officer, assault upon a peace officer, failure to maintain traffic lane,...
On this date ... 1960: Troy Jernigan of Portales was feeling thankful after a car accident on a rain-slickened U.S. 70 the night before left him with only a cut on his side. Jernigan and his cousin, Douglas Jernigan, were returning home from Clovis about 9 p.m. when their vehicle topped five-mile hill and suddenly went into a spin. “One of the doors came open, dumping out (Troy) Jernigan,” the Portales News-Tribune reported. Douglas Jernigan, the driver, and another passenger were not injured. Troy Jernigan was treated for...
Insubordinate teenagers dragged Clovis Main Street for at least 50 years. Parents forbid the practice, cops harassed the perpetrators, the city even tried to make up laws to discourage the ritual — nothing worked, until gas prices started doubling in the 1980s. That worked pretty good, followed by options for electronic forms of entertainment, and so kids don’t drag Main much anymore. But their rebel grandparents still do, at least once a year. The annual Clovis Draggin’ Main Music Festival will be without the music festi...
I’ve been thinking about the phrase, “left to their own devices.” It’s been around in one form or another for a few hundred years, loosely defined as being able to handle a situation with no outside assistance. My various books on word and phrase origins say “devices” was originally “devises,” which meant “wishes” back in the old days. Then along came all those goodies we collectively label as “electronic devices:” cell phones, laptops, tablets, etc. It gives new meaning to...
After a big truck ran off the road Friday and wrecked west of Tucumcari, nearly a dozen Good Samaritans lifted the mangled cab off the driver, gave him first aid and comfort, then cleared a path through the debris so first responders could airlift the injured man to a hospital. Quay County sheriff's deputy Clay Huffman recounted the "heart warming acts of humanity" in a post Friday evening on Facebook, which was shared more than 1,600 times and drew nearly 350 comments by...
CLOVIS — The Clovis Water Policy Advisory Committee met for the first time in three months, with mostly encouraging news on various water projects and conservation efforts. City Manager Justin Howalt shared news on the city’s use of effluent water for field watering and various municipal functions, similar to an update he gave the Clovis City Commission the prior week. The city moved 12.2 million gallons of effluent water in May, compared to 4 million in May 2019. Howalt attributed the increase to a lack of rain. For the yea...
For my pro-Trump friends and acquaintances, this column is for you. I want to appeal to your better nature. I know some intelligent people who support Trump. They like what he’s accomplished, even if they sometimes cringe at his boorish behavior. They like his pro-gun, anti-abortion, business-friendly position on things, and they love the fact that he’s packing the judicial system with conservative judges. OK, I get it. You like what he’s done for the issues you care most about. Maybe I’d feel the same way with a boorish...
“Hide our strength, bide our time,” said Deng Xiaoping, China’s former leader. Xi Jinping, China’s current president, seems to believe the opposite. Shaking off his failures that let an outbreak in Wuhan become a global coronavirus pandemic, Xi is quickening the crackdown on Hong Kong by championing a new national security law that would allow China to severely limit the freedoms of speech, press and assembly, as well as judicial independence, that were guaranteed when the United Kingdom handed Hong Kong over in 1997. T...
There’s a correct way to protest injustice and there’s a wrong way. You may have recently noticed people in several big cities doing it the wrong way. Although, perhaps people pretending to side with the protesters were intentionally making the protesters look bad — it’s hard to know which. I’ve been writing about, and opposing, police brutality for years. It’s an important topic. When someone commits wrong while using the defense “I was just doing my job,” I’m among the f...
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — Officials at Cannon Air Force Base have relaxed restrictions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, with designated times created for retirees and Veterans Affairs beneficiaries to access services on base. As of Monday, retirees and VA beneficiaries will receive access from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. daily to the commissary, Army and Air Force Exchange Services and medical facilities. Masks are required, along with physical distancing and frequent hand-washing while on base. “The coronavirus continues to thr...
PORTALES — Six days after New Mexicans voted in their primary, Roosevelt County’s election results were certified on Monday. County Clerk Stephanie Hicks said the seven provisional ballots were also OK, and the Board of Commissioners approved her findings and those of the board of canvass. In other business, the board approved: • The minutes of both the May 19 budget workshop and May 26 regular meeting. • A Type III-A summary review of a replat of Block D of the K.G. Flatt. • Removing signatory officials Mickie Algire an...
PORTALES — New Eastern New Mexico basketball coach Brent Owen has added to his staff, naming Daven Vo as head assistant coach on Monday. Vo, who has spent the last three years at Butler Community College in Kansas, has 14 years of experience at the junior college and NCAA levels. “When I was hired as the head basketball coach at Eastern, I knew that my most vital task would be to identify and hire a great assistant coach,” Owen said in a school release. “I wanted to find someone that understood that our biggest purpose...
Clovis residents part of graduation SANTA FE — Three Clovis residents were part of the New Mexico Connections Academy’s statewide graduating class Friday, according to a release from the school. Timothy Davis, Allyson Dickerson, and Kianna Sena of Clovis were among 166 graduating seniors celebrated in the ceremony held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The release said among the graduating class, 42% plan to attend a two- or four-year college, 19% will enter the workforce and 10% plan to attend vocational or technical scho...
PORTALES — The New Mexico Activities Association is referring to reopening summer workouts Monday as “Return to Play.” Portales Athletic Director Mark Gallegos sees it more as a return to normalcy for Portales High’s various athletes. “I think some of our kids are just hurting mentally,” Gallegos said during Monday’s school board meeting, where he outlined the June workout process. “I think they need to have some interaction with each other. I think they need to see coaches who are huge parts of their lives.” Athlete...
CLOVIS — Online and on the big screen, the Clovis High School graduation is set for 8 p.m. June 19. Clovis Municipal Schools unveiled its plans Monday to broadcast the commencement on three large outdoor screens exclusively for graduates and their immediate family members, and online for the rest of the community. The three drive-in venues for students and their immediate families will be: • Curry County Events Center, 1900 E. Brady Ave. • Faith Christian Family Church, 3401 N. Norris St. • Red Arrow, 320 W. 21st St. Each fa...
PORTALES - Ruth Chavez knew when it was time to come home. Chavez, a Fort Sumner native, had been living in Portales since her college days spent at Eastern New Mexico University. She had taught at Portales, coached in the Lady Rams volleyball program for 29 years, was head coach for 15. She raised a family in Portales. For the past three years, though, Chavez had been head coach of Clovis' volleyball team, a change she knew would do her good. But this spring came the...
