Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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SANTA FE -- District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer brought the involuntary manslaughter trial of Alec Baldwin to an abrupt and stunning conclusion Friday when she dismissed the case based on the state's withholding of evidence. The dismissal was with prejudice, which means the charge cannot be refiled, bringing to an end a strange and tragic case that gained worldwide attention and may be discussed for decades. The judge's ruling was based on the state's mishandling of evidence — specifically, a box of ammunition turned into t...
A Clovis occupational therapist was arrested Tuesday and charged with sex crimes against “more than three” children during in-home therapy treatments, court records show. Jared Cordum, 28, was in the Curry County Adult Detention Center on Tuesday morning without bond. He’s charged with one count of criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13, and multiple counts of criminal solicitation to commit criminal sexual contact of a minor and practicing medicine without a licen... Full story
The village of Ruidoso early Tuesday afternoon announced evacuation orders. Those in Cedar Creek, Upper Canyon, Brady Canyon, areas along the Rio Ruidoso, and at Paradise Canyon and Hull were all told to evacuate due to flooding, the village announced on its website. "Please do not try to protect your property or gather your belongings. Get out and move to higher ground IMMEDIATELY!" the website read. An evacuation shelter was established at the White Mountain Relief Center at 687 Hull Road (White Mountain Sports Complex)....
On this date ... 1951: Portales was days away from the grand opening of the new Cal Boykin Hotel. A luncheon was set for the upcoming Saturday, with tickets $1.50. A banquet that night would cost $15 per ticket. Eastern New Mexico University coeds were acting as hotel tour guides. 1956: Floyd Golden, president of Eastern New Mexico University, was preparing to leave for an education workshop in Ann Arbor, Mich. The five-day seminar was to be held on the campus of the University of Michigan. 1956: An 8-year-old Clovis boy was...
Pets and patriotism. Aside from the pleasing (to my ears) alliteration of two words beginning with Ps, I’m not sure what I think of those three words strung together. I’m not aware of any sociological or other studies funded to try to determine if a link exists between pet ownership and a significantly higher level of patriotism than the levels normally measured in pet-less people. But, come to think of it, don’t you think that sounds exactly like the sort of study some gover...
Booked The following were booked into local jails (Friday - Tuesday): Clovis • Johnny Cordova, 59, driving while license suspended or revoked, no insurance, failure to register vehicle • Francisco Olvera-Gallegos, 44, probation violation • Earl Large, 32, driving while license suspended or revoked • Christopher Vega, 37, failure to appear on a felony charge, out of state fugitive, possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon, receiving stolen property, failure to display registration plate, no insurance, no driv...
Kenneth and Jean Workheiser are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary on Saturday. Family and friends are invited to join them in celebrating at Baxter-Curren Senior Center, 908 Hickory St., in Clovis. The gathering is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m....
JETMORE, Kan. - An inch or two of corn peeks out of the dirt, just enough to reveal long rows forming over the horizon. Sprinkler engines roar as they force water from underground to pour life into dusty fields. Thunder cracks. The wind whips up dirt as a trail of dark storms looms. The crashing hot and cold fronts would probably set off tornado sirens - if there were any in this remote part of the state. It's spring in southwest Kansas, a hub for the nation's crop, dairy and...
Editor’s note: Two students from Curry County’s Summer Internship Program are spending their summers at The Eastern New Mexico News. Amira Villanueva, 17, is a Clovis High student. Joslyn Montano, 18, is a recent CHS graduate. We asked them to play 20 questions. Here’s what they had to say: Joslyn Montano Q: Tell us about your summer so far working at the newspaper. What have you been doing? A: I’ve traveled to different businesses about buying ads and have counted the ballots for Best of Clovis. Q: Tell us something about y...
The Roosevelt County Commission on Tuesday passed a resolution that opposes a proposal from the Land Protection Plan that could ultimately impact many private landowners in the county. The proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would acquire 7 million acres for the LPP, with the help of the Nature Conservancy. It would include the Muleshoe and Grulla National Wildlife Refuges in west Texas and eastern New Mexico called the “Conservation Partnership Area.” The mission would be to protect various wildlife hab...
ROSWELL - Officials have determined a lightning strike was the cause of the South Fork Fire that scorched areas in and around the village of Ruidoso and the Mescalero Apache Reservation. "The identification of the point of origin and all evidence and data support lightning as the cause of the fire. Human activity and factors did not contribute to the cause," said a press release issued last week from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Several fire and law enforcement...
RUIDOSO — An Eastern New Mexico University graduate is the new general manager of the Ruidoso News. Eugene Heathman of Ruidoso will be tasked with print and integrative digital platform production in addition to marketing and staff management to fortify the return of the Ruidoso News to its local roots. New Mexico-based El Rito Media, LLC, recently purchased the newspaper. “I am very pleased to be part of a New Mexico-owned publishing group committed to redevelop the Ruidoso News into the leading local resource for news, ent...
The latest edition of Kids Count provides more devastating news about New Mexico and the condition of our children. The report, created by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (a center/left non-profit that works nationwide) analyzes and ranks all 50 states based on 16 variables relating to childhood outcomes. Surprising absolutely no one, New Mexico was once again at 50th. I analyzed the report and counted seven variables that improved, seven that got worse, and two that stayed the...
For the past five decades or longer, the state Legislature has been planning for what we will do when the oil runs out. We’ve set up permanent funds to ensure we’ll be able to keep our schools open and provide other essential services, tucking away money that is not needed now. We haven’t planned nearly as well for the depletion of an even more precious resource — water. The state didn’t even have a water plan until 1987, and the one drafted that year led more to regional competition than conservation. Many of the plans sub...
Editor's note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local officials. Dr. Carlton Lewis is the director of mental health for Clovis Municipal Schools. Q: You have recently accepted the position as director of mental health for Clovis schools. Tell us about this position. What does it involve? A: The role is multifaceted, encompassing a range of responsibilities. My team and I will plan, implement, and coordinate events and programs focused on mental health. I...
About 12 years ago, when I was at the Las Vegas Optic, we worked up a special section on the seven-county region of Northeast New Mexico. Not surprisingly, our lead story was about water. At the time, Las Vegas was facing some serious drought conditions that had slowed the Gallinas River to little more than a trickle, leaving the city — which gets nearly all its water from the Gallinas — with only a couple months of water in reserve. City officials at that time said the reservoirs were only 68% full and sinking. Also aro...
A Bovina man died Friday morning in a car crash in Lubbock County. Kevin Ortiz, 64, was traveling south on U.S. 84 near the intersection with County Road 1400 when his 2014 Hyundai Accent was struck by a 2022 Kenworth truck pulling a trailer, according to a report from the Texas Department of Public Safety. The driver of the truck was Abdusalam Salem Mohamed, 41, of Murrieta, Calif. A preliminary investigation showed Mohamed “traveled into the center median and crossed onto the U.S. Highway southbound main travel lanes,” DPS...
Milk prices remain in a slump even as Texas dairy production and consumer demand continue to rise, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts. Summertime is typically good for dairy producers as rising temperatures translate into higher demand and reduced production. As a result, retail prices for many dairy-based products like ice cream, cheese and butter rise. However, last year’s price increases for retail products never trickled down to better raw milk prices for producers, said Jennifer Spencer, A...
Xcel Energy has named three of its Texas-based directors as regional vice presidents over the company’s core grid operations in eastern and southeastern New Mexico as well as the Panhandle and South Plains regions of Texas. According to an Xcel news release, David Low has been promoted to regional vice president of Texas and New Mexico power plant operations. Additionally, Cory Wood and Casey Meeks have been named regional vice presidents for Transmission Operations and Distribution Operations respectively. Low and Wood a...
Changes are afoot with the three Stripes convenience stores in Clovis. The stores’ liquor licenses are being leased by the 7-Eleven Corp., based in Irving, Texas, pending the transfer of ownership of dispensing liquor licenses from Stripes previous ownership to 7-Eleven according to Clovis City Clerk LeighAnn Melancon. The actions have no impact on liquor sales at the Stripes stores at North Prince and Llano Estacado, South Prince and Mabry Drive. In February, The News reported 7-Eleven was paying $950 million to D...
Give Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and her Cabinet a problem, and they will find a solution. At least that was her message Monday at Clovis Community College as the governor and about two dozen members of her Cabinet and administrative staff appeared in a town hall meeting. The state's top ranking Democrat fielded questions from about 100 local residents. The "Cabinet in Your Community" group was scheduled to host a similar meeting Tuesday on the Eastern New Mexico University...
When I get the Coronavirus, I think of my closest encounter with death. It was back when I was about 13 or so in the seventh grade. I was dashing across a side street that intersected with one of the hometown’s main drags. Suddenly a car made a rocketing turn off the main drag right in front of me, maybe only a foot away. “WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING DUMB KID,” the driver yelled. Well, he didn’t say “dumb kid” but that’ll have to do for a family newspaper. On the other side of the street I stood for a bit, thinking about...