Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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CLOVIS — A rally that was planned for Saturday morning at the 2400 block of Ashford is not happening. But, other events in support of President Trump are set to take place. A rally asking New Mexico voters to unite for a “legal peaceful protest” lost support from most of its key speakers and one of the groups it planned to honor earlier in the week, and City Manager Justin Howalt told The News a permit filed for the Saturday rally at 2420 Ashford has been withdrawn and the permit payment refunded. A flyer stated the rally wou...
CHAVES COUNTY -- A Clovis resident was killed Wednesday night in a single vehicle crash northeast of Roswell, according to the New Mexico State Police. Laura Curtis, 58, was the driver of a 2013 Chevrolet traveling west on U.S. 70, according to the release. For reasons unknown to the NMSP, the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. Curtis sustained fatal injuries in the crash, and was pronounced deceased on the scene. The release stated seatbelts did not appear to have been properly utilized....
CLOVIS — A rally asking New Mexico voters to unite for a “legal peaceful protest” has lost support from most of its key speakers and one of the groups it planned to honor. The New Mexico Civil Guard announced on its Facebook page it would not attend Saturday's gathering because “it has been brought to our attention that key speakers have publicly made some remarks that came across as blatantly racist.” Clovis' O'Rion Petty, a member of the NM Civil Guard, declined to elaborate on the statement or identify the speakers...
CLOVIS - A Clovis man was found guilty Monday of felony charges of battery on a police officer, according to the district attorney's office. Tyler Phillips, 35, was sentenced to 18 months in the New Mexico Department of Corrections, followed by 364 days of supervised probation. He was also convicted of a misdemeanor charge of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. According to the release from District Attorney Andrea Reeb: n In June 2019, Clovis Officer Timo...
The New Mexico Department of Health reported last week fraudulent cards are being distributed to the public that assert the holder is exempt from wearing a facemask despite public health orders requiring it. These cards falsely purport to be issued by the health agency and the U.S. Department of Justice. Anyone fraudulently creating and/or using these cards could be charged with a fourth-degree felony, officials said. The card, prominently displaying both the Department of Health and U.S. Department of Justice logos, claims...
PORTALES - On the surface, the Do Drop In pretty much looks the same in August as it did before the COVID-19 pandemic hit five months before. The menu board still features various sandwiches, including the Green Monster, and a quippy sign noting unsupervised children will be given espresso and a puppy. But plenty is noticeably different at the downtown Portales eatery that's been part of the community for nearly 20 years - nearly half of it under the ownership of the Mountjoy...
PORTALES - Eastern New Mexico University's men's basketball program has added a Clovis Wildcat among five players for its 2020-21 roster, according to a university release. Guard DeWayne Dawson is part of the guard-heavy rotation announced as signed by new coach Brent Owen. He'll be joined by Tatum's Sebastian Jimenez, Carlsbad's Riley Hestand, Niko Bossinakis of Colleyville, Texas, and junior college transfer Tre'Vion Crawford. As a senior, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Dawson aver...
Well, here we are again. Monday morning. At least, in my corner of the universe. I mean, of course, as I’m writing this. I don’t know when you’re reading it. Whenever it is, I do very much appreciate your discerning and impeccable literary tastes. (And, I beg you, please give me at least one more chance after you read this particular column. I’m thinking it will be a little thin.) But onward ... This is probably not news to you, upon reflection, but most barbers and a good ma...
Booked The following were booked into local jails (Friday-Tuesday): Clovis ∞ Nelson Blackburn, 42, failure to appear on a felony charge ∞ Clea Roberts, 36, failure to appear on a felony charge ∞ Roy Kincaid, 28, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge ∞ Adam Crespin, 35, aggravated battery upon a peace officer ∞ Jobeallen Toliver, 25, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge, failure to pay fines ∞ Victor Corral, 31, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge ∞ Lethel Feland, 75, driving while license suspended or revoked ∞ Chr...
TUCUMCARI - A Tucumcari man, presented with DNA evidence, recently confessed to setting a fire in 2012 that killed more than 70 animals at a local veterinarian clinic. However, the man has not been charged with any crime regarding the fire because the statute of limitations expired on the case more than two years ago. District Attorney Timothy Rose said he's "never had a case where I've been this aggravated that we were unable to seek justice" because of the rule of law....
PORTALES — The city of Portales on Sept. 1 will resume normal policies of service disruption for customers with outstanding balances, according to a city notice. The city stopped service disruption for non-payment in April, briefly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country. Customers with outstanding balances are asked to call the city billing department at 575-356-6562, option 2, pay online at municipalpayments.com/portalesnm, by phone at 833-257-8345 or in person at drop boxes located in the front and rear of city h...
CLOVIS — The city of Clovis’ public works department is planning a chip seal of Prince Street between McDonald and Brady streets Wednesday, according to a city release. The work will take place between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Residents are asked to watch out for traffic signage in the area. Information: 575-769-2376....
You can't really do justice to Texas history without mentioning John Villiers Farwell. The last name is familiar to most of eastern New Mexico. The tiny Parmer County community just east of the railroad tracks on the highway to Lubbock is called Farwell in his honor. But there is much more that should be remembered about the wholesale dry goods merchant who was born in New York in 1825 and died at his home near Chicago 112 years ago this week, on Aug. 20, 1908. Serious Texas history buffs know he was the namesake of two commu...
I’ve been searching the past few weeks for a vintage photograph of my hometown of Pep. Once a bustling little burg, by the 1960s Pep was mostly housed in one building, a combination store/post office that was the heart and soul of our beloved “blink and you’ll miss it” community on New Mexico 206, less than a half hour south of Portales. (We’ve always liked to say that we live in the suburbs of Pep … 10 miles from downtown.) N.C. and Jessie Cathey owned and operated th...
If you haven’t filled out your census yet, please do it sooner rather than later. Same with voting this fall. I suggest you vote early or in-person, despite the pandemic. The deadline to fill out your census form, so you and your family can be counted and your community can benefit, has been moved up a month. There’s no acceptable justification for it, just another lowdown attempt by the Trump administration to give privileged white people the majority advantage for just a little longer, as America becomes a more col...
There’s a lot of irresponsibility and selfishness in the world around us. We can choose to not be part of it. People who litter or dump their trash are childishly irresponsible. People who leave shopping carts in parking spaces instead of making the small effort to put them in their corrals are showing self-centered irresponsibility and a lack of respect for others. Another example of parking lot irresponsibility is the people who park on the yellow-striped zones. This is a v...
CLOVIS — A discussion of sponsorship goals for the Curry County Events Center and Fairgrounds quickly became a referendum on what exactly the county is paying its management company to manage during a pandemic. The county commission, by a 4-0 vote in its Tuesday morning meeting held via Zoom, tabled a marketing plan from Spectra. Commissioner Chet Spear also instructed County Manager Lance Pyle and County Attorney Stephen Doerr to explore the county’s options to enforce force majeure to relieve the county of its $7,000 mon...
For years the Supreme Court has resisted calls to let the public outside the courtroom listen in on its oral arguments. But live audio streams finally became a reality in May when the coronavirus pandemic forced the justices to hold two weeks’ worth of arguments in telephone conference calls. The justices’ decision to livestream those arguments was a dramatic departure from their usual practice of posting the recordings on the court’s website at the end of the week, when public interest and news coverage have ebbed. The e...
Disaster loans being offered The U.S. Small Business Association is offering low-interest federal disaster loans to small non-farm businesses in 21 New Mexico and Texas counties to offset economic losses tied to droughts. Small non-farm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had...
LOGAN — Ute Lake State Park in Logan will remain closed through at least Tuesday after several park employees tested positive for COVID-19, according to a park news release. The park closed last Wednesday after several employees showed coronavirus-like symptoms. “On Tuesday, August 11th, during routine screening some employees reported a high temperature and were immediately sent home,” stated Susan Torres, public information officer with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. “The Park was closed...
CLOVIS — The Clovis City Commission will look at an estimated $850,000 in salary increases as part of an update to its 2017 employee compensation study when it meets Thursday evening. If approved, the salary increases would be effective Sept. 6 and the $857,722.28 would be paid through seven different cash reserve funds the city controls. The meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library. Last August, the commission approved a review of the compensation study put forth in 2017 by I...
Voting by mail may be a hotly contested political issue, but local county clerks say mail-in ballots are a secure and safe way to participate in the 2020 election. “Absentee voting is very secure. The trouble we have seen in the past is two-fold: mail not being delivered or being undeliverable and the voters waiting too long to vote the ballot and return it to our office,” said Stephanie Hicks, Roosevelt County clerk. Curry County Clerk Annie Hogland said voting by mail was not a problem for her office in the 2020 pri...
PORTALES — The Roosevelt County Fair Junior Livestock Show is set to take place this week under similar guidelines that the youth livestock expo in Clovis operated under last week. But Roosevelt County is doing it all in just two days. Students in 4H and FFA typically have a week of shows, with different species being presented on different days, all while housed at fair barns for days at a time. This year, however, thanks to the coronavirus, exhibitors will bring their animals in the morning of their show day and be out o...
CLOVIS — A third area long-term care facility has reported COVID-19 positive cases, and one of the original two facilities has reported additional positive tests. In addition, on Monday Curry County reported its third death related to COVID-19. Statewide, only 95 new cases of the virus were reported on Monday, the lowest single-day total in nearly two months. Texas Panhandle numbers also are declining with Parmer and Bailey counties reporting just 16 cases combined over the past five days. The Curry County death was i...
