Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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CLOVIS — Curry County on Monday became the first local entity out of the gate with small business grants from its pool of $150 million in statewide assistance made available through the federal CARES Act. Curry County received $322,163 in small business grants, which it plans to distribute through the Curry County CARES Continuity Grant. The grants will be capped at $10,000 for small businesses and non-profits within Curry County, and will cover: • Rent or scheduled mortgage payments • Insurance • Utilities • Marketing...
PORTALES — A virtual bond hearing Wednesday for a pair of former daycare owners appealing their 2019 conviction was largely outlined last week by the New Mexico Supreme Court. However, some changes were made for Sandi and Mary Taylor, over objections of the family of a child who died in July 2017 after being left in a hot car nearly three hours while under the Taylor Tots daycare service. Maliyah Jones, 22 months, died as a result of injuries suffered. Aubri Loya, then 23 months, was seriously injured. The Taylors were g... Full story
This is a terrible year for deaths. We might just hit a quarter million American losses to COVID-19 by the end of the year and, somewhere, someone is mourning every one of those losses. My family has been fortunate not to have suffered a COVID-related death. Thousands of others haven’t been so lucky. I suppose the COVID-related death that hit closest to home for me personally was John Prine, who died in April. I felt a kinship to him and his music, with its mixture of humor, sentiment and cultural commentary, which is why I...
Two or three folders stuffed with little pieces of paper covered in scrawled notes. A computer file folder named “ColumnSeed” with files named “ColSeed0001” and on up, presently, to “ColSeed0334.” What each of those folders holds, of course, are ideas for newspaper columns/blogs and, now, podcasts. The column-starter ideas submerged in them (though most are relatively benevolent) are a bit like the nuclear missiles resting in submarines and silos: they are usually out of sigh...
New Mexico’s new teacher evaluation system will get a trial run this school year. State Public Education Deputy Secretary Gwen Perea Warniment told lawmakers during a Legislative Education Study Committee hearing late last month that Elevate New Mexico, the new system created under the Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham administration, will be softly rolled out this year. The department will garner feedback but educators and districts won’t get an official evaluation report with a ranking from the PED. Formal rollout is slated for...
SANTA FE — The state announced two more positive cases within the school community of Roosevelt County as part of six announced statewide Monday by the Public Education Department. The state on Thursday began announcing daily positive cases among positive COVID-19 cases that could be considered within a county’s school community, including teachers, staff members and students. So far, the PED has announced 132 positive tests within those populations, but does not break the positives down among individual school dis...
On this date ... 1975: Cannon Air Force Base officials had exploded a grenade found by children playing in the 100 block of Thornton Street in Clovis. Police said the grenade belonged to a Clovis man who had a collection of them. The collector gave the grenade to another man, who allegedly pulled the pin and threw the device under a parked car at 116 Thornton, police said. The grenade failed to explode and children found it, Officer Randy Ellison said. A mother of one of the...
Booked The following were booked into local jails (Friday-Tuesday): Clovis • John Clark, 57, probation violation, out of state fugitive • Paul Aragon, 51, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge • Tobie Torres, 41, driving while license suspended or revoked • Raphael Saiz, 22, criminal damage to the property of a household member • Luis Chavez, 40, probation violation • Jeremy Banning, 21, trafficking controlled substances • Lorenzo Salinas, 40, battery upon a peace officer • Anthony Gurule, 25, larceny • Jacob Richardson, 19...
LUBBOCK — When the Big 12 put out the 2020 conference football schedule last October, it shaped up as one of Texas Tech’s most attractive in several years. The Red Raiders were going to have seven home games for the first time since 2009. With the Baylor game no longer played at a neutral site, Tech has five conference games at Jones AT&T Stadium for the first time in the Big 12 era. Arizona would be only the second power-five non-conference opponent to visit Lubbock in five years, and it was Texas’ and Oklahoma’s turn to...
CLOVIS — Add one more domino to Clovis Softball Association cancelations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual Halloween Howwwl was the latest to fall on Tuesday, with the cancelation breaking a 26-year run. Roger Jackson, director of the CSA, said in an email announcing the move that the first Howwwl included 13 teams and has since grown to 160. Jackson notes the Clovis chapter of the United States Specialty Sports Association and the city’s parks and recreation department have not been allowed to have any softball act...
MULESHOE — They collected their first victory in nearly two years a couple of weeks ago, and last week posted a double-digit comeback win at previously unbeaten Tulia. So what can the Muleshoe Mules do for an encore? Hopefully, pick up another one this week at home against Seminole and complete their pre-district schedule with a winning record. First-year coach Jason Richards noted that last week’s victory gave the entire team a mental lift. “I was real happy with the climate in the locker room on Saturday morning, and the ki...
CMS looking at offering preschool at sites Clovis Municipal Schools is looking into offering preschool for four days per week at several of its school sites. Selected sites for 7:45 a.m.-2:45 p.m. preschool Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday would be determined based on a family survey available at clovis-schools.org/losninos/ Families are asked to respond by 4 p.m. today. The district also has openings for 3- and 4-year-olds in its preschool program. Registration is available at clovis-schools.org/registration.html...
Sustainable farming webinars scheduled Next month, the New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service will begin a series of six webinars on sustainable agriculture, according to an agency release. The webinars will run 3 p.m.-4 p.m. every Thursday from Oct. 1 to Nov. 5. Each session will be held via Zoom, with registration available at aces.nmsu.edu/programs/sare/news-and-events “Due to the COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the New Mexico Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program is...
A 500-year-old game gets a fresh local twist today as part of Eastern New Mexico University's virtual homecoming that began Monday and continues through the weekend. Reach for the digital device of your choice and get ready for … I am beyond excited … tonight's premiere of … brace yourself … “Bingo with the Chancellor.” Because why not? What else about this year has been traditional? You can bet your B-17 that I've already signed up. Rumor has it there is some fine ENMU b...
Stocking up on food and supplies before the worst part of the forced shutdowns could turn out to have been good practice for what may be coming after the presidential election. Especially considering the new vacancy on the Supreme Court. This development is just another piece in the colorful puzzle called 2020, and will probably make uncivil unrest more likely than before. This vacancy shouldn’t come as a great shock to anyone. The shoe has been waiting to drop for years. P...
The loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a double blow. It will be felt as a personal loss by millions of Americans, and it will stress America's politics at a moment when its fabric is already threatening to come apart. Consider this a measure of the country's current plight: What could be sadder than to fear that the death of a selfless and extraordinary public servant is more likely in the coming weeks to divide the nation than unite it? Justice Ginsburg taught many lessons over the course of her career in the law. One of the...
CLOVIS — When it comes to finding a defendant competent or not competent to stand trial, the local Ninth Judicial District is one of the state’s fastest. The New Mexico Sentencing Commission released its findings Friday following a study of all 13 judicial districts in the state, plus the Metro district in light of court rules changed in 2018 to expedite the competency hearing process. A total of 1,418 individuals who had taken 1,528 competency evaluations in the 2018-19 fiscal year. For those who had multiple eva...
Cleaning up groundwater contamination is slow, complicated and expensive. And specific remediation at three military sites in New Mexico is also hindered by state budget constraints and limited staff, state Environment Department officials told lawmakers during a virtual briefing early this month. The agency’s Hazardous Waste Bureau is “operating on a shoestring,” with 10 of the bureau’s 35 positions still vacant, said Stephanie Stringer, director of the Resource Protection Division at the New Mexico Environment Departm...
The U.S. Air Force has agreed to pay a $251,000 fine to the state for failing to monitor cancer-causing pollution from its base near Clovis and letting that facility’s wastewater permit expire last year. The fine was part of a compromise settlement for Cannon Air Force Base’s reported violations and is a steep reduction from the $1.7 million fine the state Environment Department imposed in January. Cannon officials also agreed to monitor groundwater near the base for PFAS, the carcinogenic substances military bases have dis...
SANTA FE — In celebration of National Recovery Month, various state councils and departments are teaming up for a two-day virtual recovery festival. About 30 video presenters are scheduled to attend, and 22 organizations will have virtual booths at strongertogethernm.org. The event will be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. According to a release from festival organizers, National Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those in recovery from addiction, mental illness, and other behavioral conditions in the same w...
CLOVIS — An Arkansas man was injured Saturday when his experimental aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from a private airfield east of Clovis. Larry Bishop, 56, of Heber Springs, Arkansas, was transported to Plains Regional Medical Center for treatment. He was later airlifted to University Medical Center in Lubbock, where he was listed in critical condition. A GoFundMe titled “Larry Bishop’s Runway to Recovery” states Bishop’s family has traveled to be in Lubbock for his recovery process. The crowdfunding campaign...
PORTALES — Roosevelt General Hospital and Clinics will offer a drve-thru flu shot event Oct. 17 in the RGH parking lot. The event will go from 8 a.m.-11 a.m., but notes that flu vaccinations are limited. There is no cost for the event. The hospital normally offers flu shots during its annual health fair, but has been unable to hold that event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, about 275 adults and 75 children received a flu shot at the fair. Only adult vaccinations will be available at the Saturday event. “Our flu sea...
Federal races President and Vice President of the United States • Howie Hawkins and Angela Nicole Walker (Green) • Jo Jorgensen and Jeremy “Spike” Cohen (Libertarian) • Joseph R. Biden and Kamala D. Harris (Democratic) • Sheila “Samm” Tittle and David Carl Sandige (Constitution) • Donald J. Trump and Mike Pence (Republican) • Gloria La Riva and Sunil Freeman (Socialism and Liberation) U.S. Senator • Bob Walsh (Libertarian) • Mark V. Ronchetti (Republican) • Ben R. Lujan (Democratic) U.S. Representative District 2...
PORTALES - Virtual learning will not stop Eastern New Mexico University's theater department from practicing its craft. The department's upcoming shows, debuting Thursday, will be delivered entirely over Zoom - an online meeting software that has become increasingly popular among academia due to the pandemic. Professor Annie Beck is the director of the one-act play series titled "American Voices: By and About Women." The theme was chosen to pay tribute to the centennial...
PORTALES — Three years ago, Eastern New Mexico University set a fall enrollment record at 6,027, and the following year came close to another at 6,015. This year, with the university going online for the fall semester out of COVID-19 pandemic concerns, the numbers have taken an unsurprising drop. Patrice Caldwell, interim chancellor for ENMU’s three-campus system and president of the Portales campus, told The News the Portales enrollment is at 5,260 — down 7.5% from the 2019 enrollment of 5,694. Caldwell noted in an email...
