Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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SANTA FE — State officials did not announce any pending changes to public health orders, but noted concerns with rising COVID-19 rates across the state during a Thursday virtual address. Human Services Secretary David Scrase said Bernalillo County and the southeast area of New Mexico are seeing the higher infection numbers, but an upward trend is pretty consistent across the state. The New Mexico Department of Health announced 227 new cases Thursday, bringing the total positives to 29,661 since March. The case count i... Full story
In my ongoing quest to avoid reality (because really, who among us is interested in reality right now?) I found myself this week traveling back in time to the handful of years in the 1970s that my brothers and I were involved in junior livestock showing. This is, after all, the season when a good portion of farm and ranch kids break free from school to turn their attention to the endless diversions offered by county, state, and regional fairs. We showed our first steers in...
A Roswell man shot during an apparent robbery attempt on Sept. 11 in Portales has died. District Attorney Andrea Reeb said Brady Vallejos died Tuesday in a Lubbock hospital, where he’d been in critical condition. Prosecutor Quentin Ray said Tuesday morning he would “most likely go forward on felony murder charges,” but first wanted to confer with local law enforcement officers. Ray said a 14-year-old Portales boy is being held in Chaves County in connection with the shooting. Witnesses identified the teenager as the shoot...
I hear this comment made fairly often: “Wow! That person really knows the Bible!” I always wonder what the speaker means. Usually they mean that someone is quite familiar with the words of the Bible, its many facts and wonderful stories, etc. On one level, that’s great, since most studies these days show that the general level of factual Bible knowledge among even Christians is appalling. But then I wonder, how much does that person whose Bible knowledge is being touted reall...
As debates over school reopenings during the COVID-19 pandemic rage on, superintendents in New Mexico are calling local requirements a “moving target.” Grievances were aired to the Legislative Education Study Committee the day after the state Public Education Department publicly released more coronavirus guidance for elementary schools. For now, public schools in counties that meet virus condition requirements, among other criteria, can have elementary students on campus for a hybrid of in-person and online learning. The dist...
Clovis native honored DALLAS — A Clovis native has received his law school’s highest level of award, according to a university release. Nathan Hecht, chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, has been named this year’s recipient of the Robert G. Storey Award for Distinguished Achievement from Southern Methodist University Delman School. The awards ceremony has been postponed to the spring due to COVID-19 concerns. Hecht, a 1967 graduate of Clovis High School, holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and graduat...
CLOVIS — A portion of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will be closed beginning Thursday for water line installations, according to a Clovis city release. The closure will begin 9 a.m. and run through Oct. 8 on the portion of MLK between Mendenhall and Grand avenues. J&H Services of Albuquerque is tasked to install water lines and ty into existing lines for EPCOR Water. The public is asked to watch for signage related to the work. Information: 505-896-9428....
On this date ... 1920: Maude Smith, the vice chairman of Roosevelt County, reported the following in The Portales Valley News: “Owing to the fact that women will be permitted to vote in the coming election it will be necessary for them to be properly registered. All women over the age of 21 years should be registered. Do not use your husband's initials but your own given name or initials.” 1965: A 16-year-old Portales boy was in jail after his car collided with three parked vehicles as he attempted to flee from police. Cit...
For years, I had an editorial cartoon posted in my work area that showed a panhandler on a street corner with a sign that read, “Will work for health insurance.” Our healthcare system stifles American ingenuity. It’s the reason some would-be entrepreneurs never venture out on their own; they need to stay on somebody else’s payroll to keep their health insurance. Let’s say you’re a single man, maybe a little over 60 years old. On the open market, you’ll be lucky to find a decent health insurance policy for $700 a month. And...
Few people understand the difference between tolerating a behavior and endorsing or approving of it. There are things I don’t approve of but don’t have the right to stop others from doing. I may tolerate these behaviors for my own peace of mind while doing what I can to protect myself; including self-defense when necessary. Even if I try to stop others from doing things I believe are harmful, my effect on the world is vanishingly tiny. It’s probably wasted effort. I have...
As our nation, our community, and our university push through these trying times — a pandemic, economic issues, an election year, and much more — leave it to a woman to be selected to lead Eastern New Mexico University during this “perfect storm.” On Friday, the ENMU board of regents unanimously voted to select Patrice Caldwell as chancellor and president for the ENMU system, officially removing the word “interim” from the title of the position to which she was appointed in April. On the same day that our nation was saying...
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University’s athletics department has teamed up with Sidearm Sports to launch is own mobile app. The app is available by searching for “ENMU Athletics” on either the App Store or Google Play. Content will include team schedules, live stats and video and various other multimedia content. “We want to make it a point to continue to increase the access our fans have at Eastern New Mexico to information regarding our athletic programs.” Athletic Director Matt Billings said in a school release. “T...
PORTALES — Roosevelt County has begun the application process for CARES Act business continuity grants for local small businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The county will begin awarding grants of up to $10,000 from its $239,625 pool Oct. 14 and continue until funds are exhausted. Funds can only be used to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closures provided those costs are not paid by insurance or by another federal, state, or local program. Eligible expenses include n...
CLOVIS - The show must go on ... eventually. Officials with Clovis Community College told The News the Mesa Theater, owned by the college since 2011, was getting ready to open for events when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and has since moved its timeline into 2021. Last month the Santa Fe New Mexican wrote an article, titled "The show must go on," about how the three historic theaters in downtown Clovis were being restored. CCC had stated in the article that they were planning on...
SANTA FE — Federal approval of New Mexico’s Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program means families in the state will be eligible for more than $45 million in additional food benefits, according to a release from the state. The retroactive benefit for an estimated 243,661 children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals is meant to offset meals missed because their schools were in the remote learning mode in August and September. New Mexico households with children who receive free or reduced-price meals will rec...
CLOVIS — Apply early. And, possibly down the road, apply often. Officials from the city of Clovis, Clovis Community College's Small Business Development Center and the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce spoke Monday to detail what will be the first round of applications for more than $4 million the city received in CARES Act funding for small business continuity grants. “Our local businesses are strong and resilient,” Clovis Mayor Mike Morris said. “That being said, we're hopeful and I'm hopeful these continuity grants...
CLOVIS - Following amendments to state public health orders, a pair of Clovis establishments have received the green light for socially distanced activities. On Friday, St. Bernard Farms opened its attractions, and Hook's Alley announced bowling leagues were cleared to practice the following week. St. Bernard Farms is known locally for its pumpkin patch, corn mazes, jungle gyms, and other small rides and attractions. Due to COVID-19 it had to change some normal operations to...
Curry County has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases over the last week, and the county's sixth virus-related death was reported on Saturday. The greatest concern could be at the Curry County Detention Center, where officials on Tuesday announced 10 positive cases had been confirmed among inmates. Through Tuesday the county overall recorded 75 new covid cases over the last eight days, an average of 9.4 per day. The county averaged 3.2 new cases per day the first three weeks of...
