Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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SANTA FE — Citing repeated instances of record-breaking case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19, New Mexico has issued a two-week “shelter in place” order. It’s similar to the public health order issued in the early months of the pandemic, along with more restrictive guidelines and a county-based approach for reopening. The order from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham goes into effect Monday. It states that all “non-essential” businesses are required to close and other entities will face capacity restrictions....
PORTALES — The last time the Eastern New Mexico University softball team recorded an out, it closed out a sweep of rival West Texas A&M and vaulted the Greyhound to second place in the Lone Star Conference. Coach Kira Zeiter would love to pick things up where they left off, and hopes a quintet of signees for the 2022 season will help the program stay competitive for years. Signings include Los Lunas’ Edyn Lopez, La Cueva’s Taylor Harrison, Lauren De La Cruz of El Paso, Andraya Alvarado of Santa Ana, California, and Liset...
PORTALES — In what was likely the last sports update for the foreseeable future, Eastern New Mexico University Athletic Director Matt Billings reported some hiccups but overall good feelings about student-athletes being back on campus for the first time since the pandemic began. The morning address to the board of regents by Billings preceded a state shelter in place order for two weeks that does not include exceptions for sports practices. Billings said since programs came back to campus, starting with basketball, the a...
While New Mexico’s newest public health order means many businesses will be closed and those that remain open will do so under extreme conditions, nothing changes at public schools. School districts that have been operating in hybrid mode, a combination of virtual and in-person instruction, have been cleared to remain in those modes. However, schools in remote learning mode will stay there for the foreseeable future. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham did note that school districts could make their own decisions to move from h...
SANTA FE — The jury will convene again in 2021, with the New Mexico Supreme Court pausing all criminal and civil jury trials for the year to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The state will keep its appellate, district, metropolitan and magistrate courts open while operating with COVID-safe procedures, including requiring masks and health screening for everyone who enters a courthouse and strict enforcement of a minimum six-foot physical distancing by court staff and members of the public. “Pausing jury trials will pro...
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission will hold a pair of virtual public meetings regarding augmentation pumping from state-owned wellfields to benefit the Carlsbad Irrigation District. The one-hour meetings will be primarily geared toward Pecos Basin farmers and ranchers, but other interested members of the public may register for the Gotowebinar sessions. The meetings — 4 p.m. Wednesday and 5 p.m. Nov. 23 — will each feature State Engineer John D’Antonio and ISC Director Rolf-Schmidt Petersen. Registr...
CLOVIS — The city of Clovis will have a new airport director in place Monday, when James Harris takes over the position. Harris has spent 16 years in the airport industry, and was recently the airport operations superintendent for Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Harris, who comes to Clovis with wife Regine and their five children, is a former U.S. Marine Corps aviation operation specialists. “Because of his previous knowledge of airport services,” City Manager Justin Howalt said, “I anticip...
Booked The following were booked into local jails (Tuesday-Friday): Clovis • Juan Garza, 39, failure to appear on a felony charge • Alicia Coleman, 36, failure to appear on a felony charge • Sam Nathavong, 38, probation violation • Luis Chavez, 41, probation violation • Adrianna Regenhardt, 39, probation violation • Cedric Johnson, 26, probation violation • Michaelle Grabowsky, 36, out of state fugitive • Stephen Levenshown, 34, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge • Paul Aragon, 51, failure to appear on misdemeanor charg...
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University officials are excited to get started on a $15 million renovation of the Roosevelt Science Hall. They’ll have to wait a few days to name a new architect, following a strong rebuke from regents on university policy. Regents voted 3-2 against accepting Dekker/Perich/Sabatini as the architect for the project, and later voted 5-0 to handle the matter via special meeting to avoid possible project delays. The regents didn’t take any issue with the firm, which has done other projects for t...
I was walking along the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg on Saturday when the world learned that Joe Biden had bested Donald Trump to become the president-elect of the United States. The November sun was unseasonably warm on my face, and a cool breeze blew in from the west. I took a deep breath and exhaled. And in that moment, the tensions of the last four years seemed to go with them. There was a sense, however briefly, that, after four years of chaos, division, and just plain mean-spiritedness at the very top of our...
Demagoguery is the deliberate use of people’s prejudices and fears to manipulate them. Combined with presidential idolatry, this is the winning strategy of the Republican National Committee since 2016. I have been a registered and enthusiastic Republican since I first registered to vote in 1988. Now, 32 years later, I am angry and disgusted. President Trump has mocked, maligned and discredited our tremendous national health and disease institutions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National I...
Philadelphia often makes national news for unfortunate reasons, like bombing its own neighborhoods, rioting in its streets, pelting Santa with snowballs, and threatening the Boy Scouts with eviction from the home it built for itself. But sometimes, good things actually do happen in and around Philadelphia, despite President Trump's suggestion to the contrary. This month, Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia appeared before the Supreme Court to strike a blow for religious...
Our politicians and leaders still don’t get it. They don’t seem to understand — or care — that China has already declared World War III. The Communist Party thugs who rule China with a heavy hand didn’t have to invade Japan or drop an A-bomb on anybody. They just had to drop a deadly virus on the world. We know the coronavirus came from Wuhan, China. In my opinion, it was put out into the world deliberately, not by accident. In any case, the China pandemic has killed mo...
Ordinarily, it’s not possible for a party to win the presidency and have a bad election night, but the Democrats managed it. Pending the outcome of two Senate runoffs in Georgia, Joe Biden looks set to become a caretaker president who won’t be signing any legislation that doesn’t pass muster in Mitch McConnell’s Senate first. He isn’t riding into the White House on the strength of a Blue Wave, as was so often predicted, but a Blue Trickle that saw Democrats fail to win contr...
Annie Hogland has mixed emotions about angry letters she received from registered voters during this election. “They made me laugh, kinda,” said the Curry County clerk. “They made me laugh because I don’t know what else to do. When I don’t know how I’m feeling, I decide to go with humor.” But the letters, more than a dozen in all alleging possible voter fraud, also made her feel “a little mad,” she said. “I get to thinking about all the taxpayer dollars spent to help the people who wish to vote absentee, and some of them us...
Monday • United Way of Eastern New Mexico’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN) virtual luncheon — Noon-1 p.m., via Zoom. Program by Kirsty Forrest. Information: call 2-1-1 or email [email protected] Tuesday • Friends of Clovis-Carver Public Library meeting — 11:30 a.m., Clovis-Carver Public Library, 701 N. Main St., Clovis. Limited in-person seating, or join online via Google Meet to follow COVID-safe protocol. Contact Sara at [email protected] to RSVP or to obtain Google Meet link. Information: 575-763-968...
Meetings are subject to change due to coronavirus concerns Tuesday • Curry County Commission — 9 a.m., via Zoom. Information: https://www.currycounty.org/open-government/meeting-portal or 575-763-6016 • Ute Water Commission special meeting — 10 a.m., via Zoom. Join meeting at https://zoom.us/j/96245662630?pwd=OFk2eVYxT2VqcW1QL0srOUUyb1Uvdz09. Meeting ID: 962 4566 2630. Passcode: 863671. Dial in: 1-408-638-0968. Information: 575-762-7714 Thursday • Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority — 3 p.m., Elida Village Hall, 704 C...
The following marriage licenses were recently issued at the Curry County Clerk’s Office: • Darian Bledsoe, 50, and Hong Liu, 48, both of Farwell • Manuel Rubio, 34, of Clovis, and Jacquetta Franklin, 35, of Clovis • Tri Dinh, 23, and Jocelyn Espinosa, 23, both of Clovis • Donald Correia, Jr., 47, Albuquerque - Danielle Jordan, 34, both of Albuquerque • Christopher Allen, 30, Clovis - Somer Demers, 22, both of Clovis • Jayson Person, II, 20, Clovis, and Rosa Ramirez, 19, of Bovina • Rolando Chacon, Jr., 25, and Brenda Marq...
CLOVIS — Four rapid responses in 14 days, and you’re closed for 14 days. That’s what New Mexico officials said was on the horizon two Tuesdays ago when it announced the latest in a series of moves to attempt to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. But, just like the public health orders that have been a constant during the pandemic, there’s plenty of wiggle room. The closure is not an automatic, and communication from the state indicates “an establishment may be permitted to continue operating if the Department of Health, a...
PORTALES — In response to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s new public health order, Roosevelt County will close county offices to the public through November, according to a county release. Services will remain available to the public by phone, online or by appointment with limited services. “Please take care of yourselves, your families and loved ones. Take the necessary precautions and you can help slow the spread,” Roosevelt County Commission Chairman Matthew Hunton said in the release. “We are nearing a true dilemma as hospi... Full story
CLOVIS – As COVID-19 cases continue to soar across the region and the state, Curry County on Wednesday night announced plans to close its offices to the public starting next week through early December. “The County is taking these steps to assist with increasing social distancing efforts, limit gatherings and mitigate the spread within our community,” County Manager Lance Pyle said in a news release. “During this time County personnel will provide services to (the) public electronically, by phone or by appointments and ser... Full story
CLOVIS — The city of Clovis is implementing operational changes Monday in conjunction with the state instituting new COVID-19 restrictions. According to a Friday afternoon release from the city, the following measures will be in place until Nov. 30: • All public meetings will be canceled through Nov. 30, including the Clovis City Commission and Clovis Senior Services Committee meetings scheduled for Thursday. • City administration, emergency management, finance, purchasing, and human resources will be closed to the publi...
PORTALES — The Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce will host a Christmas parade this year. However, it’s the spectators who will be on the move. The plans for the 6 p.m. Dec. 4 parade are to what Chamber Executive Director Karl Terry referred to as a reverse parade, where the floats are static displays and the public is invited to drive through the parade area until 7 p.m. Floats will line up 5 p.m. that day near the intersection of Third and Abilene. It will stretch to the south on Abilene, then around City Park and back pa...
Anger, frustration, resignation. Those are just a few of the emotions eastern New Mexico residents felt over the weekend, with the state once again on the cusp of a shelter in place order during the COVID-19 pandemic. No one seemed surprised. "I knew we were going to get locked down," Margarita Walton said Saturday morning from her IronCurves Fitness Club, a three-year-old facility that a community of about 40 call their workout home. Walton said the new orders were...
PORTALES — A Union County man housed at the Roosevelt County Detention Center died Wednesday at the jail, according to a Roosevelt County news release. Eric Padilla, 37, was found unresponsive in the early morning hours, and lifesaving measures on scene by staff and first responders were unsuccessful, the release stated. A jail report stated Padilla "died of unnatural causes," but offered no additional information. County Manager Amber Hamilton and Sheriff Malin Parker declined to disclose other details regarding P...
