Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Music is everlasting and Clovis High School students gave it meaning, said longtime Clovis Band Director Norvil Howell as he received a plaque Thursday noting his recognition in the U.S. Congressional Record. Ben Salazar, congressional aid to U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., said Howell was not only a music mentor to himself but to countless students as well during Howell’s 40 years with Clovis Municipal Schools. More than 100 students, staff and friends gathered Thursday to honor the significant impact Howell has h...
It was January 1987. It would be the year of "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" and "Walk Like An Egyptian," but first, a Republican lawmaker from New Mexico's arid eastern Plains was about to break the state political norms. He was going to move in with a Democrat. Stuart Ingle, the Portales Republican, and Tim Jennings, the Roswell Democrat, had plenty in common. Both were party moderates and former students of New Mexico Military Institute. Both had agricultural roots,...
The way things are going these days, Eastern New Mexico University's men might not want to take a holiday break. The Greyhounds (7-2) narrowly missed reaching the 100-point mark for the fifth time this season, but still had plenty to cruise past Northern New Mexico 97-67 in a game played at Clovis High's Rock Staubus Gym. Playing without regulars Greg Johnson (finger) and Blazej Czerniewicz (ankle) due to injury, ENMU shot 62 percent (23-for-35) from the floor in the opening h...
ALBUQUERQUE – Clovis High’s boys saw a last-second shot go off the mark on Friday night, and the Wildcats absorbed a 60-58 loss to host Albuquerque Academy in the championship semifinals of the Joe Armijo Classic. Six-foot-4 senor Joe Jack scored 22 points for the Chargers (5-0), who advanced to face the winner of Friday’s late semifinal between Organ Mountain and Cibola. The Cats (4-2), who had a four-game winning streak snapped, were to take on the loser of that tilt for third place. Academy had 10 2-point baskets and 1...
POJOAQUE – After the first day of Pojoaque’s tournament was postponed due to snow, Portales High’s basketball teams each came back to win twice on Friday. The Rams improved to 6-0, topping the host Elks 57-55 before blowing out Dulce 84-44, while the Lady Rams won easily over Crownpoint 57-32 and Santa Fe Capital 67-29 to raise their mark to 4-1. The Rams were slated to close out the event on Saturday against Monte del Sol while the Lady Rams took on Dulce. Boys – Portales fell behind Pojoaque early and rallied to pull out th...
Lawmakers grappling with the issue of gun violence endorsed a number of proposals — including imposing a 14-day waiting period to purchase a gun and prohibiting carrying or using guns near an Election Day polling site — at a committee meeting Tuesday at the Capitol. The endorsements made by members of the interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee don't necessarily mean the bills will win enough support to pass during next year's legislative session, But they do put a spotlight on legislation that could be heard dur...
The head of the state Department of Finance and Administration gave lawmakers some good news Monday when he told them yes, there is a Santa Claus: New Mexico can expect nearly $13 billion in recurring revenue for lawmakers and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to enjoy come January. Citing the famous New York Sun editorial "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus," Wayne Propst, secretary of the state Department of Finance and Administration, told members of the Legislative Finance Committee on Monday the forecast of nearly $12.768 b...
The Public Education Department is asking for a 21% increase in its overall budget, from $4.2 billion this year to nearly $5.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. However, Thursday's budget request before the Legislative Finance Committee was largely overshadowed by lawmakers' criticism of the Public Education Department's proposed rules, which would require 180 days of instruction for all schools beginning in the 2024-25 school year and impose a new school accreditation process. Lawmakers from all over the state and across the...
A Republican-led challenge to New Mexico’s congressional maps appears to be over. Ash Soular, spokeswoman for the state GOP, wrote in an email Wednesday that the party has no plans to pursue a rehearing “at this time” of the state Supreme Court’s recent ruling upholding the districts. That means the case, which has been playing out in the state courts since after the new maps were approved by lawmakers in 2021, ends in a victory for Democrats and the current lines will remain in place. In late November the state Supreme...
New Mexico’s highest court will soon decide whether local governments have the right to restrict abortion in the face of state laws protecting abortion access. Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who is challenging several conservative eastern New Mexico cities and counties that have passed anti-abortion ordinances, said during Wednesday’s state Supreme Court hearing that such ordinances are “preempted by state law.” This doesn’t just apply to abortion, Torrez said — other laws, such as the state’s legalization of recreational c...
Tweety Bird was found at the Portales airport, said foster parent Kelly McClellan. McClellan said the year-old mixed breed is known to love anything and anyone, including the McClellan family's pet turtles. Tweety Bird is available for adoption through Cindy's Hope for Precious Paws....
With the holiday season, families may be looking into expanding with an additional four-legged companion. According to a nationwide survey by Forbes Advisor, the most popular dog breed New Mexico residents consider is the German shepherd. According to a news release, two-thirds of U.S. households own a dog and 85% of dog owners consider pets a part of their family. To help determine which furry friend is perfect for your household, Forbes Advisor surveyed 10,000 dog owners in America to determine which breed is most favored i...
Eastern New Mexico University regents on Friday approved a 2% increase in room and board rates for fiscal year 2024-2025. ENMU Vice President of Business Affairs and System Chief Financial Officer Tony Major presented the new rates to the regents. Major said the increase is so that reserves are available for repair and maintenance to the buildings. He said the 2% rate will range between $8 and $66 per student, depending on their living situation. According to the ENMU website, a student living in a Curry Hall dorm would...
Charges against a Roosevelt County Detention Center officer have been dismissed, at least for now. Heather Brockman, 34, and Daejon Rae Coronado, 20, in October were arrested for bringing contraband to inmates at the jail, court records show. Assistant District Attorney Brian Stover said Friday that charges against Brockman were dismissed after officials received “new information.” Dan Lindsey, Brockman’s attorney, said a nurse reported she did not see any exchange of contraband and that it was not suspicious that a deten...
Portales Municipal Schools Superintendent Johnnie Cain last week announced his retirement after 11 years with Portales schools and 30 years in education. Cain said he wanted to spend more time being closer to his family and enjoying his hobbies. "I have put 30 years into education and I think it's just time. ... I have been a superintendent for 15 years and 11 of them within Portales and it's been really great," Cain said. Cain said his last day as superintendent will be June...
They said it couldn’t be done, and by “they” I mean me and just about everyone else who has followed the New Mexico State University football team over the years. In 2020, when the state was facing a $2 billion budget deficit and all but two games on the NMSU scheduled were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote my second column calling for the Aggies to drop down to the FCS division in football. It wasn’t that I didn’t like college football or appreciate the potential benefits that come with the national exposure...
It’s a political myth, really, but it’s still poignant: that no one could have visited China back in 1972 but then-President Richard Nixon. His anti-communist positions provided him the political cover he needed to improve relations without being attacked by the Cold War “hawks” on the right. “Only Nixon could have gone to China,” historians and even Spock (in the movie Star Trek VI, Wikipedia says) have said. Maybe in the years ahead, they’ll add, “only the fossil fuel industry could take on global warming.” The l...
We are responsible for ensuring our guards held accountable The phrase “Who will guard the guards” is attributed to Roman Satirist Juvenal, World Heritage Encyclopedia says. It is often used as a warning about the tyrannical tendencies of concentrated power to oppress and control others. According to Wikipedia this phrase is “generally used to consider incorporating the philosophical question of how power can be held accountable.” How are we to hold our elected officials and city manager responsible for their duties if ther...
Most people don’t seem to want liberty. Many of them want freedom, but they aren’t interested in the responsibility that comes with liberty. A majority want to feel safe and comforted. They want guarantees. They want the familiar, even when the familiar is guaranteed to be harmful to them. They don’t want the uncertainties that come with liberty. Uncertainties are a fact of life, like it or not. Some of them would like liberty for themselves but are terrified of allow...
Ukraine is in a state of disarray with the president of the country, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a major dispute, during an active war, with his senior military commander, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi. And Zaluzhnyi is claiming the president by-passes the chain of command by maintaining parallel communication lines with chiefs of some military branches, including Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi and Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk. Adding to this morass is the fact that...
Fresh off her “victory” in pushing a vast increase in the number of electric vehicles sold in New Mexico through a board appointed by her, New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham is pushing yet another regulation to force EVs on an unwilling public. The governor’s latest plan is to mandate EV charging stations and equipment for newly built apartment buildings and other commercial real estate. The “good” news is that while news reports back in September reported that up to 20% of all pa...
Seventh Street between Prince and Main used to be four lanes of travel. Now there are just two. Why? Also, are streetlights coming? It’s so dark now. Seventh Street between Prince and Main was subjected to a “road diet” in its reconstruction, according to Clovis City Manager Justin Howalt. “Converting a four-lane roadway to a three-lane roadway is referred to as a road diet,” Howalt said in an email. That’s when the existing roadway volumes do not necessitate the need for the number of existing lanes, Howalt said. Howal...
Eastern New Mexico University on Thursday announced the hiring of veteran higher education professional Dr. Christy Johanson as vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. Johanson comes to ENMU after spending the last two years as the assistant vice president of Student Services and Enrollment Management at Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kan. Johanson has an extensive background in higher education over her 21-year career with stops at Blinn...
In a 7-1 vote Tuesday, the Portales City Council named Councilman Michael Miller as the city's new mayor. On Nov. 28, Portales Mayor Ron Jackson announced his plans to resign due to health reasons. Jackson had nearly served two years of his current four-year term. It was up to City Council members to appoint a new mayor until the next election. Councilman Daniel Boan nominated Mike Davidson, an outspoken advocate for change in city water policies, for the mayor's job. Boan...
Editor's note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with local officials. Bill Allred recently announced his retirement as Clovis High School's band director after a run of 11 consecutive state marching band championships. Q: You have nearly three decades with the Clovis band programs. What themes have you seen in teaching students through this time? A: Throughout nearly three decades of teaching within the Clovis community, my dedication and commitment to...
