Pages past - Nov. 15

On this date ...

1977: The newly elected officers of the Curry County Farmers Union had written a letter to United States President Jimmy Carter asserting that wheat and feed grain prices were too low to be fair to producers.

Haney Tate was the new president of the local agriculture group, Doug Reid was vice president, and Bill Patton was secretary-treasurer. They were elected at the Farmers Union annual banquet.

American wheat was selling for about $2 a bushel at the time, but local farmers were urging Carter to raise that to $4.50 a bushel.

1972: United States District Judge Edwin L. Mecham gave the Portales Municipal Schools 90 days to "submit plans for correcting alleged discriminatory practices affecting Mexican-American students" in the district, according to an article in the Clovis News-Journal.

The lawsuit was filed by the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund on behalf of four parents with students in the Portales district.

Defendants included L.C. Cozzens, superintendent of Portales Schools, as well as four principals, and members of the school board.

The suit alleged that the district had "an educational program that is tailored to educate the middle class child from an English speaking family without regard for the educational needs of the child from an environment where Spanish is the predominant language."

Pages Past is compiled by Betty Williamson. Contact her at: [email protected]