Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1951: Portales’ F.T. Burke wasn’t complaining, but needed “a better understanding” for coping with his city job responsibilities.
That’s how The Portales Daily News described the situation.
Burke had two jobs - police judge and justice of the peace. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Burke told city leaders he was on duty 24 hours per day.
The biggest issue, Burke said, was that “people wake him at all times of night to tell him their troubles,” the Daily News reported. It seemed those fined for traffic violations were too embarrassed to be seen going into police court during regular business hours; so they went to Burke’s home at night to pay their fines.
Burke also had concerns about his “drafty” office, which he said was responsible for missing paperwork. As an example, he said this month he had $200 more in paid traffic fines than the documentation supported. Paper tickets, it seemed, were blowing off his desk and getting lost.
He suggested the city purchase a lock box so he could keep the traffic tickets from blowing away.
As for the lost sleep … the City Council decided to let Burke and the police commission address that issue as best they could.
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