Ask the editors - March 26

What’s up with the new tennis courts at Portales High School?

There are some new tennis courts in the making in Portales that will be located at Kilgore Avenue and East Third Street, across from the cemetery and right behind the baseball field.

The sport in Portales has a long history that goes back at least to 1974.

Jeanne Fairman was the person behind the tennis program that year. Fairman passed away in late February, but her son Robert spoke to The News about her role in local tennis.

“She was instrumental in getting the whole thing started,” Robert Fairman said. Jeanne was a teacher at the high school and had a desire to start a tennis team. The school made a deal with her, but only if she would coach basketball and volleyball as well, her son said.

Challenge accepted.

“She played tennis until she was 84 years old,” Robert Fairman said.

A new coach, Bill Wahlman, took over in 1975. He passed away in 2018. His wife Shirley Wahlman said he was a man of many jobs and talents.

Bill Wahlman’s obituary states he was a sixth-grade teacher for 25 years. “In 1975, Bill took on the responsibilities of coaching both the Boys and Girls Portales High School Tennis teams, from which he retired after 25 years.”

The Bill Wahlman Tennis Complex was named in his honor in 1995.

“If you’ve been down to the old tennis courts, I think there’s probably still a sign that says the parking place was reserved for Bill,” Shirley Wahlman said.

Family friend Mike Terry said Bill and Shirley Wahlman together really impacted “more lives than we will ever know.”

Terry said this was “due to their time and dedication that they put in on evenings and weekends to make sure that every student was involved in success.”

Now, the new tennis courts in the works are a reflection of the work put in by Bill Wahlman and Jeanne Fairman.

Portales Schools Superintendent Johnnie Cain said the courts should be done within the next few months, but for sure in time for next season.

There will be six new courts, with two groups of three.

Cain said the school board has been discussing new courts for two to three years, and they were approved last year. The old courts behind the mortuary in Portales were starting to show their age, according to Cain.

“It was either spend a lot on fixing them or get new ones,” Cain said.

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