Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Editor's note: We continue our series of stories about local business owners and the unique merchandise and services they have for sale -- just in time for Christmas. When you walk into Oliver's Emporium in downtown Portales, you are briefly dazzled by the bright, primary colors and geometric designs of the American Southwest. The store has been in its present location since April, and its owner Cassie Hardin, a life-long Portales resident, is confident the store's location...
GRADY – A schoolteacher who allegedly told students they would burn in “the embers of hell” for various behaviors remains on the job, Superintendent Keith Durham said Monday night. Durham declined to say whether any disciplinary action was taken against the teacher, but he assured concerned parents the matter was “not swept under the rug,” which he repeated several times. “I wish I could tell you what we did, but I can’t,” he said during Monday’s school board meeting in...
An arrest has been made in the area's eighth homicide of 2022. Curry County Sheriff Wesley Waller issued a news release Tuesday afternoon reporting "as a result of the on-going investigation into the murder of Ismael Zachery Martinez, Cesar Rascon-Chacon, 23, has been arrested and charged with murder, a first-degree felony; felon in possession of a firearm, a third-degree felony and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony." At the time of his arrest, Rascon-Chacon was...
The city of Clovis has issued a wind-chill warning until 11 a.m. Friday. "Very cold wind chills expected," the city reported. "Wind chills dropping to around 20 below zero ..." Forecasters said northern Quay County could see wind-chill factors of 25 below zero at times between 5 a.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. Friday. Officials said the temperatures could result in frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. The National Weather Service is predicting a low temperature of 7 degrees Wednesday night in the Clovis-Portales... Full story
PITTSBURGH - Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris, author of the most famous play in NFL history and one of the greatest players in franchise history, has died at 72. The Steelers confirmed the news of Harris' passing in a statement Wednesday morning. "It is difficult to find the appropriate words to describe Franco Harris' impact on the Pittsburgh Steelers, his teammates, the City of Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation," Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a...
The New Mexico Department of Health is urging pet and livestock owners in De Baca County and surrounding areas to vaccinate their animals against rabies after a cat tested positive for rabies last week. This is the first cat that has tested positive for rabies in De Baca County based on records that go back to 1966. “This positive rabies test in a cat shows the importance of keeping pets, horses and valuable livestock up-to-date on rabies vaccinations,” said Dr. Chad Smelser, deputy state epidemiologist. “Domestic animals can...
The New Mexico Department of Health’s Medical Cannabis Program has announced that anxiety disorder will be added to the program’s list of qualifying conditions for enrollment starting Jan. 1. Dr. David R. Scrase, acting cabinet secretary for the Department of Health, said in a news release, “Anxiety disorder is a debilitating condition that affects as much as 25% of New Mexicans. While there are many good medical options for treating anxiety disorder, treatment resistance can affect one out of every three patients. “Even...
An Albuquerque district judge indicated during a hearing last week she would grant an appeal by Coronado Partners to contest the New Mexico Racing Commission’s rejection of an application to build a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari. District Judge Nancy Franchini said during a telephone hearing Dec. 13 she was dissatisfied with the arguments of the commission’s lawyer, Richard Bustamante, to dismiss Coronado Partners’ initial lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. “I think it’s a valid appeal,...
On this date … 1957: Four men were released early from the Curry County jail in observance of the Christmas holiday, the Clovis News-Journal reported. All four had served the majority of their sentences for petty larceny or issuing worthless checks. A man serving 30 days for stealing an iron had a stipulation attached to his early release – he was required to leave town and return to his home in Louisiana, the newspaper reported. 1954: Tennis champion Chris Evert was born in...
Booked The following were booked into local jails (Friday - Tuesday): Clovis • Xavier Shaw, 22, shoplifting • Alexis King, 22, shoplifting • Nolee Baber, 19, battery against a household member • Ronnie Lujan, 25, failure to pay fines, failure to appear on a felony charge • Ruben Hernandez, 36, failure to appear on a felony charge • Francisco Bautista, 52, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge • Alyse Haldeman, 25, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, battery upon a peace officer, assault, disorderly conduct • Adr...
Close to $280,000 will be given to the Curry County Sheriff’s Department from the state’s Law Enforcement Fund created by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham earlier this year. Curry County Sheriff Wesley Waller received a letter from Santa Fe this week noting the award. According to the letter, the purpose of the funding is to cover the cost of hiring new officers and to retain existing staff. The department will be allocated $112,500.00 the first year, up to $112,500.00 the second year, and up to $56,250.00 the third year. The met...
Four candles. At church, we lit four candles. I’m talking about Advent candles. One for each of the four Sundays before Christmas. And now, only the “Christ candle,” the large white one in the center of the Advent wreath, is left. I didn’t grow up lighting candles at church. I do remember getting to light candles at a wedding in my hometown church once. My brother and I were pressed into service as candlelighters. Using real candle lighters. We looked like altar boys in traini...
FLOYD – Clovis Christian's boys took control over the final three quarters on Monday night to beat Floyd 65-34. Senior Carter Teune knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 27 points for the Eagles (8-2), including 11 points in a 24-6 CCS domination of the third period. Junior Jaden Martinez added 16 points and senior Noah Gershon 11. For the Broncos (2-5), who trailed just 16-14 at the quarter, junior Benton Cain finished with eight points while juniors Isaiah Nieto and A...
CLOVIS – The Gattis seventh grade boys basketball team played on three consecutive days last week and came away with a 1-2 record. The Cubs now stand 1-5 for the season. On Thursday, the Cubs posted a 26-23 overtime victory over Marshall. Zahki Dawson led Gattis with 13 points, while Beau Clements had 6, Peyton Kerby 4 and Abel Chavira 3. On Dec. 13, Yucca handed Gattis a 63-10 setback, with Kerby, Clements, Dawson, Victor Moreno and Timothy Gonzales-Galvan each scoring 2 points for the Cubs. The following day, the team d...
PORTALES – Eastern New Mexico University's women found themselves fighting from behind virtually all afternoon on Saturday. In the end, 23rd-ranked Texas Woman's was able to make a couple more plays than the Greyhounds. Six-foot-2 sophomore forward Ashley Ingram nailed two free throws with five seconds left and the Pioneers survived a last-second ENMU bid for a tying basket to escape with a 64-62 Lone Star Conference victory at Greyhound Arena. Senior guard Sadie Moyer had f...
CAPITAN – Sophomore Aaron Combs’ 3-point shot in the closing seconds on Saturday night lifted Dora to a 51-50 victory over Melrose in the championship game of Capitan’s Smokey Bear tournament. The Buffaloes (7-2) missed on a last-second attempt to pull out the win. Senior Steven Masini scored 28 points for the Coyotes (9-1) in what was a seesaw battle most of the way. Sophomore Cy Draper finished with 16 points and junior Michael Cardonita added 12 for the Buffs. Meantime, Melrose cruised to the title on the girls’ side, p...
RIO RANCHO – Senior Thomas Palla and junior Porter Kidd were each in on four wins to help Clovis High’s boys cruise to team honors in the Cleveland Invite swim meet on Saturday. Clovis posted 467 1/2 team points to 398 for the runnerup host Storm. Meantime, the CHS girls came in second with 445 points to Rio Rancho, which compiled 523. All six boys wins in the meet were with state-qualifying times. Palla won the 100 butterfly (57.49 seconds) and 100 breaststroke (1:05.06), while Kidd took the 200 freestyle (1:54.28) and the...
PORTALES – After two road losses to open Lone Star Conference play, Eastern New Mexico University's men got themselves back in the thick of things at home over the weekend. First, ENMU pounded previously unbeaten and 19th-ranked Texas-Tyler 68-45 on Thursday night, then followed that up with another solid overall effort in a 73-63 win over Dallas Baptist on Saturday afternoon at Greyhound Arena. Junior guard Jahcoree Ealy (14 points, 12 rebounds) and sophomore forward Errol W...
Every year about this time I get to be Santa’s editor helper. I clean up letters that children in Santa Rosa, Vaughn and Anton Chico write to him, for publication in my newspaper’s Letters to Santa special section, which is a big deal around here. Actually, I do very little editing, because a misspelled word here and there is somehow “cute” when a kid does it. More than anything, I format their letters for the purpose of “flow” and “readability,” which is something a paginator understands and readers appreciate even...
POJOAQUE – Portales High’s boys erased a double-digit deficit in the final quarter on Saturday night, only to come up short in the championship game of Pojoaque’s Ben Lujan tournament. The host Elks recovered in the extra session, outscoring the Rams 10-8 to claim a 66-64 victory. Senior guard Tobias Velasquez tallied 19 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead the way for Pojoaque (9-2). Senior guard Derek Sanchez added 15. The Rams (5-4) trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half, and by 11 before outsc...
Quay County will miss McCasland This month marked the last Quay County Commission meeting for Chairman Franklin McCasland, who has served on the commission for 16 of the last 20 years. He is term limited and could not run again. I have had the pleasure of working with Franklin over the past several years as county attorney. Over the last 35 years I have worked with many city and county commissioners in both Quay and Curry counties and I can say unequivocally that Franklin has been a model public servant. He has consistently...
I’ve realized most people don’t understand freedom of speech. Not even experts. Having freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can force anyone to listen. It doesn’t mean you’ll escape consequences of your words. It doesn’t mean anyone -- other than government -- is obligated to let you speak. Of course, I believe corporations are an arm of government due to the cozy arrangements they share. Government puts pressure -- with implied threats of retaliation -- on corporations to ban s...
Incoming president of Northern New Mexico College, outgoing Attorney General Hector Balderas, will be paid more than his three predecessors. His incoming salary has been set by the college’s board of regents at $232,500. Both interim president Dr. Barbara Medina and her predecessor, Richard Bailey, were paid $180,000 a year. Balderas has a 3 1/2 -year contract. The almost 30% increase in the salary seems excessive for someone who has never operated an institution of higher learning. Balderas has no record of work in academia....
The sun dips below the horizon at 4:46 p.m. this winter solstice evening, and rises again — 14 hours and nine minutes later — at 6:55 a.m. Thursday For two local pastors, this “longest night” seems a fitting time to acknowledge that the holiday season is sometimes long and dark as well, and feelings of sadness, grief, and loss also deserve acknowledgement. Vito Monteblanco, senior pastor of the Portales Church of the Nazarene, and Damon Stalvey, pastor of First United Methodi...
It’s beginning to look a lot like winter. There’s no white Christmas in the forecast for eastern New Mexico, but forecasters warn today’s Winter Solstice will bring frigid temperatures – near zero at night -- expected to last into the weekend. The approaching Artic cold front prompted the city of Clovis’ Nixle system to issue a warning that anyone outside could be at risk for frostbite and hypothermia. Parts of eastern New Mexico could see wind-chill factors of 25-below zero over the next few days, according to the National...
