The Eastern New Mexico News - Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Historians generally agree that our long ago human ancestors engaged in what was known as the hunter-gatherer culture from around 2 million years ago until 11,000 to 12,000 years... — Updated 10/1/2023

Before there was an Eastern New Mexico University … or an Eastern New Mexico College … or even an Eastern New Mexico Normal School, there was a community that very much wanted... — Updated 9/23/2023

I suppose if we lived in a place where we regularly had gray, chilly, drizzly days, it would be possible to grow weary of it. But after a summer under the broiler with the... — Updated 9/16/2023

The temperature was somewhere around 100 degrees the afternoon I met Esther Steinle in a Clovis coffee shop, which had the doors propped open because of a malfunctioning air... — Updated 9/9/2023

If you are ever fortunate enough to find yourself in possession of an invitation to a 70th high school class reunion, I have one piece of advice: Say yes, and don't miss a minute... — Updated 9/2/2023

Of all the events that take place each year at the Roosevelt County Fair, there’s something about the Saturday morning pet show that has a special place in my heart. I’m not... — Updated 8/26/2023

The Curry County Fair wrapped up this weekend, and the Roosevelt County fairgrounds will soon be all a-bustle with its annual celebration of many of the things that make our... — Updated 8/19/2023

Fifty years ago right about now, the trees of eastern New Mexico were groaning with a record peach crop. Just reading about it made my mouth water. The Portales News-Tribune from... — Updated 8/12/2023

When James and Stephanie Johnston moved from Wichita Falls, Texas, to Portales in December of 2022, they saw the "Welcome to Portales" billboard announcing our community as "home of... — Updated 8/5/2023

I’ve yet to see the new “Barbie” movie that has turned the nation pink this summer, with all manner of merchandise available in that unmistakable hue, from corn tortillas... — Updated 7/29/2023

Any way you measure it — Fahrenheit, Celsius, or scoops of ice cream — it has been a hot summer. It’s a fine time to contemplate how we managed before that best of... — Updated 7/22/2023

Sometimes it takes a pair of fresh eyes to see things hiding in our own backyards. Or maybe two pairs of fresh eyes. Allow me to introduce you to Sajan KC and Anisha Sapkota. It's... — Updated 7/15/2023

I wrangled an invitation several weeks ago from Brendon Asher, director of Blackwater Draw, to visit the summer archaeology field school at Blackwater Locality 1 between Portales an... — Updated 7/10/2023

Local historians tell us that during the early 1900s, Roosevelt County boasted more than 100 schools in the tiny communities that sprinkled the Plains like cornmeal. By 1957, that... — Updated 7/1/2023

Fifty-three pieces of art created by 24 area residents are on display at the Runnels Gallery in the Golden Student Success Center at Eastern New Mexico University. Take it from me:... — Updated 6/25/2023

I’m not a regular follower of sports, but 50 years ago this month I became a rabid horse-racing fan for at least a season. Perhaps you did, too. It was the spring of 1973 when a... — Updated 6/17/2023

I've been to a lot of funerals and memorial services. It comes with the territory when you live in a small community for a long time. The one for World War II veteran Thomas Vernon... — Updated 6/10/2023

If you grew up in New Mexico and are my age or older, I would bet money you knew someone who was in the Bataan Death March in World War II. It might have been your dad, your uncle,... — Updated 6/7/2023 Full story

You’re probably familiar with the Wright brothers of aviation fame, but Portales had its own Wright brothers, well-known in their time for sadder reasons. Durward Haynes Wright an... — Updated 5/27/2023

I have a black coffee maker in my kitchen, which is my first destination every morning. Allow me to clarify. Yes, it makes black coffee, but the coffee maker itself is black, which... — Updated 5/17/2023

Novelists Kathleen M. Rodgers, a Clovis native currently of Colleyville, Texas, and Teddy Jones of Friona, Texas, are scheduled to appear at a double author event from 5:30 p.m. to... — Updated 5/13/2023

A cadre of four-legged teachers named Bart, Newbie, Shag, Target, Smudge, Goober, Patches, Lil, and Cricket are on the hunt for some new students. But there are some catches. To... — Updated 5/9/2023

Portales High School drama teacher Melody Gallagher jokes that she recruits and retains drama students with the promise of "afterschool snacks and juice boxes." But in reality,... — Updated 5/2/2023

I heard a timely quote this week from Ira Glass, the host of the National Public Radio show, “This American Life.” “I am optimistic,” Glass said, “even when there is no... — Updated 4/25/2023

A life-sized interactive reproduction of Moses' tabernacle of the wilderness is in Portales for a return engagement after being experienced by more than 3,000 locals when it was... — Updated 4/18/2023