Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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PORTALES — Poetry comes alive in a live setting, and Portales will soon have opportunity to see an award-winning poet breathe life into his own works. Chen Chen’s first book, “When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities,” was long listed for the National Book Award.“That’s quite an honor and almost unheard of for a first book of poems,” Eastern New Mexico University Assistant Professor of English Steve Bellin-Oka said. A PhD student in the English and creative writing program at Texas Tech University in...
New Mexico’s housing prices were the most expensive since 2008, but eastern New Mexico saw its lowest prices in five years, according to a local Realtor. The Realtors Association of New Mexico reported on Jan. 25 a median sales price of $190,000. That’s $5,000 higher than in 2016 and the highest median sales price since 2008. In a press release, 2018 RANM President Connie Hettinga said that while the majority of New Mexico reported growth during 2017, “we have a number of counties with 2017 numbers lower than those repor...
PORTALES — From 1969 to 2017, the Blackwater Draw Museum sat on U.S. 70. In 2017, its contents were relocated to a new building on the campus of Eastern New Mexico University, and those tasked with cleaning uncovered treasures unseen for many years. Jenna Domeischel, the museum's curator, presented several items from the museum at a Friends of the Portales Public Library meeting Friday, including some recently uncovered treasures. "In the moving process, we got the o...
PORTALES — Attention, agriculture professionals: An event catered just for you is coming. The High Plains Crop and Livestock Symposium is scheduled Feb. 22 at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds in Portales. Featuring seven educational programs, a tradeshow, giveaways, guest speakers, and a catered lunch, the event will “provide educational services to local residents and support the role of agriculture within our community,” according to a press release by the Roosevelt County Cooperative Extension Service. The event’s guest s...
PORTALES — What separates the world we live in now from the gray, dystopian locales of our films and literature? It could be as little as a few trips to the recycling center each month, according to a Portales High School science class. Standing by a large receptacle full of plastic and other recyclables she and her peers in her honors science class donated, sophomore Paige Gard, 15, said Thursday afternoon that after watching documentaries about rampant pollution, she i...
High school students: Are you ready for college? If two New Mexico state legislators have their way, students would have to provide a definite answer. A bill, sponsored by Rep. Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque, and Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, would require high school juniors to apply to at least one college or prove they have other concrete post-high school plans, according to an article by U.S. News and World report. Exceptions to the college rule include commitment to military service, a vocational program or work...
PORTALES — Everyone has a story to tell, and this spring, eastern New Mexico residents will have a chance to tell theirs in an audio-recording studio. A national non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the stories of all people will be in Portales from March 15 to April 13, and it wants the community to share conversations with one another. StoryCorps Associate Director Danielle Andersen and Associate Manager Felix Lopez held a presentation Wednesday morning in the KENW studio to give community members information a...
PORTALES — Thursday’s mineral oil spill in Portales could potentially cost the city $40,000 per block in road repairs. The incident, called vandalism by officials, saw a massive amount of mineral oil leak from a J.D. Heiskell feed manufacturing facility into a 3 1/2 block radius in downtown Portales. Police said they could not provide information on the criminal investigation related to the spill. Crews from the city of Portales and the New Mexico Department of Transportation spent the day absorbing the oil with sand, but roa...
PORTALES - A massive amount of mineral oil spilled out of a feed manufacturing facility and onto the streets of Portales on Thursday morning in what officials called an act of vandalism. J.D. Heiskell and Co. officials wrote in a news release that vandals broke into a facility, stole equipment, and opened a valve on a tank of mineral oil. The oil drained outside and covered a large area around downtown Portales, according to John DeSha, the city's public works director. "(The...
PORTALES — The Portales City Council on Tuesday decided it would pay only its debt and a small reserve as part of its annual member contribution to the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority. According to ENMWUA’s interim director, the decision wasn’t exactly what her organization hoped for. The payment of $253,676 was approved at the council’s Tuesday night meeting after review by the Portales Finance Committee, which advised against paying any capital for projects by the authority, according to City Manager Sammy S...
PORTALES — If your idyllic stroll through the Eastern New Mexico University campus tonight is interrupted by a series of loud popping sounds, you have nothing to fear — unless you’re a bird. The university’s physical plant will be performing a series of “bird scares” with fireworks, a tactic ENMU Vice President of Business Affairs Scott Smart said discourages birds from congregating around buildings. “They usually collect around the College of Business. There’s a row of trees along the edge of that building — I think they...
New Mexico’s 6 percent unemployment rate — the second highest in the nation — isn’t sending eastern New Mexico into a panic. Though unemployment in the state has dropped from 6.1 percent in November of 2017, the unemployment rate in December was only lower than Alaska, at 7.3 percent. Eastern New Mexico’s positive attitude has to do with keeping the situation in perspective, according to Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karl Terry. Roosevelt County’s unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in November of...
PORTALES — A treasured collection of literature is facing an uncertain future after sustaining damage from flooding over the winter holiday. On Dec. 29, a pipe in a restroom of the Eastern New Mexico University Campus Union Building froze and burst, flooding the first floor of the building with up to an inch of water. That led to flooding in the floor below, which housed the Golden Library’s special collections, according to Librarian Gene Bundy. The collection contains the entire body of work of late local science fic...
Crunchy or smooth? That will be the question on Wednesday. That’s when we celebrate National Peanut Butter Day, according to Nationaltoday.com, a website dedicated to commemorating holidays. While the day is one of several food-related holidays next week — including National Popcorn Day and National Pie Day — it may be the most relatable for Portales residents. Peanuts are a major industry in Portales, with Ready Roast Nut, Portales Select Peanut Company, and Hampton Farms producing what will eventually find its way onto...
PORTALES — A proposal that sparked a debate spanning over two months and caused concern for one of Eastern New Mexico University’s branch campuses was granted final approval on Wednesday. In November, a recommendation by the Legislative Finance Committee that ENMU “centralize administrative functions on the main campus” prompted the university to develop a new oversight policy. The policy gives three staff members — Chief Information Officer Clark Elswick, Human Resource Officer Benito Gonzales, and Vice President of Busine...
PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico wine lovers, take heed: Portales is closer to having its own vineyard. Enchantment Vineyards, located east of Portales, was approved by the city for a license to distribute wine in 2016, and about four months ago began shipping its own creations across the country, according to co-owner Megan Hamilton. “The biggest thing is our online operations are up and going. Right now, we’re shipping all over the United States, which has been fun — establishing the internet side of the business,” she said....
PORTALES — Since 1932, discoveries have been made at the Blackwater Draw National Historic Landmark that have shed light on the earth's history. Now, however, the site is getting some recognition of its own. The "Black Water Draw Black and White" photo series, on display in the Runnels Gallery in Eastern New Mexico University's Bernalillo Hall until Jan. 26, showcases over 50 photographs, from the site's initial excavation in 1932 to the 1970s. Barbara Senn, department s...
Are you looking for extra work to supplement your income? Is your school and home life preventing you from getting full-time employment? Then Eastern New Mexico University has an event for you. The university is hosting a part-time job fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday in the Campus Union Building’s Sandia Room, and is inviting employees and employers alike to participate. Businesses will not be charged to reserve a table, according to a press release by ENMU. “This is a great way to reach lots of potential employees in...
Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Irma in September, has been receiving assistance from across the United States since the tragedy. Now eastern New Mexico and Texas Panhandle communities have joined in the rebuilding. Xcel Energy on Feb. 1 will be sending equipment and personnel to Caguas, on the eastern part of the island, said Xcel Energy spokesman Wes Reeves. Xcel employees from Clovis, Muleshoe, Tucumcari and beyond will join employees from the Midwest and Colorado in their efforts to restore power in the...
PORTALES — A state law could potentially be keeping the city of Portales from hiring a new building inspector, City Manager Sammy Standefer told the city council Tuesday. Standefer said that in late 2017, one of the city’s inspectors resigned. When Standefer later informed the director of the New Mexico Construction Industries Division about the opening, he received a shock. “At that time, they informed us that in order for us to refill the inspector position, that we must, at that time, hire for all the trainings. That...
PORTALES — Tahir Shah wrote “Stories are a communal currency of humanity” in his book “In Arabian Nights.” If that is the case, a national non-profit group hopes to make us all rich. StoryCorps — whose mission, according to a press release, is “to offer people of all backgrounds and beliefs the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives and future generations” — will hold a community meeting from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 24 at the KENW Studios, 1500 S. Ave. K. Community organizations committed to dive...
PORTALES — The Roosevelt County Sheriff's Office wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary on Aug. 28, but found itself assisting the Clovis Police Department during a major tragedy. CPD Chief Doug Ford publicly recognized the sheriff's department during the Tuesday Roosevelt County Commission meeting for its assistance during a shooting at the Clovis-Carver Public Library in which 16-year-old Nathaniel Jouett is accused of killing two and sending four to the hospital. "...
There will be at least one new face on the Clovis City Commission in March, along with a new mayor and city councilor in Portales. Incumbents in Clovis’ and Portales’ March 6 municipal elections are mostly seeking additional terms. The exceptions are in the Portales mayor’s position, where Sharon King cited health reasons for not seeking a third term, Portales’ Ward A and Clovis’ District 4. “I’m doing well today,” King said in a September interview with The News, “but I’m not sure if I can say that two weeks from now.” Si...
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — On Jan. 5, 2016, a team of United States and Special Coalition forces in Afghanistan was under fire on all sides from enemy insurgents. When Capt. Charlotte Raabe and Staff Sgt. Gary Bjerke, along with the rest of their MC-130J aircraft crew, flew supplies and ammunition to the forces at a low altitude through oncoming fire, they didn't know they were earning the military's oldest flying declaration. The Distinguished Flying Cross, according to Brig. G...
PORTALES — A Portales man found guilty of rape in September will have to wait until Feb. 6 for his sentence to be determined, according to Judge Donna Mowrer. A jury found Roy Brown, 29, guilty of two counts of criminal sexual penetration resulting in great bodily harm, plus aggravated battery and other charges. He was arrested in June of 2016 after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman whose home he forcibly entered. Brown, who is being held in the Roosevelt County D...
