Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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CLOVIS — Four, if not all five, of Curry County's commission districts will see some level of upheaval by the end of the year, as the Census-driven process of redistricting is starting to take shape. Commissioners heard a first presentation on the matter during Tuesday's commission meeting, where John Sharp of Research and Polling said the plan is to have three different redistricting plans for commissioners to approve by Dec. 31. Sharp said the ideal population for each district is 9,686, representing one-fifth of the t...
PORTALES — With a small crowd cheering them on, and a few concerns levied, Portales school board members on Monday decided to join a lawsuit against the Public Education Department. By a 5-0 vote, board members agreed to join in the suit the Gallup-McKinley School District filed last October that challenges the authority of the PED. In a separate vote, it capped its financial contribution for the lawsuit to $1,000. The complaint argues, in part, for local control of measures related to mitigating the spread of COVID-19. M...
PORTALES - Cipriano Lovato, friends and family said, was strict at home, fair and just at work, relentless at romance and dancing and enthusiastic about life. "Cippy," as he was known around Portales and in the New Mexico Department of Transportation, died Aug. 21 in Albuquerque. The lifelong Portales resident was "the dad that you want," son Ricky Lovato said. "We respected our elders," Ricky Lovato said. "When we went to someone's house, we sat on the couch until he told us...
CLOVIS — For the foreseeable future, the dais of the Curry County Commission is going to have one member logging on instead of coming in person. Commissioner Robert Sandoval addressed the matter during a special commission meeting Thursday morning, and said the commission meeting setup didn’t adequately meet guidelines for masking and social distancing. The News covered the 40-minute meeting virtually. Sandoval said he understood how people felt about their rights, but countered, “rights have consequences and rights have resp...
PORTALES - A crowd of around 70 gathered in Portales on the day before the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11, and were reminded of the Septembers 10, 11 and 12 of 20 years ago. In a ceremony lasting less than 20 minutes at the parking lot of James Polk Stone Community Bank, Matt Rush took the audience through his memories of 20 years gone by since the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The Friday event, usually held on Sept. 11 but held on the day before with many...
CLOVIS - Clovis' Main Street, and nearly five dozen other places just like it, remembered Saturday how Sept. 11, 2001, changed their lives forever, while honoring those whose lives came to a sudden halt. Curry County Teen Court began its part of the inaugural Flag of Honor Across America Memorial at 9:02 a.m., the time United Flight 175 hit the World Trade Center in New York City. Through the teen court program, Curry County was one of 60 founding communities for the program....
ALBUQUERQUE — Eastern New Mexico University regents on Friday stressed that following a year of COVID-related shutdowns of in-person learning, another semester of the same was the last thing anybody wanted. But low vaccination rates and high case counts in their university counties have regents concerned, and they said the colleges can't defeat the pandemic on their own. Regents didn't take any action regarding COVID-19 practices at the college, but a discussion item placed on the agenda by Board President Dan Patterson e...
PORTALES — The Portales City Council on Tuesday approved purchase of a new phone system that is currently unbudgeted by regarded as necessary by information technology staff. Public Works Director John DeSha told councilors in the brief meeting that the current Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) is about 15 years old, and it is showing its age to the point various departments have resorted to shopping for replacement parts on eBay. “I find that a little disconcerting,” DeSha said. DeSha presented two options to counc...
ALBUQUERQUE — Eastern New Mexico University fell just below the 5,000 mark for enrollment this semester, with the Portales campus on Friday reporting a fall-to-fall enrollment drop of 5.3%. According to a university release issued as Friday’s board of regents meeting began, the biggest drop among undergraduates was in first-time freshmen and sophomores — each down 21.1%, while the number of juniors declined by 6.8%, and seniors declined by 2.7%. “The greatest drops were in freshman and sophomore (students),” Portales Presiden...
PORTALES — The Roosevelt County Commission engaged in trash talk Tuesday morning, as solutions are being sought to combat illegal dumping. Commissioners did not make any policy changes regarding laws or penalties on the practice, but acknowledged more needs to be done when residents simply drop off trash on county roads instead of using the convenience center operated by the city of Portales. Laveta Patterson, who lives south of Portales, said there has been a rash of illegal dumping over the last several months, and i...
BOVINA - The Farwell Steers are trying to close the gap between now and the Class 2A playoffs, hopeful they can avoid the injury bug. The Bovina Mustangs, meanwhile, are trying to close the gap between themselves and Farwell. But they couldn't avoid the turnover bug. The visiting Steers converted three first-half Mustang turnovers - including two on Bovina's first five offensive plays - into touchdowns and rolled to a 41-7 victory that was all but over at the half. Led by a 14...
CLOVIS — The Clovis Community College Board of Trustees will be operating as a four-person unit for the foreseeable future, with the resignation of longtime District 2 representative Arnold Martinez. Trustees briefly discussed the resignation at their Wednesday meeting, and thanked Martinez for his long service. Martinez, who was serving as board secretary, resigned Aug. 16. According to a letter he sent to President Charles Nwankwo, Martinez is relocating and will no longer be in the district. “It has been a great and wor...
CLOVIS — Chase Gentry never stopped working, whether it was providing for a small family, putting himself through college or putting eastern New Mexico on the economic map. But those who knew him best said he usually found a way to be your friend above all. The longtime executive director of the Clovis Industrial Development Corporation left plenty of signs of his work, from the downtown shops in Portales to the Southwest Cheese plant on the edge of Curry County to the windmills that populate the farmlands of Grady. G...
CLOVIS - Martha Castillo brought out the joy in those who knew her. "Being around her, you were always laughing," said Tara Allen, a family friend. "She was always happy; a very joyful person." Clovis police said Castillo was killed Sunday night in a hit-and-run on the 2900 block of Thornton Street. Castillo, 68, died at the scene. A witness said Castillo was hit by a pickup, dark in color, as she attempted to cross the street. Allen said it was her understanding Castillo was...
ENMU named ‘veteran-friendly’ PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University announced Tuesday it has been recognized by U.S. Veterans Magazine as one of its Top Veteran-Friendly Schools for 2021. The school release said ENMU is one of less than 200 colleges nationwide and the only New Mexico school to receive the honor. “Eastern is proud of this recognition of our commitment to veterans and their families,” ENMU President Patrice Caldwell said. “We are proud to offer affordable education to the men and women who have served, giv...
CLOVIS — Curry County Events Center and Fairground Director K.C. Messick gave county commissioners the June financial report Monday, but ended up answering various questions on county fair expenses. Commissioner Chet Spear asked why the Grupo Mezcal band received $6,000 to play this year, along with six hotel rooms and a case of beer versus $3,500 in 2019. Messick said the higher contract, which was negotiated in 2020 before the fair was canceled due to the pandemic, required the band bring in its own audio equipment versus u...
CLOVIS — With what it could control regarding legalized cannabis, Curry County on Monday finalized an ordinance governing how establishments could operate in the county’s unincorporated areas. By a 3-1 vote, the commission agreed to require cannabis establishments to: • Be 300 feet or more from a school or daycare center • Be 1,000 feet or more from a church or house of worship, residence, public park, community center or government facility • Be 1,000 feet or more from other cannabis establishments • Operate from 10 a.m. to...
CLOVIS - Two prosecutors, a former district attorney and an attorney for the Ninth Judicial District were recommended Wednesday to fill the district's vacant judge position. Jake Boazman, Brett Carter, Ben Cross and Brian Stover had their names forwarded to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham following a day-long process that included 30-minute interviews with nine applicants and an hour-long deliberation session. The governor will have 30 days to fill the seat, which has been vacant...
CLOVIS — A former airman at Cannon Air Force Base was arrested Wednesday in connection with a May 29 crash at an apartment building that left its occupant dead. Gillian Sweeney, 74, was in her bedroom at the time of the crash on the 3400 block of Lore Street. Mathew Delaware, 22, of Cannon, was booked into the Curry County Adult Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon. He faces a charge of homicide by vehicle, a third-degree felony. Jason Sweeney, Gillian's son, said some portion of closure was delivered with the news Wednesd...
CLOVIS - As the Clovis Wildcats lined up for the 2-point conversion, two feelings overwhelmed the Leon Williams Stadium crowd. Excitement, for this play would decide whether El Paso Ysleta or Clovis would get its first win of the season. But maybe more powerful to some, the relief the Wildcats' decision spared everyone an overtime. A rush of Indians defenders forced Clovis quarterback Milo Acosta to throw long, and Ysleta left town with a 34-33 victory following a three-hour,...
CLOVIS — The museum serving as the legacy of former Clovis city employee Ardale “Pappy” Thornton may see new life under the umbrella of Curry County. County officials floated an idea about moving the contents of the museum at Ned Houk Park to a future county extension office at the Curry County Fairgrounds, and the reception was positive to the point officials with the city, county and High Plains Historical Foundation agreed to research how it could come to fruition. “I guess we’ve just formed a committee,” Assistant C...
PORTALES — The Portales City Council gave final approval Tuesday to an ordinance outlining cannabis establishments in city limits, following a discussion of how the city's mixed development makes a one-size-fits-all approach difficult. Discussion prior to the 7-0 vote covered about 45 minutes, half during a public hearing and half during council discussions on various amendments. City Attorney Stephen Doerr said the city could determine operation hours and distance requirements, and that's about it. “The bill itself is 172...
PORTALES - Given the realities of the last 18 months - a football regular season and two spring seasons lost to the COVID-19 pandemic, plus a new coach bringing in a markedly different offense - it's possible Eastern New Mexico's defense could have reported to campus Saturday morning and still held its own in that evening's scrimmage. So it was no shocker after two-plus weeks of fall practice to see the defense dominate the scrimmage at Greyhound Stadium, which hosted college...
SANTA FE — The Public Education Department announced Thursday that new guidance will not require schools to go into remote learning should the campus pick up four rapid responses inside 14 days, as was required last school year. Instead, the department plays to “work with schools to implement enhanced COVID-safe practice that will maintain in-person learning as much as possible.” Schools that collect multiple rapid responses within a 14-day period will still be posted on the state’s rapid response watchlist. A rapid respons...
PORTALES - With the fairground bleachers packed full of family and friends, buyers ready to make deals and the animals decorated with bows and sometimes glitter, the Roosevelt County Junior Livestock Sale made its return Friday after a one-year absence due to COVID-19. The sale raised $157,100 between the 53 entries, but sale organizers still hadn't counted the "add-on" dollars that generally come in through unspent buyer money, community members or simply relatives who want...
