Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Public school officials representing more than 50 districts, including Clovis, Portales and most in eastern New Mexico, have filed a lawsuit against the state Public Education Department. They’re asking a court to halt the 180-instructional day mandate imposed in March. The lawsuit, filed April 18 in Curry County by the New Mexico School Superintendents Association and individual superintendents, comes as schools across the state attempt to draft budgets and academic calendars for next year — a process complicated by the new...
Jaremy Alexander Smith, a man suspected of killing a New Mexico State Police officer early Friday, was apprehended Sunday by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office following a pursuit and a shooting by deputies that left him injured. Smith, 32, of Marion, S.C., is accused of fatally shooting Officer Justin Hare on Interstate 40 near Tucumcari after Hare had offered to assist him with a flat tire, authorities said. State Police issued an arrest warrant charging Smith with first-degree murder and armed robbery, among several o...
School superintendents across New Mexico are considering a lawsuit against the state’s Public Education Department. The mission is to prevent PED from implementing its 180-day rule set to go into effect with the 2024-2025 school year, Clovis Superintendent Renee Russ said last week. Clovis’ school board on Tuesday night was expected to consider a resolution supporting Russ’ joining the New Mexico School Superintendents Association’s opposition to the 180-day rule. The resolution calls for “a Legal Defense Fund … in their ef...
New Mexico is the deadliest state for pedestrians, according to rankings by the Governors Highway Safety Association. It’s been that way since 2016, and the most recent GHSA preliminary report, released late last month, has New Mexico ranked No. 1 for 2023 as well. The Albuquerque area was deadlier than ever for those on foot last year, with drivers striking and killing a record 56 people and surpassing the previous record of 49 in 2021. And Clovis is trending with the state’s largest city. Clovis Police Department rec...
SANTA FE -- The state Public Education Department announced Thursday it will enact a rule requiring 180 instructional days at schools, a plan that has drawn ire from teachers, administrators and lawmakers throughout the state. The version approved by the agency allows exemptions for schools with four-day weeks, early college high schools, and districts and charter schools with significant growth in reading proficiency rates. “We’ve had it with being the last and the worst performing state in the union,” Public Education Secre...
Wildfires continued to engulf the Texas Panhandle and parts of Oklahoma on Friday as officials were concerned warming temperatures and growing winds could elevate fire conditions through the weekend. The Smokehouse Creek fire, which ignited Monday, has burnt through more than 1 million acres becoming the largest wildfire in state history. The fire - which grew in size after merging with a smaller 687 Reamer fire ― is among the largest in the Lower 48 since record-keeping b...
Some of New Mexico’s prominent business leaders – including some in eastern New Mexico -- still oppose a bill that would provide employees with paid leave for self or family medical needs. That’s despite lawmakers’ efforts to make it more palatable this legislative session. “I’m working on our legislative priorities sheet today,” said Portales Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karl Terry on Monday. “Opposing paid family medical leave will be at the top unless it’s greatly different from last year. I haven’t heard of...
Some Democratic lawmakers hope their persistence in trying to push through a green amendment will pay off in the upcoming legislative session and allow voters to decide in November whether to make a clean, healthy environment a constitutional right in New Mexico. The sponsors of the proposed amendment think a fourth attempt at passage could see success, even if the 2024 session is only 30 days, creating a narrow funnel that allows only a fraction of competing bills and measures to pass. Some local Republicans hope the plan...
David L. Norvell, a former New Mexico attorney general who in 1969 became the youngest-ever speaker of the state House of Representatives, died Thursday at age 88. Norvell died after a lengthy illness at his home in Albuquerque “embraced by his family and loved ones,” according to a statement issued by the New Mexico House Democrats. The Clovis attorney was first elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives in 1962 and served four terms before stepping down in 1970. He was elected House speaker in 1969 at age 34. A Cur...
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – 'Tis the season for broncs and bulls, riding and roping. The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is back. The 65th NFR is celebrating its 38th year in Vegas. It begins Thursday and lasts through Dec. 16 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Clovis native Shad Mayfield has qualified again in tie-down roping. He comes in with $206,603 in prize money for the year, second only to Riley Webb of Denton, Texas, who has earned $280,404. This is Mayfield's fifth consecutive s...
When the state Legislature meets again in January, one issue it’s expected to consider is public records access. Eddy County officials said this month the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act will be a legislative priority for the New Mexico Association of Counties. “We have 60 to 70 active (IPRA) requests per day,” said Eddy County Manager Roberta Gonzales. “The complexity of them is a lot. One of them could be 50 hours of video footage the staff are looking through and redacting.” Eddy County has three full-time employe...
SANTA FE – Legislation that would ensure earlier parole hearings for teenagers convicted of first-degree murder passed the House on Monday and is on the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The House voted 37-25 along partisan lines to approve Senate Bill 64, which entitles children convicted before they are 18 to a parole hearing - and, potentially, parole - after 20 or 25 years in prison, depending on the initial sentence. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, was among those opposing t...
New Mexico agricultural producers have seen a decline in cash receipts and income since 2019, according to the latest agricultural statistics published by ag agencies. the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Statistics Services of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When compared to 2020, though, state total agricultural productivity grew about 5% in 2021, according to New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture Jeff Witte in his introductory letter to the 2021 New Mexico Statistics Bulletin. “New Mexico a...
The city of Clovis is looking for individuals to fill openings on two of the city’s boards. According to a news release from the Clovis city manager’s office, the city is looking for a utility representative (i.e. gas, electric, water and telecommunications) to serve on the Economic Incentive Board (EIB). The city also has a vacancy for a city resident to serve on the Clovis-Carver Public Library Board. Those interested should contact the city manager’s office at 575-763-9654 or email: [email protected] . Appli...
ALBUQUERQUE — Clovis native Raul Rosas Jr. made history on Saturday night as the 18-year-old became the youngest fighter ever to win a UFC fight. The former Clovis resident dominated his opponent, Jay Perrin, into submission during the first round of their featherweight fight. “Man, this is crazy, but I knew I was going to be here at this age,” said Rosas Jr., currently a high school senior in Las Vegas, Nevada. “So right now I’m just living the dream. “I had no nerves, no pressure, felt free. I’m doing what I love to do. A...
Andrea Reeb, who headed the Clovis-area District Attorney’s Office for eight years, has been named a special prosecutor in the investigation into last year’s fatal shooting on the Rust movie set south of Santa Fe. Reeb, who retired from the 9th Judicial District earlier this year after about 25 years as a prosecutor, was added to the team to expedite the review process, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis said in a statement. Authorities say a prop revolver wielded by Hollywood star and Rust producer Alec Baldwin dis...
Twenty five years ago this month marked the end of the five-and-dime era: F.W. Woolworth's called it quits after more than a century. The once mighty retail pioneer announced on July 17, 1997, that its 400 remaining stores, a fraction of what it operated in its glory days, would close for good. In the pre-Dollar General era, Woolworth's dotted the nation and four continents with stores and famed lunch counters. Woolworth's opened its first 5-cent stores in Utica, N.Y., and...
A New Mexico native and former Eastern New Mexico University player and coach has been hired as Clovis High School’s new head football coach. Andrew McCraw, 35, a native of Lovington, accepted the position effective July 1, according to a news release from Clovis schools. McCraw most recently was head coach at Belen High School last year where he led the team to a 7-4 record and a brief playoff run. McCraw was offensive line coach and academic coordinator at ENMU from 2017 t...
Much of New Mexico has been on fire this month, and firefighters continue preaching to anyone who will listen – one spark can set off a massive blaze. “The grassland wildfires right now just have us on edge,” Clovis Fire Chief Mike Nolen said Tuesday. “There is no humidity, the fuel loads are all high. As soon as we get a report, we’re throwing everything we’ve got at it. I’m praying for rain every day.” All around the state, it’s the firefighting equivalent of Whack-a-Mole. Though crews continued to gain ground on four bl...
The news of New Mexico state police pay raises is apparently having a ripple effect across the state. The effect on local law enforcement was mentioned at the most recent Curry County Commission meeting. A report has come from the western side of the state in Grant County that during an April 14 regular meeting of the Santa Clara trustees, district 39 state Representative Luis Terrazas spoke about raises in State Police salaries. Terrazas expressed support for the State Police, but highlighted the “unintended c...
Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a disaster declaration for 16 Texas counties where severe storms swept through Monday, tearing open schools and leveling homes. A least one person, a 73-year-old Grayson County woman, died and more than a dozen, including 10 in Grayson County, were injured, The Associated Press reported. The first significant weather event of the spring also dropped nearly 6 inches of snow across parts of the Texas Panhandle and left eastern New Mexico wet and windblown. Monday and Tuesday saw wind gusts in the...
Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin was convicted Tuesday of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. A federal judge, however, acquitted Griffin on charges he engaged in disorderly conduct during the riot in which supporters of President Donald Trump attempted to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election win. Sentencing is scheduled June 17. Griffin faces a maximum of one year in prison. Griffin’s trial in Washington, D.C., was the second held in connection with the siege. Ear...
Clovis and Portales public school graduation rates improved in 2021 and both had higher rates than the state average. That’s according to statistics released this week by the New Mexico Public Education Department. In Clovis, the four-year graduation rate among high school seniors was 77.9% in 2021, compared to 70.4% in 2020. In Portales, the rate improved to 82.1% from 78.3%. Texico, Melrose and Floyd also saw rate increases. Grady, Elida and Dora rates decreased slightly, but all remained well above the statewide a...
Wintry weather will persist throughout New Mexico this week, with several storm systems that could bring rain, snow, wind and extremely cold temperatures. Clay Anderson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque, said winds will be the major concern today. “Because of that, especially across eastern New Mexico, we could see some critical fire weather conditions,” Anderson said. Today’s high temperature in Clovis-Portales is expected to top out near 60, with wind gusts up to 40 mph. A stron...
SANTA FE -- District Attorney Andrea Reeb was optimistic a month ago, hopeful that New Mexico lawmakers would be cracking down on crime this legislative session. More than halfway through the 30-day session, she’s now frustrated. “Nothing is happening. Nothing is getting through,” she said Tuesday. Lawmakers, in the face of rising violent crime across the state, last month introduced multiple bills aimed at reducing that crime, including pretrial detention issues and eliminating a statute of limitations for secon...
