Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday issued an executive order “declaring an emergency due to the threat of riots and insurrection.” Executive Order 2021-002 takes effect immediately, and will remain in effect until rescinded. The order references the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that delayed Congress’s affirmation of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, and notes there is credible intelligence of similar riots at prominent government buildings in all 50 states before or on the day of Bi...
PORTALES — The new year was off to a busy start for the Roosevelt County Commission at their first meeting of 2021, with Rodney Savage welcomed to the commission and the commission unanimously declaring Roosevelt a pro-life county. During a presentation at Monday’s meeting, Right to Life volunteer Angie Smith asked commissioners for a formal declaration “in support of life” with Resolution 2021-08. The resolution, which essentially declared Roosevelt County against abortions and a sanctuary for the unborn, does not superse...
LAS CRUCES — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an alert on a pet food recall, with New Mexico among the states that received the products. According to the release, Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc., on Monday expanded a recall it first announced Dec. 30. The recall includes various products that contain corn and were made in the company’s Oklahoma manufacturing plant. The products in question may contain potentially fatal levels of aflatoxins. New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte encouraged consumers to check...
CLOVIS — A Portales man was killed in a Wednesday morning crash on N.M. 467, according to a release from the Curry County Sheriff’s Office. Travis Foster, 85, died at the scene of the crash at mile post 13. According to the CCSO release: • A 2018 Chevrolet Impala traveling west on N.M. 467 was driven by Sofie Ingram, 27, of Clovis. Foster was traveling in a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban traveling east. • The vehicles collided head-on, with a witness reporting the Suburban driven by Foster had crossed left of center several times p...
SANTA FE — The state’s newest data in its “Red to Green” framework has 31 of 33 counties still in the red, but 15 counties showing overall improvements on daily COVID-19 cases and test positivity. Curry County had 61.4 daily cases and 15.11% test positivity. Roosevelt County was at 62.4 cases and 19.27% test positivity. The state in December created framework for counties with three different sets of public health orders depending on whether the county met benchmarks of eight daily cases per 100,000 residents and 5% test posi... Full story
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Department of Health confirmed on Wednesday the state's first resident to test positive for the B117 variant of COVID-19, according to a DOH release. The subject is a male in his 60s who is associated with travel to the United Kingdom last month. A mild illness was reported, with no hospitalization required. As of the time of the release, the DOH had not identified any close contacts within the state. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported Monday 72 known cases of the coronavirus variant in 1... Full story
Booked The following were booked into local jails (Friday-Tuesday): Clovis • Gabriel Morin, 41, battery against a household member • Jaden Baldwin-Carr, 22, assault, criminal damage to property • Jasmen Thoe, 31, expired registration plate, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, driving while license suspended or revoked • Jesus Bustamante, 30, failure to appear on a felony charge • Nicole Barela, 37, concealing identity, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge • John Dillon, 33, careless driving, receiving s...
I’m writing this column on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. That matters. I don’t know if henceforth all one will have to do is say “1/6” to bring forth images of a terrible assault on our nation; probably not, but I hope we never forget the assault and its lessons. “December 7, 1941: a date which will live in infamy,” does that for many of us. For many more of us, “9/11” does the same thing. I wasn’t alive in 1941, but I can imagine how Dec. 7 and 8 must have felt. I’ve seen videos...
When my mother arrived in New Mexico as a bride in 1957, she brought two items that I doubt were in many ranch homes at that time: a pair of ice skates and a set of snow skis. She was a native of Ohio, a state where snow can endure for months on end. She had also spent the previous three years in Japan where the extremely favorable (at the time) exchange rate let her hit the slopes almost every weekend. It is reasonable to say that she welcomed snow in eastern New Mexico with...
Are you prepared enough? No, you aren’t. Neither am I. It’s a trick question. There is no such thing as being prepared enough. Recent events in Washington, D.C. — the “District of Criminals” — should have motivated you to be ready for whatever happens next. Politics is a virus more dangerous than COVID-19 ever was. I don’t agree with or support any of the sides in the Jan. 6 Expedition to Congress. All sides seem to be in a cult — they only fight over which Dear Leader des...
Yvette Herrell got more votes than Xochitl Torres Small in the 2nd Congressional District, but since I voted for Torres Small I don’t think I’ll accept the results. That may sound anti-democratic, but hey, I’m just following Herrell’s lead. After all, when Torres Small beat her in 2018, Herrell rejected the results, and now that Joe Biden won the presidency she’s doing it again. Herrell is acting just like Donald Trump, denying reality because it doesn’t give her the power she craves. Damn right that’s anti-democrat...
Dozens of pro-democracy politicians and activists in Hong Kong were rounded up around dawn last Wednesday as the U.S. Congress was preparing for a contentious fight over the Electoral College vote — a fight that would soon prompt a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters to storm the United States Capitol. The timing of the arrests was not coincidental. While our nation has been mired in political gridlock and dysfunction, authoritarians around the world have gleefully exploited the absence of American leadership as an opp...
CLOVIS — A Curry County man is in the middle of an unusual property battle with Catron County that has stretched for nearly four years. Greg Nash, who lives north of Ranchvale, owns about 280 acres of mostly farmland in Catron County, which is in western New Mexico. Less than a fifth of an acre is at dispute. A Thursday hearing, Nash concedes, is likely his final legal maneuver remaining, “but you never know.” Nash contends a man who claimed to own the disputed small parcel fraudulently sold it to Catron County, which then co...
CLOVIS — If you live in New Mexico, you’re more likely than residents of 48 other states to have your car stolen someday. Fortunately, it’s not quite as likely if you live in eastern New Mexico. A look at five years of auto theft numbers from around the country, performed by CarInsuranceComparison.com, ranked the Land of Enchantment third in its study at 531 stolen cars a year per 100,000 residents. The numbers, compiled from calendar years 2014 to 2018, indicate the highest area of vehicle theft comes from Washington, D.C....
CLOVIS — A Clovis man was arrested Monday on allegations of repeated sexual activity with a 9-year-old girl. Jorge Delavega, 41, remains in the Curry County Adult Detention Center on 11 counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor, two counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor and intimidation of a witness. Delavega made his first appearance Monday afternoon in Curry County Magistrate Court. According to a criminal complaint filed in magistrate court: • The Clovis Police Department responded to a call at Plains Reg...
CLOVIS — The city of Clovis is seeking a citizen representative on its Water Policy Advisory Committee, according to a city release. The committee meets on the second Tuesday of each month to make recommendations to the Clovis City Commission regarding water related matters and conservation. Applications are available at the city manager’s office, and will be accepted up to 5 p.m. Jan. 29. The city commission will appoint a member from the field, most likely during its Feb. 4 meeting. Information: 575-769-...
CLOVIS — Construction on a new water main next week will require closure of a portion of Echols Avenue for three weeks, according to a city release. J&H Services will begin the work Monday, and close the portion of Echols between Sandia and Starlite drives to through traffic. Access will be provided to residents on Echols during the three weeks of work. Motorists are asked to watch for traffic control devices and remain clear of the construction area. Information: J&H, 505-896-9428; or the city of Clovis, 5...
ALBUQUERQUE — The State Bar of New Mexico is offering a consumer debt and bankruptcy workshop virtually Jan. 27, according to a bar release. The two-hour workshop will begin at 6 p.m. on Zoom. The meeting ID is 876 6283 5113, with passcode 995637. At the workshop, an attorney will give a group presentation on bankruptcy. After the presentation, one-on-one free consultations will be given by phone to people that registered in advance. To register or for other information, call 505-797-6094....
On this date … 1931: Hundreds of family and friends had packed Clovis’ First Methodist Church, leaving the balcony and vestibule overflowing, to say goodbye to Walter Stalcup, 45. Stalcup was well known throughout the community, serving almost 20 years as manager of the Barry Hardware Co. Officials said he took his own life, a bullet from a pistol piercing his heart. Funeral services were conducted by the National Guard. Stalcup was a veteran of World War I. 1956: The Gri...
CLOVIS — The Pentagon Federal Credit Union, generally known as PenFed, will close its Clovis branch on Friday. The Clovis location had been operating as drive-through only due to the pandemic, and will continue to do so until Friday. Those who have accounts with PenFed will still have access to them online and at local ATM locations after the closure. No official statement of closure had been issued on the PenFed website or on the branch’s Facebook page. The only indication of closure previously was on the PenFed loc...
PORTALES — The Portales Municipal Schools Board of Education took about 30 minutes in December to evaluate Superintendent Johnnie Cain in closed session. It appears the time was positive, as board members took just over a minute Monday night on a one-year extension to Cain’s contract through the 2023-24 school year. “I’d like to commend Mr. Cain for a job well done,” board member Rod Savage said before the 5-0 vote. “We’re fortunate to have him.” Cain’s salary for that year will be determined during the budget process, m...
When the state posts its “Red to Green” county gating material today, it is anticipated both Curry and Roosevelt counties will remain in the red. But both counties are showing improvements in test positivity. The state in December created public health restrictions at three levels, depending on whether a county was in the red, yellow or green zones. The designations were given based on benchmarks of 8 daily cases per 100,000 residents and test positivity at 5% or below over a two-week data collection period. Counties are gre...
CLOVIS — With a little bit of disagreement, and some degree of concession, Curry County Commissioners transitioned into 2021 year with a new chairman and one new commissioner aboard. The commission’s Tuesday meeting, which stretched just over 90 minutes, featured a dispute at the beginning and near the conclusion. With former chair Ben McDaniel no longer on the commission — he termed out, and James Ridling was elected to replace him — the first act by Vice Chair Seth Martin was to field candidates for the new chairma...
Eastern New Mexico received some much-needed moisture this past weekend. Snowfall reports from the National Weather Service in Albuquerque show areas in Curry County receiving 0.5 to 2.8 inches, and in Roosevelt County 0.2 inches to 2.5 inches. Saturday saw a high of 33 degrees in Clovis, with temperatures dipping to 27 degrees Sunday morning and peaking at 30 degrees that evening. The winter storm began with reports of heavy freezing drizzle and fog rolling in Saturday...
