Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Eastern New Mexico University junior Missy Kirkland releases a shot over Angelo State sophomore Kandra Lakey during the second half of Wednesday’s Lone Star Conference South Division matchup in Portales. (CNJ staff photo: Eric Kluth) PORTALES — In a game that could have been another low point in a season of valleys, the Zias refused to quit and earned a win that, at least to one player, is the highlight of the year. Held at arm’s length for most of the game against a team five spots ahead of them in the standings, the Eastern...
Federal deficits finally are getting action in Washington this year. President Bush attacked them in his State of the Union speech Jan. 31, calling for spending restraint. And Democrats are upset that President Bush’s 2003 tax cuts supposedly are not producing enough revenue and will mandate spending cuts in favored programs. “Democrats will fight the president’s anti-widow and anti-children agenda,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said last week. “After creating record deficits and debt with his budget-busting...
Pardon me if excitement is just oozing out of the column this week. It’s because I have become affiliated with this new ad agency in Ruidoso and we are planning a Grand Opening. It will be something. Bands, balloons, hot dogs, clowns walking on stilts, F-16 military jets thundering through the city’s skies and tipping their wings as they swoop down toward our office. You’re asking why would the New Mexico National Guard scramble its jets to help our ad agency? Simple. John Heaton. John Heaton is a state rep from Eddy Count... Full story
President Bush, during his State of the Union address, said, “America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.” I decided to check out “addiction” in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary and found: “compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.” Yesteryear, before it became popular for emotions...
Victoria Anne Pallaschke is a senior at the Clovis High School. She is the daughter of John and LaVonda Pallaschke. What is your idea of a perfect day? Laying out under the warm sun. Who’s invited to your fantasy dinner party, and why? One of my grandfathers because I never got to meet him and I would want to find try and find out everything about him. Who is your hero and why? My dad, because he’s taught me so much. What is your favorite smell? Fresh rain. What do you not like about school? Having to do homework. Honor rec...
Clovis High School senior Mary Cate Burns, right, receives help Wednesday from senior class councilor Diane Tunnell at the school. (Staff photo: Eric Kluth) Procrastination and college preparation don’t mix, according to many college officials. The bulk of college deadlines for the fall semester have already passed, college officials said. That includes most scholarship deadlines and most college application deadlines. Students should begin planning for college as early as their freshman year of high school, some college offi...
While it was unclear on Wednesday if lawmakers could agree on a bill to increase the minimum wage across New Mexico, the proposal could cost taxpayers more than $1 million — and that’s just counting employees of Clovis Community College and Eastern New Mexico University. Payroll at Clovis Community College will surge by $400,000 a year if the hourly minimum wage increases to $7.50 from $5.15, according to Vice President for Administration David Pacheco. To accommodate the budgetary increase, Pacheco said there might be a cut...
School board members showered Clovis Municipal School Superintendent Rhonda Seidenwurm with the equivalent of As and Bs in an evaluation of her performance completed late last month. The superintendent received a mean rating equivalent to an A- in the six-tiered evaluation, which measured her performance in 49 areas of responsibility. She rated highest in educational leadership and lowest in business and finance. Providing more evidence of their strong approval, board members extended Seidenwurm’s contract by two years. It w...
After almost two years commanding Cannon Air Force Base, Col. John Posner is leaving March 6 for the Pentagon, officials said this week. Posner has been commanding the base since April 2004, according to Lt. James Nichols of Cannon Public Affairs. Col. Scott West of Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany will take over when Posner leaves, Nichols said. “This is a normal process. About every two years we get a new commander,” Nichols said. West hasn’t arrived at Cannon yet, Nichols said. Posner will be missed, said Kim Huffm... Full story
Staff and wire reports The 9th Judicial District may soon have a new judge and the District Attorney’s office may add a prosecutor. Lawmakers gave final approval to a bill Wednesday that would allocate $2.2 million for seven new district judges throughout the state, according to The Associated Press. The new 9th Judicial District judge and staff would hold a principle office in Roosevelt County, and would be funded by $313,566, according to the bill. The office of Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matt Chandler may get approxi...
Jesse Wolfersberger On Jan. 31 the Portales Rams lost at Lovington 49-48. On Tuesday, the Rams toppled the Wildcats 55-36 at home. Portales coach Mark Gallegos said, sure, home court advantage played a part in the turnaround, but the real reason may have to do more with the players’ birth certificates. “That’s the way it is coaching 17 and 18 year old kids,” Gallegos said. “Week to week you never know what’s going to happen.” The Rams (12-11, 3-2 District 4-3A) will be looking for another reversal of fortune when they hos... Full story
The Eastern New Mexico University women’s tennis team has probably gotten its toughest Lone Star Conference opponent out of the way. Now the Zias will see what the rest of the conference looks like. ENMU lost to Abilene Christian 9-0 on Feb. 1 at Zia Tennis Complex. The Zias take on Western New Mexico at 1 p.m. Friday on their home court before hosting LSC foes Tarleton State and East Central on Saturday. “ACU’s always going to be tough, but I’m not sure what the other teams have,” said coach Christine Blaeser, in her 16th... Full story
We go through pain being born into this world. Many endure excruciating pain upon leaving it. Somewhere between these stages, we will have a brush with problems … mental, physical, and emotional. Love makes vulnerability. It takes risks. Reaching out with love may find rejection, abuse and scorn. I once heard it said if you never wanted to be hurt, move to a desert island and be a hermit the rest of your life. You may not be hurt by someone else, but neither would you be loved either. When I look at my beloved husband, c... Full story
Her slate blue eyes cast downward, Rhomylly Forbes evokes a rich, crisp sound from the concertina, a small instrument in the accordion family. This is how she meditates. “My mind cannot wander when I play (the concertina),” Forbes said. Every weekday after lunch, Forbes ascends by elevator to the top floor of an Eastern New Mexico University building. She passes through a narrow corridor and into a room about the size of a closet. Though designed as a practice space for university musicians, the room is ideal also, For...
The Associated Press SANTA FE — Lawmakers wrapped up 30 days of work Thursday without delivering on several of Gov. Bill Richardson’s key priorities. He called the session “disappointing” and said he would decide next week whether to call them back for a special session. Among the casualties: a minimum wage increase, a tax cut package, anti-corruption legislation, payday loan restrictions and highway funding. In a year when New Mexico’s oil and gas revenues provided an unprecedented surplus, it was “the least productive sessi... Full story
The Associated Press SANTA FE — Lawmakers approved a flurry of bills in the final hours of the session that ended Thursday, including a measure that would impact voters across the state by requiring all counties to use paper ballot systems. Voters would fill in spaces on the ballots for the candidates they wanted, then feed ballots into a tabulation machine. Gov. Bill Richardson advocated the system, saying it would help rebuild public confidence in elections. House Voters and Elections Chairman Edward Sandoval, D... Full story
Helena Rodriquez How stupid do they think I am? That’s what I ask myself when I get these annoying $5 or $10 checks in the mail from credit card companies, when I get e-mails saying I’ve won dinners at restaurants or gift certificates from department stores. And then there’s the e-mail I got this week that takes the cake. It’s not from the typical prince of Nigeria with all this wealth to give away. This one sinks to a new low as it targets Christians. This latest scam is from a so-called “born-again Christian” who says he... Full story
Out of a record $762 million in capital outlay approved for state projects, state legislators approved $6,743,000 in capital outlay for various projects in Portales and Roosevelt County as their 2006 budget session ended yesterday. Officials with Eastern New Mexico University, the City of Portales, Portales schools and Roosevelt County all said they were happy with the money tentatively allotted for their projects. Gov. Bill Richardson could veto some projects. He has until March 8 to do so. ENMU president Steven Gamble said...
Eastern New Mexico University freshman Joshua Jackson tries to get around Angelo State University’s Ronald Pittman during the first half of Wedneday’s Lone Star Conference South Division men’s game in Portales. (CNJ staff photo: Eric Kluth) PORTALES — After coming off the bench for a few games, Eastern New Mexico University junior forward Ira Cross got a chance to start again on Wednesday night. His friend, Donald Young, also made a notable appearance. The two former Alabama junior college rivals teamed up for 32 points... Full story
Editor’s note: The following is the first part in a question and answer series of candidates running in the municipal election on March 7. Candidates are asked questions regarding the city’s future. Incumbent Dianne Parker is running for re-election in Ward D and will be facing Eddy Hiner and Jim Lee. 1. In your view, what is the most pressing issue the Portales City Council is facing? Water is the first and foremost issue our community is currently facing for our future. It is vital and very important that we continue to... Full story
A glossy brochure peddling the assets of Cannon Air Force Base was issued to government agencies Thursday, according to the office of Sen. Pete Domenici, R.-N.M. The release marks the midway point in the search to find a new mission for Cannon. It is the fourth step in an eight-step process set forth by the Air Force Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office. That process is outlined in a fact sheet that accompanies the folding brochure. Also distributed to federal agencies Thursday were directions for...
At one point James McGowan wanted to be a stand-up comedian. He also considered careers in military and police work. But ultimately, he following a calling he received in first grade to become a priest. However, this was not before being a jack of all trades while he tried to figure out where he was going and if this calling was God’s will. He began the seminary at age 18, but then opted to go to college here at Eastern New Mexico University where he became a self-described party animal in the 1980s with the former Sigma Nu f...
