Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 49
PORTALES — The Eastern New Mexico softball team made a little bit of program history. And then they learned it. The question: When was the last time the Greyhounds swept rival West Texas A&M in a doubleheader? “Wow,” coach Kira Zeiter said shortly before giving up. Outfielder Jenny McElroy, with a nervous smile, responded with an unsure, “Never?” The answer: The Greyhounds started Wednesday afternoon’s twin bill with a 4-3 win for the first victory over the Lady Buffs since 20...
MELROSE — There’s that saying, ‘You can’t keep a good man down.’ In Saturday morning’s case, you could have also included women, teenagers and children to the phrase. In the common section of the main Melrose Public School building, a group of 20-plus Melrose basketball fans gathered on Saturday to watch the second-seeded Lady Buffaloes defeat top-seeded Logan for the state Class 1A championship. The Pit in Albuquerque was off limits to fans and any non-essential personnel tha...
Elementary and high schools are closed through April 5 in eastern New Mexico due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the campuses will still serve some functions, including meals for kids. Here is a rundown of school districts' plans as of Friday (Dora, Floyd, Grady and Texico school officials did not respond to questions from The News): Clovis All facilities will remain closed to the public. Additionally, all scheduled meetings and events are canceled (with the exception of a...
We are learning a new term this month called “social distancing.” I suggest that maybe what is really needed is probably “social media distancing.” Watching the stock market, I could tell early this week things were probably going to start to change in relation to the COVID-19 or coronavirus. I just didn’t realize the wheels were going to come completely off my little red wagon. With my job at the Chamber of Commerce I dutifully logged on and listened as the governor... Full story
I’ve been reading Erik Larson’s new book, “The Splendid and the Vile,” which chronicles the first year of Winston Churchill’s wartime stint as prime minister. He was a gifted rhetorician who used the power of words to move a nation. He combined grim candor with upbeat inspiration: “It would be foolish to disguise the gravity of the hour. It would be still more foolish to lose heart and courage.” What we’re saddled with today is precisely the opposite. Not Churchill at hi...
After years of Russia, Russia, Russia and a few months of Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, we now have another bunch of foreigners interfering in our presidential election. The difference is the Opposition Media welcomes this interference because of the damage it may do to President Trump’s re-election. While Russian interference was invisible and the results negligible, Chinese interference — while also invisible — has tangible results. The natural, catchy term for this interference would be the Chinese flu. It’s not entirel...
There’s a virus threatening the health of America, all right. But it’s not new, not from a foreign country and it’s not the coronavirus. The virus Americans need to fear the most today is the political left. The Pelosi-Schumer Democrats and their permanently distraught soulmates in the Trump-hating liberal mainstream media are trying harder than ever to hurt the president at every turn. The president has been doing his best to protect us from the coronavirus without sowing pan...
In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a gift to the idea of freedom of expression with its ruling in the New York Times v. Sullivan case. It is important to point out that the case could just have easily involved the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, the National Review or the Atlantic — any outlet that either reports news objectively or openly advances an opinion. Times v. Sullivan established that proof of libel against a public figure must demonstrate actual malice in the form of falsity and ...
Presidential candidates will likely be decided by then, but eastern New Mexico voters will still have work to do in the June 2 primary elections. Curry County has two contested elections and Roosevelt County has three, in addition to a crowded field in the U.S. Representative races. Curry County will have one contested race for a seat on the county commission as Republican candidates James D. Ridling and J. Albin Smith vie for Ben McDaniel’s spot representing District 2. McDaniel termed out this year, leaving the position up...
In building his own presidential campaign, Barack Obama’s vice president has made a subtle but important bet. Yes, Joe Biden has embraced ideas of the left that might have been too far of a reach for a general election voter not all that long ago. But his campaign has also been built on a bigger argument. And that argument is simply this: Important change, the kind of change that can be felt in real people’s lives, is not only possible within the structures of our current political system, working within the system is also pr...
The forecast is for coronavirus. So everyone's gone to the grocery store. "I'm not scared of the coronavirus thing, but I am taking certain precautions," said John Erdmann on Saturday as he searched among empty shelves at Clovis' Big Lots. "I think certain people might be going overboard, but I think we do need to be prepared." And prepare is exactly what many area residents are doing as local stores have seen an unexpected flood of shoppers stocking up on everything from...
Meetings are subject to change due to coronavirus concerns Monday • Portales Municipal Schools board special meeting — 9 a.m., Board Room, L.C. Cozzens Administrative Offices, 501 S. Abilene, Portales. Information: 575-356-7000 Tuesday • City of Clovis Water Policy Advisory Committee — 8:30 a.m., Clovis City Hall assembly room, 321 N. Connelly, Clovis. Information: 575-763-9654 • Curry County Commission — 9 a.m., Commission Chambers, Curry County Administration Complex, 417 Gidding St., Clovis. Information: Tanya Henderson a...
In wake of recent statewide coronavirus concerns, most gatherings at local senior centers have been canceled until further notice. Activities at Baxter Curren, La Casa and Los Abuelitos senior centers have been canceled until further notice. Friendship Senior Center, which houses the Curry Resident Senior Meals Association and offices for senior service personnel, will be open regular hours. City Manager Justin Howalt said the city will monitor attendance. Meals will not be served at the Portales Community Senior Center or...
SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday signed the $7.6 billion New Mexico state budget, according to a news release from her office. “This budget strikes an important balance — responsive and responsible, investing in the transformative changes that New Mexico needs while ensuring financial stability in the event of an economic downturn,” Lujan Grisham said in the release. According to the release: The budget for the year beginning July 1, 2020, includes 4 percent pay raises for most state employees, includi... Full story
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday vetoed about $150 million worth of “capital outlay” projects, but less than $3 million of that had been headed for eastern New Mexico. Lawmakers had approved the items, but the governor made line-item vetoes, “given the volatility in global oil markets and global economic uncertainty related to the COVID-19 outbreak,” according to a news release from her office. The $150 million in General Fund projects becomes available immediately to “bolster state reserves,” the governo... Full story
RUIDOSO — The next year at Eastern New Mexico University will be Jeff Elwell’s last. Elwell, the president of the Portales campus and chancellor for the university’s three-campus system, withdrew his request for a contract extension during Friday’s Board of Regents meeting at the ENMU-Ruidoso campus. Elwell plans to serve in his current roles no later than June 30, 2021. Elwell, who started as ENMU’s 11th president in July 2017, said he was unsure if he would simply retire, find a teaching position, be an administr...
CLOVIS - A second brother has been convicted of aggravated battery in connection with a 2018 attack, District Attorney Andrea Reeb announced in a news release. Clovis' Matthew Armendariz, 27, was found guilty Wednesday by a Curry County jury of aggravated burglary and aggravated battery, both felonies. Armendariz' brother, Eleazar Armendariz, was convicted in September for the same incident and sentenced to 18 months in prison. According to the DA's news release: On Dec. 2,...
With information often changing by the hour, area entities worked over the last few days implementing numerous procedures they hope will "flatten the curve" with the coronavirus pandemic. Cancellations, postponements, closures and extensions of breaks came from nearly everywhere, with the only certainty being that if your upcoming function had a chance to attract 100 people, it was postponed or canceled due to a state Department of Health order banning gatherings of 100 or...
CLOVIS - A Clovis woman has pleaded guilty to robbing an 88-year-old woman in a church parking lot. Jamie Salazar-Cadena, 36, pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to seven years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections, according to a news release from District Attorney Andrea Reeb. "In August ... an 88 year-old female was robbed at gun point by two females in the parking lot of a Clovis church. It was also discovered that the victim's debit card, which was in her purse...
ALBUQUERQUE — The Melrose Lady Buffs may have lost the season series to rival Logan, but they won the one that counted most on Saturday. Melrose rallied from a 3-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, scoring the game’s final eight points over the last three minutes to turn back the Lady Longhorns 47-39 in the Class 1A girls state championship game at The Pit on the campus of the University of New Mexico. In a game played with virtually no spectators due to cor...
PORTALES — Six Portales players were honored on the District 4-4A team, released by Portales coach Wade Fraze following the conclusion of the Rams’ season. The team included representatives from 4-4A members Portales, Goddard, Artesia and Lovington, but Portales was the only team with more than three players selected. Five rams were on the team — Taris Rippee, Teagan Faust, Riley Shillings, Kylyie Paden and Alexis Ryen. Kinzie Davis received an honorable mention. Selections for Lovington included district MVP Rylee Mapes...
CLOVIS — The close ones went Clovis High’s way, and the Wildcats pulled out a boys tennis dual victory on Tuesday at the CHS courts. Four of the Cats’ wins came in three sets, but it was enough to post a 6-3 victory over Roswell Goddard. Meantime, Goddard claimed a 5-4 win in the girls dual. Other than wins by senior David Heath at No. 1 singles and junior Brandon Heath’ at No. 2, the Cats needed to go the distance to turn back the Rockets in their first dual match of the season. “I’m pleased with the effort the boys gave, es...
TEXICO — Maybe if enough people cross their fingers, there will be a 2020 high school baseball season. Texico’s baseball team, a four-time defending state champion, must wish it were just that easy, wish that simply crossing fingers could make the coronavirus go away, and get life — along with the Wolverines’ quest for a fifth straight title — back on schedule. It there is a season, head coach Ty Thatcher thinks his team is built to contend for a fifth consecutive state crown. “Oh yeah, I think we can be at least as good as...
PORTALES — There they were, the Eastern New Mexico University women’s basketball players and coaches, hanging out together on campus Thursday afternoon, a day before they were supposed to visit Lubbock for a game against Texas A&M-Commerce in the NCAA Division II tournament’s opening round. There they were, Eastern New Mexico head track & field coach Jeff Kavalunas and Greyhound athlete Ivar Moinat, in Birmingham, Alabama, preparing for Moinat to compete in the NCAA Division II 800-meter run. But then came the annou...
CLOVIS — The close ones went Clovis High’s way, and the Wildcats pulled out a boys tennis dual victory on Tuesday at the CHS courts. Four of the Cats’ wins came in three sets, but it was enough to post a 6-3 victory over Roswell Goddard. Meantime, Goddard claimed a 5-4 win in the girls dual. Other than wins by senior David Heath at No. 1 singles and junior Brandon Heath’ at No. 2, the Cats needed to go the distance to turn back the Rockets in their first dual match of the season. “I’m pleased with the effort the boys gave, es...
