Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Articles from the June 21, 2020 edition


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 25 of 40

  • Opinion: Please continue wearing masks

    Lance Pyle|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    Curry County is known as a community of family. Our citizens are there to assist families, friends and neighbors, or anyone in need of assistance. We, as county residents, have always shown how to step up and fight to protect our families, friends and community. Over the past several months, we, as a community, have endured many challenges due to COVID-19. With those challenges there has been much uncertainty. We have found ourselves wondering who to believe, what information is accurate; and through all of this uncertainty...

  • CHS holds broadcast graduation ceremony

    Kevin Wilson - Staff|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    CLOVIS - After 13 years of K-12 instruction, marked by a pandemic that moved schooling online in April, Clovis High School's class of 2020 met across town from their familiar campus for a commencement that was quite unfamiliar. Faith Christian Family Church was the site Friday night for an airing of a pre-recorded commencement of about 90 minutes, with an audience of the CHS seniors that met every requirement despite the interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students have...

  • Opinion: Every child should have father around

    Updated Jun 20, 2020

    My father’s mission was to tame the stupidity out of me — a powerful blessing too few children are experiencing now. My dad had his work cut out for him. Over the years, I shattered a picture window with a baseball, accidentally broke neighbors’ lamp posts and once hit a golf ball through a neighbor’s window (I mowed a lot of lawns to pay for the repairs). The high point of my stupidity occurred when I was 10. Too lazy to go upstairs to the kitchen to dispose of an apple core, I tossed it into the basement toilet. It produce...

  • Opinion: Suspect deaths not that common

    Michael Reagan|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    Everyone everywhere is demanding that we reform the police. Everyone everywhere is demanding that we have to root out the “systemic racism” in our police forces because it results in innocent blacks being treated unfairly and even killed. The demands for reforming, defunding and even disbanding our police are being driven by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. But despite the global reaction to the tragic dea...

  • Opinion: John Bolton's book is too little too late

    Updated Jun 20, 2020

    Oh, so now he tells us. John Bolton is telling us damning stuff about Trump that we already knew — and he’s doing it five months too late. Timing is everything in life and politics, and this guy’s could not be worse. That’s not to say that the morsels in his long-awaited memoir aren’t worth binging and purging. Trump, for instance, is so ignorant that he doesn’t know Finland and Russia are separate nations and that Britain is a nuclear power. But we’ve long known that Trump is ignorant. According to Bolton — veteran conserv...

  • Opinion: Social distancing hypocrisy alive

    Rich Lowry|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently had big news — the city is opening up its iconic Lakefront Trail after months of being closed off as part of a COVID-19 lockdown. That Lightfoot kept the trail closed even after Chicago had experienced large-scale Black Lives Matter marches — thousands during the “Drag March for Change” — is one small instance of the flagrant social distancing hypocrisy across the country in recent weeks. If it’s OK for throngs of people to pack the st...

  • Opinion: Supreme Court ruling is an important step

    Updated Jun 20, 2020

    Last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision confirming workplace civil rights for gay and transgender employees is an important step toward equality for all Americans. The court ruled 6-3 that discrimination based on sexuality or gender is unconstitutional under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. “An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex,” reads the decision written by Justice Neil Gorsuch. “Sex...

  • Curry employees potentially exposed

    the Staff of The News|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    CLOVIS — A Curry County employee was sent home from the county administrative complex Thursday, and four other county employees are under quarantine following notification of a potential COVID-19 exposure. According to County Manager Lance Pyle, county staff was informed of an employee exposed to COVID-19 at 4:15 p.m. The employee, who was asymptomatic, was instructed to leave work and contact the New Mexico Department of Health. The employee was tested Friday morning, Pyle said, and cannot return to work without a n...

  • Commission plans jail tour

    the Staff of The News|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    CLOVIS — The Curry County Commission is planning a tour of the renovated county detention center Wednesday morning, according to a county release. The 9 a.m. tour is closed to the public. The county release notes that although a quorum of commission members will attend the tour, no public policy will be formulated and a report will be made during the commission’s July 7 meeting. The renovation adds a 48-bed housing unit, two recreation yards and a medical unit covering 28,860 square feet. Other additions include a new sal...

  • Financial items on agenda

    the Staff of The News|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    PORTALES — The Roosevelt County Commission will tackle various financial items when it meets in regular session Tuesday morning. The 9 a.m. meeting at the Jake Lopez Building, located on the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds, is open. However, space is limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. The county recommends in-person attendance for people listed on the agenda or wishing to address the commission during the meeting’s public comment portion. The meeting will also be streamed live at youtube.com/channel/UC1bHc...

  • Clovis man dies after accident

    the Staff of The News|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    A Clovis man died Tuesday following a single-vehicle accident in Curry County. According to a news release from Sheriff Wesley Waller: • At 2:17 p.m. Tuesday, deputies were dispatched to a motor-vehicle crash on Curry Road G, between Curry Roads 7 and 8. • A 2007 Honda passenger vehicle, driven by Juan Medrano-Nieto, 32, of Clovis, was traveling south on Curry Road G. • Between Curry Road 7 and Curry Road 8, the vehicle crossed left of center and entered the northbound soft shoulder. The driver then overcorrected, causi...

  • Clovis police chief finalist for Burnet, Texas position

    the Staff of The News|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    Clovis Police Chief Doug Ford is one of four finalists for the police chief job in Burnet, Texas. Burnet City Manager David Vaughn said Friday that Ford and three others have interviews scheduled next week to oversee the department that employs 21 officers. Ford has been Clovis’ police chief since March of 2016. He’s worked for Clovis PD for 22 years. He said he has family in the Burnet area and decided to apply for the job when it came open. “I still enjoy serving and protecting our community,” Ford wrote in an email t...

  • Portales council holds meeting in person

    Peter Stein - Staff writer|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    PORTALES - Of anything that happened at Tuesday night's regular Portales City Council meeting, perhaps the most significant was the sign of some kind of normal. After months of Zoom and Facebook meetings, the council was finally back in a somewhat normal setting Tuesday - at the Memorial Building Auditorium at 200 E. Seventh St. Soon after the meeting began and the minutes of the last Zoom meeting on June 2 were approved, there came a bit of the bittersweet, as Mayor Ronald...

  • Clovis school board to hold final '19-20 meeting virtually

    the Staff of The News|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    CLOVIS — The Clovis Municipal Schools Board of Education will hold its final meeting of the 2019-20 school year Tuesday in virtual format. The 5:30 p.m. meeting will be held with Zoom meeting ID 81760486821 and password 550909. Agenda items include: • Reorganization of board officers. The board decided earlier in the year, based on a staff recommendation, to determine the board president, vice president and secretary along fiscal years instead of calendar years. • Resolutions regarding board member participation in procu...

  • Public record - June 21

    Updated Jun 20, 2020

    The following marriage licenses were recently issued at the Curry County clerk’s office: • Juan Carlos Baltazar, 20, and Mireya Isabel Chavez, 20, both of Portales • Matthew Thomas Stampfli, 42, and Heather Dawn Morris, 39, both of Canyon • Jude Gabriel Robles, 22, and Heaven Garcia Guerrero, 22, both of Clovis • Arron Kristian Mills, 45, and Heather Marie Hodges, 34, both of Clovis • Robert Joseph Sowinski, Jr., 26, and Taylor Leelynn Williams, 25, both of Clovis • Fernando Martez Brown, 27, and Melanie Gail Lheureux, 33,...

  • Senate: Law officers should wear cameras

    Albuquerque Journal|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    SANTA FE — The state Senate approved a proposal late Friday that would require law enforcement officers in New Mexico to wear cameras while on duty. The legislation, Senate Bill 8, would also direct the state to revoke the law enforcement certification of any officer convicted of unlawful use of physical force. The proposal passed the Senate on a 31-11 vote and now heads to the House for consideration. Supporters of the bill said it would add transparency to police work and help respond to the call for police reform after t...

  • Senate to consider civil rights commission

    Albuquerque Journal|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    SANTA FE — A proposal to create a nine-member state commission to study civil rights issues and identify possible legal changes is headed to the state Senate. After nearly three hours of far-ranging debate, the House voted 57-13 late Friday evening to approve the measure. Among the issues the proposed civil rights commission would be tasked with reviewing is qualified immunity, which is a legal doctrine in federal law that protects law enforcement officers from being held personally liable in most cases. House Speaker B...

  • Official: At least two more weeks before greater reopening

    Staff and wire reports|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s top medical official said Friday state officials are putting off for at least two weeks a plan for greater reopening of businesses and other activities. In recent days, state officials have re-evaluated whether to take the next step in the gradual relaxing of some business restrictions. New Mexico had a “major setback” in a surge of new virus cases recently, and the state’s intensive care beds “were more than 100% full,” said Dr. David Scrase, cabinet secretary for the state Human...

  • Fireworks funding sparks fireworks at meeting

    Kevin Wilson - Staff|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    CLOVIS — Just over two weeks before a July 4 fireworks display purchased with city and county funds is set to take place, there were some fireworks at the Clovis City Commission meeting. The Thursday meeting was held with public attendance for the first time since mass gathering restrictions went into place in mid-March. A total of 33 people were at the meeting, with audience chairs spaced six feet apart for social distancing. Hotel owner Danny Jariwala blasted the commission and city leaders for using lodgers’ tax funding to...

  • Pages past - June 21

    Updated Jun 20, 2020

    On this date ... 1970: Elvis Presley was starring in “Charro!” at the Tower theater in Portales. “On his neck, he wore the brand of a killer. On his hip, he wore vengeance,” read the promotional material. Showtimes ran from 1:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. The film was rated G, meaning it was recommended for all ages. A free cigar was being offered to dads from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. If dad wanted more movies after that, the Varsity drive-in offered a double feature: “Planet of Vampires” followed by “Night of the Living Dead.” Pages...

  • Former Clovis resident arrested on 2018 allegations

    the Staff of The News|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    CLOVIS — A former Clovis resident was arrested Tuesday on 2018 allegations of stealing from a family member. Sharmain Hunter, 44, of Las Vegas, Nevada, faces four felony counts of theft of identity and four charges — two felony, two misdemeanor — of fraudulent use of a credit card without consent of cardholder. After being arrested on a 2018 warrant Tuesday, Hunter was booked into the Curry County Adult Detention Center. She was released Thursday on a $5,000 surety bond. She’s due in Curry County Magistrate Court on July 2...

  • Events calendar - June 21

    Updated Jun 20, 2020

    Today • Father’s Day Tuesday • Clovis-Carver Public Library virtual summer reading program guest performer Will Parker — video performance available online beginning at 10 a.m. Information: Ashley Maestas at [email protected] or 575-763-9683 • Portales Public Library Virtual Summer Reading Program — Alchemy and Art: “Medieval Shields and Crowns” — 10:30 a.m., Portales Public Library Facebook page. Crafts/experiments for second-sixth graders. Materials available in advance for curbside pickup while supplies last. In...

  • Meetings calendar - June 21

    Updated Jun 20, 2020

    Meetings are subject to change due to coronavirus concerns Monday • City of Clovis Parks, Recreation, and Beautification Committee — 5:30 p.m., North Annex, Clovis-Carver Public Library, 701 N. Main, Clovis. Information: 575-763-9654 Tuesday • Roosevelt County Commission — 9 a.m., Jake Lopez Building, Roosevelt County Fairgrounds, 705 E. Lime, Portales. Livestream available at youtube.com/channel/UC1bHckYttNQnmm6ymJhWaXQ and a recording of the meeting will be saved as a public video and linked from the county website...

  • House Dems push through budget plan

    The Santa Fe New Mexican|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    SANTA FE — Over the objections of Republicans who wanted to cut more, House Democrats pushed through a scaled-back state budget to shore up a $2 billion budget shortfall caused by the pandemic and oil price crash that devastated state coffers. The House approved the roughly $7 billion budget in a 46-24 vote along party lines, with Republicans opposing the budget plan. In extended budget talks over the past several days, lawmakers continuously described the spending reductions as difficult decisions in the face of massive h...

  • Coronavirus delays new business

    Peter Stein - Staff writer|Updated Jun 20, 2020

    CLOVIS - The coronavirus, with all its dangers and restrictions, has even prevented people from being able to go out and enjoy a frosty cold one. Worse yet, in the case of Bandolero Brewery at 421 N. Main St. in Clovis, people have been denied the pleasure of watching their beer ferment right in front of them before it's poured into their glass and they knock it back. The micro-brewery, Clovis' first, was due to open in March. Then along came COVID-19. Andrew Logan,...

Page Down