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Articles from the August 9, 2020 edition


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  • CCC holding off on in-person instruction

    the Staff of The News|Updated Aug 9, 2020

    CLOVIS — During the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools at all levels in New Mexico are holding off on in-person instruction. Add Clovis Community College to that list. The college plans to offer all academic classes online in the fall when the semester begins Aug. 24, and hopes to offer face-to-face classes in the second eight-week period that begins Oct. 19. Robin Jones, vice president for academic affairs, told The News in late July that CCC hoped to move forward with hybrid and mixed modality classes, but testing waits of s...

  • Pages past - Aug. 9

    Updated Aug 9, 2020

    On this date ... 1975: He was a self-described workaholic. The Portales News-Tribune also reported he was a hang glider, chain smoker, avid golfer and Portales’ new city manager. “At this point, I’m largely listening and observing,” Basil B. West told reporter Joanne Ray. West had been on the job about a week and had already spent a day with city garbage collectors, met with Fire Chief Curley Smith, rode with a policeman on patrol and inspected work at the city cemetery. “You can be part of a bureaucracy,” West told the ne...

  • Jail log - Aug. 9

    Updated Aug 9, 2020

    Booked The following were booked into local jails (Tuesday - Friday): Clovis ∞ Amber Vargas, 23, child abuse - intentional ∞ Joshua Chavez, 20, child abuse - intentional ∞ Jacqueline Ford, 33, concealing identity, driving while license suspended or revoked, no insurance, expired registration plate, failure to obey traffic control devices, failure to appear on misdemeanor charge ∞ Adrian Favela, 34, probation violation, criminal damage to property ∞ Raymond Pelle, 35, battery ∞ Desmond Engel, 18, failure to appear on misdemean...

  • Public record - Aug. 9

    Updated Aug 9, 2020

    The following marriage licenses were recently issued at the Curry County clerk’s office: • Rodney Taylor MacClain, 37, and Ashley Lynn Klinger, 26, both of Taiban • Aaron David Rowe, 27, and Alyssa Kay Chmielowiec, 30, both of Canyon • Sean Michael Alton Richie, 32, and Misty Chyann Boston, 28, both of Clovis • Gregory Scott Shuler, 22, and Preslyn Grace Tenorio, 19, both of Clovis • Angelo Alan Lopez, 19, and Aurora Jasmine Dominguez, 20, both of Clovis • Juan Antonio Mendoza Valdez, 33, and Maria Luisa Lua Ayala, 41, bo...

  • Where have you people been?

    Lily Martin, Staff writer|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    CLOVIS - Jerrica missed us. So did Jo. They seemed thrilled Hillcrest Park Zoo is open to visitors again for the first time since March, according to zoo clerk Mary-Lou McAnulla. "Jerrica, our younger giraffe who is basically just a giant golden retriever, she missed the interaction," McAnulla said. "Jo, our chihuahua raven - the one who says 'Hang man's coming' and talks to everyone - noticed because there's nobody for her to play with." More than 500 people came to visit...

  • Menus - Aug. 9

    Updated Aug 8, 2020

    Curry Resident Senior Meals Association 901 W. 13th St., Clovis 575-762-9405 All meals served with 2% milk and tossed salad w/dressing Monday: Sausage, sauerkraut, black-eye peas, cornbread, pudding w/fruit Tuesday: Hot chicken sandwich, tater tots, bbq beans, fruit salad Wednesday: Beef lasagna, green beans, garlic toast, peaches Thursday: BBQ chicken, scalloped potatoes, broccoli & cauliflower, dinner roll w/margarine, spiced apples Friday: Taco salad w/fixings, tortillas chips, pinto beans, pears Friendship Senior Center...

  • Former Parkview being demolished

    the Staff of The News|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    CLOVIS - The Clovis school district is saying good-bye to its former Parkview Elementary, the last project on a summer session that saw about $1.6 million in work. John King, deputy director of operations for Clovis Municipal Schools, anticipated the demolition work that began Monday would take four to five weeks. The district opened a new Parkview building last year a few blocks east at 2501 14th St. The district attempted to find alternate uses for the facility on the 1100...

  • Clovis approves CARES Act fund request proposal

    Kevin Wilson, Editor|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    CLOVIS — If the city of Clovis were tasked to spend more than $8.5 million, the Clovis City Commission would likely take hours to go over the details. When the city’s asking for that money, on the other hand, the meeting lasts around 25 minutes. The commission by a 7-0 vote Thursday approved a funding proposal seeking $8.53 million in CARES Act funding from the state. The application for the $150 million the state seeks to distribute was due the following day. “Some money will be awarded,” Mayor Mike Morris said, “hopefu...

  • Information on learning styles, writing ahead on show

    Sheryl Borden|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    Information on learning styles and writing, lactose intolerance and creating beautiful centerpieces will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and noon Thursday (all times Mountain). Writing coach and author Annalisa Parent says that many creative types experience frustration when their creativity won’t go in the direction they want it to. She’ll talk about learning styles, working in a “writing gym” environment and give examples of how to make writin...

  • On the shelves - Aug. 9

    Updated Aug 8, 2020

    The following books are available for checkout at the Clovis-Carver Public Library: “The Girls” by Abigail Pesta. We think of Larry Nassar as the despicable sexual predator of Olympic gymnasts — but there is an astonishing, untold story. For decades, in a small-town gym in Michigan, he honed his manipulations on generations of aspiring gymnasts. Kids from the neighborhood. Girls with hopes of a college scholarship. Athletes and parents with a dream. For the first time, these brave women describe Nassar's increasingly bold pre...

  • Lucky in the path that led me to the newsroom

    Karl Terry, Local columnist|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    Some of the best advice I ever received about writing was not to write the same way I talk. Considering the people, the fellow offering the advice and I, it was good advice because we both talked like dirt farmers. That’s because that’s how we grew up. It’s not that what Mrs. Gilbert taught us in English class didn’t stick; it was just that the way we spoke around the crowd we hung out with determined whether or not we were accepted. I know from my grade Mrs. Gilbert thought...

  • Rock hounds

    Alisa Boswell-Gore, Correspondent|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    Most people end up collecting one thing or another in their lifetime - coins, stamps, shot glasses; the list goes on. What most people don't do is go to the desert or mountains to dig up what they collect. But that's exactly what Marge Chalker and Frank Engel do. The friends began their crystal-seeking adventures in the spring of 2015 at Sweet Surrender Crystal Mine in Story, Arkansas. "We found our first crystal, and we were hooked," Engel said. "It kind of gets ya," Chalker...

  • Former deputy indicted

    the Staff of The News|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    PORTALES — A former Roosevelt County sheriff’s deputy on Friday was indicted on allegations of receiving stolen property. Christopher F. McCasland, 34, of Portales is accused in connection with the theft of a television set and other items from Colfax County. McCasland was a law officer in Colfax County at the time of the thefts and “had even taken the report of the burglary where the property was stolen,” according to a news release from District Attorney Andrea Reeb. McCasland is charged with receiving stolen propert...

  • Pair of fires Friday, Saturday

    the Staff of The News|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    CLOVIS — The Clovis Fire Department battled a pair of fires Friday night and Saturday morning. Battalion Chief David Burress said the department received a call about 10:30 p.m. Friday for a fire at the landfill. Burress said the department knocked the fire out within two hours, and probably won’t be able to determine the cause. Then about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, the department responded to a house fire at 509 Merriwether. The department knocked out the fire within about five minutes, but Burress said there wasn’t much activ...

  • Curry seeking public input

    the Staff of The News|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    CLOVIS — Curry County is seeking public input on its Infrastructure and Capital Improvement Plan, according to a county release. The county will hold a public meeting via Zoom at 4 p.m. on Aug. 19. Anybody interested in participating or submitting a project can contact Facilities Superintendent Ben Roberts at [email protected] or at 575-763-6016. The ICIP is a list of infrastructure projects entities submit to the state to be eligible for capital outlay. Projects on ICIP plans can include but are not limited to d...

  • NM coronavirus average number of cases drops

    Staff and wire reports|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    New Mexico’s average number of coronavirus cases has dropped dramatically in the past week — from 330 to about 200, records show. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham described the trend as strong progress toward reducing the prevalence of the disease, though she said late last week it’s too early to substantially relax the state’s business restrictions. Locally, Curry County extended its number of consecutive days with at least one positive case to 57. Curry County averaged 11.4 new cases per day last week, but Roosevelt, Parmer...

  • NCAA cancels championships

    the Staff of The News|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA Division II Presidents Council on Thursday officially canceled all seven of its fall sports championships, “due to the operational, logistical and financial challenges represented by the COVID-19 pandemic.” The council was directed by the NCAA Board of Governors to make a decision on fall sports championships and create directives regarding resocialization principles and lowered sponsorship thresholds. In the council’s judgment it was not feasible to either hold the championships as planned or postpon...

  • In tribute: Bill Odegaard put painstaking detail into his work

    Kevin Wilson, Editor|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    CLOVIS - How exactly did a man who grew up in a house without electricity or running water - and whose education ended after 10th grade - end his life with a multi-generation business halfway across the country? It's because Bill Odegaard, family members and friends said, worked hard, did things the Christian way and gave painstaking detail to the automobiles he fixed and the people who owned them. Odegaard, whose eponymous auto repair shop has been a Clovis fixture for nearly...

  • Opinion: A vacation might do you good

    Michael Reagan, Syndicated columnist|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    At this writing, I’m happy to report I haven’t heard Nancy Pelosi’s name in five days. I haven’t heard President Trump accused of being responsible for 159,000 COVID-19 deaths since last week. And I don’t even know if Portland was burned to the sidewalks last weekend by its permanent mob of “peaceful protesters.” I’m not in heaven. I’m in Newport Beach in a rented house by the sea. My wife, kids and I are taking boat trips to watch the whales, cooking fancy meals for ourselv...

  • Opinion: Harris has constitutional problems

    Rich Lowry, Syndicated columnist|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    Last year, Sen. Kamala Harris may have become the first presidential candidate in history to laugh derisively at the idea that the Constitution limits what a president can do. When former Vice President Joe Biden said her plan for gun control by executive fiat didn’t pass constitutional muster, she scoffed and deployed one of her canned one-liners, “I would just say, ‘Hey, Joe, instead of saying no we can’t, let’s say yes we can!’” Yes, we can — flippantly blow by the con...

  • Opinion: News consumers ultimately decide best place for news

    David Stevens, Publisher|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    Social media platforms are engaged in censorship. (Insert shocked face here.) The high-profile target last week was the president of the United States. The president’s re-election campaign posted a video in which Donald Trump claimed that children are “almost immune” from the coronavirus. Facebook and Twitter said that statement is not true and so they removed the post. We can argue all day whether children are “almost immune” from the virus because we can argue all day about...

  • Meetings calendar - Aug. 9

    Updated Aug 8, 2020

    Meetings are subject to change due to coronavirus concerns Monday • Portales Municipal Schools board — 6 p.m., Board Room, L.C. Cozzens Administrative Offices, 501 S. Abilene, Portales. The meeting is open to the public through live webcast found on the Portales Municipal School District website: http://www.portalesschools.com. (Scroll to webcasts.) Information: 575-356-7000 Tuesday • Roosevelt County Commission — 9 a.m., Jake Lopez Building, Roosevelt County Fairgrounds, 705 E. Lime, Portales. Meeting will be livestr...

  • Events calendar - Aug. 9

    Updated Aug 8, 2020

    Monday • Curry County Expo Dairy Heifer Show — Kevin Roberts outdoor arena, Curry County Fairgrounds, 1900 E. Brady Ave., Clovis. 7 a.m., gates open; noon, entry deadline; 4 p.m. dairy show begins. All animals must be taken home after completion of the show. Attendance limited to exhibitors, parents, and siblings. Information: Curry County Extension Office at 575-763-6505 • Free preschool screening clinic — 9 a.m.-noon, Grady Municipal Schools, 100 Franklin St., Grady. Sponsored by Regional Education Cooperative #6 and ope...

  • More parents consider homeschooling

    Lily Martin, Staff writer|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced thousands of New Mexico parents to consider homeschooling this fall. That’s according to numbers from the state’s Public Education Department and homeschool organizations. “Our membership has definitely increased dramatically,” said Cathy Heckendorn, a board member for Christian Association of Parent Educators, a state-wide homeschool support organization. Though the public school system is providing fully online learning options, CAPE-NM has seen an increase in parents contacting them wi...

  • Q&A: Public defender hopes to be voice for criminal justice

    Lily Martin, Staff writer|Updated Aug 8, 2020

    Clovis' Ibukun Adepoju, a public defender, was one of 43 New Mexicans appointed to the recently established Governor's Council for Racial Justice. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the appointees on July 31 after first stating her intent to create the council in the wake of protests seen worldwide after George Floyd's death. The goals of the group stated in the governor's press release include "counseling the administration and monitoring state institutions, holding them...