Country kids, like I was, have pretty low standards when it comes for a place to swim on a hot summer day. Our earliest “swimming hole” was a low spot about a quarter mile south of our house in... Full story

Garage sales have replaced barbershops for visiting. After recently digging through closets, cabinets and outside storage for one, I gathered enough stuff to help put Sears out of business. Neighbors...

TUCUMCARI — Robert Lumpkin’s persistent Oklahoma drawl echoed in Tucumcari City Council chambers for a dozen years and in the halls of public service for many more. That voice has been silenced....

“Trendy” never lasts. Whether you’re talking about clothing and hair styles, the latest instructional “cure-all” in education, technological whiz-bang devices, automobiles (think Pacers and...

What happens when we lose our focus? If we lose our focus on our jobs, we become less productive. If we lose our focus on our family, we see relationships deteriorate. When we lose our focus on...

It’s more important to do the right thing than to obey laws, and it’s wrong to obey laws that violate life, liberty, or property. Even if you agree with them or believe they are necessary. When...

When word got out this spring that Debby Cannon was going to hang up her apron after more than 40 years as the head cook for the Elida school system, a few of her friends contacted me and suggested...

Since Clovis and Portales sometimes fall short of July 4 fundraising goals, they could take a page from Levelland, Texas — a Portales-size town 30 miles southwest of Lubbock. In Levelland ...

We’ve made a few modifications here at The Eastern New Mexico News. Some of the changes may have already been noticed; others will take effect next Sunday. I’m here to pass along our rationale... Full story

I'm a mom and a teacher and I think we should keep PARCC This month our state's Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers results were released and, with them, a flurry of... Full story

CLOVIS — Bruce Pollard was in third or fourth grade when he first remembers Ida Jackson, one of his school's teachers. "She called everybody 'Baby,' or 'Sugar,'" he said. "It was always something... Full story

It was a joy last week to finally come out of the closet. Well, perhaps I’d better rephrase that lest you get the wrong idea. And, to be completely accurate, I probably should say “out of the clos...

This last week I was reading an article in Psychology Today about giving. The name of the article was “Well Being and Giving” by Steve Taylor. This is what the writer wrote: “If anything, it...

Gun rights, like all natural human rights, are a foundation of a functional society. And every right comes with an equally important responsibility. You must handle and use your gun so that you...

I wish I had crossed paths in person with Father Stanley Crocchiola, the history-loving priest I wrote about two weeks ago. While he was the first to admit that he lacked both the time and resources...

Robert Gilbert, who attended Portales schools from the sixth grade until moving to Roswell his senior year in 1970 and spent his career as a professional drummer, recently moved back to Portales. In h...

Despite a $600 million surplus and an unemployment rate that has dropped to an almost-respectable 5.1 percent, New Mexico’s economy is in dire shape. This bearish view of New Mexico’s economy is n...

At times I think I am so used to the phrase “mercy of God,” I don’t stop to think about the true scope, capacity and extension of that beautiful phrase. The mercy of God I still don’t...

If God exists and is all-powerful and all-loving, why does he allow suffering in the world he created? Life’s biggest questions, the ones that truly matter, can be condensed into a few that can be c...