Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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New Mexico State Police were searching the residence of a missing Tucumcari woman on Thursday night but declined to discuss why or whether they found any evidence. Officials were inside the residence at 1311 S. Fifth Street, which is the registered home of Kimberly Draman, 53, who has been missing since Sept. 13. They arrived about 7 p.m. and were still there at 9 p.m. Earlier Thursday, officers were at a Tucumcari residence in the 1300 block of Fourth Street. Neighbors said Frank Keller, the man police say was last known to have seen Draman,...
New Mexico State Police say they suspect foul play in the disappearance of Kimberly Draman, 53, of Tucumcari, missing since Sept. 13. Lt. Matt Broom declined to discuss details Tuesday regarding the suspicions of investigating officers. He did say investigators haven't received any tips and he renewed an appeal to the public for help in the case. Draman was last seen in the company of Frank Keller, 45, of Tucumcari, according to Broom. Keller Broom said Keller hasn't been charged in connection with Draman's disappearance. Keller, a convicted... Full story
Sunland, Inc. has issued a recall for more than six dozen types of peanut butter and almond butter over concerns of linkage to a salmonella outbreak at Trader Joe's groceries. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked 29 salmonella instances in 18 states to Trader Joe's Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter — manufactured by the Sunland plant in Portales. The voluntary recall is on many of Sunland's almond butter and peanut butter products produced since May 1. Only the Trader Joe's creamy s... Full story
The controversial exclusion of coach-led prayer in Portales city league sports has sparked questions about prayer at other public and government-funded venues. According to league sorts Director Mike Doerr, coach-led prayer was eliminated to avoid possible legal issues as well as respecting the diversity represented in the league. The city council pauses for an invocation prayer before the start of their meetings. Mayor Sharon King said although it hasn't been discussed with other councilors, she's questioned if the council would still allowed...
CLOVIS — The Eastern Plains Council of Governments met Monday morning and approved the final round of overdue audits. With a few differences in details, the audit reports of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 fiscal years indicate poor accounting practices that either contributed to misuse of government-provided monies, or at least provided such opportunities. Established in 1972, EPCOG is a voluntary association of county and municipal governments in seven eastern New Mexico counties. Those counties pay annual dues to participate in EPCOG, which then a...
Eastern New Mexico University's president said Tuesday he expects the college's eligibility issues to be cleared up by mid-November. He also expects some form of punishment from the NCAA because athletes were missing paperwork required to be kept by the college's compliance office. Steven Gamble has noted that the eligibility questions have been self-reported, and were not the errors of student-athletes. "There's been nothing discovered by anybody except us," Gamble said. "We've discovered no financial improprieties. We've found no intentional... Full story
A visually-impaired individual in Africa and India will soon be able to study a Bible made at a church located only a stone's throw from U.S. 84 in Lariat. Braille Bible production has been going on at St John Lutheran Church of Lariat for four decades, according to St John Lutheran Pastor David Symm. Farwell resident Liz Kaltwasser said she has helped produce the Bibles for 40 years at the church. "We feel like we're missionaries trying to help the blind all over the world," Kaltwasser said. "Today we're making some Bibles for India and...
The Clovis Music Festival turns 25 on Thursday, and according to Randy Petty, its almost quarter century of existence offers proof of the city's significant influence on rock 'n' roll. The Clovis Music Festival was started in 1987 by Vi Petty, widow of Clovis musician and record producer Norman Petty. It offers live music celebrating the city's rock 'n' roll heritage. Each year recording artists of national acclaim perform at the festival. The lead act this year is Chubby Checker. He performs at 7 p.m. Saturday. Event coordinator Courtney Gano... Full story
CLOVIS — As junior Steven Beckum plunged into the end zone, the cannon exploded for one final time Friday night in the south end zone of Leon Williams Stadium, and the only head coach Clovis has known since 1978 ascended to the top of the New Mexico wins list. In a game that quickly turned into a coronation of coach Eric Roanhaus, the Wildcats cruised by rebuilding Santa Fe Capital 55-0 in a game called midway through the third quarter. "I'm glad it's over," said Roanhaus, who has guided Clovis to 10 state titles and moved past Jim Bradley w... Full story
Sunland Peanuts Inc. of Portales was recognized as one of the top 100 privately-owned businesses in New Mexico last week at a luncheon in Albuquerque. The New Mexico Private 100 luncheon held Thursday was sponsored by Albuquerque businesses and recognized privately-owned businesses which largely impact New Mexico economy and create a high number of jobs. "We tend to lose sight of the fact that the smaller privately-owned businesses are the cornerstone, the baseline for employment in New Mexico," said Steven Keene, a regional partner with Moss... Full story
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services division has saved dairy operations and others in Curry and Roosevelt counties an estimated $2 million through a program that captures and kills coyotes, according to USDA officials. Brian Archuleta, New Mexico southeast district supervisor for the USDA, said coyotes are an issue for dairies because they kill and injure calves. Archuleta said there was $7,000 worth of actual damage done to Roosevelt County dairy calves in the last fiscal year (July 2011-June 2012) and more than $31,000... Full story
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 10 p.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Hail up to 1/2 inch in diameter and wind gusts up to 55 mph are expected with this storm along with heavy rain, according to a National Weather Service release. Counties affected include Chaves, Curry, De Baca, Eddy, Guadalupe, Harding, Lea, Quay, Roosevelt, San Miguel and Union, according to the release.... Full story
Eastern New Mexico lost a "loyal friend" with a "passion to feed the hungry," when Nancy Taylor died on Thursday, friends said. Nancy Taylor Taylor, 70, executive director of the Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico, died about 4:45 p.m. Thursday in a Lubbock hospital, friends and family members said. Cause of death was not immediately known. She had been in critical condition since being hospitalized Sunday night. "Our communities have lost a loyal friend and lost an advocate and pioneer in the... Full story
There's always something for Tucumcari's Rex Maddaford to remember when a running of the summer Olympics comes to his television. CMI photo: Thomas Garcia Rex Maddaford, the course pro at the Tucumcari Municipal Golf Course, works on paperwork for the annual Vic Breen Memorial tournament. Maddaford, a member of New Zealand's 1968 Olympic team said he has a soft spot for track and field and New Zealand athletes but generally enjoys watching all events and participants. But the one thing that... Full story
An Xcel Energy spokesman says the utility company is confident it will be able to meet power demands today one day after asking customers to conserve energy. Xcel Energy spokesman Wes Reeves said the company issued the alert after a power generator in Texas was taken off-line for maintenance on Monday when tubes in a boiler ruptured and needed replacing. Reeves said the utility was able to meet power demands on Tuesday without outages but issued an alert to consumers to scale back power use. Xcel Energy serves 17,000 customers in eastern New...
Nancy Taylor Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico Executive Director Nancy Taylor has been hospitalized in critical condition, food bank board President Allan Isbell said on Tuesday. Isbell said Taylor had returned home Sunday after riding horses with friends, woke sometime during the night and complained of pain. She was taken to Plains Regional Medical Center and later transferred to the intensive care unit at Lubbock Covenant Hospital. Isbell said friends and family who are with Taylor said she... Full story
Three Tucumcari residents are charged with crimes relating to the sexual assault of two children under age 13, said 10th Judicial Chief Deputy District Attorney Timothy Rose. Gutierrez Capen Bemis Robert Capen, 31, Richard "Andrew" Gutierrez, 40, and Brandy Bemis, 31, were arrested Wednesday, according to a press release from the district attorney's office. The arrests were the result of an investigation by officers of the Tucumcari Police Department in conjunction with the Children, Youth and...
Count the Eastern Plains Council of Governments as one of numerous entities against a proposed change on Community Development Block Grant rules. Executive Director Sandy Chancey advised members of EPCOG's executive committee during a Monday morning meeting that she and Economic and Community Develop-ment Planner Raymond Mondragon plan to be at a Tuesday morning meeting in Santa Fe to speak in opposition to a suggested change that would introduce the Housing and Urban Development's Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program and tie the funding to...
Audit reports from 2006 through 2008 at the Eastern Plains Council of Government repeat findings from a 2005 report — poor accounting practices that either contributed to misuse of government-provided monies, or at least provided such opportunities. Just like an auditor's report and financial statement of 2005 done by Woodard, Cowen and Co., the three auditors reports and financial statements prepared by Hinkle and Landers listed widespread problems of borrowing between funds, misclassification of funds, posting of expenditures to improper f...
Joshua Baca, an adviser for the Veterans Business Outreach Center of Albuquerque, sat at a table with First Sgt. Robert Scales of the New Mexico Army National Guard and businessman Donald Sawyer. Alisa Boswell: CMI staff First Sgt. Robert Scales, left, of the New Mexico Army National Guard, and businessman Donald Sawyer, center, talk about business strategies with Joshua Baca, advisor for the Veterans Business Outreach Center of Albuquerque. Baca counseled veteran business owners and veterans in... Full story
Roosevelt and Curry counties will keep fire restrictions in place for now even though the New Mexico State Forestry Division will lift statewide fire restrictions 8 a.m. today. The state ban being lifted includes smoking, fireworks, camp fires and open fires. Curry County's fire restriction expires the end of July. Roosevelt County's around the first of August. Curry County Commissioner Wendell Bostwick said he feels many parts of the county are still dry, so he believes the county restrictions should remain in place. "I think it's better serve... Full story
Two men accused of murder in Illinois and being pursued by the U.S. Marshals were arrested Saturday morning at a Loves Truck stop in Tucumcari, according to federal officials. James E. Johnson, 22, and Carlton Neely, 20, were arrested by deputy U.S. Marshals and the New Mexico State Police without incident, said Kevin Jackson, head of central Illinois' U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. Johnson and Neely have been charged with the first-degree murder of Justin Siebenthal, 21, who was shot to death June 13 in Peoria, Ill. Siebenthal was one of a... Full story
A 16-year-old Clovis girl, missing since June 7, had thoughts of running away prior to her disappearance, according to a supplemental police report provided on Tuesday. Aly Marques also had been in contact with an Albuquerque-area woman affiliated with a church group and "mentions she might visit when school is out," the police report shows. Aly disappeared from her Clovis home on June 7 and hasn't been seen since, family members say. Aly Marques Laurie Haskell, Aly's aunt and guardian, has... Full story
CMI staff photo: Tony Bullocks Wyatt Harper of Bosque Farms hangs on during the bareback event of the New Mexico High School Rodeo Association State Finals Friday night at the Curry County Events Center. Harper score in the second go round was 52. The state finals rodeo continues tonight. They may have the western shirt, jeans, boots and cowboy hat like all of the other contestants, but it's still not difficult to find the bareback riders in the New Mexico High School Finals Rodeo field. It's... Full story
CLOVIS — A biodiesel producer at the Clovis Industrial Park is setting up to sell its product locally. Renewable Energy Group is prepping a wholesale terminal at the plant, with product available for delivery in July. Alicia Clancy, corporate affairs manager for REG, said the terminal will have an inventory capacity of 500,000 gallons, with three tiers of potential consumers — petroleum refineries, petroleum wholesalers and companies with large trucking fleets that keep diesel on site. "The facility right now, as it stands, is 40 percent (co...