Freedom New Mexico A 35-year-old Clovis man was killed and three others injured in an early morning crash Friday at New Mexico 108 and Curry Road 14 north of Texico. Curry County Undersheriff Wesley Waller identified the victim as Edgar Soto, a passenger in a pickup that collided with a car at the intersection about […]
Crash victims’ names released (updated)
Kevin Wilson Officials on Tuesday morning released the names of four people killed Monday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash four miles east of Melrose. The four who died on the scene, according to Curry County Undersheriff Wesley Waller: • John Kline, 53, of Mansfield, Texas, the driver of a four-door Toyota sedan. • Aminta Kline, […]
Fatal crash victims from Oklahoma
CNJ Staff State police on Tuesday identified the victims from Monday’s fatal accident in Roosevelt County as a married couple from Elk City, Okla. Cassandra Horton, 67, and her husband Claude Horton, 84,
Police identify man found dead in Portales

Freedom New Mexico: Argen Duncan Portales Police Sgt. David Meeks takes measurements in the apartment on East Brazos Street where James McCulley, 48, was found dead Monday. Investigators haven’t determined a cause of death and classify it as suspicious. Freedom New Mexico Investigators have identified a man found dead Monday evening, but they don’t know […]
Ballot box initiatives have boomerang effect
Freedom New Mexico Good-government activists have correctly identified “ballot-box budgeting” — when voters approve costly new spending initiatives at the ballot box — as one of the ongoing fiscal problems faced by California, which continually is troubled by multibillion-dollar budget deficits. Toward that end, two Democratic legislators have introduced bills that would require that any […]
Fire responders deserve thanks
Fire responders deserve thanks My father, Dick Wilkins, husband Jason and I would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to several agencies for helping fight the wildfire Sunday. People put their lives on the line to do everything in their power to stop the massive fire. On our land alone there were volunteer […]
Portales victim identified
A 25-year-old man found dead Sunday in a home on Avenue O was killed by a gunshot wound to the head, police say. Portales Police Deputy Chief Lonnie Berry identified the man as Jose Alfredo Charize Montoya. Berry said Montoya had a local address for the last year but is from Mexico, where his wife […]
State police ID person of interest in Tucumcari homicides

State police say Muziwokuthula “Muzie” Madonda, 33, was last in a 1996 Chevrolet Astro Van with Illinois license plate H188855. Freedom New Mexico State police have identified Muziwokuthula “Muzie” Madonda, 33, as a person of interest in the deaths of two Tucumcari men whose bodies were discovered Thursday in a hotel room. State police have […]
Train strike victim identified
CNJ staff The investigation continues into how Larry Green, a signalman, was struck and killed by a train near Hereford, a BNSF Railway spokesman said Thursday. Green, 54, of Amarillo, died Wednesday morning at the sceen.
Grady victim identified
CNJ staff The Curry County Sheriff’s Office has identified a woman they initially thought was the victim of a fatal crash, who apparently died of natural causes Tuesday after pulling her car off the road near Grady. Police were dispatched to Cemetery Road near Grady for a crash just before 5 p.m. Upon arriving on […]
Ban against speaking out not far off
By Tibor Machan: FNM columnist In a series of articles on climate change, the villain is gradually being identified as — you should have guessed it — freedom of thought. Jon Gertner of The New York Times Magazine wrote recently that “What makes CRED’s work (the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions) especially relevant … […]
Police make arrest in weekend mugging
Police arrested Michael Ruiz, 19, of Portales Wednesday for the robbery and beating of two men walking on the Eastern New Mexico University campus last weekend. Portales Police Capt. Lonnie Berry said a warrant was issued for the arrest of another man in the mugging, but the suspect remains at large. Berry said the two […]
Local companies unaffected by peanut recall
By Liliana Castillo: CNJ staff writer Local peanut and peanut product producers are safe from a nationwide peanut butter product recall. Officials with Sunland Peanut Inc. and Leslie Candy Co. said their peanuts are grown locally, nowhere near the salmonella contamination identified by the Food and Drug Administration. There have been 488 cases of salmonella […]
Police press release: Murder suspect identified

If anyone has any information about the whereabouts of Murder suspect Anthony Ray Casillas, you are asked to contact Curry County Crime Stoppers at 575-763-7000 or the Clovis Police Department at 575-763-9470 or 575-769-1921. Here is a press released issued Saturday evening by Clovis police in connection with Thursday’s double homicide on Clovis’ west side.
Body found in Conchas Lake identified
CNJ Staff Police identified Monday the body of a 25-year-old Albuquerque man who died Sunday at the Conchas Lake. State Police Sgt. Andrew Tingwall
‘Yes’ vote equals matching funds
Rhonda Seidenwurm: Guest columnist On Tuesday, Clovis Municipal School District residents will have the opportunity to go to the polls and vote to continue the five mill tax levy we’ve had in place for most of our lifetimes. A small portion of the $12 million that will be generated by the continuation of this general […]
Police arrest man on 859 child pornography charges
By Sharna Johnson: Freedom Newspapers A 45-year-old Clovis man was arrested Friday on 859 child pornography charges following an investigation that took more than a year, according to the Curry County Sheriff’s Department. Elijah McClain of 1300A Arcineiga Drive is being held on a $75,000 bond, according to jail officials. The local investigation took more […]
Head-on collision takes lives of mental patients
By Don McAlavy: local columnist Six people were killed and three others critically injured in a head-on collision three miles east of Fort Sumner on Highway 60 on the night of Nov. 16, 1950, the Clovis News Journal reported the next day. Five apparently died instantly and the other was dead on arrival at Clovis […]