McClatchy-Tribune The key to getting a child to open up is to say very little. Simply use short phrases that reassure and prompt more conversation. This is particularly important at the beginning of a conversation because we want children to reach a point where they’re comfortable enough to express whatever is on their minds. To […]
ENMU combining film festival and science fiction lectureship

Alisa Boswell: Portales News-Tribune Kaci Tibbs, an Eastern New Mexico University student, adjusts a book display in the Special Collections section of the Golden Library Wednesday afternoon. The display honors Jack Williamson and all of the authors who will attend the Jack WIlliamson Lectureship on March 31 through April 2. Tibbs said she is very […]
Thursday morning briefing: We’re talking water and a boy king
Good morning and welcome to Freedom New Mexico’s Thursday briefing. Projects due Science Fair Projects at Zia Elementary School are due Tuesday and judging will take place Nov. 11. A science fair assembly will be held 8 a.m. Nov. 17. Question of the day If you could only access just one website for your entire […]
McGee: ‘Blowing up’ happens to everyone
Grant McGee Have you ever had enough on the job? Blown up at a customer? Lately folks have been talking about this since that airline attendant cussed out passengers, then slid down an emergency chute into his 15 minutes of fame, two brewskis in hand. I blew up at a customer once upon a time, […]
Grant McGee: Secret Service dudes and tambourines
By Grant McGee: CNJ columnist I overheard some folks talking the other day, calling one of our area churches a “cult.” Did you know we have a cult around here? I didn’t. But I think I may have visited one in Arizona. During my trucking days I saw an ad in a Phoenix paper showing […]
Education column: Educators deserve thanks, recognition
By Penny Bailey: Clovis Municipal Schools Recently, I was talking to one of our principals and he shared an inspiring story with me about one of his students. It seems this student had become a runaway and a dropout. However, the school kept following up on this student and was able to get him to […]
Monday morning briefing: We’re talking how to start your business
Good morning and welcome to Freedom New Mexico’s Monday briefing. Video of the day Behind the scenes at the Clovis landfill… it’s At your service. Question of the day Michael Jackson… swine flu… Tiger Woods? What in 2009 did you most tire of talking about or hearing? Please share your thoughts in the comment section […]
Commission taking wait-and-see approach on jailbreak
By Sharna Johnson: CNJ Staff Writer Curry County residents may be talking about the Aug. 24 escape from the Clovis jail, but the issue is not dominating discussions during County Commission meetings. The issue may not even come up at today’s 9 a.m. meeting, unless a department head chooses to address it. And that’s as […]
Candidates’ plans for peace just gibberish
Freedom New Mexico Can it be that elections tend to bring out whatever latent stupidity candidates and their supporters may harbor, or that they induce people to say stupid and simplistic things in the belief that voters respond only to the stupid and simplistic? What inspires such dire reflection at this moment is the increasingly […]
Service contributes to endless possibilities
By Judy Brandon: Religion Columnist The concept of servant leadership is a popular approach when talking about leadership theory these days. From an educational setting to a hospital system to a mammoth corporation, the idea of the leader serving or giving service to subordinates is appealing. Service is a powerful word, whether in the world, […]
Presidential politics entertaining
By Anita Doberman By Anita Doberman You would think that being from Italy I’ve had my fair share of politics, and I certainly have when it comes to outrageous situations. But I was nevertheless surprised by the coverage of our current American political races. I am not talking about the candidates or political views, Republican […]
Politics coverage rather hollow
By Anita Doberman: CNJ columnist You would think that being from Italy I’ve had my fair share of politics, and I certainly have when it comes to outrageous situations. But I was nevertheless surprised by the coverage of our current American political races. I am not talking about the candidates or political views, Republican versus […]
Romantic gifts not necessarily costly
By Clyde Davis: Columnist It may be true that the thermometer in your car, as did mine, read 94 degrees last week. That makes it hard to think about Christmas. But in the tradition of encouraging and enhancing romancing, it is time for most of us to think about Christmas presents for the MVW (most […]
Friendship not based on rank
Anita Doberman I recently went to a dinner party organized by a military spouses club. The food was very good and the evening was pleasant, until someone sitting at my table started talking about how we should separate enlisted wives and officers’ wives into two distinct clubs. “Why?” I asked, and the friendly yet misinformed […]
Boys talk just as much as girls
By Helena Rodriguez: Freedom Newspapers A hot-off-the-press study shatters the myth that women talk more than men. Did you hear that men? We are not chatterboxes. Although the more-than-likely over-funded, waste-of-taxpayer-money study is flawed because it was limited to college students, I’m inclined to believe it because, well, because I’m a female, and because I’ve […]
Rank not important
By Anita Doberman: Columnist I recently went to a dinner party organized by a military spouses club. The food was very good and the evening was pleasant, until someone sitting at my table started talking about how we should separate enlisted men’s wives and officers’ wives into two distinct clubs. “Why?” I asked, and the […]
Size doesn’t solve society’s issues
By Helena Rodriguez: CNJ staff writer My dad was talking to my 10-year-old niece, Mireya, recently about the music devices he grew up with — cassettes, reel-to-reels and eight-tracks. “And those ‘big CDs,’” Mireya remarked about the old vinyl records. This remark not only cracked me up, it got me started thinking about how so […]
Mother still one of the true greats
By Grant McGee: Local columnist My mom is the greatest mom there ever was and I love her just a whole lot. Well, I know there are lots of folks who think their mom is the best. I’m not exactly happy about where my mom is. She’s 88 years old and spends her days in […]
Cell Phone Etiquette and Centipedes
By Curtis K. Shelburne I just talked to Joshua, our youngest son, on the cell phone. Amazing. Yes, cell phones in general amaze me. I have a love/hate relationship with the gadgets. They are blessings when you own one (or if you need to reel in a teenager) and a blight when they own you. […]