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Count Down To

Graduation: 65 Mayor Interview: Part One

Christa Lemmons Kyle Dunning Staff Writers

Purple Press had the pleasure of sitting down with the Mayor of Clovis, New Mexico, David Lansford. At the Paradise Market’s coffee shop, Mr. Lansford talked to us about his past, his current term as mayor, and other things that not many high school students know about him.

Kyle – I usually start off interviews by asking how the year has been so far, but when did this year technically start for you as a mayor?

Mr. Lansford – Well, a mayor’s term in Clovis is four years and I’m about to start my fourth year in the first week of March.

Kyle – All right. So, how has your third year as mayor been?

Mr. Lansford – It was fairly eventful. We found out that our city manager was going to retire so we started the process of taking applications and looking at whom we are going to choose to replace our current city manager with. That right now, is the biggest priority; making sure we can find the best city manager out there. It is one of the toughest jobs in Clovis.

Kyle – So, what does the city manager do?

Mr. Lansford – The city manager is like the superintendent of the schools. For the school district, you have a board of education that makes the policies and the

Holli Robinson Maya Mack Staff Writer Why wear any other color when you can drape yourself in green? Why swim in blue water when you can dive right into green, and why spend the day at home when the dinners right down the street? We should all get down with Irish culture and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on the street!

On March 17th everyone lines the streets of New York City early in the morning to get a kick start on spreading their love for the Irish culture and St. Patrick himself. New York City starts their celebration at 11am with their annual parade starting on 44th Street and ending on 80th Street around 5pm. People come

March 17, 2015

From Pharmacist to Mayor

superintendent carries out those policies. The same thing applies for the local government. We have a panel of elected officials that establish a budget, appropriates spending, and makes policies, ordinances, and resolutions that the city manager carries out. He/she is also responsible for hiring elected officials. Primarily the department heads, like police and fire chiefs, the librarian, the zookeeper, and other jobs of the sort. So all in all, the city commissioners and I hire the city manager and it goes from there.

Kyle – That sounds like a FUN job.

Mr. Lansford – And a difficult one. Especially when you have nine elected officials to make happy.

Kyle – You’re about to start your fourth year as mayor, what term is this for you? And how has it all been?

Mr. Lansford – This is my fourth term, actually.

I was elected in 1996 and served three consecutive three-year-terms.

I decided not to run again in ’08 and four years later I ran and got elected.

I’ve seen a lot of things and changes in Clovis. I’ve dealt with some joys and frustrations. It’s almost been like getting another degree, I feel like I have a Masters in Public Policy…at least on a small community scale.

Kyle – Before 1996, what were you up to?

Mr. Lansford – Well, I became a pharmacist in 1982. I graduated then and worked a couple years in Odessa, Texas and then came back here. I started out working at Roden Smith when it was at Hilltop Plaza over by Furr's. After four years, I left and worked at the hospital and at another pharmacy at the same time and then I came back to Roden

David Lansford, Mayor of Clovis

Smith in ’93. I then bought Roden Smith in ’97; I’ve been the owner of RS for eighteen years.

Kyle – Did you buy the company… or…

Mr. Lansford – I bought the pharmacy. The name Roden Smith started sixty-six years ago by two men, a Mr. Roden and a Mr. Smith.

Kyle – Why did you decided to be a pharmacist?

Mr. Lansford – As a kid, when I was in the eighth grade, I played sports. I had a paper route. My parents always wanted me to work, so I did some yard work and other such things. Anyways, as a kid I knew the pharmacist at the local pharmacy. My mother encouraged me to ask the pharmacist for the job of replacing one of her old students as the janitor at the pharmacy. I thought that as an eighth grader I was a little young for that job, but you didn’t tell my mother “no.” *chuckles.* I got hired and for the next couple years I worked as the janitor. So I really ended up enjoying the drug store environment. I really admired the way that the pharmacist,

a long time friend of mine, related to and took care of people. So I had always thought that I might one day be a pharmacist. I went to college and, at first, I thought I wanted to be a dentist. I soon found out that I preferred pharmacist over dentist for one reason or another. After five years of college, two years of prepharmacy school, and three years of pharmacy school. Now it’s virtually an eight year program. My son is actually about to graduate from pharmacy school and he is going to come back and work with us here.

My son even started working here in the eighth grade. At any rate, I became a pharmacist because I enjoy solving problems, I love people, and I like to be personable; working with the community and the people.

Kyle – You pretty much answered my next question, and that was why you decided to be the mayor of Clovis.

Mr. Lansford – That is exactly the reason. My mother was a math teacher, and as you guys know very well nowadays; math is a brain exercise. And the most common question about math is, “why am I learning this, I’m never going to use it?” The answer is that while you might not use it in the future, you will learn to solve problems methodically and in a step-by-step process. This will always help, even in a business setting and in a family setting. Whatever the case may be, problems will need to be solved. So I like challenges, I enjoy solving problems, and I love working with people. Fixing things is fun, right?

Kyle – I would say so. Now, I have some other questions that my peers at the high school were wondering.

Do you have anything to with, or any control over, speed limits?

To be continued...

St. Patrick's Day decked out in green to dance the streets of New York, bag pipers march down the street in their greens kilts and playing their hearts out for their love of St. Patrick. People spend their day in the famous pubs Tir Na Nog, Molly’s, McSorley’s Old Ale House, Mullane’s and Paddy Reilly’s where they can eat, drink and be merry.

In Ireland, while the city shuts down for this holiday, people kick off their day celebrating in many ways. Some start their day off by cooking delicious Irish meals such as corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. Others like to indulge in Shepard’s pie, beef stew and the world famous Reuben sandwich. In Dublin, Ireland people rush the streets in head to toe green, with giant smiles

on their face. The Irish here celebrate St. Patrick’s Day for four days straight! They engage in salsa dancing, cheering and singing.

Why not dip your toes in the sand and enjoy this green-based holiday in the Caribbean’s? In Emerald Isle of the Caribbean kicks of this holiday on March 8th and end it on March 17th. During their weeklong festivities they have spirited parades, jump-up breakfast, pub-crawls and games of cricket.

They get all dressed up wearing masks with Saint Patrick’s face painted on them and the famous hat that he's always strutting. In the Grand Cayman’s on March 17th, the people of the city start their day off by participating in a 3.1-mile sprint.

The people that attend

have a chance to win many door prizes, such as dinners, face stickers, and hats. In Anguilla, everything in the CuisinArt Golf Resort turns green! Their chefs make all green cuisines, which you can enjoy at Le Bistro.

But New York isn’t the only place that turns things green. One wellknown dye job happens every year in Chicago when the city dyes its river green. This tradition began in 1962 when the parade organizer, head of a plumbers’ union, noticed that the dye that had been used to find sources of river pollution stained his clothing green.

He thought it would be a great idea to use enough dye to turn the whole river green for the city’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and if your worried about

pollution, don’t be, the environmental impact of the dye is less than that of the pollution from sewage-treatment plants.

Why is the four leaf clover a sign of good luck? Well, that’s easy.

Shamrocks and clovers have long been associated with St. Patrick because, legend has it, that he used a shamrock to describe the Christian idea of God, as a Holy Trinity to the Druish King of Ireland.

He chose the plant because the Celtics believed the clover to be sacred since its leaves form a triad, or a group of three. The legend of the clover states that each leaf has a meaning. The first leaf is hope, the second is faith, the third is love, and the fourth is luck.

Forgot to wear green

on St. Patrick’s Day? Don’t be surprised if you get pinched. No surprise, it’s an entirely American tradition that started in the early 1700s. St. Patrick’s revelers thought wearing green made one invisible to leprechauns, fairy creatures who would pinch anyone they could see (anyone not wearing green).

People began pinching those who didn’t wear green as a reminder that leprechauns would sneak up and pinch green-abstainers.

So on March 17th put on your best green attire, head out the door and participate in all the fun that St. Patrick’s Day has to offer and I promise that you won’t regret the decision to Go Green!

2 Purple Press, March 17, 2015

Let's TalkJerrika Lopez-Wilson Co-Editor

We all know the golden rule “ do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The rule is self explanatory if you ask me. If you mistreat people, don't expect to be treated well. I’ve seen over and over people treated badly and still being the nicest person you’ve talked to all day. I’ve not only seen this in my school, but also in my community. I believe the only reason people do this is because of the Golden Rule.

They may see it as if they treat others nicely, no matter how mean others are to them, people will eventually start to handle them with the same dignity and respect they serve others with.

Honestly, there are a million reasons why people are mean to others and, or bullies to them. The root of the problem is at one point in that person’s life, when that person was treated badly, they thought it was okay. T hey figured if people treated them like that then that is how you are supposed to deal with others, by making them sad, by making them angry, or just putting them down. They thought it was normal. It’s not. So, naturally they handled other people badly; they just repeat how

Dannelle Kirven Staff Writer

The Golden Rule

they were treated by others.

And the cycle goes on.

Bullies are people just like you and me. They have feelings. Sometimes, they put up walls so nobody can see the real them. The problem with that is they don’t know which people to let their walls down for. If they let their walls down to the wrong people it will only make things worse. To the right person, it might make things better.

Bullies have insecurities about themselves. To make themselves feel better, they put others down so they can feel invincible. Nobody makes them feel better so they do what ever is necessary, even to the point of hurting another.

I am not sticking up for the bullies. I am just saying bullies are not born; they are created. People just like you and me create them. At one point in our life, we all have laughted at someone, made fun of someone, talked badly about someone, or said something just to hurt them. Maybe you never hurt someone physically, but I guarantee you have emotionally.

Maybe you didn’t mean to, or maybe you thought you were joking, but the other person didn’t.

The best way to deal with a bully isn’t to ignore

bullies; it’s to acknowledge him or her. Simply tell the bully you don’t like it. Tell the bully it’s not okay; tell them how it makes you feel.

If I were you I would tell them how much I didn’t like it, and how it made me feel.

I would also ask them why.

I would say, “ What do you get out of bullying me?” It’s not like there is a reward for bullying anyone. I don’t understand how does putting someone down make you feel superior. If anything, it would make me sad. I don’t think I could be happy with myself knowing that I had just made someone cry or feel bad about themselves.

How does that make others happy? Honestly, I have no idea, but it does.

I wonder all the time what do bullies tell themselves after they know what they just did to someone. Do they say to themselves ‘Wow, I just showed them that they are nothing, I just showed them that they will never be something,’ or ‘I just pointed out their flaws?' I am sure that people know they have flaws and don’t need someone else to point them out. But what can we do, we are human after all. If you don’t have flaws, you’re not human. Everyone has flaws, nobody’s perfect.

To be honest, the

logic the bullies have makes no sense what so ever. This brings us back to the Golden Rule. “ do untto others as you would have them do unto you.” When the bullies were mistreated, they should have handled others the way they wish people treated them instead of handleing them the same way. But maybe they didn’t have someone to teach him or her this rule. Maybe they only had someone to teach him or her to be mean, rude, and ugly towards other people by using them as examples.

There are different types of bullies. There are the ones who get mistreated at home and cry themselves to sleep because they feel nobody cares, or, in reality, nobody does. What’s their reason for bullying? The answer is: Attention. Nobody will notice them at home, or when they do notice them it is to mistreat them so they need that attention form somewhere. There are the ones that are created; our classmates, our community, or even our friends create them. What’s their reasoning for bullying? The answer is: Attention. Nobody will notice them at home, or when they do notice them it is to mistreat them so they need that attention from somewhere. There are the ones created by our

One Class, Not Two

One of the biggest debates of the year has to be the combining of the Choices Alternative School and Clovis High School graduation.

2015 is the second year this is taking place, and the students definitely have opinions about it. But are these opinions formed on an actual knowledge of Choices or just “he said, she said”. To be completely honest, I was on the side of the students who believed Choices should be completely separate from Clovis High, graduation and all, But after witnessing friends that I have known for years being sent to the school and personally knowing the character of these students I decided to take a step back and really analyze what I knew about Choices. To my surprise it was nothing, I only knew what I had heard. My lack of knowledge of what goes on at Choices prompted me to learn about it; it did not make any sense to me to be forming opinions of a school that one, I’d never visited and two, never attended. How could I know the difficulty level of their work without actually doing it. This prompted me to actually take a day out of my time and go and shadow a Choices senior for part of the instructional day. The only people aware of my attendance purposes were of course the student I was shadowing, the principal, and other staff of Purple Press. Although after I left many of the students became aware of why I had been there.

First and foremost, I would like to clear up any assumptions that I went to Choices Alternative School to discredit the work of the students

or the teachers; I would also like to thank the principal Todd Morris, and Choices students and staff for making my visit as real and accurate as possible. I attended Choices on Friday February 13th, 2015; I shadowed a senior who only attends half the instructional day. School began at 8:55 with first period.

The first class I attended was a Physical Science course. At Choices, backpacks and cellphones are prohibited, so I had to leave those items in my vehicle. Before class began breakfast was served in the classroom (there is not a cafeteria present on the campus). Afterwards students were directed to do their focus as the teacher took role. The agenda of the class on this day was more relaxed than usual due to the students having took their 9 weeks exam the previous day; after completing the focus, students watched a science film. I took this time to observe the contents and aspects of the actual classroom.

There were approximately 10 students in class room and one teacher. The classroom contained many of the same items as the average classroom here at the high school. Which included students work stapled on a board, student data, and the weekly schedule. This period ended at 10:15 (Choices operates on what is similar to a block schedule with periods 1-4 each period lasts 1 hour and 20 minutes).

The next period I attended was an Economics class. As in the science class students were directed to do their focus, and role was taken.

The objective for the day in this class was to complete a quiz over economics. This was not an

open book test, and notes were not allowed for use on the test. I took the test along with the other students; and can confidently say that the test is of the same standard of one that would be administered at Clovis High. After taking the test, the instructor grades the tests and then returns the tests back to the students where they are to use the book and correct any wrong answers for a higher grade. Normally, this class period would end at 11:30 but on the day I attended it was Friday and on this day of the week Choices has Lunch Bunch. A reward for the students that meet certain grade requirements; they are allowed to leave the campus for lunch 15 minutes early (Choices is a closed campus). For the senior I shadowed this meant their instructional day was over and we were permitted to leave.

From my observation I can conclude that the students at Choices are not being given work that is at a standard less than the work given to the students here at Clovis High.

You might ask “If they are working just as hard as us then why not just go to the high school?” Well the

classmates, our community, or even our friends. What’s their reasoning for bullying?

The answer is: They are going to be mean to your before you have the chance to be mean to them. They were made fun of at one point in time, but not only once, but several times. So they see bullying as “let me make fun of her or him before they make fun of me.”

There are also ones who think it’s cool and make fun of other because they want to fit in. Their reason for bullying? The answer is: To fit in. I would rather not be “cool” than make someone cry or feel bad about themselves.

The Golden Rule is a lot of people’s philosophy for life.

People live by this rule on a day-to-day basis. Personally, I believe that if we all live by this rule, the world would be a lot better of a place. It’s easy, if you want people to treat you right, threat others right, if you don’t want to be bullied, then dot be a bully; and if people handle you wrong just tell them how it makes you feel. Tell them how you don’t like it and ask them “well, do you like to be bullied?” I guarantee the answer will be no.

simple fact is some these students are under different circumstances than we here at the high school are, and need another choice. The school serves as an alternative to the normal high school setting but with the same standard. With less students and longer class periods students receive more help and attention than they would at Clovis High; and after speaking with principal Todd Morris I can confidently say the students there are working just as hard as us to get their diploma and move forward with their next chapter in life, and deserve the same high school experiences that we here at Clovis High receive such as prom, athletics, and of course graduation. We often forget that we, Clovis High and Choices, students started this journey together in 2011 at the Clovis High School Freshman Academy; some may have moved away some joined the journey a little later, but for those of us who stayed/ started we will be finishing together.

The Class of 2015 is one class not two, and it’s about time we accept that.

Does Luck Exist ?

Purple Press, March 17, 2015

Mackenzie's Point

We all believe in luck, in some way shape or form. Good luck exists when we make the stop light when we are running late, get the last copy of the movie you want to see, or when our sports team wins by a few points. But is there really luck?

We make luck for ourselves. Yes, it is luck when these happen, but if you think positively, you will have good luck. But good things aren't going to just happen all on their own.

If a once in a lifetime opportunity comes up, it is luck; not taking the opportunity is simply not wise.

Now, down to the science of luck. Luck is defined as “a force that brings on good fortune or adversity.” Sure, you can believe that the universe is bringing you good vibes because you were a good person, but that really isn't how it works. Luck is what you make for yourself. You can wish for things to happen for you, by thinking it

will work. The Law of Attraction in simple terms states that “life brings on like.” Even though people have a positive connotation with the word “like”, we might not always like what happens to us. If we think we are going to fail a test, we will because we bring bad luck on ourselves.

The famous playwright Tennessee Williams says “Luck is believing you’re lucky.”

As I’m sure you caught earlier, luck is defined by also bringing on adversity. We all have had our fair share of bad luck, and have more to come. But if you bring it all back to The Law of Attraction, you will remember that you reap what you sow. But, lets say that you had a crummy week, and everything is going wrong. You can still turn it around.

The magician Channing Pollock has an interesting thought, that “The only good luck many great men ever had was being born with the ability and determination to overcome bad luck.” This is so true

when we know that we have the control over our lives. Our brains produce more than 50,000 thoughts a day, and they all have the control over our lives.

We let petty and unimportant things rule our lives and give us bad luck, just as the good and positive things can be in charge and give out good luck.

The most important thing about luck is how we see it. An author named William Feather said “Most of us regard good luck as our right, and bad luck as the betrayal of that right.” There will now be people who think that they thought nice things this week, so they deserve to get A’s on all their finals and a raise at work, but it isn't our right to good luck. What may seem like bad luck now can just be the beginning of something great.

So keep positive and maybe you will have good luck!

Christa's Point-

Karma and luck tend to co-exist; at least when it comes to what people believe the two terms mean. Luck is what people seem to think just happens to balance out the amount of bad experiences in our life.

While Karma is the belief that you receive the same treatment as you give good or bad while Luck is believed to have a cosmic balance.

For me it is easier to believe in the idea of Good Karma, instead of good luck. Luck can also be connected to the idea of leprechauns who are magical creatures that hand out luck like candy. Since I am a realist this doesn’t seem plausible. It has been said that one good deed can grant you with good Karma, and I am a believer of this.

Maybe you find money; and instead of keeping it and being selfish, you return it, or give it to charity and by doing this you could meet someone who will impact your life in a positive way. Or when you

help an old lady across the street you find out she is the mother of the love of your life. The possibilities are literally endless.

If you have good intent you are destined to have a life of happiness, but if you live life with bad intent, you are destined for a life of despair. Karma is tied in with your destiny, so your destiny would be out of your control after that point, it would be in the hands of Karma to make you reap the consequences of your actions. When you make good decisions your destiny is still in your hands, and you are not forced to face any consequences since you have not committed any acts of bad intent.

This seems true to me because when you live life with only pure intentions in return you have a life worth living, you are surrounded with only the most optimistic of people, and you live a successful life. I do believe this because I have had times when I did something generous or kind for another person

3

I was put in a good situation that would improve my life. When I would do something to purposely hurt someone I would be faced with terrible and negative events that made my life harder than it really needed to be.

Everyone has the decision to live a certain lifestyle; what you do, what you put up with, and how you deal with things can lead to the outcome of your destiny and the life you will live. Don’t just wait for good luck to come your way, it is your job to take life by the horns. Make your own path, let it lead you to the events that you are destined to experience.

Waiting around on good things to happen is a waste of time; time you could of spent on your journey by making the decisions you wanted to and letting the outcome be of your doing not on a figure of imagination. Be the leader of your destiny, don’t spend your time looking for the gold at the end of the rainbow.

Stay Gorgeous!

Michael Lynch Staff Writter

Today I will be telling you guys my February favorites, which is just pretty much all the things I have been loving throughout this whole month and what I recommend to you! In this article, I will only be talking about beauty and skin care, because I feel like you guys will be reading this for the rest of this month. I actually found it really hard to narrow down the products I have been loving throughout this month, there were a lot of products that I loved, but not loved enough for it to be in this article. Hopefully you'll enjoy the products I put into this article!

SKIN CARE: I will start with my favorite skin care items, because to me, your skin is the absolute #1 thing to take care of when you are younger, so when you start

to age, you won’t get many wrinkles or age spots. The first product that I will be talking about is the "Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm," My skin loves this stuff. I find it really easy to use, all you do is apply the balm when your face is dry, everything that was on your face, such as make-up, oil ,and dirt just rubs off. Then you just use a wet flannel when you go over your face. When I use this on my face, it makes it feel just so clean and hydrated! The retail price for this product is $55.46. The next product I have been loving is the "Sunday Riley Good Genes Treatment Serum." Before I go into detail on this, I want to let you all know that this thing is extremely pricey! I have been probably been using this since last year, I have been loving it, and I've also been raving it to everybody! I really notice the difference when

I forget to use it or I forgot it somewhere, my skin does not look as radiant or as healthy as it would when I do use it. Retail price for this product is $105.00. My next product is an eye cream called "Kiehls Creamy eye Treatment with Avocado" I started off the year with wanting a good eye cream and not really knowing where to get one from and this one is so rich and thick and it easily absorbs right into the skin. Ever since I started using this one, my eyes are no longer dry in the slightest way! Retail price for this product is $30.82.

BATH, BODY, & HAIR: To start off on this section of the article, I want to share my favorite scent of the month is "Ghost Eclipse" which there are many reasons why I love this scent! I would say the main reason is because last year I actually went on two summer holidays,

both to Greece with family and friends, and every time I smell it, it brings back such great memories, and I will for sure be bringing it with me wherever I go this year! This perfume contains items like Sweet Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin, Apple and Peach. Retail price for this product is $37.20. I don’t have much hair favorites, because I pretty much love every shampoo and conditioner that I use on my hair, otherwise I would not use it. But recently I've been adoring “Bedhead by Tigi Color goddess", I used it for the first time and I instantly loved it because it smells like toffee, fudge and caramel all in one! I just love it because it makes my hair look and smell’s amazing! Retail price for this product is $40.86.

Last thing I want to mention is a candle which are literally my favorite things, and that is the "Jo Malone Green Tomato leaf”. It’s not really

a bedroom smell it’s more of a rest of your house smell, if you get what I mean. It just smells fresh and it reminds me of summer! Retail price for this product is $65.00.

So, those were my favorites of this month! I am extremely excited to see what I find though the month of March. I hope you enjoy this article and decide to invest in any of these products, they are all extremely worth it, you will see a difference in your everyday life!

Until next time, Stay Gorgeous!

Disclaimer: I was not sponsored by any of these companies, all opinions are my own!

4 Purple Press, March 17, 2015 Purple Press is a Publication Vehicle for Student Expression The School Board encourages students to express their views in school-sponsored publications and to observe rules for responsible journalism. This means, expression that falls into any of the following categories shall not be permitted: any expression which is false or obscene, libelous, slanderous, or defamatory under state law; which presents a clear and present danger of the commission of unlawful acts, violation of school rules or materials and substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the school, or which violates the privacy rights of others.

Student editors of school-sponsored publications are responsible for determining the news, opinion and advertising content of the publication. The publication’s adviser is responsible for supervising the production of the publication and for teaching and encouraging free and responsible expression and professional standards of journalism.

The views expressed in The Purple Press are not necessarily those of Clovis High School or the Clovis Municipal School Board of Education.

Advisor: Augustine Martinez Editor-In- Chief: Denicia Aragon Co-Editor: Jerrika Lopez-Wilson Staff Writers: Christa Lemmons, Mackenzie Credle, Kyle Dunning, Michael Lynch, Dannelle Kirven, Maya Mack, and Holi Robinson Publisher: Clovis News Journal • 521 Pile St PO Box 1689 Clovis, New Mexico 88102 (575) 763-3431

Top Row: Christa Lemmons, Kyle Dunning, Holi Robinson, Kenzie Credle, Maya Mack Dannelle Kirven, Bottom Row: Michael Lynch, Denicia Aragon, Jerrika Lopez-Wilson, Mr. Martinez (Advisor) Not Pictured: Dannelle Kirven

We apologize for any mistakes we may make, including punctuation, spelling, or any other errors you may find. We appreciate any and all comments that will improve our paper. We hope to give you the very best that our journalism class can offer.

*Special Notice – Prom will be held a month earlier this year, and will now be on April 18th.