Friday morning briefing: McDonald's expanding

Good morning. Welcome to Freedom New Mexico’s Friday morning briefing.

Mickey-D’s x 3

Clovis is about to get a third McDonald’s.

Owner John Snowberger confirms construction should begin in late January at a site next to Chili’s on North Prince.

“The minute, the second, the day we open this new store. We’re going to tear down the one at 14th and Mitchell and completely rebuild it from the ground up,” said Snowberger, who added that the new store and the revamped original McDonald’s will both have playlands - a rarity, he said, in small markets.

But if Clovis has three McDonald’s, how small is it?

Western swing — Texas style

If you’re in the mood for a little Texas swing, a la Bob Wills, a little trip to Lubbock might be in order. While other singers, like George Strait and Merle Haggard, have occasionally given fans glimpses of the genre, the band Asleep At The Wheel devotes itself to it. The group is playing Friday night at the Cactus Theater in Lubbock. Its always been a large group, no doubt necessitated by the type of music they play, and there’s been plenty of changeover in the ranks. But bandleader Ray Benson is still in charge for Asleep, which has two Top Ten country hits over the years ("The Letter That Johnny Walker Read” and “House Of Blue Lights”).

Swine flu news

Visits to healthcare providers in New Mexico for influenza-like illness dropped for the third week in a row although the number is still higher than normal for this time of year.

The New Mexico Department of Health tracks influenza-like illness, which is defined as fever and either cough and/or sore throat, at 26 clinics throughout the state. Influenza-like illness is the best indicator of flu activity in the state.

Novel H1N1 influenza is still the predominant strain of flu in New Mexico at this time. All positive flu tests are presumed to be novel H1N1 influenza.

Busy day

The James Bickley Honor Choir will performing Friday for a pair of retirement homes. The choir will be at the Senior Citizen Resident Center at 9 a.m. and at Fairhaven Assisted Living beginning at 10 a.m..

Question of the day

If you could recast any movie, what movie would it be, and who would get the lead role instead?

A Web site worth noting

Hey, incoming Cannon personnel, here’s Freedom New Mexico’s site for the Cannon Community: www.cannonconnections.com

Today's weather

Friday will see clouds and sun in the Clovis/Portales area, with a high of 75 and a low of 43, according to AccuWeather.

The day will be breezy with a west wind between 15 and 25 mph and gusts up to 35 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS predicts that the wind will lessen to between 10 and 15 mph Friday night.