City flag contest winner selected

Portales News-Tribune senior writer Argen Duncan’s entry has been chosen as the winning one for a centennial flag design contest sponsored by the city. The design depicts a horizon-straddling sun beaming its rays over land made up of alternating strips of brown and green.

“The furrows are for agriculture and the green is for Eastern (New Mexico University),” said Duncan, who added that most of the proposed flag has other kinds of symbolism — even down to the spotted yellow (friendliness) and red (sacrifice) in the sun itself. “I just played with it in my mind for awhile. I wanted bright colors and I wanted it to be simple.”

The judging panel, which voted on the contest last week, rated entries according to appropriateness of design, narrative and artistic quality. Duncan’s design is scheduled for adoption at the May 19 City Council meeting and would then be raised for the first time on June 16.