GRANTS - The former Conoco stations in Milan and at the east end of Santa Fe Avenue are now Chevrons, and the Chevron stations near Highway 53 in Grants and at the west end near Exit 85 of I-40 have become Conoco/Phillips stations.

The Chevron stations will continue to serve as Redi-Marts and the building on east Santa Fe Avenue will be treated to remodeling and a paint job.

“Business has been picking up,” said Assistant Manager Vanessa Torrez. “Customers see that they can use their Chevron cards.”

According to Torrez, the company has been owned by Chevron for five or six years, but they are just now changing the signs.

Honstein Oil of Santa Fe is the new owner who has made the company change to Conoco/Phillips. The company owns eight retail stations around the state.

The station in west Grants has had new tanks installed, otherwise there are no significant changes, except for the sign.

Wireless merger

Verizon and Alltel Wireless companies have merged services as of Jan. 9, with minimal affect to customers in Cibola County.

Verizon purchased Alltel and now must divest of 105 properties or assign them to another trustee within six months, by order of the Federal Communications Commission, according to Gail Buch, vice president and general manager at Alltel in New Mexico. The divestiture will include Cibola and McKinley Counties as well as Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Otera, Lincoln, Chaves, Eddy, Lea, San Juan, Rio Arriba, Taos and Dona Ana.

“Our customers in those market areas can expect service as usual,” said Buch. “The 'My Circle' plan will continue with no changes until a new buyer comes along, down the road.”

There is no immediate plan to change rates or service plans and online management will still be available.

The Alltel Wireless location in Grants is in Radio Shack at 700 E. Roosevelt Ave. Verizon Wireless is located at Affordable Cellular, 713 E. Roosevelt Ave.

Car parts company

purchased nationwide

Checker Auto parts has been purchased by O'Reilly Auto Parts, according to Store Manager Chris Montano. Checker will be converted to O'Reilly in 50 states, making O'Reilly the second largest auto parts retailer in the country, with 2,800 stores.

Though the original sale took place in mid-2008, some Checker stores are still open in the west. The company's complete transition is expected to take two years.

Both corporate offices will also remain in operation, temporarily. According to Montano, the Phoenix office is still in operation, but is phasing out and the O'Reilly main office will be in Springfield, Mo.

The store completed its conversion in only four days, gutting the store and replacing the shelves and Checker merchandise with O'Reilly goods. The store colors, once red and blue are now green.

The building will eventually undergo slight remodeling. The plan is to move the doors to the east side of the building's front, nearer to the counters, and there will be a new outdoor sign, but there is no set date for that addition.

All Checker warranties will be honored with receipts, said Montano, and if a receipt is missing, store personnel will attempt to find the sale's records in their database.