Week of January 8, 2025
Week of January 8, 2025
Sammy Adell envisions a truck stop with a convenience store, motel and restaurant at the long-neglected Tucumcari Truck Terminal site on the city's west side. But Adell during an interview at the site Thursday grumbled over the sluggish pace in removing contaminants from the 20-acre tract. The cash-strapped city government also needs to obtain state funding to help replace miles of collapsed sewer lines and lift stations leading to it - another potentially long process. Adell estimated it will...
A woman from Minnesota died and a sheriff’s deputy escaped injury during a crash Sunday on U.S. 54 near Nara Visa that involved four vehicles and was exacerbated by icy roads. New Mexico State Police reported that Joy Sundquist, 72, of Chisholm, Minnesota, a passenger in a Subaru driven by an unidentified male, was declared dead at the scene by the Office of Medical Examiner at mile marker 355 westbound, near the Texas border. A Quay County sheriff’s deputy initially responded to a crash with no injuries about 8 a.m. Sunday involving a...
A Tucumcari man was jailed on attempted murder charges last week. Police say Anthony Ray Kent, 56, shot at a man at least 15 times and wounded him in front of the Quay County Family Health Center on Dec. 30. Kent was charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and shooting at or from a motor vehicle (no great bodily harm). The attempted-murder charge is a second-degree felony that could lead up to nine years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. The other...
An Albuquerque man was apprehended months he was accused of shooting a man and carjacking another in Tucumcari. Alex Joe Patrick Gutierrez, 24, was wanted on charges of first-degree kidnapping, attempted first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The kidnapping charge is a first-degree felony that could lead up to 18 years in prison and up to a $15,000 fine. The other charges also are felonies. Quay County Sheriff Dennis Garcia said that Albuquerque Police apprehended Gutierrez last week. According to...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5: — Zachary A. Cardenas, 20, Phoenix, aggravated driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug (0.16 or above), altered, forged or fictitious license, possession of alcoholic beverages by a minor, open drink container, stopping or parking prohibited in specific places, driving a vehicle at night without lighted lamps and driver’s license not in possession. — Cory D. Williams, 44, Port Arthur, Texas, two counts of contempt of...
On this date ... 1975: Two Tucumcari police officers stepped down from the force after facing accusations of misconduct involving four residents on New Year’s Eve. Police Chief Jim Santillan said the two submitted their resignations, and two other officers were reprimanded and their probationary periods extended. District Attorney Norman Runyan said his office was weighing charges of aggravated battery and negligent use of firearms against the two resigned officers. According to a report, one of the officers during a traffic stop fired...
Municipalities and school districts in Quay County saw plenty of change during the second half of 2024. Not only did new superintendent Carl Marano officially take over Tucumcari Public Schools in July, but longtime Logan superintendent Dennis Roch announced in November he would retire and take a position with New Mexico Senate Republicans. Tucumcari city manager Paula Chacon announced in July she would retire at the end of the year. Her assistant, former District 4 Commissioner Renee Hayoz, officially took over her position after New...
Visitors to New Mexico state parks will pay higher fees for admission, camping and boating in 2025. The New Mexico State Parks Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department opted to hike fees to increase revenue to the division, with most of the changes adding costs for visitors who don’t live in the state. Past fees were consistent, regardless of residency. Officials said the new fees are expected to raise the State Parks Division’s revenue by $4.8 million. That money will help maintain New Mexico’s 35 state parks,...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5: Dec. 30 — 10:11 a.m.: Disturbance in 100 block of North 10th Street, Tucumcari. — 11:04 a.m.: Sex assault in 300 block of East Miel de Luna Avenue, Tucumcari. — 12:31 p.m.: Runaway juvenile in 700 block of West Escuela Avenue, Tucumcari. — 2:53 p.m.: Illegal dumping in 600 block of East Main Street, Tucumcari. — 4:11 p.m.: Shots fired in 1300 block of East Main Street, Tucumcari. — 6:40 p.m.: Child abuse in 2000 block of...
A New Mexico consumer and environmental advocacy group is requesting that state regulators order a management audit of the parent company of the firm trying to acquire New Mexico Gas Co., which serves Tucumcari. New Energy Economy, a frequent utility critic, filed a request in early December asking the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to investigate Bernhard Capital Partners. Bernhard Capital Partners is the parent company of Saturn Holdco, which is asking to acquire New Mexico Gas from Emera. “A management audit will aid the...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Frosted cinnamon rolls, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, cinnamon graham cracker, banana, apple juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Chicken fajita meat, 6-inch whole-grain tortilla, buffalo chicken wrap, refried pinto beans, romaine lettuce, fresh tomatoes, fresh broccoli, salsa, ranch dressing, fruit cocktail, 1%, skim, chocolate skim or strawberry skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Cherry frudel, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, cinnamon graham cracker, apple, orange juice, 1%, skim or strawberry...
Feb. 1 - Jump Rope Challenge. The Quay County Health Council is hosting this event for all age groups from 10 a.m. to noon at the Quay County Fairgrounds Expo Center. Each participant will jump in two, 30-second rounds to determine his or her average. Register for the event by Jan. 20 to receive a free professional jump rope. Register at forms.gle/LLb4DDXFVosvc4Uu7 or text (575) 815-4575 for the link. March 1 - Dr. Seuss' Birthday Party. The annual celebration of the children's author will be...
For the second straight year, Tucumcari looked dead in the water against Thoreau in the title game of the Lady Rattlers Invitational girls basketball tournament. For the second straight year, the Lady Rattlers rallied to earn the first-place trophy. Trailing by 10 points at intermission after miserable shooting against the Lady Hawks, the Lady Rattlers stepped up their intensity to start the third quarter and scored 13 unanswered points to completely reverse their odds. Another 9-2 run in the...
The Logan girls basketball team overcame a double-digit deficit against visiting Des Moines and rallied for a 58-46 victory on Saturday. The Lady Longhorns trailed 32-21 at halftime but finished the third quarter with a 15-4 run, slicing the Lady Demons’ lead to 39-38. Logan continued the onslaught early in the fourth quarter, going on a 13-1 run to grab a 51-40 lead midway through the period. Des Moines never threatened after that. “Our defensive energy got more intense,” Logan coach Dustin Robertson said of the rally. “For us,...
The Logan boys basketball team kept rolling and remained undefeated after a dominating 80-32 victory over visiting Des Moines on Saturday. The Demons (4-4) made it semi-competitive in the first quarter, with them trailing 19-11. But the Longhorns (9-0) put distance between them and their opponents after that, leading 39-21 at intermission and 64-27 after three quarters. Hayden Bruhn led the Longhorns with 21 points. Not far behind were teammates Diego Sanchez with 17, Aydin Kotara with 14 and Devin Kotara with 13. “We shot the ball well...
Tucumcari senior wrestler Josh Pacheco earned another tournament title this season — this time at the 14-team Matador Classic at Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday. Wrestling in the 150-pound weight class, Pacheco won all four of his bouts on Saturday, including against Michael Castillo of Canyon West Plains in the championship. “He looked really good,” Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said of Pacheco. “In the finals, he was against a kid that he wrestled this summer in freestyle wrestling in Amarillo. Josh said it was going to be a tough match,...
Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” That’s clever. Yet, here we are, wondering how it got so weird around here. Churchill’s quote, though witty, is inaccurate. The Hebrew Scriptures in the Bible (what we regularly call the Old Testament) present us with a better way. Somewhere in the ballpark of 2000 B.C., God went and pulled a nation for himself out of the midst of another nation, with great power, signs, and wonders. They were a couple million descendants...
Every year is interesting in its own way. This one included the death of a hero, Alexei Navalny; the toppling of a dictator, Bashar Al Assad; the implosion of a president, Joe Biden; two assassination attempts on a former president, Donald Trump; the conviction for hush money payments made by a former president, Donald Trump, and the re-election of a former president, Donald Trump. Any one of the above-mentioned events would have been shocking taken in isolation. Personally, I think the one true thing that has changed in the American psyche...
In 1977, when Jimmy Carter took the presidential oath of office, I was there. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not a big deal, except to me. Back then, I was wandering from town to town and job to job, so much so that I didn’t even cast a ballot in the 1976 general election that elected Carter. It’s the only presidential election I ever missed, and I’ve always regretted it. A few weeks earlier, I had hastily left a job in West Virginia, leaving behind a few things that I couldn’t carry away with my thumb. I left my things at a...
His tenure as president was punctuated with unrelenting adversity, tortured from the outset by obscenely high inflation and a post-Vietnam-and-Watergate nation that had a sour disposition. His fragmented administration was disproportionately populated by political cronies from his home state of Georgia. His micromanaging style drew widespread derision and his right of center values resulted in serious conflicts with a much more liberal and progressive Congress. In the eyes of many historical and political observers, Jimmy Carter’s one-term...