Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 1183 - 1207 of 1717
One business in Tucumcari has about 10,000 vegetable seedlings ready to sell to gardeners wanting to grow their own food. Another sold medicinal herbs and offered massage therapy for ailing clients. New Mexico State Police officers in recent days served both of them cease-and-desist orders to halt operations during the coronavirus pandemic because they were deemed as non-essential. Both have vowed to appeal the order or fight it in a courtroom. According to a state police public information offi...
About 4,800 voters in Quay County soon will receive by mail an application for an absentee ballot for the June 2 primary election because of a New Mexico Supreme Court decision last week. The high court unanimously rejected a petition by 27 county clerks to hold a mail-in primary election in June because of health and logistical concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The justices ordered the state instead to mail absentee-ballot applications to all registered voters in addition to holding in-person voting. The Republican Party of New...
Tucumcari resident Richard Lewis has survived diabetes, two strokes, several heart surgeries and even being struck by lightning. Family members say he's showing signs of surviving coronavirus, as well. "He has nine lives, I'm sure," Lewis' former wife, Jennifer Lewis, said Saturday in an interview during a conference call with her adult stepson, Christopher Lewis, also of Tucumcari. They revealed some of the details behind the man who may be Quay County's first confirmed coronavirus case, which...
Superintendents at Quay County schools last week reported a mostly smooth transition to online learning for students at home in the wake of canceled classes across the state because of the coronavirus pandemic. Tucumcari schools superintendent Aaron McKinney said online learning was "going well" during its opening days last week. He said just a few students haven't answered the district's letters or phone calls during a transition to internet-based classes. McKinney said he had another hurdle...
The latest directive Saturday from New Mexico's governor to stem the spread of coronavirus expanded the state's public-gatherings ban to places of worship - one day before Easter. Numerous area churches, mindful of maintaining social distancing during the pandemic, kept their buildings empty and streamed services on Easter Sunday to parishioners over the internet as they had in previous weeks. One exception was First Christian Church in Tucumcari, which held a drive-in service in its parking...
The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board on Wednesday wrestled with a trimmed-down budget because of the coronavirus pandemic when considering assistance requests to events for the 2021 fiscal year. The board indicated more funding might be available in the fall if tax revenue recovers. In the end, the board recommended $61,500 worth of assistance to events or initiatives out of more than $100,000 requested. It recommended the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce run its operations on leftover for several months, then having the lodgers ta...
New Mexico's governor on Monday extended her public health emergency order to April 30 and added restrictions to combat the coronavirus pandemic, including limiting occupancy in essential businesses. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's order stated essential businesses — including grocery stores — must limit occupancy to 20% or less of the maximum occupancy of the retail space. Several New Mexico businesses had imposed their own limits before her order. The Family Dollar store in Tucumcari, for example, limited inside customers to five with an emp...
At a time of crisis, people sometimes step forward to lend a hand. That includes Quay County during the coronavirus pandemic, where at least two women are sewing protective masks and another woman is working to get free internet access for underprivileged children at apartment complexes she manages so they can continue their schoolwork. Lesa Salvador of Tucumcari is crocheting masks to be given away to children or the elderly. For everyone else, she's asking for a $4 donation so she can buy...
Local law-enforcement agencies are more mindful of the coronavirus pandemic and taking more precautions against it, but they're not backing off with their usual duties, either. "We're business as usual. We have to be," Quay County Sheriff Russell Shafer summarized in a phone interview last week. Tucumcari Police Chief David Lathrom said his force already had been taking protective measures before the epidemic, including wearing gloves and washing their hands. "The only thing we've added to that...
New Mexico voters won’t know until at least mid-April whether everybody will cast ballots by mail for the June 2 primary election. The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on both sides of the issue April 14 after 27 county clerks asked the court last week to hold a mail-in election because of safety and logistical concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver also stated her support for a mail-in election. The New Mexico Republican Party filed a lawsuit to block such an election, stating in a n...
In late March, workers were seen scurrying around and on top of the long-closed Apache Motel on Tucumcari's Route 66 corridor. It turns out the motel, aka the Apache Inn, at 1106 E. Tucumcari Blvd. landed itself new owners about a year ago who are renovating it and plan to reopen it in late summer. In a symbol of the motel's imminent rejuvenation, workers hooked up electricity to its massive neon sign. Dozens of more than 200 incandescent bulbs outlining the sign's edge lit up the night sky...
Despite widespread complaints about the lack of coronavirus tests and personal protective equipment for health workers, an official for the health service that runs Tucumcari’s hospital said she was confident it had enough of both there. “We are comfortable with the number of tests available and are following CDC and NMDOH guidelines for testing,” Trigg Memorial Hospital administrator Vickie Gutierrez stated in an email Wednesday. “It is important to remember that patients must be screened before being tested. To have symptoms screened for a C...
Area schools ventured into uncharted territory of mass virtual classes after New Mexico’s secretary of education announced Friday all public schools would be closed for the rest of the academic year to slow the coronavirus pandemic. Area superintendents scrambled to determine how graduation ceremonies would be held, how to determine competency of departing seniors and other logistical hurdles caused by the virus upending the routines of people’s lives. Education Secretary Ryan Stewart, ack...
A pandemic that spread into Quay County prompted the closing of schools, quarantine in Tucumcari and pleas from its mayor to avoid personal contact. These conditions aren't from the current coronavirus epidemic. This is from more than a century ago, when the now-infamous Spanish flu swept into New Mexico. A look into the Tucumcari Times archives from that time period somewhat reveals the extent of the pandemic. According to a report from the newspaper in late November 1918, the influenza...
A former Quay County sheriff’s deputy filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the county’s commissioners, saying he was wrongfully fired in August and alleging a conflict of interest by the county’s attorney. Christopher Valdez, a Quay County resident, filed the three-page suit March 17 in Tucumcari district court against the commissioners. The county’s attorney, Warren Frost, and District Attorney Timothy Rose weren’t specifically named but identified in the lawsuit. Both criticized the complaint when contacted by the Quay County Sun. Rose said...
Some have questioned the recent closure of New Mexico’s state parks through April 9, especially when visitors to those parks would be outdoors and can easily practice “social distancing” during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Quay County and Tucumcari see considerable traffic to two state parks — Conchas Lake State Park just across the San Miguel County line and Ute Lake State Park in Logan. “I know Logan is concerned about the state park closures because that affects their tourism,” Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce director Ca...
A 34-year-old Logan man was jailed March 24 following allegations he had sex with a 14-year-old girl. Joshua Lee Roubieu is charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contract with a minor by force or coercion, fourth-degree criminal sexual communication with a child and enticement of a child. Four of the sex-related charges are fourth-degree felonies that can lead up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. New Mexico State Police investigator Andrew Martinez took over the case in January...
A divided Quay County commission on Friday approved a temporary reduction of its regular meetings from two to one during April in an effort to slow the spread and risk of coronavirus. District II Commissioner Mike Cherry made a motion to cancel the commission’s April 7 meeting with the stipulation that county manager Richard Primrose can call a special meeting if needed. District III Commissioner Franklin McCasland seconded the motion. The commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting would be April 27. District I Commissioner Sue Dowell, who...
Area teams undoubtedly felt disappointment at the cancellation Friday of all spring sports for the rest of the school year. The team that probably felt that anguish the most was Tucumcari's softball team. That's because the Lady Rattlers had 10 seniors returning from a team that finished 17-5 - the program's best season ever - and qualified for the Class 3A state tournament. Combined with offseason workouts since November, the team and its coach held high hopes before the coronavirus pandemic...
A new resident says she hopes the Tucumcari Talking Tour she expects to launch in May eventually leads to a secondary benefit — restoring neon lighting to historic signs along Route 66. Tucumcari Talking Tour will set up AM radio transmitters at up to 14 sites to broadcast short messages about the site’s history in a one-block radius. Small signs will be placed at each site that gives the broadcast frequency for each. “The talking tour would give travelers something else to do,” creator Tracy Johnson said. “They’ll spend a little more time h...
A closer examination of the much-discussed U.S. 54 and Airport Road intersection northeast of Tucumcari reveals it to be multifaceted problem because of usual and unexpected traffic volume, design quirks and other factors. Quay County Commissioner Sue Dowell repeatedly has brought up constituents’ concerns about U.S. 54. The commission during its regular meeting Friday may consider passing a resolution asking state or federal authorities to make safety improvements on the highway. A Quay C...
Mesalands Community College's president was placed on indefinite paid administrative leave March 17 after a nearly 90-minute executive session by the college's board of trustees. The board placed John Groesbeck on leave after meeting behind closed doors with several of the college's administrators at the end of an otherwise routine meeting. The approved motion states Groesbeck is not allowed on campus and not allowed any contact the college's staff, faculty or the Mesalands Community College Foundation. Groesbeck also is forbidden access to...
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday instructed New Mexicans to stay home if they didn't work in essential fields and dropped the maximum number of people in public gatherings from 10 to five in an effort to slow the coronavirus pandemic. Lujan Grisham, citing her legal authority as governor, said she would suspend the operations of non-essential businesses effective Tuesday morning. The full list of essential businesses is at the state Department of Health's website at cv.n...
The seemingly far-away coronavirus epidemic suddenly affected virtually all households in Quay County in recent days with closed schools, canceled or postponed events and, most recently, restrictions on bars and restaurants that may persist for several weeks. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week declared a state of emergency, ordered the closing of all public schools through April 3, banned all public gatherings of more than 100 people, and the state's Department of Health ordered nursing...
Neither cold, nor rain, nor coronavirus could stop participants from making molten metal for sculptures Friday during the 22nd annual Iron Pour at Mesalands Community College. Susan Byrnes, an artist from Cincinnati who attended the first Iron Pour during the late 1990s, said the artists paid little mind to the ongoing pandemic that has disrupted the U.S. and much of the rest of the world in recent weeks. "I think, if anything, this was sort of a respite of what's going on in the madness of the...