Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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A Mesalands Community College faculty member and administrators shared reports about the college’s goal to launch a registered nursing program during the board of trustees’ regular meeting Dec. 10. Shannon Sommers, with the college’s allied health program, said future RN associate’s degrees earned at Mesalands would be transferable to bachelor’s programs. She said the New Mexico Board of Nursing approved the college’s feasibility study for the RN course and next will examine at the Mesalands proposal itself. Sommers said prospects for a nursi...
More than 100 veterans' graves at Tucumcari Memorial Park and Quay Cemetery were decorated Saturday with holiday-themed garlands in the region's first-ever participation in the Wreaths Across America program. Officials with the Tucumcari chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, who led the local Wreaths Across America effort, said the organization likely would participate in it next year because the support it received. Susan Taylor, a member of the local DAR, said the organization...
Editor's note: This story contains graphic content. A Tucumcari man stands accused of having sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy earlier this summer after exchanging flirtatious texts with him. Daniel Ray Gallegos, aka Daniel Romero, 26, was arrested on a warrant Dec. 6 for fourth-degree criminal sexual penetration with a child 13 to 16 years old, a fourth-degree felony that can lead up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Tucumcari Magistrate Judge Timothy O’Quinn found probable cause for the charge. Gallegos was booked into the Quay C...
Tucumcari's wrestling team split dual meets against St. Michael's and West Las Vegas on Thursday at the Snake Pit, but the Rattlers' coach expressed general satisfaction with his squad's performances. The Rattlers easily defeated St. Michael's 57-18 but were edged 42-34 by district rival West Las Vegas, partly because Tucumcari suffered two forfeit losses at the heavyweight and 132-pound divisions - one due to a football injury that should be resolved in a few weeks. Tucumcari coach Eddie Encini...
Susann Mikkelson took over Dec. 2 as the family and consumer science extension agent at the Quay County Cooperative Extension Service, but she said she's not trying to “wipe the slate clean” from her long-serving predecessor. Brenda Bishop retired from that post in July after 32 years in the extension office in Tucumcari. Mikkelson indicated she would consult with her from time to time. “I'm not looking to fill Brenda's shoes,” Mikkelson said in her office Thursday while taking a break from online training. “She's still here; she's still goi...
Police cars and ambulances swarmed to the Pizza Hut in Tucumcari after a shooting there Friday night that left two Tucumcari men dead in an apparent murder-suicide. New Mexico State Police on Sunday identified the dead as Jimmy Chavez, 37, a manager of the restaurant at 2402 S. First St., and assailant Flip Anaya, 23. State police stated in a news release Sunday the shootings began about 9:13 p.m. Friday. "When officers arrived, they located two male subjects outside within close proximity to...
A new Christmas event - if a horse-drawn carriage can be called new - mixed with an old favorite, the annual Parade of Lights, over the weekend in Tucumcari. A total of 25 lighted floats, vehicles and even animals registered for the parade Saturday evening down Route 66, a tradition that goes back decades in Tucumcari. Other non-judged entries also entered the caravan that went from the old Kmart parking lot to the Tucumcari Convention Center. Carmen Runyan, who helped organize the event,...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved an agreement with the county’s adult detention center and Mental Health Resources Inc. of Tucumcari that likely will add thousands of dollars in costs to the county. Chris Birch, an administrator of the jail who recommended the agreement, said Mental Health Resources once provided mental health care to inmates for free but not longer can do so. The pact states the fee schedule will be $98.54 an hour for the initial evaluation by a therapist , $110.59 an hour for an initial evaluation by a p...
Veteran state Sen. Pete Campos foresees a lot of new infrastructure spending by a cash-flush New Mexico Legislature when its 30-day session resumes in January. Campos, D-Las Vegas, who's served in the Legislature for nearly 30 years, shared his thoughts about the coming session at an event hosted Thursday by the Quay County Democratic Party in the Liberty Room of the Tucumcari Convention Center. Campos' 8th District includes part of northeast Tucumcari as well as Logan and Ute Lake in Quay...
A Tucumcari man avoided a conviction on a felony animal-abuse charge after a Quay County jury deadlocked and failed to reach a verdict Wednesday during a trial in 10th District Court in Tucumcari. The jury of nine women and three men deadlocked 9-3 after more than four hours of deliberation. It wasn't known whether a majority of jurors favored conviction or acquittal because District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. didn't poll them individually. But when quizzed by Mitchell on whether the prosecutor...
SAN JON — The San Jon Municipal Schools board of trustees unanimously voted to reject a sports cooperative agreement with Grady and House during a special meeting Nov. 26. “We’re on our own, guys,” board president Frank Gibson said moments after the vote, which was greeted by a smattering of applause from the audience. The proposed two-year agreement would have covered high-school volleyball and basketball starting with the 2020-2021 school year. The current pact wasn’t scheduled to expire until July, but the New Mexico Activities Associati...
Police cars and ambulances swarmed to the Pizza Hut in Tucumcari after a shooting there Friday night that left two Tucumcari men dead in an apparent murder-suicide. New Mexico State Police on Sunday identified the dead as Jimmy Chavez, 37, a manager of the restaurant at 2402 S. First St., and the assailant as Flip Anaya, 23. State police stated in a news release Sunday the shootings began about 9:13 p.m. Friday. “When officers arrived, they located two male subjects outside within close p...
The inaugural edition of a Very Merry Tucumcari on Saturday also could be described as a Very Busy, Very Blustery Tucumcari. Before a tree-lighting ceremony at dusk Saturday in a windswept and chilly Historic Railroad Depot Plaza, Tucumcari MainStreet executive director Connie Loveland said: "We're going to sing a few carols ..." She briefly stopped, then corrected herself. "OK, one carol," she said, laughing. After an abbreviated sing-along of "Jingle Bells," she, Tucumcari Mayor Ruth Ann Litch...
The Tucumcari wrestling team had a pretty good year last season, finishing 13-6 in dual meets, qualifying 13 athletes to the state tournament and one individual winning a championship. Coach Eddie Encinias, starting his 19th campaign after being inducted into the New Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame a few weeks ago, expects an even better season because he has more depth. He said he has 28 athletes on his varsity team, compared to 22 the previous season. The Rattlers will test that depth during...
It's a good problem to have, compared to previous years. Two area lawmakers talked Wednesday about the New Mexico Legislature being flush with money from oil and gas revenue and the tension between spending much of it and being prudent with the cash when lean times inevitably return. The lawmakers and audience members that nearly filled a 65-seat auditorium discussed other issues - jobs, roads and a desire to revitalize Conchas Lake during a legislative forum at the North American Wind Research...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board of education in future meetings will discuss the possibility of deeding land used for an annual pep-rally bonfire to Mesalands Community College so it can build a 100-unit dormitory. Schools superintendent Aaron McKinney told the board during its regular meeting Nov. 18 the college’s president, John Groesbeck, wants to offer more collegiate sports, but the lack of on-campus housing hinders that effort. Constructing a dorm would help resolve that problem. Mesalands offers rodeo as a collegiate sport and will ad...
No creampuffs to start the season for the Lady Rattlers. The Tucumcari girls basketball team faces a tough first test of the season at perennial Class 2A power Texico on Dec. 3 while their all-state guard is still recovering from a lingering illness and the squad is breaking in new varsity players. The Lady Rattlers' first home game at the Snake Pit won't be until Dec. 17, when they host East Mountain. The Lady Rattlers return most of a core that finished 22-5 last season, won a district title...
Longtime Tucumcari boys basketball coach John Span has taken steps to shore up a major weakness that surfaced on last season's team - free-throw shooting. The Rattlers struggled to a 5-20 record in the 2018-2019 season, but they arguably could have doubled their wins total had they simply shot 60% from the foul line. Instead, Tucumcari suffered through several sub-50% foul-shooting games, and it lost nine contests by six-point margins or less. Midway through last season, Span changed his practic...
The Quay County Commission during a special meeting the afternoon of Nov. 12 formally approved the canvass of the Nov. 5 election results, which finalized close victories of two incumbents in House Municipal Schools board of education races. In House Position 4, incumbent William Runyan defeated challenger Wendy Green-Grisby 39 votes to 35. Two Quay County voters who cast provisional ballots had voted for Green-Grisby, but it wasn't enough to flip the results. In House Position 5, incumbent...
ENDEE - Operators at Russell's Travel Center aren't the only ones hoping an ongoing replacement of an aged overpass over Interstate 40 finishes as quickly as possible. Quay County road officials are hoping it wraps up soon, as well. Construction on the overpass at Exit 369 at the truck stop where Highways 93 and 392 converge began a few weeks ago. The work forced the closing of about a mile of I-40, but traffic in both directions has been allowed to go through the area - albeit slowly - on the...
An annual enrollment report showed Mesalands Community College saw a small decrease in headcounts and full-time equivalency students in 2018-2019 compared to the previous year. Aaron Kennedy, vice president of student affairs, presented the report during the college’s regular board of trustees meeting Nov. 12. The headcount of students fell from 2,549 in 2017-2018 to 2,483 the following year, a 2.6% decline. The decline occurred after five straight years of increases. The number of full-time equivalency students dropped from 1,123 to 1,072 d...
A Tucumcari man was booked into the Quay County jail on three felony complaints after being accused of twice punching a woman, including once when she was carrying a child, and made threats with firearms and a baseball bat. Marc Michael Hazelton, 40, was charged with child abuse (first offense; placed in a dangerous situation), two counts of aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon and two counts of battery against a household member. The child-abuse count is a third-degree felony that can lead up to three years in...
RIO RANCHO - Not many would describe a No. 2 seed beating a No. 1 seed as much of an upset. However, a case could be made for Logan volleyball team's 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 victory over previously unbeaten Melrose in the Class 1A championship Saturday. Logan's win certainly was a surprise for many. District rival Melrose had won all four of its previous matches against the Lady Longhorns, including a trio of three-setters in dominant fashion. Melrose, carrying the No. 1 ranking in Class 1A for...
RIO RANCHO - The Tucumcari volleyball team's first trip to the state tournament in 30 years was a short but spirited one, losing four-set matches to higher-seeded Socorro and Navajo Prep in the Class 3A bracket's opening rounds. In the Lady Rattlers' do-or-die elimination match Friday afternoon at the Santa Ana Star Center, they fell to seventh-seeded Navajo Prep 12-25, 25-18, 19-25, 24-26. Tucumcari, a No. 9 seed, finished the year 11-13. Navajo Prep advanced to the semifinals before falling...
Senior Jasmine Jones, a key figure in Tucumcari's first berth in the state volleyball tournament in 30 years, signed a letter of commitment last week to attend Eastern New Mexico University in Portales and play volleyball for the Greyhounds there. Jones, a 5-foot-8 outside hitter, led the Lady Rattlers with more than 200 kills this season. She also led the team in hitting percentage, kill percentage and service aces. Tucumcari finished 11-13 on the year, qualifying for the state tourney for the...