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The Tucumcari Lodgers Advisory Tax Board on Wednesday discussed a city manager-supported proposal to reallocate Tucumcari Convention Center expenses so at least an additional $90,000 would be available to promote existing events and possibly launch new ones. Board Vice Chairman Al Patel, noting the board’s promotions division covers the convention center’s annual operations costs of $181,000 a year, proposed the board’s executive side assume half that. Patel said such an arrangement could bring two more large events to Tucumcari and increase pr...
One incumbent each in the Tucumcari City Commission and Tucumcari school board went down in defeat during nonpartisan elections Nov. 5. Two House school board incumbents apparently survived close races. Their victories are likely but won't be final until provisional ballots are tallied next week during a canvass of election results at a special Quay County commission meeting. Voters also easily approved school-bond issues in San Jon and House. Results remain unofficial until the canvass Tuesday...
Tucumcari's volleyball team learned Sunday afternoon it had qualified for the state tournament, something the Lady Rattlers hadn't done in 30 years. Coach Dana Benavidez posted on social media a short video of her staff, players and parents at the Snake Pit watching a live internet feed of Class 3A state tournament selection show. When Tucumcari showed up in the tournament bracket, it prompted cheers, hugs and raised fists from those watching. "It's been a long time," Benavidez said. "There...
LOGAN - It appeared the Longhorns might be brewing an upset Friday night against top-seeded Tatum in the eight-man football semifinals, staking a 6-0 lead on quarterback Wyatt Wright's rushing and their defense stifling two Tatum drives. But Tatum returned an interception for a touchdown late in the period. That proved to be a harbinger of Logan's five turnovers and an echo of its loss last month to the Coyotes. Tatum scored 40 unanswered points en route to a 46-12 victory Friday. Tatum (10-1) w...
MELROSE - In what may have been a preview of this week's Class 1A state volleyball championship, Melrose defeated Logan 25-19, 25-20, 25-12 in the District 6 tournament championship Saturday night. Melrose (19-0) and Logan (18-4) have been firmly planted in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, in the MaxPreps.com and coaches' polls in Class 1A for weeks. But Melrose has easily won its four matches this year against Logan - a turnaround from last season when the Lady Longhorns won four of...
RIO RANCHO – Logan stunned top-seeded and previously unbeaten Melrose 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 in the Class 1A volleyball championship Saturday after the Lady Buffaloes mostly dominated the Lady Longhorns this season. Melrose was hoping to notch its seventh volleyball championship and its first undefeated season since 1983. Instead, a jubilant Logan squad delivered a three-peat in state championships to its coach, Robert Young, at the Santa Ana Star Center, including a title victory over Melrose l...
Negotiations with a landowner to revitalize the big "T" on the north face of Tucumcari Mountain have stalled for two months, and the city commission is getting involved in an effort to jump-start talks again. Al Patel, owner of the Desert Inn motel in Tucumcari and a member of the Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board, said landowner Ronald Mueller hasn't returned any of his phone calls since the Rattler Reunion in August. Mueller's permission to access the land is needed to begin the project....
One incumbent each in the Tucumcari City Commission and Tucumcari school board went down in defeat during nonpartisan elections Tuesday in Quay County. Two House school board incumbents were leading close races. Their victories are likely but won't be final until provisional ballots are tallied next week during a canvass of election results at a special county commission meeting. Voters also easily approved school-bond issues in San Jon and House. Results remain unofficial until the canvass...
A legal complaint against a Quay County magistrate judge over an alleged lack of courtroom access was dismissed last week after the plaintiff’s attorney requested it, citing a resolution of the case. A notice of dismissal was filed Oct. 25 in the 10th Judicial District Court because the “the matters raised in the petition … have been resolved.” Tucumcari attorney Donald Schutte, who filed the complaint on behalf of Sue Moore, said by phone Friday that District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr.’s interim order after the complaint “removed the hurdles” f...
The project manager for the O'Reilly Auto Parts chain said he expects to begin construction on a new Tucumcari store within a month, with an anticipated completion in April. O'Reilly Auto Parts store No. 5437 is slated at 1316 E. Tucumcari Blvd., site of the closed Cactus RV Park. Jared Minor, a project manager with the Springfield, Missouri-based auto-parts chain, told the Quay County Sun in January he was hopeful construction would begin three months later. Minor said during a phone interview...
The Tucumcari volleyball team avenged an earlier loss to Dexter and secured a second-place tie in District 4 with a 25-19, 25-19, 14-25, 25-17 victory Oct. 29 in the Lady Rattlers’ last home match of the season. Tucumcari suffered a four-set road loss Oct. 17 at Dexter, hurting the Lady Rattlers’ chance at a district title. Led by Jasmine Jones’ 20 kills in the rematch, Tucumcari pounded the ball down often against the Lady Demons. “Our passing was so much better this time,” Tucumcari coach Dana...
Those running for Tucumcari city commission listed infrastructure upgrades, attracting more jobs and working together as a community as among their priorities during a candidates' forum Oct. 22 at Mesalands Community College. Another theme that emerged from most of the candidates - and reiterated by the Quay County clerk - was encouraging residents to vote for the Nov. 5 election. Candidates from throughout Quay County were invited to the forum hosted by Rotary Club Tucumcari and moderated by...
Three of the four races for Tucumcari City Commission are contested in the Nov. 5 election, and those candidates brought up a range of concerns and issues in the city. In District 1, which encompasses most of the city’s north side, Tommy Snapp is challenging incumbent Ralph Moya for a four-year term. Moya, 60, lists himself as a CEO of a mental-health agency, a behavioral health therapist, farmer and rancher. Snapp, 48, is a disabled retiree. In District 2, in the northeast and east side of town, Paul Villanueva is challenging incumbent Amy Gut...
The Tucumcari school board has four seats up for the Nov. 5 election but only one is contested — incumbent Fernando Ureste versus Jerry Joe Lopez in District 2. Newcomers Victor Matthew Pacheco in District 1 and Bo William Wallace in District 5 are uncontested and will be elected, replacing Carlos Romero and Corinne Hayes, respectively, who did not run for re-election. Incumbent Heather Gonzales in District 4 also is unopposed. All are four-year terms. Ureste, 32, works at United Parcel Service. He and his opponent, Lopez, 37, recently f...
Five turnovers spelled doom for Tucumcari in a 50-0 district loss Friday to a state-ranked Dexter team during the Rattlers' final home game of the season. The Demons (7-2) led 42-0 at halftime and scored another touchdown and a two-point conversion early in the third quarter to end the game via mercy rule. Tucumcari fell to 1-8 overall and has gone four straight games without scoring after a 35-33 overtime loss at Santa Rosa on Sept. 20. The Rattlers totaled just 21 yards of offense, while the...
Tucumcari has improved in volleyball this year. But its key district foe, Tularosa, also improved - all the way to a No. 1 ranking in Class 3A. The Lady Rattlers, ranked eighth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, were looking to notch an upset against the Wildcats like they did in district play last year. Tularosa thwarted that with its 25-14, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19 victory Saturday at the Snake Pit. Tularosa improved to 17-2 overall and took control of District 4 with a 3-0 mark. Haylee Hill had 16...
A fire early Thursday morning severely damaged what would have become Tucumcari's first medical-marijuana dispensary and forced the one-day closure of a nearby restaurant on Route 66. The blaze at 713 E. Route 66 Blvd., also known as Tucumcari Boulevard, initially was reported about 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Fire departments from all over Quay County were called in to bring the fire under control. A news release Monday afternoon from Tucumcari Fire Chief Doug Hogan stated the blaze "is considered...
The Tucumcari city commission on Thursday unanimously approved four resolutions, applications or agreements to address repairs and reconstruction of two blocks of Second Street downtown. Commissioners swiftly approved the four measures. Commissioner Ralph Moya, a frequent skeptic of city legislation, made the motion to approve those items. He said the work is needed because an acquaintance told him Tucumcari streets are “worse than the roads in Mexico.” These are the measures the commissioners approved: n A resolution requesting par...
The Quay County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $41,016.49 grant to build a new radio-transmission repeater to boost radio coverage to sheriff’s deputies on the county’s east side. The repeater will be built on the caprock off Highway 469 south of San Jon. The sheriff’s department currently has only one radio repeater, at the top of Tucumcari Mountain. The money, which requires no match from the county, comes from the state’s Homeland Security Grant Program. County Emergency Management coordinator Daniel Zamora, who shepher...
The Tucumcari school board on Oct. 21 approved a resolution that sets a special Feb. 18 mail-in election on a $3 million bond issue to redevelop its softball and baseball diamonds. The resolution was approved by a unanimous vote with little discussion, save for questions by board member Corinne Hayes on how to publicize the election’s Jan. 21 voter-registration deadline. Regina Gaysina, an associate with RBC Capital Markets of Albuquerque, the district’s bonding company, said during a presentation the district has shown healthy increases in the...
Two of the three open seats for the Logan school board are contested for the Nov. 5 election, with three candidates for each. Toby Jon Willis, Edward L. Johnson and Kyle Don Perez are competing against each other for Position 1. Johnson, 35, is self-employed. Perez, 35, is a rancher. Willis, 43, is a Ricoh service technician and owner of Autumn Blessings Assisted Living. In Position 3, Kene Terry, Susan Acosta and incumbent Bryan Roach will battle for the seat. Acosta, 51, is self-employed. Terry, 37, is the owner of Friday T-shirts. Laurie...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees on Oct. 15 unanimously changed its admissions policy so non-graduates of high schools no longer are required to take aptitude tests. College President John Groesbeck said the Test of Adult Basic Education or the Pearson ACCUPLACER assessment, once required for non-graduates, was “not an accurate barometer of success in college.” He said the best indicator was past success in high school. Groesbeck also said such tests are unnecessary for students taking only one or two classes and not pur...
LOGAN - Logan beating Melrose would be tough enough. Logan beating Melrose without two Lady Longhorn starters would be tougher. As a result, it shouldn't have been surprising a top-ranked and undefeated Melrose would down a No. 2 but depleted Logan squad by a 25-14, 25-21, 25-17 score Saturday. The Lady Buffaloes improved to 15-0 overall and seized control of the District 6 standings with a 5-0 mark with three league matches left. Brett DeVaney led Melrose with nine kills and two blocks. Hailey...
Noah Baker of Amarillo knew he had the talent to excel at Robert Lumpkin Memorial Disc Golf Course in Tucumcari's Five Mile Park. But he didn't play well during his last three tournaments. His biggest obstacle was "between the ears," as he put it. During this weekend's third annual Shootout at Six Shooter Siding, he changed his mental approach. The result was Baker shooting a 9-under-par 165 during the 54-hole tournament and winning the open title by a comfortable seven strokes. "I've been a bra...
A Tucumcari man was jailed on seven criminal counts, including two felonies, after he was accused of trying to choke a woman and threatened to stab her dog and burn down her house. Nicolas Garcia, 31, was charged Wednesday in magistrate court with aggravated battery by strangulation of a household member, aggravated assault of a household member, battery against a household member, criminal damage to property of a household member of $1,000 or less and three counts of harassment. The aggravated battery and aggravated assault counts are...