Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 1558 - 1582 of 1729
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees on Feb. 19 approved its annual audit in which the auditor said the college’s financial status is “pretty good.” Martin Mathisen of the Atkinson accounting firm in Albuquerque gave the audit report by teleconference during the board’s meeting. Mathisen had planned to present the report in person, but a snowstorm in Edgewood that day as he was en route prompted him to turn back. Mathisen said the college’s ratio of current assets versus current liabilities was 10-to-1, which he described...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team captured the regular-season district title and the No. 1 seed for this week's district tournament with a 55-42 win Friday at Tularosa. The Lady Rattlers, who improved to 20-4 overall and are ranked third in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, will host at the Snake Pit the winner of the Dexter-Tularosa game at 6 p.m. Friday to decide the district tournament title. Aliyah Herrera led the Lady Rattlers with 17 points. Jasmine Jones added 15 and Kalani French 12....
RIO RANCHO - The Tucumcari wrestling team took home four medals - including a Class 3A state title by Kaleb Hayes - during the NMAA state wrestling championships Saturday at the Santa Ana Star Center. Hayes (21-6), a senior who finished third last year, captured the title by defeating Javier Mares (27-8) of Las Vegas (Robertson) in a 3-1 decision in the 220-pound finals. Tucumcari senior Rod Dunlap, competing at 145 pounds, and junior Joe Martinez at 152 each fell in their championship match....
The sheriff who persuaded county commissioners Feb. 11 to adopt a resolution declaring Quay County a “Second Amendment sanctuary county” said days later he was open to possibly supporting a “red flag” gun-control bill in the New Mexico Legislature because it may reduce the number of suicides. Also, one of the objections Quay County Sheriff Russell Shafer had against an unsecured-gun bill was rendered moot because of amendments added after his comments before the commission. He continues to oppose the bill because he says it opens gun owners...
There may be light at the end of the tunnel regarding the New Mexico Racing Commission awarding a sixth racing license. The possibility of awarding a sixth license is on the commission’s agenda for the regular meeting Thursday, but it remains unlikely it will take action on that item while a legal matter against it is pending. However, commission executive director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo said in an email Monday a court hearing is scheduled for April 4 on an injunction request from a Lordsburg license applicant. Applicants from Tucumcari, Clovi...
Those who knew Debra Whittington said it seemed appropriate a reception after her funeral Thursday was held at her Dollhouse Bed and Breakfast in Tucumcari. Whittington, a local author and longtime columnist for the Quay County Sun, died Feb. 11 after an extended illness. She was 61. A few years ago, she and Mark bought a 1908 Victorian house near downtown Tucumcari, restored it and renamed it the Dollhouse Bed and Breakfast in 2017. Todd Smith, a member of the First Baptist Church in Tucumcari...
High winds apparently toppled a wind turbine Saturday near House in Quay County. No one was hurt during the mishap, but it caused a lot of chatter on social media. Shana Shoemaker Stowe of House shared an album of photos of the downed wind turbine on Facebook. As of Monday morning, it had been shared more than 2,900 times on the popular social-media network and prompted hundreds of comments. Bryan Garner, a media-relations representative for NextEra Energy Resources that runs the Casa Mesa Wind...
An 11-year-old girl from Tucumcari holds dreams of becoming a member of the Team USA gymnastics team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and she is inspiring other children in town to consider taking up the sport. To think it all started because of her viewing YouTube videos online. For the last 18 months, Aliyah Marez has trained twice a week at KATZ Gymnastics in Clovis. She's in the middle of competition season, with the team state championships coming up in mid-March. Aliyah is at the Sil...
The Dexter boys basketball team Tucumcari defeated more than two months ago wasn't the same squad that defeated the Rattlers 68-58 during a district matchup Feb. 12 at the Snake Pit. Jaxon Arguello led Tucumcari with 18 points, and Jesus Ramos added 16 as the Rattlers fell to 3-17 overall and 1-2 in 4-3A. The Rattlers committed 10 turnovers and endured shooting woes as the Demons staked a double-digit lead during the first half. Tucumcari downed Dexter 60-51 on Dec. 6 during the West Las Vegas...
Thirteen Tucumcari High School wrestlers - including four district champions crowned Saturday - qualified for the state tournament that begins Friday in Rio Rancho. Tucumcari coach Eddie Encinias knew Saturday afternoon at least nine wrestlers would advance. He didn't know until Sunday afternoon another four had qualified for wild-card spots for the Class A-3A state tournament. Tucumcari coach Eddie Encinias couldn't have been happier with his team's performance over the weekend. "It was great....
Voters on Feb. 5 easily approved the Tucumcari school district's request to renew its two-mill capital-improvement property tax during Quay County's first mail-in election. A total of 858 voters approved of the measure, almost 69 percent of the total. A total of 393 voted against it. What surprised - and somewhat worried - some supporters of the local two-mill was the mail-in election's relatively high turnout of 29 percent. "We were pleased, very pleased, when we got the news," Tucumcari...
The Quay County Commission on Monday unanimously approved Sheriff Russell Shafer’s request to adopt a resolution declaring the county a “Second Amendment sanctuary county” because of his objections to several gun-control bills pending in the New Mexico Legislature. The 15-paragraph resolution, citing three U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the U.S. Constitution affirming the individual rights to bear arms, states the county commission “affirms its support” for the sheriff “in the exercise of his/her sound discretion and affirms its resolve to...
The New Mexico National Guard's loss became Mesalands Community College's gain - not that the Guard was complaining. The college took possession of the Guard's closed armory at 1200 S. 11th St. in Tucumcari during a divestment ceremony Friday afternoon. Officials signed the property-transfer papers earlier that morning after the facility was sold for $1. The ceremony in front of 40 guests later that day in the armory's gymnasium served more as a celebration. Mesalands President John Groesbeck...
A Tucumcari man briefly jailed on drug- and stolen-property complaints landed back in the county lockup days after his release after witnesses and surveillance video reportedly caught him breaking into several homes. A criminal complaint filed Thursday in Tucumcari magistrate court accused Donie Lucero, 54, of felony residential burglary, felony possession of burglary tools, misdemeanor larceny and misdemeanor criminal damage to property. According to the complaint, Lucero broke into a house in the 500 block of West Aber Street in Tucumcari wit...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team scored the last 12 points of the game to secure a 51-34 victory over New Mexico Military Institute in the district opener Feb. 5 for both teams at the Snake Pit. The Rattlers (3-15) snapped a nine-game losing streak by notching their first victory since Dec. 21. Jesus Ramos scored 20 points, including 11 in the critical fourth quarter, to lead Tucumcari. Jaxon Arguello added 10 points for the Rattlers. Daniel Xibille led the Colts (4-6) with nine points. The...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter to coast to an unexpectedly easy 86-50 victory Saturday over state-ranked Tularosa in the Lady Rattlers' district opener. Tucumcari's Aliyah Herrera scored a season-high 30 points on a combination of five 3-point shots and layups to finish fastbreaks and steals. Jasmine Jones and Kalani French each scored 18 points and Ashley Shipley added 15 for the Lady Rattlers (17-4), ranked third in Class 3A by MaxPreps.co...
Bobby Lee Vandiver, 32, of Tucumcari was sentenced Wednesday in 10th Judicial District Court to 10 years in prison for shooting a man on the west side of Tucumcari last summer, prompting the closure of Route 66 for hours. Vandiver pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer, battery and possession of a firearm by a felon in a plea agreement. Charges of armed robbery, aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit armed robbery were dismissed. District Attorney Tim Rose stated in an email...
The Tucumcari Historical Museum will mark the 50th anniversary of its grand opening with four events that organizers hope will spark children's interest in local history and bring back memories to those who were there when the museum opened. Cindy Lathrom, a member of the museum's board of directors, and Joy Young, a former board member and longtime volunteer, last week sat down in the museum's Herman H. Moncus Memorial Annex to talk about the museum's history, its sprawling collections, its...
Last week, Melissa Morrison spent her days brushing, trimming and babysitting animals at her K-9 Design Grooming and Boarding in Tucumcari. Early this week, the state's Legislature in Santa Fe recognized her and the business she operates with her husband, Charlie, as a Star Client of the New Mexico Small Business Development Center at Mesalands Community College. In addition to attending the 20th annual reception at La Fonda in Santa Fe for other Star Clients across the state, she was scheduled...
Two men were arrested — including one on felony complaints — after several law-enforcement agencies recovered narcotics and stolen property during a search of two Tucumcari residences. According complaints filed Jan. 28 in Tucumcari magistrate court, the men arrested were: — Donnie, aka Donie, Dell Lucero, 54, of Tucumcari, on complaints of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, felony possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), felony receiving of stolen property (over $500 but not more than $2,500) and felony posse...
GRADY - The state-ranked Logan girls basketball team jumped to a 16-point lead early and cruised to a 70-33 district victory Thursday over a rebuilding Grady/San Jon/House team. Harlie Roach's 16 points led the Lady Longhorns' balanced attack, along with Kesleah Shields' 14 and Jordan Hines' 10. Timia Northcutt's 11 points led the Lady Bronchos. The game featured teams in transition - one dealing with a season-ending injury to a star player and one trying to advance to a more competitive level....
GRADY - The Bronchos had an upset brewing because of their strategy, but the state-ranked Logan boys basketball team fended it off Thursday during a 70-60 district victory. Logan, ranked fifth in Class 1A, previously defeated Grady 84-57 during the Dora Tournament in early December, with Logan's Dyson Day scoring 18 points. Bronchos athletic director Alicia Rush, who led the team in place of Jonathan Langan after an ejection the previous game kept him from coaching Thursday, said her squad was...
The Tucumcari wrestling team finished runner-up Saturday for a district title, but a disappointed coach Eddie Encinias thought his Rattlers should have won the championship. "We fell on our faces," Encinias said. "There were guys I thought should have won, lost. Then we had guys I thought would keep it close and not get pinned, got pinned. "I thought we'd have a good meet," he added, "but things happen." Tucumcari shut out Newcomb 81-0 during Saturday's meet at (Las Vegas) Robertson but fell to...
The Quay County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a resolution that commits up to $1.75 million for public infrastructure improvements leading up to the site of a proposed horse-racing track and casino on Tucumcari’s east side. If the New Mexico Racing Commission awards a sixth license to Coronado Partners to build a nearly $80 million “racino” in Tucumcari, county officials said they anticipate not all of the $1.75 million would be needed to upgrade sewer, water, roads and utility lines to the site between Route 66 and Inter...
Based on the number of ballots returned, Quay County’s first-ever mail-in election is a success, with turnout at least three to five times higher than usual. Whether that translates to success for the Tucumcari school district’s efforts to renew a two-mill property tax won’t be known until the evening of Feb. 5, when the results are tabulated. Quay County Clerk Ellen White said 1,054 ballots had been returned as of Friday afternoon after initially being mailed to voters Jan. 8. Considering previous Tucumcari school-board elections had count...