Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 1583 - 1607 of 1729
Much of a 15-minute meeting of the Tucumcari school board on Jan. 21 was spent discussing the governor’s recent order to eliminate a teacher-evaluation system. During the public-comment part of the meeting, board member Corinne Hayes asked what would happen in the wake of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s executive order Jan. 3 for the New Mexico Public Education Department do away with the PARCC test, an acronym for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, and find new ways to track student achievement and evaluate tea...
It took an uncharacteristic offense, a lot of effort and overtime, but the Tucumcari girls basketball team on Saturday stunned top-ranked and previously unbeaten (Las Vegas) Robertson 39-36 at the Snake Pit. Kalani French and Ashley Shipley's free throws in the final minute of OT secured the Lady Rattlers' victory. After the final buzzer, Shipley jumped for joy in front of Tucumcari assistant coach Patrick Benavidez as other teammates also celebrated. French led a balanced attack with 10...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team could cite several reasons for its 58-56 Homecoming loss in the last minute Friday to Bosque, but an old bugaboo - poor free-throw shooting - proved decisive again. The Rattlers (2-15) made just 7 of 20 shots from the free-throw line, or 35 percent, at home in the Snake Pit. The Bobcats (11-6) went 9-of-17, or 53 percent, from the foul line. Tucumcari coach John Span also lamented his team's decision-making down the stretch but clearly was frustrated with the o...
The Tucumcari wrestling team won two of three dual matches during a meet Thursday in Amarillo, Texas. The Rattlers lost to host Amarillo 51-12 but defeated Texas teams Pampa 65-30 and Bushland 51-40. Tucumcari improved to 12-5 in dual meets on the season. Tucumcari’s Rod Dunlap won all three of his matches at 145 pounds and improved to 23-1 overall. Joe Martinez at 152 and Colt Garcia at 182 won two matches Thursday. Tucumcari coach Eddie Encinias said Garcia and Dyson Clark at 195 pounds have been performing stronger as of late. “Colt is rea...
Tucumcari's Wayne Ferguson was inducted Saturday into the New Mexico High School Track and Cross-Country Coaches Association's Hall of Fame. Ferguson, who also is Tucumcari's football coach and athletic director, was honored during a ceremony in Albuquerque. Ferguson became Tucumcari's assistant track coach in 1994 and helped the boys team win the state title in the 800-meter relay the next year. He became head coach in 1996 and won two state titles the same season - in the 300-meter hurdles...
People who read a Quay County Sun story last week about a Tucumcari man accused of abusing a puppy wondered on social media why the suspect was released from jail one day after his felony arrest. The answer is complicated. But one reason the suspect was freed by a magistrate judge was because of a recent ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court. A city police officer on Jan. 17 arrested Ralph Fletcher, 29, on a felony complaint of extreme cruelty to animals. The officer, responding to a complaint of a dog being beaten, stated he saw Fletcher...
The O’Reilly Auto Parts store coming to Tucumcari is projected to open by February 2020, but a project manager with the chain said it may open in the fourth quarter this year if construction and permitting go smoothly. O’Reilly Auto Parts store No. 5437 is slated at 1316 E. Tucumcari Blvd., the site of the now-closed Cactus RV Park. O’Reilly filed a business license with the city several weeks ago. Jared Minor, a project manager with the Springfield, Missouri-based auto-parts chain, said in a phone interview he was hopeful final permits and r...
A fourth suspect — a juvenile — recently was detained for his alleged role in a violent home invasion in Tucumcari in October that hospitalized the victim. Albuquerque police arrested a 17-year-old male juvenile on charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment and interference with communications. He was being held in the Bernalillo County juvenile-detention facility, said Quay County Sheriff Russell Shafer. Albuquerque police also recently arrested Jamal Jones, 19, on a warrant issue...
Disease prevention in cattle turned out to be a major topic among guest speakers and about 60 ranchers and farmers Wednesday and Thursday during the Southwest Beef Symposium at the Tucumcari Convention Center. Marcy Ward of New Mexico State University, one of the hosts of the annual program that alternates between venues in Texas and New Mexico, said the event tries to address current issues that affect beef producers. Speakers also talked about water management for cattle and the use of social...
Two local officials who attended previous Quay Day sessions at the state capital said the 2019 version last week had a different feel. That’s partly because of a new governor, a new state Cabinet and new lawmakers who took office. The state also is sitting on a lot of new money, prompting more energy from legislators as their session began in the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Quay Day, an annual breakfast with legislators and Cabinet members organized by the Greater Tucumcari Economic Development Corporation, was attended Wednesday by about two d...
A third suspect was arrested Wednesday for his alleged role in a violent home invasion in Tucumcari in October that hospitalized the victim. Albuquerque police arrested Jamal Jones, 19, on a warrant issued by the Quay County Sheriff’s Office on charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, false imprisonment and interference with communications. According to a release from the sheriff’s office Friday, Jones was taken into custody Wednesday and remained incarcerated at the Bernalillo County Det...
Tucumcari's defense put the clamps on a state-ranked Pecos team during an unexpectedly easy 62-37 girls basketball victory Saturday night at the Snake Pit. The Lady Rattlers (13-4) seized leads of 20-7 in the first quarter and 35-12 at halftime while knocking off their second ranked team in three days - the other being Clayton. Kalani French led Tucumcari with 23 points, and Ashley Shipley added 15. Tucumcari coach Gary Hittson wasn't entirely pleased with his team's performance on defense...
The Pecos boys basketball team won a state title the last two seasons, and it looked ready to go for another during a dominating 84-45 victory Saturday over Tucumcari at the Snake Pit. The Rattlers (2-13) actually held a 10-5 lead during the first quarter, powered by 3-point shots from Robbie Hartmann and Jesus Ramos. But the Panthers, 14-3 overall and ranked No. 2 in Class 2A by MaxPreps.com, went on a 16-0 run after that. Pecos led by 20 points at intermission and by 30 in the third quarter. T...
For weeks, Tucumcari residents have reported a lone wild goat with big horns roaming in a field just west of South 11th Street near a city water tank and Tucumcari Elementary School. It turns out the animal is a Barbary sheep, as identified by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish from a photo emailed by the Quay County Sun to the agency. Tristanna Bickford, communications director for the agency, said in a phone interview last week such an animal in Tucumcari is unusual, but they...
A Tucumcari man ended up in the county jail Thursday on a felony animal-cruelty charge after a police officer reportedly caught him in the act of choking and injuring a puppy. Ralph Fletcher, 29, of Tucumcari, was booked Thursday into the Quay County Detention Center in Tucumcari on a complaint of extreme cruelty to animals. The charge applies to a suspect who “did intentionally torture, mutilate, injury or poison an animal” or “did maliciously kill any animal.” Extreme cruelty to animals is a fourth-degree felony that can lead to up to 18 m...
An old gravel pit north of Tucumcari doesn't look like much, but Robert Kryder envisions it becoming a venue for a big off-road racing event later this summer that will bring lots of business to the city s motels and restaurants. Kryder, officials from Outlaw Desert Racing and other volunteers in all-wheel-drive vehicles this past weekend used their vehicles to carve racing trails into the hilly dirt. Kryder said the site would become a 4- to 5-mile track, called Flintstones ORV, that will host...
The possibility of awarding a sixth racetrack license is on the agenda for the regular meeting Thursday of the New Mexico Racing Commission, but it remains unclear whether commissioners will make a decision because of a pending lawsuit filed by one of the applicants. An item called “Sixth Racetrack License” is on the agenda, along with 30 other items, for the commission’s 9:30 a.m. meeting at its boardroom at 4900 Alameda Blvd. in Albuquerque, according to an email from the commission Monday. The commission previously has stated it is commi...
Mesalands Community College's president announced two state agencies recently cleared the college's proposed acquisition of the closed armory building in Tucumcari for $1. John Groesbeck said during the college's board of directors meeting Jan. 8 the state's Department of Higher Education and Board of Finance had approved the purchase of the 21,540-square-foot building at 1200 S. 11th St. and its 7.86 acres, just south of the Mesalands campus. Officials from the New Mexico Army National Guard...
The election of officers was on the agenda Wednesday for the Tucumcari Lodgers’ Tax Board, but it was delayed on the urging of city manager Britt Lusk because of a vacancy. Lusk, noting the board vacancy after the recent departure of former chairman David Brenner, recommended the board defer its election of officers until a new member from a Tucumcari lodging establishment is seated. Al Patel of the Desert Inn, sitting in the audience during Wednesday’s meeting, said he would consider serving as board secretary. He must submit an app...
The Mama T’s restaurant in Logan is moving to the nearby Whiskey — The Road to Ruin building, where it will reopen by late spring with a larger menu and more employees. Mama T’s, at 120 U.S. 54 since September 2016, is moving its equipment and furnishings into the building, previously an Eagles lodge, at 103 U.S. 54. The restaurant’s manager, Brian Cox, said he seeks to reopen the family-owned business in early May. “We have outgrown our seating area and have been looking to upsize for a while now,” Cox stated in an email. Cox said the new ver...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team came out on the short end of a 57-56 game Saturday against Santa Fe Prep that featured six lead changes, including two in the final minute. Casey Carter, Matthew Lopez and Gerardo Villa-Vargas led a 3-point shooting rally to give Tucumcari a brief lead in the fourth quarter. Carter's potential game-winning shot as he drove the baseline in the final seconds bounced out of the rim, and the Blue Griffins (5-4) rebounded to preserve their slim victory at the Snake...
A guidebook that helped African-American travelers find safe and hospitable services - including in Tucumcari - during the Jim Crow segregation era will receive unprecedented attention in the next year or so. New York City postman Victor Green published the annual Negro Motorist Green Book from 1936 to 1966. Green created it "to give the Negro traveler information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trip more enjoyable" in an era where many businesse...
Thanks to a craftsman musician from Virginia, the Tucumcari Elementary School Nyoka Marimba Band soon will have more members and a bigger sound. Andrew Kesten, a music teacher at Tucumcari Elementary School, said in a recent interview the number of children in the marimba band will expand from nine to 11 by March. A marimba is an African-based instrument, much like a xylophone. Brent Holl, a retired music teacher and marimba builder from Bridgewater, Virginia, will come to Tucumcari in March to...
The Quay County Commission somewhat reluctantly approved an EMS Fund Act application of $7,000 for the Forrest Fire District after officials in the district failed to submit required documents and signatures on time. Commissioners on Monday approved similar applications from Fire District 1, Quay Fire District and Bard-Endee Fire District. But county manager Richard Primrose said the Forrest district, in the southern part of the county, had failed to turn in required documents and signatures despite having notification to do so “months in advan...
LOGAN - The state-ranked Longhorns boys basketball team repelled Tucumcari's bid for an upset with a come-from-behind 56-54 victory Saturday night. Logan (11-2), ranked No. 3 in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com, had trailed virtually the entire game until midway through the fourth quarter, then hung on despite shooting an abysmal 1-for-7 from the free-throw line during the quarter and 11-of-29 for the game. Tucumcari (2-9) also struggled from the foul line, going 3-for-7 in the fourth quarter and...