Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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The Tucumcari Public Schools board spurned three search firms’ offers and instead turned to an in-house team to find a new superintendent. The board during its regular meeting Dec. 18 chose assistant superintendent Dave Johnson and administrative assistant Veronica Hernandez to search for a successor to Aaron McKinney, who retires on Jan. 1 after 18 years in the post. McKinney was not present during the meeting. Johnson will be paid a $5,000 stipend to find a new superintendent. Hernandez will be paid a $3,000 stipend. Johnson said after the m...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board declined to approve or even take a vote on final readings of policy reviews regarding gender identity and reproductive or gender-affirming health care. Both items were on the agenda for the board’s Dec. 18 meeting. But when Vice President Matthew Pacheco — presiding over the meeting in place of absent President Heather Gonzales — asked for a motion on both measures, none was offered, much less a second. After the board’s inaction, audience member Slik Knapp said: “I’d like to thank the board for being resilien...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team overcame an eight-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to rally for a 66-62 victory over state-ranked Raton in the Rattlers' home opener on Thursday. Luis Archuleta scored 10 of his team-leading 19 points in the fourth quarter for Tucumcari. Julian Griego, who added 11 points and eight rebounds, scored a critical three-point play to tie it with two minutes remaining, then sank two free throws with nine seconds left to secure the victory. Kamren Apodaca...
It took almost a month, but the Lady Rattlers basketball team finally played its home opener. And what a happy home opener it was. Tucumcari took control early Thursday against a mismatched Raton squad during a 66-14 victory at Rattler Gymnasium. The Lady Rattlers scored the first 25 points of the game and didn't allow the Tigers a field goal until late in the second period. The Rattlers originally were scheduled to hold their home opener against Robertson in late November, but that was...
After struggling to find an alternate site to the doomed Mountain View School, an official with the Early Head Start program said she wants to use classrooms at Tucumcari Elementary School before a modular facility would be installed nearby. Pagie Evans, education specialist of the program, gave a presentation in front of the Tucumcari Public Schools board during its Dec. 18 meeting. She said the program serves 32 children. Evans said she’s been told that Early Head Start would have vacate Mountain View School by March. The program leases t...
SAN JON — The San Jon Municipal Schools board approved a five-year facilities master plan — a key step for the district to obtain state funding for a new school that’s now estimated to cost nearly $40 million. Ian Harmon of Northstar NM, the district’s project manager, told the board during its meeting Wednesday he estimated an architect for the new school should be selected by May, with construction to begin in 2025 and the new building being finished by late 2026. Harmon, who gave a PowerPoint presentation about the school project so far, in...
City commissioners voted to raise fees at Tucumcari Municipal Golf Course, but at least two questioned whether the increases were high enough. Commissioner ultimately approved the increases during their regular meeting Thursday, but with the stipulation the fees be reviewed within a year and be compared to other golf courses in the region. City manager Paula Chacon said fees at the golf course hadn’t been raised since 2011. Many of the increases listed in the resolution ranged from less than $10 to just over $50 per year. They will take e...
Tucumcari's wrestling coach has touted Fernando Ureste all season as one of his best grapplers, and the sophomore proved it by winning the 133-pound title Saturday at the 12-team Tucumcari Rattler Invitational. But it wasn't easy. In the title match, Ureste fell behind 5-0 and nearly was pinned by Amarillo Tascosa's Izaiah Herrera in the first period. "My shots weren't there in the beginning," Ureste said. "But I thought I would be able to pull through." Ureste rallied to within 5-4 in the...
Removing asbestos from the long-closed Princess Theatre in Tucumcari won’t be expensive, as expected. Removing lead paint from the theater would be another matter. Members of the Princess Theatre committee learned Thursday from city manager Paula Chacon that removing asbestos from the venue would cost an estimated $37,985.02. Removing the lead paint would cost another $230,896, according to estimates from Asbestos Experts of Rio Rancho. The total of nearly $270,000 — not including gross receipts taxes — would exceed the $250,000 in capit...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees approved property and equipment leases with the Mesalands Community College Foundation that reduced or eliminated fees for one year, saving the college nearly $50,000. The foundation’s leases approved by the board during its Dec. 12 meeting totaled $5,000 — a massive cut in such expenses for the financially struggling college. Earlier in the fall, the total due on the leases was $54,800, but the leases were not included in the college’s budget after it had cut costs earlier in the year. Mesaland...
An official recount last week affirmed Deanna Osborn's one-vote election victory over Wesley Brian Cox for the second and final seat on Logan Village Board. A recount also confirmed Dale Bone's five-vote victory in the Nov. 7 election over Brian Watson for the second and final seat on the San Jon school board. In the end, Osborn's 122 votes prevailed over Cox's 121 votes for the Logan village seat - the same total recorded on Election Day. Cox had been appointed to the board in the late spring a...
An overview of more than 80 properties owned by the City of Tucumcari revealed several with expired leases or a lack of documentation, including the New Mexico Route 66 Museum. Commissioners and city manager Paula Chacon discussed the tracts during a work session before their regular Dec. 4 meeting. (The meeting was rescheduled from Nov. 30 because Chacon was out of town at a conference.) Commissioners months ago had requested an inventory of such properties and had discussed putting a few up...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a $190,000 purchase contract for the former Bob’s Budget Pharmacy building to be used as a new site for the county’s 911 dispatch center. The commissioners’ unanimous vote came after a one-hour closed executive session attended by county fire marshal Lucas Bugg, Tucumcari/Quay Regional Emergency Communications Board Chairman Rodney Paris and 911 dispatch director Jamie Luaders. The 911 board recommended the purchase last month. Local appraiser Justin Knight had estimated the value of the forme...
In a little less than a month, Tucumcari Public Schools superintendent Aaron McKinney will leave the unit office for the final time - a closing chapter to an unusually long 18-year tenure. The retirement of McKinney, who turns 55 this month, officially will begin on New Year's Day. The school board is scheduled this month to pick a search firm to find a new superintendent. Assistant superintendent Dave Johnson is slated to serve as interim superintendent for a few months. McKinney, sitting for a...
Ideas for an update to the City of Tucumcari's comprehensive plan ranged from basic to fanciful, but several residents coalesced around a vision of infrastructure improvements and more trade-skill training that would boost the city's aged housing stock. Albuquerque-based Sites Southwest oversaw last Monday's discussions and assessment and visioning exercises with about 30 residents at the Tucumcari Convention Center. A future meeting regarding the comprehensive plan update is tentatively set...
Tucumcari Public Schools board members will consider quotes from three executive-search firms to find a new superintendent. Board President Heather Gonzales said during the board’s meeting on Nov. 20 it will make a decision on those bids at its regular meeting in December, with the superintendent search slated to begin in January. Current superintendent Aaron McKinney has said he would retire on Jan. 1 after 18 years of leading the district. McKinney was not present during last week’s meeting. School officials did not identify the bidders, tho...
First Baptist Church in Tucumcari began offering free Thanksgiving dinners 32 years ago, and volunteer AJ Williams has been of part of that effort each year. Williams, 71, has become the supervisor of the annual endeavor in the church's fellowship hall that typically feeds 200 people during the holiday. Though she endures her share of ailments, Williams said she's never missed helping with the Thanksgiving dinner at the church. First Baptist continued with the tradition even during the COVID-19...
The former Mountain View Elementary School in Tucumcari, used by the Early Head Start Program, might be town down sometime next year. Tucumcari Public Schools assistant superintendent Dave Johnson told the board during its Nov. 20 meeting the district's insurer said the building should be condemned and that the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority has signaled it would cover all costs of its demolition, including hazardous materials abatement. Johnson told board members that Eastern...
Though longtime Tucumcari boys basketball coach John Span is sitting out this season, don't expect many changes as his assistant coach from last season, Gary Hittson, takes over the helm. Span decided this fall to temporarily step down from his post because he's recovering from major cancer surgery in August. It would have been Span's 21st season. Hittson, a veteran coach himself, said he'd been in touch occasionally with Span over the summer, but their philosophies remain mostly similar...
Tucumcari will have an early measuring stick on how good its girls basketball team is when its hosts (Las Vegas) Robertson in its season opener on Thursday. The perennially tough Cardinals have defeated the Lady Rattlers by an average of more than 30 points the last three seasons. But THS coach Patrick Benavidez thinks his team has a good opportunity for payback. "They've had our number the last few years," he said. "Their being physical really wore us down in the second half. This year, I...
Overall enrollment at Mesalands Community College fell 26% in the fall semester compared to a year ago, though on-campus enrollment rose sharply during the same period. Josh McVey, vice president of student affairs, gave those findings during his annual enrollment management report at the Mesalands board of trustees meeting last Wednesday. Total enrollment this fall was 586, down from 791 in fall 2022. McVey wrote in his report “this is due to reducing our dual enrollment services to high schools in our region” during cost-cutting moves this ye...
Two local organizations' forthcoming giveaway of a doll and its accessories has sparked fond memories from women of a certain age in the Tucumcari region. Tucumcari MainStreet and the CRAFT Club of Tucumcari have teamed up for a Very Merry Tucumcari fundraising raffle of an Adora Amazing Girls doll and more than 20 outfits, accessories and three vintage trunks to store them all. The doll and her belongings are displayed at Blanco Creek Boutique in downtown Tucumcari. They will be given away on D...
RIO RANCHO - A Class 1A volleyball championship clash of No. 1 Melrose vs. No. 2 Logan seemed inevitable virtually all season, but Gateway Christian had other ideas Saturday morning. The Warriors, seeded fourth in the tournament, ousted the Lady Longhorns 21-25, 25-23, 25-11, 16-25, 15-10 in the semifinals. In the fifth and deciding set, Gateway's Kimber Balok made three kills and an ace during a critical 5-2 scoring run to give her team a 13-9 lead. Balok totaled 11 kills and a team-high six sc...
RIO RANCHO - The Lady Rattlers didn't bring home a trophy, nor did they advance to the Class 3A semifinals. What they did, however, was solidify their claim as the best volleyball team in school history. The Lady Rattlers not only earned their first-ever victory at the state tournament on Thursday, but they notched another win on Friday. Tohatchi finally brought Tucumcari's postseason to an end with 15-25, 25-14, 16-25, 19-25 loss Friday afternoon at the Rio Rancho Events Center. The Lady...
In a sign that Tucumcari voters desired change, two incumbent city commissioners - including the mayor - lost decisively during local elections last Tuesday. Another race for Logan Village Board was too close to call after just one vote separated two candidates for a second and final seat. A recount appeared almost certain. In Tucumcari District 1, Jerry Lopez earned 85 votes - almost double of runner-up and fellow challenger Maria Carmen Gonzalez's 44. Incumbent Ralph Moya, who also serves as...