Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Trustees for Mesalands Community College delayed until at least November the approval of $54,800 in leases with the college’s foundation until the college’s financial condition could be clarified. The board of trustees had placed approval of the leases with the foundation on the board’s agenda for its Sept. 26 meeting. The annual leases included the Alco building for $10,000, an Interstate 40 property for the radio tower for $4,000, EDC property and equine center for $31,500, property at 924 W. Route 66 for $4,000, a utility trailer for $500...
Tucumcari’s Kyla Lopez made only one kill during her team’s match against Logan, but it was big. The sophomore’s spike into the back corner of Logan’s defense secured the Lady Rattlers’ 25-18, 25-19, 14-25, 25-21 non-district victory Saturday, their first over the Lady Longhorns since 2016. Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said she remembered that last win against Logan well, as it was during her first season of guiding the Lady Rattlers. “We beat them during our tournament here, and we beat the...
The Rattlers snagged their first district victory since 2017, but not without first making hearts flutter on the sideline and bleachers. Kamren Apodaca caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Romero with two seconds left to give Tucumcari a 12-7 comeback victory Friday night over Ruidoso at Rattler Stadium. The triumph in Tucumcari’s district opener was its first district win since a 27-0 decision over Clayton on Oct. 20, 2017. Since then, Clayton has been moved to another district...
Mathew J. Dimas died while being taken to hospital. An armed Tucumcari man fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy during a domestic dispute in July had at least one bomb at his home and threatened to use bombs against his wife and children, according to a New Mexico State Police investigative report. Mathew J. Dimas, 38, died while being transported by ambulance to Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari after Quay County sheriff's deputy Joseph Otero shot him three times during a police standoff at a...
Most property owners likely to experience decrease in bill. Property owners should see little change in their 2023 county taxes, and most will experience a decrease in that bill, reported the assessor during the Quay County Commission meeting Monday. The commission as a formality approved county tax rates that are set by the state. Assessor Dana Leonard said the county has little say in rates, though it can dispute them if local officials think there is an error. Leonard said local rates will be “very similar” to last year’s, and most prope...
Tucumcari Public Schools superintendent Aaron McKinney told the school board during its regular meeting last week he plans to retire on Jan. 1. McKinney’s retirement in 2024 had been known for some time, though the date he gave last week was earlier than expected. He had said in previous board meetings he might retire in March 2024, a few weeks before graduation. By the time McKinney steps down, he will have served in his position for about 18 years as one of the longest-tenured superintendents in New Mexico. McKinney said one of his top p...
Burns involved in six touchdowns for Longhorns. LOGAN - On paper, Friday's non-district matchup of Dulce (3-1) and Logan (3-2) looked like it might be a competitive eight-man football game. It was anything but. Longhorns quarterback Brock Burns torched the Hawks for 214 yards and four touchdown passes. He ran for another touchdown and caught a pass for TD during a 50-0 victory that required barely an hour because of the mercy rule. Devin Kotara caught two passes - both touchdowns - for 127...
THS romps during storm-delayed Homecoming. For once, Tucumcari's still-young team encountered a squad with even less football experience. As a result, the Rattlers dominated from start to finish Thursday in a 50-0 victory over Hozho Academy during Tucumcari's annual Homecoming game at Rattler Stadium. The game, its start delayed by lightning for two hours, ended in the third quarter due to the mercy rule. The Homecoming game was played Thursday instead of the usual Friday because Lady Rattlers...
State Sen. Pat Woods said last week he has grown more optimistic about the future of financially troubled Mesalands Community College. Woods, a Republican from Broadview whose 7th District includes Quay County, traveled to the college Wednesday to deliver a keynote speech for Mesalands' annual Constitution Day celebration. In an interview after his speech, Woods said he had talked Stephanie Rodriguez, Secretary of to New Mexico Higher Education Department, about efforts to help rectify...
Christopher Arias, a District 4 representative for the Tucumcari City Commission, turned in his resignation Thursday, citing personal reasons. Arias that morning posted on Facebook his resignation letter, effective immediately, to city manager Paula Chacon and Mayor Ralph Moya. Early during the city commission's regular meeting Thursday night, Moya read Arias' resignation letter aloud. Arias had served on the commission for five years. He was appointed to the position in October 2018 after the...
GLENRIO - In this border town in far eastern Quay County, a sign for a long-closed spot along Route 66 once proclaimed it as the "First Motel in Texas" and "Last Motel in Texas." With the opening last week of Glenrio Smoke Stop, it can credibly claim to be the first and last marijuana dispensary in New Mexico. It also serves as potentially a competitor to the dozen or so similar shops that have opened Tucumcari since last year. The Glenrio Smoke Stop sits just a few yards west of the border of T...
Mesalands Community College will request more than $3.4 million in state funding to expand its nursing, commercial driver’s license and wind-energy programs, including an upgrade to its iconic wind turbine. The college’s board of trustees during a special meeting Sept. 12 approved the requests to the New Mexico Research and Public Service Projects program. Mesalands faced a deadline of Sept. 15 to submit the requests. The state will schedule hearings to formally hear and discuss the requests at a later date. Joel Kiser, vice president of aca...
The interim president of New Mexico State University wrote to a state senator “it is not a good time” for his institution to consider a merger with financially troubled Mesalands Community College. State Sen. George Munoz (D-Gallup) in late July wrote letters to Mesalands, Eastern New Mexico University and NMSU, urging them to consider a partnership or make the Tucumcari college a branch campus of one of the universities. He requested a response by Aug. 28. The Quay County Sun through an open-records request obtained a copy of the written res...
SANTA ROSA - The prospect of facing Santa Rosa's vaunted single-wing offense is a challenge for most high-school football defenses. But for a still-young and still-learning Tucumcari defense, that task was made more difficult by a Lions offense adding a few new wrinkles. The result was Santa Rosa, ranked third in Class 2A by MaxPreps.com, scoring on its first six possessions during a 40-0 non-district victory on Friday night. Santa Rosa's Jykub Gage and AJ Romo each rushed for more than 100...
Several members of the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors expressed reluctance last week to allocate more water into its irrigation canals until spring. The board in July allocated three inches of water per acre — the first time it had authorized a release of water from Conchas Lake in over three years — after huge storms caused the lake to rise more than 10 feet in just a few weeks. Rainfall since that time, however, mostly has been meager. District manager Franklin McCasland reported during the board’s Sept. 12 meeting that...
Federal officials recently turned down Quay County’s application for disaster relief in the wake of hail damage and flash flooding that occurred in the wake of late May’s severe storms. County manager Daniel Zamora said Monday after the county commission meeting he received word last week from officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency that it had rejected the county’s bid for disaster relief. Zamora said the FEMA official that inspected washed-out roads and bridges assessed only $200,000 in damage in the county — well under t...
The name of Tucumcari's annual Fired Up festival derives from its event-ending fireworks show or the annual fire-and-choreography performance by Odd-Lab. But the "Up" part of the festival also could refer to several low-riders during the car hop contest Saturday afternoon in the VFW Post 2528 parking lot. Hundreds of people gasped, cheered and applauded as they saw the front ends of low-rider vehicles bounce nearly eight feet into the air due to their souped-up hydraulics and suspensions. The...
SAN JON — The superintendent for San Jon Municipal Schools received a one-year extension on his contract and a state-mandated 6% pay raise from the district’s board Wednesday. Alan Umholtz’s annual pay will rise to about $123,000 a year. Receiving a two-year deal upon his initial hiring last year, his contact now will expire in June 2025 with the extension. The board’s action followed a 40-minute closed executive session. Umholtz’s contact was on the agenda for two previous meetings, but action was delayed because of the absence of board mem...
Tucumcari city commissioners during a special meeting Sept. 5 approved fourth-quarter budget adjustments and fourth-quarter financial reports for fiscal year 2023 that were a few days late on a state deadline. Commissioners had delayed action on the resolutions during previous meetings because of lingering questions, and they still voiced some reservations last week. City manager Paula Chacon said the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration originally wanted the reports by July 31 but issued an extension to Aug. 31. Chacon said the...
State-ranked Raton scored four touchdowns in the second half Friday to put the game out of reach during a 41-0 victory against a host Tucumcari team still coping with the recent death of a teammate. The Tigers (2-2), ranked fifth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, racked up more than 350 yards of offense, mostly in the second half. Tigers quarterback Jacob Mattorano went 11-for-22 passing for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Joseph Saenz rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries....
Mesalands Community College stated in a letter to a state senator the financially troubled college was not “at this time” considering the option of becoming a branch of a four-year university. State Sen. George Munoz (D-Gallup) in late July wrote letters to Mesalands, Eastern New Mexico University and New Mexico State University, urging Mesalands to consider a partnership or make the Tucumcari college a branch campus of one of the universities. He requested a response by Aug. 28. Last Monday, Mesalands board of trustees Chairman Richard Pri...
Tucumcari’s head football coach said his players still were coping with the death of a teammate, which prompted the cancellation of a non-district home game Friday against McCurdy. Javion Martinez, a freshman running back and linebacker on the Rattlers squad, died unexpectedly at his home on Aug. 26. Funeral arrangements were pending; a service at Rattler Gymnasium tentatively was planned. In addition to the football game, several other Tucumcari Public Schools sports events were canceled or postponed. The Rattlers’ next football game is a non-...
Logan's volleyball team on Saturday captured its second tournament title in as many weeks - this time, defeating host Tucumcari in the championship match. The Lady Longhorns overcame an opening-set loss to prevail 17-25, 25-13, 25-14, 25-19 in the finals of the eight-team Tucumcari Invitational. Logan (6-0) also won their Lady Longhorn Volleyball Tournament the previous weekend. Kaylee Williams, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, made a team-high 13 kills and added four aces for Logan. Teamm...
Tommy Wallace is hopeful his ranch in southern Quay County sits amid a substantial field of oil, natural gas and helium that could produce dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of well-paying jobs. Wallace said in a phone interview last week that Louisiana-based Moran-Lavaca is “pretty sure” a substantial amount of helium exists on his property off Norton Road and at a recently drilled spot near Grady. He said he learned about the strike about six months ago. The Grady area well is on property owned by Elmer White, White confirmed on Friday. Tho...
The Quay County Courthouse in Tucumcari soon will have an improved and more sophisticated security-camera system. The county commissioners on Monday unanimously approved spending about $61,000 to install the Verkada cameras. The purchase, a five-year deal, was recommended by Sheriff Dennis Garcia and the 10th Judicial District Court. Jacob Farris, a sales representative for California-based Verkada, demonstrated the camera system by videoconference during the commission’s meeting. Farris said the cameras can be accessed by smartphone or r...