Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Because she has six seniors and nine returning starters, Tucumcari’s volleyball coach holds high hopes for the upcoming season, starting with a home match starting at 1 p.m. Saturday against Fort Sumner. But coach Dana Benavidez, in her eighth season, acknowledged she’s a bit concerned about filling one position: libero. The Lady Rattlers lost Alexus Lafferty at the position to graduation. Lafferty was a four-year starter and multiyear all-district player. Her jump-serves put defenders on their heels, and her quick reflexes on defense pre...
A state senator is urging Eastern New Mexico University and financially troubled Mesalands Community College to consider a partnership or make the Tucumcari school a branch campus of ENMU. One area lawmaker said he would oppose such a partnership or merger of Mesalands. The presidents of both educational institutions said they are open-minded to Sen. George Munoz’s proposal. Munoz, D-Gallup, in late July wrote separate letters to the ENMU board of regents and the Mesalands board of trustees. The Quay County Sun obtained the letters and other c...
Tucumcari Mayor Ralph Moya wants the New Mexico Legislature to toughen criminal penalties against those who provide illegal drugs to mentally ill patients. If that doesn’t happen, he’ll urge the city to pass stricter ordinances against such dealers, including jail time. The city commission took step in that direction during its regular meeting July 31 by unanimously passing a resolution shepherded by Moya, a longtime mental health counselor. Resolution 2023-27 “promoting awareness and protecting the mentally ill and vulnerable from the dange...
When a $4 million low water bridge east of San Jon will be rebuilt after flash flooding destroyed it in May remains in limbo because the contractor apparently didn't carry builder's risk insurance for the project, alleging the architect didn't require it. The contractor, the architect and Quay County had been scheduled to meet Thursday in the county courthouse in Tucumcari with a mediator in an effort to resolve at least part of the matter. However, that meeting was canceled, and the county...
Quay County on Monday officially hired Hull Consulting Government Relations of Albuquerque as its lobbyist and declined to renew its pact with a Clovis-based firm for the first time since 2017. The county commission’s approval of the contract came with no discussion. The county will pay Hull Consulting $12,000 a year, plus gross receipts taxes, over a one-year period. The county is splitting the cost of Hull’s fee with the Village of Logan. The county once held a lobbying contract with Clinton D. Harden & Associates of Clovis, which rec...
The old adage is everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it. That's not the case with the ZiaMet weather monitoring project, which aims to greatly increase the amount of weather data available in New Mexico, especially in rural areas. State climatologist David Dubois talked about ZiaMet, a service of the New Mexico Climate Center, as a keynote speaker Aug. 1 during the Rex E. Kirksey Agriculture Science Center at Tucumcari's annual field day. About 90 people attended...
The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory board unanimously recommended the use of more than $16,000 in motel tax funds so Mesalands Community College could erect three billboards to promote its dinosaur museum. The measure goes on to the Tucumcari City Commission, which could accept, reject or modify the recommendation. Josh McVey, the college’s chief communications officer who made the presentation in front of the board Wednesday, said the number of billboards for the museum had been reduced to one. Subsequently, he said, attendance at the museum s...
A board wanting to restore the long-closed Princess Theatre in downtown Tucumcari advocated requesting $1 million in capital outlay funds from state Sen. Pete Campos and the New Mexico Legislature during the 2024 session. Also, city manager Paula Chacon and board member Matt Monahan will negotiate with Stantec Engineering to reduce the cost of the first two phases in assessing the theater and renovation designs so it is “shovel ready” for the construction phase. The City of Tucumcari during the 2023 legislative session received $250,000 in cap...
Jehu "J.D." Knapp was sworn as Tucumcari Public Schools' newest board member at the start of the board's regular meeting last Monday. Tucumcari Magistrate Judge Noreen Hendrickson administered the oath of office to Knapp, who will represent District 5 after predecessor and board Vice President Bo Wallace resigned in early June. District 5 lies in the southeast part of the school district. The board during its July meeting chose Knapp to serve the rest of Wallace's term through December. During...
Ninety years ago, Quay County experienced two disasters in just a few hours that killed at least a dozen people and injured more than 40 more. The cause of both calamities could be traced to one thing - a severe storm system. Early Aug. 29, 1933, a Transcontinental-Western Air plane, with its pilot apparently disoriented by a heavy thunderstorm, slammed into the side of Mesa Redonda south of Tucumcari. That fiery crash killed all five people aboard, including the two pilots. Early the same day,...
The Tucumcari City Commission finally funded the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce after months of wrangling, but not before losing the chamber’s director. City manager Paula Chacon told city commissioners during their Thursday meeting she received word several days before from chamber Vice President Lee Judd that the chamber’s executive director, Scott Crotzer, had resigned. Commissioners ultimately settled on using $27,000 in lodgers tax funds to fund the chamber during the current fiscal year — $12,000 to pay a part-time emplo...
Tucumcari city manager Paula Chacon told city commissioners Thursday at least eight of its buildings will need a full roof replacements after a hailstorm on May 25 ravaged the region. Those are the Tucumcari Convention Center, Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce, Tucumcari Municipal Golf Course pro shop, Tucumcari Senior Center, Tucumcari Community Development office, Del Norte Community Center, Tucumcari Recreation Center and the trailer office at the landfill. Chacon said the cost to replace the convention center’s roof will be about $...
A somewhat divided Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors last week allocated three inches of water per acre — the first time it had authorized the release of water from Conchas Lake in over three years. The vote during the board’s regular meeting July 11 was 3-1, with board member Debra Mitchell casting the only dissenting vote after a long pause when she visibly agonized over her decision. Board member John Griffiths made the motion to allocate water, and Larry Perkins seconded. Board member Jason Box was absent. Mitchell and sev...
SAN JON — San Jon Municipal Schools might receive a $30 million state grant to build a new school in exchange for less than $250,000 in new debt by the district. Superintendent Alan Umholtz said during the board’s July 12 meeting that New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority officials essentially have sweetened the offer for the proposed grant. He said the only requirement would be for the district to add $200,000 to $230,000 in bond debt. Umholtz said he anticipates the board will vote on a resolution during its August meeting to put suc...
The City of Tucumcari’s animal control department has impounded more than 150 dogs since February, and its crowded kennel remains “a revolving door” for those animals. Tucumcari Police Department Patrolman Elijah Huber, also a humane law enforcement officer who supervises the city’s animal control division, gave a report to the city commission during its regular meeting Thursday. The city has beefed up the department’s personnel with two new workers and an intern. Huber also said it has issued more citations for loose dogs. Because of the cr...
Quay County’s manager said Monday that state officials have assured him the county would qualify for a state disaster declaration due to May’s flood damage to numerous roads, including the destruction of a multimillion-dollar bridge. However, county manager Daniel Zamora told county commissioners that he and state officials remain hopeful the county instead would qualify for a federal disaster declaration. A federal declaration would reduce the county’s cost share from 25% to 12.5%. The county has until July 25 to submit damage claims to the s...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board on Thursday chose Jehu "J.D." Knapp to fill the last six months of Bo Wallace's term after he resigned last month. After the board unanimously approved Knapp's appointment, board President Heather Gonzales said Knapp would serve the rest of Wallace's term through Dec. 31. She said Knapp could opt to file for the November election next month. Knapp will be sworn into office during the board's next meeting in August. Wallace, who had served in District 5 in the...
The contents of a survey shocked a parent of a Tucumcari Public Schools student, and what she described surprised several TPS board members, as well. During the public discussion portion of the TPS school board’s meeting Thursday, Lisa Montoya said her teen son received a online health survey from Apex of Albuquerque containing sexually explicit questions that “horrified” her. Two New Mexico Department of Health officials contacted by Quay County Sun said this was the first complaint about the survey they’d heard in their years with the age...
Quay County's manager said Monday he would show storm damage to Federal Emergency Management Agency officials in an effort to receive a federal disaster declaration in the wake of last month's storms. County manager Daniel Zamora said state Homeland Security officials were "surprised" by the extent of flood damage to county roads after the May 25-26 storms. Zamora said he would show storm damage to FEMA officials on Thursday. He said state officials encouraged him to pursue the federal disaster...
City funding for the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce remained in limbo again after a motion for a $47,000 proposal died for the lack of a second during a city commission meeting Thursday. Commissioner Christopher Arias made the motion to approve the chamber funding plan for fiscal-year 2023-2024 with the understanding the chamber would submit quarterly reports and have “better communication” with the city. But the motion failed to attract a second from Mayor Ralph Moya or Commissioner Mike Cherry. Commissioner Paul Villanueva was abs...
A report last week by the chief financial officer and financial documents sent to the state indicate Mesalands Community College’s finances have improved significantly in recent months. At one point early this year, the college was in imminent danger of not making its payroll. A series of cost-reduction moves, including progressive pay cuts for employees, and emergency aid from the state kept the Tucumcari institution afloat. The board of trustees during its June 20 meeting approved budget adjustments and a revised 2023-2024 budget that r...
The Tucumcari Historical Museum that organized this year's Tucumcari Rawhide Days aimed to keep the festival alive as it underwent a leadership transition. It accomplished that, with robust crowds at the museum and at the Quay County Fairgrounds during the weekend. The event pays tribute to the "Rawhide" television show of the late 1950s and early 1960s that starred Tucumcari native Paul Brinegar and a young Clint Eastwood. Several scenes from the western drama were shot at ranches in the...
The Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors didn’t allocate any water during its regular meeting last week, and it couldn’t even if it wanted to. The district will need three to four weeks to repair damage to its irrigation canals after the May 25-26 storms brought hail and flooding to the region. But the district’s manager and president signaled optimism it could allocate water to farmers as soon as its next meeting in July, or sooner if members call a special meeting. District manager Franklin McCasland said in his report durin...
SAN JON — A usually routine approval of an Open Meetings Act resolution resulted in a change in the dates of future meetings of the San Jon Municipal Schools board. Board member Cynthia Lee during the board’s June 12 meeting suggested changing the date of its meetings for the 2023-2024 fiscal year from the second Monday of each month to the second Wednesday of each month. Lee said she suggested the change “for those who want to be more active” on the board but find it difficult to do so because of their work schedules. None of the other b...
If Tucumcari High School's new football coach doesn't succeed, it probably won't be because of a lack of effort. Tarik Embrack, who was informed on June 8 he got the job as the Rattlers' gridiron coach, repeatedly used the words "hard work" during a phone interview last week. He said he'll wake up early each day to prepare his players for practices and games. "I expect the kids to give the same energy," he said. "Over time, you develop those habits, you outwork your opponent, study film, doing...