Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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School for Tucumcari Elementary students will begin five minutes earlier this fall due to additional, state-mandated instruction time. The Tucumcari Public Schools board approved a calendar for the 2023-2024 school year during its April 17 meeting that also included two additional teaching days on Friday for the middle school and high school. Assistant superintendent Dave Johnson said despite the state mandating additional instruction time, the TPS calendar is “pretty traditional.” Because TES cannot use as much professional development tim...
The director of the Tucumcari’s economic development arm said during a city commission work session Thursday that no reports on a state grant program for small businesses have been produced since at least 2018, and he wondered whether those funds were being used for their intended purposes. Tucumcari’s city manager, however, said after the meeting she wasn’t worried about the possible misuse of those funds and regularly reported that fund’s balance since being hired in August. She also plans to give a more complete report at the economi...
The New Mexico Route 66 Association on Friday presented the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce and executive director Scott Crotzer its annual Heritage Award for renovating and beautifying the nearly 60-year-old, midcentury-style building. In addition to the Heritage Award plaque, association President Melissa Lea Beasley-Lee gave Crotzer and the chamber a one-year complementary business membership, a listing in the association's quarterly magazine and a "Historic New Mexico U.S. 66"...
Don’t expect the levels of Conchas Lake to rise much because of melting snowpack in the mountains of northern New Mexico and Colorado. Unlike wide swaths of California and Arizona that have seen record snowfall, the Canadian River basin that feeds the lake has experienced snowpack only 8% higher than normal through April 1, according to data compiled by manager Franklin McCasland during the Arch Hurley Conservancy District’s meeting on April 11. Snowpack this winter is better than the previous year, which was 25% below normal. But McC...
Logan's baseball team stayed undefeated after a district doubleheader sweep of visiting Grady on Friday, with both games shortened by the 10-run mercy rule. The Longhorns stymied the Bronchos 11-1 in the opener, then stopped them 12-2 in the nightcap. Logan, the two-time defending Class 1A champion and ranked No. 1 in the division, improved to 12-0 overall and 3-0 in district play. Grady fell to 6-6, 0-3. In the first game, the Longhorns scored three runs in the opening inning on two hits, a...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees during a special meeting Thursday appointed former Quay County manager Richard Primrose to fill an open District 1 seat created by the resignation last month of its longtime chairman. Two others applied for the position: Logan Municipal Schools math teacher Bobby Kandel and Tucumcari retiree Carlos Romero, who worked as a Pacheco Construction safety manager and for 25 years in the New Mexico Environment Department. Primrose had been Quay County’s manager for 14 years before his retirement in 2...
The Quay County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a resolution establishing salaries of the county’s elected officials for the 2025 fiscal year. The resolution states that “salaries be paid to the elected officials in Quay County be increased to meet the maximum allowable approved rates upon the date the official takes his/her oath of office.” County manager Daniel Zamora estimated that would cost the county an additional $71,000 for the salary hikes. He said he did not have firm numbers on the cost of benefits. County Clerk Ellen...
Now that Tucumcari's long-closed Princess Theatre will receive $250,000 in state capital outlay funds, Mayor Ralph Moya said during a meeting Thursday of the theater's board that a state senator indicated he could land $500,000 or more in additional funds next year. Moya said state Sen. Pete Campos (D-Las Vegas) was "instrumental" in getting this year's capital outlay money from the New Mexico Legislature to the theater and indicated he could bring in "$500,000 or more" during the 2024 session....
The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board on Wednesday recommended approval of motel tax fund requests for three entities this year, including for a new co-ed softball tournament in June. The board also recommended the city issue a request for proposals to hire a new tourism marketing manager to replace the current one whose contract expires this summer. The recommendations will go on to the Tucumcari city commission, which can approve, reject or modify them. The board recommended approval of these motel-tax requests with no changes: — $7,500 i...
LOGAN - The pitching of Josh Griego on Saturday brought Tucumcari tantalizingly close to its first district win in almost five years - against the No. 1-ranked team and defending Class 3A champion, no less. Griego pitched like an ace much of the game, striking out 12 and shutting out New Mexico Military Institute in the first four innings. The Colts finally rallied for four runs in the sixth inning to salt away a 5-2 victory in the second game of a doubleheader. Griego allowed 11 hits, two walks...
A somewhat divided Tucumcari City Commission on Thursday voted to re-advertise its opening for District 3 after accepting a letter of removal of an appointee who didn’t live within the district. According to the meeting agenda, commissioners also had the option of reconsidering three other applicants to fill the District 3 seat, which has been vacant since December when Ruth Ann Litchfield stepped down for health reasons. The other applicants were Randi Eidsmoe, Joe Barnett and Steve Farmer. Commissioner Christopher Arias said the other t...
Tucumcari’s new police chief requested $3-an-hour pay raises and bonuses for officers in her department during a work session Thursday with city commissioners. Patti Lopez, who had been interim police chief since the firing of predecessor Pete Rivera in January, officially was hired for the position, effective March 21. City manager Paula Chacon announced Lopez’s hiring during Thursday’s city commission meeting. Chacon had planned to announce it during the commission’s previously scheduled March 23 meeting, but it lacked a quorum. “She’s...
It's apparent one year after New Mexico allowed the sale of recreational marijuana on April 1, 2022, that it led to dramatic effects on Tucumcari. Ten cannabis dispensaries have opened in the city, and an 11th is under construction on South Mountain Road. According to data from the state's Cannabis Control Division, Tucumcari has seen more than $4 million in sales of recreational and medical marijuana in one year. The city has seen more than 68,000 transactions during that time, averaging about...
Alexus Lafferty hit a game-winning RBI double in extra innings, capping the Tucumcari softball team's 11-10 comeback victory over Raton in its home opener Friday. The win, where the Lady Rattlers overcame an eight-run deficit, set the tone for an 11-9 win in the second game of the non-district doubleheader. Tucumcari improved to 5-3 overall. Raton fell to 1-8. Tucumcari coach CJ Oglesby admitted he was thrilled by the comeback in the first game. "I'm really happy all the way around, a real...
SAN JON - A new era began last week when San Jon Municipal Schools fielded its first-ever prep girls softball team and played a doubleheader against the Santa Rosa junior varsity. The Lady Coyotes had only three weeks of practice and 14 workouts, so it wasn't a surprise the more experienced Lady Lions swept the twinbill last Monday by scores of 29-4 and 23-19. In the first game, played on San Jon's Little League softball diamond near the village's community center, Santa Rosa scored 14 runs in...
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's public health order regarding coronavirus is scheduled to expire after Friday, more than three years after the pandemic started. "While we're still seeing COVID cases, our preparedness and collaborative work have helped turn a once-in-a-century public health emergency into a manageable situation," she said earlier this month while also urging elderly and immunocompromised people to get vaccinated or their booster shots. COVID-19 killed 70 residents of Quay County...
A Tucumcari resident during the public comment portion of Monday’s Quay County Commission meeting praised county manager Daniel Zamora’s efforts to find funding to build a new Dr. Daniel C. Trigg Memorial Hospital. The county learned earlier this month the New Mexico Legislature did not fulfill its request for up to $30 million to build a new hospital. During the commission’s previous meeting, it approved a request of $32.2 million in federal funds for the project. Joe Szaloy, a licensed physical therapist at the hospital, said the current 60-y...
LOGAN - In a rematch of the last two Class A baseball championship games, Logan earned a convincing doubleheader sweep Friday against Gateway Christian in the Longhorns' home opener. The Longhorns (3-0) prevailed 13-3 in the opener and 10-0 in the nightcap, with both games shortened by the mercy rule. In the first game, Logan ace Kaeden Stoner struck out 15, walked five, allowed two hits and was credited with only one earned run allowed in six innings. With the bat, Stoner also went 3-for-4 with...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees on Thursday approved making Allen Moss the college's interim president, effective immediately, during the board's first in-person meeting in three years. Moss, formerly executive director of corrections and dual enrollment at the college, was appointed ass acting president in mid-February after the previous president, Gregory Busch, left town following no-confidence votes by the executive team, faculty senate and staff senate. The board didn't...
Quay County commissioners apparently couldn’t resist the prospect of a 2-for-1 situation in hiring an assessor. Commissioners on March 13 unanimously chose the county’s geographic information system mapper, Dana Leonard, as its next assessor. They interviewed five candidates for the position. Leonard, interviewed in his office the day after he was hired, said he would continue to hold down his mapping duties when he takes over the assessor position in June. Leonard noted Daniel Zamora previously held his spot and as emergency manager bef...
The Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors voted last week to not allocate water into its irrigation canals for now but remained hopeful they might do so after rainier weather this spring. Board Chairman Robert Lopez said during the March 14 meeting the water-allocation vote was a formality for crop-insurance purposes, though a lack of water had been apparent for months. District manager Franklin McCasland reported Conchas Lake’s water elevation that morning was 4,162.4 feet, which was 0.2 feet lower than the previous month. The d...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board last week accepted a state grant of up to $34,303.96 to help the district form a five-year facilities master plan. The district’s share of the plan would be $28,066.88, with the total cost to not exceed $62,370.84, according to a letter from the New Mexico Public School Capital Outlay Council. During the board’s March 13 meeting, superintendent Aaron McKinney said having a five-year plan in place is required for the district to receive capital-outlay money and other funds. McKinney also said the plan also hel...
Tucumcari city commissioners during a work session Thursday seemed receptive to a long-range proposal by the city’s senior center director to plan for a multipurpose building that would include a senior center, a public pool and a recreation center for all city residents. Tucumcari Senior Center director Clara Rey said the design and engineering for such a facility would be part of the center’s infrastructure capital improvement plan for fiscal-year 2027. She said she didn’t know where such a facility would be constructed or how much it would...
The acting president of Mesalands Community College clarified to Tucumcari city commissioners on Thursday what he hoped to see in the near future for the financially distressed college. Allen Moss, appointed as acting president by the board of trustees last month after previous president Gregory Busch left town and took medical leave amid no-confidence votes by staff and faculty, told city commissioners during their regular meeting “we feel very good” about Mesalands continuing to operate, though he admitted “the hard decisions aren’t done ye...
Quay County commissioners on Monday approved a resolution opposing a federal listing of the lesser prairie chicken as an endangered species, fearing the economic impact. County manager Daniel Zamora said the Natural Resources Committee recommended the passage of the resolution, saying the county needs more information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the implications and regulations to landowners if the bird is listed. The resolution states the chicken’s habitat includes New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. It states the...