Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Earlier this spring, a sign went up behind the sales counter at Tucumcari Ranch Supply that stated: "THIS BUSINESS IS FOR SALE." That effort to put the more than 40-year-old Tucumcari business - best known for its Watson's BBQ restaurant - on the market gained momentum when a Clovis real estate agent recently completed an appraisal on the property. Longtime owners Jimmy and Stella Watson anticipate the online listing will go live shortly in January. The Watsons said during a recent interview...
The Logan boys basketball team put on an offensive clinic during its 77-55 non-district victory over Tucumcari last week before Christmas break. The Longhorns (9-2) saw five players score in double figures. They sank six 3-point shots, posted up for strong inside buckets and even scored on a slamdunk. The scoring diversity enabled Logan to storm to a 12-point lead at intermission and fatten it to nearly 30 midway through the fourth quarter. Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said the offensive outburst...
A tough loss the previous night to Santa Rosa built the foundation for the Logan girls basketball team gutting out a 44-35 non-district victory last week over area rival Tucumcari. First-year coach Dustin Robertson gave his team a challenge before it took the floor at the Snake Pit. "Last night, we weren't very poised. We just let (Santa Rosa's) press eat us up," he said. "We talked about bringing toughness tonight, and I thought they did that. Everybody on the floor showed more poise." Lady...
Tucumcari Mayor Ruth Ann Litchfield unexpectedly announced her immediate resignation, citing health reasons, at the end of Thursday night’s city commission meeting. Litchfield, 76, who represents District 3, had served on the city commission for eight years and was its mayor for six consecutive years. Litchfield’s announcement came during commissioner comments just before adjournment. Because each commissioner goes by order of rank, she was the last to speak. After complementing recent holiday events, Litchfield began to read from a pre...
An Albuquerque district judge indicated during a hearing last week she would grant an appeal by Coronado Partners to contest the New Mexico Racing Commission’s rejection of an application to build a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari. District Judge Nancy Franchini said during a telephone hearing Dec. 13 she was dissatisfied with the arguments of the commission’s lawyer, Richard Bustamante, to dismiss Coronado Partners’ initial lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. “I think it’s a valid appeal,” Franchini said. Franc...
LOGAN - At noon Friday, one teller locked the front door while another taped a piece of paper on its glass, stating the New Mexico Bank & Trust branch was closed. With that, the village of Logan was without a bank for the first time in more than a century. New Mexico Bank & Trust announced in March it would close its Logan branch in June. It rescheduled the closing to mid-December after local entities passed resolutions, asking the banking chain more time to attract another banking tenant....
SAN JON — Members of the San Jon Municipal Schools board heard from its bond adviser how a new, $28 million school could be built with relatively low amounts of district funds but require a four-year property tax increase. While a part of the superintendent’s report, the proposal wasn’t on the board’s agenda as an action item during its Dec. 12 meeting, nor did members in attendance definitively voice whether they supported or opposed it. Superintendent Alan Umholtz said the school’s buildings were built as early as the 1970s and as recently as...
The Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors appointed an interim municipal board member after a second applicant for the position unexpectedly dropped out of consideration. The board chose Jason Box, farm manager at the Rex E. Kirksey Agriculture Science Center in Tucumcari, after two closed executive sessions totaling about 40 minutes to interview him and the other candidate, Justin “Slik” Knapp, during its Dec. 13 meeting. After board members interviewed Box and Knapp for about 30 minutes, board President Robert Lopez said he app...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team notched two more wins last week, improving to 6-1 and landing in the top 10 of the Class 3A rankings. The Lady Rattlers were ranked eighth in 3A in the Dec. 13 coaches poll, with Robertson - Tucumcari's only loss - in the top spot. Tucumcari showed it could do fine without its head coach for a game. Patrick Benavidez was out sick, and the Lady Rattlers still cruised to a 55-23 non-district victory over East Mountain last Tuesday at the Snake Pit. Alexus...
Nicholas Romero's second-place finish in the 121-pound weight class paced the Tucumcari boys wrestling team to a tie for sixth in the 14-team Rattler Invite tournament on Saturday. In the Lady Rattler Invite on Friday, Tucumcari crowned two champions with MiKayla Klinger in the 152-165-pound weight class and Sarah Vallejo at 120-126. The Lady Rattlers also edged four other squads for the team title. Romero, a freshman, notched three victories Saturday before being pinned in the second period by...
Quay County Commission Chairman Franklin McCasland heard a steady stream of praise from fellow commissioners and other officials during his last meeting Monday morning after a total of 16 years on the board. Near the end of the meeting, county manager Daniel Zamora thanked McCasland for his service. "I hope you'll still answer the phone if I have a question," Zamora said. McCasland responded he still held "a passion" to Quay County and pledged to help the community if needed. That prompted a...
The Quay County Community Choir’s annual Christmas-season performance this Friday will be the finale for the choir’s first and only director, Harold Sloan. Sloan announced to members at their penultimate rehearsal last week the performance would be his last after guiding the group since 2007. “It’s just time,” he said during an interview. “My hearing is one thing. I’m on my second set of hearing aids to try to improve the sound. “I’m going to be 76 pretty soon. I’ve got grandkids. I’ve got (relatives) who I don’t get to see because I’m here (f...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team didn't turn in its best performance against regional rival Texico, but it was good enough for a 37-24 victory during the Lady Rattlers' home opener last week. The Lady Rattlers used their press defense early to frustrate the Wolverines, giving Tucumcari an 11-0 lead late in the first period. Texico (2-3) rallied to close Tucumcari's lead to five early in the fourth quarter, but Caylee Benavidez scored six of her eight points in the period to keep the...
Two shooting slumps proved decisive for the Rattlers during a 57-50 loss to Texico in Tucumcari's home opener Dec. 6 at the Snake Pit. The Rattlers failed to score a field goal during the entire second quarter, allowing the Wolverines (4-1) to take a 12-point lead at halftime. Tucumcari scored only four points during the period, all on free throws. In the fourth period, Tucumcari failed to score a basket for nearly five minutes after Rattlers freshman center Kamren Apodaca rallied his team to...
The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Board on Wednesday approved reimbursements of expenses for the Down at the Depot, Fired Up and Tucumcari Rawhide Days events after hearing required final reports from each of the organizers. Connie Loveland, director of Tucumcari MainStreet that organized Down at the Depot and Fired Up, asked for reimbursements that were considerably less than what the board and city commission originally authorized, which pleased board Chairman Matt Bednorz. Loveland requested $510.33 to cover expenses for Down at the Depot events in...
The Tucumcari City Commission unanimously approved a resolution asking for a special state appropriation to fund construction of a new hospital to replace the aging Dr. Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari. Quay County manager Daniel Zamora read the resolution during the commission’s meeting Thursday. He said he would seek other area municipalities’ approval of the resolution and present those to the New Mexico Legislature before it convenes for its January session. The resolution, citing a feasibility study earlier this year by the Sta...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board formally authorized the district's superintendent to pursue donating the entire 13-acre Mountain View School property to Eastern Plains Early Head Start, which operates a daycare there. The board stated in its action during its Nov. 28 meeting it may later pursue a covenant with the transfer to the property, with the board's president suggesting the property can be used only for children's benefit. Superintendent Aaron McKinney said the board could decide to...
Tucumcari High School’s new baseball and softball fields that are under construction won’t be ready for games by spring, said the school district’s superintendent last week. That means the Rattlers baseball team will have to play its home games at Logan High School’s field near the entrance of Ute Lake State Park, said superintendent Aaron McKinney during a Tucumcari Public Schools board meeting on Nov. 28. McKinney said he will coordinate with Logan Municipal Schools’ athletic director to avoid a scheduling conflict with the field. McKinney...
Local healthcare access and potholes on city streets were the most frequent concerns that constituents relayed to two state legislators during a political forum last week hosted by the Tucumcari Zia Club. One lawmaker also offered a possibility to fund the construction of a new hospital in Tucumcari. State Sen. Pat Woods and state Rep. Jack Chatfield, both Republicans, heard that feedback and talked about the New Mexico Legislature session coming in mid-January. Many officials from the city and...
Opponents probably won't be taken by surprise by the Tucumcari girls basketball team this year. About a year ago, a young and mostly inexperienced Lady Rattlers team knocked off several state-ranked teams, mostly due to its tenacious defense. Tucumcari went 13-11, won their district tournament and qualified for the Class 3A tourney. This season, Tucumcari returns five players who were starters or saw a lot of floor time. And this time, the Lady Rattlers have more depth. "We're trying to change...
Young and fast. That, plus more of an emphasis on defense, are the gist of coach John Span's outlook on his Tucumcari High School boys basketball team. The Rattlers open their season at 1 p.m. Thursday against Bosque at the three-day West Las Vegas Shootout tournament. Tucumcari's first home game will be against Texico on Dec. 6. Tucumcari boasts one prominent returning starter, senior point guard Curtis Gonzales, from last season's team that sported an 8-17 record but won its district...
Not only is the leadership of Tucumcari High School wrestling undergoing a transition, but so is the sport in New Mexico. THS assistant coach Tim Clark was promoted to head coach of the Rattlers program after coach Eddie Encinias retired last season after 22 years and a New Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame career. "I have big shoes to fill," Clark said. "I've told the kids that Coach Encinias left a lineage in the program, but he also left at a time when there's a major transition happening within...
Tucumcari's police chief on Thursday awarded an officer a Medal of Valor for his actions in possibly saving the life of a choking infant. Chief Pete Rivera presented the medal to patrol officer Kevin Johnson during the Tucumcari City Commission's regular meeting. Rivera stated that police received a report on Oct. 26 about a small child choking at a restaurant. "Ptl. Officer Kevin Johnson arrived on scene within seconds and without hesitation began performing life-saving actions on the small...
Mesalands Community College recently received a perfect score after a site visit by a Higher Education Commission team that recommends approval of the college’s forthcoming nursing program, paving the way for it to begin offering courses next fall. Mesalands President Gregg Busch and Shannon Fries, director of nursing education, made the announcement during the board of trustees meeting Nov. 15. The HLC accredits all colleges and universities across the United States. Busch said it was rare for the HLC to give 100% approval to a new program a...
SAN JON - It took more time and money than anticipated, but the Village of San Jon on Thursday celebrated the opening of a second fire station north of town. The San Jon Fire Department held an open house Thursday that featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce. About 40 people attended to participate, then partake of complementary submarine sandwiches and cupcakes topped with yellow or red icing. Village officials had been thinking of expanding its...