Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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It took two tries, but the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors eventually voted last Tuesday to allocate another 1 inch of water per acre. Heavy rain in the Canadian River watershed the previous weekend caused Conchas Lake — the source of the Arch Hurley irrigation system — to rise almost 2 feet before the meeting. That prompted 10 area farmers to attend the meeting to request more water for crops. The board during its July meeting had allocated an additional 1 inch of water per acre, with the option of revisiting the issue dur...
Two suspects in a fatal dog attack in Tucumcari last year pleaded guilty to one felony count each in plea agreements filed last week. Mary Montoya, 52, and her son Kristopher J. Morris, 28, both of Tucumcari, initially were charged with involuntary manslaughter (reckless) and dangerous dog (death of a person) after a pack of dogs attacked and killed Tucumcari resident. Stanley Hartt, 64, was killed on Feb. 1, 2023, on a street near Mesalands Community College. Under the agreements, Montoya and Morris each pleaded guilty to the dangerous dog...
Sixteen-year-old Addie Lafferty of San Jon admits she's had other good years at the Quay County Fair. But it would be difficult to top this one. Lafferty, a senior at San Jon High School this fall, showed both the grand champion and reserve champion steers and earned the Senior Showmanship prize in the beef category. She also showed the grand champion hog at the fair. Lafferty said she put a lot of effort in particular during the showmanship competition. "I'm really intense," she said. "When it...
The Tucumcari Rotary Club is proposing spending $1,500 of its own money to convert at least part of George Molinas Memorial Park into a dog-friendly park. Bobby Hockaday of the club made the proposal during a work session Thursday of the Tucumcari City Commission. The estimated budget for the conversion is $1,000 to repair fencing and add a double-gate entry, plus $500 for waste stations, a water station and signs that dictate rules of the park. Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Lopez expressed concern about...
Tucumcari High School's volleyball coach expects her team to be pretty good again this year, but she acknowledged it's a squad in transition. Not only are the Lady Rattlers coping with the loss of six seniors from last season's stellar squad, but realignment has put them in a new enrollment class and a new district. Tucumcari will have its first test of the season with a home match Saturday against perennially tough Fort Sumner. Junior varsity matches will begin at 1 p.m., and the varsity clash...
The forthcoming Eastern New Mexico Behavioral Health Facility in Clovis will include a Crisis Triage Center of 12 short-term beds in the first phase of the project. Kate Bailey, a partner for the Denver-based Initium Health consulting firm, gave details about the facility to the Quay County Commission during a virtual presentation on Monday. The behavioral health facility near Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis would serve five eastern New Mexico counties, including Quay. Bailey said...
Members of the Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board greeted with enthusiasm the prospect of a drag-racing event on east Route 66 during the highway's centennial in 2026. Doug Woodward and Bill Delaney told the board they want to organize a Tucumcari version of the annual Kingman Route 66 Street Drags in Kingman, Arizona, in September or October 2026, which would be during the 100th anniversary of Route 66. Woodward said the Tucumcari event would take place on Route 66 east of the vacant Kmart...
Agriculture remains an important economic component in nine northeast New Mexico counties that include Quay County. Dovetailing from that, agriculture research centers are important, too. Jay Lillywhite, associate dean of New Mexico State University's Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Services and director of its agriculture experiment stations, made that pitch during a keynote speech during the annual field day last Tuesday at the Rex E. Kirksey Agriculture Science Center in Tucumcari....
A rural Tucumcari man fatally shot during a confrontation with sheriff’s deputies this spring was legally drunk, according to investigative reports from state police. The local district attorney also determined weeks later that Sheriff Dennis Garcia would not be charged for killing 77-year-old Aubrey James Osteen during the May 14 shootout, stating the use of force by the sheriff “was reasonable and necessary to preserve life” and was justified in defending himself and others. Those details were revealed in 64 pages of reports by New Mexic...
More than 400 Tucumcari High School alumni attended the 52nd edition of the Rattler Reunion, its largest attendance in several years. Rattler Reunion treasurer Kathy Segura said a total of 390 meals were catered for the Saturday night banquet, with THS alums still being registered at the Tucumcari Convention Center minutes before the ceremony. Segura said the estimated total crowd was over 400. "This place has been packed," Segura said. "It's been a very, very good year." Segura said crowds...
The avian flu apparently stayed away, but the chickens and rabbits arrived in larger-than-usual numbers last Thursday in an earlier and abbreviated version of the Quay County Fair. The rest of the Quay County Fair that features beef, swine, sheep, goats, home arts, crafts and other shows is scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday this week. The poultry and rabbit shows were moved to Aug. 1 for precautionary reasons after an avian influenza outbreak in neighboring Roosevelt County and in the...
Tucumcari city commissioners by a 4-1 vote approved a lease for new laptops for the police department but delayed the purchase of vehicles for police and animal control until city finances are clarified. Tucumcari Police Sgt. Lorenzo Emillio recommended a three-year lease with Enchanted Technology Solutions of Albuquerque for 16 laptops that will be installed in squad cars for a total cost of about $44,000 for the first year and $36,000 for each of the subsequent two years. Emillio said TPD could opt to buy the laptops outright for $108,000,...
The Rev. Cameron Degani a few months ago was assigned to preside over St. Anne's Catholic Church in Tucumcari. He said he likes what he sees from his congregation and community in his first-ever stint as a priest. Degani, 29, a Roswell native who moved to Albuquerque as a teen and attended the University of New Mexico before becoming a priest, received the Tucumcari assignment after the archbishop of the Santa Fe Archdiocese offered it to him. "It was a great honor," he said during a recent...
Mesalands Community College conducted a nationwide search for a new president, but it turned out the board of trustees preferred the candidate who'd been running the college for the past 18 months. The board last Tuesday officially removed the "interim" tag from president Allen Moss' job title, offering him the position and approving a three-year contract at about $170,000 a year. The votes on both measures were unanimous. The actions followed a closed executive session that lasted about 30...
The board for Tucumcari Public Schools approved a new cellphone policy that bars “unauthorized” use of the devices on campus during the day. Superintendent Carl Marano said he recently met with other superintendents in the region whose districts have implemented similar policies. He said TPS is drafting a frequently-asked-questions page to inform parents and students about the policy. The policy states that student use of electronic devices in TPS schools have increased the frequency of classroom disruptions, reduced student focus and “re...
David Brenner is marking the 10th anniversary of the opening of his Roadrunner Lodge Motel along Route 66 in Tucumcari with several events to mark the occasion. Looking to the future, Brenner said he plans to open a neon-lighting shop near his motel in 2025 after he acquired the contents of a shop in Midland, Texas. The 10th anniversary falls on July 24. Brenner said family members and far-flung friends have booked all the rooms at the facility that night. On Thursday, Brenner plans to hold an...
SAN JON — The San Jon Municipal Schools board on Wednesday enacted a policy that bans cellphone use by students on campus. Principal Sharla Rusk and superintendent Alan Umholtz recommended its passage, noting similar edicts are being passed at other school districts in Regional Education Cooperative District 6. Rusk urged the policy “due to issues” in the last school year, labeling cellphone usage during the school day as “a detriment to student academic success.” Umholtz concurred, saying “we had many problems” with cellphones in the previo...
The Tucumcari City Commission approved its five-year Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan, but not without some projects being moved up in priority, including street equipment and improvements to the dog pound. Commissioners discussed the plan with city manager Paula Chacon and community development director Vicki Strand during a work session Thursday before the main meeting. The city faced a Friday deadline to submit the plan to the state. The ICIP serves as a guide to state lawmakers when they allocate capital outlay funds during their le...
Tucumcari Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Lopez has attended only one of six Tucumcari MainStreet board meetings this year despite being appointed as the liaison for the nonprofit organization. Connie Loveland, executive director of Tucumcari MainStreet, revealed Lopez’s repeated absences during a Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board meeting on Wednesday. The board was discussing the use of $10,000 in lodgers funds to pay part of Tucumcari MainStreet’s annual $60,000 contract. Tucumcari MainStreet can use no more than $50,000 in Local Economic Development...
The newly renovated east room of the Tucumcari railroad depot was scheduled Saturday to host a book-signing and presentation by the author of a book on the extinct coal-mining town of Dawson. But the event also served as a surprise honor for Tucumcari's Frank Turner, who helped save the historic depot from demolition, founded the Tucumcari Railroad Museum and played a role in acquiring a grant from Union Pacific for the east room's renovation. Turner traveled with his wife from his North...
After two other motions failed, the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors approved an allocation of 1 inch of water per acre and will re-evaluate the possibility of future allocations during its August meeting. With about a dozen farmers observing the proceedings at the July 9 meeting, board member Debra Mitchell first moved to not allocate any water at this time. The motion died from the lack of a second. Board member Larry Perkins then moved to allocate 2 inches of water per acre, matching the district’s allocation in April. T...
An unexpectedly large inaugural Independence Day Parade in Tucumcari on Thursday had organizers already looking ahead to improving or tweaking the event for next year and beyond. Bobby Hockaday, one of the parade's organizers, said after the event he had hoped to draw 15 entries. He had kept expectations modest because the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce had only two months to prepare and it also being Tucumcari's first July 4 parade in recent memory. Hockaday said signups for the para...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved an Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan that puts replacement of the courthouse’s windows and climate-control systems high on its priority list. The plan, which serves as a guide to the state legislature for capital outlay funding, still has $30 million to build a new Trigg Memorial Hospital as the top item. The county is due to receive $10 million in state funding for the hospital project later this year, and county manager Daniel Zamora is applying for an additional $20 million in funds from t...
Recognition of retiring Quay County Undersheriff Russell Shafer was on the agenda for Thursday's county commission meeting, but he received an unexpected bonus. Sheriff Dennis Garcia also gave Shafer a medal of valor "for actions above and beyond the call of duty" during a May 14 fatal officer-involved shooting near the settlement of Quay. Shafer indicated surprise by the honor. Four deputies were dispatched to 77-year-old Aubrey Osteen's home near Quay after dispatchers received calls of him br...
Tucumcari’s city commission approved a $60,000 contract with Tucumcari MainStreet, but not without hesitancy and additional conditions because of lingering uncertainty about city finances. After several minutes of discussion, commissioners approved the Tucumcari MainStreet contract that allocates $50,000 in Local Economic Development Act funds, plus another $10,000 in executive lodgers tax funds. The commission during a previous meeting tabled action on the pact after Mayor Mike Cherry questioned whether the city legally could use more than $...