Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 779 - 803 of 1682
The director of Mesalands Community College's wind-energy program said last week he had a lead on acquiring a hub to go with a donated wind-turbine nacelle that wind-technology students use in classes. Jim Morgan, who also is vice president of campus affairs and external relations, said during the board of trustees meeting July 20 a former FieldCore wind-energy trainee at the college who acquired the nacelle for Mesalands two years ago also has acquired a hub from a wind turbine from the Minco...
A breakdown of Quay County’s COVID-19 vaccination rates by ZIP code show the settlements of San Jon, McAlister and Grady may be particularly vulnerable to the more-contagious and rapidly spreading Delta variant of the virus. The Quay County Sun requested from the New Mexico Department of Health the county’s vaccination rates by ZIP code. The agency, which has been tracking COVID-19 cases and vaccination rates by ZIP code for months, provided that data through July 11. The ZIP code that includes the village of Logan had the highest vac...
The troubled Second Street project and zoning for future recreational marijuana shops were hot topics of discussion during Tucumcari MainStreet’s annual meeting last week. Attendees of the July 13 meeting at the Tucumcari Railroad Museum praised the MainStreet program in general, especially its executive director, Connie Loveland. But several attendees also asked pointed questions or expressed dissatisfaction with the downtown Second Street reconstruction project, which has gone months over its scheduled completion date. Traffic recently r...
SAN JON — The San Jon Municipal Schools board of trustees last week discussed proposed changes in the high school and middle-school student handbook — including ones that bar online students from many school activities — for the upcoming school year. The proposed changes were prompted several months ago when a student taking classes remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic approached superintendent Janet Gladu about the possibility of running for student council president. Gladu had said it was unfair for a student who didn’t participate in in-p...
Despite recent rainstorms that raised Conchas Lake’s levels, the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board voted again last week to not allocate any water to its irrigation system. Franklin McCasland, the district’s manager, told the board during its regular meeting July 13 the lake’s elevation the previous day was 4,161.8 feet — an increase of two feet from a month ago. Conchas Lake received 2,751 acre-feet of water during the month of June, with evaporation and other losses of 2,590 acre-feet. However, the lake’s level remains seven feet belo...
A New Mexico appellate court last week unanimously overturned a district court decision that ruled Quay County didn't hold an easement over a section of road that was re-routed almost 70 years ago. Barring an appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court, Wednesday's ruling would allow the McFarland Land and Cattle Inc. to reinstate a five-figure lease with defendant Caprock Solar, a division of Duke Energy, to use the road so it can access its solar farm near Mesa Redonda. The 25-megawatt solar array...
The Quay County Commission on Friday unanimously approved a resolution stating its opposition to the federal government’s “30x30” land-preservation goal because it would cause “significant harm” to residents and businesses. President Joe Biden issued an executive order in January that directed the Secretary of the Interior, with consultation of the Secretary of Agriculture and other senior officials, to develop a program to conserve at least 30% of lands and waters in the U.S. by 2030, hence the name of the 30x30 plan. The resolution, recommend...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week announced it would award more than $3.1 million to 12 small rural hospitals in New Mexico, including Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari, for COVID-19 testing and mitigation. Trigg’s administrator stated in an email Thursday she wasn’t sure how much money the Tucumcari hospital would receive. “We are grateful for this anticipated support, but do not yet have a figure for how much Dr. Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital will receive through the program,” Vickie Gutierrez wrote. State O...
Click Here for Video The actions of two Tucumcari police officers will undergo an internal review after one was seen on video picking up and slamming a suspect to the ground during an arrest Saturday at a grocery store parking lot. The Tucumcari Police Department issued a statement Sunday on its Facebook page, stating “we are aware of the video circulating around social media” of the use-of-force incident involving suspect Pete Apodaca, 43, of Tucumcari. “Tucumcari PD reviews every use of force situation and this incident is no diffe...
The Table Top Food Cooperative that aims to mentor novice farmers and produce more local food appears to be bearing more fruit this year. David White, owner of La Casa Verde Floral and Nursery in Tucumcari and president of the cooperative, said organization now has a half-dozen farmers "who now are successful and growing." "This year, we should see a significant increase of vendors at the (Tucumcari) farmers market," White said. "We are cultivating the next generation of food farmers." Table...
Did Route 66 once run through Tucumcari's Main Street? It's a question a television producer aims to answer in the coming weeks that could have long-term implications for tourism and grant funding for downtown's historic buildings. Mike Lee, producer and creator of the Fast TV Network, said while making a funding pitch at a May meeting of a city Lodgers Tax Board meeting it was his belief Main Street once carried Route 66 and vowed to prove it with an upcoming episode of his channel's "Legends...
The general manager of the Tucumcari Farmers Market said two recent developments likely will boost the market - the lifting of many coronavirus restrictions on July 1 and a law regarding baked goods that took effect the same day. The Tucumcari Farmers Market will open its season at 10 a.m. Saturday when Sandra Groves rings the bell under the shade trees at Wailes Park in east Tucumcari. The market will run each Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and each Tuesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. through Oct. 16....
A Tucumcari woman recently was honored for her 50 years of membership with Altrusa International of Tucumcari and remains its only active charter member. Pat Clark was honored last month for her half-century in the Tucumcari chapter. They gave her a certificate signed by Altrusa's governor, cake and a gift watch during a surprise ceremony that included a "This is Your Life" presentation. "I think they told more (about my life) than they needed to," Clark said about the presentation, laughing....
New Mexico’s governor has chosen Tucumcari Municipal Judge Noreen Hendrickson as Quay County’s next magistrate judge and likely will take office sometime in mid-July. Reached by phone Wednesday night, Hendrickson confirmed she received a congratulatory phone call and email about her appointment the previous day from an aide to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Hendrickson said she will undergo 80 hours of training before she becomes magistrate judge, though she said she didn’t have an exact timetable of when that would occur. “I’m super-exc...
LOGAN - A resident who attended a ceremony last week celebrating the opening of a $23.5 million bridge on U.S. 54 over the Canadian River witnessed to a similar event for the previous bridge 67 years ago. Because of his link to history, state transportation officials asked Alvin Keith to participate in the ceremonial ribbon-cutting Wednesday morning at the 700-foot bridge's north side, which he was glad to do. "I feel really privileged to watch this, to say I was here," Keith said afterward. Kei...
LOGAN - A severe storm Saturday afternoon caused scattered reports of property damage and widespread flooding on roads and city streets around the village. No injuries were reported. Logan Police Chief Rodney Paris said the storm hit about 4:30 p.m. He said by Sunday morning he'd received about eight or nine reports of property damage from straight-line winds, including a metal roof blown onto Lake Road. Paris said the northeast side of Logan received up to four inches of pea-sized hail,...
Though sympathetic to the request, the Quay County Commission on Monday tabled a request of up to $3,200 to the Tucumcari Historical Museum until the county manager could figure out how to find funds by its next meeting in July. In an illustration of how timing can affect funding requests, commissioners in a largely ceremonial gesture approved giving $10,000 to the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce, though the move was unnecessary because the amount had been budgeted for the just-started 2021-2022 fiscal year. Alan Daugherty, a...
ALBUQUERQUE - At one point of Logan's Class 1A title game Thursday afternoon against Gateway Christian, the Longhorns trailed 3-0 while storm clouds began to loom over the University of New Mexico's Santa Ana Star Field. As it turned out, the approaching storm also was Logan's offense. The Longhorns (15-1), the No. 1 seed in the tournament, scored five runs in a second inning sandwiched around a one-hour lightning delay, igniting a 16-7 come-from-behind victory for their first-ever baseball stat...
The cost of Tucumcari Public Schools' ballparks redevelopment plan has ballooned more than 22% to a top level of $4.9 million since October 2019, but the superintendent voiced optimism he could take steps to drop the price tag close to the original $3 million. School board members during a work session before their regular June 21 meeting heard a presentation by Chris van Dyck, chief operating officer of Greer Stafford Architecture of Albuquerque, which is overseeing the bond-issued project that...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board of education voted 4-1 last week on a contract extension for its longtime superintendent that will keep him in the district through July 2024. Aaron McKinney, who has been Tucumcari schools superintendent for 15 years, did not receive a raise from his current pay of about $120,000 a year during the board’s regular meeting June 21. However, the board granted him use of a Chevrolet Suburban from the district’s fleet he can use for commuting and district-based travel. The board voted on the extension after nea...
The contracted director of senior citizen centers in Tucumcari and Logan said she has set a tentative reopening date of Aug. 2 for both facilities — almost 18 months after they closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Clara Rey said she still was mentally digesting new guidelines she received received Friday morning about the proposed reopening of the Tucumcari Senior Center and Logan Senior Center. Despite Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s announcement in mid-June to lift all health restrictions on July 1, Rey said its not that simple with senior cen...
LOGAN - Nearly 20 people - about half of them children - participated in a mask-burning event Saturday morning to protest those mandates for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tonya Perez, who organized the event in front of the Cowboy Chuckwagon restaurant along U.S. 54, said she was prompted to organize the protest after hearing a rumor that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will require schoolchildren to wear masks during the next school year. "Hopefully, this will put a stop to the masks,"...
The new president at Mesalands Community College spent much of last week’s regular board of trustees meeting giving a detailed, 14-page report on his activities since May 18 — to the appreciation of several board members. College President Gregory Todd Busch, who took office May 1, indicated during the June 15 meeting that such reports would be a regular occurrence because he wanted to foster “transparency.” Busch also gave a similarly detailed report during his first regular meeting with the board in May. Later in the meeting, board member...
ALBUQUERQUE - The Logan girls track team captured its second consecutive state title and the Longhorns boys team finished a close runner-up during the Class 1A track and field state championships Thursday at the UNM Track-Soccer Complex. The Lady Longhorns scored 79 points, prevailing over area rival and runner-up Melrose's 59 points. Gateway Christian finished third with 58. San Jon earned two points among the 23 girls teams that figured in the scoring. Logan's team title was fueled by strong...
One of the principals for Coronado Partners that seeks a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari told the Quay County Commission on Monday his group would be “more assertive” in pressing its case for a sixth license from the New Mexico Racing Commission. Warren Frost of Logan, who also is county attorney, told commissioners his group recently submitted a revised application to the racing commission for the required license. The proposed Coronado Park racetrack and casino on Tucumcari’s east side would create 500 jobs and millions of dolla...