Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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On the afternoon in April 21, Donnie and Lora Goode were in their rural Tucumcari trailer when they heard a loud bang. The Goodes found a large hole in the back window of their residence he knew came from a firearm projectile. They called the Quay County Sheriff's Office, and they found seven holes in their trailer caused by a shotgun discharge. "Once inside, she pointed out a line of travel of the projectile they dislodge prior to my arrival," wrote sheriff's Sgt. Rudy Vallejo in his report....
Quay County commissioners asked the county manager to draw up a possible contract for the Hull Consulting of Albuquerque and obtain quotes from two other lobbying firms for action at its next meeting on May 22. Commissioners chatted with and asked questions of the principals of Hull Consulting — Art Hull and Kim Legant — during their regular meeting Monday after Commissioner Jerri Rush requested a personal meeting with them during a previous meeting. The county’s attorney, Warren Frost of Logan, previously recommended hiring the Hull firm...
The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board heard four requests for funds but tabled decisions on them until they could get more solid numbers on the fiscal-year 2024 budget from the city manager. The board during its regular meeting Wednesday looked over applications for $3,873 for Rattler Reunion, $10,500 for Wheels on Fire 100 bicycle race, $4,000 for a charity golf tournament for the Mesalands Community College Foundation and $115,000 for Tucumcari Municipal Golf Course for new equipment. Addressing fiscal concerns from board Chairman Matt...
ALBUQUERQUE - Haisley Huffman became the first Tucumcari girls athlete to win multiple events at a state meet in more than 20 years. The junior used a clutch final attempt to repeat as Class 3A champion in the long jump on Friday. The next day, she broke a school record by winning the triple jump - an event she began practicing for only a few weeks ago. Tucumcari track coach and athletic director Wayne Ferguson said it had been at least two decades since a Lady Rattler had won two individual...
ALBUQUERQUE - Thanks in part to Haden Judd winning four events in record fashion, the Logan boys captured their first team title since 2016 during the Class 1A-3A Track & Field Championships on Saturday. The Longhorns finished with 93 points, well ahead of district rival and state runner-up Melrose's 74 1/2 points for the Class 1A trophy. Fort Sumner finished third with 62 points. The Logan girls finished runner-up during the state meet at the UNM Track-Soccer Complex, finishing behind only...
Former Quay County manager Richard Primrose attended his first meeting Thursday as a member of the Mesalands Community College board of trustees, then he promptly was elected chair of that body. Early in the meeting, acting chair Teresa Stephenson said the board's policies required a new election of a chair. The previous chair, Jim Streetman, resigned in March after more than 30 years on the board. Board member Tom Sidwell nominated Stephenson as chair, and Phillip Box seconded it. Board member...
The number of findings in a fiscal-year 2021 audit for financially troubled Mesalands Community College more than tripled compared to the previous year, and the findings were more serious. The report, released by the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor last week after its submission in early April, contained 17 total findings, including nine material weaknesses (the most serious type), seven significant deficiencies, one material noncompliance finding and three repeated or modified findings. The audit covers the fiscal year that ended June...
The second annual Tucumcari Film Festival likely will have a repeat competitor when the event returns next April. That would be Brandon Martinez, a student who just completed his third year in cinematic arts and technology at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. He won the Best New Mexico Student Works honor for his short film, "Foresight." Martinez explained during the awards ceremony Saturday night at the Tucumcari Railroad Museum it was the first honor he'd earned for one of...
Tucumcari's softball team finally notched its first district win of the season Wednesday largely because its pitcher's bat. Senior Juli Rivera hit a two-run homer over the left-field fence, helping fuel a nine-run rally in the fifth inning during a 21-20 victory over East Mountain. The home run was the first over-the-fence dinger for the Lady Rattlers this season, though they've hit several inside-the-park homers. Rivera, who also earned a complete-game pitching victory, also hit two doubles...
Quay County government’s attorney, alleging a conflict of interest with its current lobbyist, on Monday suggested to commissioners the county share the cost of another lobbying firm being considered by the Village of Logan. Warren Frost of Logan said the county’s lobbyist, Clinton D. Harden & Associates, has showed to have a conflict of interest with other Clovis-area clients regarding Tucumcari’s longstanding bid to land a horse-racing track and casino and Logan’s fight to stop the Ute Lake water pipeline project to the Clovis region. “It see...
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...