Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Five Logan High School players earned Class 1A all-state honors last week, including junior pitcher and shortstop Kaeden Stoner, who was named Player of the Year. Other Longhorns who landed first-team all-state honors were senior catcher Park Strong, freshman first baseman Mason Wallin, freshman outfielder Aydin Kotara and sophomore outfielder Diego Sanchez. As a pitcher, Stoner sported an 0.95 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings. As a hitter, Stoner hit .455 with 19 RBI and a team-high 44...
A new Tucumcari resident was hospitalized after a dog abruptly attacked him Saturday afternoon. John Nichols, who moved to Tucumcari with his wife Ruth from Utah about six weeks ago, suffered bite injuries to the back of both legs, one arm and his head. The head wound required eight staples to close. The Nicholses, who live in the 2000 block of South Eighth Street, said the attack occurred shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday. He said a neighbor’s pitbull, which usually is behind a locked gate and wall across the street, was loose. The Tucumcari Polic...
The Pow Wow Restaurant and Lizard Lounge apparently won’t stay closed for long. Tucumcari resident Christopher Arias said he and his wife Tori completed the purchase of the local icon on Sunday, and they tentatively plan to reopen it on July 7. Previous owner Todd Duplantis closed the Pow Wow shortly after Mother’s Day. He bought the business at 801 W. Route 66 Blvd. in January 2022. Duplantis opened Stone’s Pizza Grill in Logan shortly after shuttering the Pow Wow. Arias said in a phone interview Sunday he wants the restaurant and bar reope...
The attorney of a Tucumcari man accused of fatally shooting another after a graduation-party spat said during a hearing she may have found “exculpatory” evidence for her client. Public defender Anna Aragon of Las Vegas said during a June 13 status hearing that recent legal depositions brought up “new issues” that may delay the early September trial for murder suspect Tyje Garrett. Aragon said the victim’s cellphone may contain “critical evidence” in the case. She said a search warrant was obtained for the phone, but law-enforceme...
The second suspect in a fatal dog-mauling case in Tucumcari pleaded not guilty to two felony charges in district court. Kristopher Jaquaris Morris, 27, of Tucumcari, appeared by phone Wednesday in front of District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. during an arraignment by videoconference. Morris’ public defender, Brett Phelps of Las Vegas, waived the formal reading of charges and entered a plea of not guilty on all counts on Morris’ behalf. Phelps also asked that Morris remain freed on similar conditions set by the court shortly after his arrest. Dist...
The Quay County Extension Service’s new family consumer science agent won’t need a lot of break-in time to help the area’s 4-H programs in the next few months: Her two children are involved in the club, and she was a 4-H member as a youngster. Erin Smith, previously an elementary teacher at Tucumcari Public Schools for 17 years, assumed her post at the extension office in Tucumcari on June 1. Her predecessor, Suzann Mikkelson, took a similar position at the Guadalupe County Extension Office in Santa Rosa last spring. Smith acknowledged she h...
Four Mesalands Community College athletes returned home empty-handed after the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming, concluded Saturday. Stampede athletes Andy Guzman and Marco Juarez in the bull riding, Jeremy Hennen in the bareback riding and Bryan Huey in the saddle bronc riding failed to score in any of their competitions during the week. The no-scores had to be particularly frustrating for Guzman, who finished fourth in bull riding at CNFR last year and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Guzman also was champion in the event of...
The Quay County Little League All-Stars fast-pitch softball team’s first-ever foray in to the postseason was a short one, with it losing both its games Saturday at the District 4 Tournament in Las Vegas. Quay County, an age 9 to 11 team, dropped its opener 16-4 to Las Vegas on Saturday morning, then was eliminated 19-1 by La Plaza later that day during the double-elimination tourney. Quay County coach Jakus Martinez said nerves and a lack of experience bedeviled his team. “It was the small things, the little plays, that separated us,” he said....
Tucumcari High School's STEM team last week presented their alert-system invention to an actual and virtual audience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Diamondback STEM team was one of only 10 teams in the United States last fall that landed a prestigious $7,500 grant and other support from the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam program to build a problem-solving invention. Tucumcari was the only New Mexico team to receive the grant and only the fourth in the program's nearly 20-year history....
The Logan Municipal Schools board last week approved a resolution that schedules an election this fall for general-obligation bond issue of up to $1.1 million. Superintendent Dennis Roch said the bond issue won’t raise local property taxes. “I’m proud of the way that the board has been very intentional about managing the long-term finances of the district to stabilize rates for our local taxpayers while ensuring we can accomplish our facility goals,” Roch stated in an email. The question will be on the Nov. 7 ballot. Early voting for the mea...
Governors from the eight states along historic Route 66 were invited last week to sign onto a consortium that establishes a model for cooperation and partnerships across state lines for the highway’s centennial anniversary in 2026. The framework for the consortium was drafted and proposed to governors in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California by the U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission, according to a news release from the New Mexico Tourism Department. By joining the consortium, each state may d...
The father of a Tucumcari teenager who died in an SUV accident at Five Mile Park earlier this year alleges in a wrongful-death lawsuit that an unlicensed juvenile was driving when the crash occurred. The man’s legal firm filed a second lawsuit, alleging the city violated the Inspection of Public Records Act in failing to provide police, dispatch and other records related to the accident. Steven Gloms on June 6 filed a complaint in Tucumcari District Court for wrongful death and negligence against the city and eight individuals. (The Quay C...
Significant changes are in store for this weekend’s Tucumcari Rawhide Days, and the most visible will be the lack of Texas Longhorns herded down Route 66 during the annual parade. The Tucumcari Historical Museum took over the organization of the festival, which pays tribute to CBS-TV’s “Rawhide” of the late 1950s and early 1960s that starred Tucumcari native Paul Brinegar and a young Clint Eastwood. Some footage for “Rawhide” also was shot in rural Tucumcari. The festival went on a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic before resuming la...
David Stratton, a Tucumcari native who a year ago published arguably the definitive historical book about his hometown, died May 26 in Olympia, Washington, after a short illness. He was 96. In 2022, he published: "Tucumcari Tonite! The Waning of a Western Town" with the University of New Mexico Press. The book contained abundant research typical of Stratton's background as a history professor, plus his personal memories of Tucumcari - including the first owners of the landmark Blue Swallow...
For the first time, white-nose syndrome, a disease of hibernating bats, has been confirmed in New Mexico, including in neighboring De Baca County. Samples from two live bats and two dead bats were collected in late April from Bureau of Land Management-managed caves in Lincoln and De Baca counties. The two dead bats were confirmed with white-nose syndrome - one a fringed myotis in Lincoln County; the other a cave myotis in De Baca County. Additionally, wing biopsies from two live cave myotis at...
Quay County 4-H held its annual county contest on June 4 where about 40 youth spent the day competing in 13 contests ranging from sewing projects to evaluating livestock. With the contests, youth learn decision-making skills and and other skills that can assist in employment in areas of agriculture and family and consumer sciences. Novices and Juniors are eligible to go on to district contests in Portales later this month. Seniors who finished in the top nine were eligible to advance to to the s...
A Tucumcari student was among the more than 1,100 who graduated from West Texas A&M University last month. Kyle Thomas Hamilton of Tucumcari earned a degree in agribusiness, according to a news release from the university. The university in Canyon, Texas, awarded 828 baccalaureate degrees and 289 master’s degrees during its May 13 commencement ceremonies. Another 193 potential August graduates walked the stage during the event. Also, Kassidee Clark and Jodi Vance-Furlow, both of Tucumcari, made it to the university’s President’s List for havin...
The Logan Longshots, a high-school trap and skeet shooting team in only its third year of existence, won the state title during recent competition at Raton. The 10-member squad competed at the three-day Scholastic Clay Target Program at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton and earned the state-champion varsity trap team award, plus the season-champion varsity trap team award. Coach Jerry Bob Osborn said his team took a slim, 14-bird lead after the first day and managed to build on it over the...
The New Mexico Activities Association board of directors last week proposed bringing the hammer down on member schools that engage in “egregious acts of unsportsmanlike conduct” by teams or spectators. Dusty Young, associated director of the NMAA, stated in an email the proposed changes in the organization’s bylaws must pass a vote by member schools before being implemented. He said that vote will take place “over the next few weeks.” “There was not a specific incident,” Young added, “just something that the NMAA and our member schools have be...
Tucumcari senior Alexis Lafferty became a second-team selection as an infielder in Class 3A all-state softball team announced last week by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association. Lafferty hit .446 during the season and led the team in home runs (3), stolen bases (25), runs scored (35) and hits (33). She also anchored the Lady Rattlers' defense with stellar play at shortstop. Tucumcari finished 10-14 overall and qualified for the Class 3A playoffs, losing to West Las Vegas in the first...
Logan baseball seniors Park Strong and Skyler DeLuca competed against each other at the Small School North-South All-Star Games last month at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho. DeLuca, a third baseman, was selected on the Green team. Strong, a catcher, was selected for the Red squad. The Red team won the three-game series, prevailing in the first game 6-3 and winning the third and deciding game, 12-8. The Green squad won the second game, 9-8. Strong collected several singles and doubles and...
The Quay County Little League All-Stars fast-pitch softball team will compete in its first-ever postseason during the District 4 Tournament starting Saturday at Las Vegas. The Quay County squad of 9- to 11-year-old girls will face the winner of the Las Vegas vs. La Plaza clash. Quay County earned a first-round bye in the double-elimination tournament. The local team is scheduled to play at 10 a.m. Saturday at La Plaza Little League field at 1308 Grant St. in Las Vegas. The district championship game will be played at 4 p.m. Monday, June 19....
Todd Duplantis several weeks ago shuttered his Pow Wow Restaurant and Lizard Lounge in Tucumcari and opened another restaurant in Logan. The Pow Wow, a dining institution in Tucumcari for decades, abruptly closed shortly after Mother’s Day weekend. A check on the restaurant on Saturday night showed all the lights out inside, save for a few decorative lights blinking near the bar. The Pow Wow’s delivery van remained parked on the side of the building. Duplantis bought the restaurant at 801 W. Route 66 Blvd. in January 2022 from DFL Pro...
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week announced the appointment of W. Troy Weisler as the 23rd New Mexico State Police chief, effective June 24. He will succeed New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Q. Johnson, who was appointed in 2019. Chief Johnson is retiring after 23 years. Weisler currently serves as deputy chief for Strategic Development, Special Projects, Communications and Recruiting and is a 21-year state police veteran. Weisler has worked in every division of the Department of Public Safety’s Law Enforcement Program and will lead a f...
Quay County's sheriff on Monday honored one of his deputies for potentially life-saving actions after an accident on Interstate 40 last month. During Monday's meeting of the Quay County Commission, Sheriff Dennis Garcia gave deputy Tyler Davis a Life Saving Award certificate and pin he can wear on his uniform. Davis was the first law-enforcement officer on the scene of a crash of two commercial vehicles on I-40 east of Tucumcari on May 24. Garcia said Davis found a male passenger on the ground,...