Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Logan's Class 1A runner-up baseball team boasted six all-district players this season, including the Player of the Year. Longhorns junior pitcher and shortstop Kaeden Stoner received District 1A-3's top honor. He sported a 5-1 record with an 0.95 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings. As a hitter, Stoner batted .455 with 19 RBI and a team-high 44 runs scored. Other first-team honorees for Logan were: - Senior catcher and pitcher Park Strong, who hit .565 and drove in runs. As a pitcher, he...
Jade Duplantis was the lone Tucumcari representative at last week's Class A-3A girls state golf championships. Duplantis, a senior, shot a total of 271 over two rounds, finishing 30th overall. She shot a 137 on the first day, then a 134 on the second day at the Canyon Club at Four Hills in Albuquerque. "It was a par-72 course, but the course alone looked challenging," Tucumcari coach Justin Garcia said. "It was a great accomplishment for her to be selected for the tournament, especially since...
About 60 students participated in Mesalands Community College's spring graduation ceremony Friday at Tucumcari High School's Rattler Gymnasium. Mesalands Interim President Allen Moss, noting it was the college's first in-person graduation in four years because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, said it was "a time for celebration." In addition to recognizing graduates, Moss also lauded Mesalands' faculty and family members who provided support. In addition to those who receive associate's...
A Texas man died in a crash last week on Interstate 40 east of Tucumcari. Diego Ignacio Castro Serrito, 18, of Fort Worth was declared dead at the scene by the Office of Medical Examiner. According to a news release from New Mexico State Police, the accident occurred at milepost 354 of the interstate about 9:30 p.m. May 1. Serrito was driving west on I-40 in an International box truck. “For unknown reasons, the International left the roadway and collided with the rear of a 2024 Volvo tractor-trailer parked on the shoulder,” the release sta...
Local police detained a Tucumcari woman on felony charges after she was accused of letting three young girls roam on a roadway unsupervised. Judy K. Cochran, 74, was charged with three counts of abuse of a child (first offense; placed in a dangerous situation). The complaint states the children’s guardian was asleep inside and “the defendant knew or should have known of the danger involved and acted with reckless disregard to the child’s safety or health.” The charges each are third-degree felonies that can lead up to three years in prison...
The opening last week of Las Chaparritas Mexican Restaurant in downtown Tucumcari represents sizable growth from its food-truck origins just a few years ago. Owner Artemio Vazquez and his wife Maria first started the Las Chapparitas Food Truck three years ago that was parked along East Tucumcari Boulevard and, later, in the parking lot at the closed Kmart building. Last Monday, Las Chaparritas Mexican Restaurant held its grand opening, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony organized by the...
The Tucumcari softball team earned a No. 9 seed in the Class 3A tournament and will take on West Las Vegas in a single-elimination play-in game on Wednesday. The Lady Rattlers (10-13) will play the eighth-seeded Lady Dons (9-12) at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Cleveland High School in Albuquerque. The winner of that game will play top-seeded Santa Fe Indian (22-1) at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Cleveland. Tucumcari and West Las Vegas didn’t play each other during the regular season. Santa Fe Indian defeated Tucumcari 10-0 during an early-season tournament. W...
The Logan softball team ended its season last Monday with a 17-10 district loss at Clayton. Logan’s Marilyn Moreno went 2-for-4 at the plate, including a triple, with two RBI and two runs scored. Bella Coronado also hit a double and a triple. The Lady Longhorns finished with a 7-15 record overall and 0-9 in district play. They did not qualify for the Class 1A/2A playoffs. Logan went 1-20 the previous year, with its only victory against Clayton. “We improved quite a bit from last year,” Logan coach Dustin Robertson said. “I thought we made st...
Logan’s No. 1-ranked and unbeaten baseball team will face Mesilla Valley Christian in the Class 1A semifinals at 10 a.m. Friday in Albuquerque. That game and other Class 1A tournament matchups will be played at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex in west Albuquerque. Mesilla Valley (11-4), a fourth-seed, trounced fifth-seeded Gateway Christian 18-8 on Wednesday in Las Cruces. The SonBlazers stormed to a 12-1 lead in three innings. It was the first time since 2018 that Gateway had failed to advance to the title game. The winner o...
A former Tucumcari resident is reactivating the city's American Legion post after more than a quarter-century hiatus and will house it in the long-closed Hardee's building. John Pacheco, a Tucumcari High graduate who now lives near Houston as a general contractor, said American Legion Post 20 in Tucumcari was reactivated in mid-April after it went dormant in 1996. He said it was one of New Mexico's oldest American Legion posts. Pacheco plans renovate the Hardee's building, which has been closed...
One of two suspects charged in a fatal dog attack waived her right to a preliminary hearing last week, resulting in the magistrate judge binding her over for trial. Mary Olimpia Montoya, 51, of Tucumcari, waived her right for a preliminary hearing last Tuesday, one day before it was scheduled. She is being represented by public defender Anna Aragon of Las Vegas. After the waiver, Magistrate Judge Noreen Hendrickson found probable cause for Montoya’s charges and transferred the case to district court, according to online court documents. No t...
The Tucumcari City Commission on Thursday approved an agreement with the nonprofit Ogallala Commons organization to hire two interns last this year at no cost to the city. City manager Paula Chacon recommended two Level 1 interns for 100 hours at $11 an hour to provide young people with education and leadership opportunities. The cost of the stipend would be covered by the nonprofit. During a work session, Chacon said one of the interns might help the animal control officer or work in the water, finance or sewer departments. Mayor Ralph Moya...
A Tucumcari-based food company recently received funding from the Job Training Incentive Program with the New Mexico Economic Development Department. Tajin International, dba Paulita's Ne Mexico, received a total award of $40,864.40 for three trainees at an average wage of $18.34 an hour. Paulita's provides custom dehydrated New Mexico green chile to customers worldwide. Tajin is the world's largest consumer of chile and manufactures chile products in Mexico. Paulita's is the vehicle Tajin has c...
The Logan boys track team’s depth guided it to a relatively easy district championship during the District 6-1A meet Saturday at Melrose. The Longhorns repeatedly saw two or three players finish in the top five at events, piling up team points. Logan also swept all five relay events and broke school records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. The Longhorns finished with 184 points, well past runner-up Fort Sumner’s 108. Because the top two finishers in each event automatically qualified for the state meet, that also meant a busload of 17 Logan boy...
Logan’s playoff-bound baseball team ran the table of its district schedule with a doubleheader sweep Friday at Melrose. The Longhorns (18-0) on Sunday gained the No. 1 seed in the Class 1A tournament and received a bye for Wednesday’s quarterfinals. Logan will play the winner of Mesilla Valley Christian (10-4) vs. Gateway Christian (11-7) in the semifinals May 12 at the Jennifer Riordan Spark Kindness Sports Complex in west Albuquerque. The finals will be May 13 at the same site. Logan is going for its third straight state championship. The...
The Tucumcari girls track team nabbed a district title by the thinnest of margins at the Class 3A-4 district meet Friday at Dexter and took home seven individual district championships, including two each by Caylee Benavidez and Kyla Lopez. The THS boys team finished fourth at the meet but took home four district titles, including two by long-distance runner Fernando Ureste. The top two finishers at the district meet, plus those who met state-qualifying criteria, will compete at the state meet in Albuquerque on Friday and Saturday. The Lady...
The Tucumcari baseball team closed its regular season with a 13-3 district loss Saturday against visiting East Mountain. The Rattlers trailed just 2-1 lead after three innings, but the Timberwolves scored four in the fourth, three in the fifth and four in the sixth to win by the 10-run mercy rule. Tucumcari finished its season with a 5-18 mark overall and 1-14 in district play. The Rattlers did not qualify for the playoffs. The Rattlers continued to improve, quintupling their overall victories from last season and snapping a 47-game losing...
Despite Marilyn Moreno’s heroics, the Logan softball team dropped a doubleheader Friday against visiting Clayton, keeping the Lady Longhorns winless in district play. The Yellowjackets prevailed by scores of 18-11 in the first game and 22-19 in the second game. Logan fell to 7-14 overall and 0-8 in district play. In the first game, Moreno went 3-for-3 with a double, five stolen bases and four RBI. In the nightcap, Moreno went 4-for-5 with two doubles, seven stolen bases, four runs scored and two RBI. Fellow Lady Longhorn Savannah Smith went 2...
A revitalization specialist from New Mexico MainStreet explained how mixed-use zoning in downtown Tucumcari could lead to additional residential and commercial development there. Rhea Serna gave a presentation last Tuesday at City Hall she said is a culmination of 3 1/2 years of research with Tucumcari MainStreet executive director Connie Loveland. Serna said if the city adopted a mixed-use zoning overlay in downtown, it would lead to more residential living on the second floor of historic...
The historic Odeon Theatre primarily will host Friday and Saturday’s second annual Tucumcari Film Festival, along with several other events at the nearby Tucumcari Railroad Depot. The festival, held last year at Mesalands Community College during Tucumcari Rawhide Days, celebrates the West and Southwest and the culture that helped shape Tucumcari. Bobby Hockaday, liaison for Film Tucumcari and organizer of the festival, said he received 26 entries, and 13 will be screened during the two-day event. “I think it will be a lovely presentation for...
Citing new federal guidelines, the New Mexico Department of Health is recommending a COVID-19 booster shot for residents age 65 and older and those with compromised immune systems. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday urged the additional booster for those individuals. Earlier last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also authorized an additional dose for those age 65 and older to receive the vaccine at least four months after their previous updated shot. Those with immune deficiencies would also be eligible,...
The San Jon Municipal Schools board agreed during its regular meeting last week to give its Albuquerque-based business manager its required two months’ notice it would not be rehired. Superintendent Alan Umholtz estimated San Jon would save at least $40,000 a year by hiring its own business manager. The board in March 2022 hired K12 Accounting LLC of Albuquerque as the district’s business manager for $115,455 a year after the previous business manager resigned. Previous superintendent Janet Gladu recommended hiring K12 after those who app...
The New Mexico Environment Department is hosting a free domestic well water testing event at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market in Santa Rosa on May 7. The free testing will be available from 9 to 11 a.m. May 7 at the Santa Rosa Farmers’ Market, 244 S. 4th St. in Santa Rosa. Well water tests typically cost about $150 but will be free to the first 100 participants or while supplies last. Test results will be mailed to the households after the event. To have water tested, residents need to bring a sample of their water to the event. Use these g...
The Tucumcari baseball team's resounding 17-7 victory on Saturday over visiting Dexter snapped a district losing streak that dated back almost five years. The Rattlers had last won a district game on April 27, 2018, when they defeated Santa Rosa 5-3. After that, Tucumcari dropped 47 straight district contests. Until Saturday. And the Rattlers snapped the skid in just five innings via the 10-run mercy rule. "They didn't realize what they just did," Tucumcari head coach George Montano said after...
The Tucumcari softball team suffered a stinging non-district doubleheader loss Saturday at Estancia, with both defeats by one run. The Lady Rattlers lost the first game 9-8, then dropped the nightcap 18-17 to fall to a 9-10 record overall. In the first game, the Lady Bears jumped to a 9-2 lead after five innings. The Lady Rattlers scored five runs in the sixth and one in the final inning before the Bears secured the victory. Tucumcari’s Sierra Valverde drove in a team-high three runs, and Harley McKinney totaled two RBI with a double. The L...