Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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A 20-10 second-quarter surge gave the highly touted Clayton boys basketball team a double-digit lead it largely would maintain during a 74-63 non-district victory Thursday at Logan. The Longhorns trailed the Yellowjackets just 19-15 after one period, but Clayton’s big rally in the second quarter gave it a 39-25 lead at intermission. Logan at one point whittled Clayton’s advantage to eight early in the third period. The Yellowjackets responded with a rally of their own to build their lead back up to 20 during the quarter. “Clayton is a very...
The Logan girls basketball team hit a rough patch last week with consecutive non-district losses to Clayton and Springer. On Saturday, host Springer used an 8-2 run in the fourth quarter to turn a small deficit into a 42-34 victory on Friday. Logan coach Dustin Robertson said his team was bothered by the Red Devils’ length on defense. “They deflected a lot of passes and prevented, blocked or hindered a lot of our shots,” he said. “They also work hard to block out, although my girls did a better blocking out, also. “We handled their pressure a l...
A former Pecos High School assistant boys basketball coach pleaded guilty in federal court to coercion and enticement to minors. Federal prosecutor Alexander M.M. Uballez announced that Joshua Rico, 26, of Pecos pleaded guilty on Dec. 22 to five counts of those charges, according to a news release last week from the FBI. Rico will remain in custody pending his sentencing, which has not been scheduled. Beginning as early as January 2018, Rico used profiles on the social media platform Snapchat to coerce minor girls into sending him sexually expl...
In the first half of 2022, much of the talk and business activity in Tucumcari centered around legal pot coming to New Mexico. First, the Tucumcari City Commission wrangled for weeks and finally settled on a $300 fee for a cannabis business license. On April 1, recreational marijuana sales began in New Mexico. Only one business in Tucumcari was ready for that opening day, but others quickly opened in the weeks after that. By late summer, the city repeatedly was beating its own record-sales...
The total number of new COVID-19 cases in Quay County last week rose to 16 by Friday, compared to 10 in the previous week, while case rates in New Mexico continued to decline. According to the COVID Act Now website, Quay County’s rate of new cases rose to 193.9 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 121.1 the previous week. However, the website kept the county at “low” risk of community spread of the disease, as it did with neighboring counties. The only “medium” risk counties were in the northwest and south-central parts of the state...
Over $500,000 in funding is available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture is holding virtual workshops in January in preparation for the Feb. 14 grant proposal deadline. Outreach workshops for potential applicants to learn more and to gain a better understanding of the program will be held as follows: — Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 1 p.m. Register for this meeting at: https://nmsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEkf-CoqDMrHNaBbrAQH830wtPHdyb9UMfT — Friday, Jan. 13, a...
The FBI in New Mexico is warning parents and children about a significant increase in the number of sextortion reports during the past year. From Jan. 1 to Dec. 19, the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received 168 e-tips or calls about possible sextortion cases in New Mexico. During the same period in 2021, NTOC received 38 e-tips or calls for New Mexico. Though some tips might reference the same incidents, the increase is serious enough the FBI stated in a news release it wants to bring this crime to the public’s attention as sch...
A Texas man who said he was injured when an air pump hose exploded in his hand at the Flying J Travel Center in Tucumcari has settled his lawsuit against the company. Mikhail Franklin of El Paso initially filed the suit on Nov. 7 in Tucumcari district court against Pilot Travel Centers LLC, which owns and operates the Flying J on South Mountain Road in Tucumcari. According to online court documents, the suit on Dec. 9 was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled at a later date, because of a settlement. “Pilot Travel Centers is n...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees approved a $2 million endowment and another $700,000 for supplemental faculty salaries and equipment — both for its forthcoming nursing program. Blanca Pauliukevicius, the college’s chief financial officer and senior executive director of business services, said during the board’s Dec. 13 meeting the $2 million endowment recently had been deposited in one of Mesalands’ bank accounts. She said she was consulting with the state’s Higher Education Department on how to invest the money. Earnings...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team finished a disappointing 1-2 during the Citizens Bank Classic tournament at Texico but salvaged the weekend with a 56-45 win Saturday over Tatum. The finale ended a grueling week for the Rattlers (4-5), who played five games in six days and won two. Against Tatum, Kamren Apodaca led the Rattlers with 21 points. Julian Griego and Curtis Gonzales each scored 10. The Rattlers raced to a 31-17 lead at halftime. “I thought that was a good win for us,” Tucumcari coach John Span said. “Tatum is a veteran ballc...
Logan inside linebacker Park Strong and defensive end Brock Burns each earned first-team honors when all-state selections in eight-man football were announced over the weekend by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association. That wasn't the only honor for Strong and Burns. Strong, a senior, also was a second-team pick as a running back and as a placekicker. Burns, a junior, was a second-team selection as a punter, as well. Other Longhorn players to receive all-state recognition were: - Izaiah Kneitz, second-team slot and second-team...
The Logan boys basketball team won its sixth straight with a dominating 88-53 non-district victory Saturday over visiting Des Moines. The Longhorns (8-1) “came out on fire” in the first quarter, said coach Kyle Griffiths, storming to a 30-point lead. “We were able to sustain the lead throughout the game against a very talented Des Moines team,” he said. “This was our best overall performance of the season. The guys keep improving every night.” Kaeden Stoner led Logan with 26 points, and Brock Burns added 23. Logan was ranked seventh in...
Desta Rose scored 19 points to power the Logan girls basketball team to a 67-35 non-district victory Saturday over visiting Des Moines. Camryn Cantrell added 15 points for the Lady Longhorns, and Hailee Robertson had 14. Logan coach Dustin Robertson said the game featured “two very different halves.” “We played hard in first half and looked good,” he said. “Second half, I thought our defensive intensity wasn’t what it should be. We got the win, though.” The Lady Longhorns improved to 7-2 and were ranked seventh in the latest Class 1A coac...
The Tucumcari High School STEM team recently received another honor, this time during the New Mexico Governor's STEM Challenge. The Tucumcari students developed an autonomous environmental monitoring robot. "It is able to monitor air quality, temperature, and humidity," team mentor Tommy Evans said. "More specifically, it can alert individuals through email and/or text to changes and also alert to the presence of poison gases, natural gas, propane, etc. They used a microcontroller called Raspber...
The total number of new COVID-19 cases in Quay County last week declined to 10 on Friday, compared to 15 during the previous week. The state of New Mexico also was seeing significant decreases in new confirmed cases of the virus. According to the COVID Act Now website, Quay County’s rate of new cases fell to 121.1 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 193.9 the previous week. The website kept the county at “low” risk of community spread of the disease. The website also on Friday dropped the state of New Mexico to “low” risk of spread...
Quay County and New Mexico continued to deal with spikes of flu and RSV cases, in addition to coronavirus. Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari still was seeing a high number of cases of influenza. “We continue to see higher than usual flu cases in our emergency department and clinic and are not yet seeing a downturn. We are also seeing some cases of RSV in our emergency department,” Trigg administrator Vickie Gutierrez stated in an email Thursday. “We continue to have a few COVID-19 patients.” Because of the surge of flu and respira...
A woman filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Quay County commissioners, alleging the sheriff and deputies failed to detain a Florida man who was visibly intoxicated by drugs and later caused a fatal traffic crash near Tijeras. Sue Mullane of Albuquerque, representative of husband Patrick Mullane’s estate, filed the tort claim in Quay County District Court on Dec. 1. Patrick Mullane died after the traffic accident. According to the lawsuit and other court documents, Brett Nelson of Lutz, Florida, was driving through Tucumcari on Oct. 6, 2...
The Quay County Health Council’s Intimate Partner Violence Task Force and the United Way of Eastern New Mexico are hosting holiday communication workshops to explain how to deal with different situations. December’s workshop is “Seasonal Sadness is Real,” presented by Casey Peacock, volunteer coordinator with the United Way of Eastern New Mexico, and Dr. Marcus Smith, director of Counseling and Advising/Student Life/Government Relations at Clovis Community College. “Our hope is to share information; give participants valuable resources...
Tucumcari sophomore setter Caylee Benavidez earned first-team all-state honors in Class 3A when teams were announced Saturday by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association. Two Logan players also earned second-team honors in Class 1A's all-state picks. Benavidez, a varsity starter since her freshman year, led the Lady Rattlers with 523 assists and 255 kills and was second on the squad with 348 serve receptions. Tucumcari sported a 16-9 record - its best in at least 15 years - and earned its...
For the second straight Saturday, Logan faced Dora in the championship of a tournament. This time, the Longhorns took the title of the Elida Tournament by downing the Coyotes 54-49. During a critical sequence midway through the fourth quarter, Logan’s Brock Burns made a 3-pointer and Kaeden Stoner scored on fastbreak to give their team a 49-40 lead, one of their largest of the game. The Longhorns also got Dora’s 6-foot-5 center, Steven Masini, in foul trouble during parts of the game. “We did a better job on the big man from Dora this time...
The Logan girls basketball team improved to 3-1 overall with a 71-28 pasting of non-district host Estancia on Thursday night. Lizzy Horner scored 18 points to lead the Lady Longhorns. “The girls looked good,” Logan coach Dustin Robertson said. “We played hard, and I was impressed with our defensive effort and the way we were sharing the ball and looking for each other.” The Bears fell to 2-4 on the season....
Two Tucumcari wrestlers finished runner-up and two placed third Saturday at the Al Salazar Invitational at St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe. Josh Pacheco, wrestling at 145 pounds, and Xzander Garcia, at 172 pounds, finished second in their respective weight classes at the tourney. Antonio Gonzales (189 pounds) and Dezmon Pacheco (133 pounds) each finished third for the Rattlers. Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said he hopes his team will compete even better after several athletes recover from illness — presumably the flu — that swept throu...
Notices to renew occupational licenses in Quay County have bene mailed to businesses that purchased them last year. According to a news release last week from the Quay County Clerk’s Office, any business located outside the City of Tucumcari, Village of Logan, Village of San Jon and Village of House are required to purchase a license under the county occupation tax ordinance. The deadline to renew or buy a license for the 2023 year is Jan. 31. For more information, call the clerk’s office at (575) 461-0510....
Federal authorities recently arrested a suspect in Michigan on suspicion of a two-year string of 25 semi-truck trailer arson cases along Interstate 40, including in Tucumcari. Arrested was Viorel Pricop, 64, of Allen Park, Michigan, and made his initial appearance in a U.S. District Court in Detroit. Pricop was charged with one count of arson of property in interstate commerce, a crime that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison. The New Mexico Fire Marshals...
Not only was Quay County dealing with usual coronavirus cases, but it also was experiencing a spike of influenza infections. Trigg Memorial Hospital and the Quay County Family Health Center, both in Tucumcari, each were reporting elevated caseloads of flu last week. “We are seeing a pretty big uptick in Flu A cases through the clinic and in the Emergency Department,” Trigg administrator Vickie Gutierrez stated in an email Friday. “COVID-19 cases remain low.” Renee Hayoz, administrator of the health center, said Friday her clinic has been ex...