Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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The City of Tucumcari received a $216,803 state grant to repair its municipal pool, which has been closed since 2019. The grant was one of 36 Regional Recreational Centers/Quality of Life Grants totaling $45 million awarded across New Mexico and announced by the governor's office on Friday. The Village of San Jon received $300,000 for a park improvement project. The Village of Logan also received more than $4.9 million to build two softball or Little League ballparks, a BMX track and other...
The Tucumcari City Commission on Thursday approved $107,000 in engineering services related to future street repairs near downtown and the south side. Stantec Engineering will study what is required to fix South Third and South Fourth streets between West Main and West High streets. It also will study South Third Street from West Washington Avenue to one block south of West Estrella Avenue, near Interstate 40. City manager Paula Chacon said an engineering study would make it easier for the city to more quickly receive a variety of funding...
LOGAN - The state last week awarded the Village of Logan a nearly $5 million grant to build a recreational and softball complex near Ute Lake State Park. Ray Mondragon, governmental specialist of the Clovis-based Eastern Plains Council of Governments, made the official announcement during the village board's regular meeting on Jan. 10, though the village and EPCOG issued a news release about the grant the day before. EPCOG worked with the village using information from WH Pacific engineering...
Quay County's manager said contrary to recent rumor, a new Dr. Daniel C. Trigg Memorial Hospital would not perform abortion procedures there. Daniel Zamora, making a presentation Thursday during a Quay County Health Council meeting, said the new hospital would not be equipped to perform such invasive procedures. He said he first heard about concerns about abortions at the proposed facility shortly after a Stantec engineer presented a nearly complete hospital design during the Quay County Commiss...
This past Sunday was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, which we celebrated on Monday as a federal holiday named Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As I was considering the approach of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I realized there were a lot of similarities between him and the Apostle Paul as two great men of the faith, as well as between them and the rest of us. First, MLK was born Michael King Jr., but his father changed both their names when MLK was 5. While the Apostle Paul didn’t change his earthly name, he was originally known in his Jew...
A Tucumcari man will be jailed in the county lockup without bond after he was accused of robbing a woman and stabbing another. Raymond Pacheco, 59, is charged with robbery, aggravated battery against a household member with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment. The robbery and battery counts are third-degree felonies that could lead to three years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. The false imprisonment count is a fourth-degree felony that could lead to 18 months in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. According to an affidavit, Tucumcari police...
A Tucumcari man will be jailed in the county lockup without bond after he was accused of robbing a woman and stabbing another. Raymond Pacheco, 59, is charged with robbery, aggravated battery against a household member with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment. The robbery and battery counts are third-degree felonies that could lead to three years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. The false imprisonment count is a fourth-degree felony that could lead to 18 months in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. According to an affidavit, Tucumcari police...
Mesalands Community College on Thursday announced former Tucumcari city manager Mark Martinez was hired as chief campus operations and procurement manager, replacing the recently retired Jim Morgan. “After years of working in public administration, it’s exciting to return to my alma mater to help the college excel in student success, access and the prudent use of its resources,” Martinez stated in a news release from the college. Martinez’s hiring came after a national search to replace Morgan, who retired last month after 23 years but was gra...
On this date ... 1973: The Tucumcari City Commission by a vote of 3-2 turned down a proposed ordinance by Mayor King Aitken that would have raised the pay of the mayor and commissioners to $3,000 a year. Commissioners were being paid $10 per meeting and the mayor $20 per meeting. Aitken said he wanted the ordinance because commissioners had “put in long hours at work, taking much time away from their businesses.” Aikten and commissioner John Crespin voted for the measure; commissioners Otis Waterfield, Helen Gordon and James Saltz voted aga...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Bacon and cheese frittata cup, toast, assorted cereal, graham crackers, fresh banana, apple juice, skim, 1% or strawberry milk; Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich, french fries, baked beans, romaine, fresh tomatoes, dill pickle chip, hot dog, fresh watermelon, skim, chocolate skim, 1% or strawberry milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal bar, egg potato cheese breakfast sandwich, 6-inch whole-grain tortilla, salsa, apple, orange juice, 1% or skim milk; Lunch: Ham and egg chef salad, pep...
• Saturday — Tucumcari Historical Museum field trip. A carpool will be leaving the museum at 8 a.m. to Fort Sumner, where participants will transfer to other vehicle to travel country roads to the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe and its cemetery. A Dutch treat lunch will follow about 1 p.m. at the Daily Grind Restaurant and Coffee Bar. After lunch will be a tour of the Billy the Kid Museum. Return to Tucumcari will be about 6 p.m. Fees are $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and $3 for children age 7 to 15, plus admission to...
A former eastern New Mexico legislator appointed to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission resigned shortly before its first meeting after questions arose about his qualifications. Brian Moore, president and CEO of Ranch Market grocery in Clayton and a District 67 representative from 2001 to 2008, on Jan. 10 submitted a letter of resignation from the commission to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Moore, appointed to the PRC less than two weeks before, stated in his letter he did not meet the statutory educational qualifications, according to...
Members of the Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board reluctantly turned down the Fast TV Network’s request for about $135,000 in motel tax funds but indicated it would approve a revised application if it involved the nonprofit New Mexico Route 66 Association that is part of the project. The Fast TV Network and the New Mexico Route 66 Association announced during a news conference in October they are acquiring and moving into the vacant Kmart building at U.S. 54 and Route 66 on the city’s east side to set up film and television studios, a wel...
The board for Logan Municipal Schools last week unanimously approved a resolution supporting Quay County’s bid to build a new hospital in Tucumcari. Noting “a great need for a critical access healthcare facility” in the area, the resolution states “the infrastructure systems of the current hospital are failing and deemed to be at the end of the useful lifespans” and without a hospital, those seeking care would have to travel at least 80 miles. It also stated Stantec Engineering would complete a design of a new Dr. Dan C. Trigg Memorial...
The constitutional amendment voters approved in 2020 changing the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission from five elected members to three appointed ones was aimed, in large part, at ensuring a more qualified board to handle technical and important issues. The belief also was that the commission would have more credibility than previous boards, which had their share of controversy — even scandal. So much for good intentions. It turns out the Republican grocery store owner from Clayton, appointed to the PRC last month by Democratic Gov. M...
The drama surrounding Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s speakership bid remains nothing short of surreal. It took 15 bids to secure the votes required to become speaker of the House. In his fatalistic desire to become speaker, McCarthy made numerous concessions to his opponents that have all but promised to nullify any real power or influence he will likely have. An interesting side story stemming from the drama was the effort by far-right House members to support Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, one of the few Black Republicans in the chamber. Following McC...
Don’t worry, America. Big Media will never let Joe Biden get away with illegally taking classified documents from the White House in 2016 and stashing them at his office and in his garage next to his Corvette. The ace reporters at liberal places like the New York Times, CNN and NBC are already digging deep into the facts of Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. Soon the Big Media will be telling us exactly what classified documents Biden illegally took home, where he’s been keeping them for more than six years, what he used them for a...
The Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors swore in a new member and chose officers during its first meeting of 2023 last week. Quay County Clerk Ellen White administered the oath of office to new trustee Jason Box, a farm manager at the Rex E. Kirksey Agriculture Science Center who was appointed during the board’s December meeting from two applicants. Justin “Slik” Knapp also was an applicant, but he withdrew himself from consideration and recommended Box’s appointment after the board indicated it would continue as a four-pe...
A man is detained in the Quay County Detention Center after being accused of driving his car at speeds of more than 100 mph on Tucumcari streets and fleeing a police officer. Jarvis Christopher Garza, 20, no address listed, is charged with aggravated fleeing a law-enforcement officer, speeding 36 mph and over, operating a vehicle without headlamps, no insurance, no driver’s license and failure to stop or yield at an intersection. The aggravated fleeing charge is a fourth-degree felony that could lead to 18 months in prison or up to a $5,000 f...
The Melrose boys basketball team blitzed Logan with 16 unanswered points in the first and second quarters, setting the stage for a 71-50 win Saturday in the title game of the Reserve Tournament. The Longhorns trailed only 12-8 midway through the first period before the Buffaloes’ big run. When Logan broke the dry spell with 5:15 left in the second period, Melrose sported a 28-10 advantage. Logan’s drought occurred a short time after its junior point guard and leading scorer, Brock Burns, was benched after being whistled for a technical fou...
A hot-shooting Rehoboth Christian boys basketball team outscored Tucumcari 23-9 in the second quarter during its 53-37 victory in the consolation title game Saturday of the Mighty Lion Basketball Classic tournament at Santa Rosa. The Lynx made five 3-pointers during the critical second quarter, giving them a 31-13 lead at halftime. Rehoboth made 10 shots from behind the 3-point line during the game. "They were hitting some big shots, and they were hurting us with their team speed," Tucumcari...
After two hard-fought wins to advance to the finals, the Logan girls basketball team fell to No. 1-ranked Melrose 67-28 in the title game Saturday of the Reserve Tournament. The Lady Longhorns fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter and trailed 29-14 at halftime. “The girls executed our game plan almost perfectly in the first half,” Logan coach Dustin Robertson said. “However, we couldn’t hit shots.” Logan’s Hailee Robertson made a 3-pointer early in the third period to close the gap to 29-17. The Lady Buffaloes turned up the intensity o...
A second-half scoring drought doomed the Tucumcari girls basketball team in a 52-36 non-district loss Friday at Portales. The Lady Rattlers trailed just 23-19 at halftime, but the Lady Rams outscored them 29-17 in the final two periods to salt away the win. Portales went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the last two minutes. Portales held a size advantage over Tucumcari and, as a result, grabbed many offensive rebounds. “We got in some foul trouble and wasn’t as aggressive on the boards that we should have,” Tucumcari coach Patrick Benav...
The Tucumcari boys wrestling team finished eighth Saturday at the 16-team Sammy Vivian Invitational tournament at Socorro that was studded with larger-enrollment schools. The Rattlers finished with 76 points in the team standings. Miyamura High School of Gallup cruised to the title with 196 points, and Socorro was runner-up with 138 1/2 points. Espanola Valley finished third with 126 points. The top wrestler Saturday for Tucumcari was Fernando Ureste, who finished third in the 114-point weight class. Ureste went 4-1 during the weekend. “He g...
The United Way of Eastern New Mexico and other organizations in Tucumcari, Clovis and Portales are working to carry out a Point In Time count for people experiencing homelessness in the area. The count is conducted to provide accurate data for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The effort to hold an accurate count for New Mexico is being led by the NM Coalition to End Homelessness from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3 in the region. Those wishing to help can join the Point in Time count process or donate items that will be given to those in...