Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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ALBUQUERQUE - Jaremy Smith will spend the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole. He pleaded guilty Friday to federal charges of fatally shooting a New Mexico State Police patrolman west of Tucumcari last March. Federal law-enforcement officials made the announcement Friday. The family of officer Justin Hare, 35, told the Albuquerque Journal that they had wanted Smith put to death for killing their son. "I still wish he was dead," Jim Hare said outside the U.S. District...
The Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors is considering its biggest water allocation in its canals in six years. The board didn’t make an official allocation during its Jan. 14 meeting, but members and the district’s manager said they were comfortable allocating 10 to 14 inches of water per acre when growing season begins in the spring. District manager Franklin McCasland said if its canals operated at 40% efficiency, it could allocate nearly 11 inches of water per acre, based on current Conchas Lake levels. If the canals ope...
Two animal-welfare organizations are planning another low-cost spay-neuter clinic in Tucumcari next month, and city government is looking for a way to contribute financially to that effort. Kathi McClelland, president of Paws & Claws Animal Rescue of Quay County, and two representatives from RezDawg Rescue discussed options with city commissioners during a work session on Jan. 13. Paws & Claws and RezDawg hosted a clinic in November at the Tucumcari shelter and spayed or neutered more than 300 animals in the area. McClelland said they hoped to...
A Tucumcari police officer shot and killed a dog Thursday on the city’s north side after it attacked him, according to a fellow officer’s report and the police chief. The officers had received reports Thursday and the previous day of loose dogs in that area attacking an elderly man. According to TPD Chief Patti Lopez, Ordella Jaynes was issued two citations for an animal at large and a vicious animal, plus a criminal summons. According to a police report written by TPD Cpl. Matthew Lopez (no relation to the chief), he and fellow officer Jes...
“Pastor, I don’t get anything out of church. I can worship God just fine by myself. Why do I need to get together with a bunch of people I don’t know or like?” That’s a common objection. It gets stated differently here and there, but this is the gist of it. The farmer can feel close to God while he’s driving his tractor through a field at sunrise. The single person can sleep till noon on a Sunday and think nice thoughts about Jesus once they roll out of bed. The obvious answer to this is, “Amen!” Nobody’s saying it’s impossible to genui...
On this date ... 1975: The cost of living index rose 0.7% in December, reported the U.S. Labor Department, with an annual rate of inflation of 12.2% in 1974 — the highest level since the end of World War II. President Gerald Ford also said he would veto a gas-rationing bill and reject authority to impose wage-price controls, according to United Press International reports. He said he was “horrified” over driving the government another $75 billion into the red. — The City of Tucumcari was approved for a federal grant of $13,249.60 to improve...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Breakfast banana split, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, cinnamon graham cracker, apple, apple juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Chicken patty sandwich, buffalo chicken wrap, potato wedges, green leaf lettuce, fresh tomatoes, fresh baby carrots, ranch dressing, fruit cocktail, 1%, skim, chocolate skim or strawberry skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Biscuit with sausage gravy, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, cinnamon graham cracker, apple, orange juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Ham...
Feb. 1 — Jump Rope Challenge. The Quay County Health Council is hosting this event for all age groups from 10 a.m. to noon at the Quay County Fairgrounds Expo Center. Each participant will jump in two, 30-second rounds to determine his or her average. Register for the event by Jan. 20 to receive a free professional jump rope. Register at forms.gle/LLb4DDXFVosvc4Uu7 or text (575) 815-4575 for the link. Feb. 7 — Read with a Dog at Tucumcari Public Library. Join therapy dog Pearl for a special dog-themed story hour featuring the classic children’s...
This year’s legislative session in Santa Fe, which began Tuesday, has the potential of being a highly productive session, owed to a record-setting surplus of funds and a still-ambitious two-term governor whose time is running out. This will be the last 60-day session for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. It’s boom times for state coffers and she and the state’s lawmakers now get to divvy up nearly $892 million in “new money” while a spending bill that tops $10 billion is being advanced by the Legislative Finance Committee. The money is there, bu...
The past few months have been an uneasy time for Black Americans, who wonder what the future will hold with Donald Trump back in the White House. Trump’s reelection has understandably raised considerable concern within Black communities about the status of civil rights protections. In a nation where white people make up 75% of voters, 60% of white men voted for Trump, while Latino men split almost evenly between both candidates. Black men voted overwhelmingly for Harris, but the 25% who voted for Trump is more than twice the percentage Trump r...
Praise the Lord for his mercy. Joe Biden’s failed presidency has finally come to an end. As he proved last week in an interview and in his bitter farewell speech, Joe Biden is clearly suffering through the final stages of TDS – Trump Derangement Syndrome. Like those with Alzheimer’s, TDS victims suffer confusion, incoherence and bursts of anger. In Biden’s case, it also causes delusions of grandeur and amnesia. He was still telling USA Today that the withdrawal from Afghanistan was an “extraordinary success,” not a national embarrassment, and b...
Despite a heroic effort by Tucumcari senior Caylee Benavidez, the Lady Rattlers lost a thrilling 63-61 non-district girls basketball game Friday against visiting Class 4A power (Roswell) Goddard. Benavidez scored a team-high 30 points - including a game-tying shot after a steal with 1:10 left - and grabbed 10 rebounds. But the Rockets' Ashlee Buck then scored an inside bucket on a fastbreak and teammate Lauren Medrano made two free throws during the final minute to secure their team's win. July...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team endured a tough week, including three losses at the Mighty Lion Basketball Classic tournament at Santa Rosa. The Rattlers closed the tournament Saturday with a 66-51 loss to Mora in the seventh-place game. THS coach John Span said the second and third quarters proved critical in his team’s loss. Mora outscored Tucumcari 40-23 during that span, turning the Rattlers’ three-point lead early into a double-digit deficit. Span also noted Mora was whistled for only four fouls the entire game. “Both teams playe...
Estancia kept it close initially, but Logan blew it open during the first and second quarters. The Logan boys basketball team, unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com, scored 28 unanswered points on a flurry of 3-pointers, fastbreaks and inside shots. That run turned a 5-5 game into a 33-5 advantage early in the second period against the visiting Bears on Saturday. The Longhorns then set the cruise control for an 81-42 victory. “We came out with a lot of energy and really did a great job sharing the ball with each other,” Log...
Leading Estancia by just four points at intermission, the Logan girls basketball team outscored their opponent 29-18 in the second half to secure a 48-33 victory Saturday at Logan. The Lady Longhorns rallied to a double-digit lead halfway through the fourth quarter and built on it. Logan coach Dustin Robertson said his team won despite a suboptimal performance. “We played a little bit flat,” he said. “The girls were going hard but just never could get rolling very good. “But they continued to fight and play with maturity and got the win. I was...
Two Tucumcari wrestlers took home first-place honors at the 12-team Red River Classic tournament at Vernon, Texas. Tucumcari’s Fernando Ureste and Josiah Sanchez each prevailed in eight bouts Friday and Saturday to win their respective weight classes. The Rattlers finished a strong fourth in the team standings at the event, which featured teams from Texas and Oklahoma. “I was happy; it was a great day,” Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said. “In a hard, solid tournament, we were right up there. We were the only New Mexico team there. We came in look...
The Logan High School girls powerlifting team boasted four first-place winners and captured the team title at a seven-team Logan Invitational meet on Jan. 13 at Logan. Also, a San Jon girl also finished first in her division and lifted the most weight of the day. For Logan, April Lansdell (competing in the 105-pound division), Aaliyah Lansdell (114), Makinlee Judd (132) and Kara Bibbs (220) each won their respective classes at the tournament. The Lady Longhorns easily won the team title with 53 points. San Jon finished with fifth with 15...
Two area lawmakers said they doubted the City of Tucumcari would be awarded capital outlay funds during the New Mexico Legislature’s current session because of the city’s late audits. State Sen. Pat Woods (R-Broadview) and state Rep. Jack Chatfield (R-Mosquero) also talked about their priorities days before the session was set to begin at noon on Jan. 21. The session will end on March 22. Woods’ District 7 includes Quay, Curry and Union counties, including most of Tucumcari. Chatfield’s District 67 encompasses most of the state’s northeast...
SAN JON - Travelers who take advantage of the free overnight camping at San Jon Village Park have more of a reason to stop there. The village recently completed several improvements to its nearly 50-year-old park, paid for with a $300,000 state grant. Village Clerk Cynthia Lee said the money was used to buy and build new park equipment, including a family shelter with picnic tables and new awnings and tables for the camping area. "Our goal was to provide a new and safe recreational area for...
A recently completed audit for the Village of San Jon revealed the village was the victim of the email scam that almost cost it over $31,000. According to the fiscal-year 2024 audit report by Scott Northam CPA, a deputy village clerk fell victim to a fraudulent email regarding a vendor payment of capital outlay funds for a park-improvement project, resulting in a temporary loss of $31,508 in September 2023. “The Village was alerted of the fraud when the vendor called and inquired about the payment being thirty days late,” the report sta...
The Quay County 4-H Parliamentary Procedure Team recently won the Western Nationals Roundup Parliamentary Procedure Contest in Denver. The team of Charmaynn Hall, MiKayla Klinger, Maddie Kenyon, Ashton Smith, Greyson Bollinger and Paxton Smith also won the New Mexico State 4-H Parliamentary Procedure contest in January 2024 and had been practicing for the national contest for the past three months. Erin Smith coached the squad, and Jason Lamb was the assistant coach. The Quay County team...
The Tucumcari Film Festival announced last week it is waiving entry fees for all video and film submissions from elementary through high school students residing in Quay County. The festival will take place on April 25-26 at the Odeon Theatre downtown and the Tucumcari High School Auditorium. "We believe in the power of storytelling and want to give our young filmmakers the chance to shine," Bobby Hockaday, executive director of Film Tucumcari and a key organizer of the festival, stated in a news release. "By waiving the entry fees, we hope to...
Three Quay County students at West Texas A&M University in Canyon made the President’s List or Dean’s List during the fall 2024 semester. — Skyler Deluca of Tucumcari, Dean’s List, a senior in pre-engineering; — Kaiden Jones of Logan, Dean’s List, a senior in electrical engineering; — Jenna Lopez of Tucumcari, President’s List, senior in public relations/advertising. The Dean’s List honors students with a grade-point average of 3.50 to 3.99. The President’s List honors those with a GPA of 4.0. Also, Jodi Michelle Vance-Furlow of Tuc...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Jan. 13 to Jan. 19: Jan. 13 — 8:06 a.m.: Theft in 300 block of East Smith Avenue, Tucumcari. — 12:55 p.m.: Juvenile problem in 700 block of West Escuela Avenue, Tucumcari. — 3:30 p.m.: Arrest warrant in 100 block of East Main Street, Tucumcari. — 4:38 p.m.: Burglary in 700 block of West Sunset Avenue, Tucumcari. — 5:54 p.m.: Civil dispute in 600 block of South Third Street, Tucumcari. — 7:23 p.m.: Fraud in 200 block of East Center Street, Tucumcari....
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Jan. 13 to Jan. 17: — Jeffrey Christopher Clark, 55, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — Jarvis Atkins, 33, Tucumcari, warrant from other counties or states. — Dillon L. Ward, 27, Clovis, aggravated fleeing a law-enforcement officer, reckless driving and speeding (over 21-25 mph). — Vanessa R. Pacheco, 35, Tucumcari, contempt of court, dangerous drugs or conditions for sale and possession of drug paraphernalia. — Joey J. Trujillo, 41, Tucumcari, arson (over $500), disorderly c...