Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Twenty-eight entities in Quay County received a total of $412,000 in small-business CARES Act grants awarded by the state of New Mexico late last year because of the economic hardships from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the awards in the county were $10,000. The largest grant of $40,000 went to To-Jack LLC, which operates the Cornerstone First Edition, Kix on 66 and Vaquero Asador restaurants in Tucumcari. They were part of the coronavirus relief grants awarded by the New Mexico Finance Authority after the state legislature during a November...
A third neighboring county, San Miguel, landed in the green or yellow zone in the latest COVID-19 risk assessments announced Wednesday by the New Mexico Department of Health. Quay County again failed to advance out of the red zone but nearly halved its test-positivity rates during the period from Jan. 12 to Jan. 25. San Miguel County joined two more of Quay County’s neighbors, Harding and Union counties in the yellow or green zones that allow some loosening of health restrictions, including 25% occupancy of indoor dining for those in the yellow...
Two healthcare providers in Quay County vaccinated several hundred more people against the coronavirus in the past week. C. Renee Hayoz, administrator at the Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari, said 150 people were administered the Moderna version of the vaccine last week. The clinic began vaccinations in late December. She said she would request 200 more doses this week after receiving none last week. She said at least 100 of those doses would be earmarked as required booster shots for those who received the first dose of the...
Tucumcari Public Schools’ superintendent told board members last week the state likely will bring back in-person teaching for middle-school students by late January or early February. Superintendent Aaron McKinney said he was “more hopeful” middle-school students would return to in-person classes in “the next two to three weeks” after the New Mexico Public Education Department recently surveyed districts on that very issue. McKinney said if middle schools reopen to in-person classes, it’s likely the state will require a higher percentage of tea...
Find a way to remember this time. It’s historically unusual. In the span of five short years, we’ve witnessed the beginning of a brand new religious movement, its meteoric rise to national prominence, and it’s abrupt flame-out. Of course, I’m talking about the conspiracy theory called QAnon. Despite some protest to the contrary, QAnon is an undeniably religious phenomenon. Embarrassingly, its ranks were swelled with Evangelical Christians, who would never knowingly adopt a different faith,...
On this date ... 1971: New Mexico State Police Sgt. Dwain Johnson told the Noon Lions Club at the Ramada Inn about the force's efforts in the past year. In 1970, he said state police investigated 165 traffic accidents in Quay County, with 12 fatalities. Among those crashes, Johnson said 55 were caused by driver negligence, 33 by alcohol, 15 by driver fatigue and eight by weather conditions. He said one-third of the accidents involved county residents. • Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber directors ki...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • April 16-18 — Spay and neuter clinic. A clinic to spay and neuter pets will be sponsored by Quay County Paws and Claws Animal Rescue. More details will come later. • Sept. 25 – Fired Up Festival. A variety of booths, live entertainment and a fireworks show are on tap at the Historic Railroad Depot Plaza area of downtown Tucumcari. More details about the festival will be announced later. • Sept. 25 – Wheels on Fire 100. Cyclists take on 50-mile, 100-kilometer and 100-mile co...
The Tucumcari Senior Center and Logan Senior Center remain closed to the public indefinitely but will deliver meals to those who qualify. Those interested in meal deliveries should call the Tucumcari facility at 461-2307 and the Logan facility at 487-2287 for more information. Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Egg and cheese muffinwich, fresh pear, milk; Lunch: Hamburger, french fries, ketchup, lettuce salad, fresh tomatoes, dill pickle chip, fresh orange. Thursday — Breakfast: Cinni mini, orange juice, fresh orange; Lunch: Corn dog...
As expected, local prosecutors refiled charges against a Tucumcari man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase in August after the original charges were dismissed. Anthony Martinez, 22, again faces counts of aggravated fleeing law enforcement, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal damage to property of over $1,000, criminal trespassing and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. Three of the charges are fourth-degree felonies that could have led up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. According to online...
More than 87% of Mesalands Community College’s grades issued to students in the fall were passing — which is believed to be the highest rate ever — despite many classes being conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aaron Kennedy, vice president of student affairs, presented the college’s persistence and enrollment report for fall 2020 during the board of trustees meeting Jan. 19. Kennedy said it is the first such report that reflects the full effects of the pandemic. Kennedy said of 1,621 midterm grades issued, a total of 1,421 were pa...
Joe Biden wants to turn the page on Donald Trump. But on Day One, he began copying his methods. In fact, Barack Obama’s administration (Joe Biden, vice president) did exactly what Trump was criticized for doing, before many thought of the latter as a serious candidate. Remember the “national security” implications of importing Canadian aluminum or French wines? Trump was rightly criticized for abusing the language of a 1960s law to do what he wanted. He used executive orders, on the flimsiest of excuses, to raise tariffs without regard for C...
I almost got a lump in my throat (not really) to see things return to normal 24 hours after President Joseph Biden took the oath of office. With COVID-19 preventing the parties and parades that usually occupy a new president’s first day, Biden instead marched resolutely to the Resolute Desk and signed 17 executive orders, the most significant of which undid many of former President Donald Trump’s most controversial directives. He undid Trump’s ban on travel to the U.S. from some Muslim-majority nations and Trump’s release of many square...
Everyone agreed the inauguration ceremony was nice. Lady Gaga was Lady Gaga. Garth Brooks was Garth Brooks. Everyone also agreed President Joe Biden’s speech was nice. Nothing plagiarized. Nothing too fancy. Nothing that presidential historians will be quoting a month from now. Biden’s call for national unity and political healing was widely praised by Democrats, the mainstream Democrat media and even some easily impressed Republicans. But what did our new unifier-in-chief do as soon as he got control of the presidential pen? Keeping his cam...
The Tucumcari Police Department is seeking help in locating two runaway juveniles. Angelique French and Braxton French ran away from their home about 10 p.m. Saturday and have not been heard from since. Anyone who knows their whereabouts are encouraged to dial 911 or call the police department at (575) 461-2160....
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Jan. 18 to Jan. 24: Monday • 10:24 a.m.: Vandalism in 200 block of West Main Street, Tucumcari. • 11:28 a.m.: Trespassing in 700 block of North Second Street, Tucumcari. • 2:58 p.m.: Child custody problem in 600 block of East Hines Avenue, Tucumcari. • 5:14 p.m.: Trespassing in 300 block of West Campbell Avenue, Tucumcari. • 8:18 p.m.: Child custody problem in 500 block of South First Street, Tucumcari. Tuesday • 9:50 a.m.: Accident with injuries at...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Jan. 19 to Jan. 23: • Jonathan Dexter Schiffer, 28, El Paso, Texas, warrant from other counties or states, two counts of trafficking (by possession with intent to distribute), speeding and tampering with evidence (capital crime of first or second-degree felony). These individuals were released from the Quay County Detention Center from Jan. 19 to Jan. 24: • Don Meier, 70, Clovis, own recognizance. • Brandy Patterson, 41, Santa Rosa, court ordered. • Danarius Ja Kuan Br...
The New Mexico Department of Health reported two new confirmed cases of coronavirus in Quay County on Sunday, both in the Tucumcari ZIP code. The latest cases were one male and one female. One was a child under age 10; the other was a person over 90 years old. No cases were reported in the county on Monday. The 14 cases in most recent seven-day period was a slowdown from the previous seven days that saw 18 cases. Quay County also appeared to be on the cusp of landing in the yellow zone when state COVID-19 case outlook evaluations are announced...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a resolution that urges the reinstatement of a state meat inspection program in New Mexico. The resolution states meat animals in New Mexico account for $824 million in cash receipts annually, but about 80% of the meatpacking industry is concentrated among four companies. “For decades this concentration has limited the income of cow-calf producers and others in the food chain,” and “the pandemic of 2020 has pointed out the ills of this pack concentration for meat producers and consumers alike...
Less than two months ago, Paws and Claws Animal Rescue of Quay County was directed to a stray dog just a few hundred feet from its rural Tucumcari facility. The emaciated dog was so weak, it could not stand. A local veterinarian treating him doubted he would survive. Because of his sorry state, the staff nicknamed him Bones. "He was the worst I've ever seen," Paws and Claws President Kathi McClelland said, who's been rescuing pets in all sorts of bad condition for 14 years. On Friday morning, th...
Middle-school and high school students at all New Mexico public schools will be able to resume in-person classes starting Feb. 8. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made the announcement Tuesday afternoon during her annual State of the State speech. Previously, only elementary-school students in a hybrid model of online and in-person instruction, along with a few micro-districts of fewer than 100 students, could host in-person teaching since the school year began in August. Lujan Grisham prefaced the announcement by praising teachers and school suppor...