Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Quay County worsened last week, with dosage numbers lower compared to the previous week. The county also has one of the worst vaccine administration rates in New Mexico. Vickie Gutierrez, administrator and chief nurse executive at Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari, reported in an email the hospital administered 120 doses of the Pfizer vaccine last week. That compares to the 204 doses given the previous week. Gutierrez said she’s requested 120 more doses for the hospital this week. C. Renee Hayoz, a...
The New Mexico Department of Health reported five more confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported Monday in Quay County. All were in the Tucumcari ZIP code. That was the largest number in one day in a month in the county. The latest cases mostly were children – three younger than 10, one age 10 to 19 and one age 20 to 29. The overall total rose Monday to 408 since the pandemic began last spring, with eight deaths. The breakdown by ZIP code through Sunday was 316 in Tucumcari, 58 in Logan, 10 in House, eight in McAlister, seven in San Jon, f...
Quay County saw a marked downturn in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the past week, yet another sign the pandemic was waning in New Mexico. The county recorded just three cases since Jan. 25, and those were either in the Logan or House ZIP codes. It was the first time in weeks Tucumcari had such a prolonged absence of confirmed COVID-19 cases. A total of 14 cases in the county were reported the previous week. No cases were reported in the county Sunday or Monday, keeping the overall total to 398 since the pandemic began last...
Three Tucumcari festivals usually scheduled during the first half of the year have been canceled or at least delayed because of ongoing COVID-19 health restrictions. The latest was the New Mexico Music Showcase, usually set in the first weekend in June. One of the organizers, Jerry Lopez, said the festival's committee decided Thursday night to cancel the event and concentrate its energies on the 2022 festival. Lopez acknowledged earlier in the week he "not optimistic" about the prospects of hold...
Tucumcari and Logan schools are preparing for a partial resumption Monday of in-person classes for middle-school and high-school students for the first time in more than 10 months. Citing a drop in COVID-19 cases statewide and science to lessen the risk of viral spread, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham green-lighted a mix of in-person and online classes for middle-schoolers and high-schoolers during her State of the State address last week. Most schools throughout New Mexico had been using a hybrid model of in-person and online learning for only...
I suspect most people know a friend or family member who’s contracted COVID-19. I was visiting with a very devout, elderly couple at church that recently who had it. At one point, the lady said she didn’t know how they got it because they were diligent in protecting themselves and others, not that she was blaming God or thought she was being disciplined for some sin (Hebrews 12:4-13), which many people do when bad things happen. Anyway, I responded it likely wasn’t because of anything they did or didn’t do, but somehow God would bring about s...
A Tucumcari man accused of drunkenly pointing a gun at a teenage boy without provocation last spring found himself in more trouble last week when he showed up drunk at a court hearing regarding his case. Matthew Hart, 38, was charged in April with abuse of a child (first offense; placed in a dangerous situation) and negligent use of a deadly weapon while under the influence of an intoxicant or narcotic. The child-abuse charge is a third-degree felony that can lead up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The negligence charge is a petty m...
On this date ... 1971: A Tucumcari man and a 12-year-old child were treated at Trigg Memorial Hospital after being wounded by at least one gunshot from a local man. The suspect was charged with aggravated battery after he being accused of shooting at their Jeep three miles northwest of Tucumcari with a high-powered rifle. A photo showed several holes in the vehicle’s windshield. A bullet hit the driver in his left shoulder and left a trail of blood at the hospital. The boy was treated and released for head wounds caused by shrapnel from a b...
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: Mini cinnamon French toast, kiwi fruit, orange juice; Lunch: Cheese pizza, garden salad, fat-free ranch dressing, fresh pear, chocolate skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Cinni mini, apple cherry juice, red grapes; Lunch: Chili con c...
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a judge’s decision to hold the state Department of Taxation and Revenue in contempt for failing to comply with an order in 2015 concerning a property tax dispute over two high-voltage electrical transmission lines in Harding County. In a unanimous decision, the court also upheld the district court’s award of $38,430 in attorney fees and legal costs to the Harding County Board of Commissioners and public school boards in Roy and Mosquero for seeking to enforce the court’s order in the tax case...
There’s a gold rush going on in the financial markets. It features everyday underdogs getting their due and bigwig “bad guys” recoiling from their comeuppance. It’s accompanied by online flame wars and some of the dumbest displays of dominance in the animal kingdom. In short, it’s an American phenomenon. And it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. But it’s not new. And it’s not necessarily a problem. At the center of things has been GameStop, a 25-year-old company with a washed-up retailing strategy. It sells video game equipment and t...
The reason-defying rise of video game retailer GameStop’s stock price seems to combine the psychology of the “housing bubble” of the 2000s and the populism that gave us four years with Donald Trump at our nation’s helm. GameStop looks like a struggling giant when seen through the usual Wall Street lenses of financial performance, annual reports and quarterly conference calls with investment analysts. It’s a $9-billion corporation with 6,000 stores. To gamers of a certain age — that is, millennials and those who are entering adulthood after them...
Joe Biden’s 60-day moratorium on oil and gas leases and permits on federal lands puts him on track to take jobs and money from New Mexico at a time of crisis. There is no gray area in New Mexico for wanting to protect the environment and wanting the benefits of a world with energy. By banning oil and gas leases on federal lands, Biden is not uniting. He is effectively promoting the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars per year if he decides to continue with shutting down the oil and gas industry in New Mexico after his 60-day plan. Many N...
After a year of being inside because of the pandemic, the Quay County Health Council is offering residents a Safe Heart Healthy Challenge to get the new year off to a great start. This challenge, which begins Saturday and runs through March 27, is to get the minimum recommended amount of physical activity a day. Recommendations for adults is 30 minutes of moderately intense activity a day and 60 minutes for children. Those who do not normally get the minimum amount of exercise should start where they are at and add to it weekly. Everyone one...
A third neighboring county, San Miguel, landed in the green or yellow zone in the latest COVID-19 risk assessments announced last week 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 assessment period from Jan. 12 to Jan. 25. San Miguel County joined two of Quay County’s neighbors, Harding and Union counties, in the yellow or green zones that loosen some health restrictions, including the allowance of 25% occupancy of indoor dining for c...
A recent traffic stop by Quay County sheriff’s deputy led to the arrest of a Texas suspect on a parole violation, plus the recovery of illegal drugs and nearly $48,000 in cash. According to a report from the sheriff’s department, Deputy Larry Cooksey was patrolling on U.S. 54 the afternoon of Jan. 22 when he stopped a Jeep speeding 84 mph in a 65 mph zone. The driver was identified as Jonathan Dexter Schiffer, 28, of El Paso, Texas, who had an active warrant for a parole violation. After being taken into custody, Schiffer told the deputy the...
Joshua Braziel should know by March whether his murder case goes to trial or he accepts a plea agreement. Braziel, 30, of Tucumcari, appeared in district court via videoconference from the Quay County Detention Center last week for a status hearing on his case. He is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) after being accused of shooting his friend and co-worker Bryan Youman, 19, of Tucumcari in the head at his home Sept. 4. Braziel has said the shooting was an accident. First-degree murder...
A Tucumcari resident was among those who graduated with honors at West Texas A&M University’s virtual fall commencement ceremonies in December. Among those 974 students graduating was Julee Ann Alden of Tucumcari. She received an a bachelor’s in fine arts degree in graphic design. Alden also made the President’s List with a grade-point average of 4.0 or higher. West Texas A&M, based in Canyon, awarded 662 baccalaureate degrees and 312 master’s degrees....
The New Mexico Activities Association board members during an emergency meeting Monday adopted an adjusted sports calendar where the condensed fall sports seasons of football, cross country and volleyball would begin on Feb. 22. Practices for those traditionally fall sports also would officially begin Feb. 22. If those dates hold, it would be the first time prep sports would be played in New Mexico in nearly a year because of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Football season would be limited to five games, volleyball season to 12...
Julie J. Vargas, the newest justice on the New Mexico Supreme Court, was sworn into office last week. Chief Justice Michael Vigil administered the oath of office to her during a ceremony Jan. 25 in the Supreme Court courtroom in Santa Fe. Family members of the justice were present for the ceremony. Other Supreme Court justices, friends and judicial colleagues attended remotely through an audio-video connection. Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Vargas to fill a vacancy created by...
Tucumcari City commissioners seemed to agree Thursday to pursue funding from capital outlay funds through the New Mexico Legislature to continue repairing and replacing sewer lines and facilities along Route 66 on the east side of town. After discussion at a public work session Thursday, the commissioners and City Manager Mark Martinez, along with Community Development Director Vicki Strand and project manager Ralph Lopez, seemed to agree to pursue $723,000 in capital outlay funds from the 2021 Legislature to advance the sewer line project....
A former Logan resident was sentenced last week to 2 1/2 years in the Department of Corrections and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life after being convicted of charges related to his having sex with a 14-year-old girl. Joshua Lee Roubieu, 34, who now lives in Farmington, accepted a plea deal last month in Tucumcari district court on two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual penetration of a child and one count of criminal sexual communication with a child. In exchange for the pleas, one count of criminal sexual contact...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Jan. 25 to Jan. 31: Monday • 9:11 a.m.: Arrest warrant in 100 block of West Center Street, Tucumcari. • 11:05 a.m.: Theft in 900 block of South Mountain Road, Tucumcari. • 11:26 a.m.: Fraud in 400 block of East Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. • 11:56 a.m.: Fraud in 1700 block of South 11th Street, Tucumcari. • 12:02 p.m.: Suicide attempt in 1400 block of East Heman Avenue, Tucumcari. • 1:37 p.m.: Disturbance in 1700 block of South Monroe Street, Tuc...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Jan. 26 to Jan. 31: • Angel Antunez, 26, Tucumcari, warrant from other counties or states. • George Ignacio Armijo Jr., 62, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Mathew Hart, 38, Tucumcari, felony contempt of court. • Ramon Fares Jaramillo, 26, Tucumcari, contempt of court and warrant from other counties or states. • Isabel Elena Jimenez, 24, Tucumcari, municipal charge (not listed). • Cylas Martinez, 23, Clovis, abuse of a resident (no harm) and battery against a household memb...