Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham chose current District Attorney Timothy Rose to be the new judge in the 10th Judicial District, starting next month. Rose is replacing Albert “Scooter” Mitchell Jr., who retired in February after 15 years on the bench. The 10th Judicial District covers Quay, Harding and De Baca counties. Rose will be sworn in by 9th District Judge Donna Mowrer during a public ceremony at the Quay County Courthouse in Tucumcari at 1:30 p.m. April 1. Rose, who sat for an interview Sunday in a side room of the district attorney’s office...
Federal charges were filed Friday against a South Carolina suspect accused of fatally shooting a New Mexico State Police officer from Logan. If convicted of the more serious charge, the suspect faces up to life in prison or the death penalty. More details about the killing and the suspect’s capture also were revealed during the news conference and a federal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque. Jaremy Smith, 33, was federally charged with carjacking resulting in death and discharge of a firearm during and in rel...
An estimated 500 people on Wednesday evening shared memories and mourned a slain New Mexico State Police officer from Logan. The vigil drew officers from as far away as Hobbs paying their respects to NMSP patrolman Justin Hare, who was gunned down on March 15 west of Tucumcari while stopping to assist a motorist with a flat tire. The suspect, Jaremy Smith of South Carolina, was captured in Albuquerque two days later after being shot by police during a foot pursuit. Federal charges were filed...
A motorist who struck and killed a woman on a scooter in Tucumcari last week was driving with a revoked license. Jennifer Tackett of Tucumcari died of her injuries at Trigg Memorial Hospital after she was struck on her scooter at South Third Street and Route 66 Boulevard about 6:30 p.m. March 18, according to a report by Tucumcari Police Department officer Tyler Davis. The GMC Sonata pickup that struck Tackett and her scooter was driven by Dennis Christopher Benavidez, 32, of Tucumcari. (Online court documents also list an address in Portales f...
Most have likely heard the phrase, “In like a lion, out like a lamb; in like a lamb, out like a lion,” regarding March weather. There’s much discussion about meanings, with some relating lion weather to harshness because lions are fierce, while others relate it more to the lion’s coat as giving a sunny or warm feeling. For the lamb, the harsh weather is related to the whiteness of snow indicated by the lamb’s wool, while the fair weather is related to the gentleness generally attributed to a lamblike disposition. Generally, the concept i...
On this date ... 1974: Carolyn French of Nara Visa will become of the second woman to earn a civil engineering degree from New Mexico State University. If French, who graduated from Logan High School, elects to attend one more semester at NMSU, she will graduate with a double major — the other field being economics. French also pledged to the Chi Epsilon fraternity, which requires engineering studies to become a member. — Traffic deaths in the U.S. had fallen by one-third to a half so far this year, which officials attributed to the newly imp...
April 6 — Six-week dog training class. Tucumcari Dog Training and Tucumcari MainStreet are sponsoring a dog obedience class on Saturdays from April 6 through May 11 at the Tucumcari Railroad Museum. Cost is $50 for the class and includes a free clicker and training log. Proceeds from fees will go to Paws and Claws animal rescue and the museum. This course will cover dog safety, basic obedience commands and solutions to common canine behavior issues. Advance registration required; visit tucumcaridogtraining.com/obedience-lessons to sign up. F...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Pancake sausage tin a stick, assorted cereal, cinnamon graham cracker, fruit cocktail, orange juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Macaroni and cheese, turkey and cheese hoagie, steamed seasoned corn, fresh broccoli, ranch dressing, fruit cocktail, 1%, skim, chocolate skim or strawberry skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Egg and cheese breakfast burrito, whole-grain doughnut ring, fruit cocktail, apple juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Pepperoni pizza, ham and cheese sandwich, gar...
About 60 people - many of them Impact Wind employees or students - attended a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Wednesday to celebrate Mesalands Community College's partnership with the Houston-based company. The ceremony took place in the college's wind-energy building in front of a wind-turbine nacelle used for training future turbine technicians. Mesalands and Impact announced the collaboration last month to train technicians through the Global Wind Organization certification program. The...
The Quay County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a resolution supporting Luna Count in its opposition to a proposed Mimbres Peak National Monument. The commission heard the proposal from Commissioner Jerri Rush at an earlier meeting but tabled action because commission Chairman Robert Lopez was absent due to an illness. Rush said the federal government wants to designate over 245,000 acres near Deming. Rush said ranchers who have been in the area for generations would lose grazing privileges on what currently is U.S. Bureau of Land...
Lately I’ve been thinking about old age, and for good reason. Two close friends of mine, one a few years older than me, the other about three weeks younger, have given me pause about my own future at this point in my life. My older friend died after a heart attack. My younger friend had a bad fall and must now retire into an assisted living facility. They are just two of many fellow baby boomers I’ve known who have either passed on or been overcome with illness or disability. There but by the grace of God go I. At age 68, I have a couple of hea...
The geographic political divisions in New Mexico have become so entrenched that both parties have just stopped trying in areas of the state where the other side has the advantage. Of the 42 seats up for election in the state Senate this year, only 15 will be decided in the general election. Democrats will claim 17 seats and Republicans will win 10 without posting a yard sign, shaking a hand, making a campaign promise or kissing a baby. Democrats have apparently given up on the seat they held from 1989 to 2020 when John Arthur Smith was in...
You’d never expect a tax revolt to start in the blue California city of Oakland. But a bunch of angry, over-taxed and under-protected local business people there have said, “Enough is enough.” The owner of a restaurant has called on other Oakland small businesses to stop paying local taxes until their city starts doing what it should be doing – protecting them from a recent wave of robberies and thefts. Big businesses like Tesla or Oracle can escape the madness and high taxes in California by moving to Texas, and they have. But the poor gu...
Two of the biggest stars on the Logan boys and Tucumcari girls track teams seemed to be in midseason form during the season-opening Rattler Relays meet Saturday at Rattler Stadium. Logan junior Haden Judd, who won multiple events at the Class A state championships last year, won three on Saturday, including the triple jump in school-record distance. Tucumcari senior Haisley Huffman, a two-time Class 3A champ in the long jump and defending state champion in the triple jump, won both those events...
The Tucumcari softball team won the consolation title Saturday in the Lady Lion Softball Classic tournament by blasting the host team 17-0. Lady Rattlers starting pitcher Mia Estrada earned the complete-game shutout, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out 11. “Mia has been locked in,” Tucumcari coach CJ Oglesby said. Estrada and Harley McKinney were named to the all-tournament team. Tucumcari scored in every inning against Santa Rosa, totaling 17 hits. McKinney went 5-for-5 with three RBI, two doubles and a triple. Haisley Huf...
There's no avoiding the ugly truth: The Tucumcari baseball team blew a late three-run lead during a 20-15 non-district home loss last Tuesday against West Las Vegas. However, the Rattlers program had some good takeaways from the game. The fact the Rattlers made the Dons battle for the win was noteworthy in itself. The rebuilding THS baseball program hadn't been competitive against West Las Vegas in years. In their last half-dozen games against the Dons, the Rattlers lost nearly all of them by...
Junior guard Caylee Benavidez earned first-team all state honors in Class 3A girls basketball in addition to being all-district. Junior guard July Lafferty was an honorable mention all-state in addition to being named first-team all-district. Also earning first-team Class 4-3A honors for the Lady Rattlers were senior guard Haisley Huffman, senior center Kirksey Smith and sophomore center Kyla Lopez. Senior guard Alexis Ramirez was an honorable mention in district honors. All-state honors by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association...
Logan senior guard Brock Burns earned all-state honors in Class 1A boys basketball as well as all district honors that were announced last week after his team advanced to the state semifinals. Sophomore strong forward Hayden Bruhn earned second-team all-state honors as well as being all-district. Sophomore center Mason Wallin earned honorable mention in the all-state listings in addition to being an all-district center. Stats from the Longhorns this past season: — Burns averaged 12.9 points, 4.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. — Bruhn ave...
Logan sophomore guard Desta Rose earned Class 1A girls basketball first-team all-state honors, in addition to being all-district, after helping lead her team to a runner-up finish in the state tournament. Rose, a varsity starter since she was an eighth-grader, was the Lady Longhorns’ leading scorer on a team that made it all the way to the state championship game. Rose averaged 19.3 points, 3.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. Logan senior guard Hailee Robertson also earned honorable mention all-state and also was first-team all-district. S...
Tucumcari MainStreet last week hosted its first hearing on a wayfinding plan to eventually develop better signs for travelers in Tucumcari. About 20 people attended the hearing at City Hall. Representatives from Groundwork Studio in Albuquerque and Leighton Moon of Alamogordo, who are contractors for New Mexico MainStreet, directed the session on March 18. Leighton Moon developed the city's logo several years ago. Amy Bell of Groundworks said they helped develop other way finding plans in Santa...
Classes at Tucumcari Elementary School were canceled at least one day this week because a vandal knocked out natural gas service to the facility. Veronica Hernandez, administrative assistant at the school district, said a motorist rammed an outdoor regulator that serves the building, causing a leak. Gas service was halted to stop the leak, but the building has no heating. School officials decided to cancel school Monday after temperatures were forecast to only be in the 30s. Hernandez said a contractor has been hired to repair the regulator,...
Recent leadership turmoil in the New Mexico Route 66 Association has prompted the removal of a museum from a multimillion-dollar project planned in Tucumcari by the Fast TV Network. Principals from the Fast TV Network announced in October 2022 it would move from Albuquerque into the vacant Kmart building in Tucumcari and convert it into an $8 million television and movie production facility, plus a New Mexico Route 66 Association museum and welcome center. During the news conference to announce the project, Fast TV said it would hold a soft...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from March 18 to March 24: March 18 — 2:47 a.m.: Prowler in 1100 block of South Fourth Street, Tucumcari. — 10:02 a.m.: Accident in 200 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 10:14 a.m.: Trespassing in 200 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 11:13 a.m.: Theft in 600 block of East Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 11:44 a.m.: Shots fired in 800 block of West Hancock Avenue, Tucumcari. — 2:33 p.m.: Brush fire at milepost 31, Highway 278...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from March 18 to March 24: — Joshua Neal, 34, Tucumcari, aggravated battery (great bodily harm) and criminal trespass (posted). — Daniel Edward Lott, 58, Tucumcari, battery against a household member and probation violation. — Dennis C. Benavidez, 32, Tucumcari, driving while license suspended or revoked and improper left turn at intersection. — Donovan J. Oldham, 22, Tucumcari, criminal trespass (damage), battery against a household member, aggravated assault (with intent...