Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Logan Municipal Schools on Thursday closed its campus for two weeks after at least one employee or student tested positive for COVID-19. “Because of the possibility of widespread exposure, our district is taking action to prevent further spread of the virus by CLOSING CAMPUS for the next two (2) weeks, requiring students and instructional staff to transition to a period of remote instruction,” superintendent Dennis Roch wrote in a letter posted Thursday on the district’s website. The school district also sent out a text Thursday, stating all le...
Parts of Logan Municipal Schools will reopen to in-person classes sooner than expected after at least two COVID-19 cases were reported there. School superintendent Dennis Roch wrote in a letter posted on the district’s website Wednesday that Logan elementary and middle-school classes would resume in-person learning on April 26. That would be the 10th day of quarantine for students and staff who came in close contact with a COVID-positive person. Roch wrote, however, because of “an elevated risk” of an additional 14-day state-mandated shutdown a...
Quay County stayed in the turquoise zone during the latest two-week COVID-19 risk assessment announced Wednesday but by a much less comfortable margin. The county recorded 6.8 daily cases per 100,000 people during the April 6 to April 19 period, compared to 2.6 daily cases during the previous two-week period. The benchmark is 8 daily cases per 100,000 people. Quay County’s test positivity rate also rose to 4.32% in the latest assessment, compared to 2.31% during the previous one. The benchmark is 5%. It marked the second straight assessment p...
Facing a persistent drought, the Arch Hurley Conservancy District’s board of directors on April 13 voted to not allocate any irrigation water to area farmers for the time being. It was the first time since 2017 the district had not allocated water for the beginning of the growing season. District manager Franklin McCasland reported Conchas Lake’s water level had dropped to 4,159 feet, which is more than 15 feet lower than a year ago. The district cannot discharge any water by gravity feed when it is lower than 4,162 feet, though it is pos...
The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board during a special meeting Wednesday recommended allocating $25,000 to pay for magazine advertisements and a visitors guide for the city. The board also recommended spending $15,000 in executive funds to help Santa Fe musician and actor Carlos Medina produce a scripted video travelogue in Tucumcari, up to nearly $800 to restore a “Motel” neon sign and $3,000 by the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce to purchase additional Tucumcari-branded souvenirs. Most of the recommendations require final app...
In my last column, I said the Bible’s attitude toward the “alien” or immigrant is univocal. We are to love him as ourselves, and treat him as a brother. In this piece, I plan to point out the public policy toward foreigners that is set forth in God’s law/word. Next time, I hope to answer common Christian objections to implementing that policy in our day. (Feel free to email me before then with your best arguments.) First, there was no legislative body in ancient Israel under Moses. No one was...
Quay County on Friday recorded two confirmed coronavirus case in the Logan ZIP code. However, it appeared the county might remain in the turquoise zone when COVID-19 risk assessments are announced Wednesday. New Mexico also reached a grim milestone Friday when the 4,000th death from the pandemic was reported. The latest cases in the county Friday was a girl age 10 to 19 and a woman age 40 to 49, according to data from the state’s Department of Health. The Logan cases were reported one day after the superintendent of Logan Municipal Schools a...
Quay County health providers administered fewer than 100 people with COVID-19 vaccines last week, though rates remained at a high level statewide despite a pause with the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. A total of 95 shots were administered in the county last week — 60 at the Quay County Family Health Center, 27 by the Quay County Public Health Office and eight at Trigg Memorial Hospital. All used the Moderna vaccine. The total the previous week was 270, mostly because of two vaccination events at the Tucumcari Convention Center. C. R...
On this date ... 1971: Tucumcari was preparing to host the 42nd annual state convention of the New Mexico Elks Association. Glenn R. Miller of Logansport, Indiana, who is the Grand Exalted Ruler of the national Elks organization, was scheduled to attend the three-day event along with 350 Elks delegates and their spouses. Victor Worley, the Exalted Ruler of the Tucumcari Elks lodge, was expected to be a busy man during the convention. • The Tucumcari-Quay County Chamber of Commerce announced it would organize an Independence Day fireworks d...
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: Blueberry muffins, string cheese, fresh apple, 100% apple juice; Lunch: Italian hoagie, lettuce salad, fresh tomatoes, dill pickle chip, mayonnaise, cauliflower, chilled peaches, chocolate skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Bag...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • 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 courses along Route 66, Highway 469 and Highway 209 in Quay County. Two of the races include cash and prizes. Register at www.bikereg.com/wheels-on-fire-100. To submit items f...
SAN JON — The San Jon Municipal Schools board of trustees last week unanimously approved a 2021-2022 extended-learning calendar that adds eight more instructional days and six more in-service days for teachers. Superintendent Janet Gladu said during the board’s April 12 meeting that teachers were polled on which calendar option they preferred. The vote ended in a tie. Gladu said she had no preference on either option, though she said the state’s Public Education Department is encouraging the extended learning time because of lost instr...
The Intimate Partner Violence Task Force is hosting self-defense demonstrations at noon Friday or 4 p.m. Sunday for women and girls. Each session is limited to 10 and they will be in person sessions at the Atzmus Taekwondo studio at 112 E. Main St. in Tucumcari. The instructor will be Jose Almeida who is a first-degree black belt. Those wishing to attend will need to RSVP for a time slot by texting 575-815-4575 or emailing [email protected] the name and day one wishes to attend. Participants will learn ways to protect themselves and...
It long has been clear that Capitol Police were woefully unprepared for the Jan. 6 assault on Congress by rampaging supporters of then-President Donald Trump, who were bent on overturning the results of the 2020 election. But a new report by the agency's inspector general documents in depressing detail lapses in training, readiness and intelligence assessment. Inspector General Michael Bolton also reported that the police were ordered not to employ “heavier, less-lethal weapons” that might have dispersed the rioters. And he noted that an operat...
Beyond basic skills and exposure to the required amount of shared knowledge in history and citizenship, education should be something worked for and prized. Making it free, I think, reduces its value. Forgiving up to $50,000 in federal student loans for each student debtor, as some Congressional Democrats have proposed, essentially results in free higher education. If higher education is made free of charge, I am afraid it is likely to become more a necessary commodity than a way to climb above the average through work and talent. As a...
If Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ever sets up a presidential exploratory committee, it should have to disclose an enormous in-kind contribution from CBS News. The recent “60 Minutes” segment alleging DeSantis distributed the COVID-19 vaccine through pharmacies at the Publix grocery store chain as part of a quid pro quo was so outlandishly wrong that even Democratic officials in the state have objected. It’s not clear that the “60 Minutes” piece can even be called “journalistic malpractice,” since it barely qualifies as journalism. The downside...
In the space of a single day Thursday, Tucumcari’s wrestling team was put through an emotional wringer when New Mexico suspended the sport, then reinstated it hours later. The whipsaw event also served notice to many schools that all prep sports were in a precarious position because of rising coronavirus cases there. The Rattler wrestlers had just boarded the bus Thursday morning to go to their season-opening district match at St. Michael’s in Santa Fe when athletic director Wayne Ferguson informed them the match — and season — were off. “T...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team missed a 3-point shot at the buzzer that would have given the Rattlers a district victory over Dexter and their first of the season overall. Instead, Dexter's Tyler Briscoe became the hero when he sank two free throws seconds earlier to give his team the deciding 51-49 margin on April 13 at the Snake Pit. The Rattlers' loss spoiled a big game for Andrew Henderson-Clark, who scored a game-high 19 points. Dominick Jasper added 14 points for Tucumcari, and Curtis...
A shooting slump in the second half proved fatal to the Tucumcari girls basketball team during a 34-23 district loss Thursday to New Mexico Military Institute. The Lady Colts led just 14-11 at intermission but seized control with an 18-6 scoring run in the third and part of the fourth quarters when the Lady Rattlers could hardly buy a field goal. "We couldn't throw the ball into the ocean tonight," Tucumcari coach Gary Hittson said. "Offensively, we just stood around." The loss left the young...
Tucumcari baseball was scheduled to resume Tuesday after nearly the entire 2020 season was wiped out by COVID-19. The Rattlers played only two games last year before the state shut down schools and canceled spring sports because of the pandemic. On Tuesday, coach Dennis Dysart's young team was scheduled to open the 2021 season at home with one varsity game and one junior-varsity game against West Las Vegas, weather permitting. (The games were after the Quay County Sun's deadlines.) Dysart said...
The Logan boys basketball team mauled San Jon 86-33 during a district game April 13 before the Longhorns’ season was paused later that week because of at least one COVID-19 case in the school district. Logan raced to a 28-8 lead in the first quarter and held a 48-12 lead by intermission. Kaden Riggs totaled 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Longhorns, and Dante Sanchez added 21 points. Logan improved to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in district play. James Lacayo led the Coyotes with 16 points. San Jon coach Chad Watson said his team was “outgunned,...
The Logan girls basketball team handled San Jon 68-29 during a district game April 13 before the Lady Longhorns’ season was paused later that week due to at least one coronavirus case in the district. The Lady Longhorns, which totaled 49 points by intermission, improved to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in District 6. Kyra Conway led Logan with 18 points, while Kambry Burns added 16. Karlee Cantrell and Rilee Nials each added 11 points. Logan is scheduled to return to action with a home game April 30 against arch-rival Melrose. Melrose 54, San Jon 16 D...
The Logan Municipal Schools board of trustees last week unanimously approved a resolution for a November ballot question that would renew the district’s two-mill property tax levy. “The proceeds from this continuing property tax provide revenue for repairing and maintaining district buildings and grounds, as well as student technology and student activity vehicles,” district superintendent Dennis Roch wrote in an email. Two school board positions also will be up for election in November, as well. The board also approved a salary schedule for t...
The state’s three bookmobiles, including one in Tucumcari, under the state’s Rural Services Program returned to the road last week. Based in Tucumcari, Cimarron and Los Lunas, the three bookmobiles provide library and information services to residents in underserved and rural communities with multiple monthly scheduled stops. Bookmobile access are limited to curbside service, and patrons are not be allowed to enter the bookmobiles. Tables are being set up so that patrons can pick up or drop off materials. Also, all bookmobiles are equipped wit...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from April 14 to April 18: • Nicholas Davis, 23, Fort Sumner, parole violation and warrant from other counties or states. • Rachel Marie Garcia, 36, Tucumcari, battery against a household member. • Joseph M. White, 22, Tucumcari, receiving stolen property (firearm) and possession of drug paraphernalia. • Gina Louise Castillo, 44, Tucumcari, battery and intentional child abuse (no death or great bodily harm). • Erik John Davis, 37, Albuquerque, charge not listed. • Danny Joe G...