Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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The New Mexico Racing Commission’s ratification Thursday of a proposed settlement clears the way for it possibly awarding a sixth racetrack license during a special meeting on Tuesday — provided the governor doesn’t fire the commission first. The commission, after a closed executive session during its regular meeting Thursday at its office in Albuquerque, approved the agreement with Hidalgo Downs LLC, one of the license applicants from Lordsburg. A settlement was announced in early April between Hidalgo and the New Mexico attorney gener...
The New Mexico Racing Commission on Thursday morning abruptly canceled a planned April 30 special meeting to discuss awarding a sixth horse-racing license and, by afternoon, a new racing commission was appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham. The commission sent out an email Thursday morning, stating the planned April 30 meeting had been canceled “under further notice.” Commission Executive Director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo declined comment when contacted by phone Thursday morning but said he might make a statement later amid “fast-m...
The Quay County Commission, at the urging of a local prosecutor, is considering reviving an animal ordinance because the absence of one is breaking state law. Deputy District Attorney Ozy Adams told commissioners during their regular meeting Monday he was investigating a case where a “repeat offender” had let his dogs run loose in the county, and one had killed a neighbor’s dog. In researching the case, Adams said he found Quay County did not have a state-mandated animal ordinance. Adams urged the commission to adopt most of the language from...
Al Hurricane Jr., son of the "Godfather of New Mexico music," returns to perform in Tucumcari for the first time in at least a decade Saturday night at the Tucumcari Convention Center. The event serves as a fundraiser for the New Mexico Music Showcase, set for May 31 to June 1 at the Tucumcari Convention Center. Al Hurricane Jr. wanted to perform at the showcase itself, organizer Jerry Lopez said, but another commitment prevented him from doing so. Lopez said the last time Al Hurricane Jr....
• Friday — Chuck Wagon Cook Off. Enjoy an authentic chuck wagon experience with chicken-fried steak, potatoes, beans, biscuits and fresh apple cider. For more information, call Bucky Stone at (575) 403-7680. Ute Lake State Park, Logan. • Friday-Saturday — Ladies Conference. Father’s Forge church is hosting this free event for all women with special speakers from 7 to 8 p.m. April 26 and from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 622 S. Lake St., Tucumcari. • Saturday — Keep Tucumcari Beautiful. Want to make a difference? All groups, clubs and individuals are...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Egg and cheese muffinwich, bagel with strawberry cream cheese, fruit, juice, milk; Lunch: Walking beef tacos, ham and cheese wrap, Spanish brown rice, pinto beans, shredded lettuce, fresh tomatoes, fruit, milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Sausage breakfast pizza, cereal choice with cinnamon goldfish graham cracker, fruit, juice, milk; Lunch: Cheese pizza, garden salad, baby carrots, fruit, milk. Monday — Breakfast: Blueberry muffin and string cheese, cereal choice with cinnamon goldfish graham cracker, fruit,...
SANTA FE — All thirteen field offices of the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services (DVS) are closed this week. Each office’s Veterans Service Officer is attending mandatory training conference in Santa Fe, where they will be updated on the latest VA claims/filing/processes, other VA developments, and on DVS policies/procedures. The training impacts the following facilities: Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Carlsbad, Clovis, Farmington, Gallup, Hobbs, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Raton, Roswell, Santa Clara (Grant County), and Santa Fe. Veterans or the...
PORTALES — More than 80 miles away and nearly two years later, a fight continues for the job of a former teacher and basketball coach. A status hearing was held Wednesday at the Roosevelt County Courthouse on a civil case Rhyan Daugherty wants to pursue against Logan Schools Superintendent Dennis Roch and Jimmy and Dallas Valentine. Daugherty attorney Warren Frost claims his client was fired in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act after performing his legal duty to report an allegation of misconduct, and that the Valentines c...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees on April 16 approved a $9.6 million operating budget for fiscal year 2020 that runs a deficit of about $153,000. College President John Groesbeck, however, expressed confidence Mesalands can close the gap by consolidating a few positions or not replacing personnel who leave. Amanda Hammer, vice president of administrative affairs, said the college anticipates $9,602,449 in expenditures and $9,448,617 in revenue, leaving a deficit of $153,832. Groesbeck said it was difficult to get a firm...
Any parent whose child competes at anything knows the feeling: the stomach-clenching anxiety, the blood-boiling righteous indignation when you feel your kid was robbed — likely outstripping the level of emotion of the actual competitor. They might clench a fist, say a prayer, mutter an expletive (hopefully under their breath). But there’s a line. At least, there oughtta be. And some New Mexico cheer and dance students, parents and coaches have clearly crossed it. According to an April 14 Albuquerque Journal article, the New Mexico Activities As...
I should read the Mueller report but I have not. It is plain, however, that it makes President Donald Trump look too desperate in his efforts to stop Robert Mueller’s investigation, whether or not they reached the level of criminality. The continued steadfast loyalty of President Trump’s base to “their” guy, who has shown himself to be delusional, amoral, dishonest, and narcissistic enough almost to declare “I am the state,” is even more of a mystery in light of the Mueller report’s revelations. To fire up his base to come blindly to hi...
If Donald Trump wants to convince the public that the Mueller report vindicates him, he needs to keep us from reading the report ourselves. Or even part of it. Just a couple of hours of reading its summaries and conclusions (which I did over the weekend, and look forward to reading it entirely when time permits) will leave you seriously concerned about Russian meddling and downright disgusted with how badly Trump has behaved since taking office. But don’t take my word for it. Go to justice.gov/sco and click into “Report on the Inv...
The Tucumcari school board approved several resolutions for the upcoming 2019-2020 school year, including setting pay levels, an operating budget and the school calendar. In general, teachers, office workers and other staff will receive a 6% increase in pay for the coming year — fueled by the state’s recent budget plan that provides 16% more money for public schools. With a minimum 6% pay increase, Tucumcari’s Level I certified staff would receive a minimum of $41,000 a year; Level II, $50,000; and Level III, $60,000. Occupational therapists, s...
The New Mexico Department of Health last week reported a case of plague in a ranch dog in Quay County — the first case of plague in the state this year. The dog has recovered from its illness with treatment from a veterinarian. Plague is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused by the bacteria called Yersinia pestis. These bacteria usually are transmitted through the bite of an infected flea. Pets also can be exposed after eating an infected animal. Humans can contract plague by direct contact with the tissues of infected animals. Pla...
Center fielder AnnMarie Strong caught Tucumcari slugger Loren Chavez's sinking line drive in the gap and held on for the final out despite colliding with her right fielder during Logan's come-from-behind 10-7 softball victory Saturday at Rattler Field. The finale, which came with two Tucumcari runners on base and Chavez representing the tying run, proved to be a fitting end for the Lady Longhorns (6-7), whose outfielders kept getting key outs despite a swirling southeast wind that made catching...
The Tucumcari baseball team lost four more games last week, extending its losing streak to 15. Improbably enough, the Rattlers (1-17) still have a chance for a postseason berth if they can string together a few wins. That's because of the Rattlers' strength of schedule. A look at the latest coaches' poll of Class 3A teams reveals four of the teams in Tucumcari's District 4/5 - Sandia Prep, East Mountain, New Mexico Military Institute and Dexter - each are ranked in the top 10 in the state. Two...
Tucumcari’s Seth Martinez suffered his first loss of the season in the 110-meter hurdles race during the 14-team Wildcat Relays on Thursday in Clovis. Hope Christian’s Vince Quezada finished the race in 15.23 seconds, edging two-time state champion Martinez by two-tenths of a second. Martinez, however, continued to prevail in the 300-meter hurdles, winning the race in 0:40.59. The Tucumcari boys finished eighth at the meet with 20 points. Clovis won easily with 145 points, and Carlsbad finished runner-up with 65 ? points. Rounding out the sta...
Much mischief has been done through uninformed preaching about the topic of submission to authorities. Wives have been turned into bond-servants of tyrannical husbands, and citizens made slaves of the government. It would help if we understood more about the Greek language that gave us the New Testament. For instance, when we read in English passages like Romans 13:1-7, or Ephesians 5:22-24, we see the Bible telling people to “be subject” to authorities, or to “submit” themselves to them. I...
On this date ... 1969: District Judge J.V. Gallegos sentenced Donald Wayne Byars, 20, of Woodbridge, Virginia, to two to 10 years in the New Mexico State Penitentiary for possession of marijuana. Tucumcari police arrested Byars outside a local lounge April 12 with marijuana in the form of a small bale worth $1,200 to $1,700. Byars also was wanted for car theft in Virginia. • The newspaper ran a photo of Tucumcari’s ninth-grade boys track team of Lawrence Redden, Gary Hittson, Tommie Pacheco, Gerald Height, Jimmie Sanders, Mike Page, Bryce Boy...
A Tucumcari man briefly was jailed last week after being accused of robbing another man of his cellphone and demanding money from the victim to give it back. Raymond Pacheco, 55, was booked on a complaint of robbery, extortion and battery. The robbery and extortion counts are third-degree felonies that can lead up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. According to a complaint filed in magistrate court by Tucumcari Patrolman Tyler Davis, the victim told the officer he was walking in an alley April 13 near George Molinas Park and...
Entities and festivals that requested money from the Tucumcari Lodgers’ Tax Board during a special meeting Wednesday often received less — sometimes much less — due to budget constraints. The board needed to set its fiscal-year budget by May 1 so the city of Tucumcari could draft and submit its budget to the state’s Finance and Administration Department by June 1. The lodgers’ board asked entities or festivals that wanted financial aid to make presentations Wednesday. In the end, most received less than they had asked for because the board wou...
HOUSE — The fate of House Schools Superintendent Bonnie Lightfoot’s contract was not on the House school board agenda April 15, but it was on the minds of teachers, parents and students who spoke at the meeting. Two teachers, a parent and a student spoke in Lightfoot’s favor, and parents of a special education student spoke against renewing her contract after the current school year. Speakers indicated that parents had said during March’s House school board meeting that some teachers had received low ratings, which they apparently blamed on fav...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from April 15 to April 21: Monday • 10:31 a.m.: Damage to property in 400 block of North U.S. 54, Logan. • 11:40 a.m.: Missing person reported in 200 block of East Center Street, Tucumcari. • 3:45 p.m.: Assault in 1200 block of East Route 66 Boulevard, Tucumcari. • 4:33 p.m.: Juvenile problem in 500 block of East High Street, Tucumcari. • 6:20 p.m.: Arrest warrant in 200 block of West High Street, Tucumcari. • 6:30 p.m.: Hit-and-run with property damage in 400...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from April 15 to April 20: • Bryan Charles Cassidy, 36, Tucumcari, two counts of contempt of court. • Kara Underwood, 41, Cicero, Indiana, driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug (0.08 or above), open containe and speeding. • Gary Montano, 50, Tucumcari, assault (unlawful acts, threats or conduct) and disorderly conduct. • Raymond Jerry Pacheco, 55, Tucumcari, robbery, extortion and battery. • Pete Ottis Risper, 44, Tucumcari, two counts of contem...