Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Quay County recorded five more coronavirus cases on Friday, continuing a trend that represents one of the worst spikes of the disease in New Mexico. According to data from the state’s Department of Health, four of the confirmed cases were in the Tucumcari ZIP code and one was in Logan. Since May 4, a total of 20 cases have been reported in the county. In the April 19 to May 3 period, Quay County had the second-worst daily case rate in New Mexico (only San Juan County was worse) and the worst test-positivity rate in the state. Since m...
The New Mexico Department of Health announced on Friday, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidance, that vaccinated individuals will no longer be required to wear masks in indoor or outdoor settings. Individuals who are not yet fully vaccinated still are required under public health orders to wear masks in public settings. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after either their second dose of either Pfizer or Moderna or their lone dose of Johnson & Johnson. It wasn't immediately c...
The annual Rattler Reunion returns on Aug. 5-7 after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still mindful of the virus, the event that typically draws hundreds of Tucumcari High School alumni instead likely will be spread out at several venues throughout the city instead of just at the convention center. The Rattler Reunion's board of directors — meeting in person and by videoconference — voted unanimously Saturday morning to proceed with scheduling the event instead of postponing it to 2022, said event President Joseph Szaloy. Sza...
The executive director of the Greater Tucumcari Economic Development Corp. on Monday told Quay County commissioners of the challenges of attracting employers to rural communities and the frustrations of businesses getting enough employees. Patrick Vanderpool of the EDC said many prospective companies seeking to relocate seek infrastructure that towns such as Tucumcari cannot deliver, such as being within 10 miles of a major municipal airport, nearby machine shops that can make components, buildings with 25-foot ceilings or 50 megawatts of...
A California man apprehended in Texas after being accused of robbing two gas stations in Quay County netted just $120 in those heists, according to new information filed in court last week regarding the cases. Darious Parker, 28, of Eureka, California, officially was charged May 4 in Tucumcari magistrate court with two counts of armed robbery and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The robbery counts are second-degree felonies that could lead up to nine years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Parker eventually will be...
I wrote recently about an Easter weekend sermon we heard about our talents or abilities and how God can use whatever is in our hands to accomplish his will. The sermon’s basis was Exodus 4:1-5, where God asked Moses, “What’s that in your hand?” after which God proceeded to use Moses’ hands, with and without the rod, and other people’s hands throughout the book of Exodus to show he could accomplish his will through people. I finished my article by writing about Jesus stretching out his hands on the cross to bring about our salvation and because...
On this date ... 1971: George May of the Quay County Health Department said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating a national recall of Candy Love Beads. Manufactured in Hong Kong, they are multicolored candy beads strung on an elastic cord that can be worn around the neck. The candies were contaminated with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal that can sicken people within 15 to 20 minutes after ingestion. The FDA stated it knew of at least four cities in New Mexico where Candy Love Beads were distributed. Wholesalers, retailers and th...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • May 21 — Fired Up Friday. This downtown event replaces the canceled Fired Up Festival. There will be a chuckwagon demonstration with a book signing by Vince Smith. Food trucks will operate from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. or until the food runs out. Tucumcari Historic Railroad Plaza at Second and Main streets. • June 18 — Fired Up Friday. This downtown event replaces the canceled Fired Up Festival. An Open Mic Night will be held for poets and entertainers. Food trucks will operate from 11...
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 or the Logan facility at 487-2287 for more information. Note: Logan Municipal Schools’ middle and high schools have remote learning until May 17. Tucumcari schools Information not available. Tucumcari Senior Center Wednesday — Beef stew, cabbage, cornbread, fruit cup. Thursday — Pork asada, Spanish rice, hominy, flour torti...
The Fired Up festival scheduled for Sept. 25 in downtown Tucumcari has been canceled for a second straight year because of COVID-19 concerns, but organizers are replacing it with Fired Up Friday events monthly through the early fall. Connie Loveland, executive director of Tucumcari MainStreet, announced its cancellation Saturday after meeting with the MainStreet board of directors. MainStreet organizes the annual festival at Tucumcari Historic Railroad Plaza. Loveland said ongoing uncertainties from the pandemic prompted them to cancel the fest...
Tucumcari MainStreet was one of 10 recipients of Resilient Community Fund grants for community and economic development projects. Tucumcari MainStreet received a $2,500 grant for its FORGE, a tiered business accelerator program. Connie Loveland, Tucumcari MainStreet’s executive director, said the program offers assistance to new businesses, including helping them identify potential customers and forming a marketing plan. Awarded projects “have a clear and stated impact for new, innovative, or ongoing efforts to mediate the impacts of the COVID-...
Two cases of apparent contraband smuggling by inmates were reported last week in the Quay County Detention Center. According to reports from the sheriff’s office, a jail officer informed a deputy that inmate Marc Hazleton had smuggled tobacco and suboxone, a prescription drug often used in opiate addiction, into the jail on May 3. A balloon with the substances inside had been recovered in Hazelton’s cell by officers during a shakedown after they smelled cigarette smoke coming from one of the jail pods. One of the officers saw Hazelton try...
The use of a secure communications app by the Children, Youth and Families Department that routinely encrypts and deletes communications between staffers is more than troubling. One child advocacy organization calls it “outrageous.” The attorney general says it’s “highly concerning.” And an open government organization likens it to shredding public documents, raising the possibility it constitutes a crime. In contrast to standard texts or emails, which can be accessed by attorneys, lawmakers, reporters and the public under the state’s I...
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, declared on April 29 that “America is not a racist country.” Scott is a conservative, so it would normally not register as much as a raised eyebrow, but he is African American, so his statement has caused shock and apoplexy among Democrats. As usual, the statement was reported and repeated without its full context. During the speech in which Scott made his claim, he prefaced the statement by saying he has “experienced the pain of discrimination.” He followed his offending statement with “race is not a pol...
The US Census Bureau recently released what can only be described as some disturbing data regarding the future of New Mexico. Notably, while the state’s population grew by just 2.8 percent over the past decade, each of our neighbors saw double-digit population growth with the exception of Oklahoma, which still bested New Mexico with 5.5 percent growth. That should be a wake-up call for New Mexico’s Legislature and Gov. Lujan Grisham. A report put out by New Mexico’s Legislative Finance Committee fleshes out some of New Mexico’s impendi...
About 80 people in Quay County were administered COVID-19 vaccines last week by local health providers, continuing a general slowdown in vaccination rates in the county and statewide. However, the administrator of the Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari said she likely would plan an event to administer 100 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine it has on hand. C. Renee Hayoz, administrator for the clinic, said Thursday she wants to have some sort of plan in place soon because those Johnson & Johnson doses expire in...
Despite a bit of an upswing in cases since mid-April, Quay County remained in the coveted turquoise zone in the latest COVID-19 risk assessments last week by the New Mexico Department of Health. It remains doubtful the county will stay in that zone when the next assessment comes in early June. Quay County remains mired in of the worst outbreaks of coronavirus in New Mexico. A drop in the county’s COVID-19 risk rating would mean new restrictions on businesses, including the possible closing of indoor dining at restaurants and the closing of b...
The Quay Apartments’ lawsuit against Quay County Assessor Janie Hoffman over its property taxes was ordered dismissed last week after both parties reported a resolution. District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. on May 3 granted a joint motion to dismiss the suit. The order stated the assessor “shall take necessary administrative action to change the Subject Property’s classification for the 2020 tax year to Residential.” Mitchell’s order stated the county treasurer would refund or credit Quay Apartments $1,867.63 within 30 days, and both parties w...
The Tucumcari wrestling team finished a disappointing third in the A/3A District 1 dual championships Friday at Robertson High School in Las Vegas. West Las Vegas came from behind to capture the district duals title at the meet, and host Robertson finished second. Several injuries and the quarantining of two athletes due to possible COVID-19 exposure depleted the Rattlers’ ranks and spotted their foes 30 points during matches — a near-fatal prospect against West Las Vegas and the host team. Tucumcari did score a win against St. Michael’s. But s...
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc on Tucumcari’s spring sports schedules. The Lady Rattlers’ scheduled softball game at home against Raton on Saturday was canceled when the Tigers squad was placed under a quarantine because of exposure of the virus there. Tucumcari’s next game was scheduled for Tuesday at Santa Rosa. A Tucumcari home baseball game scheduled against Clayton on Thursday was canceled after two Rattler players awaited results of COVID-19 tests after possible exposure. Tucumcari coach Dennis Dysart said the game was c...
The Wheels on Fire 100 bicycle event in Tucumcari has been canceled for a second straight year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Facebook page for the event, scheduled for Sept. 25, announced the cancellation Wednesday. “With the current restrictions to events, a mask mandate for outdoor activities, and no guarantee that mandate will be lifted in the fall, we will once again be unable to hold the Wheels on Fire 100 here in New Mexico,” the social media post stated. The state’s latest public health order recently allowed people to exerc...
The Tucumcari softball team was much less experienced on the field than West Las Vegas, and it showed during 18-0 and 30-0 losses during the Lady Rattlers' season-opening doubleheader May 4. The Lady Rattlers had other disadvantages, as well. Four players were sidelined for 10 days by a COVID-19 quarantine, and two others remained out until Friday due to another quarantine. Pandemic restrictions also prevented players taking part in many offseason programs. Tucumcari coach CJ Oglesby said other...
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have adversely affected participation in Tucumcari's sports programs. Track and field is no different. When Tucumcari's track season begins at 9 a.m. Saturday with the Rattlers Relays at Rattler Stadium, coach Wayne Ferguson estimates he'll have only 15 boys and four girls participating. Spring sports were canceled last year because of the pandemic. With participation numbers down with the resumption of those sports this spring, Ferguson said he has no idea...
Malicious vandalism and thefts were reported to at the Dennis Ranch off Highway 278 in Quay County. Quay County sheriff’s deputy Larry Cooksey reported on Wednesday morning a ranch employee contacted him about the damage and thefts after owner Wade Whitson had left the day before to go to the northern part of the state. The employee said person or persons had moved a pickup truck from a main building into a field at the back of the house, with the gas cap removed and engine left running. Another pickup truck was moved from a main building to f...
A man from Arizona died Wednesday when he was hit by a motor vehicle while walking on Interstate 40 east of Tucumcari. For unknown reasons, Edwin Coffey, 39, of Queen Creek, Arizona, was walking in the middle of the right eastbound lane of I-40 in a dark unlit area at milepost 342 about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a news release from New Mexico State Police. Coffey was struck by a 2019 Ford driven by a 58-year-old Murrieta, California, man. Coffey suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene by the Office of the Medical...