Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
Coronado Partners, which for more than a decade has sought a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari, last week submitted a revised application to the New Mexico Racing Commission and urged the agency to award a sixth license to begin the project. Logan attorney Warren Frost, one of the principals behind the Coronado Park proposal, on Thursday emailed a copy of the application to officials with Quay County, the city of Tucumcari, villages of Logan and San Jon and the Greater Tucumcari...
Quay County will remain in the turquoise zone for COVID-19 risk for the next few weeks, according to state officials during a health briefing Wednesday afternoon. All New Mexico counties landed in the turquoise zone, thanks to a new public order by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Quay County would have met the criteria regardless after a sharp downtown in cases during the second half of May. Quay County’s case rate from May 18 to May 31 was 5.1 daily cases per 100,000 people, well under the benchmark of 10 cases per 100,000. Its test positivity ra...
A total of six candidates have applied for the Quay County magistrate judge position, ranging from a retired state police officer to a Carlsbad police detective to a current Tucumcari municipal judge. The Quay County Sun received information about the candidates Thursday after filing an open-records request with Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office. The candidates’ applications for the position were lightly redacted to withhold sensitive information such as birth date, home address, Social Security and driver’s license numbers, perso...
LOGAN - Kambry Burns' valedictorian speech during Logan High School's graduation ceremony Saturday morning at the school's football field was a fairly typical one - until she got to the part she sneaked into the text. Her voice shaking with emotion, Burns voiced a tribute to her mother, Crystal, who began her career at Logan as a student teacher when Kambry was in kindergarten and now is the school's principal, and her father, Billy, a Logan teacher and athletic director. "Mom, you started your...
Owners of property next to the troubled Second Street construction project in downtown Tucumcari told the city commission Thursday their properties have been damaged by construction crews. Furthermore, the properties owners said, construction supervisors have shrugged off their claims. The project, with an original completion date of Jan. 11, has been plagued by errors in concrete casting, winter weather and doubts about the materials used, city officials said.. "We share your frustration,"...
Cheer up, believer. You have reason for optimism regarding both the present and the future, yes, even if the return of Christ is delayed. In time and history, the promise is that the gates of hell shall not overcome what he is building. It boils down to a question of which preacher you’re going to listen to. I tell the folks who are willing to hear me that the preaching doesn’t stop once church is over. We are being preached to, or preached at, as the expression goes, in a constant bom...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board of education during a special meeting last week approved a waiver of the district’s nepotism rule so the superintendent’s sister-in-law could be hired in the elementary school. Assistant superintendent Dave Johnson said he wants to hire Portales elementary school principal Deanne McKinney, a sister-in-law to superintendent Aaron McKinney, as an elementary school teacher and reading specialist. He said the district could use a reading specialist to help elementary students who have fallen behind during rem...
Quay County’s vaccination rates barely budged last week, rising 0.3% to 35.6% of its residents fully vaccinated. A total of 40% of county residents have received one shot. The Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari administered 20 shots of the Moderna vaccine last week. Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari did not administer any shots last week due to an ordering issue. The Quay County Public Health Office vaccinated just six people during its weekly event at the Tucumcari Convention Center. The office will continue indefinitely to hold...
A benefit roping event Saturday raised more than $30,000 for a cancer-stricken rancher in rural Tucumcari. Amanda Montoya, co-organizer of the Loco 4 Koko event at an arena in rural Tucumcari, said the money raised benefits local rancher Carlos Ortiz, who spent weeks in at an Arizona hospital being treated for lymphoma. She said Monday morning that donations still were arriving, but the preliminary total was more than $30,000. Ortiz’s cancer is in remission, and he attended the entire 12-hour event Saturday, said local competitive roper J...
On this date ... 1971: The Western Curio Shop at Adams Street and Tucumcari Boulevard was ransacked after a burglar broke a window pane on the front door of the business to get inside. Stolen were an unknown amount of jewelry, $25 in loose change, $100 in rolled up coins and 30 hunting knives. • President Richard Nixon borrowed a $10 bill from a White House aide to purchase the first ticket for the opening game of the Babe Ruth Baseball 13-15 World Series at Albuquerque in August. Nixon autographed the bill at U.S. Rep. Manual Lujan Jr.’s reque...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • June 18 — Fired Up Friday. An Open Mic Night will be held for poets and entertainers. 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. • July 16 — Fired Up Friday. The Quay County Health Council will host a chalk art contest. Food trucks will operated from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. or until the food runs out. Tucumcari Historic Railroad Plaza at Second and Main streets. • Aug. 5-7 — Rattler Reunion. Th...
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. Tucumcari Senior Center Wednesday — Baked pork chop, stuffing, Parmesan potato rounds, carrots, peaches. Thursday — Salmon patty, hominy, spinach, whole-wheat bread, chocolate pudding. Friday — Shepherd’s pie, spinach, dinner roll, applesauce. Monday — Chicken breast, e...
May 22 was a big day for Virgin Galactic, Spaceport America, commercial space flight and New Mexico. After years of delays, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity successfully shot into space after breaking away from its mothership at 44,000 feet. Unity climbed about 55 miles above Earth before gliding down to Spaceport America, the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport near Truth or Consequences. Although Unity had no passengers, the successful launch from Spaceport was a long-awaited achievement. “After so many years and so much hard work,...
It occurred to me recently that in five years, our country will be 250 years old. Our successful experiment in representative democracy without rule by birthright seems to have weathered wars with other nations and even among ourselves and emerged victorious — with some scars to be sure. At the root of our success is a 4,400-word document literally sweated out by a group of over-dressed gentlemen who in 1787 huddled in the heat for four summer months in Philadelphia to produce a masterpiece, the U.S, Constitution, which has demonstrated to t...
There was a “scientific consensus,” they told us. According to the media and assorted experts, there couldn’t be any questioning of the idea that the coronavirus (or SARS-CoV-2) emerged naturally, and anyone suspecting it might have come from a Chinese lab was an ignoramus, conspiracy theorist or hater. These enforcers believed in the power of the words “scientific” and “consensus,” when conjoined and used as a weapon, to shun dissenters and stifle debate. During much of the pandemic, they were proven right. But the rigid conventional...
Largely following the city manager’s recommendations, the Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Board during a special meeting May 25 split contributions to events and entities during the coming fiscal year between its promotional fund and executive fund. The city commission later in the week approved some of the recommendations, with more money allotted to some requests and less to others. The board also may revisit funding requests in September and recommend more money to events when an anticipated surge in hotel tax funds this summer is more apparent by t...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from May 25 to May 27: • Carmel Christopher Jasper, 73, Tucumcari, aggravated stalking (violation of court order). • Johnny R. Miller, 47, Tucumcari, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. • John Albert Bagley, 66, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Jessica Vest, 28, Tucumcari, contributing to the delinquency of a minor. • Steven P. Sandoval, 41, Tucumcari, attempt to commit a felony, to wit: unlawful taking of a motor vehicle (first offense), aggravated battery (no great bodily...
The New Mexico Department of Health last week added two deaths to the Quay County’s COVID-19 toll after a state audit of public health records. A DOH spokesman contacted by the Quay County Sun said he did not know the details about the two deaths, which increased the county’s total to 10 since the pandemic began last spring. The total number of COVID-19 deaths in New Mexico rose by 114 last week after the audit. According to a news release from the agency, delays in processing the death records during a caseload surge this winter were due to...
RIO RANCHO – Four Tucumcari wrestlers took home medals during Thursday's Class 3A state championships at the Rio Rancho Events Center, including the highest-finishing Rattler who appeared to be a surprise on paper. Isiah Garcia, a freshman in the 113-pound weight class, was the only Tucumcari wrestler to advance to the state finals despite sporting an unimpressive-looking 2-6 record before Thursday. Garcia wrestled much of the condensed season at a higher weight class. Once he slimmed to 113 l...
The East Mountain baseball team racked up 32 hits during a 41-0 district victory May 25 over host Tucumcari. A hobbled Rattlers squad burned through four pitchers during the game. The Timberwolves seized a 14-0 lead after two innings, then added 12 runs in the third and 11 in the fifth before the game was called by the mercy rule. “This team was a good-hitting team,” Tucumcari coach Dennis Dysart said. “Everything we threw up there, they hit. It wasn’t like our pitchers were having trouble. It’s just they were hitting the ball and finding t...
The Logan boys and girls teams each won the 10-team Longhorn Relays on Thursday. The Longhorn boys earned 117 points during the meet, far outpacing runner-up Clovis Christian’s 79 points. Tucumcari finished seventh with 25 points. The Logan girls scored 104 points, edging runner-up Melrose’s 85 points. Tucumcari finished seventh with 23 points. Other schools that participated in the event were Cimarron, Des Moines, Elida, Mosquero, Roy and Springer. The Logan boys piled up team points by winning all of its relay races. Individually for the Lon...
No one will ever accuse the Tucumcari softball team of being timid on the base paths. The Lady Rattlers kept taking extra bases on hits, wild pitches, passed balls and even stole a few bases to fuel a 27-12 home victory over Clayton on May 25 that was shortened by the mercy rule. Clayton starting pitcher Alexa Vigil gave Tucumcari a lot of advantages by walking 16, hitting four batters and throwing six wild pitches. The Lady Rattlers (2-6) spotted Clayton (0-3) a 4-0 lead in the first inning on...
The Logan baseball team stormed to an 8-0 lead after five innings, then added nine runs in the final frame en route to a 20-5 victory on May 24 over Dora. The Longhorns banged out 18 hits. Wyatt Wright went 3-for-5, including a triple, with four RBI. Kaden Stone and Garrett Bollinger each drove in three runs. Four Logan pitchers combined to allow seven hits and struck out six in seven innings. Dora fell to 0-7 overall. Logan ended the week with an 8-0 record overall. Texico rainout Logan’s scheduled game against Texico, a replacement for an E...
Several Quay County students were named to Eastern New Mexico University's dean's list for the spring 2021 semester. To be eligible for the dean's list, a student must complete a minimum of 15 credit hours with a grade-point average of 3.25 or higher. On the dean’s list were Alejandra Plascenia-Andrade, Nicholas Andrada, Jackson Rogers, Melina Encinias, Isaac Marquez and Jose Sandoval, all of Tucumcari; Cassidy Cordova of Logan; April Stone of San Jon; and Brook Ciemny of Nara Visa. Also, Jayden Johnson of Bard was named to ENMU’s academic hon...
Atzmus Taekwondo of Tucumcari recently participated in a tournament at Eastern New Mexico Taekwondo in Portales and brought home 16 medals. A total of 65 competitors were at the event. Adena Evans earned gold medals in breaking boards, speed kicking and patterns. T.J. Evans won a gold medal in sparring and a silver medal in breaking boards. Will Frost earned gold medals in sparring, breaking boards and patterns and a bronze medal in speed kicking. Ruby Frost earned a bronze medal in sparring and breaking boards, a silver medal in speed kicking...