Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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The Tucumcari City Commission during a special meeting Wednesday approved a preliminary 2023-2024 budget that gives $1-an-hour raises to employees, with a $2-an-hour raise and a $5,000 retention bonus to police officers. The brief discussion and motion from Commissioner Mike Cherry and fellow commissioner Christopher Arias, who attended by phone, followed a three-hour work session earlier in the day. The budget passed unanimously, with Commissioner Paul Villanueva absent due to illness. Commissioners gathered during the work session to go over...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a declaration-of-disaster resolution after flash flooding severely damaged numerous county roads, with more rain forecast to be on the way. The declaration seeks to pave the way for state and federal funding for help cover the county's expenses for emergency repairs to washed-out roads. The resolution states that an intense storm on May 25 brought up to eight inches of rain in less than 12 hours in parts of the county. "The resulting 500-year flood,...
The Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce appeared Wednesday to reach an agreement in principle with Mayor Ralph Moya to provide $40,000 in lodgers tax executive funds to cover the chamber’s operations for the upcoming fiscal year. The city commission likely will act officially on the request at its next regular meeting on June 8. During the city commission’s previous regular meeting on May 25, commissioners did not act on the chamber’s request for $47,000 in executive lodgers tax funds, with $12,000 to operate the Tucumcari Visitors Cente...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board last week during a special meeting approved a 2023-2024 budget that includes about a $2 million reduction in its cash balance, primarily so the district can finish its ongoing ballpark redevelopment project. The budget projects a beginning cash balance of nearly $3.67 million that will be reduced to about $1.2 million by the end of the fiscal year. Much of the cash will be used to complete renovations of the high school baseball and softball fields, including the construction of dressing rooms and a...
First, my wife approved of this article. We attend church in Logan, and typical of many happy couples, I drive while my wife applies her makeup. Probably everyone traveling regularly between Tucumcari and Logan on U.S. 54 knows about the perpetual bumpy spot. I learned early in our marriage that to have fewer hiccups in the harmony, it’s my job to warn my wife about upcoming bumps so whatever makeup she’s applying goes where she wants it. The eyeliner pencil poke in her eye was more traumatic for me than her. Hence, when I noticed there’s a sin...
Father’s Day is sneaking up on me. Since my dad died, there is a hint of sadness tied in with the gratitude I feel remembering my dad. This year, it’s compounded by the passing of my father-in-law George Head, who died a day before the fifth anniversary of my own dad’s passing. And about a month and a half before that, my brother-in-law George died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. This past weekend, generations of family gathered in Kingman, Ariz., to celebrate the lives of both Georges. As these things go, there were equal amounts...
On this date ... 1973: The family of H.W. Ingram announced today that arrangements have been completed for a merger of the Crescent Creamery to Clardy’s Quality Chekd Dairy of Roswell, effective this week. Herbert Ingram worked for many years in the plant and on the sales routes of Clardy’s Dairy in the Pecos Valley before establishing Crescent Creamery in Tucumcari in 1937. Ingram died in 1965. Walter F. Jentgen, manager of Clardy’s Dairy, plans no major changes in the operation of the business in Tucumcari, Nara Visa, Logan, San Jon and Conch...
• June 16-18 — Tucumcari Rawhide Days. The annual event that salutes the “Rawhide” TV show will feature roping events, rodeos, gun show, target-shoot competition, stickhorse races, mutton busting, arts and crafts show, a car show, a parade, fishing derby, a 5K and 10K run, cowboy church and a dance. More information can be found at tucumcarirawhidedays.com. • June 17 — Spring Community Dance, Nara Visa Community Center. Come join us to mark the end of branding season. Limited snacks and drinks will be provided, but feel free to bring your...
Tucumcari Senior Center Wednesday — Meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, spinach with mushrooms, whole-wheat roll with margarine, apple slices. Thursday — Teriyaki chicken, stir-fry vegetables, brown rice, fortune cookie, vegetable egg roll, pineapple tidbits. Friday — Turkey and cheese wrap, Sun chips, cucumber and tomato salad, glazed carrots and parsnips, nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt with strawberries. Monday — Beef steak ranchero, broccoli and cauliflower, cilantro roasted potatoes, flour tortilla with margarine, plums. Tuesday — Chicken s...
Todd Duplantis several weeks ago shuttered his Pow Wow Restaurant and Lizard Lounge in Tucumcari and opened another restaurant in Logan. The Pow Wow, a dining institution in Tucumcari for decades, abruptly closed shortly after Mother’s Day weekend. A check on the restaurant on Saturday night showed all the lights out inside, save for a few decorative lights blinking near the bar. The Pow Wow’s delivery van remained parked on the side of the building. Duplantis bought the restaurant at 801 W. Route 66 Blvd. in January 2022 from DFL Pro...
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week announced the appointment of W. Troy Weisler as the 23rd New Mexico State Police chief, effective June 24. He will succeed New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Q. Johnson, who was appointed in 2019. Chief Johnson is retiring after 23 years. Weisler currently serves as deputy chief for Strategic Development, Special Projects, Communications and Recruiting and is a 21-year state police veteran. Weisler has worked in every division of the Department of Public Safety’s Law Enforcement Program and will lead a f...
Quay County's sheriff on Monday honored one of his deputies for potentially life-saving actions after an accident on Interstate 40 last month. During Monday's meeting of the Quay County Commission, Sheriff Dennis Garcia gave deputy Tyler Davis a Life Saving Award certificate and pin he can wear on his uniform. Davis was the first law-enforcement officer on the scene of a crash of two commercial vehicles on I-40 east of Tucumcari on May 24. Garcia said Davis found a male passenger on the ground,...
Despite ample rainfall in recent weeks, the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors declined to allocate any water to farmers during a special meeting Monday. Board President Robert Lopez said he called the special meeting because corn farmers faced a June 15 deadline to file for a drought insurance claim. The deadline for similar claims for cotton farmers was May 31. Lopez and district manager Franklin McCasland said Conchas Lake had just 3 inches of water available for the district’s irrigation canals — a minimal amount for the...
He has been an outspoken and persistent critic of the COVID-19 vaccine. Mainstream media have described his views on the issue as misleading and dangerous. Instagram kicked him off its platform, accusing him of spreading misinformation about the vaccine. He once suggested vaccines and mask requirements were something Nazis would have implemented during the pandemic. He’s been known to associate with Donald Trump allies Roger Stone and Steve Bannon. And he’s an outspoken critic of President Joe Biden. “I just disagree fundamentally with him o...
Tina Turner, who died last month, was a pioneer and an artist who personified the word innovative. Like her contemporary, Little Richard, Tina Turner brought an uncompromised strand of Black Southern music, the sound of the Chitlin’ Circuit itself, into the lives of teenagers and adults around the globe. She garnered appeal across racial boundaries at a time when the nation was highly segregated, and she helped pave the way for future female artists including Gloria Gaynor, Beyonce, Melissa Etheridge, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Mariah C...
Context. Perspective. Background. It’s not news to anyone that the major media consistently fail to provide any of those things when covering the burning political issues of the moment. Take, for example, the compromise the House of Representatives and the White House just made to settle the federal budget and debt-ceiling crisis. We know from the media that it will lift the debt ceiling for two years, make some minor spending cuts and avert a financial apocalypse that supposedly would have destroyed the U.S. dollar, crippled our economy and ca...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from May 29 to June 4: Monday 29 — 12:10 a.m.: Theft in 800 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 1:45 a.m.: Fight in 1600 block of South Third Street, Tucumcari. — 9:22 a.m.: Domestic disturbance at East Barnes Avenue and South Adams Street, Tucumcari. — 9:41 a.m.: Theft in 1600 block of South Third Street, Tucumcari. — 9:46 a.m.: Found property in 600 block of East Barnes Avenue, Tucumcari. — 10:01 a.m.: Lost property in 600 block of East Barnes...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from May 27 to June 5: — James Thomas Vargas, 19, no address listed, felony possession of a controlled substance (narcotic drug). — Gabriel Calderon, 26, no address listed, contempt of court. — Andrew Clark McKinney, 41, Tucumcari, aggravated battery (deadly weapon) and disorderly conduct. — Joshua Jordan Garcia, 26, Medanales, contempt of court and tracking controlled substances (possess with intent; narcotic or methamphetamine; first offense). — Kimbely Diane Chavis, 62, no a...
Four Mesalands Community College athletes, including a regional champion, will compete starting this weekend at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming. The rodeo runs from Sunday through June 17. It will be broadcast on ESPN3 or ESPNU. The obvious favorite from the Stampede team is sophomore Andy Guzman, who finished fourth in bullriding and earned Rookie of the Year honors at CNFR last year. Guzman also was the Grand Canyon Region champion in that event this year, finishing 86 points ahead of teammate Marco Juarez. Guzman, who...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees on Wednesday night during a special meeting approved an $8.61 million preliminary budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year and several budget adjustments in the current year. The financially stressed college faced a June 1 deadline to submit its budget to the state. The board had been scheduled to approve it during its regular meeting the previous week, but officials said they needed more time to complete financial data. The budget adjustments and preliminary budget are subject to approval from the...
A Tucumcari man’s lawsuit against the city, the police department and two officers after he was body-slammed to the ground during a 2021 arrest was dismissed last week. According to online court records, plaintiff Pete Apodaca and the defendants on May 23 filed a joint motion to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice because “they have reached a full and final resolution of this matter.” The motion did not elaborate. A dismissal with prejudice means a plaintiff cannot refile the same lawsuit again in that court. District Judge Albert Mitch...
A Tucumcari man accused of spraying bear spray on two people and punching a city police officer in November 2021 was given credit for time served in jail with a recent plea deal. Frank Christopher Link, now 54, initially was charged with aggravated battery upon a police officer (no great bodily harm), disarming a police officer (removing firearm or weapon) and two counts of aggravated battery (great bodily harm) — all felonies. According to online court documents, Link pleaded guilty to battery upon a police officer, and the other counts w...
Tucumcari will host its first slow-pitch co-ed softball event since 2019 with the B’s Crew Softball Summer Tournament this weekend. Organizer Brenda Lopez said at least five teams are signed up for the tourney, with another one or two possibly signing up before brackets are set Tuesday, after the Quay County Sun’s deadline. Lopez said as it stands, it likely will be a one-day event, with the first pitch at 8 a.m. Saturday at the diamond just off South 14th Street. She said the teams are all Tucumcari-based, but with players hailing from Ama...