Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Tucumcari MainStreet announced Friday the cancellation of the 10th annual Fired Up festival set for Sept. 26 because of coronavirus concerns. It was the fifth major Tucumcari event felled by the pandemic this year. Tucumcari Rawhide Days, Rockin' Route 66, New Mexico Music Showcase and the Rattler Reunion announced their cancellations weeks ago. The Wheels on Fire 100 bicycle event based in Tucumcari, also set for Sept. 26 but not affiliated with Fired Up, remains on the schedule. Tucumcari...
The New Mexico Department of Health reported the sixth confirmed coronavirus case Friday in Quay County since the pandemic began. The latest case is a person age 10 to 19, the youngest victim of the virus in the county. No other information was available. After reporting no cases of COVID-19 in Quay County in more than a month, two have been reported in eight days. All six of the county's cases have been reported in the Tucumcari ZIP code. The agency said three of those COVID-19 cases in the county have recovered. The latest cases have...
New Mexico's governor said Thursday she may delay a planned Phase II reopening of the state's economy on July 1 by a week or longer because of an uptick in the spread rate of COVID-19 and huge surges of infections in Texas and Arizona. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said “we are no longer improving” with the coronavirus and urged residents to be vigilant about observing social distancing, wearing masks and washing their hands. She said if the pandemic worsens, she said she would reluctantly consider reversing the easing of restrictions and mor...
The New Mexico Public Education Department has released guidance for the upcoming school year, including a regional approach and a requirement for social distancing and face coverings for all students and staff. A message from Education Secretary Ryan Stewart notes while state measures that included a three-week closure of schools followed by a transition to online instruction helped flatten the curve early in the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains “profound uncertainty” about the pandemic’s impact on the 2020-21 school year. “This will not be ea...
The New Mexico Legislature trimmed about $600 million from a cash-strapped state budget during a special session last week, but a state senator and state representative whose districts include Quay County said the reductions weren’t big enough. State Sen. Pat Woods (R-Broadview), whose district includes much of Quay County, said he voted against the new budget bill despite it having deeper cuts than the $450 million reduction proposed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill passed in the Senate 30-12, and it was sent to the governor. The s...
A Tucumcari MainStreet official revealed Monday during a Quay County Commission meeting the nonprofit organization is negotiating to acquire the Tucumcari Railroad Museum in as soon as 30 days. Jessica Gonzales, a secretary for the Tucumcari MainStreet board of directors speaking on behalf of executive director Connie Loveland, officially was on the commission's agenda to request annual financial support for the organization and its Fired Up Festival, totaling $10,000. With this year's Fired Up...
On this date ... 1970: Boy Scout Troop 93 of North Hampton, Pennsylvania, stopped at Tucumcari Municipal Swimming Pool at Five Mile Park en route to Philmont Boy Scout Camp in northern New Mexico. It was the second time the troop stopped in Tucumcari; they also stayed overnight there in 1966. The troop stops in state parks and camps out in them overnight. They will have spend more than 50 days away from home. • Jim Purcell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Purcell of San Jon, recently was chosen to represent the United States and Future Farmers of A...
• Saturday — Walk with a Paws and Claws Rescue Dog. Quay County on the Move is hosting a fun walk event for everyone at 8 a.m.. Paws and Claws will provide dog to exercise while walking around Dunn Park, and participants can learn about Tucumcari’s no-kill animal shelter. Social distancing rules will be followed; make sure participants and their families walk at least 6 feet apart from others. Participants should wear a mask to the registration spot, and hand sanitizer will be available. The event is sponsored by the Quay County Health Counc...
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 Senior Center Wednesday — Chicken strips, mashed potatoes, broccoli with cheese, roll, peaches. Thursday — Baked pork chop, mashed potatoes and gravy, green peas, biscuit, mandarin orange. Friday — Tater tot casserole, California vegetables, cheese stick, whole...
Federal authorities and two sheriff's departments are investigating break-ins at post offices at Nara Visa in Quay County and Amistad and Des Moines in Union County that occurred during the same time period. According to an incident report from the Quay County Sheriff's Office, deputy Larry Cooksey was sent to the Nara Visa Post Office at 6:45 a.m. June 15 about a burglary there. A window left of the post office's interior door had been broken. Postmaster Bucky Stone told the deputy it appeared...
If you go to the newly opened Sarah's Furniture store in downtown Tucumcari, don't be surprised if you don't readily find Sarah herself. That's because the store is named after the 14-year-old daughter of husband-and-wife co-owners Rodolfo and Luisa Vallejo of Tucumcari. The store at 113 S. Second St. is a family business, and the Vallejos acknowledged their two children, including 24-year-old sheriff's deputy Rudy, would help occasionally with sales, setting up computers and other duties....
It’s finally over. The bronze of Don Juan de Oñate astride his horse is gone. Native Americans, antifa, Black Lives Matter and everyone associated with the various and sundry movements can rejoice. Racism is over. Much like the questions of pro or anti-abortion, gun control, gay marriage and love/hate the cops, the pro and anti-Oñate folks will never find middle ground. Both sides have their collective heels dug in deep, ready for the long haul. The statue was unveiled Oct. 12, 1992. The $108,000 price tag was insignificant to the millions was...
You hear it often: “Discretion is the better part of valor.” It’s a distortion of a Shakespeare quote. The Bard actually scripted Jack Falstaff to say, “the better part of valor is discretion,” to rationalize Falstaff’s pure cowardice. Today, the amended phrase can imply either that it’s better to mix caution and courage or that it’s better just to be cautious. I want to apply the first modern interpretation to former Ambassador John Bolton, who has fallen into disfavor from all corners over “The Room Where It Happened,” his tell-all book about...
Everyone everywhere is demanding that we reform the police. Everyone everywhere is demanding that we have to root out the “systemic racism” in our police forces because it results in innocent blacks being treated unfairly and even killed. The demands for reforming, defunding and even disbanding our police are being driven by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. But despite the global reaction to the tragic deaths of those black men at the hands of police, they are extremely rare eve...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees approved a purchase requisition on an $81,000 lease on the Stampede Village student-housing complex but tabled future action on the property because of uncertainty from the coronavirus pandemic. The board approved a purchase requisition with Tillman Enterprises of Clovis for the property during its June 16 meeting. The meeting was held by video conferencing because of COVID-19 restrictions. Board Chairman Jim Streetman said he was hesitant to approve the requisition because ongoing...
May was hot; the fourth-hottest May in the past 100 years for the average daily high temperature and the fifth-hottest for the average daily temperature. We came within a degree of tying the record for the single warmest day in May. So far, in June, we already have tied one daily high temperature record and broken another, and the average daily high is well above the long-term average for the same time period. It’s been hot! This past Sunday was Father’s Day and the first day of summer (my calendar says that summer actually started at 5:44 pm...
The Altrusa International Club of Tucumcari recently inducted its officers for the 2020-2021 year. Inducted officers were Janie Hoffman, president; Ellen White, past president; Lois Sappington, two-year board member; Sam Sparks, one-year board member; Jeannette Maddaford, treasurer; Merlinda Turner, recording secretary; Beverly Lake, corresponding secretary; and Charlene Montgomery, first vice president. Altrusa International is a nonprofit organization that strives to make local communities better through leadership, partnership and...
The caretakers of the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari expressed optimism the historic Route 66 property would have new owners by the end of the June despite another offer falling through earlier this year. Kevin and Nancy Mueller, Michigan natives who've owned the 1939 motel for nine years, announced on social media last week the property was under contact to an as-yet-unidentified couple. "We're excited; they're going to be good," Nancy said of the prospective new owners. "Their backgrounds...
Members of the Tucumcari Public Schools board last week talked about positive feedback about the district’s May 29 outdoor graduation ceremony that included fireworks and confetti cannons amid strict social distancing because of coronavirus. Board President Leif Gray said during the board’s short and otherwise routine June 15 meeting via teleconference the ceremony was “amazing,” noting his daughter was one of the graduates. Board member Heather Gonzales said she also heard good responses about graduation and encouraged “putting ourselves...
The state Department of Health on Thursday reported Quay County's first confirmed case of coronavirus in more than a month. David Morgan, a spokesman for the agency, stated in an email Friday the infected person was a woman in her 20s. He stated there was no evidence of community spread of the virus in the case. It was the first reported case in the county since May 12. Quay County now has a total of five cases, with one death, since the pandemic began in the United States early this year. The state removed one case from the county's total...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from June 15 to June 21: Monday • 12:07 a.m.: Vehicle theft in 1500 block of Frontage Road 4132, Bard. • 1:08 a.m.: Vandalism in 700 block of West Sunset Avenue, Tucumcari. • 4:06 a.m.: Disturbance in 2400 block of South First Street, Tucumcari. • 5:37 a.m.: Assault and battery in 600 block of South Sixth Street, Tucumcari. • 6:20 a.m.: Accident with property damage in 10000 block of Highway 104, Tucumcari. • 6:25 a.m.: Vandalism in 1300 block of South Seven...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from June 15 to June 19: • Rachel Szwed, 22, Chicago, warrant from other counties or states. • Sam Yoshimura, 56, Gardena, California, trespassing. • Breyen Gamble, 33, Jackson, Mississippi, warrant from other counties or states. • Gabriel Anthony Perez, 21, Tucumcari, aggravated stalking (violation of protection order). • Rachael Carpenter, 38, Santa Fe, contempt of court. • Cosmoe Kareem Hurd, 36, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Jodi Lea Metz, 45, Tucumcari, felony possession...