Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Four possible updates to Tucumcari Public Schools' five-year facilities master plan would lead to the tearing down of its middle school due to stagnant enrollment and underused buildings. TPS held a community meeting last Monday in the Mesa Cafeteria to discuss possible options for the district. About 30 people - many of them district employees or administrators - attended. Susan Miller, a senior director of strategic consulting for Ohio-based Woolpert, led the meeting. She said her company was...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board during a special meeting Monday evening voted unanimously to hire Carl Marano to be the district's next superintendent. Marano, an assistant superintendent at Santa Fe Public Schools, has family ties to Tucumcari. His mother and brother live in the city, and his father Richard was the public-address announcer for years at Rattler football games before his death in 2021. Marano will replace Aaron McKinney, who retired on Jan. 1 after 18 years of leading the...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board interviewed three candidates for superintendent on Friday, though a decision on who to hire probably won’t happen for another 10 days or so. The board interviewed current Tucumcari Middle School principal Lendall Borden, Santa Fe Public Schools assistant superintendent for instruction and school support Carl Marano and Explore Academy of Albuquerque assistant principal Anthony Branch for the position. A fourth candidate scheduled to be interviewed, Lovington Municipal Schools principal Steve Barron, dropped o...
The Tucumcari City Commission approved a first reading to an update to its personnel policy, but not without hearing about its possible repercussions to the police force. During a work session last Tuesday, Police Chief Patti Lopez said the policy contains a measure that requires employees to reside within 10 miles of the city to take home city vehicles. Lopez said her department already has lost an officer who resides in Logan 25 miles away, and another Logan officer said he would quit if the policy took effect. “The minute it goes into effect...
I was reading one of the thousand or so articles that pop up on my email homepage, about why people reject religious faith: “17 Challenges Atheists Have for Believers.” These are always good for a chuckle. One objection caught my attention. It was this: If God exists why doesn’t he show himself? Well, how big a show would it take for you to believe? Would 10 consecutive, pre-announced plagues, reducing the world’s most powerful nation to rubble, be enough? How about splitting the Red Sea so people could cross through on dry land? You simply...
On this date ... 1974: The second annual Logan Bicentennial Banquet drew a record crowd of 425 people at Logan High School. S.L. Abbott, regional director of the Bicentennial Administration, presented certificates to Logan Mayor Robert McFarland and Tucumcari city commissioner King Aitken, recognizing the municipalities as the first Bicentennial Village and Bicentennial City in New Mexico. The banquet dinner was provided by the Fireside Inn Cafe. — Organizers of the Tucumcari Performance Tested Bull Sale proclaimed it the most successful in i...
April 26-27 — Tucumcari Film Festival. The annual event, themed “Visions of Frontier,” will feature films of adventure, drama and high stakes at the Odeon Theatre and the Tucumcari Railroad Museum. For more information, go to filmfreeway.com/tucumcarifilmfest. May 4 — Quay County rabies clinics. These four locations will over $15 rabies shots for dogs and cats: Nara Visa fire station from 10:30 to 11:30 Central; Logan city warehouse behind the Annex from 1 to 3 p.m.; San Jon old fire station from 4 to 5 p.m.; and in Tucumcari from 9 a.m. to noo...
A federal grand jury on Thursday added criminal charges against a South Carolina man accused of fatally shooting a New Mexico State Police officer west of Tucumcari last month. The grand jury returned an indictment on Jaremy Alexander Smith, 33, on charges of carjacking resulting in death, causing death by the discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, kidnapping resulting in death, being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm and interstate transport of a stolen vehicle. If...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Blueberry and yogurt parfait, assorted cereal, graham crackers, banana, apple juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Teriyaki chicken, brown rice, ham and egg chef salad, steamed broccoli, baby carrots, ranch dressing, mandarin oranges, 1%, skim, chocolate skim or strawberry skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Apple frudel, assorted cereal, graham crackers, fruit cocktail, orange juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Cheeseburger, ham and cheese sandwich, french fries, baby carrots, fru...
Nearly 2,000 Xcel Energy customers in Tucumcari lost power for almost 90 minutes on Friday night. Wes Reeves of Xcel stated in an email Saturday the outage was caused by a damaged line connection near the Campbell Avenue substation in Tucumcari. “They were able to restore power after a repair was made,” he wrote. Reeves stated the outage lasted for 83 minutes for 1,989 customers in Tucumcari. Most of the outage was reported on the city’s east side....
We have some big, rich and powerful neighbors, but that could change in the years ahead. Let’s start with Texas. New Mexico is heavily influenced by our neighbor to the east. In fact, a good number of New Mexicans on the east side of our state are wannabe Texans, aligning themselves to Texas values more than New Mexico’s. There’s a lot of chili (without the “e”) being eaten in eastern New Mexico. And the last time I visited the resort city of Ruidoso, I saw so many Texas license plates I wondered if I’d inadvertently crossed the state line...
Thanks to the so-called culture wars, debates about events on college campuses are being employed as useful weapons for attacking the gradual democratization that has occurred in higher education since the 1950s. Those of us who are academics and see education as crucial should be alarmed at the specter of partisan attacks, not to mention the garish and outlandish headlines that adversely affect many people trying to make sense of and understand their lives. Academic freedom, a term the American Association of University Professors developed...
I don’t blame the public for not wanting to put the Republican Party back in power in Washington. As the GOP proved again in the House last week, it’s incapable of accomplishing anything of importance. The big vote was over the reauthorization of a reformed version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – aka, FISA. FISA is the controversial act that permits U.S. spy agencies to gather foreign intelligence by collecting the communications of non-Americans located outside the country. It’s considered by government officials to be a cruci...
The Logan High School girls powerlifting team finished third at the state meet Friday, powered by runner-up finishes from Abby Paris and Kyle Terry. San Jon’s Dakota Fisher also finished runner-up in her weight class during the meet at the Rio Rancho Events Center. The Lady Longhorns team finished with 17 points, behind runner-up Estancia’s 20 points and Class 1A-3A champion Legacy Academy’s 32 points. Legacy boasted three individual state champions. Terry, competing in the 97-pound weight class, lifted a total of 355 pounds in the bench press...
Tucumcari's softball team won two of three home games last week, including a 12-2 non-district victory over Mora in five innings Friday. The Lady Rattlers won the game by the mercy rule with seven runs in the fifth inning, including an RBI single by Amaya Roybal to cap off the rally. Tucumcari (6-3) amassed 11 hits against the Rangerettes (5-4), including two doubles and two RBI by Alexis Ramirez. Harley McKinney scored three runs and drove in another. "We had little bit more energy today, hit t...
Tucumcari’s baseball team found itself on the wrong end of a no-hitter during a 12-0 district loss Saturday to visiting New Mexico Military Institute. NMMI starting pitcher Tegin Maloney struck out 10 in 4 2/3 innings. Reliever Luis Patton pitched the final one-third of the inning for the win. Collectively, Colts pitchers allowed just one walk — drawn by Juano Martinez. Tucumcari’s Paxton Smith also reached base when he was hit by a pitch. NMMI committed no errors. “NMMI is one of the best in 3A,” Tucumcari coach George Montano said. “They hav...
The Logan baseball team swept a non-district doubleheader last Tuesday from visiting Magdalena by scores of 11-1 and 14-8, extending its win streak to six. In the opener, the Longhorns (7-2) jumped to a 7-0 lead after two innings. Ace Kaeden Stoner allowed just two hits and two walks while fanning 10 during a complete game. Stoner also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBI. Brock Burns and Jace Jackson each drove in three runs. In the nightcap, Logan trailed 4-1 before rallying with six runs in the bottom of the third inning. The...
Tucumcari High School is on the hunt for its fourth head football coach in four years. Tucumcari Public Schools interim superintendent Dave Johnson confirmed last week that Tarik Embrack is not returning for a second season for the Rattlers program after being placed on administrative leave early this year. Embrack was placed on leave after Johnson was notified of an unspecified allegation in January. Johnson said an independent investigative firm examined the district's internal investigation...
Logan High School senior Kaeden Stoner signed an official letter of intent to join the Wayland Baptist University baseball program in Texas after this season. Logan Municipal Schools on Tuesday hosted a signing ceremony in the district's Performing Arts Center attended by his family, coaches and the student body. After signing the document, Stoner took off his Longhorns baseball cap and donned a WBU cap. Stoner, a four-year varsity player, has played a key role in two Class 1A championships and...
Logan scored its first victory over Santa Rosa in almost five years with a district doubleheader split last Monday. The Lady Longhorns won the first game 17-16 against the Lady Lions in extra innings. Trailing 16-14 after the top of the ninth inning, they rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the inning to win it. Marilyn Moreno, who went 4-for-5 during the game, delivered a two-run single to win it. Moreno totaled four RBI. Bella Coronado went 2-for-3 with three walks, two doubles and an RBI. Logan pitcher Zaiyana Grijalva struck out...
The Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors unanimously voted last Tuesday to allocate 2 inches of water per acre for area farmers for the coming growing season. On a day it rained during the board’s meeting, members were reluctant to allocate more water to its irrigation canals due to meager inflow to Conchas Lake so far this year. District manager Franklin McCasland reported the lake’s elevation that morning at 4,172.19 feet, which was about one-third of a foot higher than the previous month. He reported the lake received 2,3...
Jack Huffman of Michigan is walking across the country to raise awareness and money for disabled veterans, but his second takeaway from the journey is the generosity from fellow Americans. Huffman on Thursday had trodded 60 miles east from Santa Rosa and made it into Tucumcari that evening. During a phone interview from a room donated by the Motel Safari, Huffman had just eaten a meal given to him from Watson's BBQ. He said such kindness has been "incredible" since he began his "Sundog Run" to W...
Several Tucumcari High School athletes finished third individually at the 17-team West Las Vegas Track & Field Invitational on Saturday. Luis Archuleta finished third in the boys triple jump with a distance of 38 feet, 9 inches. He also finished fifth in the boys high jump with a height of 5-6. July Lafferty finished third in the javelin throw, with an effort of 88-10. Kirksey Smith became a third-place finisher in the girls shot put with a distance of 28-2. The Rattlers’ 400-meter relay team finished third with a time of 47.18 seconds. J...
The Logan Municipal Schools board approved a resolution opposing the state Public Education Department’s 180-day instruction rule change that would effectively end the four-day week at many rural schools. The resolution, passed last Monday, also authorizes superintendent Dennis Roch to support litigation that would challenge the PED’s rule change. “There is a profound concern that these changes will lead to a loss of local control over educational decisions and undermine the unique needs and successful practices of our rural school distr...
SAN JON — The business manager for San Jon Municipal Schools said during a board work session Thursday she anticipated “a very, very tight budget” for the 2024-2025 school year. Superintendent Alan Umholtz agreed with the assessment from Stormi Sena. He said the state government is slated to provide additional money only for mandated 3% raises for teachers. But Umholtz also said the district is fiscally hampered by a 31% increase in risk insurance and a 15% increase in medical insurance. He attributed the risk insurance hikes to more injur...