Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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A new ordinance to regulate recreational cannabis- and marijuana-based businesses in Tucumcari got a go-ahead Thursday from the Tucumcari City Commission, but the new law is still a work in progress. Before it receives a final vote for approval from the commission, the ordinance must be published, then undergo a public hearing and final approval from the commission. The city has a deadline of Sept. 1 for final passage. Otherwise, the state’s recreational cannabis legalization law states, the city must abide by state standards. At a public w...
The New Mexico Department of Health on Wednesday reported 11 new cases of coronavirus in Quay County and its 12th death in the county since the pandemic began in the spring of 2020. According to the agency, the latest fatality in Quay County was a man in his 90s who had been hospitalized. No other information about him was available. The DOH has reported 21 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Quay County in the last two days. Seventeen cases have been in the Tucumcari ZIP code, three in San Jon and one in Logan. Tucumcari Public Schools on Tuesday...
New Mexico’s governor announced Tuesday afternoon she was re-implementing a statewide requirement that all masks be worn in all indoor settings regardless of an individual’s vaccination status, effective Friday. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also said during an online briefing that the state was requiring vaccinations or weekly negative COVID-19 tests for all hospital workers, congregate care workers and school workers. The re-implemented mask requirement applies to all people age 2 and older in all indoor public settings, except when eating or...
A Tucumcari police officer who was shown last month on a video posted to social media body-slamming a suspect has been cleared after an internal investigation, and he was returned to his job. That didn’t satisfy the suspect’s lawyer, who said he was “outraged” by the police department and its officers and vowed to file a lawsuit. Tucumcari officer Justin Garcia had been placed on administrative leave until a review of the July 17 incident could be completed, stated acting police chief Pete Rivera in an email Wednesday to the Quay County...
The Quay County Fair embraced a youth movement, mostly out of necessity. Earlier this year, the Quay County Fair Board voted to allow 6-, 7- and 8-year-olds to compete in the livestock show and sell their animals at the Junior Livestock Auction. The previous minimum age was 9. Officials acknowledged they took the action so younger exhibitors would boost the overall numbers at the fair, which had been falling in recent years. Shortly after recognizing eight high-school seniors who would age out...
The Logan Board of Education was scheduled to vote on a resolution opposing the state’s mask mandate, but divided board members officially removed it from the agenda early in last week’s meeting before they could take action on it. The board’s Aug. 9 agenda contained an action item listed as “Consider approval of Resolution on Mask Mandate.” Shortly after the meeting began, board member Kene Terry made a motion to strike it from the agenda. Terry, while voicing misgivings about the New Mexico Public Education Department, expressed reservati...
On this date ... 1971: The Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce heard about plans for the Pinata Festival, scheduled for Sept. 9-11. Organizers said they decided to hold the Pinata Queen pageant inside the Tucumcari Junior High School auditorium. The contest was open to all girls age 15 to 22. Contestants were expected to wear historical Southwest, Native American, Pioneer, Spanish or Fiesta clothing. The winner would receive a $100 savings bond and a wardrobe. • Tucumcari was among 60 towns set to become the subject of an Economic Develop...
The Tucumcari Senior Center and Logan Senior Center also offer grab-and-go meals to those who qualify. Those interested should call the Tucumcari facility at 461-2307 or the Logan facility at 487-2287 for more information. Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Western scrambled eggs, 6-inch whole-grain tortilla, reduced-sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch, salad, cinnamon graham cracker, fresh banana, orange juice, skim or 1% milk; Lunch: Three-cheese grilled cheese, sweet potato waffle fries, mixed vegetables, honeydew, skim, 1% or chocolate s...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Friday — Fired Up Friday. This event will host an End of Summer Bash. 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. • Sept. 17 — Fired Up Friday. An outdoor concert is scheduled. 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. • Oct. 23 — 44th annual Boo Bash. The Altrusa International of Tucumcari’s...
The past 18 months have shown that accurately counting the dead is vital for protecting the living. At the outset of the pandemic, many countries lacked adequate registration systems, and others saw their processes break down under strain. This made it harder to track the spread of COVID-19 and deal with its consequences. Even in normal times, lack of data about deaths and their causes can seriously impede efforts to protect public health. Fixing this ought to be a global priority. Reliable information on mortality and morbidity can give...
It was supposed to happen Friday the 13th, but Donald Trump is still not back in the White House. Joseph Biden is still the president without the immediate threat of being toppled, and Trump is still just a citizen still engaged in the whining and name-calling that endeared him to up to 70 million voters in the November election. Thank goodness 80 million of us voters decided we were fed up with the presumptions, the immaturity and incompetence of our 45th president. Mike Lindell, the My Pillow guy, was as wrong in his prediction of Trump’s r...
A trillion dollars used to be a lot of money, even in Washington. Now, a trillion-dollar spending bill is a trifle barely worth arguing over and the stuff of bipartisan consensus. Oscar Wilde famously said that nothing succeeds like excess, but even he might blanch at the shameless profligacy that is America’s new normal. In their wisdom, Senate Republicans decided to help President Joe Biden pass a portion of his blow-out fiscal agenda, a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that is a prelude to an even bigger, vastly more consequential $3.5 tril...
Quay County last week continued to see growth in number of coronavirus cases with 40, including five confirmed by the state’s Department of Health on Friday. That compared to 31 cases during the previous week and 14 the week before that. The increase was the latest sign the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 — now the dominant strain in New Mexico and the country — was spreading fast in the county, as well. Covid Act Now on Thursday also changed Quay County’s risk rating for the virus to the “severe risk” category — the worst availab...
The Tucumcari High School football team played a scrimmage Thursday at Clovis against the Wildcats' junior varsity, and what coach Wayne Ferguson saw gave him encouragement for the upcoming season. "I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't know what to expect," Ferguson said, noting the Clovis JV is roughly equivalent to a team in Tucumcari's Class 3A division. "It was good to go against somebody, and we saw some good things. We saw some other things we need to work on and hopefully get better at."...
The Tucumcari High School volleyball team begins its season with a tough opponent right away when it hosts defending Class 1A champion Melrose on Thursday. The varsity game will start about 6 p.m., after the junior varsity and C-team matches. Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez, entering her sixth season, said facing a perennial power such as the Lady Buffaloes might pay future dividends. "It's rough to meet a team of that caliber right away, but it will help us prepare for the rest of the season....
Though Conchas Lake saw a significant inflow of water in the past month due to rainstorms, the Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors again voted last week to not allocate any water for its irrigation system. According to district manager Franklin McCasland’s report on Aug. 10, the lake received 10,112 acre-feet of inflow during the month of July, compared to 2,156 acre-feet of evaporation and other losses. Conchas Lake’s level rose to 4,162.3 feet the morning of Aug. 10, an increase of about a half-foot from the previous mon...
SAN JON — The San Jon Municipal Schools board voted to not charge admission to sports events the district hosts this school year, but it would open its concession stand for games for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began last spring. Superintendent Janet Gladu said during the board’s Aug. 9 meeting the New Mexico Activities Association was recommending districts use a cashless app to charge admission to games. She said, however, many elderly attendees would be confused or irritated by the app. She suggested a donation box near the...
An "Open" flag sits in a corner of the Apache Motel's well-furnished office, waiting to be used. It appears, however, that flag won't be used anytime soon. Despite earlier pledges by the operator to renovate and revive Tucumcari's long-closed Apache Motel, the Route 66 establishment has been put up for sale. Meanwhile, weeds continue to grow taller in the motel's empty parking lot. The Quay County Sun obtained a June email from operator Wade Dirr sent that stated the Apache Motel at 1106 E....
In James 5:13-18, we see Elijah was a person just like us or like we can be. Elijah was powerful and effective in prayer because of his righteousness, but he wasn’t the source of the righteousness, and neither will we be. According to Romans 1:16-17 and 3:10-26, righteousness comes from God through our faith. Elijah was a prophet of God whose faith was very strong, at least most of the time (1 Kings 17:1; 18:1; 19:1-18). He knew God well enough to know that God would grant his requests, but he probably also had gotten the assurance from God bef...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Aug. 9 to Aug. 15: Monday – 2:30 a.m.: Disturbance in 700 block of West Sunset Avenue, Tucumcari. – 2:45 a.m.: Accident with injuries at milepost 347, Interstate 40 west, San Jon. – 7:09 a.m.: Reckless driving at milepost 367, Interstate 40, Bard. – 1:49 p.m.: Shoplifting in 600 block of East Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. – 1:58 p.m.: Threat in 1300 block of South First Street, Tucumcari. – 4:38 p.m.: Threat in 200 block of East Center Street, Tuc...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Aug. 9 to Aug. 11: • Lillian Rose Alarcon, 65, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Samantha Alexis Montano, 27, Tucumcari, failure to pay tax or remit proceeds to municipality or county. • Glen McGeachy, 55, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Steven Michael Rotter, 69, St. Helens, Oregon, two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance (narcotic drug) and careless driving. These individuals were released from the Quay County Detention Center from Aug. 9 to Aug. 12: • P...
New Mexico’s governor last week tapped a recently retired state Supreme Court justice to run the Children, Youth and Families Department. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Aug. 10 announced Barbara J. Vigil, recently retired senior justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court and longtime advocate for juvenile justice reform, as as the latest addition to the governor’s Cabinet. Vigil relieves Secretary Brian Blalock, who is stepping down this month to support his wife’s pursuit of new work opportunities in California. Vigil is scheduled to begin work a...