Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 33
A house on a residential block of Tucumcari may become the site of a liquor license, according to the property owner, Ralph Moya, and a notification on the doorway of the abandoned residence. Moya, who is District 1 Commissioner on the Tucumcari City Commission, recused himself and spoke as a citizen Thursday after two neighbors complained to the commission about the potential liquor license and what it could mean in terms of late-night music and drunk driving, Both neighbors spoke Thursday in public comments. Moya, however, said the...
A Tucumcari man was charged with first-degree murder after being accused of fatally shooting another resident in the head at a home Friday. Dead was Bryan Youman, 19, of Tucumcari. Charged was Joshua Braziel, 30, of Tucumcari on counts of first-degree murder and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). Both are felonies. The murder count is a first-degree felony that can lead up to life in prison, with the possibility of no parole. According to a news release Monday morning from...
The New Mexico Department of Health on Friday confirmed a new case of corornavirus in the San Jon ZIP code. The latest case was a man age 50 to 59, according to the agency's website. That brought the total in Quay County to 64 cases since the pandemic began, with two deaths. The overall totals by ZIP code in the county are 32 in Tucumcari, 29 in Logan and five in San Jon. That total adds up to 66; the DOH did not have an explanation for the discrepancy. Forty-three residents have been deemed as recovered from the virus. A total of 1,663 tests...
Additional elementary students in Quay County won’t begin classes after Labor Day as previously anticipated because it didn’t meet the coronavirus-based state criteria for school reopenings. For schools to offer in-person classes to all elementary students, their counties were required to have coronavirus case rates of less than 8 per 100,000 people and a COVID-19 test positivity rate below 5% from Aug. 19 to Sept. 1. Quay County missed on both benchmarks, according to data collected by the state’s Department of Health. It had a caseload of 9.4...
A revised public health order, issued Thursday by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and effective Friday, includes some relaxations of the requirement for a 14-day quarantine when arriving to New Mexico from other states. Restrictions still in place under the health order only slightly relax quarantine requirements on travel from border states Texas and Arizona. According to the order, individuals arriving from a state with a 5% test positivity rate or greater or a new coronavirus case rate of 80 per million residents must separate from others in a...
Forty-five people visited the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum in Tucumcari on Saturday - the first time tourists had been able to tour its exhibits in more than five months. New Mexico's governor announced Thursday that museums with static, non-interactive displays could reopen Saturday at 25% capacity under an amended COVID-19 health order. The state's education chief also announced county criteria that would allow schools to partially reopen to in-person classes after Labor Day. Quay County...
LOGAN - Construction on the new U.S. 54 bridge over the Canadian River stands at 90% complete, with a projected opening to traffic this month or October. New roads were being built to the bridge last week, and the concrete span itself appeared to be largely finished. Travis Martinez, public information officer for District 4 of the New Mexico Department of Transportation, said during a phone interview Thursday the project was 90% finished. Because of minor change orders in the contract and...
The New Mexico Supreme Court last week unanimously rejected a temporary restraining order from an Eddy County judge that sought to stop enforcement of the state’s indoor-dining ban for restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Justices deliberated for less than an hour Wednesday afternoon before issuing the ruling from the bench. Three Democratic justices joined with the lone Republican and presiding justice, Judith Nakamura, on the decision. Justice Michael Vigil, a Democrat, recused himself from the case and did not state his reason for d...
An Albuquerque man remained detained in the Quay County jail this week after he was accused of leading police on a chase at speeds of up to 100 mph, crashed his car into a building in Tucumcari and later was found hiding in its attic. Anthony Vernone Lee Martinez, 22, was charged with aggravated fleeing law enforcement, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal damage to property of over $1,000, criminal trespassing and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. Three of the charges are fourth-degree felonies that can lead up to 18 m...
The Nara Visa Cowboy Gathering, scheduled for later this month, was cancelled last week because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual event at the Nara Visa Community Center that celebrates cowboy poetry and music was scheduled for Sept. 25-27. The state had loosened some coronavirus restrictions last week but still forbids public gatherings of more than 10 people. However, organizers stated on the event’s website a jam session would be tentatively held Saturday, Sept. 26. “The jam session will be open to all who want to come and par...
The office of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she is requesting applications for positions on these boards of regents: • Eastern New Mexico University • New Mexico Highlands • New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired • New Mexico Military Institute • Northern New Mexico College • University of New Mexico • Western New Mexico University Applicants for the positions must be registered voters in New Mexico. The New Mexico Senate must confirm the governor’s appointees. The deadline for submitting applications is 5 p.m. Sept. 9....
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Sept. 26 — Altrusa International COVID Cash Drawing. This year’s reverse raffle will be conducted via a Facebook live event. Tickets are $100 for the chance to take home the grand prize of $15,000. Additional cash prizes will be awarded throughout the evening. Proceeds of the event benefit Altrusa’s community service projects. More information will be available soon. To buy tickets, contact any member of Altrusa International of Tucumcari or call ticket chair Sylvia Wampler (575) 4...
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. Two area schools are using a hybrid model of online and in-person teaching for elementary grades. Tucumcari Senior Center Wednesday — Chicken nuggets, baked potato wedges, cauliflower and cheese, mixed fruit. Thursday — Pork butt roast, blackeyed peas, tomatoes with gre...
On this date ... 1970: Inaugural ceremonies were held at Tucumcari Municipal Airport for Trans Central Airline’s first flight from the airport. Stephen Yohn and Mrs. L.C. Strawn were the first passengers to board the plane and received a red-carpet treatment. Yohn and Strawn were taking a flight to Albuquerque, then a connecting flight to Sacramento, California. • The Canal Drive-In theatre in Tucumcari advertised two Spanish-language films: “Blue Demon vs. Cerebros Infernalas” and “La Valentina.” The former’s plot had a wrestling her...
Virus controls matter of science Michael Reagan and a lot of other Republicans seem to believe if you deny scientific facts that will make the outcome conform to their way of thinking. From the start, President Trump has ignored his scientific advisors, refusing to take the coronavirus seriously, then, pushing for returning to business as usual, paying no attention to scientific advice about taking some steps to control the coronavirus prior to opening business. Reagan, in his column published Aug. 19, said that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris...
There’s a windmill and capped well where I work next to a new well with an electric pump. Most of the windmill is intact, but the vane’s been locked in the furled position so whenever the wind blows, the wheel doesn’t turn. It couldn’t pump water anyway because the sucker rod’s also been removed. The windmill does still try to align itself with the wind occasionally, making an eerie screeching sound. So, this windmill is strictly ornamental, still standing only for its historic aesthetics, having been repurposed for that to maintain at least...
In politics, what looks like sordid intrigue often turns out to be garden-variety incompetence. Case in point: After much testimony and investigation, it seems likely that the U.S. Postal Service was not engaged in a plot to derail November’s election by slowing down the mail, as many of President Donald Trump’s critics have alleged in recent weeks. The truth about the service’s recent decline is, in all probability, mundanely disheartening rather than sinister. Anecdotal reports — some quite grim — of foul-ups and delays in the postal sy...
Political conventions have never presented the most honest version of American politics. If the economy is good, the party in power has always taken credit. If not, it’s always been because of the failed policies of the other party. If the polls are good, you flaunt it. If not, you say you never rely on them anyway. Political conventions have always been where the parties trot out their best, hide their worst, and everybody downplays or exaggerates, as needed. The Republicans this year played faster and looser with rules and laws than any p...
Last week’s Republican National Convention was the best I’ve ever watched. The locations and settings were great. Melania did a fine job in the White House Rose Garden. Vice President Mike Pence praised President Trump remotely from Baltimore’s Fort McHenry. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke from somewhere in Israel. In addition, the GOP’s diversity quotient was off the charts. The impressive speakers included Tim Scott (the U.S. senator from South Carolina whose inspiring life story is summed up by “From Cotton to Congress”), Nikki Haile...
Quay County last week reported its second death from coronavirus, according to a report Friday from the New Mexico Department of Health. The agency stated the death was a man in his 80s who had underlying conditions. The man's identity was not listed. The county's first death from COVID-19 occurred in April, when Tucumcari rancher Paul Quintana, 76, died in Florida after contracting it on a cruise ship. Two Quay County residents on Saturday were confirmed with the disease — one from Logan and one from Tucumcari. One male and one female were c...
PORTALES — A civil suit brought by a Logan teacher and coach who was dismissed three years ago will see another delay before reaching a jury. After a 78-minute virtual hearing Thursday morning in Portales’ district court, Judge Donna Mowrer granted attorney Warren Frost the opportunity to submit an amended complaint against Logan superintendent Dennis Roch to include teacher Dallas Valentine for a charge of intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury trial was set to begin Sept. 28 but will be pushed to April 26-30 at the Quay Cou...
LOGAN - Ute Lake State Park reopened Wednesday on a limited basis for day-use recreation after being closed for two weeks when several employees there showed signs of coronavirus and later tested positive for the disease. The Logan Park area reopened, which includes the McFarland boat ramp, marina and marina boat ramp. "Other areas of the park would remain closed for the near future as the park manages in line with the public health order with reduced staff," stated public information officer...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees formally swore in its newest member during a special meeting Thursday. Tom Sidwell, co-owner of the JX Ranch south of Tucumcari, took the oath of office from Connie Chavez, executive assistant to acting president Natalie Gillard, at the start of the meeting that was held by videoconference because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Tom, welcome aboard,” board Chairman Jim Streetman said after the brief ceremony. “Glad to have you.” Streetman announced Sidwell’s appointment during the board's regular m...
A Tucumcari man implicated in setting a 2012 fire in a local veterinarian clinic that killed more than 70 animals avoided jail time when he was sentenced Wednesday in a plea deal on other crimes and alluded to his role in the blaze during the court hearing. The district attorney also mentioned the fire to the judge before sentencing and said the suspect was being investigated for other crimes that were “very concerning.” Kevin Ronnie Garcia, 28, confessed to the Tucumcari Animal Hospital fire to state police earlier this year when DNA lin...
The Solar Market Development Income Tax Credit rule went into effect upon its publication in the New Mexico Register last week. New Mexicans can submit an application for the tax credit through the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) Energy Conservation and Management Division’s website. It offers a 10% tax credit on solar system installation costs for qualified solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, up to a maximum of $6,000. The provisions of the new tax credit apply to systems that are purchased or installed on or a...