Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Quay County saw its 14th confirmed death from coronavirus last week and its second in a week as the region saw a marked increase in cases. According to an email Thursday from the New Mexico Department of Health, Quay County’s latest COVID-19 casualty was a man in his 70s who had underlying conditions. The agency reported another death on Sept. 16 of a hospitalized Quay County man in his 70s with underlying conditions. Quay County saw 56 confirmed cases of COVID-19 last week — including 15 on Friday. That was a sizable jump compared to the 40...
Architects presented a proposed 10-year master plan for Mesalands Community College that includes a new focus on 11th Street as its entrance, with new residence halls, a mobile meat-processing plant and a 9-acre solar farm. The college’s board of trustees during its Sept. 21 meeting heard the presentation from Melissa Walker and Bryan Griggs, architects at the Parkhill, Smith and Cooper architectural firm in Amarillo. Walker said the plan recommends renaming 11th Street as Campus Drive and making it a main artery at the college, with signs o...
A Tennessee pilot walked away with no injuries after his small plane crashed and burned Saturday afternoon at Tucumcari Municipal Airport. Little was left of the small aircraft after it crashed in a ditch a few hundred yards east of a runway, then caught fire. New Mexico State Police officers gathered near the crash site to investigate. The Federal Aviation Administration also was contracted. Quay County Sheriff Russell Shafer said the crash occurred about 1:45 p.m. The pilot, who identified...
The city of Tucumcari will buy a demonstration vehicle to replace an ambulance damaged in an accident on Sept. 13, using an emergency allocation from the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration. The city commission at its regular meeting Thursday approved the agreement with DFA, which will provide $254,663 to purchase the ambulance from the Siddon-Martin Emergency Group of Albuquerque, which is $1,000 less than the purchase price of $255,663. The city will cover the $1,000 difference, City Manager Mark Martinez told the commission...
A Quay County sheriff’s deputy will contest a ticket issued to him after being involved in a traffic accident earlier this month in Tucumcari that knocked the city’s only well-running ambulance out of commission and forced the city commission to buy another ambulance to replace it. Sheriff Russell Shafer said the deputy was returned to administrative duties Wednesday after the completion of internal investigation. The deputy had been on administrative leave after the crash, pending the outcome of the internal review. The drivers in the Sep...
My Sept. 15 Quay County Sun article was titled, “When misery loves company.” While the term usually means that people feeling down want to be around others who also are depressed for mutual consolation, another meaning is that when we’re miserable, we want others to also be miserable (e.g., “if I’m not happy, nobody’s going to be happy”). In that article, I listed many causes of misery mentioned in the Bible, but sin is the most common cause of misery in this life and through separation from God for eternity (Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 3:10-18, 23;...
On this date ... 1971: Several lawmakers from the New Mexico Legislature were considering gambling to add more revenue. “We need revenue badly for our schools,” state Rep. Pete Derizotis (D-Gallup said. “We should go to some lottery type like New Jersey. We should also go to slot machines. This can be a local option.” He advocated allocating 40% of gambling revenue to schools, 20% to anti-pollution or environmental purposes and 20% to the state’s general fund. • Cindy Henderson, a Tucumcari High School senior, was appointed state secretary o...
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: Ultimate breakfast round, applesauce cup, apple juice, skim or 1% milk; Lunch: Turkey with cheese wrap, chicken patty on a bun, french fries, romaine lettuce, fresh tomatoes, dill pickle chip, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, chilled peaches, skim, 1% or chocolate skim milk. Thursday — Bre...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Oct. 2 — Quay County Health Council 5K Fun Run/Walk. The 3.1-mile free event begins at 8 a.m. on a roughly circular and marked course. T-shirts will be offered to all finishers. A walker or senior citizen half-course of 1.5 miles will be offered; those interested will be driven to the halfway point to begin their walk on the regular course. The council also is offering a virtual event for those who don’t live in the county or who are not ready to be in a crowded area. Signup for t...
Mesalands Community College's vice president of public relations presented new color schemes for the college's logos that the board of trustees promptly approved. Josh McVey advocated during the board's Sept. 21 meeting replacing the college's main logo and sports logo's longstanding green and pale yellow colors with blue and gold. He said many of Mesalands' buildings and even its furniture come in similar blue colors. McVey said the blue signifies courage - such as the courage required for stud...
President Joe Biden’s administration says the intention for proposing a controversial plan to monitor private bank accounts is to catch tax cheats. But when looking at the actual language of the proposal, there must be a better way. One of many wish-list items on the Treasury Department’s proposed fiscal 2022 budget, the plan would force banks to report information about transactions for all accounts worth $600 or more to the Internal Revenue Service. Only aggregated data would be reported — not individual transactions. Banks and credit unions...
Youth is often a time of awakening and engagement with social movements. From the civil rights movement of the 20th Century to climate change and racial equality movements of today, young people have been and continue to be at the forefront of progress. Now, with the COVID pandemic still among us and claiming lives, young Americans must step forward once again to help make the world a better, safer place by rolling up sleeves and getting a free, safe and effective vaccine. Currently, 46% of New Mexicans age 18-24 are fully vaccinated compared...
I remember an old poster from my college days that asked, “What if they gave a war and nobody came?” That’s kind of what happened Sept. 18 in Washington D.C. Capitol Police who survived the battle on Jan. 6 were prepared for a second round. But this time nobody came. Sadly, I fear it was a reprieve, not a reversal of what has been a disturbing trend. During debate earlier this year on a bill that would have prohibited protests outside of private residences, members of the New Mexico Legislature talked about the threats they have faced. Rep....
A law firm representing Lowe’s Market in Tucumcari filed a response to a Quay County woman’s lawsuit against the grocery store after she alleged a faulty carpet caused a fall that injured her nearly three years ago. Hugh Lyle, an attorney for the Mullin Hoard and Brown firm in Lubbock, Texas, on behalf of Pay and Save, dba Lowe’s Market, filed the four-page response Sept. 17 in Quay County court and requested the lawsuit’s dismissal. Lyle’s filing denies or claims insufficient information of many of the allegations by Georgia Griego, who state...
A Tucumcari Public Schools board member said his investigation of records indicates a story last month from Mesalands Community College’s president about an ember from the high school’s Homecoming bonfire causing a fire on a campus building several years ago was false. The college’s spokesman, contacted by the Quay County Sun about the board member’s findings, admitted a “miscommunication” about an unrelated event that caused a fire at one of the college’s buildings, and the president issued a written apology. During a presentation...
Suiting up only 17 players due to COVID-19 quarantines and injuries, Tucumcari found itself overwhelmed by a state-ranked Robertson squad during a 56-6 football loss Thursday at Las Vegas. The game, rescheduled from Friday due to a lack of referees, ended due to mercy rule midway through the third quarter. On paper, Tucumcari’s loss to Robertson didn’t look much different from its 55-0 loss the previous week against Santa Rosa. But Rattlers coach Wayne Ferguson said his team played better despite the daunting odds Thursday. “We played better th...
Undefeated Logan stormed to a 46-0 first-quarter lead at host Cloudcroft en route to a 60-0 victory Thursday in an eight-man football game. The game ended at halftime due to the mercy rule. Haden Judd scored five touchdowns for the Longhorns. Devin Kotara added two TDs and Christian Kotara had one. The Longhorns improved to 6-0 and are ranked fourth in the state in the latest coaches poll. Cloudcroft fell to 2-3 overall. “The boys played hard,” Logan coach Dwayne Roberts said. “We’re trying to get things tightened up for (Fort Sumner) next we...
Tucumcari High School volleyball experienced two weeks of cancellations or postponements due to a COVID-19 exposure that has the team under quarantine. Wiped off the schedule were Santa Rosa at Tucumcari on Sept. 21, Maxwell at Tucumcari on Sept. 23 and Tucumcari at Clayton on Sept. 28. The Santa Rosa match has been rescheduled to Oct. 14. Tucumcari athletic director Wayne Ferguson expressed hope the Clayton match also could be rescheduled but hasn’t yet heard from that school district. The Maxwell match will not be rescheduled. The Lady R...
SAN JON - The Lady Coyotes reset themselves after a first-set loss to win the next three during a 22-25, 25-16, 25-11, 25-21 match victory Saturday against visiting Evangel Christian of Albuquerque. San Jon, a vastly better squad after last season's winless campaign, improved to 6-4 overall. Lady Coyotes coach Jaree Elliott said her team struggled during that first-set loss to the Lady Eagles. "The first game, you could tell we were down on our system, very fragmented," she said. "They were...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a plan to install a new video surveillance system at the jail using $331,650 in capital outlay money from the state to mostly pay for it. Quay County Detention Center administrator Christopher Birch said the proposed video system from APIC Solutions of Albuquerque uses a fisheye camera lens that can capture images at 360-degree angles and zoom in on certain areas. Birch said it’s the same surveillance system as what casinos use. Birch said the jail’s current video system “is limping along and could...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Sept. 22 to Sept. 24: • Antoinette Molinas, 28, Tucumcari, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, accidents involving damage to vehicles and criminal damage to property (under $1,000). • Daren Scott Baca, 52, Tucumcari, felony possession of a controlled substance (narcotic drug) and contempt of court. • Tiffany A. Bruhn, 28, Tucumcari, two counts of felony contempt of court. • Anthony D. Montano, 25, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Joey J. Trujillo, 38, Tucumcari...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Sept. 20 to Sept. 26: Monday • 2:25 a.m.: Accident in 2000 block of South Mountain Road, Tucumcari. • 9:32 a.m.: Vandalism in 100 block of Clark Lane, Logan. • 11:47 a.m.: Accident with injuries at 400 block of North Second Street, Logan. • 1:21 p.m.: Assault and battery in 200 block of East Center Street, Tucumcari. • 1:37 p.m.: Burglary at East Max Avenue and South First Street, Tucumcari. • 2:11 p.m.: Vandalism in 400 block of West Tucumcari B...