Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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The superintendent of Logan Municipal Schools, one of the best-performing districts in the region, said a substantial percentage of students using remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic are failing at least one class. Logan superintendent Dennis Roch said during his academic report at the school board’s meeting Oct. 12 that one-third of the high school and 43% of middle school students are failing at least one class this semester. That is in spite of the district receiving “A” or “B” grades from the state’s Public Education Department...
Two more cases of coronavirus were reported Wednesday in Quay County, bringing the total to 95 since the pandemic started. One of the cases was a person in their 80s in the Tucumcari ZIP code. Information about the other case was unavailable. A total of 15 cases have been reported in the county in less than a week. New Mexico's rapid-response database also showed teams were referred Tuesday to one confirmed case at Tucumcari Mountain Cheese Factory and one case at Love's Travel Stop in Tucumcari on Oct. 17. Such entities must perform COVID-19...
Another new COVID-19 case was reported Thursday in Quay County, and the state's Public Education Department also reported a COVID-19 case – earlier identified as a Tucumcari Elementary School student – in the county. According to the New Mexico Department of Health website, the latest case was a male age 70 to 79. No ZIP code information about the victim was available. That brought the total number of cases in Quay County since the pandemic began to 95, with two deaths. The county has recorded 10 cases in one week. According to the PED on Thu...
The New Mexico Department of Health on Thursday reported six confirmed cases of coronavirus in Quay County the same day the state set a short-lived record high of 672 cases. One day later, a new high of 819 cases was reported in New Mexico. According to the DOH website, the five females and one male who contracted the virus in Quay County all were in the Tucumcari ZIP code. The age breakdown of the cases was a child under age 10, one age 20 to 29, one age 30 to 39, two age 60 to 69 and one age...
It’s safe to say Jefferson Byrd won’t have a “Yes on 1” yard sign at his rural Tucumcari home during this election season. That’s because the District 2 commissioner for the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, who represents the eastern half of the state, isn’t bashful about his opposition to the proposed state constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot. The PRC oversees public utilities, including rates for electric companies, pipelines, sewers and telecommunications. Constitutional Amendment 1 would convert the elected five-member com...
Though the production company involved in the upcoming "Bands of Enchantment" television show in Tucumcari has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit, the main principals involved have deep roots in New Mexico. Vincent Chavez of La Tewa Media, the show's director of marketing and client relations, is based in the northern New Mexico town of Sapello. He's not the show's only link to the state, however. Ken C. Peterson, the show's creator and Elkhorn Entertainment's executive producer and...
If it please the court, I rise in defense of “triumphalism.” This has been a term of ridicule within Christianity for a quite a while. The too-triumphant man is a fool. He is, in the immortal words of Cosmo Kramer, a “cock-eyed optimist,” worthy of derision. He is ignorant of how the world works, apparently. But, the poor fellow will learn the hard way, as we all have: The optimist will be muted by reality. We are told it's dangerous to be too triumphal in our faith. Bad times are right around the corner and cannot be escaped. You can't j...
Administration has done harm The scientists have been telling us for some time what pollution by fossil fuels is going to do to our world. Global warming is here and growing faster than scientists predicted. Fires in the west, floods in the east and it’s going to become more severe and frequent if we do nothing. Millions of people will be forced to go somewhere or die. This situation is planet threatening. The planet will be OK, but I’m not so sure about us. We have the knowledge but the political will? Our current administration ignores or den...
On this date ... 1970: New officers were elected to the National Highway 66 Association, including Harry Eichelburger of Tucumcari. The group also voted to rename the organization the Main Street of America Highway Association. • The New Mexico Planning Office approved about 25 projects around the state, including a sewer project in Logan. • The newspaper show a photograph of the surface Tucumcari Boulevard at night reflecting street lights, neon signs and car headlights after snow began to melt from an unusually early winer storm the pre...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Oct. 30 — Fall Vendor Market. Tucumcari MainStreet will host three local vendor markets for local food and craft vendors this month, each from 5 to 7 p.m. at the historic Tucumcari Railroad Depot. All state health regulations will be followed, and vendors will be spaced to promote social distancing. For more information, call Connie at (575) 461-3701 or email [email protected]. 100 W. Railroad Ave., Tucumcari. • Oct. 31 — Curbside Trick-or-Treat. The Mesalands Dinosau...
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. Some area schools are using a hybrid model of online and/or in-person teaching. Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Strawberry banana yogurt, granola, fresh banana; Lunch: Italian wrap, baked potato chips, celery sticks, carrot sticks, ranch dressing applesauce c...
Longtime readers have seen this editorial before, so please excuse the repetition. But it’s important: Our newspaper does not endorse political candidates. That’s primarily because few reflect the core values of limited government. Those seeking office on Nov. 3 are mostly well-intentioned people. Their hearts are usually in the right place, but their goals are seldom to make government smaller and individual responsibilities greater. Try asking candidates, “What is the purpose of government?” The answers almost always prove disappo...
If you get your news from New Mexico commercial TV, you would think there are two U.S. congressional races in the state, not including the one in the Third Congressional District that includes Quay County, Clovis and Portales. In our district, we have heard a lot of noise in the races for U.S. Senate race and for the U.S. House in the Second Congressional District but relatively little about the race in our own district. We have plenty of attack ads from both parties in our U.S. Senate race between Democrat Ben Ray Lujan and Republican Mark Ron...
Watching the Senate confirmation hearing of Amy Coney Barrett reminded me of the promise my father made to my sister Maureen to put the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. It's a great piece of POTUS-SCOTUS history I haven't told in many years. Democrats and the media said a lot of nice things about the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon who in 1993 became the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court. But I don't remember hearing anyone — unfortunately, including the Republican senators — pay homage to Justice Sandra Day...
San Jon Municipal Schools was ranked as the third-best school district in New Mexico by Niche.com. San Jon received “A” grades in academics, teachers, diversity, health and safety, administration, food and resources and facilities. It received B-plus grades in clubs and activities and a B-minus in college prep and sports. Niche.com states it issues its grades and rankings by analyzing data and user opinions. Niche also ranks colleges, places to live and companies. Los Alamos Public Schools was ranked No. 1 in the state, and Texico was sec...
Logan Municipal Schools and at least seven other school districts filed a lawsuit against Education Secretary Ryan Stewart and the New Mexico Public Education Department, alleging they overstepped their authority in imposing COVID-19 restrictions on schools. Logan was joined in the lawsuit, filed Oct. 6 in Santa Fe County District Court, by the Gallup, Mora, Capitan, Mountainair, Animas, Elida and Zuni school districts. The lawsuit suggests the PED “overreached in its authority and subverted local control, including depriving some students with...
New Mexico State Police in Quay County recently captured a fugitive from Kentucky who led officers on a high-speed chase, then a foot pursuit after his vehicle crashed. According to news release last week, a state police officer on Sept. 29 was patrolling U.S. 54 northeast of Tucumcari when he pulled over a Dodge Durango for a traffic violation. During the stop, the officer identified the driver as Brandon Gwynn, 36, of Louisville, Kentucky. After a driver’s license check through the National Crime Information Center database, the officer l...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Oct. 12 to Oct. 17: • Amanpreet Singh, 39, no address listed, abuse of 911 calling and disorderly conduct. • Jamie Angel Rivas, 22, Tucumcari, reckless driving and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer (refusal to stop). • Adrianna Danielle Romero, 38, no address listed, battery against a household member and possession of drug paraphernalia. • Angelo F. Galvan, 24, Tucumcari, criminal trespass (posted). • Dominick Michael Ortiz, 26, Tucumcari, breaking and enter...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Oct. 12 to Oct. 19: Monday • 12:09 a.m.: Accident in 2000 block of South Mountain Road, Tucumcari. • 12:32 a.m.: Domestic disturbance in 4000 block of Quay Road 64.8, Tucumcari. • 4:19 a.m.: Breaking and entering in 4000 block of Quay Road 64.8, Tucumcari. • 10:17 a.m.: Breaking and entering at South Seventh Street and West McGee Avenue, Tucumcari. • 10:40 a.m.: Child custody problem in 600 block of East Laughlin Avenue, Tucumcari. • 11:41 a.m.: Threa...
Citing a rise of coronavirus cases statewide, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on last week announced an extension of the public health order and new restrictions on hotel occupancy limits, a 10 p.m. closing time for restaurants that serve alcohol and a reduction of public gatherings ban from 10 to five. The governor's office announced the new restrictions via email Oct. 13. New Mexico’s seven-day rolling average rose to more than 400 after it was below 100 just a few weeks ago. More than 900 people in the state have succumbed to the d...
Police arrested a Tucumcari motorist after he was accused of refusing to pull over his vehicle, leading to a high-speed chase on city streets that ended when the suspect’s vehicle spun out of control. Jamie Rivas, 22, was charged with reckless driving and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer (refusal to stop), both misdemeanors. According to a probable-cause statement filed by Tucumcari police officer Justin Garcia, he was patrolling on South Fourth Street about 10 p.m. Oct. 13 when he saw a BMW car he recognized as Rivas’ pull out of...
SAN JON — The San Jon Municipal Schools board of trustees on Oct. 12 unanimously approved a micro-district re-entry plan that allows the district to begin offering in-person classes to all students this week. The board also gave superintendent Janet Gladu a contract extension that will keep her in the district through June 2022. Regarding the micro-district, Gladu told the board the New Mexico Public Education Department accepted the plan that afternoon after rejecting a previous plan. Because San Jon has fewer than 100 students, it is not s...
The pesticide safety education program at New Mexico State University is offering workshops two ways online. Pesticide applicators may earn continuing education units by attending a webinar series or pre-recorded presentations. “Because of the COVID-19 social distancing requirements, we have developed two ways for public and private pesticide applicators to earn their CEU requirements,” said Phillip Lujan, NMSU Extension pesticide safety education program manager. “They may attend weekly live two-hour webinars or view pre-recorded one-h...
New Mexico's governor on Tuesday announced new health COVID-19 regulations designed to keep businesses open but with the hope they would flatten a huge surge of cases in recent weeks. Also, six new coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday in Quay County, with five in the Tucumcari ZIP code and one in Logan. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she hoped the new rules are “significant enough” to avoid closures and widespread economic disruption as the state heads into the winter. She said New Mexico, which has one-third less hospital capacity tha...