Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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A Tucumcari woman will serve as little as three months in jail for her role in a fatal dog mauling after the victim's father pleaded for tougher laws or enforcement to combat the scourge of loose dogs in the city. In a plea deal, Mary Olimpia Montoya, 52, pleaded guilty to one count in that case and a subsequent child-abuse case with a cap of no more than 18 months in prison. She pleaded guilty to a felony count of dangerous dog (death of a person) after being accused of owning several dogs...
A San Jon teenager was charged with two misdemeanors after being accused of accidentally shooting another teen in the face. Marvin James Reese Jr., 18, was charged with unlawful carrying of a handgun by a person under age 19 and negligent use of a deadly weapon (unsafe handling). The unlawful carrying charge is a misdemeanor that could lead up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. The other charge is a petty misdemeanor that can lead up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500....
In a wide-ranging discussion with Tucumcari city commissioners, the code enforcement officer and police chief acknowledged the nuisance ordinance needs changes to eliminate confusion and get tougher against scofflaws. Code enforcement officer Maria Carmen Gonzalez and Police Chief Patti Lopez sat with commissioners during a work session Thursday to discuss nuisance issues. Gonzalez said some owners and landlords don’t take responsibility for neglected properties. “I have to write that citation before they clean that place,” she said. Lopez...
SAN JON — Members of the San Jon Municipal Schools board learned last week it would be nearly $7 million cheaper to build two new high-school gymnasiums than renovate its current facilities. The board and administrators discussed by videoconference their gymnasium options during a work session Oct. 14 with two members of Formative Architecture, which is tasked to design a new school for the district. Weeks ago in discussions with architects, board members were inclined to preserve the existing Ed Lee Activities Complex and a 1960 gym on c...
This is a follow-up to my previous article in the Oct. 9 issue of the Quay County Sun about good things coming to those who wait rather than attaining the desires of our hearts through evil. We’re all sinners under temptation, which can lead to sin’s consequences (Romans 3:23; 6:23). God wants to give us our heart’s desires, but he never tempts us to sin (Psalm 145:16; James 1:13-15). Temptations are generally associated with sin, but our desires need not be temptation-based because we can and should have righteous desires (Romans 12:2; Philipp...
On this date ... 1974: Robby Birch, a former Tucumcari Rattler, became a pleasant surprise as a walk-on this season with the Western New Mexico University football team. Birch, a freshman, converted a 23-yard field goal to boost Western to a 17-16 victory over New Mexico Highlands, its first against that school in 11 years. It also gave the Mustangs a three-game winning streak. Birch was a three-year letterman at Tucumcari in football and track, though he was just a second-string place-kicker at THS behind Robin Smith. — New Mexico State P...
Saturday — Pumpkin Crawl and Carving Contest. The Tucumcari Historical Museum at 416 S. Adams St. will host this event from 2 to 4 p.m., with cash prizes from the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce. Saturday — Trunk or Treat. The American Legion Post 20 at 110 E. Tucumcari Blvd. will host this event of games and candy for all children from 2 to 4 p.m. To participate with decorated vehicles, text (505) 264-8188 for more information. Saturday — TucumScary Halloween Block Party. Two blocks of Second Street downtown will be closed to traff...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Breakfast banana split, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, apple, apple juice, skim, 1% or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Cheesy chicken and rice casserole, buffalo chicken wrap, seasoned Italian veggies, garden side salad, ranch dressing, ham and cheese sandwich, fresh baby carrots, barbecued baked Lays chips, fruit cocktail, 1%, skim, chocolate skim or strawberry skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Cherry frudel, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, cinnamon graham cracker, apple, orange juice, 1%, skim or str...
Heroes are easy to find but hard to keep. Especially when we’re young, we need our heroes, or positive role models if you prefer, as examples of what courage, sacrifice and success are all about. We typically start with our parents, superheroes in our young eyes, while our imaginations gravitate toward mythical beings like the Man of Steel, the Dark Knight or, yes, that proverbial cowboy riding through a time when right was right and wrong was wrong and what you did, not what you said, was who you are. Parents and action figures are just the be...
Former President Barack Obama stirred up some attention this month when he suggested lackluster support for Kamala Harris among Black men is mostly about her gender. “Part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives or other reasons for that,” Obama said at Harris’ campaign offices in Pittsburgh. “You’re thinking about sitting out, or even supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you?” Obama likened this attitude to betrayal. “Women in...
It’s the usual partisan story. Folks who love Kamala Harris and hate Donald Trump thought she did fine in her interview with evil Bret Baier on Fox. Folks who love Trump and hate Kamala thought she was the same unqualified presidential candidate they’ve been watching for three months. But anyone in the middle, any truly independent or still undecided voter watching Fox, would have been left thinking a bunch of negative things about Harris. She didn’t look or act the least bit presidential. She recited her usual platitudes. She said nothi...
Tucumcari's volleyball team vaulted into sole possession of first place in its district with victories last week over Clayton and Raton. The Lady Rattlers breezed to a 25-17, 25-14, 25-13 home victory Saturday over an overmatched Yellowjackets squad, which has only one victory this season. Tucumcari's win improved it to 13-4 overall and 4-0 in district play, with a one-match lead over runner-up Santa Rosa at 3-1. Raton and Estancia each were 2-2 in district play. The Lady Rattlers are ranked...
Logan captured no worse than a share for a district title during a 67-16 road victory Friday over defending state champion Roy-Mosquero in six-man football action. The Longhorns, undefeated at 8-0 and ranked No. 1 in New Mexico six-man football by MaxPreps.com, can win a district championship outright this Friday with a home victory over New Mexico School for the Deaf. Grady (8-1 overall) is in second place in its district with a 5-1 mark, its only loss a 32-26 decision in overtime against the Longhorns on Sept. 6. The Longhorns, which built a...
Tucumcari's air attack might have enabled it to keep up in a shootout Friday with district foe Santa Rosa, but center-snap problems short-circuited that possibility during a 55-7 loss. Bad snaps in the shotgun formation repeatedly lost yardage or threw off the rhythm of quarterback Nick Goen. One snap that sailed over his head led to a Santa Rosa defensive touchdown as the Lions staked a 28-0 lead during the Rattlers' last home game of the season. Goen went 14-for-28 passing for 125 yards and...
Tucumcari’s top two cross-country runners ran fast. But they discovered during the massive Academy Extravaganza meet on Saturday at Albuquerque Academy they’ll need to run faster. Top Rattlers runner Alex Bueno De La O, a senior, ran the 5,000-meter course — which also hosts the sport’s state championships — in 17 minutes, 50.59 seconds. His teammate, Fernando Ureste, ran it in 18:32.79. However, Bueno De La O and Ureste finished only 16th and 24th overall in the Class 1A/2A race, respectively. The top runner, Oak Grove Classical’s Joshua Marq...
In the wake of a 14% increase in enrollment this fall, Mesalands Community College’s vice president of student affairs presented an updated five-year enrollment management plan that seeks to avoid an “enrollment cliff” many colleges and universities are forecast to encounter. Many higher-learning institutions are bracing for when the number of high-school graduates is expected to peak in 2025 or 2026, then decline for many of the following years. The U.S. saw a falloff in its birthrates after the 2008 recession. Josh McVey told the college’s bo...
Darrel Ray Johnson's daughter-in-law isn't holding out hope he will be found alive after he disappeared from Conchas Lake State Park nearly four months ago. Johnson, 67, of Phoenix last was seen at the park shortly after midnight on June 29, said Michaelyn Kindly, also of Phoenix, who is married to Darrel Johnson Jr. She said Johnson, who had been camping at the park northwest of Tucumcari with a female companion and more than 30 other family members for a birthday party, zipped up his tent...
A Tucumcari student’s research at West Texas A&M University was among those highlighted at an event last week that marked a major anniversary of an academic program. The McNair Scholars Research Showcase was held Oct. 15 in the atrium of Cornette Library on WT’s Canyon campus. The showcase commemorated the program’s 25th anniversary. A total of 15 McNair students displayed posters and discussed their research with WT students, faculty and staff, as well as community visitors. Jodi Vance-Furlow, a senior sports and exercise sciences major from...
Three fired Mesalands Community College employees who sued the college’s board of trustees have settled their cases. District Judge Timothy Rose on Oct. 9 granted unopposed motions from the attorney of former MCC employees Rose Brito, Natalie Gillard and Donna Garcia to dismiss their lawsuits with prejudice, which means they cannot be refiled. The motions for each stated that “all disputed raised by the Plaintiff against the Defendant have been settled the the satisfaction of all parties.” Daniel Apodaca, one of the attorneys for the three...
A Tucumcari man was jailed on felonies after being accused of engaging with two high-speed pursuits with police in three days. Jimmy Lenard Johnson, 40, was charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, plus resisting a law-enforcement officer, criminal damage to property, no driver’s license, speeding by 36 mph and over, criminal trespassing and failure to maintain a traffic lane. The aggravated fleeing counts are fourth-degree felonies that could lead up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. A...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Oct. 14 to Oct. 20: — Mateo Romero, 27, Tucumcari, shoplifting ($250 or less). — Leslie Pacheco, 54, Tucumcari, contempt of court, receiving stolen property ($250 or less), tampering with evidence (third- or fourth-degree felony) and non-residential burglary. — Rudy C. Lopez, 29, Tucumcari, receiving stolen property (dispose; over $250), trafficking (by possession with intent to distribute0, tampering with evidence (capital crime or first- or second-degree felony) and t...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Oct. 14 to Oct. 20: Oct. 14 — 12:15 a.m.: Domestic disturbance at South Sixth Street and West Charles Avenue, Tucumcari. — 11:40 a.m.: Trespassing in 100 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 11:50 a.m.: Threat in 1000 block of East Heman Avenue, Tucumcari. — 12:59 p.m.: Noise complaint in 600 block of West High Street, Tucumcari. — 1:23 p.m.: Civil dispute in 700 block of North Third Street, Tucumcari. — 3:57 p.m.: Juvenile problem in 1100 blo...