Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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New Mexico health officials reported four more confirmed deaths of COVID-19 in Quay County last week, including two on Friday, raising the total to 23 since the pandemic began last spring. The superintendent for House Municipal Schools also announced Friday that classes would be remote-only this week after at least three cases among students or staff were reported last week in the district. The county also reported its 1,000th case of coronavirus during the pandemic. The state Department of Health last week reported these coronavirus deaths in...
The Tucumcari school board was scheduled to meet this week with city officials over possible revisions of a $3 million ballpark redevelopment, including renovating four diamonds instead of building three new ones. School and city officials set a walk-through work session at the ball diamonds Tuesday evening to discuss the project. The meeting, which contained no action items on its agenda, occurred after the Quay County Sun’s print deadline. Citing escalating costs and possible public access issues during construction, at least two school b...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees last week officially approved a final draft of its 10-year master plan that includes new residence halls, a black-box theater, a 9-acre solar farm and 11th Street being converted to the campus' main entrance. Trustees during their Oct. 19 meeting also voted to begin the process of renaming the institution to simply Mesalands College in the coming months. Architect Melissa Walker of the Parkhill, Smith and Cooper firm in Amarillo presented the...
QUAY - A suspicious fire destroyed a tangible link to the more-prosperous past of the settlement of Quay, south of Tucumcari. The blaze last week gutted a nearly century-old house that once served as a post office, store and gas station for the settlement of Quay decades ago. The fire was reported shortly before 6 a.m. Oct. 20, and flames already had engulfed the structure by the time firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported, and no one was home at the time. Nothing was left standing but...
Samhain was an important ancient Celtic religious festival because it was believed the pagan gods became visible to humans that day and played many tricks on their worshipers who were fearful and offered sacrifices and gifts of every kind were to counteract the mischievous, if not outright evil, activities of those deities. Probably rightly so, Samhain is considered by some to the precursor to Halloween, which will be celebrated this Sunday. The connection between Samhain, held on Nov. 1, and Halloween came about largely because after...
A spokesman for New Mexico Natural Gas Company, which serves the Tucumcari area, said gas prices will rise this winter but was “impossible” to say how much. Natural gas utilities around the country are warning customers about price hikes, according to USA Today Network and other media outlets. “For your question about how much the prices will go up this winter, I can't speculate because it's impossible for anyone to know exactly what will happen,” Tim Korte, a spokesman for New Mexico Gas, wrote to the Quay County Sun in a recent email. “Howeve...
A student at House Municipal Schools talked about shooting up the school and slashed at another student with a pocket knife but did not injure him, according to an incident report filed with the Quay County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Russell Shafer said Monday that student was not arrested, but that the case would be referred to juvenile probation officials. It wasn’t clear whether the student was disciplined or still enrolled at the school. Attempts to reach House Superintendent Bonnie Lightfoot for comment were unsuccessful. New Mexico sta...
On this date ... 1971: A large number of Tucumcari citizens as well as the City Commissioners, Chamber of Commerce members, the City Police Department and Ministerial Alliance all urge that Saturday night be designated for Trick or Treating night and that youngsters do not go out on Sunday for Trick or Treats. “Motorists are urged to drive carefully and to watch for all the spooks that will be out on the streets, some with masks that restrict their vision.” • The Nosotros Club scheduled a concert featuring Mexican music and folklore. The Maria...
Note: Events are subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Saturday — TucumSCARY. The event will start at the First Baptist Church’s Trunk-or-Treat from 4 to 6 p.m.. Next, the Tucumcari Historical Museum will present the Pumpkin Crawl and judging of decorated pumpkins. Then, a guide/map will be handed out at the Tucumcari Train Depot to follow for a drive-by trick-or-treat route through town. Participating businesses can decorate their storefronts and hand out curbside treats as they drive by. Anyone is welcome to put up a tent to ha...
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: Pancake sausage on a stick, fresh banana, orange juice, skim or 1% milk; Lunch: Italian hoagie, grilled ham and cheese sandwich, tomato soup, carrots and celery cup, ranch dressing, fresh strawberries, skim, 1% or chocolate skim milk. Thursday – Breakfast: Blueberry muffin, string che...
The New Mexico Fire Grant Council last week announced five rural departments in Quay County will receive more than $850,000 in grants for equipment for fiscal year 2021. These are the local grant recipients, the amount and how the funds will be used: • Forrest, $35,988, personal protective equipment; • Conservancy No. 2, $125,151, personal protective equipment; • Quay, $92,296, self-contained breathing apparatus; • Bard-Endee, $300,000, firetruck; • Nara Visa, $300,000, firetruck. The council awarded more than $20 million in grants to more t...
A Tucumcari native recently was named airman of the quarter for his Air Force unit in Washington state. Senior Airman William "Billy" Sandoval, a 2017 Tucumcari High School graduate, is a maintainer on the C-17 Globemaster, a cargo aircraft. He was nominated for the honor by his superiors. Sandoval is the son of Chris Sandoval and Juana Garcia....
Weeks after President Joe Biden announced his decree that roughly 80 million workers would need to get the COVID-19 vaccine or weekly testing, many details of that order are still unknown. Business groups are rightly pushing back against an undefined, invasive mandate that could exacerbate an already tight labor market. After months of being told what they could and couldn’t do by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan companies are seeking to normalize their operations and tackle the workforce shortages so many employers are facing. This new federal...
State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg has apparently decided that if the weak and subservient New Mexico Legislature will not stand up for itself, he’ll do it for them. Eichenberg, who previously served in the state Senate, has written a court brief in support of a lawsuit filed by two senators, Republican Greg Baca and Democrat Jacob Candelaria, challenging the authority of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to spend federal relief money without going through the legislative process. This is the second time in the last few weeks that I’ve written about a ca...
Since this pandemic has upset the economic applecart and challenged the actual value of work, maybe we should consider some radical new ideas about how to compensate people. So, after being influenced by a week of workaday pleasures with a granddaughter, whose eyes are just beginning to see the magnificence of life on earth — let’s make up a utopia, where everyone lives off the generosity of each other. Instead of stimulus checks, let’s give out gratuity checks, the catch being we can only spend them on tips and bonuses. Teachers and child...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a resolution that requests a change in return-to-work provisions regarding the Public Employees Retirement Association. County Manager Daniel Zamora, who recommended the resolution’s passage, said the proposal would allow retired employees to return to work without an adverse affect on their pensions. The resolution was prompted by the struggle of many counties and municipalities to fill job vacancies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under current rules, a retiree who returns to work for a PERA a...
Logan dropped its regular-season finale at home Friday to district arch-rival Melrose by a 62-36 decision but still gained the No. 4 seed in the eight-man football playoffs that begin this week. Logan, which finished 7-3 overall and 1-3 in rugged District 2, will host Magdalena at 6 p.m. Friday. Magdalena finished 5-3 but captured the District 1 title with a 4-0 mark. The Longhorns defeated Magdalena 42-28 on the road on Sept. 10. The winner of the Magdalena-Logan matchup will play at No. 1 seeded Tatum (7-1), which has a bye, the weekend of...
Juan Anthony Cruz of Carlsbad made a 15-foot putt for an eagle on the final green to capture the championship of the Shootout at Six Shooter Siding tournament by one shot Sunday at the Robert Lumpkin Memorial Disc Golf Course at Tucumcari's Five Mile Park. And get this: Cruz is just 14 years old. Cruz overcame a mediocre second round to to shoot a 10-under-par in the third and final round to finish 23-under in the 54-hole tournament and pocket $230. DISConnect Disc Golf of Lubbock was the...
This is the kind of game it was for Dexter. Even during a busted play, the Demons scored a touchdown after officials failed to notice an on-field infraction that was part of it. Dexter also used its blazing speed to overwhelm Tucumcari 50-0 on Friday during the Rattlers' Senior Night at Rattler Stadium. The game ended via the mercy rule early in the third quarter. Doing most of the damage was quarterback Juan Fuentes, who darted for three rushing touchdowns, passed for another and returned a fum...
Facing match serve by their opponent, Tucumcari's volleyball team on Thursday turned to its two best hitters to rally for three straight points in a five-set win over New Mexico Military Institute that kept alive the Lady Rattlers' chances for a district title. Senior Madison Dysart notched a kill to tie the fifth and deciding set at 16 points apiece. Then senior Amber Owen knocked down two straight kills to secure the 25-9, 25-20, 21-25, 14-25, 18-16 victory that took two hours to complete and...
Logan’s volleyball team prevailed 25-20, 25-17, 25-12 over much-improved district rival San Jon on Saturday. The Lady Longhorns, with a 13-6 record overall, are ensconced in second place in rugged District 6 with a 4-3 mark. Melrose and Fort Sumner, both unbeaten in league play, will fight it out for the title in the next week and a half. “We played a good match largely due to cutting down on our unforced errors,” Logan coach Robert Young said of his team’s victory. San Jon coach Jaree Elliott said her squad held brief leads in each set. “But w...
House Municipal School District has four people running for spots on the school board for the Nov. 2 election. The candidates are Calvin Downey, Lori Foust, Randy Lee and Stoney Shoemaker. Lee is challenging Downey for Position 1. Foust is running against Shoemaker for Position 2. They were all given a survey with five questions about why they are running. Some answers have been edited for spelling and grammar, but they are written in the candidates’ own words. Calvin Downey Position 1 incumbent Why are you running for the school board p...
Two are running against each other for the open mayor’s position in the Village of House in the Nov. 2 election. Joe M. “Mike Patton, 72, a retired teacher from House and New Mexico Military Institute schools, and Eva Susan Harding, 82, a “retired mother” and owner of La Villa E’va and Gallery in the former House Methodist Church, are competing for the position that carries a four-year term. The current mayor, Sherman Martin, declined to run for re-election. The Quay County Sun gave Patton and Harding a questionnaire to fill out about the...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Oct. 18 to Oct. 22: • Samuel Angel Braziel, 32, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Marco Flores Trejo, 35, Mexico, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident (no great bodily harm or death) and no driver’s license. • James Morris, 49, Santa Fe, use of telephone to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or threaten. • Samuel Dan Stanton, 59, Hobbs, contempt of court. • Andrew R. Martinez, 28, Vaughn, warrant from other counties or states. • Nicole Renee Montoya...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Oct. 18 to Oct. 24: Monday • 10:15 a.m.: Domestic disturbance in 2000 block of South Fourth Street, Tucumcari. • 11:07 a.m.: Threat in 100 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. • 11:55 a.m.: Theft in 900 block of East Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. • 12:12 p.m.: Theft in 200 block of East Center Street, Tucumcari. • 12:32 p.m.: Vandalism in 900 block of South 10th Street, Tucumcari. • 2:42 p.m.: Property damage in 1500 block of East Rankin Aven...