Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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With snow swirling outside, the Quay County Commission openly wondered Monday morning what would happen to stranded travelers if Interstate 40 closed because of a winter storm and motels and emergency shelters were limited in their capacities to house them due to COVID-19 restrictions. County Emergency coordinator Daniel Zamora said his plan was to set up at least three emergency shelters that would hold about 100 people each, though he acknowledged that was down from typical capacity of 300 or more. He said each shelter would contain masks...
The New Mexico Department of Health on Sunday reported six new cases of coronavirus in Quay County, the largest increase since a similar number was reported Oct. 20. Five of the cases were in the Tucumcari ZIP code, while the sixth was in McAlister. Five women and one man were affected. The age breakdowns were three age 50 to 59, one age 30 to 39, one age 40 to 49 and one age 60 to 69, according to the DOH website. The numbers by ZIP code since the pandemic began is 67 in Tucumcari, 36 in Logan, five in San Jon, three in McAlister and one in Gr...
Tucumcari continues to be entitled to up to 6,000 acre-feet of water from Ute Lake and agrees to pay $9,000 to the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer to preserve rights to that water for one year under terms of a joint powers agreement the city commission approved Thursday. The agreement has been in effect since 1995. Other participants in the pact who are united as the Ute Reservoir Water Commission include Quay County, San Jon and Logan, as well as Clovis, Portales and other communities in Curry and Roosevelt counties. Tucumcari’s 6...
Quay County set a record for early voting numbers with more than week to go, and the county's clerk anticipates record turnout overall when all the votes are tallied Election Day next Tuesday. By the end of the day Friday, the Quay County Clerk's Office had recorded 1,737 early votes, surpassing the previous record of 1,720 during the 2016 general election. Adding 648 absentee ballots turned in so far Friday, the county's voter turnout already had passed the 39% mark. According to records kept b...
Tucumcari Public Schools submitted projections to the state that reflect about a 10% drop in enrollment during the 2021-2022 school year largely because of COVID-19. However, the district’s superintendent said he’ll request the same funding because he anticipates a bounce-back in student numbers when the pandemic ends. The school board last week learned during reports from superintendent Aaron McKinney that TPS projects a total enrollment of 892 during the next school year. Documents submitted to the New Mexico Public Education Department rev...
We’re in some very scary times, but they have little to do with Halloween other than changing how we’re celebrating it this year. Hopefully, that’ll be temporary and the effects of COVID-19 won’t last much longer because many people are living in fear of their economic future. The outcome of the current election is even more scary because it’ll have a much longer influence on our country’s future. So, if you haven’t already done so, without regard to your political views, it’s imperative you express your preferences by voting to have any hop...
Tucumcari Mayor Ruth Ann Litchfield participated Friday in a listening session presided over by New Mexico’s senior U.S. senator that urged additional federal relief from the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) heard from five New Mexico residents, including Litchfield, during a teleconference. Litchfield said many of Tucumcari’s businesses are struggling because of a lack of tourism caused by the pandemic. She noted many nail and beauty salon workers are paid by commission and thus aren’t eligible for previously enacted feder...
On this date ... 1970: A Logan man was killed when his pickup truck went off a high bluff east of town at the Canadian River. His body was found by his brother-in-law in the wreckage at the bottom of the 250-foot-tall bluff. The vehicle landed in 1 ? feet of water. • An open house was held at the new Tucumcari Junior High School, which opened on Fifth Street earlier this fall. • The Odeon Theater was screening “Chisum,” a western drama starring John Wayne, Forrest Tucker and Ben Johnson. It was a fictionalized version of events from the Lin...
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: Bagel-fuls, raisins, tropical punch juice, milk; Lunch: Hamburger, potato smiles, lettuce salad, fresh tomatoes, dill pickle chip, pineapple t...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Friday — 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. • Saturday — Curbside Trick-or-Treat. The Mesalands Dinosau...
More school districts and one charter school have joined a lawsuit against Education Secretary Ryan Stewart and the New Mexico Public Education Department. According to joint news release Friday written by plaintiffs and attorneys, recently joining the suit are Carrizozo, Eunice, Fort Sumner, Clayton, Hondo Valley, Floyd, Mosquero, Roy and Truth or Consequences school districts, along with Mission Achievement and Success Charter Schools. The lawsuit filed in Santa Fe District Court early October included Gallup-McKinley County Schools as the...
Dr. Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari is restricting visits during an upsurge of coronavirus cases in the state. “We understand the importance of patients having access to their loved ones while receiving care at our hospitals; however, we must also allow put safeguards into effect that ensure the safety of our patients and workforce,” a news release Thursday from the hospital stated. Effective Oct. 22, Trigg Memorial Hospital was not allowing visitors. Exceptions include the following: • Children admitted to the hospital • Materni...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Oct. 19 to Oct. 25: • Kevin R. Garcia, 28, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Derick Vineyard, 40, Woodward, Oklahoma, warrant from other counties or states. • Theresa G. Martinez, 35, Tucumcari, driving under the influence of drugs (first offense). • Fatima Rivas, 43, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Natalai Keys, 55, Glendale, Arizona, embezzlement of a motor vehicle (third or subsequent offense). These individuals were released from the Quay County Detention Center fr...
The prescription opioid crisis that has taken well over 100,000 American lives and ruined hundreds of thousands more wasn’t just an accident of time or the byproduct of a dysfunctional society. It was in good part the deliberate result of unethical and occasionally illegal machinations by the pharmaceutical industry, particularly by Purdue Pharma, which paid kickbacks and willfully misled physicians and the public to boost sales of its addictive signature drug, OxyContin. The company has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges in a f...
I confess that I suffer from COVID-19 fatigue. COVID-19 fatigue is just being fed up with the masking, the distancing, the constant hand-washing, the closings and the cancellations that preventing the spread of COVID-19 still requires. Now, egged on by loud, highly placed non-medical voices, some are even starting to ignore guidelines that have been proven effective. And they seem to be getting sick in droves. COVID-19 fatigue probably accounts for spikes in new COVID-19 cases in the country, New Mexico and even Quay County, where we reached...
Listen before you speak. My mother Jane Wyman taught me that sensible lesson a long, long time ago. And based on his fine performance at the second presidential debate on Thursday night, it looks like Donald Trump has finally learned that important lesson, too. The president proved he could listen to what Joe Biden said and then carefully respond to what he heard instead of instantly reacting and interrupting or talking over Biden. Of course, the president was forced to behave in part because the debate commission added a mute button that...
New Mexico's governor last week announced new health COVID-19 regulations designed to keep businesses open with the hope they soon would flatten record surges of cases in recent weeks. 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 than other states, must avoid overwhelming its health systems. “We're not in a good place right now,” she said of the rise in...
The United States Department of Agriculture recently approved the New Mexico Department of Agriculture's state hemp production regulatory plan. States that seek to have primary authority over the regulation and production of hemp in their home jurisdiction were required by the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill to complete a state plan for review and approval by the USDA. The hemp industry has potential for more job opportunities in the future, whether it's field production or greenhouse production, or...
The New Mexico Supreme Court invites residents of the state to apply to serve on a newly created Commission on Equity and Justice. The commission will study issues related to bias and inequities in the state’s justice system and promote diversity among judges and judicial employees. An order issued last week formally established the Commission on Equity and Justice as a permanent standing commission of the state Supreme Court and outlined the framework of its voting and non-voting membership. The court earlier this year formed a steering c...
The New Mexico Activities Association last week announced its revised calendar for volleyball and cross country in the wake of ongoing coronavirus restrictions, though Tucumcari’s athletic director expressed some skepticism whether sports would be played in 2021. Volleyball was moved to a March 1 start date, with state championships set for April 26 through May 1. Cross country was moved to a Feb. 15 start date, with state championships set for March 19-20. Like all sports, they will play condensed seasons and no non-state tournaments. The T...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees last week gave its acting president a retroactive pay raise that will remain in effect until a new president is hired. The board’s action during its Oct. 20 meeting followed a 20-minute closed session with acting president Natalie Gillard. She was given at one-time stipend of $16,759.19 for the period from July 1 to Oct. 31, plus an additional $5,000 a month until a president is hired. Board Chairman Jim Streetman noted Gillard was given a 10% raise as acting president after college President J...
New Mexico on Saturday broke another record for the most coronavirus cases in one day, while Quay County on Sunday reached the 100 mark since the pandemic began in March. The latest case in Quay County on Monday was a woman in the McAlister ZIP code age 60 to 69, according to the New Mexico Department of Health website. That brought the total to 101. The county has recorded 21 cases of COVID-19 since Oct. 14. Quay County likely will exceed the state’s two benchmarks for school reopenings of eight daily cases per 100,000 people and a test p...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from to Oct. 19 to Oct. 25: Monday • 3:24 a.m.: Accident with injuries in 32800 block of Interstate 40 west, Tucumcari. • 8:34 a.m.: Theft in 6300 block of Cherokee Street, Tucumcari. • 9:57 a.m.: Arrest warrant in 300 block of South Third Street, Tucumcari. • 11:03 a.m.: Arrest warrant in 100 block of North Seventh Street, Tucumcari. • 11:17 a.m.: Accident in 100 block of South Sixth Street, Logan. • 12:31 p.m.: Vandalism at East Laughlin Avenue and South C...