Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Tucumcari High School's STEM team is one of 10 in the United States that landed a prestigious $7,500 grant and other support from the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam program to build a problem-solving, technological invention. The team's mentor, THS faculty member Tommy Evans, said he and its members knew about the grant about a month ago, but it wasn't officially announced until last week. Evans said he was informed by email of his team's selection. "I almost had tears in my eyes when were were...
Two people died Friday night after the car they were riding was struck by a freight train halfway between Tucumcari and Logan, reported a New Mexico State Police officer at the scene. A NMSP supervisor confirmed at least two people were in the car, and both had died. The accident occurred about 7 p.m. on Quay Road Ad, just off U.S. 54. The identities of the victims were not available. Rescuers were using extrication equipment on the mangled wreck more than an hour after the crash was reported....
A Chicago man died in a two-vehicle accident Saturday morning on U.S. 54 northeast of Tucumcari. According to a news release from New Mexico State Police, Ervin Burton Jr., 32, of Chicago died at a hospital after his Chevrolet Impala, partially parked in the northbound lane of the highway, was struck by a Volvo commercial motor vehicle at about 10 a.m. Saturday near milepost 329. Burton later died of his injuries and was pronounced dead by the Office of the Medical Examiner. A 27-year-old passenger in the Impala also was taken to the hospital...
The Odeon Theatre in Tucumcari last week hosted what is believed to be its first-ever movie premiere - the life-after-death drama "Next Exit," which was shot partly in Tucumcari. The film's director, co-star and producer attended other showings at moviehouses last week in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Phoenix, but Tucumcari was the first stop. Odeon Theatre general manager Christy Dominguez said it was the first time to her knowledge the circa-1935 venue ever has held a premiere, despite the city be...
The village of Logan has not been able to attract a new banking institution after New Mexico Bank & Trust is scheduled close its branch there in about six weeks. It would be the first time in more than a century the village in northern Quay County has been without a bank. Logan attorney Warren Frost, who has been a point man in the effort to find a new bank in the village, said last week he was pessimistic he would find one by the time New Mexico Bank & Trust is scheduled to close its doors ther...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Wednesday — Navajo Code Talker speech. Thomas H. Begay will talk about his experience in the Marines during World War II and how he later served in Korea. Begay is one of the last three surviving Navajo Code Talkers. The event, sponsored by Mesalands Community College as part of Native American Heritage Month, will be in the Tucumcari High School gymnasium from 10 a.m. to noon. • Friday — Helping Hands Hospice enchilada dinner. This annual fundraiser from 5 to 8 p.m. will be at t...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Apple frudel, assorted cereal, graham crackers, fresh strawberries, orange juice, skim, 1% or strawberry milk; Lunch: Ham and egg chef salad, cheesy chicken and rice casserole, mixed vegetables, cucumber, banana, skim, chocolate skim, 1% or strawberry milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Sausage and egg muffinwich, assorted cereal, graham crackers, apple juice, orange juice, skim, 1% of strawberry milk; Lunch: Turkey and cheese sandwich, cheeseburger, french fries, baked beans, romaine lettuce, fresh tom...
On this date ... 1972: Roy Rumbaugh, administrator of Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari, made his pitch to The Tucumcari News during an interview about an upcoming three-quarter mill tax levy election to help support the facility. He said it wouldn’t be a tax increase but a continuation of a current tax first approved in 1964 shortly before the hospital opened, then renewed in 1968. Rumbaugh said the tax “is desperately needed to continue services and to offset the great indigent load the hospital has.” He also said about $20,000 will be us...
I’d like you to meet my friend, Herman. He’s super nice. He mows his lawn. He waves when he sees you out and about. He watches the news, at least until it makes him want to throw a brick through the screen. He knows the world is going insane, but he doesn’t know why. His pastor tells him it’s because we’re in the End Times (and he must be right because he’s been saying it for 40 years). Apparently, this is how it must go. Herman worked hard all his life. He sent his kids to the public school because, well, that’s what one does. That’s what t...
Quay County’s number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose from six to 10 last week, which was the second straight week the region saw a significant increase. The county’s weekly coronavirus cases were as low as two in early October. New Mexico’s number of confirmed infections continued to climb, as well. The COVID Act Now website kept Quay County’s risk rating for community spread of the disease at “low.” However, Quay County’s rate of new cases rose to 121.2 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 72.7 the previous week. That was the...
Thursday was the fourth October 27th since the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill, and antisemitism is in the news once again. We are reminded that hatred of the Jewish people endures; that it flares in times of political and economic uncertainty; and that antisemitic signals from prominent people serve as beacons of hate that draw bigots into the public square — and risk drawing them into action. Just this week, one of the most famous music artists in the world — Ye, formerly known as Kanye West — was dropped...
Politicians are always promising to do things politicians can’t do. Either they believe they are magic, or they want you to believe they are. Sometimes they promise things they can’t legally do -- things that violate the Constitution -- and other times they promise to do things that aren’t possible within the laws of physics in our universe. Do they believe you are gullible enough to fall for it? Probably. Often they promise to violate economic reality, which is nearly as immutable as the laws of physics. I’ve seen them promise to cap medicat...
All year long, I’ve had a hard time getting excited about this election year. I’m just not into it this time around. This isn’t normal for me. For decades, I’ve told people that “politics is my favorite sport.” I liked the debates, the give and take, I even loved to hate the campaign commercials. But this time around, there’s just no fun in it for me. Maybe it’s the lack of a newsroom. After decades of newspapering at larger dailies with good-size newsrooms, going through an election cycle at my small weekly is a bit lonely. In my experience,...
With its road victory Thursday over district foe Dexter, the Tucumcari High School volleyball program reached a milestone. The Lady Rattlers’ 25-18, 25-13, 25-17 win was their 14th of the season, which was the most in at least 15 years and a high-water mark for coach Dana Benavidez, now in her seventh year in the program. Tucumcari volleyball’s previous best season was in 2016, when the Lady Rattlers went 13-8. That was Benavidez’s first season. Informed about the milestone on Friday morning, Benavidez said “that’s pretty amazing.” “I have bee...
The Tucumcari boys cross-country team finished sixth Friday in the ultra-competitive Class 3A District 3/4 meet at Cobre and did not qualify anyone for this weekend’s state meet in Albuquerque. The top 10 individual finishers and top three teams qualified for the state championships this Saturday. Alex Bueno De La O was the Rattlers’ top runner, finishing the 5,000-meter course at Cobre High School in 21 minutes, 21 seconds to finish 26th. Other Tucumcari runners at the meet were Creed Owen (31st, 23:07), Tyrus Jones (34th, 24:08), Julian Flo...
A young and inexperienced Tucumcari High School football team failed to earn a win this season, but the second half of a 54-16 home loss Friday to district foe New Mexico Military Institute may have provided a glimpse of brighter days ahead. After a disastrous second quarter where the Colts (5-5) scored five touchdowns on assorted Rattler turnovers or mistakes, Tucumcari (0-10) regrouped in the second half with its offense scoring two rushing touchdowns and its defense intercepting two passes...
Logan High School’s trip to the postseason was a short one, with a 48-0 loss Friday to district foe and host Melrose in the first round of the eight-man football playoffs. “Guys fought hard, and I am very proud of them,” Logan coach Dwayne Roberts said, adding it “was a night of football that just didn’t go our way.” The Longhorns also lost to the Buffaloes 46-6 on Oct. 14 during a regular-season district game. Logan, seeded sixth in the state tournament, ended the season with a 6-5 record. The third-seeded Buffaloes (7-4) travel to second-s...
I blinked, and it’s November. Along with our usual flurry of activity with jobs and life and an eclectic crew of animals, my husband Wayne and I have had the added joy of serving as commissioned pastors of First Presbyterian Church in Tucumcari. We’ve been making the trip for just about six months now. It’s a labor of love for us. We’d left our long-time church back in 2020. It’s never an easy choice to leave a church, especially when you’ve established roots. There’s a saying attributed to Sean Patrick Flanery: “Do not ask God to guide your f...
Mesalands Community College reopened its main Building A after a company eradicated mold contamination there and the college’s executive team determined it could be open to the public and students despite ongoing repairs. Mesalands President Gregg Busch during an Oct. 18 board of trustees meeting talked about the possibility of closing Building A until early 2023 due to needed reconstruction of its bathrooms after sheetrock, tiles and flooring were removed to eradicate the mold. “It was determined at the Executive meeting, the following day...
The Quay County Health Council will host a presentation Thursday by a doctor about managing diabetes with meal planning. Dr. Lisa Taylor of the University of New Mexico’s College of Nursing will focus on dispelling myths around what a person with diabetes should or should not eat. This workshop will be of interest to those newly diagnosed or have worked for years to manage diabetes. “Dr. Taylor is passionate about helping people with diabetes living in rural communities and realizes that we may not have access to foods and other resources tha...
Progress is continuing on a pipeline to take water from Ute Lake in Quay County to communities in eastern New Mexico, and officials say completion cannot come soon enough as residents of areas like Texico are seeing wells go dry. Orlando Ortega, the administrator of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, presented updates to the New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee last week. State Rep. Susan Herrera, a Democrat from Embudo, said the project could be a model for other rural...
The Tucumcari chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution gave its annual DAR Community Service Award to Diane Morency. According to a news release from the chapter, Morency was honored due to “her continued community service to the communities of Tucumcari, Logan and San Jon.” The honor goes “to people who who go out of their way and spend their time unselfishly and tirelessly helping other people and organizations often go unnoticed and unappreciated....
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Oct. 25 to Oct. 31: — Daisy Acosta, 27, Tucumcari, criminal damage to property (over $1,000). — Brian Gene Robinson, 46, Los Lunas, receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles (second offense). — Lawrence D. Theilbar, 65, Tucumcari, criminal trespass (unposted). — Devin William Apodaca, 20, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — Baljinder Singh, 27, Dublin, California, reckless driving and concealing identity. These individuals were released from the Quay County Detention...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Oct. 24 to Oct. 30: Monday — 2:49 a.m.: Domestic disturbance in 400 block of South Dawson Street, Tucumcari. — 11:36 a.m.: Threat in 1600 block of South Third Street, Tucumcari. — 4:11 p.m.: Found property at South Fifth Street and West Dehoney Avenue, Tucumcari. — 6:20 p.m.: Reckless driving at milepost 363, Interstate 40, Bard. — 9:59 p.m.: Theft in 1500 block of South Sixth Street, Tucumcari. — 11:56 p.m.: Noise complaint in 700 block of West Sunset...