Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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The Quay County Commission during a special meeting the afternoon of Nov. 12 formally approved the canvass of the Nov. 5 election results, which finalized close victories of two incumbents in House Municipal Schools board of education races. In House Position 4, incumbent William Runyan defeated challenger Wendy Green-Grisby 39 votes to 35. Two Quay County voters who cast provisional ballots had voted for Green-Grisby, but it wasn't enough to flip the results. In House Position 5, incumbent...
ENDEE - Operators at Russell's Travel Center aren't the only ones hoping an ongoing replacement of an aged overpass over Interstate 40 finishes as quickly as possible. Quay County road officials are hoping it wraps up soon, as well. Construction on the overpass at Exit 369 at the truck stop where Highways 93 and 392 converge began a few weeks ago. The work forced the closing of about a mile of I-40, but traffic in both directions has been allowed to go through the area - albeit slowly - on the...
An annual enrollment report showed Mesalands Community College saw a small decrease in headcounts and full-time equivalency students in 2018-2019 compared to the previous year. Aaron Kennedy, vice president of student affairs, presented the report during the college’s regular board of trustees meeting Nov. 12. The headcount of students fell from 2,549 in 2017-2018 to 2,483 the following year, a 2.6% decline. The decline occurred after five straight years of increases. The number of full-time equivalency students dropped from 1,123 to 1,072 d...
A Tucumcari man was booked into the Quay County jail on three felony complaints after being accused of twice punching a woman, including once when she was carrying a child, and made threats with firearms and a baseball bat. Marc Michael Hazelton, 40, was charged with child abuse (first offense; placed in a dangerous situation), two counts of aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon and two counts of battery against a household member. The child-abuse count is a third-degree felony that can lead up to three years in...
On this date ... 1969: The region’s broomcorn harvest is in full swing. The newspaper talked to Leslie Robbins, who raises the crop six miles northeast of San Jon. About 12,000 to 15,000 acres of broomcorn in the region are grown, most of it dryland-farmed. Robbins said eastern New Mexico produces as much broomcorn as any other area in the United States. • Today is Governors Day for the Tucumcari Evening Lions Club that meets at Del’s Restaurant in Tucumcari. Lions District 40X Gov. Sidney Barnard of Carlsbad was scheduled to attend. Distr...
• Wednesday — 2019 Legislative Forum. State Sens. Pat Woods and Pete Campos and state Reps. Jack Chatfield and Martin Zamora are slated to attend, and U.S. congressional staff from New Mexico has been invited, to discuss state issues from 6 to 8 p.m. A reception will follow. Mesalands Wind Research Center, 911 S. 10th St., Tucumcari. • Saturday — Christmas Raffle Dinner and Dance. Christmas might come a little early if you win the Christmas raffle by the Tucumcari Columbus Club. Tickets are $50 per person for dinner and dancing; they are ava...
Eastern New Mexico University student Maria Sepulveda of House recently was initiated into Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Sepulveda is among about 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of...
Words like “blackmail” and “coverup” have been tossed around. That might overstate what prompted New Mexico to shell out $2 million in taxpayer dollars to two groups of women who alleged discrimination and retaliation by top officials in the state Department of Public Safety — money paid as the clock ran out on the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez. But there is an element of cloak and dagger surrounding the role a secret recording of a conversation involving the governor’s husband, Chuck Franco, played in the cases. The whole sordid epis...
Impeachment was on just about everybody’s mind last week as the House of Representatives’ hearings on the subject went live. But the idea of impeachment is likely misunderstood. Some understand it to mean “kicked out of office.” Others see it as the trial about whether to kick someone out of office. With that understanding, it can be confusing. The U.S. Constitution says the House has the power to impeach, and the Senate has the right to try impeachments. In 1787, when the Constitution was hammered together, “impeachment,” according t...
Spoiler alert. The Democrats’ big dream of impeaching President Trump is going nowhere. Act I of the pathetic Trump impeachment hearings they are staging in the House for the next week was not just an obvious sham, it was a political bust that is going to backfire badly on the Democrats. There were no fireworks, no bombshells. Just boring-as-hell TV. The president’s bigger-than-Nixon crime, claim the Democrats and liberal media, was an alleged quid-pro-quo deal that he tried to pull off with Ukrainian President Zelensky — what the delud...
New taxes on rich would help reduce inequality We have someone running for president who knows what needs to be changed to benefit the majority of the citizens and the courage to present a plan. We citizens balk at huge changes even though it may be for their own benefit. We have bought into the myth that government is the problem. The evidence to disprove that is everywhere. Social Security is an outstanding example. Republicans have spread this propaganda for years. Elizabeth Warren’s plan, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, returned over $...
Carol Nash has a question. The Clovis woman perhaps best known as the pronouncer at local spelling bees for years is also the granddaughter of a Quay County newspaper publisher and a regional history fanatic. She wants to know which area communities still have evidence they were once part of a Los Angeles-to-New York aerial mail service that planned to establish itself in 1920. She has reason to believe San Jon had a landing field associated with the National Air Lines Association project....
RIO RANCHO - Not many would describe a No. 2 seed beating a No. 1 seed as much of an upset. However, a case could be made for Logan volleyball team's 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 victory over previously unbeaten Melrose in the Class 1A championship Saturday. Logan's win certainly was a surprise for many. District rival Melrose had won all four of its previous matches against the Lady Longhorns, including a trio of three-setters in dominant fashion. Melrose, carrying the No. 1 ranking in Class 1A for...
RIO RANCHO - The Tucumcari volleyball team's first trip to the state tournament in 30 years was a short but spirited one, losing four-set matches to higher-seeded Socorro and Navajo Prep in the Class 3A bracket's opening rounds. In the Lady Rattlers' do-or-die elimination match Friday afternoon at the Santa Ana Star Center, they fell to seventh-seeded Navajo Prep 12-25, 25-18, 19-25, 24-26. Tucumcari, a No. 9 seed, finished the year 11-13. Navajo Prep advanced to the semifinals before falling...
Senior Jasmine Jones, a key figure in Tucumcari's first berth in the state volleyball tournament in 30 years, signed a letter of commitment last week to attend Eastern New Mexico University in Portales and play volleyball for the Greyhounds there. Jones, a 5-foot-8 outside hitter, led the Lady Rattlers with more than 200 kills this season. She also led the team in hitting percentage, kill percentage and service aces. Tucumcari finished 11-13 on the year, qualifying for the state tourney for the...
PORTALES — The family of a girl who died in 2017 after being left in a hot car at a Portales daycare is suing the state, alleging shortcomings in training and supervision contributed to the death. The case, filed in U.S. District Court, lists Erika Tafoya, the mother of Maliyah Faith Jones, suing the New Mexico Department of Human Services, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, the former Taylor Tots Daycare and former owners Sandi and Mary Taylor for wrongful death, personal injury, loss of parental consortium and other d...
The Mesalands Community College Foundation recently received a $6,000 education grant from the Xcel Energy Foundation to enhance the Integrated Renewable Energy Program at the college. The college plans to buy a mobile training unit that will provide hands-on training to students in rural areas, with the goal of preparing students for a career in wind energy and other renewable energy fields. The Mesalands Foundation was one of four area nonprofits to receive an Xcel foundation grant. A total of $20,977 in grants was awarded to boost science,...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Egg and cheese muffinwich, cereal choice with cinnamon goldfish graham cracker, fruit, juice, milk; Lunch: Walking beef tacos, ham and cheese sandwich, Spanish brown rice, pinto beans, shredded lettuce, fresh tomatoes, fruit, milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Sausage breakfast pizza, Trix cereal bar, fruit, juice, milk; Lunch: Cheese pizza, garden salad, baby carrots, fruit, milk. Monday — Breakfast: Blueberry muffin and string cheese, cereal choice with cinnamon goldfish graham cracker, fruit, juice, milk;...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Nov. 8 to Nov. 13: • Kimberly Elizabeth Daniels, 30, Tucumcari, criminal trespassing (unposted) and no insurance. • Latoya Tanea French, 37, Tucumcari, contempt of court and two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance (narcotic drug). • Brandi Marie Johnson, 37, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Antonio Flores Lopez, 19, Tucumcari, municipal charge (not listed). • James J. Lucero, 27, Tucumcari, felony contempt of court. • Devion Mills, 27, Tucumcari,...
So Thanksgiving is at hand, the holiday that shares its name with a type of prayer. In the interest of transparency, I’ll admit I’m not great at it. This bugs me a little because I see the Bible constantly urging us to give thanks. I’ve therefore given the matter some thought, and I’ve come up with these reasons why giving thanks is harder for us than it ought to be. First, I think we’re bad at it on the one day we ought to be great at it precisely because we don’t focus on it much all the oth...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Nov. 10 to Nov. 17: Nov. 10 • 4:05 a.m.: Hit-and-run with property damage in 2000 block of South Mountain Road, Tucumcari. • 5:14 a.m.: Theft in 2300 block of Highway 469, San Jon. • 8:12 a.m.: Vandalism in 600 block of East McGee Avenue, Tucumcari. • 1:32 p.m.: Theft in 500 block of East Main Street, Tucumcari. • 11:53 p.m.: Domestic disturbance in 6400 block of Allen Lane, Tucumcari. Monday • 12:24 a.m.: Traffic accident with damage in 1700 block of Qu...