Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
Just days after wildfires burned tens of thousands of acres in northern New Mexico, Quay County Commissioners on Monday unanimously approved an ordinance that issues a burn ban for an indefinite period. County fire marshal Lucas Bugg recommended the proclamation’s passage. He said he conferred with fire chiefs of the county’s rural districts and municipalities, and all were in favor of a burn ban. Bugg said an “unimaginable” amount of land has burned in San Miguel, Colfax and Mora counties from wildfires there. He also cited the Mitchell Fire e...
Tucumcari’s city manager is stepping down from his current position but will remain employed by the City of Tucumcari in his previous roles as assistant city manager. City Manager Mark Martinez provided the Quay County Sun a copy of his resignation letter, dated March 24, that was given to the city commission. He stated would continue to serve as city manager position until a replacement is hired. “It has been quite an accomplishment for an individual that was born and raised in this town,” Martinez wrote in the letter. “This is my home an...
One of the principals for the Paulita's New Mexico food company was busy washing windows Thursday in the gymnasium of the former armory building now owned by Mesalands Community College. Alan Porter was getting the big room ready so his Rio Rancho-based company could relocate equipment and supplies at the South 11th Street site in the coming weeks and resume production of its New Mexican food by late May. Porter, who co-founded Paulita's New Mexico with his wife Paula about a decade ago, said...
A new film festival for this weekend's Tucumcari Rawhide Days was supposed to serve as a soft reopening of the city's historic Odeon Theatre, which has been closed for more than two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, because of technical problems and other difficulties, the 1936 theater won't open for several more weeks. Instead, the film festival primarily will be in the lecture hall of the Mesalands Community College's wind-energy center on South 11th Street. Odeon owners Robert...
I’ve written a lot about light lately because the Bible says a lot about light in relation to God that cannot be covered in a single article. John 1:1-5 states of Jesus, “In him was life and that life was the light of men” and, “The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (NIV Study Bible, 1985). When Jesus came as the Light of the World, God’s plan for salvation was revealed to the dark world (John 8:12; Romans 1:16-17; 16:25-27). This being said, Jesus’ closest followers were some of the most confused people on ear...
Four more cases of COVID-19 were reported last week in Quay County by the New Mexico Department of Health. The total number of the county’s confirmed cases during the previous week was three. The total number in the county since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,004. According to state epidemiology reports, Quay County’s COVID-19 case rate dropped to 3.4 new cases per 100,000 people from April 5 to April 18, compared to 4.3 during the previous period. The county remained in the yellow zone for risk, as did many other counties in New...
A TA Travel Center is being planned to open in spring 2023 on South First Street near Interstate 40 in Tucumcari. A news release from Ohio-based TravelCenters of America stated a franchise agreement had been struck to build the TA Travel Center in Tucumcari but didn’t state the exact location. City Commissioner Christopher Arias said in a phone interview last week he learned from City Manager Mark Martinez and from community development meetings the TA Travel Center would be on the southeast side of First Street’s intersection with I-40, acr...
On this date ... 1972: Perry Wells, who lives outside of city limits near Tucumcari’s east edge, said he was “pretty hot under the collar” after a city sewer line collapsed near his home, sending human waste, toilet paper and water into his home through its bathtub, commode, porch drain and onto flooring of his house. Wells said his homeowners insurance “isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on,” and the city has not claimed responsibility for the damage. • David Still of Tucumcari was named the area handicapped person of the year in New Mexico....
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 575-461-2307 or the Logan facility at 575-487-2287 for more information. Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Pancake sausage on a stick, red grapes, orange juice, skim or 1% milk; Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwich, barbecued pulled pork sandwich, roasted carrots, baked beans, watermelon, skim, 1% or chocolate skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Banana muffin, string cheese, str...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Friday-Sunday — Tucumcari Rawhide Days. The event will include a Texas longhorn show, a film festival, gunfighter show, chuck wagons, Southern Slam Dancers, biscuits-and-gravy breakfast, cowboy church, Tucumcari Historical Museum programs, cattle drive on Route 66 and more. For more details, go to tucumcarirawhidedays.com. • Tuesday — Teacher Appreciation Celebration Drive-Through Breakfast from 7 to 8 a.m. at Tucumcari Historic Railroad Plaza. • Saturday — Death, Diamonds an...
LORDSBURG — The Hidalgo County Commission has adopted a resolution officially opposing the congressional redistricting adopted by the New Mexico Legislature and signed into law by the governor. Hidalgo County is in the southwestern corner of the state. In this resolution, adopted at its April meeting, the commission expressed disappointment that the legislature blatantly ignored the recommendations by the Citizens Redistricting Committee (CRC). With the creation of its own new districts, Hidalgo County will now be placed in the same district a...
Despite the best efforts of the New Mexico Citizens Redistricting Committee to draw nonpartisan, fair districts for key state elections, the Legislature couldn’t dodge a lawsuit over redistricting. That lawsuit, which zeroed in on how New Mexico’s three congressional districts were redrawn, is going forward. A wise judge, however, ruled it’s too late to start over for the upcoming election — races for Congress will proceed using the disputed maps. But at a later date, Republicans will have the opportunity to prove their case, which alleges...
Joe Biden has done us a favor. One he didn’t intend to do and one his supporters probably haven’t noticed and wouldn’t like if they did. If America can survive Biden, in his mentally degraded condition, then it’s clear the office of president is unnecessary to the well-being of Americans. I would say it is obvious this truth can be extended to the rest of government as well, from every branch of the feral federal government down to city councils. Things that are necessary and good can be done without government, and the things “only governmen...
If you’re like me, you’ve gone through a range of emotional reactions to the pressing issue of climate change. For me, now that wildfires are raging throughout this Land of Enchantment, it’s getting personal. Years ago, when I first saw “An Inconvenient Truth,” I was alarmed but not overly worried. I wanted to believe that America could lead the world away from fossil fuels. As former Vice President Al Gore had pointed out in his thought-provoking documentary, it was possible to solve this existential problem as we had done with the “hole in...
The second and third recreational cannabis dispensaries opened in Tucumcari last week. Puff on 66 on East Tucumcari Boulevard (aka Route 66) opened last Monday, and Downtown Dispensary on Second Street opened two days later. The Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce held ceremonial ribbon-cuttings for both businesses the days they opened to the public. Buds n’ More Dispensary on South First Street near Interstate 40 was the first Tucumcari such business to open, on April 1. Jaclyn Dominguez, co-owner of Puff on 66, on Thursday estimated m...
Tucumcari senior Amber Owen recently received word she has received a $2,500 P.E.O. STAR Scholarship for the 2022-2023 school year. The P.E.O. STAR Scholarship was established in 2009 to provide scholarships for exceptional high school senior women to attend an accredited postsecondary educational institution in the U.S. or Canada in the next academic year. “This is the first time a young woman from Tucumcari has received this scholarship and we are very proud,” said Anna Zamora, a member of the Chapter D P.E.O., an acronym for Phi...
A proposed transfer of the Mountain View Elementary School property to a daycare center is proving to be more complicated than the school superintendent initially believed. Tucumcari Public Schools superintendent Aaron McKinney said during a previous board meeting last month he was looking at transferring the school on South Rock Island Street to Eastern Plains Early Head Start, which is leasing the property for $1 a year. McKinney had said he wanted to dispose of the property because it costs the district thousands of dollars per year to...
East Mountain pitcher Olivia Ford again bedeviled a shorthanded Tucumcari softball team during a 13-8 district loss Thursday at East Mountain. Ford struck out 13, walked three and allowed five hits during the Timberwolves’ victory. East Mountain improved to 16-4 overall and 3-1 in district play. Ford also led the Timberwolves to a doubleheader sweep of Tucumcari on April 5. Tucumcari fell to 7-8, 0-4. Tucumcari coach CJ Oglesby noted Ford had developed a change-up pitch since the last time his team faced her, and “it had us off balance at tim...
The Longhorns cruised to an 11-1 district victory on April 18 at Melrose in a game shortened by the mercy rule. Logan scored in four of its five innings, including five in the finale to secure the victory. Longhorns starting pitcher Kaeden Stoner allowed just three hits and four walks while striking out eight in five innings. Mason Wallin went 4-for-4 with six RBI, including a home run. Melrose fell to 6-5 overall and 2-1 in district play. Cimarron game postponed Logan’s district game Friday at Cimarron was postponed due to wildfires in the a...
LOGAN – The Logan girls and boys teams performed well at the EPAC Varsity Meet, but district rival Melrose performed better. The Buffaloes and Lady Buffaloes took team titles during the nine-team meet Saturday, solidifying their positions as state-championship contenders in Class 1A. The Melrose girls dominated the meet with 170 points, far outpacing runner-up Logan's 111 points. Melrose was paced by sprinter Jayda Brittenum, who won two events and finished second in another; and Graci Odom, w...
Down by as many as seven runs, the Tucumcari baseball team made a game attempt at a comeback but fell short in a 15-12 district loss Saturday to Dexter. Josh Griego went 4-for-5 for the Rattlers. Andrew Henderson-Clark, Johnathan Blea and Luis Archuleta each went 2-for-5. Tucumcari totaled 12 hits during the contest. But, like in several games this season, Tucumcari’s bats were slow to get going. The Rattlers trailed 11-4 at one point before rallying to tie it. Dexter then responded with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to win it. ...
The Tucumcari boys golf team last week saw its first player score under 100 during an 18-hole round at the Clovis Christian Conflict tournament at Colonial Park Golf Course in Clovis. Dylan Owen shot a 99 on the par-72 course during the five-team meet on April 19. Hobbs won the meet with a team score of 318. Tucumcari finished fifth with a 510. Other Rattler golfers were Kayden Brown with a 108 score, Marcus Lopez with a 148 and Taylor Rich with a 155. “The kids are getting better,” Tucumcari coach Justin Garcia said. “There’s tons of improve...
The Lady Longhorns dropped a 9-3 non-district decision against visiting Pecos on April 18. Logan coach Dustin Robertson said Lizzy Horner pitched all seven innings against the Lady Panthers and “did a great job.” Horner also hit a two-run, inside-the-park home run. Pecos improved to 6-5 overall. Logan fell to 0-12....
Josh McVey, Mesalands Community College’s vice president of public relations, told the college’s board of directors during its April 19 meeting that spring commencement would take place virtually for the third straight year. The graduation ceremony is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 13. Contacted by the Quay County Sun after the meeting, McVey said Mesalands’ graduation next month will be virtual “due to construction and availability issues.” “All Tucumcari venues that were large enough and within the determined guidelines were either already boo...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from April 18 to April 24: Monday — 10:10 a.m.: Civil dispute in 500 block of East Main Street, Tucumcari. — 11:14 a.m.: Domestic disturbance in 500 block of South Fifth Street, Logan. — 11:14 a.m.: Trespassing in 200 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 12:36 p.m.: Civil dispute in 200 block of East Max Avenue, Tucumcari.. — 12:43 p.m.: Theft in 2300 block of Highway 469, San Jon. — 3:02 p.m.: Civil dispute in 1900 block of South Mountain Ro...