Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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New Mexico’s State Canvass Board last week ordered recounts of close races for the Logan Village Board and San Jon school board from last month’s local elections. Quay County Clerk Ellen White said her officers will begin hand-counting ballots in those races starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the 10th Judicial Circuit courtroom at the Quay County Courthouse in Tucumcari. In the Logan race, one vote separates Deanna Osborn and Wesley Brian Cox as the winner or loser for a second and final seat on the village board. In preliminary results, Osb...
An Iowa man will serve a suspended three-year prison sentence in a plea deal after being accused of seriously injuring another man in a hammer attack in February in Logan. Prosecutors offered a plea deal to the suspect on a less-serious charge after a Texas judge failed to sign a search warrant used in the investigation, thus hampering the case. Arthur Raymond Peppers, 65, of Donahue, Iowa, pleaded guilty to one felony count of aggravated battery (great bodily harm) during a Tucumcari district court hearing on Thursday. Peppers initially was...
In a little less than a month, Tucumcari Public Schools superintendent Aaron McKinney will leave the unit office for the final time - a closing chapter to an unusually long 18-year tenure. The retirement of McKinney, who turns 55 this month, officially will begin on New Year's Day. The school board is scheduled this month to pick a search firm to find a new superintendent. Assistant superintendent Dave Johnson is slated to serve as interim superintendent for a few months. McKinney, sitting for a...
Ideas for an update to the City of Tucumcari's comprehensive plan ranged from basic to fanciful, but several residents coalesced around a vision of infrastructure improvements and more trade-skill training that would boost the city's aged housing stock. Albuquerque-based Sites Southwest oversaw last Monday's discussions and assessment and visioning exercises with about 30 residents at the Tucumcari Convention Center. A future meeting regarding the comprehensive plan update is tentatively set...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Pancake sausage on a stick, assorted cereal, cinnamon graham cracker, fruit cocktail, orange juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Macaroni and cheese, turkey and cheese hoagie, steamed seasoned corn, fresh broccoli, buttermilk ranch dressing, fruit cocktail, 1%, skim, chocolate skim or strawberry skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Egg and cheese breakfast burrito, whole-grain doughnut ring, fruit cocktail, apple juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Pepperoni pizza, ham and cheese san...
• Saturday — Very Merry Tucumcari Christmas Dash. This free event by the Quay County Health Council and Tucumcari MainStreet will be from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Tucumcari Historic Railroad Plaza. It will feature a quarter-mile walk with games, hot chocolate, snacks and a free Christmas ornament for participants. • Sunday — Logan Light Parade. The parade will begin at 6 p.m., with lineup of entrants behind the Old Country Inn motel. The route will be the same as the village’s Fourth of July parade. Cash prizes will be given to the top three ent...
While public confidence in journalism remains low, surveys in recent years by the Pew Research Center and Gallup, among others, suggest that local news is faring better in public opinion. Surveys show high rates of confidence in local reporting and community information, as well as for advertising sources. Interestingly, the confidence spans age groups: It’s not just the older generations that value their local newspapers, even as more and more people look for that information online. A 2019 survey by Pew also found that much of the public w...
Donald Trump is telling us he’s a threat to democracy. We just have to listen. Earlier this month on his Truth Social website, Trump threatened to “expel” and “cast out” government workers who oppose his radical views, describing them as a “sick political class” that hates the country. The 2024 election, he wrote, “is our final battle.” Sound apocalyptic to you? The former president’s use of the words “cast out” elicited a chorus of praise from his most loyal constituency: white evangelicals. That sort of term is commonly used by evangelicals,...
Excuse me for skipping the great debate Thursday night between the governors of Florida and California. I had better things to do than watch a meaningless political debate between Red State hero Ron DeSantis and Blue State hero Gavin Newsom. Anyway, I’ve already suffered enough political pain in the last few months. I’ve watched what seemed like a dozen presidential primary debates – Republican Party exhibition games, really – starring a bunch of second- and third-stringers who haven’t made a dent in the lead of its future 2024 candidate...
The New Mexico Activities Association’s board of directors last week approved a two-year classification and realignment proposal that dropped Tucumcari from Class 3A to 2A and placed most THS sports in a district that includes regional rivals Santa Rosa and Clayton. Logan and San Jon remained in Class 1A with the new plan from mid-2024 to mid-2026, though rival Melrose was moved from its district to another in many sports. Logan also dropped from eight-man football to six-man football for two years. The district’s board reluctantly approved the...
Last season, Tucumcari - to the surprise of many - won its first district championship in more than 30 years. A dismayed Valley coach, believing his team had won the title, was reluctant to give up the trophy until the New Mexico Activities Association confirmed Tucumcari had won it. Because of that experience, second year coach Tim Clark said his Rattlers won't sneak up on district opponents this season. "I think Ruidoso and Valley will have a target on our backs," Clark said before a practice...
For Tucumcari, it was one that got away. The Rattlers basketball team saw a double-digit lead evaporate in the second half during a 57-50 loss to Newcomb in the fifth-place game Saturday of the season-opening West Las Vegas Shootout tournament. Trailing Tucumcari 32-19 at intermission, the Skyhawks turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, forcing turnovers that led to easy buckets. Newcomb also made five of its nine 3-point shots during the critical third quarter. Those treys fueled a 25-5 run in the period and gave the Skyhawks a 4...
Tucumcari junior setter Caylee Benavidez earned all-state honors for a third time in her volleyball career when the Class 3A team was announced last week by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association. Also, four players from Logan's state semifinal team earned all-state honors in Class 1A. Benavidez was a second-team all-state selection in Class 3A. She also was a second-team all-state pick as a freshman and a first-team selection as a sophomore. She led the Lady Rattlers with assists...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team’s season-opener Thursday night against Robertson was postponed due to snowy weather in northern New Mexico. The Cardinals decided Thursday morning to not make the trip to Tucumcari as heavy snow fell in the northern part of the state. Several basketball teams were delayed Thursday in arriving at the West Las Vegas Shootout tournament because of icy roads. The Tucumcari-Robertson game was rescheduled to Jan. 19. The Lady Rattlers’ season-opener instead was slated be at Texico on Tuesday evening. That game was...
After a season-opening loss, the Logan girls basketball team rebounded with two wins during the Dora Tournament, including a 51-46 victory over the host team Saturday in the consolation final. With the Lady Longhorns clinging to a slim lead, Desta Rose drove into the paint for two baskets in the final 1:15 to preserve the win. Rose totaled 17 points to lead Logan. Logan’s defense also held Dora scoreless for more than 2 1/2 minutes late in the fourth quarter. The Lady Longhorns took a lead it never would relinquish with a 10-1 run in the s...
The Logan boys basketball team won the season-opening Dora Tournament in resounding fashion, including a 78-46 victory over Roy-Mosquero in the championship game Saturday. Logan raced to a 16-0 lead in the first quarter and commanded a 36-21 lead at intermission. Mason Wallin led the Longhorns with 17 points, and Hayden Bruhn added 15. Logan won the tournament’s three games by an average of over 35 points. “Sharing the basketball, rebounding and defense were the keys to our success” at the tournament, Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. “This...
’Tis the season to be joyful! Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, we’re now reminded we should be most thankful and joyful because of the good news of great joy that the Savior had been born (Luke 2:8-14). Jesus, the Savior, was/is the greatest gift to humankind for all eternity (James 1:16-17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; John 3:16-17). Because the Christmas season is the giving season, pleas to help the needy have increased. Also for about 10 years, we’ve had Giving Tuesday that comes right after Thanksgiving and soon enough before Christmas to not in...
One of the best administrators I have ever worked with grounded every decision in the essential question: “Is this what’s best for kids?” To get to the answers, she skillfully used data as a tool for school, teacher and student growth. Whether it was tracking student behaviors, attendance rates or having teachers track classroom growth and proficiency on short cycle assessments and classroom assignments, she helped me to understand that the answers to almost any question or assumption I might make about a student could be discerned by analy...
The Tucumcari/Quay Regional Emergency Communications Board last week recommended entering into a $190,000 purchase agreement for the former Bob’s Budget Pharmacy building as a future home for its dispatch center. The action during the Nov. 27 meeting came after a closed 15-minute executive session to discuss the possible purchase. Sheriff Dennis Garcia made the initial motion for the agreement, and Tucumcari Police Chief Patti Lopez seconded. The agreement requires final approval by the Quay County Commission during its next meeting on Dec. 1...
On this date ... 1973: Faced with a continuing squabble over the status of girls athletics in New Mexico schools, the State Board of Education created a special subcommittee to look into the policies and procedures of the New Mexico Activities Association. Four women appearing before the board said the NMAA leadership had circumvented the girls division of the association in making decisions concerning girls athletic events. Elvira Vidano, girls basketball coach at Highland High School in Albuquerque, asked the board to take action “to ensure t...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Nov. 27 to Nov. 30: — Joe Ray Montano, 48, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — Camden Sandoval, 22, no address listed, probation violation. — Moses Adrian Griego, 48, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — Nephtali Pacheco, 47, Tucumcari, criminal trespass (damage) and criminal damage to property (over $1,000). — Paul A. Hare, 30, Tucumcari, battery against a household member and criminal damage to property of a household member (under $1,000). — Stephine Talarico, 29, Tucumcari,...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Nov. 27 to Dec. 3: Monday — 1:24 a.m.: Theft in 1900 block of South Mountain Road, Tucumcari. — 7 a.m.: Theft in 800 block of East Main Street, Tucumcari. — 7:40 a.m.: DUI with alcohol or drugs in 400 block of South Second Street, Tucumcari. — 9:14 a.m.: Arrest warrant in 300 block of South Third Street, Tucumcari. — 10:51 a.m.: Reckless driving at milepost 370, Interstate 40, Bard. — 2:44 p.m.: Trespassing in 400 block of East Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumca...
When the world weighs on me, I pull out a tattered cookbook and thumb through the pages. Baking therapy. The old book has recipes from decades and people long past. There’s something soothing about those pages, and revisiting family stories. I don’t know that it’s a family history so much as a hodgepodge of memories. Past celebrations. Past holidays. Past conversations. I replay conversations with my dad over and over again. When things are especially trying, I picture him in my mind and listen to his words of wisdom, or snarkiness. He was good...