Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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A Tucumcari man remained in the county jail after being accused of shooting another local man at the Quay Apartments last week. George J. Olguin, 61, was booked into the Quay County Correctional Center on felony charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon (great bodily harm), tampering with evidence, trafficking controlled substances and receiving stolen property. Olguin also was listed as George Holguin in the criminal complaint. The drug trafficking count, the most serious, is a...
The Logan Municipal Schools board approved and sent a letter to the state’s Public Education Department that “strongly” opposes a plan that would largely increase instruction time from four to five days a week at many rural schools. The board approved the letter unanimously during its Dec. 11 meeting. The PED is proposing revisions to school calendar requirements that would require a minimum of 180 instructional days. That would require four-day schools to have 50% of their calendars align with five-day instruction weeks. According to PED,...
SAN JON — The San Jon Municipal Schools board approved a five-year facilities master plan — a key step for the district to obtain state funding for a new school that’s now estimated to cost nearly $40 million. Ian Harmon of Northstar NM, the district’s project manager, told the board during its meeting Wednesday he estimated an architect for the new school should be selected by May, with construction to begin in 2025 and the new building being finished by late 2026. Harmon, who gave a PowerPoint presentation about the school project so far, in...
My little sister, Margaret Grace, succumbed to COVID on Dec. 22, 2020, while in a nursing home in Hazard, Kentucky, near where we spent most of my childhood and she spent nearly all her life. While I knew her first name came from a longtime family friend, I never knew where she got her middle name. My father’s sister passed away right before Thanksgiving. I don’t recall ever meeting her because she and my father were estranged over her husband, which is really sad, but I learned her middle name was “Grace” when I read her obituary. So, I email...
On this date ... 1973: Southern Union Gas Co. reported critically low pressure of natural gas in the region due to an equipment malfunction from a supplier in El Paso, Texas. The utility said it expected the low gas pressure to persist for three to four days, exacerbated by windy and cold weather. The company asked all customers to lower their home thermostats to 64 degrees. In Tucumcari, the Diamond Shamrock gas station, broom factory, Worley Mills, 7-A Feed Company and Tucumcari Public Schools closed due to the lack of natural gas. The...
Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Lunch: Chicken patty sandwich, ham and egg chef salad, ranch potato wedges, seasoned peas, fresh broccoli, ranch dressing, fruit cocktail, 1%, skim, chocolate skim or strawberry skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, cinnamon graham cracker, mandarin orange, orange juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Pepperoni pizza, garden side salad, fresh baby carrots, fresh pear, 1%, skim, chocolate skim or strawberry skim milk. Monday — No school. Tuesday — No school. Tucumcari Senior Center...
Conchas Lake set a sort of dubious recent record for meager inflow of water. Franklin McCasland, manager of the Arch Hurley Conservancy District, reported to the board of directors during its Dec. 12 meeting that just 154 acre-feet of inflow into Conchas Lake was recorded in November. McCasland said that was the lowest monthly inflow he’d seen in his 15 years as as manager. Evaporation and other losses from the lake totaled 1,749 acre-feet during the month. The lake’s elevation fell 0.3 feet, to 4,172 feet, on Dec. 12 compared to the month befo...
Four healthcare providers that serve Quay County received grants from the state’s Rural Health Care Delivery Fund. The awardees that serve the region include: — Presbyterian Medical Services for community heath workers serving Quay, Torrance, Otero, Luna, Cibola and McKinley counties; — Mental Health Resource Inc. for behavioral health serving Quay, Harding, De Baca, Roosevelt and Curry counties; — Hospital Services Corp. and American Medical Response for emergency behavioral health transportation in 28 rural counties; — MECA, LLC for autis...
City commissioners voted to raise fees at Tucumcari Municipal Golf Course, but at least two questioned whether the increases were high enough. Commissioner ultimately approved the increases during their regular meeting Thursday, but with the stipulation the fees be reviewed within a year and be compared to other golf courses in the region. City manager Paula Chacon said fees at the golf course hadn’t been raised since 2011. Many of the increases listed in the resolution ranged from less than $10 to just over $50 per year. They will take e...
Two emails caught my attention last week – one about the future, the other about the past. The future came from Mario Caswell. He’s a proud dad whose daughter will likely be seeing her name in the newspaper a lot these next few years. Caswell tells us: “My daughter Janaeh Caswell is an eighth-grader at Yucca Middle school. “They had a game Thursday against Lovington. They fell short, 33-31. But my daughter had an amazing game. “I’m a youth coach and also have coached at the Freshman Academy so I record her games and stats. “This game she fini...
The late author Maya Angelou once stated, “When people show you who they are, believe them.” Nowhere is that saying more applicable than the latest rantings of Donald Trump. The former president was asked twice during a Fox News town hall if he would rule out any abuse of power as retribution against his critics if he ends up returning to the White House. “Except for day one,” Trump responded, noting he would use his presidential powers to close the southern border with Mexico and expand oil drilling. “After that, I’m not a dictator....
We’ve got Israel looking for billions. We’ve got Ukraine begging for more billions. And the president and Democrats can’t wait another day to cut fat checks for both countries. Thank God the Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives are telling Democrats that before we dish out money to help Ukraine and Israel defend their borders, we have to defend ours first. Naturally, Democrats don’t want anything to do with that sensible deal. They’re calling it outrageous. They’re saying Republicans are bad guys who don’t care about dead Is...
Tucumcari's wrestling coach has touted Fernando Ureste all season as one of his best grapplers, and the sophomore proved it by winning the 133-pound title Saturday at the 12-team Tucumcari Rattler Invitational. But it wasn't easy. In the title match, Ureste fell behind 5-0 and nearly was pinned by Amarillo Tascosa's Izaiah Herrera in the first period. "My shots weren't there in the beginning," Ureste said. "But I thought I would be able to pull through." Ureste rallied to within 5-4 in the...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team salvaged a rough showing at the Citizens Bank Classic tournament with a 61-39 victory Saturday over Tatum in the seventh-place game. Luis Archuleta led the Rattlers with 21 points, and teammate Daymion Urioste, back on the squad last week after a football-related injury, added 15 points. Kamren Apodaca totaled eight points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots, and Jordan Rincones added seven points and eight rebounds. Tucumcari finished 1-2 at the Texico tournament and ended the weekend 2-5 overall. The...
The Logan boys basketball team improved to 8-0 on the season, but Des Moines didn’t make it easy. Brock Burns scored four points in the final minute to secure a 56-53 comeback victory Saturday at Des Moines. Burns finished with 18 points. Teammate Hayden Bruhn also scored 18 points. The Demons (6-2) led by as much as 16 points in the second quarter. “They came out in the first half and really outplayed us,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. The Longhorns closed the gap to 33-27 with a 10-0 run, including two straight buckets after steals durin...
Logan High School totaled 12 picks in the New Mexico High School Coaches Association’s all-state selections for eight-man football. Senior Brock Burns boasted a total of four selections, with his being a first-team defensive end, a first-team kicker, a first-team punter and an honorable mention quarterback. Izaiah Kneitz was a second-team pick as running back and outside linebacker. Payson Nials was a second-team selection as inside linebacker and outside linebacker. Aydin Kotara was a second-team pick as receiver and defensive secondary. D...
The Logan girls basketball team struggled during two losses last week, including a 58-46 loss Thursday at defending Class A champion and unbeaten Roy-Mosquero. The Lady Longhorns had the lead in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Blue surged late to earn the win. Desta Rose led Logan with 15 points, and Camryn Cantrell added 13. “We played hard,” Logan coach Dustin Robertson said. “We didn’t hit as many shots as we needed to beat a team of that caliber. But we seem to be progressing in the right direction. Hopefully these tougher opponen...
A Tucumcari man was charged with two counts of animal cruelty after being accused of hitting two dogs with a broomstick, including one more than a dozen times. Manuel Trujillo, 63, was charged on Dec. 11 with two counts of cruelty to animals, a petty misdemeanor. Such a charge could lead up to six months in jail or up to a $500 fine. Trujillo was detained that day on a warrant and booked into the Quay County Detention Center. According to an affidavit filed by Tucumcari Police Patrolman Elijah Huber, he was informed by animal control officer...
Removing asbestos from the long-closed Princess Theatre in Tucumcari won’t be expensive, as expected. Removing lead paint from the theater would be another matter. Members of the Princess Theatre committee learned Thursday from city manager Paula Chacon that removing asbestos from the venue would cost an estimated $37,985.02. Removing the lead paint would cost another $230,896, according to estimates from Asbestos Experts of Rio Rancho. The total of nearly $270,000 — not including gross receipts taxes — would exceed the $250,000 in capit...
The Mesalands Community College board of trustees approved property and equipment leases with the Mesalands Community College Foundation that reduced or eliminated fees for one year, saving the college nearly $50,000. The foundation’s leases approved by the board during its Dec. 12 meeting totaled $5,000 — a massive cut in such expenses for the financially struggling college. Earlier in the fall, the total due on the leases was $54,800, but the leases were not included in the college’s budget after it had cut costs earlier in the year. Mesaland...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Dec. 11 to Dec. 17: Monday — 6:49 a.m.: Accident in 34900 block of Interstate 40 east, San Jon. — 8:06 a.m.: Accident in 1900 block of South Mountain Road, Tucumcari. — 12:21 p.m.: Accident in 1100 block of South Seventh Street, Tucumcari. — 12:57 p.m.: Arrest warrant in 500 block of South Adams Street, Tucumcari. — 1:10 p.m.: Animal bite in 300 block of East Miel de Luna Avenue, Tucumcari. — 2:58 p.m.: Fight in 1100 block of South Seventh Street, Tuc...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Dec. 11 to Dec. 17: — Jason Ruben Rojo, 40, Tucumcari, charge not listed. — Manuel Trujillo, 63, Tucumcari, two counts of cruelty to animals. — George Jeronimo Olguin, 61, Tucumcari, aggravated battery (deadly weapon), trafficking controlled substances (narcotic or meth; first offense), felony tampering with evidence and receiving stolen property (retain; over $500). — Cordell Keith Liner, 32, Detroit, aggravated driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor...