Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Tucumcari city commissioners discussed the city’s apparently flawed cannabis ordinance with an attorney who flagged it during a two-hour work session Thursday and will convene for a special work session next week to approve the amended law by late January. The special work session is scheduled for 4 p.m. Dec. 29, according to a notice filed Friday by City Clerk Anjelica Gray. She said the city commission can hold its first reading of the amended ordinance on Jan. 13, then a second reading Jan. 27 for final passage. Commissioners were dismayed t...
HOUSE - Incumbent Anita Allen won a card draw against challenger Steve Foust on Dec. 13 to keep her spot on the House village board after their race in the November election ended in a tie. The other tie in the village board race was decided when one of the candidates conceded. The winner between Allen and Foust was determined by a game of chance at the village's municipal building after the Nov. 2 election for councilor-at-large produced a tie of 17 votes each. A subsequent recount later in...
The New Mexico Department of Health last week reported the 26th death from COVID-19 in Quay County since the pandemic began in the spring of 2020. The latest victim was a man in his 60s who was hospitalized. About two-thirds of the county’s COVID-19 deaths have occurred since August — an indication of the Delta variant’s rapid spread throughout the region. However, tentative signs emerged that the county’s sky-high coronavirus caseloads were beginning to ebb. A total of 59 new confirmed cases were reported last week in Quay County, includi...
Teams from Tucumcari's and San Jon's high schools were among 30 winners in the recent third annual New Mexico Governor's STEM Challenge. Each student and coach on a winning team took home $500. Each team of up to 10 students designed and developed a project model to address a question posed by NMSU: "How would you use science, technology, engineering and math to make life better for your family, community, state or country?" Tucumcari's team developed a WALTR system, which stands for Worksite...
Depending on how one views it, as of the date on today’s newspaper, there are at most only three shopping days left until Christmas. I remember stores posting signs showing the number of shopping days until Christmas as a warning that time and, possibly, inventory was becoming limited. The rush to increase sales and minimize year-end inventory through Christmas shopping is so great that the shopping season starts earlier and earlier every year. This year, because of projected supply-chain issues, we were encouraged to buy early, even at the b...
New Mexico Gas Co. last week submitted a request to state regulators to raise rates in 2023 that would increase residential bills an average of $5.63 a month. The company, which serves Tucumcari, brought the request for a 9.1% rate increase to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission so it can cover higher operating costs and planned investments. If approved, the rates are anticipated to take effect in January 2023. The requested increase is for the company’s services and does not reflect increased costs of natural gas. The cost of the g...
Three people died and six others, all from Mexico, suffered injuries in a one-vehicle rollover accident Friday of a sport-utility vehicle on Interstate 40 in Tucumcari. The crash occurred about 4:55 p.m. Friday near milepost 333 on I-40 on Tucumcari’s east side, according to a news release Monday from New Mexico State Police, who are investigating. A 2002 Mercury Mountaineer driven east by a 31-year-old man sustained a tire blowout. The SUV left the roadway, hit a guardrail and rolled. Ten people were in the vehicle. Three passengers, A...
On this date ... 1971: Three reports of a theft of Christmas lights were given to police within four minutes of each other on Dec. 21. Three households on the city’s south side reported someone had taken Christmas decorations or bulbs from their homes or trees. Later that afternoon, the owner of Tucumcari Floral Co. reported someone had stolen Christmas lights, floodlights and extension cords from the front of his business. • Police received a call from West Tucumcari Boulevard about a male pedestrian from North Dakota hit by a car driven by...
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 Senior Center Wednesday — Beef stir fry, white rice, stir fry vegetables, whole-wheat roll, yogurt. Thursday — Sour cream enchiladas, Spanish rice, pinto beans, fruit cocktail. Friday — Closed. Monday — Closed. Tuesday — Cream of chicken soup, wild rice, breadstick, applesauce. Logan Senior Center Wednesday...
A gust of 76 mph east of Tucumcari was reported amid severe winds reported Wednesday throughout much of New Mexico. According to trained weather spotters for the National Weather Service, the 76 mph gust was reported nine miles east-northeast of Tucumcari. Another NWS spotter reported a 74 mph gust that day seven miles east-northeast of the city. The NWS station at Tucumcari Municipal Airport reported a wind gust of 63 mph in the late morning of Wednesday. Other gusts of 62 and 61 mph were reported there that day. Paul Lucero, Quay County’s e...
The finale for the outgoing president of the Tucumcari Public Schools board of education was a short one — a meeting of barely 10 minutes. Leif Gray, president of the board, did not run for re-election, and its regular meeting on Dec. 13 was his last. “It’s been a pleasure to get to know you all, and I’ve learned a lot,” Gray said shortly before gaveling the meeting to adjournment. Gray’s fellow board members, Heather Gonzales and Matthew Pacheco, thanked him for his service. Bo Wallace and Jerry Lopez were absent. Robert Lucero, who won the...
The true cost of President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan is emerging, and it isn’t pretty. Nor is it fully paid for, as the president and Democrats contend. The Congressional Budget Office last month issued a scoring on the plan that concluded it would add $367 billion to the federal budget deficit over 10 years. While certainly a lot of money, it wasn’t horrible for a roughly $2 trillion spending package. But then Republicans asked for a redo. They wanted the CBO to score the bill under the assumption the myriad social spending...
There can be a difference between what a person likes and what they are willing to force on others. Most of my preferences lean conservative: liberty, family, and keeping government out of my life. The difference between me and political conservatives is that I don’t believe it’s ever ethical to use government or legislation to force my preferences on others. Therefore, I can’t be politically conservative. Another difference is I’m no fan of the Constitution. A fatal mistake was made when the founders established a political government where l...
Christmas is exhausting. These days, as a man teetering on old age and living alone most of the time, I’m just not motivated to get all dressed up for these holidays. My adult kids are having their own Christmases elsewhere this year, and I’m way too busy with work anyway; I don’t have time for a big holiday. I’ll be fine with a nice nap on Christmas Day this year. Not that Christmas is without depth for me, because it still means a lot to me — both as a religious and a secular holiday. When I was growing up, Christmas Day was celebrate...
The San Jon school board last week voted to extend superintendent Janet Gladu’s contract by another year. Gladu’s contract now will expire on June 30, 2024. The vote by board members during their Dec. 13 meeting was unanimous. Her compensation will be set after the New Mexico Legislature completes its annual session and allocates education funding in early 2022. She is paid $111,300 a year. “I am very blessed to be at San Jon,” Gladu, 51, said in a phone interview the day after the meeting. “I appreciate all the support. We have a great distric...
A brother-and-sister duo were the top finishers last week in Tucumcari Elementary School's annual spelling bee. Maleah Alderete, a fifth-grader, won by correctly spelling the word "morbidity" in the 15th round of the competition on Wednesday. She outlasted eight other competitors and will advance to the district spelling bee in January. The runner-up was her brother, third-grader Massiah Alderete. The previous week, fourth-grader Quinn Terry overcame 28 challengers to be the champion of the...
The Quay County Clerk’s Office last week announced it had mailed notices to renew existing county occupational licenses. Any business located outside the City of Tucumcari or villages of Logan, San Jon and House are required to purchase or renew a license under the county’s occupation tax ordinance. The deadline to buy or renew such a license for the 2022 year is Jan. 31. For more information, contact the clerk’s office at 575-461-0510....
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Dec. 13 to Dec. 20: • Kelly D. Casteel, 44, Tucumcari, probation violation. • Willie Gomez Hearvy Jr., 34, Yuma, Arizona, contempt of court. • Samuel Angel Braziel, 33, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Ricardo Chavez, 43, Tucumcari, contempt of court and criminal trespass (public). • Travion Chavez, 22, Tucumcari, battery against a household member. • Paul Lucero, 43, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Toby Jarmillo, 65, Tucumcari, contempt of court. • Mark Douglus Padilla...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Dec. 13 to Dec. 19: Monday • 1:24 a.m.: Breaking and entering in 400 block of West Charles Avenue, Tucumcari. • 2:40 p.m.: Civil dispute in 400 block of Cheyenne Road, Logan. • 4:17 p.m.: Overdose in 1200 block of East Whitmore Avenue, Tucumcari. • 4:59 p.m.: Theft in 1200 block of South Seventh Street, Tucumcari. • 9:25 p.m.: Reckless driving at South First Street and East Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. Tuesday • 11:17 a.m.: Theft in 1900 block of South...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team finished 2-2 last week, including a fourth-place finish at the Citizens Bank Classic tournament at Texico. The Lady Rattlers (4-5), bedeviled by shooting woes, fell 53-38 to Tatum on Saturday in the third-place game of the event. Tatum seized early control of the game, leading 17-5 after the first quarter and 31-8 at intermission. "It was one of those game that we just couldn't get a shot to fall," Tucumcari coach Patrick Benavidez said. "Tatum was a solid...
The Tucumcari wrestling team finished in a surprise third place on Saturday at its 10-team Rattler Invitational tournament, the Rattlers' best finish it at least a decade. Wrestling power Las Lunas dominated the meet with 219 points in the team standings. Amarillo Tascosa (Texas) finished second with 89 points, and Tucumcari came in third with 78 points. After what he called a disappointing performance the previous weekend at St. Michael's in Santa Fe, Tucumcari coach Eddie Encinias said he was...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team salvaged a rugged week with a 37-26 victory Saturday over Chaparral in the consolation bracket of the Citizens Bank Classic tournament at Texico. In the second half, Andrew Henderson-Clark scored 15 of his game-high 24 points to lead the Rattlers, who improved to 2-6 overall before the Christmas break. "We went inside to Drew because he drew single coverage," Tucumcari coach John Span said. "We adjusted to what they were giving us." Tucumcari trailed 12-7...
Tucumcari senior Khobie Salvador was named to the second team as a defensive lineman to the New Mexico High School Coaches Association’s Class 3A all-state football selections last week. Also, Logan’s Park Strong was named to the first team at two positions in eight man-football by the association. Salvador, who played offensive and defensive tackle for the 1-9 Rattlers, also was a first-team selection at those positions in the Class 3A-4 district. Listed as 5-foot-11 and 280 pounds, Salvador played in the annual Red vs. Green All-Star Foo...
The Logan girls basketball team suffered its first loss of the season with a 53-29 non-district road loss Friday at Boise City, Oklahoma. Logan coach Glynna Strand said her team saw three of its starters on the bench barely two minutes into the game due to foul trouble. She said the Lady Longhorns were whistled for 12 fouls during that time to Boise City’s two. Desta Rose, an eighth-grader, led Logan with eight points. Boise City improved to 5-2 overall. Logan 68, Des Moines 7 Logan bounced back from its first loss the previous night with a dom...
The San Jon boys basketball team notched its first victory of the season by edging the junior varsity team at Wildorado, Texas, by a 19-18 score on Thursday. Coyotes coach John Wootton said in a phone interview he estimated Matthew Martinez was his team’s leading scorer with eight points, including the winning basket late in the game. He said Marvin Reese scored on an offensive rebound to put his team within one point before Martinez’s winning tally. After the go-ahead basket, San Jon forced a turnover to foil any sort of comeback attempt by...