Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 1751 - 1775 of 5627
An Albuquerque judge ordered the New Mexico Racing Commission to act within 90 days on whether to accept or reject Coronado Partners’ request for a racing license so it could build a track and casino in Tucumcari. District Court Judge Nancy Franchini in a ruling issued Friday afternoon affirmed Logan attorney and Coronado Partners principal Warren Frost’s request for a writ of mandamus against the commission. A writ of mandamus asks a court to compel another entity to perform its official duties. Franchini rejected arguments from com...
Undersheriff Dennis Garcia easily won the Republican nomination for Quay County sheriff, and Brian Dale Fortner prevailed in a five-way race for the GOP nod in the District 3 county commissioner race during the primary election Tuesday. Garcia overwhelmed recently retired Tucumcari police officer Herman Martinez by about a 5-to-1 margin in unofficial totals. Because no candidate filed for the Democratic nomination, Garcia almost certainly will become the county's new sheriff, succeeding the term-limited Russell Shafer. Fortner gained 403 votes...
The suspect in a fatal shooting following a spat at a Tucumcari graduation party faced additional charges, including another felony, as he made his first courtroom appearances last week. Meanwhile, relatives of the victim struggled to understand why the argument turned so deadly so quickly, especially after both men greeted each other genially the day before at a graduation ceremony. The district attorney's office on Thursday filed additional charges against Tyje Garrett, 42, of Tucumcari of tam...
Not bad for just five weeks of planning. A steady stream of people Saturday checked out the festivities of the Pinata Fiesta in the Tucumcari Convention Center parking lot despite a broiling sun and temperatures that reached 97 degrees. That night, more than 300 people bought tickets to dance to the music of Str8 Shot and Cuarenta Y Cinco in the center's air-conditioned main ballroom. The Pinata Fiesta served as a revival of the city's long-defunct Pinata Festival and a successor of the New...
The year off that Mesalands Community College's Iron Pour took in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic gave the organizers a chance to rejigger the annual fine-arts festival this year. The Iron Pour now has dedicated two days, instead of one, to pour molten metal into molds. Thursday's pouring around 7:30 p.m. will be used to fill smaller sand molds created by residents or amateur artists and will provide a different atmosphere. The second, more traditional pouring at 12:30 p.m. Friday will be for...
SANTA ROSA — Guadalupe County finally has a new extension agent. Susann Mikkelson’s first day on the job was June 1. A New Mexico native, Mikkelson comes to town by way of Tucumcari and Quay County, where she was the Family & Consumer Science extension agent for the past 2 1/2 years. She was raised on her family’s small cattle ranch in Datil in southwest New Mexico that was settled by her ancestors in 1882. Mikkelson has close to 30 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector and in small business development. That includes nonprofit management a...
A teenager’s possible threat on social media prompted Tucumcari Public Schools to cancel summer school for the day on Friday. According to a news release from New Mexico State Police, local law enforcement became aware of the possible threat about 8 a.m. Friday on an Instagram post by a 16-year-old juvenile in Tucumcari. “Through further investigation, it was determined there were no direct threats made to any of the schools in the Tucumcari area,” the release stated. “As a safety precaution, summer school in Tucumcari was canceled for the day...
On this date ... 1972: Three serious traffic accidents were reported in the region. A Memphis, Tennessee, man died in a crash two miles west of San Jon that also hospitalized his wife. Another man from Farley, New Mexico, died east of Springer in a collision with a truck. An Albuquerque man was in critical condition at Trigg Memorial Hospital after an accident five miles south of San Jon where he was believed to have suffered a heart attack. • The First National Bank was celebrating its 70th year, with female employees dressed in period costume...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Through Friday — Mesalands Iron Pour. The annual Iron Pour returns to Mesalands Community College after a coronavirus hiatus. Dozens of artists from Mesalands and elsewhere will gather to make their creations using molten aluminum. Daily studio hours at Building D are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The art show will be at the Tucumcari Railroad Museum from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday. Two pourings of molten metal will occur — one at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and the other at 12:30 p.m. Frida...
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 — Hot turkey sandwich, scalloped potatoes, Brussels sprouts, tropical fruit salad. Thursday — Chicken and mushrooms, rice, broccoli and carrots, roll, lemon pudding. Friday — Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, spinach, roll, pears. Monday — Breaded fish sandwich, tartar sauce, onion r...
The superintendent of San Jon Municipal Schools is taking a position at another unnamed school district, according to the school board’s president. Board President Frank Gibson said superintendent Janet Gladu announced she was stepping down early last week. The school district’s website also posted a job opening for the superintendent’s position on Wednesday. Gibson said Gladu told him where she was heading, “but it’s not up to me to disclose.” “She got a better job offer,” he said. “It’s more money. That’s the name of the game, isn’t it?...
Cannabis sales in Tucumcari continued to show robust growth in May compared to April, the latter which was the first month recreational marijuana could be legally sold in New Mexico. Total cannabis sales in Tucumcari were $255,109.81 during the month of May, according to data from the Cannabis Control Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. Nearly $200,000 was listed as adult-use sales. A little more than $55,000 were medical sales. That compared to $181,000 in pot sales recorded in Tucumcari in April. May’s numbers w...
Quay County saw its number of COVID-19 cases decline last week, but most of the state’s counties, including Quay, landed in the red zone for risk of the disease spreading. Ten confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in Quay County last week. That compares to 19 the previous week. In early May, the county went for two straight weeks without any cases being reported. The total number of cases in the county since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,032. Quay County’s caseload was 24.6 per 100,000 people from May 17 to May 30, with a tes...
A former Tucumcari resident accused of extreme animal cruelty and felony drug charges avoided jail time but must pay fines of $7,000 and is forbidden from owning pets for three years in his sentencing Wednesday in a plea deal. Ralph Fletcher, 32, was charged in April 2020 with drug trafficking of methamphetamine, distribution of marijuana or synthetic marijuana, extreme cruelty to animals and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer during an arrest. He pleaded guilty to all those counts — all which were felonies — except for resisting pol...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from May 23 to June 5: May 23 — 1:10 a.m.: Noise complaint in 800 block of East Rankin Avenue, Tucumcari. — 9:27 a.m.: Reckless driving at milepost 330, U.S. 54, Logan. — 9:54 a.m.: Arrest at South Seventh Street and West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 11:19 a.m.: Theft in 200 block of East Center Street, Tucumcari. — 11:30 a.m.: Theft in 200 block of East Center Street, Tucumcari. — 1:27 p.m.: Reckless driving at milepost 83, Highway 209, Tucumcari....
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from May 28 to June 3: — Charles Camerino, 32, Tucumcari, three counts of felony contempt of court. — Travion Chavez, 22, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — Francisco Galvan, 48, Tucumcari, driving while license suspended or revoked. — Tyje Ji-Tu Garrett, 42, Tucumcari, first-degree murder (willful and deliberate). — Stanley Gene Ingram, 51, Tucumcari, charge not listed. — Danny McCaughtry, 48, Tucumcari, battery. — Earl D. Mondragon, 31, Tucumcari, aggravated battery (no g...
An argument during a graduation party apparently prompted one Tucumcari man to fatally shoot another in the middle of Quay Road 63 on Tucumcari's west side on Saturday night. Tyje Garrett, 42, shot and killed Michael Arellano, 46, in the 4000 block of Quay Road 63 about 9 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release from New Mexico State Police and information from Quay County Sheriff Russell Shafer. Arellano was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead by the Office of Medical Examiner....
A Logan attorney during an online court proceeding Wednesday grilled the director of the New Mexico Racing Commission amid a lawsuit to prod the entity to award a sixth horse-racing license that might allow the opening of a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari. Logan attorney Warren Frost, on behalf of Coronado Partners that seeks the Tucumcari racino, filed a petition a writ of mandamus in December against the racing commission. A writ of mandamus asks a court to compel another entity to perform its official duties. The commission has...
Tucumcari’s city manager voiced confidence the city would have enough funds available so a contractor could repair its swimming pool and reopen it by summer 2023. City Manager Mark Martinez also explained a possible long-term plan where a grant could be available to help build a multigenerational pool within five to 10 years. During a city commission work session Thursday, Martinez said one pool company contacted by the city’s parks and recreation supervisor said it would cost $150,000 to $200,000 to replaster Tucumcari City Pool, which has...
The Pinata Fiesta on Saturday at the Tucumcari Convention Center serves as a revival of the long-defunct Pinata Festival, but it also has become a placeholder for the New Mexico Music Showcase that went dormant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scott Crotzer, executive director of the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce that is organizing the festival, made sure to give the music showcase its due during an interview last week. “Honestly, if I hadn’t had the New Mexico Music Showcase do the legwork, we would have been in much worse shape,” Cro...
A Nara Visa volunteer firefighter and his wife lost their home and belongings in a blaze Friday morning. Gary Girard, a firefighter for the Nara Visa Fire District, said they were dispatched to Tony Egerton and his wife Marjorie’s home northwest of Nara Visa at 10:42 a.m. Central on Friday. Girard said Egerton was traveling to Tucumcari when he received a call from a neighbor, asking whether he was burning anything at his property. Girard returned home to find it engulfed in flames. No injuries were reported, but two dogs died in the fire. G...
On this date ... 1972: A total of $754.80 in donations had been deposited in Citizens Bank to sheriff’s deputy Travis Haynes to help pay for his hospital costs. Haynes underwent surgery at a Lubbock hospital after being abducted by two suspects and shot in the head. The fund was started by Dr. Thomas M. Prescott, a Tucumcari physician. Haynes died of his gunshot injuries in 1984. • An advance representative for Alabama Gov. George Wallace will be in Tucumcari tonight to hold a rally in a Quay County Courthouse assembly room for the pre...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Friday-Saturday — First Christian Church rummage sale. The sale will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. 1704 S. Fourth St., Tucumcari. • Saturday — Pinata Fiesta. This event at the Tucumcari Convention Center will feature day and night entertainment from a variety of cultures, a children’s area with special activities and a petting zoo, food, mechanical bull, vendors, live music and more. The parade down Route 66 will be at 10 a.m., with free activities from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ad...
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 — Macaroni and cheese, Brussels sprouts with onions, whole-wheat bread with margarine, chocolate pudding. Thursday — Hamburger steak, garlic mashed potatoes, brown gravy, carrots, whole-wheat bread with margarine, apricots. Friday — Taco salad, buttered corn, pears. Monday — Asado,...
A Quay County man is suing Trigg Memorial Hospital after he said a physical therapist there re-injured his leg so badly that he required additional surgery and he feared amputation. Craig Brashear filed the complaint on May 16 that alleges medical malpractice, medical negligence and negligent hiring and supervision by Trigg, Presbyterian Healthcare Services that operates the Tucumcari hospital and physical therapist Jeanne Lauderdale. Brashear stated in the lawsuit he was receiving outpatient physical therapy at Trigg after surgery in June...