Serving the High Plains

Articles from the December 27, 2017 edition


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  • Artist adds to 'City of Murals'

    Steve Hansen, Correspondent|Dec 27, 2017

    Seamus Wray remembers that he painted his first wall mural when he was six years old. Then he got punished, but his current wall mural will bring him $10,000, he said. This is his nearly completed work on the south- and east-facing walls of Tucumcari's long-abandoned Princess Theater on Main Street downtown. Restoring the theater for community use has become a centerpiece of continuing efforts to revitalize Tucumcari's downtown area through city government and Tucumcari Main Street. Wray is...

  • West end properties focus of environmental cleanup

    Steve Hansen, Correspondent|Dec 27, 2017

    A small army of government officials, college professors, students and local officials from as far away as Manhattan, Kansas, near Topeka, are focusing talents and expertise on a patch of Tucumcari's west end that includes the city's old Shell Truck Stop. The area, which also includes two abandoned motels, will be the subject of expert advice on cleaning up environmental hazards, then developing the property through a program called Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB), sponsored by the...

  • Letter to the Editor: Trump should seek professional help

    Dec 27, 2017

    The Republican tax plan has been rushed through with no hearings, no input by affected parties, no give and take that should occur and no time to evaluate the bill by designated departments for Congress. Lowering the corporate tax rate to 21 percent to enable corporations to compete? Fact: The current effective tax rate is competitive. An effective tax rate of 21 percent would be great, but the idea is a stated tax rate of 21 percent and keep all the goodies is what this tax plan does. Do profitable corporations that have paid no taxes or less...

  • Local roundup - Dec. 27

    Dec 27, 2017

    Nara Visa man accused of sex crimes with minor A 24-year-old Nara Visa man has been accused of 11 counts of sexual penetration of a minor age 13-16 and one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor 13 to 18 years old, according to case documents filed Dec. 19 in Quay County Magistrate Court . Justin Allen Payne, 24, of Nara Visa, is also charged with one count of distributing marijuana to a minor and a count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Payne was arrested on Dec. 19 and was freed on Dec. 20 after posting bond, Quay County...

  • Confirmations expensive, past their usefulness

    Albuquerque Journal|Dec 27, 2017

    Just in time for the holiday season, here’s the perfect example of government taking more than it gives: • In March 2017, there were 53 appointees for various state boards and commissions waiting to be confirmed by the New Mexico Senate. • In December 2017, there are 69. Guess we don’t have to ask Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, what she didn’t get around to this year. But maybe in the spirit of the holidays we should consider the inability of Lopez and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, to fi...

  • Baffled by bitcoin; give me lotto

    Steve Hansen, Correspondent|Dec 27, 2017

    Holiday season financial news has been dominated by the Republicans’ tax plan and rush to bitcoins. Both leave me scratching my head. The Atlantic Monthly and Fox News agree the tax plan will mean lower taxes for just about everybody. At least next year, maybe. The mainstream media, however, say the plan is a disaster for the middle class. I don’t know who to believe. If the Republicans’ tax plan is confusing, bitcoins are baffling, but I wish I had bought a few back in January when their value was $894 per coin. On Friday, the value per coin...

  • Blessings, peace for coming new year

    Rube Render, Columnist|Dec 27, 2017

    It’s Christmas again, and it’s time for my poem, So I’m not at my office, I’m sitting at home, And scratching my head for something to write On this wintery, pre-Christmas night. At Christmas this year on New Mexico’s Plain, We had a dusting of snow but not any rain. I really enjoy a light dusting of snow, But not like Goliath from two years ago. For the last several years there’s never a doubt, That a new Star Wars movie will be coming out. This causes a need to gather the clan, To watch it to...

  • Leaving hard-knock life worth fight

    Peter Stein, Staff writer|Dec 27, 2017

    CLOVIS - Staring out from his prison cell, Nikko Nathan could see more than just metal bars. He saw two Nikkos - the Nikko he currently was, the one wasting his life, another kid from a broken home, in and out of jail since age 11; and the Nikko he could be, if only he found his niche, some positive path for his life to take. He chose the latter Nikko, gave up the street life, found his way into mixed martial arts, made it his focus. Recently, the new Nikko took one of the biggest steps an MMA...

  • Rattler teams post victories at Penasco

    QCS staff|Dec 27, 2017

    The Tucumcari Rattlers and Lady Rattlers added victories to their records Friday in games on the road against the Penasco Panthers and Lady Panthers. The Lady Rattlers kept up their winning streak with a 63-56 over the Lady Panthers. That makes 11 wins without a loss this season. The Lady Rattlers lead District 5 and are ranked second in the state behind only Eunice in Class 3A girls’ basketball standings. The Rattler boys won decisively, 78-43, leaving their record at 5-3 the Panthers at 2-8. The Rattlers outscored the Panthers in all four q...

  • Thank God for Santa

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|Dec 27, 2017

    Here’s an ear-witness account of part of a child’s bedtime prayer on Christmas night 2016: “Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for all the presents I got today (naming each one twice). Please thank Santa for bringing them. . . . In Jesus’ name, amen.” He thought of that on his own and it pleased me that he recognized God’s and Santa’s places in Christmas. A lot of “mature” Christians have a problem with Santa Claus because they see a conflict between believing in God and believing in Santa as if “believing” in anything equated it with God....

  • Water authority condemns land for pipeline

    David Grieder, Staff writer|Dec 27, 2017

    CLOVIS — Board members of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority on Thursday unanimously condemned a section of land southwest of Clovis. The action allows officials to continue on schedule with construction and development of a phase of the Ute Water Project, board members said. The condemnation — an assertion of eminent domain rights — follows two years of attempted negotiations with the property owners of a tract of land on a Curry County subdivision, ENMWUA attorney Dave Richards said. Engineers sought an easement of about four...