Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 1567
SAN JON — The superintendent of San Jon Municipal Schools received word Thursday that state officials had approved the first phase of designing a new school for the district. The New Mexico Public Schools Facilities Authority approved an award of $4.14 million to design a replacement for the current school facility. The award included a waiver of the district’s match, meaning San Jon schools won’t have to spend any of its money on a designer. Superintendent Alan Umholtz said during the board’s meeting Wednesday the PSFA had elevated San Jon...
Measures to boost hospitals are among the top priorities for two area lawmakers when the New Mexico Legislature convenes for its 30-day session this week. On a related note, they also want funding for Quay County so it can build a new Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari. State Sen. Pat Woods (R-Broadview), whose 7th District encompasses Quay, Union and Curry counties, and state Rep. Jack Chatfield (R-Mosquero), whose 67th District includes territory in Quay, San Miguel, Curry, Union, Harding and Colfax counties, spoke on the phone last week...
In response to Jan. 8’s blizzard, Tucumcari’s city manager said she would obtain sand and salt, plus a salt spreader, to make streets more passable during future snowstorms. City manager Paula Chacon said in her report during a city commission meeting Friday she wanted to obtain a salt spreader that can be pulled behind a truck. Chacon said she also was talking to the New Mexico Department of Transportation about obtaining more material to spread on city streets during snowstorms. She said the agency spread salt on streets near Trigg Mem...
Despite her team's recent struggles and not meeting her own lofty expectations, former Tucumcari High School girls basketball star Ashley Shipley holds no regrets in playing what may be her final season at Eastern New Mexico University. The Greyhounds (5-9) had been a seven-game losing streak under first-year coach Blake Huber until a 65-61 victory Saturday over Midwestern State. Shipley, a senior, attributed several things to the recent skid during a telephone interview last week. "We have a...
The Tucumcari City Commission began a new era last week with the swearing in of three new members and the appointment of a new mayor. District 1 commissioner Jerry Lopez, District 2 commissioner Jonathan Brito and District 3 commissioner CJ Oglesby - all newcomers - each took the oath of office from Municipal Judge Jerry Mares at the start of a special meeting on Jan. 2. Lopez defeated veteran commissioner and mayor Ralph Moya during the November election. Brito ousted incumbent Paul Villanueva...
A constituent voicing concerns during a Quay County Commission meeting last week revived a longstanding issue: What to do about the historic Quay School? During the public comment portion of Thursday's meeting, Benton Greer said the long-vacant building owned by the county needed "immediate" attention. He said a fence was down, allowing cattle to roam about the grounds. He said one back window also needed to be boarded up. After the meeting, Greer said he held an interest in the site. Not only...
The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board last week approved changes in its bylaws that include an alteration to its meeting times. Future meetings still will be on the first Wednesday of each month, except with a start time of 9 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. Two members who operate motels requested the change, saying it would be easier for them to attend. Board members were told during their meeting Wednesday the city’s municipal court convenes on that morning. However, city manager Paula Chacon said she would talk to court officials about moving h...
LOGAN - If any team hopes to conquer Logan's unbeaten boys basketball team at this week's EPAC tournament, it had better slow the Longhorns' high-octane offense. The Longhorns (12-0) rang up 32 points in the first period to take control during a 97-33 non-district victory Saturday over Springer (4-7). Logan led 56-29 at intermission and held a 45-point advantage after three quarters. Logan scored almost 100 despite plenty of substitutions and a running clock in most of the second half. Springer...
LOGAN - An injury-depleted Springer girls basketball team fell victim to Logan's new, get-tough attitude during a 62-32 non-district loss to the host Lady Longhorns. Logan and Springer sported nearly identical win-loss records going into Saturday's game. But the Lady Longhorns - especially on defense - took control early. Logan surged to a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter and built on it. The Lady Longhorns led by 13 points at halftime and by 19 at the end of the third quarter....
The Lady Rattlers never gave up. The Tucumcari girls basketball team, outplayed for much of the game, overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to edge Thoreau 45-44 on Saturday in the championship game of the second annual Lady Rattler Invitational. July Lafferty, named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, scored after an offensive rebound with 1 minute, 19 seconds left to give her team the winning margin. Lafferty scored a total of 62 points during the tournament's three games....
The Tucumcari Public Schools board spurned three search firms’ offers and instead turned to an in-house team to find a new superintendent. The board during its regular meeting Dec. 18 chose assistant superintendent Dave Johnson and administrative assistant Veronica Hernandez to search for a successor to Aaron McKinney, who retires on Jan. 1 after 18 years in the post. McKinney was not present during the meeting. Johnson will be paid a $5,000 stipend to find a new superintendent. Hernandez will be paid a $3,000 stipend. Johnson said after the m...
The Tucumcari Public Schools board declined to approve or even take a vote on final readings of policy reviews regarding gender identity and reproductive or gender-affirming health care. Both items were on the agenda for the board’s Dec. 18 meeting. But when Vice President Matthew Pacheco — presiding over the meeting in place of absent President Heather Gonzales — asked for a motion on both measures, none was offered, much less a second. After the board’s inaction, audience member Slik Knapp said: “I’d like to thank the board for being resilien...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team overcame an eight-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to rally for a 66-62 victory over state-ranked Raton in the Rattlers' home opener on Thursday. Luis Archuleta scored 10 of his team-leading 19 points in the fourth quarter for Tucumcari. Julian Griego, who added 11 points and eight rebounds, scored a critical three-point play to tie it with two minutes remaining, then sank two free throws with nine seconds left to secure the victory. Kamren Apodaca...
It took almost a month, but the Lady Rattlers basketball team finally played its home opener. And what a happy home opener it was. Tucumcari took control early Thursday against a mismatched Raton squad during a 66-14 victory at Rattler Gymnasium. The Lady Rattlers scored the first 25 points of the game and didn't allow the Tigers a field goal until late in the second period. The Rattlers originally were scheduled to hold their home opener against Robertson in late November, but that was...
After struggling to find an alternate site to the doomed Mountain View School, an official with the Early Head Start program said she wants to use classrooms at Tucumcari Elementary School before a modular facility would be installed nearby. Pagie Evans, education specialist of the program, gave a presentation in front of the Tucumcari Public Schools board during its Dec. 18 meeting. She said the program serves 32 children. Evans said she’s been told that Early Head Start would have vacate Mountain View School by March. The program leases t...
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...
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...
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...
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...
An official recount last week affirmed Deanna Osborn's one-vote election victory over Wesley Brian Cox for the second and final seat on Logan Village Board. A recount also confirmed Dale Bone's five-vote victory in the Nov. 7 election over Brian Watson for the second and final seat on the San Jon school board. In the end, Osborn's 122 votes prevailed over Cox's 121 votes for the Logan village seat - the same total recorded on Election Day. Cox had been appointed to the board in the late spring a...
An overview of more than 80 properties owned by the City of Tucumcari revealed several with expired leases or a lack of documentation, including the New Mexico Route 66 Museum. Commissioners and city manager Paula Chacon discussed the tracts during a work session before their regular Dec. 4 meeting. (The meeting was rescheduled from Nov. 30 because Chacon was out of town at a conference.) Commissioners months ago had requested an inventory of such properties and had discussed putting a few up...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a $190,000 purchase contract for the former Bob’s Budget Pharmacy building to be used as a new site for the county’s 911 dispatch center. The commissioners’ unanimous vote came after a one-hour closed executive session attended by county fire marshal Lucas Bugg, Tucumcari/Quay Regional Emergency Communications Board Chairman Rodney Paris and 911 dispatch director Jamie Luaders. The 911 board recommended the purchase last month. Local appraiser Justin Knight had estimated the value of the forme...
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...
