Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 2217
Tucumcari’s police chief confirmed Wednesday a Snapchat video showing police officers with a significant amount of cash is the subject of a police investigation. One of the captions with the video stated: “This is what we do with the drug money we confiscate.” At one point the money is tossed into the air. But TPD Chief Patti Lopez said the cash wasn’t confiscated from an arrest. Instead, she said, it was money that one of the officers won while gambling at a casino. Lopez described the video as “officers making poor choices” and added: “I w...
Next week, Tucumcari residents will have the rare opportunity to experience a performance here by two classical pianists - including one who will be a future resident. Siri Saracino, a professor of piano at Luca Marenzio Conservatory of Music of Brescia, Italy, and his student, Giulia Varga, will perform a free concert and recital at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 at the Tucumcari High School auditorium. Answering emailed questions from the Quay County Sun, Saracino said the program will be about one hour. It...
The president of Mesalands Community College told the board of trustees last week he anticipates having the fiscal-year 2023 audit finished by the end of August and completing an FY2024 audit by the regular Nov. 1 deadline. “This would put us in compliance with our audits!” Allen Moss wrote in his president’s report. “I’m am hearing positive results from this audit. We will still have findings, however steady improvement on each audit is what we’re looking for.” Moss also wrote that finishing the 2024 audit by the usual deadline this year was...
New Mexico State Police arrested in Tucumcari a man accused of stealing a vehicle from Massachusetts after an advanced license plate reader system spotted the vehicle. According to a social media post by NMSP, the plate reader system had detected a stolen vehicle from Massachusetts. “The system displayed the plate number and picture of the stolen vehicle. Officers set up on Interstate 40 and waited for the vehicle to pass,” state police said. State police conducted the stop on the vehicle and took Michael Lawrence Jones, 62, into custody. Sta...
The New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration announced last week it had committed nearly $25 million to fund new correctional officers across the state, including three at the Quay County Correctional Center. The allocation will help offer the cost of new correctional officer salaries for three years. The Quay County Commission earlier this month approved a $393,750 grant agreement with the fund. Jail administrator Johnny Reid said the facility has filled 16 of 18 positions, though county manager Daniel Zamora said the grant may...
Tucumcari’s Alex Bueno De La O finished runner-up Saturday in the Clovis Invitational boys cross-country meet at Ned Houk Park. The Rattlers finished third overall in the team standings. Bueno De La O, a senior, finished the 5-kilometer course in 18 minutes, 59.96 seconds — only about 30 seconds behind his state-meet time last year. That was well behind, however, overall winner Sammy Fuentes, a senior from Clovis, who finished almost 90 seconds faster. Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said Bueno De La O actually finished third, but a Lovington runner...
The Logan High School football team began its first season in the six-man format with a 41-0 non-district victory Friday at Magdalena. Kickoff was delayed for about 90 minutes because of lightning. Statistics weren’t available, but Logan coach Dwayne Roberts said Aydin Kotara, Stratton Schoonover, Haden Judd and Mason Wallin each scored touchdowns for the Longhorns. Roberts said another three touchdowns of over 80 yards were called back due to penalties. “We looked like a team that’s just starting six-man football, but the more the game got g...
Opioid overdoses can be fatal in minutes, so it is important to act quickly and know how to use Narcan, a life-saving nasal spray that can reverse their effects. The Quay County Health Council is offering three free training sessions for the overdose medication on Sept. 5 at noon, 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. in the Great Room at Mesalands Community College. The trainings each will last about an hour and include how to identify an opioid overdose, laws that protect people trying to save a life, how to use Narcan and follow-up care of an overdose...
La Casa Verde plant nursery and produce market in Tucumcari has been put on the market, though one of the co-owners filed a civil complaint to potentially block the sale. David White, majority owner of La Casa Verde, on Aug. 2 listed the property at 724 E. Main St. on Trousdale Real Estate for $165,000. The minority owner, Steve Farmer, three days later filed a civil complaint in Quay County court, stating White is unable to comply with the terms of his contract with the property and requests...
Tucumcari High School boasts a full boys squad — including two top-flight runners — as it begins its cross-country season on Friday. The Rattlers begin the season at the Clovis Invitational at Ned Houk Memorial Park at 3 p.m. Friday. The boys team is led by senior Alex Bueno de la O, who qualified for the state meet last year and remains a dedicated long-distance runner, THS coach Tim Clark said. “I’m looking for big things from him if he stays healthy,” Clark said. “Now he has a running partner who pushes him.” That would be junior Fernan...
As National Preparedness Month begins in September, Quay County’s emergency manager urges residents to take proactive steps to ensure they are ready for emergencies. Bill Kardokus, the county’s emergency manager, stressed raising awareness and encouraging action. “Preparedness isn’t just about reacting to emergencies; it’s about being ready before they happen,” Kardokus said in a news release. “Having a plan in place can make all the difference when minutes matter.” Kardokus said residents should sign up for Nixle, a service that provides c...
C. Renee Hayoz, District 4 commissioner of Tucumcari, resigned after she applied for — and won — the assistant city manager position. Hayoz, who had been commissioner since November, submitted her letter of resignation on July 25 after the commission’s previous regular meeting. The commission late last year appointed Hayoz to fill the rest of Christopher Arias’ term through 2025. Arias was elected to a four-year term in 2021, but he resigned for personal reasons in September 2023. In a phone interview, Hayoz said she stepped down as commissione...
Tucumcari city manager Paula Chacon during a city commission meeting Thursday chided Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Lopez and a District 3 Commissioner CJ Oglesby, namely for “overstepping their boundaries” in talks with state transportation officials. During her manager’s report, Chacon said: “I need this to be on the record: I do want to talk to you all about commissioners overstepping their boundaries.” She said the commission serves on the legislative level and that the manager serves at the administrative level. She said the New Mexico Departmen...
New Mexico Gas Co., which serves Tucumcari, has been sold to a private equity management firm that pledges to increase the utility’s workforce by up to 70 people. Emera Inc., based in Canada, announced the sale last week of New Mexico Gas to Bernhard Capital Partners for $1.252 billion, including about $500 million in debt. The sale is subject to approval by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. The sale is expected to close in late 2025. Jeff Jenkins, founder and partner of Bernhard Capital Partners, stated in a news release he c...
About a dozen people attended a workshop Wednesday at the Quay County Fairgrounds to discuss ideas and fine-tune an update to the county government’s comprehensive plan, including possibly using Tucumcari’s soon-to-close old hospital as a nursing home or residential complex. Facilitators from Albuquerque-based Sites Southwest presided over the workshop. Sites Southwest also is helping the City of Tucumcari update its comprehensive plan, as well. All three of Quay County’s commissioners sat at a table to discuss ideas for updating the plan....
La Cita Restaurant in Tucumcari last week earned a $50,000 grant from the Backing Historic Small Restaurants Program administered through the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express. A total of 50 restaurants across the United States were awarded the grants. Funds are designed to help "rejuvenate, innovate and expand their legacies, ensuring their cherished legacies endure." According to the National Trust, at least $40,000 of each grant must be used for exterior...
West Texas A&M University’s chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America won its first-ever Star Chapter Award from its national organization. The award recognizes the chapter’s commitment to the society’s “highest standards,” according to the society. A member of the university’s chapter includes Jenna Lopez, a senior public relations, advertising and applied communications major from Tucumcari. To qualify, the chapter had to fulfill at least eight of 11 categories of contributions to the society, including high school outreach, c...
A Texan man died and three others suffered injuries in a two-vehicle collision Friday night south of San Jon. Anthony Gonzales, 53, of Hereford, Texas, was declared dead at the scene by the Office of Medical Examiner. According to New Mexico State Police public information officer Lt. Philip Vargas, Gonzales was driving his pickup truck north at milepost 23 of Highway 469 about 9:20 p.m. Friday when it inexplicably crossed the center line. Gonzales’ truck collided with a southbound pickup truck carrying three occupants. The three injured people...
New Mexico State Police lifted a Silver Alert for a Tucumcari-area man after he was found last week in the Oklahoma City region. NMSP issued the Silver Alert in early July for Carmel Cresenciano Jasper, 76, who had been last seen on May 30 at the Circle K convenience store on South First Street near Interstate 40 in Tucumcari. Quay County Sheriff Dennis Garcia said Oklahoma City police found Jasper in that city in good health. Garcia said he wasn't sure how Jasper ended up in Oklahoma City or...
More than 600 voters registered in Quay County may need to update their voter-registration information before the general election in November. According to a news release from the Quay County Clerk’s Office, the New Mexico Secretary of State will send a voter-address confirmation postcard to 680 voters in the county who have been identified as having possibly moved and did not update their registrations. The postcards would be sent no later than Aug. 7. State law requires the Secretary of State to send a notice to possibly relocated voters b...
A woman and her son awaiting trial this fall for their alleged roles in a 2023 fatal dog attack in Tucumcari are back in jail. This time they’re accused of felony child abuse. Mary Montoya, 52, and her son Kristopher J. Morris, 28, both of Tucumcari, were arrested on warrants and charged on Thursday on one count each of intentional child abuse (no great bodily harm). The charge is a third-degree felony that could result in three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Magistrate Judge Noreen Hendrickson ordered Montoya and Morris to be held without...
An officer for the Rattler Reunion is expecting about 400 people to descend upon Tucumcari when the big annual event begins on Thursday. Kathy Segura, treasurer of the Rattler Reunion, said in a phone interview last Friday that 150 people already had registered for the 52nd event. Segura said she expected another 200 to 300 people to register by Friday, the reunion’s first big day. “We’re excited,” she said. Registration begins at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Tucumcari Convention Center, with a meet-and-greet catered that night by Del’s Restauran...
The ballot for Quay County treasurer for November's election is blank at least temporarily after the unopposed Republican candidate suddenly withdrew last week. Quay County deputy treasurer Albenita R. Rael on July 24 officially withdrew her uncontested candidacy as the Republican candidate for treasurer for the Nov. 5 election. She was uncontested in the June primary election. No Democratic candidate filed for the position in the county, which means the ballot for that position would be blank...
The New Mexico Activities Association on Thursday inducted longtime Tucumcari High School coach and administrator Wayne Ferguson into the NMAA Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place during the second annual New Mexico High School Sports Award Show and Dinner at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Ferguson's selection to the NMAA Hall of Fame was announced in March. He is the 116th inductee into the Hall. Ferguson's NMAA Hall of Fame video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/veTeNW0qyxI. In it,...
New Mexico State University's annual field day at the Rex E. Kirksey Agricultural Science Center in Tucumcari will be on Aug. 6. It will cover topics such as forage sorghum, alternate cropping system and cattle genetic testing. This event is free. Registration for the event begins at 4:30 p.m. at the science center, located three miles northeast of Tucumcari on U.S. 54. One also can go to https://rsvp.nmsu.edu/rsvp/tucumcari to register. NMSU Associate Dean and Director of the Agricultural...