Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 2098
The Tucumcari Public Schools board during a special meeting Monday evening voted unanimously to hire Carl Marano to be the district's next superintendent. Marano, an assistant superintendent at Santa Fe Public Schools, has family ties to Tucumcari. His mother and brother live in the city, and his father Richard was the public-address announcer for years at Rattler football games before his death in 2021. Marano will replace Aaron McKinney, who retired on Jan. 1 after 18 years of leading the...
A federal grand jury on Thursday added criminal charges against a South Carolina man accused of fatally shooting a New Mexico State Police officer west of Tucumcari last month. The grand jury returned an indictment on Jaremy Alexander Smith, 33, on charges of carjacking resulting in death, causing death by the discharge of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, kidnapping resulting in death, being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm and interstate transport of a stolen vehicle. If...
Nearly 2,000 Xcel Energy customers in Tucumcari lost power for almost 90 minutes on Friday night. Wes Reeves of Xcel stated in an email Saturday the outage was caused by a damaged line connection near the Campbell Avenue substation in Tucumcari. “They were able to restore power after a repair was made,” he wrote. Reeves stated the outage lasted for 83 minutes for 1,989 customers in Tucumcari. Most of the outage was reported on the city’s east side....
The Logan High School girls powerlifting team finished third at the state meet Friday, powered by runner-up finishes from Abby Paris and Kyle Terry. San Jon’s Dakota Fisher also finished runner-up in her weight class during the meet at the Rio Rancho Events Center. The Lady Longhorns team finished with 17 points, behind runner-up Estancia’s 20 points and Class 1A-3A champion Legacy Academy’s 32 points. Legacy boasted three individual state champions. Terry, competing in the 97-pound weight class, lifted a total of 355 pounds in the bench press...
Tucumcari’s baseball team found itself on the wrong end of a no-hitter during a 12-0 district loss Saturday to visiting New Mexico Military Institute. NMMI starting pitcher Tegin Maloney struck out 10 in 4 2/3 innings. Reliever Luis Patton pitched the final one-third of the inning for the win. Collectively, Colts pitchers allowed just one walk — drawn by Juano Martinez. Tucumcari’s Paxton Smith also reached base when he was hit by a pitch. NMMI committed no errors. “NMMI is one of the best in 3A,” Tucumcari coach George Montano said. “They hav...
The Logan baseball team swept a non-district doubleheader last Tuesday from visiting Magdalena by scores of 11-1 and 14-8, extending its win streak to six. In the opener, the Longhorns (7-2) jumped to a 7-0 lead after two innings. Ace Kaeden Stoner allowed just two hits and two walks while fanning 10 during a complete game. Stoner also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBI. Brock Burns and Jace Jackson each drove in three runs. In the nightcap, Logan trailed 4-1 before rallying with six runs in the bottom of the third inning. The...
Tucumcari High School is on the hunt for its fourth head football coach in four years. Tucumcari Public Schools interim superintendent Dave Johnson confirmed last week that Tarik Embrack is not returning for a second season for the Rattlers program after being placed on administrative leave early this year. Embrack was placed on leave after Johnson was notified of an unspecified allegation in January. Johnson said an independent investigative firm examined the district's internal investigation...
Logan High School senior Kaeden Stoner signed an official letter of intent to join the Wayland Baptist University baseball program in Texas after this season. Logan Municipal Schools on Tuesday hosted a signing ceremony in the district's Performing Arts Center attended by his family, coaches and the student body. After signing the document, Stoner took off his Longhorns baseball cap and donned a WBU cap. Stoner, a four-year varsity player, has played a key role in two Class 1A championships and...
Logan scored its first victory over Santa Rosa in almost five years with a district doubleheader split last Monday. The Lady Longhorns won the first game 17-16 against the Lady Lions in extra innings. Trailing 16-14 after the top of the ninth inning, they rallied for three runs in the bottom half of the inning to win it. Marilyn Moreno, who went 4-for-5 during the game, delivered a two-run single to win it. Moreno totaled four RBI. Bella Coronado went 2-for-3 with three walks, two doubles and an RBI. Logan pitcher Zaiyana Grijalva struck out...
Jack Huffman of Michigan is walking across the country to raise awareness and money for disabled veterans, but his second takeaway from the journey is the generosity from fellow Americans. Huffman on Thursday had trodded 60 miles east from Santa Rosa and made it into Tucumcari that evening. During a phone interview from a room donated by the Motel Safari, Huffman had just eaten a meal given to him from Watson's BBQ. He said such kindness has been "incredible" since he began his "Sundog Run" to W...
Several Tucumcari High School athletes finished third individually at the 17-team West Las Vegas Track & Field Invitational on Saturday. Luis Archuleta finished third in the boys triple jump with a distance of 38 feet, 9 inches. He also finished fifth in the boys high jump with a height of 5-6. July Lafferty finished third in the javelin throw, with an effort of 88-10. Kirksey Smith became a third-place finisher in the girls shot put with a distance of 28-2. The Rattlers’ 400-meter relay team finished third with a time of 47.18 seconds. J...
The Logan Municipal Schools board approved a resolution opposing the state Public Education Department’s 180-day instruction rule change that would effectively end the four-day week at many rural schools. The resolution, passed last Monday, also authorizes superintendent Dennis Roch to support litigation that would challenge the PED’s rule change. “There is a profound concern that these changes will lead to a loss of local control over educational decisions and undermine the unique needs and successful practices of our rural school distr...
A sheriff’s agency in South Carolina announced 17 arrest warrants for a man suspected last month of killing a paramedic, then fatally shooting a New Mexico State Police officer near Tucumcari. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release Friday that Jaremy Smith, 33, of Marion, South Carolina, has been charged in the kidnapping and killing of South Carolina paramedic Phonesia Machado-Fore. The office stated the warrants are for these charges: — Murder — Kidnapping — Carjacking — First-degree burglary (two counts) — Possession of...
The New Mexico Environment Department announced it has submitted applications for federal grants to establish three heavy-duty charging stations and mobile hydrogen refueling stations for long-haul freight along the Interstate 40 corridor, including in Tucumcari. The approximately $250 million requested in the grant applications to the U.S. Environmental Projection Agency would be part of the Zero40 corridor, with additional charging stations in the Gallup area and one in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties. The Tucumcari site will offer clean...
Haisley Huffman won two individual events and finished runner-up in another as the Tucumcari girls track team finished a strong second Saturday at the Mario Martinez Qualifier meet at Fort Sumner. The Lady Rattlers finished with 60 points, behind only Class 1A defending champion Melrose at the 13-team meet. Huffman, a senior, easily won the long jump with a distance of 16 feet, 7 3/4 inches and the triple jump with an effort of 35-8. She is the defending Class 3A champion in both events. She also was a member of the winning 400-meter relay...
A bunch of area athletes will be competing in this weekend’s state powerlifting championships in Rio Rancho, including a few contenders for a first-place trophy. Logan junior Haden Judd, also a standout on the Longhorns’ track team, is a defending state champion in powerlifting at 148 pounds and is ranked second in the latest standings of that weight class. He’s behind only Corbin Barrera of Legacy Academy, who has lifted a total of 1,060 pounds in the bench press, dead lift and squat. Judd has lifted a total of 945 pounds. Other Logan boys...
The Tucumcari High School cheerleading squad finished fifth during the Class 3A championships on Saturday at The Pit in Albuquerque. The Lady Rattlers squad scored 75.73 points in the first performance and 62.8 points in the second for a total of 138.53. The THS girls finished just behind fourth-place Robertson and its 140.63 points. District foe Ruidoso won the state title with a total score of 162.83 points, well ahead of runner-up Cobre and its 158.63. Raton finished third with 151.6 points. THS coach Jolene Garcia said her team continues...
It’s official — Tucumcari Mountain Cheese Factory makes the best feta cheese in the United States. The company earned a second-place finish in March in the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin. That was an improvement from its third-place finish in the world in 2022. The competition is held every two years. The only entry in the feta cheese division to top Tucumcari Mountain Cheese Factory was Team Krusa from Arla Foods Krusa of Denmark, which finished runner-up in 2022. Team Krusa earned a score of 99.4 points, ahead of Tucu...
Haden Judd won five individual events, powering the Logan boys team to a team title at the 17-team Logan Varsity Meet on Saturday. Judd won the 200-meter dash (23.36 seconds), 400-meter dash (51.62 seconds), 110-meter hurdles race (16.42 seconds), pole vault (14 feet, 6 inches) and long jump (20-4). That enabled the Longhorns to edge Farwell, Texas, by 86-84 in the race for total team points. Fernando Ureste of Tucumcari won two individual events for the Rattlers — the 1,600-meter run (4:57.76) and 3,200-meter run (10:31.05). Tucumcari f...
Tucumcari had a rough week, suffering three losses at the West Las Vegas Baseball Tournament. In the tournament finale Saturday, district foe East Mountain grabbed a 9-0 lead before the Rattlers got on the scoreboard during a 12-4 loss. Tucumcari coach George Montano noted his team started slow, stranding runners on base in the first two innings without scoring. East Mountain (7-6) rapped 15 hits during the game. Tucumcari starting pitcher Kamren Apodaca and reliever Josh Griego each gave up four earned runs. “Ham started the game and threw w...
Tucumcari scored 13 runs in the final three innings to secure a 20-8 victory over Mora on Saturday and capture third place in the West Las Vegas Softball Tournament. Caylee Benavidez and Harley McKinney of the Lady Rattlers, who finished 2-1 during the weekend, each were named to the all-tournament team. Tucumcari head coach CJ Oglesby said he could have selected six players to the all-tourney team, including also Alexis Ramirez, Mia Estrada, Haisley Huffman and Kylee Carmichael. "But the play of Caylee and Harley stood out," he said. "Not...
Logan blew two late leads during a baseball doubleheader loss Friday to Gateway Christian at Roswell. In the first game, the Longhorns led 7-5 at the top of the final inning, but the Warriors rallied for three runs to win it 8-7. In the nightcap, Logan commanded a 10-1 lead in the sixth but lost it completely when Gateway scored 13 runs in the bottom half of that inning during a 14-10 loss. “Our youth and inexperience in big games showed a little yesterday,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. “We have some new pieces that we are working into...
The Logan softball team hit well but dropped a season-opening doubleheader Friday at Dora by scores of 29-23 and 20-13. For the Lady Longhorns in the first game, Camryn Cantrell went 3-for-5 hitting with a walk, a double, four stolen bases and four runs scored. Marilyn Moreno went 2-for-2 with a double and a triple and six RBI. She also reached base additional times on three walks and being hit by a pitch. In the second game, Presley Griffitt went 3-for-3 with a double and four RBI. She also was hit by a pitch and scored four runs....
The Quay County Health Council is offering free Narcan training at 5:30 p.m. April 9 at the Tucumcari Middle School Library. The training will last about an hour and will show how to identify an opioid overdose, the laws that protect citizens who are trying to save a life, how to use Narcan and and follow-up care for overdose victims. Free Narcan tests — a $140 value — will be provided to each participant. The health council also will offer free lockboxes to safety store medications or edibles in the home to keep those substances away from chi...
The Quay County Health Council will host a suicide-prevention program from noon to 1 p.m. April 10 at the San Jon Senior Center. The council has two contractors training in suicide prevention called QPR, or question, persuade and refer. The free program provides information to participants on questions to ask, appropriate response and resources available when they have friends or family members showing signs of self-harm. Death rates by suicide from 2015 to 2020 in Quay County were among the highest in New Mexico....
