Serving the High Plains

Articles from the January 13, 2021 edition


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  • Longtime county manager announces retirement

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Jan 13, 2021

    Longtime Quay County manager Richard Primrose announced his imminent retirement after an executive session Monday with county commissioners. Primrose, 68, submitted to commissioners an official letter of intent to retire after a 90-minute closed session Monday with them to discuss personnel matters, pending litigation and the possible purchase of property. Primrose's last day would be April 10, according to a copy of his resignation letter that Quay County Clerk Ellen White forwarded to the...

  • Four coronavirus cases reported Friday in county

    Staff report|Jan 13, 2021

    Four more cases of coronavirus were reported Friday in Quay County by the New Mexico Department of Health, all the Tucumcari ZIP code. Three women and one man were affected. The age breakdowns were two age 30 to 39, one age 40 to 49 and one age 70 to 79. The total in the county since the pandemic began rose to 376, with eight deaths. A total of 207 people have been deemed as recovered from the virus. The case breakdown by ZIP code since the pandemic began is 290 in Tucumcari, 51 in Logan, nine in House, eight in McAlister, seven in San Jon,...

  • Clinic admin: Vaccine request declined

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Jan 13, 2021

    The administrator of one of Tucumcari’s healthcare clinics said during a Quay County Commission meeting Monday she’s been turned down once for more shipments of COVID-19 vaccine and anticipates she also won’t get any this week, despite a sizable backlog of patients eligible for them. C. Renee Hayoz, administrator of Presbyterian Medical Services, said her East Main Street clinic received 100 doses of the Moderna vaccine shortly before New Year’s Day and quickly gave them to healthcare workers and frontline first responders. She said her req...

  • DoH announces vaccine distribution plans

    Staff report|Jan 13, 2021

    The New Mexico Department of Health on Friday announced distribution plans for the next three phases for the COVID-19 vaccine that currently includes the elderly, those with high-risk medical conditions, frontline essential workers and nursing home residents. The agency last week also announced its hotline now offers support for questions about COVID-19 vaccine registration. The department stated New Mexico moved into Phase 1B of vaccinations. That means the vaccine will be available to residents in this sequence: • Individuals age 75 and o...

  • Believers should fear God alone

    Gordan Runyan, Religion columnist|Jan 13, 2021

    Living in fear of what evil men may do is just as idolatrous as falling down in front of a statue. So what does it say about us when our churches are filled with fearful people? It says we’re not being very honest about our faith. To claim faith in Christ, and then live in fear of something else, indicates that our true object of worship may be other than what we confess on a Sunday morning. If this is confusing, it may help to remember that the word “fear” often appears in our Bibles as a syn...

  • Man jailed after high-speed chase

    Staff report|Jan 13, 2021

    A Tucumcari man was jailed in Santa Rosa after he was accused of stealing a pickup truck in Tucumcari and engaging with state police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 40 in neighboring Guadalupe County. Angelo Galvan, 24, was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer, criminal damage to property over $1,000 and driving under the influence of drugs. Three of the four courts are fourth-degree felonies that could lead up to 18 months in prison...

  • Conchas Lake closes boat ramp access

    Staff report|Jan 13, 2021

    Conchas Lake State Park has closed access to all boat ramps due to dropping water levels, resulting in safety concerns, and to prevent property damage during launching and loading of boats. Low precipitation and above-average temperatures have resulted in extremely low water levels at several state park lakes causing boat access ramps to be closed, the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department stated in a news release Friday afternoon. New Mexico State Parks is using the closure to rehabilitate and improve on the existing ramp. The...

  • Calendar - Jan. 13

    Jan 13, 2021

    Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • April 16-18 — Spay and neuter clinic. A clinic to spay and neuter pets will be sponsored by Quay County Paws and Claws Animal Rescue. More details will come later. To submit items for the calendar, call (575) 461-1952 or email: [email protected]...

  • Menus - Jan. 13

    Jan 13, 2021

    The Tucumcari Senior Center and Logan Senior Center remain closed to the public indefinitely but will deliver meals to those who qualify. Those interested in meal deliveries should call the Tucumcari facility at 461-2307 and the Logan facility at 487-2287 for more information. All area schools are on winter break for in-person instruction through Jan. 18. Tucumcari Senior Center Wednesday — Baked fish, parsley potatoes, green beans, whole-wheat bread, pudding. Thursday — Beef enchilada, squash, crackers, mixed fruit. Friday — Chicken strip...

  • Pages past - Jan. 13

    Jan 13, 2021

    On this date ... 1971: A five-man, seven-woman grand jury in Tucumcari handed down indictments against six local men, accusing them of possessing or selling marijuana, hashish or LSD. District Judge J.V. Gallegos set bond of $2,000 to $3,000 for each of the suspects. • Baum Motors of Tucumcari was advertising the give-away of a 12-inch General Electric portable television for every new American Motors car purchased there. • Former New Mexico resident “Freda” was bringing her staff of Dallas stylists as part of the Wig Wagon seminar at the Pow...

  • Local politicians condemn violence

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Jan 13, 2021

    Several local political figures uniformly condemned the violence by a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week but differed along partisan lines on its cause. Hundreds of people apparently loyal to Republican President Donald Trump barged into the Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers, who had convened to formally approve the Electoral College vote for the presidency, into hiding in an underground bunker for hours. Five people died, including a police officer. Lawmakers affirmed Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory early the next m...

  • Film crew to arrive in city next month

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Jan 13, 2021

    A film crew will arrive in Tucumcari next month to begin filming four episodes of the "Bands of Enchantment" music television show, the city manager said during a Lodgers Tax Board meeting Wednesday. City Manager Mark Martinez said Elkhorn Entertainment, based in Chicago and Los Angeles, is tentatively scheduled to begin filming at the historic Tucumcari Railroad Depot on Feb. 11 and will stay in town for two weeks. Martinez said Elkhorn originally envisioned staging the music performances at th...

  • Hong Kong raids took advantage of US dysfunction

    Los Angeles Times|Jan 13, 2021

    Dozens of pro-democracy politicians and activists in Hong Kong were rounded up around dawn last Wednesday as the U.S. Congress was preparing for a contentious fight over the Electoral College vote — a fight that would soon prompt a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters to storm the United States Capitol. The timing of the arrests was not coincidental. While our nation has been mired in political gridlock and dysfunction, authoritarians around the world have gleefully exploited the absence of American leadership as an opportunity to run rou...

  • Organized democracy prevailed Jan. 6

    Steve Hansen, QCS correspondent|Jan 13, 2021

    I had a column written about President Donald Trump’s second impeachable phone call, this time to Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. Then Jan. 6 happened. That’s when organized democracy prevailed after a delusional mob, presumptuously assuming they represented a majority, which they did not, was thwarted in an attempt to force their will on Congress. Congress then acted to officially validate the will of both the voters and the electors by certifying the election victory of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice Presi...

  • Trump's legacy tearing down Capitol

    Michael Reagan, Syndicated columnist|Jan 13, 2021

    Wednesday was a sad day for America. We watched the mob violence and lawlessness in Washington with a tear in our eye. We saw images of the Capitol stormed by hundreds of yahoos who fought with police, broke windows and forced the evacuation of a session of the U.S. Congress. At least five died in the chaos. Wednesday was also a very sad day for conservatives, the Republican Party and tens of millions of American citizens who voted to re-elect President Trump for all the right reasons. But it was a really terrible day for Donald Trump. The...

  • Auto-parts chain fined by state

    Staff report|Jan 13, 2021

    An auto-parts chain that plans to build a store in Tucumcari was fined by the state after being accused failing to follow public health regulations at its Santa Fe location. The New Mexico Environment Department entered into a settlement agreement on Jan. 4 with O’Reilly Auto Parts for alleged violations of the state’s public health order and the Occupational Health and Safety Act that resulted in an unsafe workplace at its Santa Fe store. Under the agreement, O’Reilly Auto Parts will pay $79,200 in penalties by Feb. 1. Any penalties colle...

  • Police blotter - Jan. 13

    Jan 13, 2021

    These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Jan. 4 to Jan. 10: Monday • 8:18 a.m.: Illegal dumping in 6400 block of Quay Road AR, Tucumcari. • 9:18 a.m.: Trespassing in 200 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. • 9:46 a.m.: Theft in 1000 block of Martinez Street, Logan. • 10:25 a.m.: Sex assault in 300 block of East Miel de Luna Avenue, Tucumcari. • 1:07 p.m.: Accident in 6600 block of Quay Road AR, Tucumcari. • 3:31 p.m.: Reckless driving in 3700 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari...

  • Eighth COVID-19 death in Quay County reported

    Staff report|Jan 13, 2021

    The New Mexico Department of Health on Friday reported the eighth COVID-19 death in Quay County since the pandemic began. The latest death was a woman in her 80s, according to an email from the agency. The DOH does not give the identities of those who have been infected or died from the virus. Three deaths were reported in the county in November and two in December. Three new confirmed case of the virus also were reported in the county Monday. After a relative lull in late December, Quay County has recorded 34 cases in January, including 14 dur...

  • Quay Chamber's new executive director at work

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Jan 13, 2021

    The Tucumcari / Quay County Chamber of Commerce has a new executive director while the outgoing executive director is sticking around a few more days to show her the ropes. Dominique "Nikki" Murray's first official day at the post was Jan. 4. She will replace Carmen Runyan, who announced last month her last day there would be Jan. 15 after a little less than three years at the helm. "She's been showing me everything and explaining everything well," Murray said about Runyan during a phone...

  • Motel Safari receives award

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Jan 13, 2021

    Larry Smith, owner of the Motel Safari in Tucumcari, on Thursday accepted the 2020 New Mexico Route 66 Association Heritage Award to the motel and said previous owners deserved to accept it, as well. The New Mexico Route 66 Association gave the award "in recognition of numerous renovations to the Classic Googie Style Motel, a New Mexico Route 66 landmark," it stated in a news release the day before. Smith received from association President Melissa Lea Beasley a plaque, a metal New Mexico Route...

  • Tax board recommends 'plan of attack'

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Jan 13, 2021

    The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Board on Wednesday recommended a new visitors guide, print ads or billboards, creating merchandise featuring its new logo and new directional signs in town be part of a “plan of attack” for tourism efforts using leftover funds from events canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Board members also gave a green light to City Manager Mark Martinez to pursue a short-term tourism marketing contract with the Alamogordo-based Leighton Moon firm, which designed the city’s new logo. The board formed a short list of prior...

  • Harding County in green zone; Quay backslides

    Staff report|Jan 13, 2021

    Quay County didn’t go into the coveted green zone for coronavirus risk, but one of its neighbors did. Harding County landed in the green zone by meeting the benchmarks for per-capita daily rates and test positivity rates for COVID-19 in the period from Dec. 29 to Jan. 13. That sparsely populated county saw no cases during that time period. Harding County now will have no restrictions on essential businesses and 50% capacity on indoor dining at restaurants and many other businesses for at least the next two weeks. The next evaluation will be ann...

  • Five COVID-19 cases reported in county Wednesday

    Staff report|Jan 13, 2021

    Five more cases of coronavirus were reported Wednesday in Quay County by the New Mexico Department of Health. Four of the cases were in the Tucumcari ZIP code, with another in the Grady ZIP code, part of which extends into Quay County. Five females were affected in the latest counts. The age breakdowns were one up to age 10, one age 20 to 29, two age 60 to 69 and one age 70 to 79. The total in the county since the pandemic began rose to 372, with eight deaths. A total of 204 people have been deemed as recovered from the virus. The case...

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