Serving the High Plains

Articles from the November 15, 2023 edition


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  • Hayoz chosen as District 4 commissioner

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    The Tucumcari City Commission on Thursday unanimously voted to appoint C. Renee Hayoz as District 4 commissioner to serve the rest of Christopher Arias' term. Hayoz, administrator for the Quay County Family Health Center in Tucumcari, was chosen from five candidates. Arias resigned from the commission for personal reasons in September. Arias was elected to a four-year term in 2021. Hayoz would serve through 2025. Commissioners made their choice after a 30-minute closed executive session. Paul...

  • School bond issues and hospital tax pass muster

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    Voters last week approved tax questions at all four of Quay County’s public schools, including one that would lead to a new school at San Jon. A renewal of a gross receipts tax to support Trigg Memorial Hospital also passed comfortably. In San Jon, a $250,000 bond question passed by a 2-to-1 margin, with 73 voting “yes” and 38 voting “no.” The district now is eligible for a $22 million state grant to build a new school. School officials have said campus’ current infrastructure — including its boiler, plumbing and roofs — is declining. San...

  • Tucumcari voters oust 2 commissioners

    Ron Warnick, The Staff of The News|Nov 15, 2023

    In a sign that Tucumcari voters desired change, two incumbent city commissioners - including the mayor - lost decisively during local elections last Tuesday. Another race for Logan Village Board was too close to call after just one vote separated two candidates for a second and final seat. A recount appeared almost certain. In Tucumcari District 1, Jerry Lopez earned 85 votes - almost double of runner-up and fellow challenger Maria Carmen Gonzalez's 44. Incumbent Ralph Moya, who also serves as...

  • Election results

    Nov 15, 2023

    Nov. 7 election results in Quay County Asterisk (*) indicates winner Tucumcari City Commission District 1 *Jerry Joe Lopez 85 Maria Carmen Gonzalez 44 Rafael Leonardo Moya 27 Tommy L. Snapp 4 Tucumcari City Commission District 2 Paul J. Villanueva 49 *Jonathan R. Brito 70 Tucumcari City Commission District 3 *Barton C. Oglesby 79 Tucumcari Municipal Judge *Jerry P. Mares 413 Tucumcari School Board District 1 *Victor Matthew Pacheco 167 Tucumcari School Board District 4 *Heather D. Gonzales 199 Tucumcari School Board District 5 *Jehu D. Luera-Kn...

  • Definition of self is important

    Gordon Runyan, Religion columnist|Nov 15, 2023

    It can be cataclysmic when God’s plan for us forces a change in the whole way we’ve lived our lives up to that point. I’ve seen it happen several times since I was called to serve as a pastor. I have no Bible behind me when I say this, but experience leads me to assert that it’s especially difficult for men of action, or activity, to encounter a change in their circumstance that forces them to spend some time in what feels like “doing nothing.” This is because men especially are tempted to view themselves in light of what they do or accompli...

  • Seminar will show how to manage diabetes during holidays

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    The Quay County Health Council next week will offer a presentation by a doctor on how diabetes patients can manage their condition during the upcoming holidays. The presentation by Dr. Lisa Taylor of UNM’s College of Nursing will include tips on enjoying favorite holiday foods safely. She will explain how to make small changes with big effects. Taylor wants to help people with diabetes who live in rural areas. She realizes those residents may not have access to foods and other resources readily available in urban areas. This workshop will be o...

  • 911 center poised to move into former pharmacy

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    It appears the region’s emergency dispatch system will relocate into the former Bob’s Budget Pharmacy in Tucumcari after a purchase agreement is finalized. The Tucumcari Quay Regional Emergency Communications Board had a purchase agreement for the building on its agenda during its meeting Wednesday at the Tucumcari Police Department. Board President Rodney Paris said the purchase contract wasn’t ready. Paris said the building would be “a good fit for the eventual relocation of dispatch.” Paris said he anticipated the purchase agreement...

  • Pages past - Nov. 15

    Nov 15, 2023

    On this date ... 1973: It took 2 hours, 15 minutes for telegraph operator Bobbie Whiting to send a telegram with a list of 852 names of those who wished to state their support to embattled President Richard M. Nixon. The names came from Tucumcari, Bard, San Jon, Nara Visa, Logan, Cuervo, House, Wheatland, Forrest and Conchas. Copies of the telegram were sent by registered mail to U.S. Sens. Pete Domenici and Joseph Montoya and U.S. Reps. Manuel Lujan Jr. and Harold Runnells. — Southwest Motors in Tucumcari offered a free Norman Rockwell p...

  • Menus - Nov. 15

    Nov 15, 2023

    Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Egg and cheese burrito, Cocoa Puffs, cinnamon graham cracker, diced pears, orange juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Green Frito pie, ham and cheese sandwich,, pinto beans, garden side salad, pineapple tidbits, 1%, skim, chocolate skim or strawberry skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: French toast sticks, Lucky Charms, mandarin oranges, orange juice, 1%, skim or strawberry skim milk; Lunch: Meatball sub, french fries, turkey with cheese wrap, seasoned carrots, diced peaches, 1%, skim, cho...

  • Calendar - Nov. 15

    Nov 15, 2023

    • Nov. 23 — First Baptist Church Thanksgiving Day Lunch. This sit-down meal at the fellowship hall at 321 E. Center St. will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call (575) 461-2724 before Nov. 21 to order to-go or delivered meals. • Dec. 15 — Tucumcari Community Choir Christmas Cantata. The choir has a new director, Brian Wilson, and a 10-member committee to carry on after longtime director Harold Sloan retired. The free performance will be at 7 p.m. at Center Street Methodist Church, 406 E. Center St., Tucumcari. • Dec. 16 — Wreaths Acr...

  • Jail log - Nov. 15

    Nov 15, 2023

    These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Nov. 7 to Nov. 9: — Francine M. Galvan, 25, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — Pete Romero Sr., 75, contempt of court. — Brayan Ivan Munoz, 22, Guasave, Mexico, receiving or transferring of stolen motor vehicles (third or subsequent offense) and possession of a controlled substance. — Victor Manuel Martinez Lopez, 26, Phoenix, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle. — Brandon Jayrice, 47, no address listed, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer and criminal...

  • Crime-fighters need help from state lawmakers

    Albuquerque Journal, Syndicated content|Nov 15, 2023

    In a state often lacking statesmanship, two crime-fighters are emerging who are giving us hope. Listening to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman and Attorney General Raúl Torrez talk about crime, you wouldn’t know they’re Democrats. Or Republicans, or independents or anything else for that matter. Few New Mexicans outside law enforcement likely knew that police officers had been prosecuting shoplifting cases in Albuquerque’s Metropolitan Court. And their conviction rates were abysmal, only about 15%. Bregman said the old system was...

  • Campuses becoming battleground

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Nov 15, 2023

    Debates over free speech have deeply immersed themselves into the fabric of our culture over the past few years. Wild and sharp finger-pointing has gone in both directions. This month, a Cornell University junior accused of posting violently threatening statements against Jewish people on campus was held without bail after his first appearance in federal court, as he should have been. Patrick Dai, from Rochester, N.Y., has been charged with using interstate communications to post death threats. The graphic, anonymous messages posted on a Greek...

  • Republican debate shows weakness

    Michael Reagan, Syndicated content|Nov 15, 2023

    You know how sometimes when you’re going 70 mph and suddenly a stupid fly in the car starts bothering the hell out you? You know how it keeps buzzing around your head, landing on your windshield, and you have to open the window and try to shoo it out without crashing your car? Well, Vivek Ramaswamy reminded me of that fly during the Republican primary debate last Wednesday night. The brash 38-year-old easily stole the show in the third Trump-less contest. And he was dead right on a couple of issues – especially when he attacked the liberal medi...

  • Tucumcari ranchers win conservation award

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    Tom and Mimi Sidwell of the JX Ranch south of Tucumcari recently won the Leopold Conservation Award for New Mexico. The $10,000 award honors ranchers, farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in managing soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land. The Sidwells will be presented with the award Friday at the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau's annual meeting in Albuquerque. JX Ranch was a semifinalist for the award in 2021. The Sidwells have adopted grazing...

  • Xcel officials hear complaints about May outage

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    Officials from Xcel Energy got an earful from Tucumcari officials and residents dissatisfied with the utility’s response to a 19-hour power outage in May. Three Xcel officials attended a city commission work session Thursday to respond to complaints. A tornado in Curry County knocked down the only electrical transmission line that serves Tucumcari. Xcel workers took longer than expected to fire up a diesel-powered generator that provides emergency backup power for the entire city. Mayor Ralph Moya said businesses lost “a huge amount of pro...

  • County jail may go to scaled-down model

    Ron Warnick, The Staff of The News|Nov 15, 2023

    The administrator for the Quay County Detention Center and county manager said the jail likely will be converted to a scaled-down model that will lower the county’s costs. Jail administrator Johnny Reid said employees would undergo training in Roosevelt County after Thanksgiving that would give them a mandated pay raise. Reid and county manager Daniel Zamora said more county inmates are being taken to larger facilities that offer more certified services. As of that morning, there were 16 inmates in the Quay County Detention Center that soon w...

  • San Jon AD wants standard Coyotes logo

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    SAN JON — San Jon Municipal Schools’ athletic director told the school board during its regular meeting Wednesday he wants a standardized Coyotes logo for its sports teams. Bobby Kandel, who also is the volleyball coach, said he recently sorted through the school’s sports jerseys and found 10 different Coyotes designs for them. None “stand out as San Jon,” he said. Kandel said he wants to pursue a “distinctive” and standardized logo for San Jon’s teams, noting Dora and Tatum also use Coyotes as their mascot. Roy/Mosquero also uses Coyotes fo...

  • Coming strip mall includes a Subway

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    A local investment group is planning a 66 Strip Mall along South First Street that includes a Subway restaurant among its first tenants. The strip mall will be in the 2400 block of South First Street, between the Allsup’s convenience store and the Blake’s Lotaburger restaurant, said Al Patel, owner of the nearby Desert Inn motel and a principal in the mall’s investment group. Patel said the 66 Strip Mall will contain six suites of 1,500 to 2,000 square feet each. He said construction will begin in February, with a goal to have it open by summe...

  • Logan edges Melrose, wins district

    Ron Warnick, The Staff of The News|Nov 15, 2023

    LOGAN - The Lady Longhorns defeated top-ranked Melrose for the first time in two years and notched their first district championship since 2018, though they didn't know the latter until about 20 minutes after Friday's match ended. Logan, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com, prevailed in a 21-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-16, 15-13 epic in the regular season finale for both teams that took about two hours. Melrose (20-3) and Logan (17-5) each finished district play with 7-1 records. Logan athletic di...

  • Lady Rattlers win district

    Ron Warnick, The Staff of The News|Nov 15, 2023

    Tucumcari's volleyball team won its second district title in three years Thursday night, and they did it at home this time. The Lady Rattlers conquered defending district champ Ruidoso 18-25, 25-15, 25-19, 26-24 in front of an estimated 600 people, the largest volleyball crowd in many years at Rattler Gymnasium. With the fourth set tied 24-24 and the Warriors trying to force a fifth and deciding set, Tucumcari's July Lafferty executed a kill to give her team a slim lead. Next, senior Haisley...

  • THS spikers get fifth seed; Logan seeded No. 2

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    Tucumcari’s volleyball team landed the No. 5 seed in this week’s Class 3A tournament and will face a familiar foe — Ruidoso — in the first round on Thursday morning. Logan earned a No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the 1A tournament. The Lady Longhorns (17-5) will play the winner of seventh-seed Pine Hill (16-6) vs. 10th-seed Quemado (17-5) at 4 p.m. Thursday at Bernalillo High School. During a watch party at Rattler Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon, applause broke out from players and fans when the bracket for Class 3A pairings that include...

  • Tucumcari, San Jon runners compete at state meet

    Staff report|Nov 15, 2023

    Runners from Tucumcari and San Jon competed Saturday in the state cross-country championships, with the lone Rattler representative finishing in the top half of his field. Tucumcari’s Alex Bueno De La O finished the 5,000-meter course at Albuquerque Academy in 18 minutes, 39.49 seconds. That was good for 38th place of 92 runners in the Class 3A boys field. Bueno De La O will have another shot next year to make the state meet, as he is a junior. Landen Sandoval of St. Michael’s won the Class 3A boys individual title in 16:01.04, which was 12...

  • Police blotter - Nov. 15

    Nov 15, 2023

    These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Nov. 6 to Nov. 12: Monday — 9:01 a.m.: Theft in 6300 block of Quay Road AT, Tucumcari. — 9:52 a.m.: Trespassing in 1700 block of South Monroe Street, Tucumcari. — 9:58 a.m.: Arrest warrant in 100 block of East Main Street, Tucumcari. — 10:02 a.m.: Arrest warrant in 200 block of West High Street, Tucumcari. — 10:13 a.m.: Trespassing in 900 block of South Seventh Street, Tucumcari. — 1:40 p.m.: Trespassing in 2600 block of South First Street, Tucumcari....

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