Serving the High Plains

Articles from the February 22, 2023 edition


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  • MCC board appoints acting president

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Feb 22, 2023

    The Mesalands Community College board of trustees appointed Allen Moss as acting interim president last Tuesday, but not without testy opposition from executive staff who labeled the move as “retaliatory” against them and accused the board of violating its own policies. The board also approved a fiscal solvency plan of salary and program cuts for the troubled college and moved to implement them immediately. The move clears the way for the New Mexico Department of Higher Education’s plan of issuing up to $4.7 million in emergency funds for M...

  • Animal complaint calls jump after attack

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Feb 22, 2023

    Animal-complaint calls in Tucumcari nearly doubled since a fatal dog attack in the city earlier in the month. According to records kept by the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, the number of animal-problem calls handled by the Tucumcari Police Department totaled 24, plus four stray-dog calls. During the Feb. 6-12 period, a few days after the Feb. 1 attack by five dogs that killed Stanley Hartt of Tucumcari, the total number of animal-problem calls to TPD jumped to 45, with five stray-dog calls....

  • Hammer attack leads to attempted murder charge

    Staff report|Feb 22, 2023

    LOGAN -- An Iowa man is accused of beating and severely injuring another man with a hammer in a Logan car wash last week. Arthur Raymond Peppers, 63, of Donahue, Iowa, is charged with attempted first-degree murder and tampering with evidence, both felonies. The attempted-murder count is a second-degree felony that can result in up to nine years in prison and a $10,000 fine. According to online court documents, Peppers was apprehended and jailed in Dalhart, Texas. He awaits extradition back to Quay County. Peppers is accused of beating Justin...

  • Calendar - Feb. 22

    Feb 22, 2023

    • Saturday — Dog Safety for Kids. The Tucumcari Railroad Museum is hosting a free dog safety class for children with an accompanied adult from 10 to 11 a.m. Children will be taught how to keep themselves and others safe by reducing the risk of being bitten. 100 W. Railroad Ave. • Saturday — First annual Chess Tournament. This tournament is for beginner, intermediate and advanced players. Call or text (575) 815-4486 for more information. Jackalope Coffee Haus and Smoothie Bar at 211 S. Second St. in Tucumcari is hosting the event. • March 5 — Li...

  • Menus - Feb. 22

    Feb 22, 2023

    Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Assorted cereal, graham crackers, red grapes, apple juice, skim, 1% or strawberry milk; Lunch: Cobb salad, barbecued chicken sandwich, pinto beans, creamy coleslaw, dill pickle chip, baby carrots, fresh watermelon, skim, chocolate skim, 1% or strawberry milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal bar, egg potato cheese breakfast scramble, 6-inch whole-grain tortilla, salsa, fresh apple, orange juice, skim or 1% milk; Lunch: Ham and egg chef salad, pepperoni pizza, cheese pizza, garden sal...

  • Pages past - Feb. 22

    Feb 22, 2023

    On this date ... 1973: “Tucumcari will fly again,” declared Mayor King Aitken. The U.S. Navy hydrofoil boat bearing the city’s name will be repaired and will “fly again” in about six months. Aitken was informed of the forthcoming repairs on the craft by Navy Lt. Cmdr. John L. Sams. The USS Tucumcari was damaged on a reef in the Caribbean in November. Lt. Sams told Aitken at the time the damage was so great, it was unlikely the boat would be repaired and put back into service. Aitken immediately wrote to New Mexico’s U.S. senators and U.S. Re...

  • Biblical requirement to forgive examined

    Gordon Runyan, Religion columnist|Feb 22, 2023

    It’s ironic that forgiveness is so misunderstood among believers, given the place that it holds in the whole scheme of biblical thought. Jesus routinely explained forgiveness in economic terms. He compares it to forgiveness of a debt in Matthew 18. Forgiveness means no longer demanding repayment for what is owed. It doesn’t require a particular feeling. When Jesus demands we forgive each other from the “heart” that’s not saying we are required to feel a particular emotion: it just means we must be sincere. People get tripped up on the requi...

  • Life story not complete without goats, Clovis

    Ryn Gargulinski, Guest columnist|Feb 22, 2023

    If you’re ever going to write your life story, there are two things you need to do first. Number one is to stall for about 20 years. Writing your life story is one big, scary feat, after all. Just keep in mind the longer you stall, the longer your book is going to have to be. Number two is make sure you have experienced all that life has to offer – and that definitely includes goats, Clovis and Tucumcari. If you get one of the three, you’re on the right track. Two out of three is golden. But three out of three is where it’s at if you want th...

  • Woman accused of mailing drugs to jail

    Staff report|Feb 22, 2023

    A Tucumcari woman was arrested on a warrant last week after being accused of mailing narcotics to an inmate in the county jail last fall. Ashley Nolan, 40, is charged with distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit distribution of a controlled substance, bringing contraband into jail and conspiracy to commit bringing contraband onto prison grounds. All are felonies. The distribution charge, the most serious, is a third-degree felony that could lead up to three years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. According to an affidavit...

  • Putin should be held accountable for re-education

    Chicago Tribune, Syndicated content|Feb 22, 2023

    One of Vladimir Putin’s strategies during his brutal, illegal war in Ukraine has been to ensure that Russians only hear one version of reality. His. Last week, the world learned that he’s also applying that tactic to Ukrainian children. The Russian government has put thousands of Ukrainian children into what the Kremlin pitched as “recreation camps,” but in actuality are re-education facilities aimed at Russifying the children with a pro-Moscow lens into Russian culture, history and society, according to a report released by Yale Univers...

  • Biden politician of career resiliency

    Elwood Watson, Syndicated content|Feb 22, 2023

    Let’s face it, when Fox News gives Democrats a B+, you know they really delivered an exceptional performance. That was the grade the rabidly right-wing media network gave President Biden on his State of the Union address. As someone who usually doesn’t watch these annual speeches to the nation, I did buck my previous trend and decided to tune in for this one. Admittedly, I harbored some degree of apprehension wondering if Biden would be up to the task. If they were forced to be honest, I’d imagine most Democrats harbored similar conce...

  • Administration's record disastrous

    Michael Reagan, Syndicated content|Feb 22, 2023

    Train wreck. That’s a perfect way to describe the dismal record of the Biden administration. We’ve already seen a series of major disasters at home and abroad. And now we have a literal train wreck in eastern Ohio that is, yet again, exposing how incompetent, laughably dumb and out-of-touch the president and his gang in Washington are. The derailment of the Norfolk Southern freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 started out as a small news item from a Trump corner of Flyover Country. But it quickly became a major story when it was...

  • One COVID-19 case reported in county

    Staff report|Feb 22, 2023

    Just one COVID-19 case was reported in Quay County last week, according to data kept by the New Mexico Department of Health. That continued a downward trend in February — from three cases last week and six cases two weeks ago. That brought the total number of coronavirus cases in Quay County since the pandemic began in spring 2020 to 2,553 by Friday. According to the COVID Act Now website that tracks the disease, the county’s rate of new cases plummeted to 18.2 cases per 100,000 people last week, compared to 72.7 the previous week. Quay County...

  • Logan superintendent eyes bills in legislature

    Staff report|Feb 22, 2023

    The superintendent of Logan Municipal Schools informed school board members last week of bills in the New Mexico Legislature that may affect school districts, including one that could lengthen the school year. Superintendent Dennis Roch said during the board’s Feb. 13 meeting about House Bill 130, would increase the yearly minimum instruction time from 1,080 to 1,140 hours. However, he said that 60-hour increase can be used for professional development entirely, which has gained support from the state’s superintendents and teacher unions. Ano...

  • Arch Hurley manager sees hike in minimum wage coming

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Feb 22, 2023

    Arch Hurley Conservancy District’s manager seemed resigned that a minimum-wage bill in the New Mexico Legislature would be enacted, thus increasing the district’s cost at least $50,000 to $60,000 a year and leading to significant hikes in assessments for many landowners. District manager Franklin McCasland told the board of trustees last week that a Labor and Veterans Committee substitute for House Bill 25, known as the Minimum Wage & Indexing Act, would hike the hourly minimum wage from $12 to $13.50 on Jan. 1, 2024, increase it to $15.50 on...

  • Jail log - Feb. 22

    Feb 22, 2023

    These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Feb. 13 to Feb. 17: — Jonathan Rashaud Coleman, 31, Denver, possession of a stolen vehicle. — William Holmes, 38, no address listed, contempt of court. — Ashley A. Nolan, 40, Tucumcari, distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit distribution of a controlled substance, bringing contraband into jail and conspiracy to commit bringing contraband onto prison grounds. — Billy Jack Baca, 43, Tucumcari, felony possession of a controlled substance (narcot...

  • Lady Rattlers nab district title

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Feb 22, 2023

    The Tucumcari girls basketball team reeled off three victories last week, securing an undisputed regular-season district title and the No. 1 seed for this week's district tournament. Earning early round byes, the Lady Rattlers (18-6 overall, 6-0 in District 3A-4) will play for the district tourney championship at 6 p.m. Friday at Rattler Gymnasium, aka The Snake Pit. On Saturday, Tucumcari capped the regular season with a dominating 73-27 victory over Dexter in Tucumcari's rescheduled...

  • Rattlers get No. 2 seed in district tourney

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Feb 22, 2023

    A dominating second half gave the Tucumcari boys basketball team a 66-45 victory Saturday over Dexter and secured the No. 2 seed for the Rattlers in this week's 3A-4 district tournament. Tucumcari, which improved to 8-15 overall, tied with New Mexico Military Institute with a 3-3 mark in district play but earned the second-seed due to head-to-head point spread. The Rattlers will play the winner of the NMMI-Dexter matchup at 6 p.m. Thursday. The winner of that game will go to top-seeded Ruidoso...

  • Tucumcari wrestlers struggle at state tourney

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|Feb 22, 2023

    RIO RANCHO - In an illustration of how much tougher the two-day state wrestling tournament has become for Tucumcari, a defending state champion literally was the last man standing for the Rattlers on Saturday, and he didn't even earn a medal. Xzander Garcia, who won a Class 3A state championship in the 172-pound division a year ago, was eliminated in the consolation round Saturday when Adryan Triana (37-5) of Pojoaque Valley pinned him 47 seconds into the match. On Friday, Garcia won his first m...

  • Lady Longhorns top Grady, Dora

    Staff report|Feb 22, 2023

    The Logan girls basketball team outscored host Grady 23-9 in the fourth quarter to turn a close district game into a comfortable 55-35 win on Thursday. The Lady Longhorns led just 32-26 after three periods. Desta Rose scored 18 points to lead Logan, and Liz Horner added 13. Grady fell to 10-12 overall and 0-6 in district play. The Lady Longhorns, seeded third in the District 6-A tournament with a 16-10 record and 3-3 in district play, were scheduled to play the Lady Bronchos again Monday in the first round. The winner of that will go to...

  • Logan fends off upset bid by Grady

    Staff report|Feb 22, 2023

    The Logan boys basketball team fended off a comeback bid by host Grady on Thursday for a 61-59 victory in its regular-season finale. The win sealed a No. 3 seed for the Longhorns (16-10 overall, 3-5 in district play) for this week’s District 6-A tournament. Logan, which earned a first-round bye, was scheduled on Tuesday to host the winner of Monday’s game between Clovis Christian (17-9, 3-5) and Grady (7-15, 0-8). The winner of that game would go to second-seeded Melrose (20-5, 6-2) at 6 p.m. Thursday. The winner of that contest would go to...

  • Police blotter - Feb. 22

    Feb 22, 2023

    These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Feb. 13 to Feb. 19: Monday — 8:02 a.m.: Accident in 2600 block of South First Street, Tucumcari. — 10:16 a.m.: Breaking and entering in 1700 block of South First Street, Tucumcari. — 11:25 a.m.: Trespassing in 100 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 5:03 p.m.: Domestic disturbance in 700 block of West Sunset Avenue, Tucumcari. — 5:42 p.m.: Brush fire in 3600 block of East Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 5:49 p.m.: Hit-and-run accident in...