Serving the High Plains

Articles from the May 25, 2022 edition


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  • Longtime Mesalands official retires

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|May 25, 2022

    Natalie Gillard, vice president of academic affairs and a longtime official at Mesalands Community College, retired just before the college’s board of trustees meeting on May 17. A glum Jim Streetman, chairman of the board, announced Gillard’s retirement after an executive session that lasted about 90 minutes. According to the meeting agenda, the closed session was to discuss personnel matters, litigation and real estate; it included the board, college President Gregory Busch, Chief of Staff Duane Brooks and lead auditor Marty Mathisen. “Sh...

  • Tucumcari man jailed on murder complaint

    Staff report|May 25, 2022

    An argument during a graduation party apparently prompted one Tucumcari man to fatally shoot another in the middle of Quay Road 63 on Tucumcari’s west side on Saturday night. Tyje Garrett, 42, shot and killed Michael Arellano, 46, in the 4000 block of Quay Road 63 about 9 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release from New Mexico State Police and information from Quay County Sheriff Russell Shafer. Arellano was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead by the Office of Medical Examiner. Logan police about an hour later took Garrett i...

  • Coronavirus cases rise in state and county

    Staff report|May 25, 2022

    A growing number of confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in Quay County and New Mexico last week — signs the pandemic isn’t over. Seven confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in Quay County last week. That compares to three the previous week. The region went for two straight weeks without any cases in early May. The total number of cases in the county since the pandemic began in spring 2020 rose to 2,013. The breakdown of COVID-19 cases by ZIP code in Quay County through Friday was 1,548 in Tucumcari, 282 in Logan, 94 in San Jon, 34 in Hou...

  • School board discusses anti-bullying efforts

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|May 25, 2022

    The Tucumcari Public Schools board of education discussed anti-bullying efforts with officials, and the board’s president also asked for a work session to talk about possible revisions to the dress code. The board during its May 16 meeting took no action on those subjects, but an anti-bullying discussion had been added to its agenda after two board members requested it, superintendent Aaron McKinney said. Board members quizzed McKinney, elementary school principal Tonya Hodges, middle school principal Lendall Borden and high school principal Ni...

  • Pages past - May 25

    May 25, 2022

    On this date ... 1972: A New Mexico State Police spokesman said he was advised by the family of Quay County special deputy Travis Haynes he still was in intensive care at a Lubbock hospital after two men abducted him, shot him in the head and left him behind a telephone building in Taiban. Haynes, the spokesman said, was showing slow improvement. He could hear, has talked some and has remembered some. The two suspects were being detained in the Quay County Jail. Haynes died of his injuries in 1984. • Dr. Howard E. Melton, professor of education...

  • Calendar - May 25

    May 25, 2022

    Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Monday — Memorial Day ceremony. VFW Post 2528 will hold a short Memorial Day remembrance at Tucumcari Memorial Park cemetery at 11 a.m. • May 31 — GROW Session #1 - Resume Express Workshop. Get Ready for Opportunities to Work (GROW) with Mesalands Community College’s career counselor, Patricia Crook. It’s important to know recruiters spend an average of 7.4 seconds scanning a resume before they decide on the next step. In this Express 30 minute workshop via Google Meet, the session...

  • Menus - May 25

    May 25, 2022

    The Tucumcari Senior Center and Logan Senior Center also offer grab-and-go meals to those who qualify. Those interested should call the Tucumcari facility at 575-461-2307 or the Logan facility at 575-487-2287 for more information. Tucumcari Senior Center Wednesday — Lasagna, tossed salad, green beans, French bread, fruit cocktail. Thursday — Barbecued chicken, steamed rice, spinach, carrots, cornbread, mandarin oranges. Friday — Meat loaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, beets, pears. Monday — Closed for Memorial Day. Tuesday — Chicken f...

  • What counts and who's counting

    Leonard Lauriault, Religion columnist|May 25, 2022

    It seems my articles in the Quay County Sun this year often have fallen close to holidays, which gives me plenty to write about, but I don’t remember it happening much in the past. Next Monday is Memorial Day, when we remember those who gave their lives in war to protect the United States of America, although the holiday was expanded to remember anyone who’s passed away. While I haven’t been intentionally keeping count, I checked, and this is my 20th year writing religion articles for the Sun. During that time, as best as I can count, I’ve ment...

  • County approves preliminary FY23 budget

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|May 25, 2022

    The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a preliminary budget for fiscal year 2023 that lists $10.7 million in revenue and $16.7 million in expenditures. County finance director Cheryl Simpson explained the high number for expenditures is for projects — including a multimillion-dollar low-water bridge on old Route 66 between Endee and San Jon — that received funding the previous fiscal year but won’t be finished until the next fiscal year. Simpson said the payroll is anticipated to be $4.2 million for 82 positions, which includes elect...

  • Five Mile Park trails kickoff set for June 4

    Staff report|May 25, 2022

    The Quay County Health Council will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony and other events on June 4 for its new walking trails at Five Mile Park in recognition of National Trails Day. The ceremony begins at 8 a.m. It will include a scavenger hunt for children, and all participants will receive a prize. Door prizes will be offered to adults, and the Tucumcari Disc Golf Club will give a demonstration of the sport. Health Council coordinator Brenda Bishop said the trails consist of a mostly level half-mile loop, a slightly harder half-mile loop with a f...

  • Man's murder trial to begin June 6

    Staff report|May 25, 2022

    A Tucumcari man accused of murder will go to trial in early June after lawyers for both sides met Friday during an online hearing to iron out details. Joshua Braziel’s jury trial is scheduled to begin on June 6 in the Quay County Courthouse and go for five days. Braziel, now 31, is charged with first-degree murder and felony possession of methamphetamine after he was accused of fatally shooting Bryan Youman, 19, of Tucumcari in the head with a handgun on Sept. 4, 2020. Braziel has said the shooting was accidental. During the hearing Friday, d...

  • House schools staff member honored

    Staff report|May 25, 2022

    House Municipal Schools staff member Teresa Hampton recently received a 2022 Excellence in Student Achievement Award. The award, sponsored by the New Mexico School Boards Association, are presented to those selected “who have played an important role in improving student achievement in their school district,” according to a news release from the association. A total of 68 school boards participated in the program, and 242 people were selected for the award....

  • Cooperation may help nations identify UAPs

    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Syndicated content|May 25, 2022

    They don’t try to communicate, and they don’t respond when we try to communicate with them. They speed away if we get too close. They move faster than anything known in this world and violate the laws of physics. At least 11 times, they’ve nearly collided with American military aircraft. And we have no idea what UFOs, now known as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), are. Representatives from the military recently told a subcommittee of the House Intelligence Committee that fast-moving objects are entering U.S. airspace and are regularly docum...

  • Censorship not the answer to evil

    Kent McManigal, Local columnist|May 25, 2022

    People like the murderer in the Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store will always find justification to be evil losers. He would have found some excuse even if no one had ever suspected that government is trying, for political purposes, to dilute the culture with those who don’t share it. The way to fight such ideas is to openly discuss them, not censorship. If you choose to censor ideas, I’ll think you have no argument against them. They will also always find something to use as a weapon, even if the anti-gun bigots ever manage to ban the type of wea...

  • Big Tech is the new Big Tobacco

    Tom McDonald, Syndicated content|May 25, 2022

    If you want to understand the impact that technology is having on us, consider the history of tobacco. Perhaps you know that Native Americans first introduced tobacco to Europeans, who turned it into a cash crop of great importance to the English colonies along the east coast of what we now call the United States. Europe was their first international market, with tobacco touted for its medicinal benefits. But it was a labor-intensive crop that became far more profitable when slaves were brought in to grow, harvest and cure it. By comparison,...

  • THS wrestling coach retires

    Ron Warnick, QCS Senior Writer|May 25, 2022

    Tucumcari High School's wrestling program reached the end of an era when head coach Eddie Encinias submitted his retirement letter last week after 22 seasons and guiding nearly as many state champions during a Hall of Fame career. Encinias, who also resigned as assistant coach in football and track, said he felt increasingly obligated to retire after undergoing surgical replacements of both knees and one hip in the last two years. "It's just time," Encinias said Thursday during an interview in...

  • Six Longhorns named all-district

    Staff report|May 25, 2022

    The Class 1A champion Logan High School baseball team saw six of its players earn first-team all-district honors this season, the most of any squad in District 3. Making the first team for the 20-3 Longhorns were sophomore pitcher-shortstop Kaeden Stoner, junior catcher-pitcher Park Strong, sophomore second baseman-pitcher Brock Burns, eighth-grade first baseman Mason Wallin, eighth-grade right fielder Aydin Kotara and junior second baseman Colton Liles. Freshman centerfielder Diego Sanchez was...

  • Two Rattlers earn all district in baseball

    Staff report|May 25, 2022

    As a possible signal of a brighter future for its program, Tucumcari High School baseball saw two eighth-graders earn all-district honors this season. Rattlers coach George Montano said centerfielder Nick Romero and second baseman Luis Archuleta made the all-district team in rugged District 4/5, which saw two teams advance to the Class 3A title game. Romero led the Rattlers in runs scored (15), hit the team’s only home run and didn’t commit an error in the outfield. Archuleta was third on the team in batting average (.286) and second in on-...

  • Area youths compete in local 4-H contests

    Staff report|May 25, 2022

    Quay County youth, ranging in age from 5 to 18, recently spent two weeks competing in their 4-H county contests. The following lists are contest winners by age division. Novices and juniors will go on to district contests in Alamogordo in June, and seniors will advance to state competition in July. Novices are from third through fifth grades, juniors are sixth and seventh grades, and seniors are from eighth through 12th grades. Agronomy Novice: First place, Lilly Nials Junior: First place, Elizabeth Kanapilly, second, Keira Black; third,...

  • Jail log - May 25

    May 25, 2022

    These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from May 17 to May 19: — Eugene A. Gonzales, 57, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — Terance Luckett, 51, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — John Kupel, 49, no address listed, aggravated battery against a household member (deadly weapon). — Ignacio George Armijo Jr., 63, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — Ernest L. Arguello, 71, Tucumcari, contempt of court. — Terance Luckett, 51, Tucumcari, contempt of court. These individuals were released from the Quay County Detention Center from...

  • Police blotter - May 25

    May 25, 2022

    These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from May 16 to May 22: Monday — 1:18 a.m.: Breaking and entering in 700 block of West Sunset Avenue, Tucumcari. — 10:13 a.m.: Theft in 200 block of East Center Street, Tucumcari. — 10:39 a.m.: Reckless driving in 3400 block of East Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. — 11:43 a.m.: Theft in 200 block of West McGee Avenue, Tucumcari. — 2:26 p.m.: Trespassing in 2600 block of South First Street, Tucumcari. — 8:08 p.m.: Disturbance in 1600 block of East Tucumcari B...