Serving the High Plains

Articles from the May 29, 2019 edition


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  • Parade joins Music Showcase lineup

    Ron Warnick|May 29, 2019

    For the first time, the New Mexico Music Showcase will feature a parade Saturday morning down Tucumcari’s Route 66. Benji Torres, treasurer of the Tucumcari Columbus Club that helps organize the third annual celebration of Hispanic music in New Mexico, said last week the 9 a.m. parade already has 25 entrants and is welcoming more, especially if they’re local. “We’re trying to get the community more involved,” Torres said. The parade from the old Kmart building to the Tucumcari Convention Center offers prizes of $300, $200 and $100 for first...

  • Contract extension tabled again

    Ron Warnick|May 29, 2019

    For a second time, the Tucumcari City Commission on Thursday tabled a possible contract extension with an Albuquerque marketing firm until it hears from the city’s Lodgers Tax Advisory Board next month. City Manager Britt Lusk said the proposed one-year, $50,000 deal with the Sunny505 firm was “worthwhile,” and he attributed a $30,000 increase in lodgers tax revenue from its tourism marketing efforts for Tucumcari and Quay County. Lusk said Tucumcari likely would see more tourists in town this summer. Joanie Griffin at Sunny505 provided the c...

  • Mesalands approves project request

    Ron Warnick|May 29, 2019

    The Mesalands Community College board of trustees approved a capital project request to extensively renovate its main building to make it more welcoming to current and prospective students. The board approved a plan during its May 21 meeting to remodel a large portion of Building A into a student-services hub using $800,000 of previously appropriated state money, plus pursue additional funds for the project’s second phase that will convert the current business office into a store. Kim Hooker and Brian Griggs, architects for Parkhill, Smith a...

  • Calendar - May 29

    May 29, 2019

    • Thursday — Social Media Workshop. Learn tips and tricks to running your social-media business pages. 4:30 p.m. at Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce, 404 W. Route 66 Blvd. • Friday-Saturday — New Mexico Music Showcase. The Tucumcari Columbus Club presents its third annual music festival. From 6 to 11 p.m. Friday will be a free outdoors dance with live New Mexico music. A parade welcoming all vehicles, floats and horses will go from the old Kmart building to the Tucumcari Convention Center at 9 a.m. Saturday. Free daytime enterta...

  • Church donates to retreat

    Staff report|May 29, 2019

    The board of directors of a long-closed Methodist church in House recently donated more than $47,000 of the church's remaining funds to a camp and retreat in northern New Mexico that needed it. Shug Block, a member of the church's board, said it gave a $47,900 check derived its leftover funds to Sacramento Camp and Conference Center near Cloudcroft. House United Methodist Church was built in 1938. Block's father, Olin McCullough, laid the building's red tile, and her brother mixed the cement...

  • Pages past - May 29

    May 29, 2019

    On this date ... 1969: A total of 161 Tucumcari High School seniors received their diplomas last night at the Rattler Gymnasium that included performances by the school’s band and chorus. C.L. Kay, assistant president of Lubbock Christian College, was the guest speaker. “A round of applause followed Dr. Kay’s statement that he was proud to see that this 1969 THS graduating class boasted no shaggy-haired, bearded guys, but were all clean-cut, nice looking young men and women.” • The Tucumcari Historical Museum announced a ribbon-cu...

  • Menus - May 29

    May 29, 2019

    Tucumcari Senior Center Wednesday — Chicken salad sandwich, celery sticks, baked chips, cottage cheese, peaches. Thursday — Ham and beans, peas and carrots, cornbread with margarine, pineapple upside-down cake. Friday — Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, California vegetables, biscuit with margarine, strawberries and bananas. Monday — Not available. Tuesday — Not available. Logan Senior Center Wednesday — Baked chicken with mushroom and Alfredo sauce, crispy sweet potatoes, cucumber and onion salad, biscuit, pears. Thursday ...

  • Police seeking information

    Staff report|May 29, 2019

    Quay County Crime Stoppers and the Tucumcari Police Department are seeking information leading to the arrest of man accused of aggravated battery. According to a news release, Michael Romero Jr. of Tucumcari has an active warrant for his arrest on a complaint of aggravated battery against a household member with a deadly weapon. Crime Stoppers is offering an award of up to $1,000 for information leading to Romero’s arrest. Those with information on Romero’s whereabouts is urged to call Quay County Crime Stoppers at (575) 461-3507. All cal...

  • Trump has options if heat is too much

    May 29, 2019

    After storming out of a scheduled White House meeting about infrastructure with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, President Trump declared all legislative work dead until Democrats drop their oversight activities. “You can’t investigate and legislate simultaneously — it just doesn’t work that way,” he tweeted later. Oh? Bill Clinton brokered several bipartisan bills with a Republican Congress despite years of investigation that concluded in impeachment. George W. Bush got some big things done despite a...

  • Lots of potential for innovation

    Steve Hansen|May 29, 2019

    Where there’s art, there’s innovation, especially in rural communities. So says Richard Florida, who is described by Wikipedia as an American urban studies theorist focusing on social and economic theory. He teaches at the University of Toronto and has a consulting outfit called the Creative Class Group. The creative class — artists and innovators of all kinds — is something he writes about frequently. In a recent article called “The Rise of the Rural Creative Class” for a publication called “CityLab,” Florida demonstrates that creativity and...

  • Investments set to pay off in NM

    Tom McDonald|May 29, 2019

    New Mexico is building itself up with some new, cutting-edge infrastructure. First, there’s Facebook and its $1 billion data center at Los Lunas. It’s creating a need for some expensive improvements to New Mexico’s energy infrastructure. The data center needs a lot of electricity and plans are in the works to build a transmission line on top of an existing line with less transmission capacity, at a cost of $85 million. As it stands, the state’s Public Regulation Commission has ruled that Facebook must pay $39 million of that cost since it’s th...

  • Watch what you're doing

    May 29, 2019

    Remember when electric hand dryers first were installed in public restrooms? They had directions for use prominently printed somewhere but, because they didn’t work well for drying hands, someone inevitably would add to the instructions, “Wipe hands on pants.” I recall many establishments took removed paper towel dispensers and trashcans when they installed those electric hand dryers. I still use the paper towels, when available, because I know they work and I don’t usually have to stand in line waiting for someone else to dry their hands,...

  • House superintendent contract renewed

    Steve Hansen|May 29, 2019

    House Schools Superintendent Bonnie Lightfoot received a two-year renewal on her contract and a 6% raise on May 20 after the House Municipal School Board held an executive session. The contract was renewed through school year 2020-21, and Lightfoot’s salary will increase from from about $96,000 to about $101,600, according to figures provided by Derrick Terrell, the district’s business manager. The 6% raise was included in legislation passed by the 2019 New Mexico Legislature that provided raises for teachers and school administrators across th...

  • Student athletes recognized at banquet

    Ron Warnick|May 29, 2019

    More than 300 people attended the annual Tucumcari Athletic Awards Banquet put on May 20 by the Diamondback Booster Club at the Tucumcari Convention Center. The event served as a final sendoff - especially seniors who would graduate Friday - for participants in the school's varsity cheerleading, cross country, football, volleyball, wrestling, boys and girls basketball, golf, boys and girls track, baseball and softball programs. Rod Dunlap, a participant in track, football and wrestling during...

  • Five from Tucumcari earn all-district honors

    Staff report|May 29, 2019

    The Tucumcari softball team boasted five players that earned all-district honors after a 17-5 campaign, the most successful season in the program's history. Junior catcher Loren Chavez, junior pitcher Jayden Jimenez, junior shortstop Paige Moralez, senior center fielder Kalani French and junior left fielder Jasmine Jones were named to the first time in Class 3A, District 4/5. Moralez also was named Most Valuable Player for the Lady Rattlers. Moralez tied for the team lead with three home runs...

  • Grady/San Jon player makes all-district team

    Staff report|May 29, 2019

    The Grady/San Jon baseball team had just one player make the all-district team in Distirct 2-1A, but he wound up also making the all-state squad. Junior right-handed pitcher Chisum Rush earned all-district and all-state honors with 94 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings and a 2.20 earned-run average during the season for the 2-16 Bronchos. Logan (8-12) had three players make the all-district team - Dante Sanchez, Park Strong and Chase Hittson. Sanchez, a sophomore outfielder and shortstop, hit .638 on... Full story

  • Youth compete in 4-H contests

    Staff report|May 29, 2019

    Quay County youth spent two weeks competing in 4-H county contests. These youth range in age from 6 to 18. Cloverbuds are under the age of 9, Novice 9 to 11, Juniors 12 and 13 and Seniors are 14 and older. The majority of the contests were held on May 18 with an awards program to finish the day. The following are the contest winners. Novices and Juniors will go on to District Contests in Fort Sumner in June, and Seniors on to State in Las Cruces in July. All Cloverbuds received first-place awards for these contests. • Lilly Nials, Livestock J...

  • Tucumcari board delays action on contract

    Ron Warnick|May 29, 2019

    An extension of Tucumcari Public Schools superintendent Aaron McKinney’s contract was on the agenda, but school board members during their May 20 meeting instead delayed action on it. Board members held a 20-minute executive session to discuss McKinney’s evaluation and contract, including several minutes with him behind closed doors. McKinney has been the district’s superintendent for 13 years. Board President Carlos Romero announced after his colleagues emerged that there would be no action on the contact, and it would be “tabled for further d...

  • Museum celebrating 50th anniversary with 'Western Days'

    Ron Warnick|May 29, 2019

    The “Western Days” special-event day Saturday at the Tucumcari Historical Museum will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and it also will serve as a tribute to the man who largely made the museum possible, Herman Moncus. Moncus became the driving force behind the Tucumcari Historical Museum’s founding. A Texas native, his family moved to a homestead in eastern New Mexico when he was an infant. He collected arrowheads and other Native American artifacts from the surrounding mesas. He began work at the Elk Drug Store along U.S. 66 in Tucum...

  • Logan man jailed on felony complaint

    Ron Warnick|May 29, 2019

    A Logan man was jailed last week on a felony complaint after he was accused of dragging a woman by the hair, throwing her down a set of stairs and kicking her. Santiago Romero, 24, was booked into the Quay County Detention Center on a complaint of aggravated battery on a household member that caused great bodily harm. The complaint is a third-degree felony can lead up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. According to a complaint filed in Tucumcari magistrate court by Logan police officer Wade Strand, the woman told the officer her...

  • Jail log - May 29

    May 29, 2019

    These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from May 20 to May 23: • Anthony Carrol, 38, Clovis, registration of off-highway motor vehicles, no insurance and no driver’s license. • Brandi Marie Johnson, 36, Tucumcari, municipal charge (not listed). • Desiree Dawn Martinez, 23, Tucumcari, two counts of criminal trespass (unposted). • Santiago Romero, 24, Tucumcari, felony contempt of court and aggravated battery against a household member (great bodily harm). • Chad Rody Crandell, 53, Logan, warrant from other count...

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