Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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City officials seemed receptive to granting a $300,000 lodgers tax funds request last week from the producers of “Bands of Enchantment: Tucumcari Sessions” so they could shoot a second season of the nationally distributed music-television show early next year. Finding that $300,000 will be the tricky part, and city officials have about a month to do it. “Bands of Enchantment” creator Ken Peterson and co-executive producer Vince T. Chavez, who appeared by teleconference, during a Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board meeting Wednesday laid ou...
Tucumcari homeowners likely will see an increase in their insurance premiums this fall due to a fire-protection rating downgrade. The city manager expressed optimism it will have its previous rating restored before mid-2022. Russell Toal, New Mexico’s superintendent of insurance, issued a bulletin in mid-June stating an “unfavorable” change in Tucumcari’s fire-protection rating. The bulletin stated the city’s new public protection classification would take effect Oct. 1. City manager Mark Martinez confirmed during an interview Wednesday the cit...
Two new murals were painted on buildings last week that are part of a larger effort to bring more art and economic development to Tucumcari, with a mural festival in the spring. Ian Ross of Mill Valley, California, by midweek finished painting Southwest-inspired scenes on sides of the Bowen Electric Corp. building at 1502 S. First St. About the same day Ross finished his mural, Andy Brown of Phoenix began one on the southwest corner of First and Main streets, featuring a bird's eye view of a pai...
Most people likely know the phrase, “misery loves company,” because it’s been used in various forms since at least 400 B.C. I’ve always understood the term meant that when someone is depressed for any reason, they want to be around others who also are at a low point for mutual consolation, which is one of the definitions I found online for it. An example given was that two friends had just broken up with their boyfriends, so they decided to go to a movie together. But I also found that it could mean that we want others to be miserable also (e...
On this date ... 1971: Tucumcari’s present school enrollment was 2,233, which was 60 fewer than the previous school year, according to superintendent Dave York. Total enrollment in kindergarten was 118. He reported that 18 new teachers were hired. • Daughters of the American Revolution state regent Floren Thompson Jr. of Portales soon will make her official visit of the Tucumcari chapter of the DAR. She will assist the chapter in their plans to host the Northeast District Workshop. • The Odeon Theatre was screening the hit horror film “Will...
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 461-2307 or the Logan facility at 487-2287 for more information. Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Pancake sausage on a stick, fresh pear, apple juice, 1% or chocolate skim milk; Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich, hot dog, blackeyed peas, roasted corn, fresh strawberries, skim, 1% or chocolate skim milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Blueberry muffin, string cheese, fresh apple, orange jui...
Note: Events subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Friday — Fired Up Friday. The final Fired Up Friday will feature a fiery performance at 8 p.m. by Odd Lab, a mainstay of previous Fired Up festivals, with children’s workshops. Food trucks will operate from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. or until the food runs out. Tucumcari Historic Railroad Plaza at Second and Main streets. • Saturday — End of Summer Fun Run. Ride begins at 1 p.m., with free hot dogs, chips and games offered. For more information, contact Steve at (575) 403-6276 or Chris at...
Water and wastewater projects led Tucumcari’s annual Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) for the years 2023 to 2027. The city commission approved the five-year plan at its regular meeting Thursday. Leading the list, as last year, was repairs to wastewater facilities on the east side of the city along Historic Route 66. The city hopes to fund $723,350 for the project in 2023. A total of $318,934 has been funded already, according to the ICIP document. The next priority was repairs and upgrades to wastewater systems for which the c...
You know government is out of control when different entities start talking about suing each other over the best way to control people. Freedom lovers are outraged, for example, over the latest COVID-19 vaccine mandates announced by President Biden last week. Biden declared that businesses with 100 or more employees will have to require workers to be vaccinated. Employees who decline the vaccine will have to be tested at least weekly for COVID-19. Texas Republicans immediately urged Attorney General Ken Paxton to file a lawsuit in hopes of...
Everybody knows that ivermectin, a horse de-worming medicine, should not be used by humans to fight COVID-19. That’s what everybody in the media has been saying. Even a shallow dive into the internet, however, reveals that ivermectin is still being tested for its effectiveness against the COVID-19 virus. In other words, many are wrongly assuming the drug has been found conclusively to be inappropriate for COVID-19 treatment. We don’t know whether or not it is effective. That seems to be the current bottom line. For that reason alone, peo...
Not too long ago, supporters imagined Joe Biden might be the next LBJ, and perhaps they were right — just not how they thought. Biden bears no resemblance to the Lyndon B. Johnson who entered office after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 with a 75% approval rating and over the next couple of years passed a raft of historic legislation. No, if there’s any comparison it is to the LBJ who by 1967 had seen his approval rating dip underwater in a deeply riven country. After a lot of happy talk over the past half year, the real Biden pres...
Despite missing two players and a third starter sidelined early in the game with an injury, state-ranked Raton cruised to a 44-6 victory Friday night over Tucumcari during the Rattlers' annual Homecoming game. Meanwhile, Tucumcari's already-thin offense became thinner when the Rattlers lost fullback Khobie Salvador to a knee injury in the second quarter. That was after that Rattlers lost tailback Charles Prieto to a shoulder injury the previous week. As a result, the Rattlers (1-3) totaled just...
The New Mexico Activities Association board of directors during its quarterly meeting Wednesday authorized the return of aluminum bats beginning in the 2023 high-school baseball season. New Mexico, citing safety reasons primarily, in 2012 restricted high school bats to wood or composite wood. Starting in 2023, baseball players can use wood, composite wood, composite metal or aluminum bats. Kyle Griffiths, coach of defending Class 1A baseball champion Logan, said he was excited about the change. “I feel like it will provide more offense and a...
The Logan volleyball squad went 1-2 in matches last week, which may sound like a bad stretch for a typically strong Lady Longhorns program. However, all three of Logan's matches were against state-ranked squads, including the defending champion in Class 1A and a perennial state-title contender in Class 2A. On Saturday, Logan (7-3) lost to Class 1A champion and unbeaten Melrose 15-25, 20-25, 20-25 in the championship match of Vixen Volleyball Classic tournament at Fort Sumner. Melrose defeated Sa...
Facing their toughest challenge of the season, unbeaten Logan prevailed 42-28 over visiting Magdalena in non-district eight-man football action on Friday night. Logan coach Dwayne Roberts, back on the sideline after a several-week break to care for his ailing parents, described it as a “hard-fought game” and that it “was a true team victory” over the Steers. For the Longhorns, Haden Judd scored three touchdowns and Park Strong ran for two scores. Brock Burns threw for three touchdowns for Logan. The Longhorns improved to 4-0 overall. Magdale...
New Mexico State Police are investigating after a man’s body was found on a frontage road Sept. 6 near Bard. The as-yet-unidentified man was found in the roadway near a trench about milepost 361 near Interstate 40, according to Ray Wilson, public information officer for New Mexico State Police. “That body has been sent to the Office of the Medical Investigators office in Albuquerque for positive identification and a determination of cause and manner of death,” Wilson wrote in an email Thursday. “This is an active investigation with no further...
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a resolution to adopt its $14.5 million Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan for the 2023 through 2027 fiscal years. The plan serves as a guide for the New Mexico Legislature when it annually awards money to capital-outlay projects. Projects are listed by priority for each fiscal year, though none was listed in the 2026 or 2027 fiscal years. The top-priority project is Quay Road 63 construction, of which the county is requesting $250,000 in fiscal year 2023 and $1 million in fiscal year 2024. Ne...
For a second time, someone swiped batteries from a Quay County Road Department vehicle. According to a report from the Quay County Sheriff’s Office, deputy Dennis Garcia was sent the morning of Sept. 7 to investigate a burglary from a vehicle at Interstate 40 and Quay Road AD. James Hammer, a loader operator for the county road department, said batteries that been stolen from one of the county’s dump trucks. Armando Banuelos, a mechanic for the county, showed documentation of the Napa commercial batteries he just purchased to replace one tha...
These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Sept. 3 to Sept. 12: • Justin Bradley, 32, San Antonio, Texas, warrant from other counties or states. • Jason Arthur Cordova, 43, Dalhart, Texas, driving under the influence of liquor (impaired; third offense), careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident (property damage). • Garwin L. Engman, 67, Tucumcari, driving under the influence of liquor (impaired; first offense), open drink container and failure to stop at stop or yield intersection. • Michael S. Isham,...
These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Sept. 6 to Sept. 12: Monday • 3:31 a.m.: Shots fired in 100 block of West Gamble Avenue, Tucumcari. • 4:45 a.m.: Trespassing in 2600 block of South First Street, Tucumcari. • 6:59 a.m.: Disturbance in 200 block of West Tucumcari Boulevard, Tucumcari. • 12:57 a.m.: Disturbance in 600 block of Bass Alley, Logan. • 11:40 a.m.: Fraud in 100 block of Manana Street, Logan. • 3:37 p.m.: Unattended death in 500 block of Frontage Road 4132, Bard. • 5:09 p.m.: Ch...
Quay County saw a slight decrease of COVID-19 cases last week with 35 confirmed cases, according to the state’s Department of Health, including four on Friday. Nearly all the cases were in the Tucumcari ZIP code. That compared to 37 cases the previous week and 55 the week before that. The county's overall case total rose to 797 since the pandemic began in spring 2020, with 12 deaths overall. During the most recent two-week assessment period from Aug. 24 to Sept. 6, the county’s daily case rate was 70.6 per 100,000 — lower than the 85.9 recor...
The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board on Wednesday delayed action to recommend an increase for Tucumcari Convention Center fees until its next meeting Oct. 6, when a more concrete proposal is likely. Board Chairman Matt Bednorz said he was inclined to have the board recommend a raise for convention center fees after checking prices of other convention centers in the region. He said Clovis’ convention center charges between $800 to $2,200 a day, and Santa Rosa’s charges $750. Bednorz said the Tucumcari Convention Center charges only bet...
A Phoenix woman died in a single-vehicle crash last week on Interstate 40 west of Tucumcari. According to a news release from New Mexico State Police, Catalina Blanco Hernandez, 59, died at a hospital after she was thrown from an eastbound sport-utility vehicle that inexplicably left the roadway and crashed into a guardrail near milepost 311 at 8:19 a.m. Sept. 5. The SUV had been driven by an unidentified 26-year-old man. He and a second passenger, a 19-year-old man, suffered injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening and were...
