Serving the High Plains

Articles from the October 24, 2018 edition


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  • Tentative date set for racino announcement

    Ron Warnick|Oct 24, 2018

    Those wondering when the New Mexico Racing Commission might decide whether Tucumcari is awarded a horse-racing license now can circle a tentative date — Dec. 6. “I emphasize the word ‘tentative,’” Commission Executive Director Izzy Trejo told the Eastern New Mexico News on Friday. “A tentative date, certainly set in pencil, of Dec. 6 ... that’s the date that we’re gearing towards. “This could all be subject to change,” Trejo added. “We’re missing a lot of variables in the equation.” Logan attorney Warren Frost, a frontman for Coronado Par...

  • School board puts tax on ballot

    Ron Warnick|Oct 24, 2018

    The Tucumcari school board on Oct. 15 approved two resolutions that would place renewal of the existing “Two Mill” property tax on a February special-election ballot. Unlike previous elections, however, the Feb. 5 election won’t be decided at ballot boxes. It instead will be a mail-in election where an estimated 4,400 registered voters in the school district will receive ballots weeks before they are tallied. The Quay County Clerk’s office first will transmit ballots to qualified overseas voters, such as those in the U.S. military, by Dec. 21...

  • Locals may be waiting a little longer for Amarillo stations

    Ron Warnick|Oct 24, 2018

    Quay County UHF Association users in Tucumcari waiting for Amarillo television stations to come back on the air may wait a while longer. A nonprofit group that runs a UHF signal-booster on Tucumcari Mountain for area television-antenna users received a cease-and-desist order from T-Mobile USA in early October. Amarillo stations have been off the airwaves in Quay County since. “T-Mobile took over our channels, and we’re waiting for the FCC to create more channels for us,” association President Mike Whitesides said in summarizing the dilem...

  • Calendar - Oct. 24

    Oct 24, 2018

    Friday — Trunk or Treat. The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department is partnering with local law-enforcement agencies and other community partners to make this a "spooktacular" event. Register at the START table for the chance to win door prizes. 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. 107 W. Aber St., Tucumcari. Sunday — Tip Top Bass Tournament. Call Donny McWhirter at 806-333-3116. Ute Lake State Park. Tuesday — Customer Appreciation and Open House. Tucumcari Federal Savings and Loan Association invites everyone to this event from 4 to 6 p.m. Refre...

  • Menus - Oct. 24

    Oct 24, 2018

    Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Sausage and cheese breakfast bagel, cereal choice with cinnamon goldfish graham cracker, fruit, juice, milk; Lunch: Roast turkey with turkey gravy, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, honey wheat roll, mashed potatoes, baby carrots, fruit, milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Trix cereal bar, cereal choice with cinnamon goldfish graham cracker, fruit, juice, milk; Lunch: Pepperoni pizza, garden salad, cauliflower, fruit, milk. Monday — Breakfast: Blueberry muffin and string cheese, cereal choice with cinna...

  • Journalists in for fight of our lives

    Steve Hansen|Oct 24, 2018

    In public relations, our job was to make the company look good, to cast the company in a good light. When I worked for “house organs” — or employee publications — I learned they gave the company complete control over what messages were sent and the context in which they were stated. I started thinking of such publications as “management’s makeup mirror.” A makeup mirror allows its users to control not only their reflection but the light in which they view themselves. Employee publications allow managers to perpetuate the fantasy they are univ...

  • The best month of the year? It's October, of course

    Oct 24, 2018

    We don’t often editorialize strongly on behalf of green grass, sunshine or happy faces. Everybody loves those things, so there’s no reason to start a discussion on such topics in hopes of exchanging ideas that might lead to greater understanding and resolution. But here’s some good news we feel strongly about that might not be obvious to everyone unless they take the time to consider our position: October is the best month of the year. We know some will argue December is better because of Christmas, or June is better because school’s out and...

  • Do your homework before voting

    Tom McDonald|Oct 24, 2018

    Here we are, on the verge of one of the most important mid-term elections in American history, and Russian meddling is being charged. Guess it never really stopped. Last week, Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova was charged with trying to influence the 2018 mid-term elections with what Justice Department officials are calling an “information war” against the U.S. and its elections. According to Reuters and other news services, Khusyaynova was chief accountant for Project Lakhta, an operation started in 2014 and financed by a Putin-friendly oligarch Ev...

  • Tucumcari quakes don't kill people

    David Stevens|Oct 24, 2018

    We don’t know much about Charles Franklin Petitt. He was from Cleveland, Tennessee, he’d apparently gone to Tucumcari, and his mother was worried about him in the fall of 1937. Ray H. Smith was secretary of the Tucumcari Chamber of Commerce at the time. Smith tried to help after receiving this note from a Petitt family friend: “Somewhere near Tucumcari, during the time of the earthquake around 6 years ago ... there lived a boy by the name of Charles Franklin Petitt. His mother would like to know if he survived the earthquake and if you can l...

  • Cattle guard issue still contentious

    Ron Warnick|Oct 24, 2018

    A weeks-long impasse over who is responsible for upkeep on a Quay County Road AF cattle guard on state right-of-way has ended, but issues that emerged from it have not. County commissioners at their regular meeting Monday learned the landowner recently repaired the damaged cattle guard on state right-of-way near U.S. 54. The guard had been installed by the state, but the state refused to fix it. Quay County officials have insisted they only would maintain county-installed cattle guards. County manager Richard Primrose said he learned at a...

  • School, hospital major focus of bond questions

    Ron Warnick|Oct 24, 2018

    Renewal of a gross-receipts tax to support Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital has received the most attention from Quay County voters for the Nov. 6 election. But state bond questions will prove consequential to Mesalands Community College and area schools, senior citizen centers and public libraries. The ballot contains four state bond questions: • Bond Question A would authorize up to $10.77 million to improve senior-citizen facilities across the state. • Bond Question B would authorize up to $12.87 million for public libraries and school lib...

  • Exodus conflict continues to rage

    Gordan Runyan|Oct 24, 2018

    In the book of Exodus, we see the clash between the God of the Hebrews, Yahweh, and all the gods of Egypt. God sends Moses as his reluctant spokesman. Moses is armed with the authority to call for great plagues, while Pharaoh is the king of the mightiest nation on earth. In his commentary on Exodus, economist Gary North proposes that what we have here is the collision of opposite religions. Though the original players have long-since passed away, their respective outlooks remain with us. The rel...

  • Police blotter - Oct. 24

    Oct 24, 2018

    The following are calls made to the Tucumcari-Quay County Regional Emergency Communications Center from Oct. 15 to Sunday: Monday • 1:24 a.m.: A prowler in the 1900 block of South Seventh Street. • 10:47 a.m.: Burglary from motor vehicle in 900 block of South Mountain Road, Tucumcari. • 2:02 p.m.: Damage to property in 1900 block of South Mountain Road, Tucumcari. • 9:15 p.m.: Traffic accident with damage in 2600 block of South First Street, Tucumcari. Tuesday • 12:51 a.m.: Fire at milepost 372, eastbound Interstate 40, Tucumcari. • 6:50 a....

  • Health officials urge enrollees to update info

    Ron Warnick|Oct 24, 2018

    The six-week enrollment period to the New Mexico health-insurance exchange for 2019 begins next week, and officials urge those who enrolled last year to update their information for possible cost savings. Juliet Yazzie and Katrina Smith of the beWellnm.com state health-insurance exchange sat down at the Quay County Sun to talk about options for consumers during the enrollment period, which starts Nov. 1 and ends Dec. 15. Yazzie said customers giving up-to-date information on the exchange is crucial. “To ensure an individual gets the correct a...

  • Jail log - Oct. 24

    Oct 24, 2018

    The following individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center Oct. 16-22: • William Archuleta, 26, Tucumcari, court order. • Peter Thomas Briones, 21, Tucumcari, battery on a household member (third offense) and criminal damage to property (under $1,000). • Pablo Mares, 33, Tucumcari, criminal damage to property (under $1,000). • Gilbert Anthony Chacon Sr., 65, San Jon, felony possession of a controled substance (narcotic drug), distribution of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. • Martha Amila Padilla, 50...

  • Districts to get security grants

    Staff report|Oct 24, 2018

    Tucumcari and several other area school districts soon will receive grants from the state for security improvements. The security upgrades can include new doors and locks, hand-held radios, fencing or security cameras. Such projects may begin as soon as December. The grants come in the wake of high-profile school shootings in Aztec, New Mexico, and Parkland, Florida. This year’s funding totals $16 million. The amount awarded to applicants depended on how many security measures already were in place. A list of area schools and the money they w...

  • Pages past - Oct. 24

    Oct 24, 2018

    On this date ... 1968: U.S. Rep. Thomas G. Harris was among the dignitaries speaking during a dedication of a $500,000 expansion of Tucumcari's airport. Harris said hypersonic aircraft of the future will transport people from New York City to San Francisco in an hour. Ceremonies included a Snoopy character from the Peanuts comic strip parachuting onto the runway after being "shot down" by the Red Baron during an old-time dogfight aerobatics show over the airport. Local officials also met the...

  • Rattlers fall to Tularosa

    Ron Warnick|Oct 24, 2018

    Many mistakes were made during host Tucumcari's 34-21 district loss Friday night to Tularosa, but one stood out early in the fourth quarter. Trailing 28-14 with more than eight minutes left, the Rattlers had a first down on the Wildcats' 17-yard line. A touchdown would have brought Tucumcari potentially within another TD of tying or leading the game and plenty of time to do so. Instead, sophomore quarterback Alijah Jimenez fumbled trying to avoid a fierce pass rush, and Tularosa recovered. Three...

  • San Jon/Grady closes regular season with victory

    Staff report|Oct 24, 2018

    San Jon/Grady on Friday closed its regular season of six-man football with a 45-26 district victory at Floyd. The victorious Coyotes, which moved up Sunday in the state rankings from eighth to seventh in six-man football, will go on the road Friday to face Springer/Maxwell (6-3) in the state quarterfinals in Springer, according to San Jon school officials. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Springer/Maxwell is seeded fourth in the tournament; San Jon / Grady is seeded fifth. The Devils defeated Roy/Mosquero 51-0 on Friday and corraled...

  • Lady Rattlers triumph in district play

    Ron Warnick|Oct 24, 2018

    The Tucumcari volleyball squad emerged triumphant in its first district game of the season Thursday by defeating a young and inexperienced Dexter team 25-17, 25-11, 25-21 during the Lady Rattlers' annual Think Pink match in tribute to women's cancer survivors. Tucumcari improved to 4-13 overall. Dexter dropped to 2-16 and 0-2 in district play. Both teams wore specially made Think Pink jerseys for the match. With the Lady Demons fielding only three seniors and struggling to run a basic offense,...

  • Logan defeats Melrose

    Staff report|Oct 24, 2018

    Logan on Saturday defeated No. 1-ranked Melrose on the road 25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12 in an epic clash of regional volleyball powers that undoubtedly will shake up the state rankings. The Lady Longhorns, ranked fourth in Class 1A in MaxPreps.com before Saturday, defeated the Lady Buffaloes for a second time this season and took control of the district standings with a 7-0 record, with one district match remaining against struggling Clovis Christian. Logan, which also defeated Melrose on Sept. 28, improved to 16-3 overall and won its...

  • Logan FFA picked for national convention

    Staff report|Oct 24, 2018

    The Logan FFA chapter recently was chosen to compete this week at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. The Logan chapter is sending several members to compete in parliamentary procedure during the convention from Wednesday through Saturday. FFA members who will represent Logan are Mackenzie Lightfoot, Mesa Modisette, Amber Rivera, Amanda Kanapilly, Robert Stringfellow and Kyle Hamilton. Clay Lightfoot is the chapter's adviser. Parliamentary procedure is one of 25 career or leadership...