Serving the High Plains

Articles from the October 30, 2019 edition


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  • Infrastructure, attracting jobs hot topics at forum

    Ron Warnick|Oct 30, 2019

    Those running for Tucumcari city commission listed infrastructure upgrades, attracting more jobs and working together as a community as among their priorities during a candidates' forum Oct. 22 at Mesalands Community College. Another theme that emerged from most of the candidates - and reiterated by the Quay County clerk - was encouraging residents to vote for the Nov. 5 election. Candidates from throughout Quay County were invited to the forum hosted by Rotary Club Tucumcari and moderated by...

  • Commission candidates speak out

    Ron Warnick|Oct 30, 2019

    Three of the four races for Tucumcari City Commission are contested in the Nov. 5 election, and those candidates brought up a range of concerns and issues in the city. In District 1, which encompasses most of the city’s north side, Tommy Snapp is challenging incumbent Ralph Moya for a four-year term. Moya, 60, lists himself as a CEO of a mental-health agency, a behavioral health therapist, farmer and rancher. Snapp, 48, is a disabled retiree. In District 2, in the northeast and east side of town, Paul Villanueva is challenging incumbent Amy Gut...

  • School board hopefuls answer questions

    Ron Warnick|Oct 30, 2019

    The Tucumcari school board has four seats up for the Nov. 5 election but only one is contested — incumbent Fernando Ureste versus Jerry Joe Lopez in District 2. Newcomers Victor Matthew Pacheco in District 1 and Bo William Wallace in District 5 are uncontested and will be elected, replacing Carlos Romero and Corinne Hayes, respectively, who did not run for re-election. Incumbent Heather Gonzales in District 4 also is unopposed. All are four-year terms. Ureste, 32, works at United Parcel Service. He and his opponent, Lopez, 37, recently f...

  • Calendar - Oct. 30

    Oct 30, 2019

    • Thursday — Festival of Fright. Visit the haunted Mesalands Dinosaur Museum. This event will feature trunk or treating, candy, fun and scares for all ages. The children’s haunted house will be from 5 to 7 p.m. and the adult haunted house from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is $5 per person or $3 with a costume. Trunk or treat is free. Mesalands Dinosaur Museum, 222 E. Laughlin Avenue, Tucumcari. • Thursday — Trunk or Treat. This free event will be in the First Baptist Church parking lot from 6 to 8 p.m. 321 E. Center St., Tucumcari. • Nov. 9 — VFW Pos...

  • Menus - Oct. 30

    Oct 30, 2019

    Tucumcari schools Wednesday — Breakfast: Strawberry yogurt parfait, cereal choice with cinnamon goldfish graham cracker, fruit, juice, milk; Lunch: Chicken nuggets, egg and cheese chef salad with whole-grain crackers, mashed potatoes, country gravy, honey wheat roll, baby carrots, fruit, milk. Thursday — Breakfast: Bagel with strawberry cream cheese, ultimate breakfast round, cereal choice with cinnamon goldfish graham cracker, fruit, juice, milk; Lunch: Cheeseburger, French fries, romaine lettuce, fresh tomato slice, pickle slices, fruit, mil...

  • Jail log - Oct. 30

    Oct 30, 2019

    These individuals were booked into the Quay County Detention Center from Oct. 23 to Oct. 26: • Federico Hernandez, 45, Tucumcari, disorderly conduct and contempt of court. • Jason Frank Beltran, 31, Tucumcari, battery upon a police officer, assault and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer (service of process). • Cynthia Lee Hamilton, 49, Tucumcari, warrant from other counties or states. These individuals were released from the Quay County Detention Center from Oct. 22 to Oct. 28: • Albert Lucero, 31, Tucumcari, court ordered. • Carl...

  • Pages past - Oct. 30

    Oct 30, 2019

    25: After 15 years, 5 months and 12 days of ‘all deliberate speed,’ the Supreme Court has announced flatly and unanimously it will tolerate no further delay in school desegregation. “‘The obligations of every school district is to terminate dual school systems at once and to operate now and hereafter only unitary integrated schools,’ the high court declared in a brief but history ruling handed down late Wednesday. “The first major opinion issued by the court since President Nixon appointed Warren E. Burger chief justice was a sharp setba...

  • Logan finishes third in District 3

    Staff report|Oct 30, 2019

    After its 50-0 district victory Friday night over Gateway Christian to conclude the regular season, Logan learned Saturday it would go to Mountainair during the opening round of the eight-man football playoffs. The Longhorns’ playoff game would be at 7 p.m. Friday at Mountainair. Logan (5-4), a No. 5 seed, lost 40-14 to fourth-seeded Mountainair (5-3) during the season-opening game for both teams Aug. 23. Logan coach Dwayne Roberts is familiar with Mountainair another way — he got his start as a coach there, and his brother Sheldon is an assist...

  • Encinias reaches Hall of Fame

    Staff report|Oct 30, 2019

    Longtime Tucumcari High School coach Eddie Encinias was inducted Saturday into the New Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame. The honor came during the New Mexico Activities Association's annual wrestling clinic in Albuquerque. Encinias, entering his 19th season of guiding the Rattlers wrestling team, was named NMAA's Coach of the Year in 2004, Tucumcari Elks Lodge's Citizen of the Year in 2006, won two district championships, placed twice for the state team title and guided 18 individuals to state...

  • Rattlers take district loss

    Ron Warnick|Oct 30, 2019

    Five turnovers spelled doom for Tucumcari in a 50-0 district loss Friday to a state-ranked Dexter team during the Rattlers' final home game of the season. The Demons (7-2) led 42-0 at halftime and scored another touchdown and a two-point conversion early in the third quarter to end the game via mercy rule. Tucumcari fell to 1-8 overall and has gone four straight games without scoring after a 35-33 overtime loss at Santa Rosa on Sept. 20. The Rattlers totaled just 21 yards of offense, while the...

  • Tularosa victorious over Tucumcari

    Ron Warnick|Oct 30, 2019

    Tucumcari has improved in volleyball this year. But its key district foe, Tularosa, also improved - all the way to a No. 1 ranking in Class 3A. The Lady Rattlers, ranked eighth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, were looking to notch an upset against the Wildcats like they did in district play last year. Tularosa thwarted that with its 25-14, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19 victory Saturday at the Snake Pit. Tularosa improved to 17-2 overall and took control of District 4 with a 3-0 mark. Haylee Hill had 16...

  • San Jon awarded archery grant

    Staff report|Oct 30, 2019

    San Jon High School recently was awarded a $2,637 grant from the NRA Foundation grant to purchase equipment to begin a National Archery in the Schools program. San Jon students hope to compete at the state tournament in the spring. The NRA Foundation provides financial support to eligible projects, programs and organizations through its grant program and has awarded more than $398 million in grants since 1990. Each year, volunteer committees from across the country raise charitable dollars and...

  • Fire damages planned dispensary

    Ron Warnick|Oct 30, 2019

    A fire early Thursday morning severely damaged what would have become Tucumcari's first medical-marijuana dispensary and forced the one-day closure of a nearby restaurant on Route 66. The blaze at 713 E. Route 66 Blvd., also known as Tucumcari Boulevard, initially was reported about 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Fire departments from all over Quay County were called in to bring the fire under control. A news release Monday afternoon from Tucumcari Fire Chief Doug Hogan stated the blaze "is considered...

  • City approves Second Street measures

    Ron Warnick|Oct 30, 2019

    The Tucumcari city commission on Thursday unanimously approved four resolutions, applications or agreements to address repairs and reconstruction of two blocks of Second Street downtown. Commissioners swiftly approved the four measures. Commissioner Ralph Moya, a frequent skeptic of city legislation, made the motion to approve those items. He said the work is needed because an acquaintance told him Tucumcari streets are “worse than the roads in Mexico.” These are the measures the commissioners approved: n A resolution requesting par...

  • San Jon, House voters to decide on bonds for facilities

    Staff report|Oct 30, 2019

    Voters in the San Jon and House school districts during the Nov. 5 election will decide whether to issue bonds to make improvements to their buildings and facilities. Voters in the San Jon district will vote on an $800,000 general-obligation bond package for repairs to buildings and facilities. House school district voters face a $400,000 general-obligation bond issue for building safety improvements. The bond-issue votes are packaged of numerous races for offices around Quay County. Early voting will continue through Saturday, when the Quay...

  • No need to fear Satan on Halloween

    Leonard Lauriault|Oct 30, 2019

    It’s Halloween time with all its symbols from various sources, even some based in Christianized pagan rites. Much of the Christianized component originally was associated with the fear of death and its defeat by Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection (en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Halloween; Hebrews 2:14-15). For example, the skulls so prevalent today originally represented the place of Jesus’ crucifixion (John 19:16-18). Also, dressing up as scary figures (guising) is based in poking fun at Satan because of his defeat by dressing up as once-...

  • County approves radio coverage grant

    Ron Warnick|Oct 30, 2019

    The Quay County Commission on Monday unanimously approved a $41,016.49 grant to build a new radio-transmission repeater to boost radio coverage to sheriff’s deputies on the county’s east side. The repeater will be built on the caprock off Highway 469 south of San Jon. The sheriff’s department currently has only one radio repeater, at the top of Tucumcari Mountain. The money, which requires no match from the county, comes from the state’s Homeland Security Grant Program. County Emergency Management coordinator Daniel Zamora, who shepher...

  • School board approves resolution for mail-in election

    Ron Warnick|Oct 30, 2019

    The Tucumcari school board on Oct. 21 approved a resolution that sets a special Feb. 18 mail-in election on a $3 million bond issue to redevelop its softball and baseball diamonds. The resolution was approved by a unanimous vote with little discussion, save for questions by board member Corinne Hayes on how to publicize the election’s Jan. 21 voter-registration deadline. Regina Gaysina, an associate with RBC Capital Markets of Albuquerque, the district’s bonding company, said during a presentation the district has shown healthy increases in the...

  • Police blotter - Oct. 30

    Oct 30, 2019

    These calls were made to the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center from Oct. 21 to Oct. 27: Monday • 7:23 a.m.: Traffic accident with damage in 200 block of East Center Street, Tucumcari. • 10:04 a.m.: Child custody dispute in 200 block of East Center Street, Tucumcari. • 10:28 a.m.: Harassment in 1000 block of South Fifth Street, Tucumcari. • 3:03 p.m.: Arrest warrant in 100 block of West Center Street, Tucumcari. • 5:19 p.m.: Arrest warrant in 200 block of West High Street, Tucumcari. • 5:41 p.m.: Domestic disturbance...