Serving the High Plains

Tucumcari/Quay Chamber dinner, auction raise $5,000

link Richard Randalls and his wife Linda Sims browse among the auction items Friday at the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce’s annual fund-raising banquet.

Staff report

An evening of fun, food and prizes Friday resulted in about $5,000 to fund Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce activities for the year.

About 230 people attended the chamber’s annual fund-raising event that featured a prime-rib dinner, a silent auction for donated items and a grand-prize drawing.

The grand prize was an i-Pad Mini Tablet, and the winners were Vic and Andi Baum of Tucumcari.

State Rep. Dennis Roch gave a presentation summarizing key bills signed into law from the 2015 session of the New Mexico Legislature for veterans, agriculture and child protection.

Roch described new laws that make veterans’ property tax benefits on one home transfer with the veteran when the veteran moves to another home, and cut in half the cost of hunting and fishing licenses for veterans.

New agriculture legislation, he said, will preserve agricultural taxing levels for land that is non-productive due to drought and require hearings of the Interstate Streams Commission on water issues to be held in the area to which the issues apply.

To protect children, Roch said, new laws now enable placing Amber Alerts about missing children to be placed on digital media, such as cell phones, make it illegal to sell electronic cigarettes to minors and raise the penalty for adults who place children into prostitution.

Roch said that contrary to many media reports that focused on battles between Democrats and Republicans during the legislative sessions, much was accomplished.

The Danny Cadra Band from Lubbock, Texas, provided music for dancing after the drawings were completed.