Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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A Tucumcari woman’s complaints about a driver’s “extreme and bizarre” conduct prompted state regulators to issue five-figure fines to two nonemergency medical transportation companies and impose new regulations on the sector. After a two-day hearing earlier this year, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission imposed fines of $49,210 against We Care Transportation and $21,090 against Superior Medical Transport. The PRC on Sept. 16 also issued an order that within six months, all nonemergency motor carriers will maintai...
A Tucumcari police officer who was shown last month on a video posted to social media body-slamming a suspect has been cleared after an internal investigation, and he was returned to his job. That didn’t satisfy the suspect’s lawyer, who said he was “outraged” by the police department and its officers and vowed to file a lawsuit. Tucumcari officer Justin Garcia had been placed on administrative leave until a review of the July 17 incident could be completed, stated acting police chief Pete Rivera in an email Wednesd...
The actions of two Tucumcari police officers will undergo an internal review after one was seen on video picking up and slamming a suspect to the ground during an arrest Saturday at a grocery store parking lot. The Tucumcari Police Department issued a statement Sunday on its Facebook page, stating “we are aware of the video circulating around social media” of the use-of-force incident involving suspect Pete Apodaca, 43, of Tucumcari. “Tucumcari PD reviews every use of force situation and this incident is no diffe...
The Table Top Food Cooperative that aims to mentor novice farmers and produce more local food appears to be bearing more fruit this year. David White, owner of La Casa Verde Floral and Nursery in Tucumcari and president of the cooperative, said organization now has a half-dozen farmers “who now are successful and growing.” “This year, we should see a significant increase of vendors at the (Tucumcari) farmers market,” White said. “We are cultivating the next generation of food farmers.” Table Top offers a land-access...
A Quay County jury failed to reach verdict Friday afternoon with a former Logan Municipal Schools teacher’s whistleblower and retaliation lawsuit against the district’s superintendent, resulting in a mistrial. Logan lawyer Warren Frost, representing plaintiff Rhyan Daugherty in the case, said Friday the jury of nine men and three women voted 9-3 in favor of his client, one short of winning the case. The jurors advanced no further after 3 1/2 hours of deliberation inside the Tucumcari courthouse. Barring a settlement, Fro...
Legalized recreational marijuana likely is coming to eastern New Mexico. The mayor of Trinidad, Colo., passed along some advice to the region after the experiencing the effects of legal weed in his community. “Be very careful how many (marijuana dispensaries) you allow in your community,” Trinidad Mayor Phil Rico said in a recent telephone interview. “Be careful how close you put them to educational facilities. Be very careful if you have a historic district and how you control that. Be careful with your application proce...
Area suppliers of natural gas or propane said they anticipate price increases for customers in the wake of severely cold weather that strained supplies and sparked widespread power outages, but they weren’t prepared to say how much those hikes would be. Natural gas supplies across the country are warning of spikes after frigid conditions constrained supplies and caused the spot market for gas spiral wildly upward. In one case, the city of Grove, Oklahoma, was forced to buy natural gas Wednesday at $622 per dekatherm when i...
TUCUMCARI - A Tucumcari man caused a stir on social media over the weekend when he flew at his south-side home two flags representing the Nazi Germany era - including one with a swastika. Dave Shine, the owner of the flags, said he simply was honoring his German heritage and "wanted to do something different." Estefanita Garcia, who lives near the same south-side neighborhood, said she was driving by Shine's home on Saturday afternoon when she saw a flag on a pole with a...
A fuel vendor’s mistake at the Yesway convenience store in San Jon led to fouled engines for numerous residents and other customers who filled up their diesel vehicles for about a four-day period. A company spokeswoman said the Iowa-based company would reimburse customers for repairs, towing expenses and alternate transportation caused by the flub. She did not know how many customers were affected. The fuel vendor inadvertently put gasoline into a diesel storage tank in front of the store, she said. Steve Kent, owner of S...
TUCUMCARI - A Tucumcari man, presented with DNA evidence, recently confessed to setting a fire in 2012 that killed more than 70 animals at a local veterinarian clinic. However, the man has not been charged with any crime regarding the fire because the statute of limitations expired on the case more than two years ago. District Attorney Timothy Rose said he's "never had a case where I've been this aggravated that we were unable to seek justice" because of the rule of law....
Ute Lake State Park in Logan will remain closed through Aug. 25 after several employees there tested positive for COVID-19, according to a news release Saturday afternoon. The park closed Wednesday after several park employees showed coronavirus-like symptoms. “On Tuesday, August 11th, during routine screening some employees reported a high temperature and were immediately sent home,” stated Susan Torres, public information officer with the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. “The Park was close...
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the governor is authorized to impose stiff fines for violations of the state’s public health order during the coronavirus pandemic. The decision from the bench arrived after about an hour of deliberation by the justices following 75 minutes of arguments and questioning of each sides’ lawyers during a videoconference in the court’s chambers in Santa Fe. The decision fends off a legal challenge to the state’s enforcement power as it seeks to continue a ban on indoor di...
An investigation into a deputy's missing duty weapon has led to multiple theft charges, other criminal allegations and the loss of the deputy's job at the Roosevelt County Sheriff's Office. Chris McCasland, 34, was arrested twice last week, accused of stealing a snowmobile and other items when he was a police officer in Angel Fire about six years ago. McCasland's attorney said he's innocent of all the charges and allegations, that this is all the result of a custody dispute...
Criminal allegations against a former Roosevelt County sheriff’s deputy are increasing. Chris McCasland, 34, was arrested Wednesday on stolen property charges connected to his time working as a police officer in Angel Fire. On Thursday, charges of burglary and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle were also filed, again in connection with his time in Angel Fire. District Attorney Andrea Reeb said McCasland turned himself in to authorities for a second time Friday after Thursday’s charges were filed. She expected him to be rel... Full story
After a big truck ran off the road Friday and wrecked west of Tucumcari, nearly a dozen Good Samaritans lifted the mangled cab off the driver, gave him first aid and comfort, then cleared a path through the debris so first responders could airlift the injured man to a hospital. Quay County sheriff's deputy Clay Huffman recounted the "heart warming acts of humanity" in a post Friday evening on Facebook, which was shared more than 1,600 times and drew nearly 350 comments by...
TUCUMCARI — Richard Lewis has survived diabetes, two strokes, several heart surgeries and even being struck by lightning. Family members say he’s showing signs of surviving coronavirus as well. “He has nine lives, I’m sure,” Lewis’ former wife, Jennifer Lewis, said Saturday in an interview during a conference call with Richard’s son, Christopher Lewis, also of Tucumcari. They revealed some of the details behind the man who may be Quay County’s first confirmed coronavirus case. A county confirmation was announced Saturday by t... Full story
New Mexico voters won’t know until at least mid-April whether everybody will cast ballots by mail for the June 2 primary election. The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on both sides of the issue April 14 after 27 county clerks asked the court last week to hold a mail-in election because of safety and logistical concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver also stated her support for a mail-in election. The New Mexico Republican Party filed a lawsuit to block such an elect...
Donald Schutte, a longtime lawyer and a former assistant district attorney and district court judge in Quay County, died Feb. 25. He was 72. Attorney Roger Bargas, with whom Schutte shared a law office in Tucumcari, said he suddenly took ill at his home near Las Vegas, New Mexico, and was rushed to the hospital. Bargas said it’s believed Schutte died from a blood clot or massive heart attack. “It came out of the blue. It was a real shock for everybody. He was one of the healthiest people I’ve ever met,” Bargas said during...
On a wall of the Quay County Clerk's office hangs a 1964 map of ghost towns in New Mexico. The New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources compiled the map, of which copies are available from the office for a fee. In Quay County, the map shows about 20 ghost towns that might be unfamiliar even to longtime residents - towns with names such as Tipton, Revuelto, Canode, Adberg, Ard and Hanley. It turns out the map far underestimated the number of defunct settlements in Quay...
TUCUMCARI — The man who shot and killed a manager of a Tucumcari restaurant last month apologized to customers after the attack and said no harm would come to them before he fatally turned the gun on himself in the parking lot. Two friends of the assailant said he found out earlier that day his girlfriend had been “cheating” on him with the manager and was going to drive to the restaurant to confront him. The friends spent 30 minutes trying to persuade him to “not do anything stupid” and took away his vehicle keys, but he ca...
TUCUMCARI - Friends called him a "champion of the people" and his death a "devastating loss." Ron Wilmot, a former journalist, convention center manager and longtime staffer for U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, died Nov. 18 at Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari. He was 68. "I am grieving with his family, friends and the Quay community ... over the loss of a dedicated public servant who brought care and attention to the people of New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District," said Lujan,...
RIO RANCHO – Logan stunned top-seeded and previously unbeaten Melrose 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 in the Class 1A volleyball championship Saturday after the Lady Buffaloes mostly dominated the Lady Longhorns this season. Melrose was hoping to notch its seventh volleyball championship and its first undefeated season since 1983. Instead, a jubilant Logan squad delivered a three-peat in state championships to its coach, Robert Young, at the Santa Ana Star Center, including a title victor...
RIO RANCHO – For Texico, call it six the hard way. The top-seeded Wolverines volleyball team captured its sixth consecutive state championship Saturday, but it had to get past an upset-minded, fifth-seeded Mescalero Apache team that Texico had conquered in three sets the day before. Texico prevailed 23-25, 25-19, 24-26, 25-12, 15-11 in the Class 2A title game that took nearly 2 1/2 hours to complete at the Santa Ana Star Center. Riley Rohrbach's kill on match point enabled t...
“I think we will be a decent ballclub if we can stay healthy.” Tucumcari head coach Wayne Ferguson’s thumbnail assessment of his team matches others in the region. Simply put, coaches in Quay County and beyond are struggling to get enough athletes out for football. Ferguson has 31 players on his varsity roster, but he’s seen fewer than 20 show up for practices so far. Because of his lack of skilled players, he felt forced to cancel a scrimmage last week against the Clovis...
The mayor of Logan was fined $800, given a suspended 90-day jail sentence and put on unsupervised probation for illegally working and bidding as an electrical contractor without a license during a plea deal Tuesday afternoon in Tucumcari magistrate court. David Babb, 63, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor violations of the Construction Industries Licensing Act — one for working as a contractor without a license and the other for bidding as a contractor without a license. He was charged in May after the state of New Mexico f...
