Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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TUCUMCARI - An estimated 500 people shared memories Wednesday evening as they mourned the slain New Mexico State Police officer shot to death March 15 about 15 miles west of Tucumcari. The vigil drew Justin Hare's family, friends and fellow officers from as far away as Hobbs. The suspect, Jaremy Smith of South Carolina, was captured in Albuquerque last weekend after a shootout with police. Officials said late last week he is under police guard at a hospital. Smith also...
TUCUMCARI -- The New Mexico State Police officer slain near Tucumari on Friday was responding to a request to help a motorist with a flat tire. Justin Hare parked behind the disabled vehicle, NMSP Chief Troy Weisler said, and was shot moments later. "The suspect exited his vehicle and approached Officer Hare's passenger side window," Weisler said in a videotaped message released Saturday. "A short conversation ensued about repairing his tire, and Officer Hare offered to give... Full story
Tenth Judicial District Judge Albert J. Mitchell Jr. retired effective Friday, about one month earlier than his previously announced retirement date. Barry Massey, public information officer for New Mexico Courts, stated in an email Monday the New Mexico Supreme Court has designated other judges to help in the interim until a new judge likely is appointed by the governor and takes office later this year. “In order to assist with handling cases during the vacancy, the Supreme Court has appointed retired District Judge James W...
TUCUMCARI - On Feb. 29, Judge Albert J. Mitchell Jr., the only jurist in the sprawling 10th Judicial District, will hang up his robe for the final time after 15 years on the bench. Mitchell sent a one-page letter on Jan. 10 to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Shannon Bacon, stating he would resign effective March 1. "I am privileged to work with fine people in the Tenth Judicial District, as well as my judicial colleagues statewide,"...
RIO RANCHO – After sustaining their first loss of the season in Friday’s semifinals, Clovis High’s girls came back to defeat host Rio Rancho 58-52 on Saturday for third place in the Mel Otero Invitational. The Lady Wildcats (6-1) fired out to a 21-10 lead at the quarter and held off a late rally which saw the Rams (7-2) pull to within four points in the final stanza. “It was a good win for us,” CHS girls coach Jeff Reed said. “They’re a good team. We had two wins this weekend over teams that will definitely be in contention...
GLENRIO - In this border town in far eastern Quay County, a sign for a long-closed spot along Route 66 once proclaimed it as the "First Motel in Texas" and "Last Motel in Texas." With the opening last week of Glenrio Smoke Stop, it can credibly claim to be the first and last marijuana dispensary in New Mexico. It also serves as potentially a competitor to the dozen or so similar shops that have opened in Tucumcari since last year. The Glenrio Smoke Stop sits just a few yards w...
TUCUMCARI -- Mesalands Community College stated in a letter to a state senator the financially troubled college was not “at this time” considering the option of becoming a branch of a four-year university. State Sen. George Munoz, D-Gallup, in late July wrote letters to Mesalands, Eastern New Mexico University and New Mexico State University, urging Mesalands to consider a partnership or make the Tucumcari college a branch campus of one of the universities. He requested a response by Aug. 28. Last month, Mesalands board of...
Tommy Wallace is hopeful his ranch in southern Quay County sits amid a substantial field of oil, natural gas and helium that could produce dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of well-paying jobs. Wallace said in a phone interview last week that Louisiana-based Moran-Lavaca is “pretty sure” a substantial amount of helium exists on his property off Norton Road and at a recently drilled spot near Grady. He said he learned about the strike about six months ago. The Grady area well is on property owned by Elmer White, White con...
A state senator is urging Eastern New Mexico University and financially troubled Mesalands Community College to consider a partnership or make the Tucumcari school a branch campus of ENMU. One area lawmaker said he would oppose such a partnership or merger of Mesalands. The presidents of both educational institutions said they are open-minded to Sen. George Munoz’s proposal. Munoz, D-Gallup, in late July wrote separate letters to the ENMU board of regents and the Mesalands board of trustees. The Quay County Sun obtained t...
TUCUMCARI -- A jogger encountered the pack of five dogs shortly before they fatally mauled a Tucumcari man in February, and two men approached the bloody scene when the victim still was alive. That’s according to a state police report, which also showed the victim died of blood loss after the attack. The 21-page report was issued by New Mexico State Police agent Eric Fouratt. The Quay County Sun obtained the report last week through a public-records request submitted shortly after the Feb. 1 attack near 11th Street and G...
TUCUMCARI -- Two Tucumcari people were criminally charged in the death of another resident who was attacked and killed last week by a pack of dogs. Mary Olimpia Montoya, 50, and her son Kristopher Jaquaris Morris, 27, both of the 400 block of West High Street, were charged with involuntary manslaughter (reckless) and a dangerous dog (death of a person). They were booked into the Quay County Detention Center on Wednesday after warrants were issued for their arrests. They were...
TUCUMCARI -- An animal rescue worker said a pack of dogs had been roaming Tucumcari for weeks prior to the dog attack that killed a man last Wednesday. City officials said they were unaware of such a report, though City Manager Paula Chacon said police officers had picked up three roaming dogs near the Tucumcari Recreation Center prior to the attack. New Mexico State Police said Stanley Hartt, 64, was attacked and killed by five mixed-breed dogs as he was walking down 11th...
An Albuquerque district judge last week rejected arguments by the New Mexico Racing Commission to dismiss a lawsuit by Coronado Partners, setting up a legal showdown this spring whether to issue a sixth and final license to build a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari. District Judge Nancy Franchini’s three-page ruling on Jan. 23 to deny a motion to dismiss and allow the lawsuit to proceed was expected. Franchini had signaled during a telephone hearing in December she would allow the appeal by Coronado to contest the c...
TUCUMCARI -- A pack of roaming dogs attacked and killed a Tucumcari man as he was walking near Mesalands Community College on Wednesday night, police said. Five mixed-breed dogs attacked Stanley Hartt, 64, as he was walking down 11th Street near Gamble Avenue, according to a news release from New Mexico State Police, which is investigating. Hartt was pronounced dead at the scene by the Office of Medical Examiner. NMSP will give its final report to the district attorney’s office for the possible filing of charges. A state p...
An Albuquerque woman recovered her dog Saturday after it went missing almost two years ago, thanks to a microchip implanted in the animal and a Quay County sheriff's deputy who picked it up west of Tucumcari. Felicia Chavez was reunited with Fasa, a 4-year-old neutered bull mastiff weighing between 60 and 70 pounds, in the office of the Paws & Claws Animal Rescue of Quay County. The dog wagged its tail and licked her face as she knelt with the animal. Chavez also showed how...
An Albuquerque district judge indicated during a hearing last week she would grant an appeal by Coronado Partners to contest the New Mexico Racing Commission’s rejection of an application to build a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari. District Judge Nancy Franchini said during a telephone hearing Dec. 13 she was dissatisfied with the arguments of the commission’s lawyer, Richard Bustamante, to dismiss Coronado Partners’ initial lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. “I think it’s a valid appeal,...
TUCUMCARI — The Quay County commission on June 13 took several significant steps to building a new hospital to replace aging Trigg Memorial Hospital, including unanimously approving a nearly $1 million design service fee with an Arizona architectural firm. The $981,718.94 design service fee with Stantec Architecture in Phoenix, which has designed 19 other rural hospitals, covers architectural, structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, civil engineering and heliport designs. Mike Williams, a healthcare p...
The New Mexico Racing Commission apparently will decide later whether to approve or reject Coronado Partners’ application for a sixth license that would allow it to build a horse-racing track and casino in Tucumcari. The commission discussed the application and two other items during a closed executive session during its regular meeting Thursday, but it took no action when open session resumed. Albuquerque judge Nancy Franchini on June 3, granting Coronado’s writ of mandamus request to compel the commission to perform its...
An Albuquerque judge ordered the New Mexico Racing Commission to act within 90 days on whether to accept or reject Coronado Partners’ request for a racing license so it could build a track and casino in Tucumcari. District Court Judge Nancy Franchini in a ruling issued June 3 affirmed Logan attorney and Coronado Partners principal Warren Frost’s request for a writ of mandamus against the commission. A writ of mandamus asks a court to compel another entity to perform its official duties. Franchini rejected arguments from com...
BERNALILLO – The Melrose girls basketball team looked as if it was in trouble during the first half Friday, but it wore down To'hajiilee, outscoring the Lady Warriors by 20 points in the second half en route to a 50-35 victory. That moves Melrose into the Class A girls championship against Fort Sumner/House Saturday morning. Game time is 10 a.m. Also Saturday, Elida's boys play Magdalena at 6 p.m. for the Class A title. Elida beat Mesilla Valley Christian, 86-69, in the semifi...
LOGAN - New Mexico's top education chief said many teachers in the state likely will see a pay raise as soon as April. New Mexico Education Secretary Kurt Steinhaus provided details about forthcoming pay increases for teachers and school staff during a so-called "listening tour" Friday in the boardroom of Logan Municipal Schools. Steinhaus held similar sessions last week in Bloomfield, Taos and Roswell, and was scheduled to hold more this week in Truth or Consequences, Los...
The 1986 hit movie "Hoosiers" depicted a small-school Indiana basketball team that improbably won the state championship, defeating bigger-enrollment schools along the way. Forrest in southern Quay County can boast a real-life version of "Hoosiers," except the Pirates won the state title twice in the early 1930s and might have done it a third time if misfortune hadn't struck. Forrest's state title treks might sound like the stuff of fiction. However, tangible evidence of...
RIO RANCHO - Melrose captured its second Class 1A volleyball championship in seven months on Saturday with a 25-13, 25-17, 26-24 victory over Gateway Christian at Rio Rancho Events Center. Melrose also downed Gateway Christian in the 1A championship match in April during a season delayed and compressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The top-seeded Lady Buffs, who finished this season with a 25-1 record, didn't lose a set during the tournament that also included wins over...
TUCUMCARI — A Tucumcari man faces eight felony criminal charges after he was accused of shooting at city police officers Thursday following an attempted traffic stop. Records show the man ordered the driver to keep evading police while children were inside the vehicle. No one was hurt during the confrontation and subsequent arrest. According to online court documents, Lawrence P. Rivas, 26, faces these felony charges: • First-degree kidnapping; • Abuse of a child not resulting in death or great bodily harm; • Two counts...
RAGLAND - On the edge of the caprock, a father and his teenage son built a makeshift set of goalposts that doubled as a pasture gate behind the village's general store. It was here the boy, Lewis Reagan, practiced his placekicking for the Tucumcari Rattlers football team. Those practices paid off when, as a senior, he kicked a state-record 58-yard field goal - one of three that split the uprights that night - during a 22-20 upset victory on Oct. 23, 1981, over Lovington. Nearl...
