The Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M., is preparing for the public hearing Thursday on whether the state should award it a horse track/casino license.
The Clovis News Journal lays out what’s at stake. The Quay County Sun is reporting on how the town is decking itself out for the event.
Here’s a startling excerpt:
Tucumcari is losing its population base and is dying on the vine, Frost said.
When Frost graduated from Tucumcari High School there were more than 100 in his graduating class, he said. “This year there were 37,” Frost said.
I’m certain that’s accurate. Tucumcari has lost a full third of its population since Interstate 40 supplanted Route 66 during the 1970s.
UPDATE: Today’s Quay County Sun has a “10 Questions” article about the proposed racino that is quite informative.
And here’s something few people know — Tucumcari had horse-racing back in the late 1930s.