Ready to roll

 

---

City studies youth groups using Red Rock facilities

Tanya Brazil
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Gallup City Council members are reviewing the draft of a lease that would house the National Indian Youth Leadership Project and Gallup Boys and Girls Club at Red Rock State Park.

At the work session Tuesday, council members agreed to spend the next two weeks reviewing the conditions of the proposed three-year lease of office space on the bottom floor of the park's Hospitality Room.

They then will return their conclusions to City Manager David Ruiz, who will seek input from McClellan Hall, the executive director of NIYLP, before the city's contract attorney finalizes the lease.

One condition of the lease that is in question is the organizations' rent-free access to other facilities within the park when they are not being used by paying customers.

Joe Athens, the interim manager of the park, said the proposed lease specifies that the fee would be waived for use of the facilities but that the groups still would be responsible for paying utility and maintenance costs.

The advantage, he said, is the organizations would draw more people and revenue to the park.

But the problem some council members have with this arrangement is that other organizations that rent space at the park may feel entitled to the same agreement.

Karl Lohmann, the director of the NIYLP, said he believes the relationship they are proposing is different from that of other organizations because they would be full time tenants.

Also, he said, the groups would be promoting educational activities in the museum and an abundance of youth activities in places such as the arena and convention center that usually go unused for a large part of the year.

"We want to put a competent circus in those empty tents to discover the potentials that might exist," he said. "So we want to feel free if we bring a youth group there, and I think this is not just generous but visionary on the part of the city in that they would encourage us to use the park and not just that space between the walls that's included in our lease agreement."

Another stipulation in the lease that council members questioned is the city giving rental credits to the organizations for improvements they make to the facility including the upgrade of phone and computer systems and the construction of a ropes course, basketball and volleyball courts and hiking/biking trails.

But Lohmann described the agreement as a "win-win situation" for the city and the groups because the organizations' ability to write grants under its 501C3 status would bring in revenue for the improvements which would remain the property of the city.

Alicia Begay, the program coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club, said she hopes the organizations can begin moving out to the park in phases sometime this month.

In addition to activities such as powwows, rodeos, concerts and culturally diverse movies, she said they plan to have college and career days, as well as college preparation classes focusing on test taking and filling out financial aid, college and scholarship applications.

Begay said she also wants to set up a cultural exchange through which the elderly would teach youth about the Navajo language and traditions while the youth would in return help the elderly with adult basic education to improve their reading and writing skills.

The group also plans to coordinate with Indian Health Services in Crownpoint and Gallup, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and the Church Rock Chapter House to set up a fitness program and put in weight room equipment in the new facility for the youth and community to use.

The Church Rock Chapter House through the help of the Gateway Foundation also is donating five computers to the organizations so they can set up a computer lab with Internet access at the park.

Lohmann said the Boys and Girls Club plans to build "a complete and comprehensive outdoor experiential playground" at the park, consisting of biking and hiking trails, a skateboard park, ropes course, rock climbing wall and playground equipment.

The group also plans to implement national Boys and Girls Club projects such as Smart Moves Training, a drug and alcohol prevention program, and Project Learn, which emphasizes an academic improvement curriculum.

In addition to asking the city for its cooperation and partnership, Lohmann said the groups are hoping for support from McKinley County, the Navajo Nation, the Gallup McKinley School District, the Church Rock Chapter House and area businesses.

"What we're going to do is going to knock their socks off," Lohmann said. "We've got vision, persistence, ethics and skill. We will have a competent program out there worth noticing."

Lohmann admits that the groups' organizers are undertaking a huge task, that it will take at least 10 years before issues such as funding, membership and infrastructure are secured.

But in the end, he said, their efforts will make a tremendous difference in the lives of area children and families.

| Top |

---

Court upholds prison term for House

SANTA FE (AP) — The state Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a more than 20-year prison sentence imposed on Gordon House, who was convicted of killing four people in a 1992 highway crash that became a symbol of New Mexico's drunken driving problem.

The court unanimously rejected arguments by House's lawyer challenging the sentencing.

House was sentenced to 22 years and currently is serving his time at a privately operated prison in Santa Rosa.

State District Judge James Blackmer suspended three years of a 25-year sentence and gave House credit for time he already had served while his case was pending.

Ray Twohig of Albuquerque, House's lawyer, said no decision had been made on whether to appeal the latest court ruling to the state Supreme Court.

"We had hoped it would succeed in getting the sentenced reduced somewhat because it was so extreme," Twohig said.

There might be no appeal, Twohig said, if a decision is made to concentrate legal efforts on a pending federal case that seeks to overturn House's convictions.

House was convicted in 1995 of four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of causing great bodily harm in a Christmas Eve 1992 crash that killed an Albuquerque woman, her three young daughters and injured her husband.

House drove the wrong way on Interstate 40 near Albuquerque and crashed head-on into a car in which Melanie Cravens and her three young daughters were riding.

Two trials in Taos ended in the mistrials. He was tried a third time in Las Cruces and was convicted. House admitted to drinking 7 beers the day of the crash, but testified it was a migraine, not alcohol, that caused him to become disoriented and drive the wrong direction on the highway.

House spent 291 days in prison before being released in 1996 on appeal. The appeals court tossed out his convictions in 1997, on grounds the third trial should not have been moved from Taos.

The state Supreme Court reinstated the convictions in 1999 and House was returned to prison. The court also sent the case back to Blackmer for resentencing.

House's lawyers contended that the sentence imposed by Blackmer the same length of time as originally imposed was improper and that state law on vehicular homicide was "irreducibly ambiguous."

The law allows for additional prison time a so-called sentence enhancement to be imposed for vehicular homicide by drunken drivers who have a prior DWI conviction. No extra time can be added for conviction of vehicular homicide involving reckless driving, however.

House's lawyers also contended that House should have been punished for one vehicular homicide conviction rather than four because his actions stemmed from one fatal accident.

The court disagreed.

"The occurrences for which defendant was sentenced were the individual homicides he committed and injuries he caused, not his single act of unlawful operation of a motor vehicle," the court said in an opinion written by Judge M. Christina Armijo.

| Top |

---

Grants bike rally launches Website

Tom Purdom
Staff Writer

GRANTS — The Fire & Ice Route 66 Bike Rally in July is fast becoming a world event and now the rally has its own rallying point a Website.

Scheduled to be held July 20-22, the rally will help celebrate the year-long 75th anniversary of the famed Route 66.

The event is expected to draw thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world who want to cruise the highway from its beginning in Chicago to its end in California.

While the actual anniversary event is in its infancy now, it will be one happening thing in July in Grants where rock and roll band concerts are planned, bike tours will be conducted on Route 66 and in the surrounding area, bike rodeo events will be held, poker runs will be made, dances will be held, vendor booths open and much, much more will happen.

The rally is being put on by the Grants Main Street Project, whose Executive Director Cecil Brown said it's a momentous project still being planned.

Part of the process is a Website specifically geared to the rally. The Web address is http://www.fireandicebikerally.com//.
"The site went up on Dec. 22 and all the links were pretty much done before the first of the year," Brown said.

Main Street has a reason to put the site on the Internet. "Most of the bikers we'll attract to this event use the Internet a lot,"
Brown said.

To show the interest in the site Brown said that between Dec. 22 and Dec. 31, "We had 8,900 hits on the site ... that's not bad, not bad at all."

To help in the effort Brown said the site is linked with several biker links. "If people look at the site they can get a lot better idea of what we are trying to do," Brown said.

The site features lodging information, a schedule of events, maps of the area, local news and weather, how to contact the rally, tourist attractions, quick reference, links, vendor requests and the e-mail address.

Brown said that if people want to contact the rally they should use the Grants/Cibola County Chamber of Commerce e-mail address: discover@grants.org.

"If there's someone out there who has put a rally on that may have solutions to problems we may encounter, we'd like to hear about it," said Carmen Morin, chamber executive director. The chamber is helping with the project.

Brown said that while the rally will be a three-day event in July only, the 75th anniversary will last much longer. About 4,000 vehicles a day are expected to ply the old Route 66, up 2,300 vehicles per day from the usual 1,700 cars, trucks and buses passing along the highway and taking in the sites. The increase in vehicle traffic along the historic Old Route 66 will begin in
April or May and is expected to continue for months.

| Top |

---

Bengal boys lose in first round of Gallup Invite

Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer

GALLUP — A determined Grants Pirates team stunned Gallup 36-31 Thursday night during the opening round of the 57th Annual Gallup Invitational.

In the evening contest, Window Rock took advantage of poor free throw shooting by Los Lunas to hold on for a 57-56 thriller.
In the other opening round games, Deming downed Belen 63-51 and Capital pulled away for an 88-62 win over Moriarty.

In today's semifinal round, Deming and Capital will square off in the 6:30 p.m. while Window Rock and Grants will have played each other in the 2:30 p.m. game. Host Gallup and Los Lunas will play tonight in the 8 p.m. game in the loser's bracket.
Belen and Moriarty will have played in the other loser's bracket matchup.

Grants 36, Gallup 31

Grants coach Gerald Horacek admitted that his team was motivated to upset Gallup after learning of the opening round rematch pairing with its archrivals after losing a 51-39 game two and a half weeks ago at home.

"When my players heard that we were going to play Gallup in the first round that movitated them," Horacek said. "They (Gallup) expected to beat us. That's why they scheduled us in the first round. I don't believe in motivation like that but it
worked. This was a huge win. Anytime a AAA school beats a AAAAA school on their court in the first round of their own tournament, that's huge.

"We grew up a lot tonight," Horacek said. "Even after we made a couple of turnovers late in the game we bounced back. At the St. Johns tournament last week we played three quality teams and that helped us."

First-year Gallup coach Earl Diddle said his team's latest setback was tough.

"It was a real tough loss," said Diddle after his Bengals slip to 2-6 overall. "I knew this game was going to go down to the wire. We're both pretty evenly matched. Grants is a little quicker. In the first game at Grants we shot well and that was the difference.
Coming into this game Grants had an advantage of having played three games last week (at the St. Johns tournament). There is nothing like playing games. They (Grants) were crisper than we were but that's no excuse."

The Grants Pirates (5-4) led the lead during much of the game against Gallup (2-6).

The Bengals grabbed their first and only lead of the night early in the second period at 9-7 after Drew Money, who led the Bengals with 12 points, drilled a pullup jump shot. But the Pirates tallied three quick scores with a pair by senior guard Wayne Smith, who led the Pirates with 11 points, and a steal and a score by Roshaun McKinney, who chipped in 10.

Grants led at halftime, 16-14, in a low-scoring defensive struggle, 26-21 after three periods after Joe Ross nailed a jump shot.

The game was tied for the final time at 29-all with 2:08 left in the game after Money converted a 1-and-1 after being fouled by McKinney.

The Pirates broke the tie when Smith dished the ball off to an open Kyle James who scored off the baseline and was fouled by Fermin Gallegos. James sank the free throw that capped a three-point play for a 32-29 Pirate advantage.

The Bengals had a crucial turnover when Money tossed the ball out-of-bounds with 1:45 left. Smith missed a layup but in grabbing the rebound fouled Chris Vicente with under a minute. However Vicente missed the 1-and-1. Pirate James grabbed the crucial rebound for the Pirates before being fouled by Bengal Maurice Guliford. James sank both free throws that gave Grants a 34-29 cushion.

Gallup cut the Pirate lead down to three points after B.J. Begay scored a bucket with 25 seconds left in the game. With the Pirates in the lead and time running out, the Bengals were forced to foul to stop the clock.

Ross was fouled by Brandon Wyaco with 14 seconds left in the game. Wyaco sealed the upset victory by sinking both free throws.

Grants' Wayne Smith tallied 11 points with Roshaun McKinney with 10.

Gallup's Drew Money scored 12 points in a losing effort for the Bengals.

The Pirates sank 9-of-11 free throws for 82 percent, including 8-of-9 in the final period. The Bengals sank 6-of-10 for 60 percent.

Both teams were nearly identical from the field with Grants hitting on 12-of-32 for 38 percent shooting with Gallup 12-of-31 for 39 percent. The Pirates hit on 3-of-6 treys for 50 percent shooting while the Bengals were 1-for-6 for 17 percent.

Diddle defended his game strategy of playing the half court game instead of the run-and-gun style that basketball fans love.

"The fans think we should run-and-gun the floor but we don't have the depth to do it. We have to keep the ball so we have a chance to win. We had to keep the clock stopped. We had to foul and Grants knocked the free throws down at the end."

Horacek said he's looking forward to today's matchup against the Scouts.

"They (Window Rock) like to push it and we don't," Horacek. "It should be a good game."

Window Rock 57, Los Lunas 56

With a total of seven ties and 12 lead changes, Window Rock found itself locked up in a close matchup against Los Lunas.

"This was a big win for us," Window Rock coach Tim Arviso said. "Los Lunas is a tough team. The key in the second half was our man-to-man defense. We shut down the middle and that was the key. And in the fourth quarter they (Los Lunas) were missing their shots. But you have to give the kids a lot of credit."

The Tigers (3-9) blew their chances for an opening round victory by failing to cash in at the charity stripe. Los Lunas converted a miserable 5-of-18 free throws for 28 percent shooting while Window Rock (10-7) sank 6-of-7 for 86 percent shooting.

With Window Rock clinging to a slim 55-54 lead after a putback by Asa-Ryan Begaye with three minutes left, the Tigers missed on four straight free throws in the final stretch that led to their latest loss.

Los Lunas' Jason Utash missed on both of his free throw attempts. However the Tigers did grab the lead briefly on a nice feed from James Valverde to an wide open 6-6 junior post Adrian Daniel inside for the go-ahead score. But Window Rock stole the lead back at 57-56 after junior forward Elcaro Lee nailed a turnaround jumper with 1:18 left in the game.

The Tigers tried for a long three-pointer but Eric Sanchez's shot missed. Senior forward Dewayne Morgan grabbed the rebound on the missed shot and Window Rock called a timeout.

The Fighting Scouts turned the ball over when Lee overthrew the ball to Lyle Thompson with 45 seconds left. Los Lunas gained possession and ran the time down to 17.4 seconds before calling a timeout to set up its final shot.

The Tigers had a golden opportunity for the win or at least a tie after Jaime Mora was fouled by Lee with four seconds remaining. But Mora, who had missed on two earlier free throws, missed on both of his free throws again, as the Scouts held on for a one-point win, 57-56, as time ran out.

"Elcaro Lee and Dewayne Morgan both did a nice job inside," Arviso said. "They're both well-rounded players and they are the key to our team. We're fortunate to have a total team effort. We'll need that against Grants."

Window Rock had three players in double figures with Elcaro Lee leading the way with 18 points with Dewayne Morgan and Lawrence Hickson each with 10. Asa-Ryan Begaye chipped in nine points.

Los Lunas' lone double digit scorer was Omar Vargas with 16 points. Adrian Daniel added nine and Eric Sanchez and Jason Utash eight each.

Los Lunas converted just 5-of-18 free throws for 28 percent shooting while Window Rock made 6-of-7 for 86 percent.

Both teams shot nearly identical from the field with Window Rock hitting on 24-of-56 from the field for 43 percent while Los Lunas made 24-of-55 for 44 percent. From three-point range, both teams shot 3-of-11 for 27 percent.

Deming 63, Belen 51

Deming jumped to a 24-14 first period lead and held on to turn back Belen 63-51.

The Wildcats led 24-14 after the opening period, 37-24 at halftime. Deming still had the lead 52-37 after three periods before posting a 12-point margin of victory.

Deming had Miguel Garcia leading the way with 21 points, including nine in the opening period. Andrew Holguin chipped in 11 points.

Belen was paced by Beto Sanchez with 14 points with Gabe Baca and David Hull each with 12.

Capital 88, Moriarty 62

Santa Fe Capital outscored Moriarty 33-18 in the fourth period to pull away for an 88-62 win.

The Capital Jaguars led 15-12 after the opening period before taking a 41-30 halftime lead. Capital still led 55-44 after three periods before putting the Pintos away in the final period with high-point scorer Terence Mirabal scoring 13 of his 23 points for a convincing 26-point win.

Capital had the advantage at the charity stripe, sinking 22-of-28 free throws while Moriarty was 10-of-14.

The Jaguars were led by Terence Mirabal who led all scorers with 23 points with Manny Hernandez with 16, Marcus Martinez 15 and James C. Romero 12.

Moriarty's leading scorers were Wade Elliot with 15 points, Shane Wallin 14 and Chris Garcia 10.

Turnovers costly in Navajo Prep loss

Michael Peretti
Staff Sports Writer

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Plagued by 33 turnovers, the Navajo Prep Eagles could not get a win in their first game back fro the Christmas break, losing to the St. Michael Cardinals 66-51 Thursday night.

Navajo Prep, 3-6, started off the game by giving the ball up on turnovers on their first four possessions. St. Michael (13-10) could not take advantage of the Eagle problems, scoring only two points off the early turnovers.

The Eagles finished the first quarter with 10 turnovers, but still led 13-11. The two teams were tied 2-2 when Brent Becenti scored Navajo Prep's first points of the game, with 5:58 left in the quarter.

When the Eagles called time-out with four minutes left in the quarter, Navajo Prep was up 4-2.

In the final two minutes of the quarter the two teams picked up the pace of the game and combined for 18 points.

In the opening minutes of the second quarter the Eagles and Cardinals matched each other point for point, with Navajo Prep starting the scoring with a lay-up from Leo Phillips. St. Michael scored on a put back basket by O. Benally. Navajo Prep pulled ahead with a basket and free-throw by Phillips, which was matched by a three pointer by Cardinal Josh Thompson.

With the game tied at 23 St. Michael took advantage of four Eagle turnovers and went on a 8-0 run to end the half up 31-23.

Navajo Prep took too much time in the locker room during half time and the referees started the second half as the Eagles were leaving the locker room. Prep had the possession arrow, but could not get on the court on time and St. Michael was given the ball because of a five second violation.

After a Cardinal lay-up off the turnover, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to pull the score to 33-29. That was as close as the Eagles would get in the third quarter. St. Michael would push their lead back up to eight by the end of the quarter, 39-31.

As the final quarter started the Cardinals pushed their lead to 10, the biggest of the game. The Cardinals went on three 6-0 runs in the fourth quarter, outscoring Navajo Prep 27-20 in the last quarter. The two teams picked up the pace of the game and several turnovers resulted in fast breaks and more points.

"This was our first game back after 10 days off, and we were going to be a little rusty," said St. Michael head coach Joey Rollings. "Navajo Prep came out strong and had some big players.

They did a good job." Rollings said that at the end of the first half he thought his team started to pick up the pace and improve. "We can do better," he said.

Navajo Prep head coach Larry Francis said that the break also showed in his team. "We only had one day of practice (over the break)," he said. "The kids came out and gave a good effort. We still need to get our legs and our lungs back."

Francis mentioned that the Eagles missed 18 freethrows and had over 30 turnovers, and that they did not shoot the ball well. He also said that none of the players on his team are from Farmington, where Navajo Prep is located.

The Cardinals were led by O. Benally, scoring 18 of St. Michael points. M. Gilbert scored 12 and A Hossini had 10 for the Cardinals.

Leading the way for Navajo Prep was Marc Singer with 14.

The two teams battled nearly even on the boards, St. Michael grabbing 27 to 26 from Navajo Prep. The Cardinals had the edge on the offensive boards with 11 to eight offensive boards grabbed by the Eagles.

Navajo Prep will play in the Cuba tournament Thursday, Friday and Saturday of next week. St. Michael will play in their conference opener on Saturday against Seligman, last year's conference champions.

| Top |

---

Rehoboth beats Wingate

Staff report

GALLUP — Rehoboth pulled out a fourth quarter victory against Wingate, winning 69-67 and Thoreau beat Cuba 65-51 in Thursday night prep basketball.

Rehoboth 69, Wingate 67

The Rehoboth Lynx came back in the fourth quarter with their double bonus at the line to beat Wingate 69-67.

The teams battled in the first quarter ending the quarter tied at 14.

Wingate went into half-time leading over the Lynx 34-29...

| Top |

---

Navajo police add six cruisers to fleet

Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The arrival of six new shiny-white police cruisers earlier this week means tribal police may finally be catching up to their monumental need for modern vehicles to patrol America's largest Indian reservation.

And Public Safety Division Director Herb Clah Jr. credits going after federal grants about $2.7 million for one year with being able to gain on the never-ending need as the rugged reservation terrain and terrible roads chew up vehicles.

Last year, going through the traditional Navajo Nation Fleet Management Department process, the Navajo central government bought 91 new police vehicles.

This year the division went for a U.S. Community Oriented Policing Services COPS grant of $1.9 million from the U.S.
Justice Department, plus another $775,000 from the U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs to obtain 80 four-wheeled vehicles, plus 28 motorcycles, and about a half-million dollars to replace officers' uniforms, Clah said...

| Top |

---

---

Deaths

Fredrick Ned Yazzie

CHINLE, Ariz. — Services for Fredrick Yazzie, 28, were held at 10 a.m. today, Jan. 5, at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, Chinle. Father Blane O'Neill officiated. Burial followed at the community cemetery, Chinle, Ariz.

Yazzie died Dec. 29 in Chinle. He was born Oct. 2, 1972, in Ganado, Ariz., into the Towering House Clan for the Tangle People Clan.

Yazzie attended Many Farms High School. He was a member of the I.J.R.A. as an adolescent. He was employed with Arrow Smith Roofing Co. in Casa Grande, Ariz.

Survivors include his wife, Priscilla Barber; sons, Fredrick Yazzie Jr. and Cedrick Yazzie; daughter, Nonabah Yazzie; father, Freddie Ned Yazzie; brothers, Benjamin Anagal and Gilbert Ned Yazzie; sisters, Katherine Paymella, Kathleen Yazzie and Kathy Yazzie; and maternal grandmother, Vera Anagal.

Yazzie was preceded in death by mother, Elsie Anagal, and paternal grandparents, Ned and Elizabeth Yazzie.

Pallbearers were Roderick Anagal, Rick Anagal, Leland Anagal Sr., Lemon Anagal, Lerin Anagal and Sherman Bia.

Tse Bonito Mortuary was in charge of arrangements.

Mary Bernett Mitchell

DENNEHOTSO, Ariz. — Services for Mary Mitchelle, 75, were held at 10 a.m. today, Jan. 5, at Dennehotso Bible Church. Pastor Irvinson Jones officiated. Burial was at the Dennehotso community cemetery.

Mitchell died Dec. 31 in Glendale, Ariz. She was born April 15, 1926, in Monument Valley, Utah, into the Sheaves/Leaf Under His Cover People Clan for the Bitter Water People Clan.

Mitchell was a homemaker, rancher and rugweaver.

Survivors include her sons, Kee, Rex, Joe, Phillip, Allen, Robert, Mark and Travis; daughter, Glalys, Etta and Anita; brothers, Paul Black, Jay Yazzie and Ned Black; sister, Bonnie Charley; 21 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Mitchell was preceded in death by husband, George Mitchell; son, Peter Mitchell; and sisters, Jean Todachinne, Betty Simpson and Margret Yazzie.

Pallbearers were Robert Mitchell, Mark Mitchell, Travis Mitchell, Jason Holiday, Ben Harrison and Paul Mitchell.

Tse Bonito Mortuary was in charge of arrangements.

Naomi Florence Presley

HAPPY VALLEY, Alaska — Services for Naomi Presley, 64, will be Saturday, Jan. 6, at Ninilchik Fairgrounds, Ninilchik, Alaska. Burial was at American Legion Cemetery, Ninilchik.

Presley died Jan. 3 in Happy Valley, Alaska. She was born Sept. 3, 1937, in Fort Defiance, Ariz.

Presley attended McKinley High School, Gallup. She was employed as a prep-cook, server and bus driver for Laidlaw. Her hobbies included gardening, needlepoint and craft projects. Presley was a member of the Church of Christ in Anchor Point, Alaska.

Survivors include her husband, Gary Presley of Happy Valley; sons, Dan Presley of Happy Valley and Keith Presley of Ninilchik; daughter, Garilyn Anderson of Casa Grande, Ariz.; mother, Edna Tecklenburg of Gallup; 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Albert Bryant Sr.

NAVAJO — Services for Albert Bryant Sr. will be announced at a later date. Bryant died Jan. 3. He was born Aug. 4, 1936.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.