SWIF assists the needy
Bill Donovan
Staff Writer
GALLUP — They come into Gallup from all parts of
the Navajo and Zuni reservations, seeking help in paying their bills
or coping financially with a major illness or a fire that left them
destitute.
In most cases, the Southwest Indian Foundation steps
in and helps out.
"We're here to help needy Native Americans. That's
our purpose," said Joseph G. Esparza, the director of human services
for SWIF for the past 16 years.
Besides the millions it gives annually to schools, substance abuse
programs and others, SWIF spends hundreds of thousands of dollars
quietly and with little fanfare to assist individual Native American
families who need a little help coping with major problems.
It could be a family where someone is handicapped and is confined
to a wheelchair. SWIF crews come in and build ramps and widen doors.
Last year, SWIF renovated 12 homes in this area for that and other
reasons.
It could be an elderly couple who needs a stove to keep
warm during the winter. Each year, SWIF purchases between 100 and
150 heaters.
It could be a family that is trying to get on food stamps. SWIF provides
food vouchers to these families until they begin receiving food stamps
or commodities.
It could also be Christmas. This past year, SWIF provided 1,400 food
baskets to five reservations Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, White River Apache
and Laguna 4,000 Christmas stockings and a lot of clothes and toys.
Esparza said SWIF also helps out families who because of a major illness
or some serious upheaval in the family's condition finds itself unable
to pay the electric bill or rent.
In those conditions, SWIF after a thorough investigation of the family's
financial condition will provide a small grant to help the family
pay off its bills.
But Esparza stressed that SWIF is there to help the family help itself
out of its problems. "We're not here to provide handouts,"
he said.
The organization has strict guidelines that limit its contributions
in most cases to a one-time grant of $200 per family.
There have been a few exceptions such as families trying to cope with
a major life-threatening illness in which SWIF has relaxed its guidelines.
SWIF also waives its financial qualifications in cases where the family's
home has burned down or when a major illness has severely affected
the family's income.
But the financial help is only a part of what SWIF is
able to do for a family.
"Over the years, we have developed a relationship with a number
of vendors in the area, such as propane services, and once we call,
we can usually get them to help out the family by reconnecting them
quicker than if we were not involved," Esparza said.
SWIF has also developed a range of contacts over the years with social
service organizations, and Esparza spends a lot of his time working
with other social welfare programs in the area to see what other resources
can be found to help the family cope with its problems.
While the $200 limit may seem to severely limit the effectiveness
of the organization, Esparza said SWIF is making a difference in the
lives of hundreds of Navajo families in the area.
On the other hand, SWIF is not a pushover for someone who looks as
if he is needy.
Families that want help have to fill out an application
that includes a detailed financial form, which is checked by SWIF's
staff. The families also have to sign a release form that gives SWIF
the right to check with other social welfare agencies to determine
whether the family is trying to help itself out of its current problem
or is looking for a handout.
For example, if a family is behind in paying the electrical
bills, SWIF's policy is to pay only that amount necessary to keep
the electricity from being cut off. That will give the family some
breathing room to find other resources to pay the rest of the bill.
Its policy of only one-time grants prevents families from going to
SWIF every time they get behind in paying bills.
The system SWIF has developed over the years works,
Esparza said. "We're not here to baby people," he said,
"but to help out only when the family has a definite need for
our help."
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Bengals return to finals
Alan Arthur
Sports Editor
GALLUP — Was there added pressure for the Gallup Bengals to get
back into the championship of their own tournament? Maybe, but there
was definitely pressure that helped them reach the final.
The Bengals used their fullcourt press to force turnovers and get
easy baskets as they beat the Wingate Bears 58-46 in the semifinals
of the 56th Annual Gallup Invitational boys basketball tournament
Friday night at Gallup High School.
"I'm really pleased that we got back into it (the championship
game) because the kids have worked so hard," Gallup head coach
Zach McBride said, back on the bench after serving a one-game suspension
on Thursday night. "This was one of our goals, to take one step
at a time and when the championship comes, just be ready to play."
The Bengals, now 5-5 on the year, will meet the defending champion
Deming Wildcats tonight at 8 p.m. in the championship game. Deming
beat Moriarty 66-62 Friday to reach the finals.
Wingate and Moriarty will play at 6:30 p.m. in the third
place game.
In the consolation bracket, the Grants Pirates beat
the Window Rock Scouts 59-44 and the Los Lunas Tigers captured a 54-42
win over the Belen Eagles. Grants matches up with Los Lunas in the
fifth place game at 2:30 p.m., while Window Rock and Belen battle
at 1 p.m.
The Wildcats will be going for their second straight championship
at the Gallup Invitational. Last year, Deming beat Window Rock 79-71
for the tournament championship.
"That's what we came here for," Deming head coach Tim Pate
said. "We kept telling our kids one game at a time. We're excited
to be in the championship game. It should be a great game."
"Deming is a great team and they're going to be ready to play,"
McBride said. "We're going to be ready to go also."
Gallup 58, Wingate 46
The Bengals broke the game open in the third quarter as they turned
up the pressure on defense.
"That's what coach told us at halftime was we needed to pick
up our press because they really couldn't handle it," Gallup
player Maurice Guliford said, who led the Bengals with 16 points,
13 rebounds, four assists and four steals. "We really picked
it up in the second half."
Another Bengal with a big game was Branden Neel, who scored 15 points
while grabbing seven rebound. Neel, a former Wingate High School athlete
before transferring to Gallup last year, was booed by the Wingate
faithful during opening introductions.
The game was tied at 27-27 at halftime and again at 31-31 with 5:15
left in the third period when Gallup's fullcourt press began to take
its toll on the Bears.
"We needed to pick up the intensity a little bit,"
McBride said. "I told them to keep going, keep going, keep going.
They did that and I knew the turnovers were going to come."
The Bengals went on a 9-0 run in the span of two minutes to get a
lead of 40-31. Neel started the run with a putback of an offensive
rebound and Guliford followed by scoring after a Bear turnover.
Guliford then scored on the inside for another bucket and hit the
ensuing free throw for a three-point play and a 38-31 lead. Another
turnover resulted in another easy layup for Guliford as the Gallup
lead went to 40-31.
Wingate (4-6) did get back into the game, cutting the margin down
to four points at the end of the third quarter when Nate Edison scored
on a fastbreak. In the fourth quarter, a free throw by Paul Sandoval
within three points at 46-43 with 4:01 remaining.
But Gallup responded with an inside goal by Guliford off a nice assist
pass from Drew Money that put the lead back to five points. The Gallup
defense forced some more Wingate turnovers and when Neel completed
a three-point play with 57.2 seconds left, the Bengals had a nine-point
lead at 55-46 to clinch the game.
"Mostly Gallup played better than we did,"
Wingate head coach Peter Viola said. "Their pressure defense
forced some turnovers which obviously gave them some easy baskets.
They really turned up the pressure on us."
The Bears finished with 21 turnovers in the game, the majority of
which turned into easy scores for Gallup. The Bengals had 16 turnovers.
Edison and Sandoval each scored 12 points to lead the
Bears' offense. Stuart Nez followed with 10 points and six rebounds.
Deming 66, Moriarty 62
The Deming Wildcats will defend their Gallup Invitational championship
with a championship effort in the final five minutes against Moriarty
in their 66-62 victory on Friday.
The Wildcats took over the lead with a three-point goal by Andrew
Holguin and a putback of an offensive rebound by Vince Bluth to take
the lead for good at 56-52 with 4:30 left to play and then held off
the Pintos down the stretch.
"I thought the kids pulled together at the end
real well," Deming head coach Tim Pate said, who saw his team
improve to an 8-0 record. "I thought we had a chance in the third
quarter to get a blowout, but they hung around."
Three times in the final four minutes, Moriarty cut the margin down
to two points only to see Deming respond with a bucket of their own.
With 2:25 left, Matt Bluth scored off an offensive rebound to put
the Wildcats up, 62-56.
Still, the Pintos weren't done as goals by Tyrone Davis and Kenneth
Allen cut the margin back down to 62-60 with 1:25 remaining. Moriarty
still had a chance at a tie when Matt Bluth made 1-of-2 free throws
for Deming for a three-point lead, but Moriarty's Shane Wallin missed
his shot. Deming's Evan Call then scored on an inside shot with 25
seconds left to seal the Wildcat win.
"Moriarty is a real solid ballclub," Deming's
Pate said. "We were real impressed with them. They are real well
coached. Their kids do a good job."
Pate added, "Those are the type of games you want
to win. You want to win against a good team, down the stretch and
pull those things out. That's what gets you ready for district."
Six-foot-two Matt Bluth led the Wildcats with 20 points and seven
rebounds and 6-5 Vince Bluth followed with 16 points and 17 rebounds.
Dwayne Horn added 10 points.
The Wildcats had a definite advantage on the boards,
outrebounding the Pintos 43-25. That included a 19-7 advantage on
the offensive boards.
"I thought we played hard," Moriarty head
coach Kevin Bond said, after his team fell to 4-5. "We showed
that we have a lot of guts. We fought back each time. I was very proud
of them. I wish we could have done some of the things right at the
end that probably would have got us into the championship game, but
those things sometimes don't happen."
Shane Wallin had 17 points and nine rebound to lead the Pintos. Wade
Elliott followed with 13 points and Davis contributed 10.
Deming led by as much as 12 points at 31-19 in the second quarter
but an 8-0 run by the Pintos cut the halftime score to 31-27. A three-point
play by Elliott gave the Pintos their 52-51 lead with 5:21 left in
the game.
Grants 59, Window Rock 44
Grants head coach Gerald Horacek jokingly said he was
not talking to the Independent if he had to talk about another poor
shooting performance by his team.
No problem.
The Pirates shot 51.3% from the field as they took a
59-44 victory over the Window Rock Scouts in the consolation round
Friday afternoon.
"We don't play like a team that is 3-6," Horacek
said, referring to his team's record. "They get after it and
they play hard."
In the second half, the Pirates scored 41 points. That was a far cry
from the day before when they scored 37 points throughout the entire
game against the Wingate Bears.
"The thing is that's all it takes," Horacek said. "We
just need to make our shots because that gives the kids confidence
in themselves and that's what it's about."
Window Rock had a 20-18 lead at halftime, but a 7-0 run by the Pirates
in the third quarter put Grants ahead 31-24. In that run, Eluid Perez
hit a three-pointer while Wayne Smith and Matthew Hernandez scored
on inside shots, where the Pirates scored many of their second half
points.
Grants took a comfortable lead of 48-36 in the fourth
quarter with an 11-3 run. Down the stretch, the Pirates then made
9-of-12 shots in the final 1:20 to increase their final victory margin.
Perez scored 22 points while hitting 10-of-11 free throws to lead
the Pirates. Bobby Baca scored 15 points and Hernandez added 10 points.
For Window Rock, Michael Ashley was an impressive offensive show once
again, scoring 28 points. Against Gallup the night before, Ashley
had tallied 22 points.
Window Rock fell to 4-6.
Los Lunas 54, Belen 42
The Los Lunas Tigers, after giving up 89 points to the Deming Wildcats
the day before, were glad to see their defense come back to life against
Belen.
"We played probably 75 percent better than we did yesterday,"
Los Lunas head coach Wally Salata said. "We're not the type of
team to give up a lot of points and today was more our style. It was
a very good job by our team."
Los Lunas (3-5) took the lead early in the game, jumping out to a
15-10 lead in the first quarter after a 7-2 run. A three-point play
by Mark Garcia with 2:42 left in the first half upped the lead to
23-14 before the Tigers finished off the half with a 6-0 run that
made the score 29-16 at intermission.
In the third quarter, Los Lunas increased their lead to 20 points
at 45-25 on a steal and a layup by Dominic Pohl.
Belen fought back, though, and cut the deficit down to 47-38 on an
inside goal by Beto Sanchez with 5:45 left in the game. But Los Lunas
pulled the ball out and held off the Eagles for the win.
Kevin Smith scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the
Tigers. Josh Utash and Garcia each contributed nine points.
For Belen (2-4), Pat Mares was the main thrust of the offense, scoring
20 points. David Hull and Sanchez finished with eight points apiece.
"We dug our hole too deep for us," Belen head
coach Dave Medina said. "Then when they four corner you, it takes
the wind out of your sails. It's too deep of a hole to get out of.
The second half we played better. We're improving a little bit at
a time."
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Ex-officials get 6 months to repay
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The former elected officers of the Navajo Nation's
Aneth Chapter will have six months to repay more than $69,000 in unauthorized
checks.
The Navajo Nation's Office of Ethics and Rules approved the formal
resolutions of censure Friday, allowing a six-month extension if any
of the three officers applies in writing. The restitution will be
given to the chapter after the Office of Ethics and Rules logs the
payments.
Restitution was one of three punishments the committee imposed on
the chapter's former secretary-treasurer, Tina Lansing; former chapter
president, Leonard Lee, and former vice president, Nelson Rockwell.
The committee also disqualified all three from holding elected Navajo
office for five years and immediately removed them from office.
The committee previously shied away from getting deeply
involved with claims by both Lee and Rockwell that their signatures
were forged on many of a total of 83 checks. But the resolution of
censure listed nine checks for $4,522 that Rockwell said carry his
true signature. Rockwell admitted signing eight of the 13 checks in
his case.
The white collar crimes unit of the Office of the Prosecutor is expected
to investigate the possibility of forgery in the situation.
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Area in brief
Regular meeting
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — There will be a regular meeting of the Human
Services Committee of the Navajo Nation Council at 10 a.m., Monday,
Jan. 10 at the Navajo Department of Workforce Development conference
room. Information: (520)871-6611/6020.
Grief support group
GALLUP — The Pastoral Care Department of RMCHCS
sponsors a Grief Support Group. The eight-week session will run from
Tuesday, Jan. 11 through Tuesday, Feb. 29 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at
the Trinity Lutheran Church at 1100 E. Mesa. The meetings will be
on Tuesday evenings. The group facilitator will be Reverend Gary Bickner.
There is no charge for the eight sessions. The group is open to the
public. Information: 863-7333.
Planning meeting
STANDING ROCK — There will be a planning meeting at 6 p.m., Tuesday,
Jan. 11 at the Standing Rock Headstart. All parents are encouraged
to attend. Standing Rock Headstart Parent Training will take place.
Information: (505)786-5667...
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Bureaucrat decided career path for Navajo
scientist
Bill Donovan
Diné Bureau
GALLUP — When Fred Begay wanted to go to college in the 1960s,
Navajo tribal officials immediately said yes.
But there was a catch.
"The tribe decided I was going to be an engineer," said
Begay, who now has a doctorate and has worked at Los Alamos National
Laboratories for more than 28 years.
He's probably the best known Navajo scientist in the world, but he
admits it was a decision by some unsung tribal bureaucrat who decided
the tribe needed more engineers and doctors that set him on his career
path...
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Code Talkers annual banquet held tonight
Bill Donovan
Diné Bureau
GALLUP — Each year when the Navajo Code Talkers Association holds
its annual convention, the number of code talkers who attend gets
smaller and smaller.
The group's president, Sam Billison, said he expects about 30 code
talkers to attend the association's annual banquet, which is being
held this afternoon at the Navajo Nation Inn in Window Rock.
Back in the 1950s, about 420 Navajos were identified as being members
of the elite unit that used the Navajo language as a code to fool
the Japanese during World War II...
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Robert Arrieta
Staff Sports Writer
ZUNI — Numbers never lie. They don't even stretch the truth.
So when you look at a 39 percent field goal average compared to a
52 percent average, it is not difficult to figure out who won.
The Zuni Thunderbirds turned that 52 percent shooting average into
a 63-48 victory over the Crownpoint Eagles last night.
The Eagles had a rough time finding the hoop from the start of the
game...
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Group gets grant
Diné Bureau
GALLUP — The Navajo Nation Four Corners Enterprise
Community will receive $250,000 a year for 10 years from federal sources
to be used for infrastructure, community facilities, health care,
housing and tourism.
The Four Corners Enterprise Community covers about 380 acres of the
Four Corners area and extends as far north as White Mesa, Utah, and
as far west as Baxter Springs, Ariz.
Members of the Four Corners Enterprise Community Board represent the
Navajo Nation president, the legislative branch, the divisions of
economic and community development, private businesses, the Hopi village
of Moenkopi and the White Mesa Utes...
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GSC fills NTUA board
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority now has a full
seven-member board following two appointments made by the Navajo Nation's
Government Services Committee.
One of the appointments is incumbent President William
H. Clagett, a consultant from Littleton, Colo., who also is the vice
chairman of the executive committee of the state of New York's Reliability
Council. He is expected to serve until October 2002.
The other is a Gallup businesswoman Penny Emerson, who will also serve
until October 2002. She is a member of St. Michaels Chapter and owns
a medical transport firm...
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Navajo Police briefs
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
Police fired upon
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — One Church Rock man has been arrested and
another is being sought after two Navajo police officers reportedly
were fired upon when they came across a New Year's Eve bonfire.
Officer Willis Martine and Sgt. Julian Henry of the Crownpoint Police
District came across the bonfire shortly before 8:30 p.m. Dec. 31
when they heard shots apparently aimed in their direction. The bonfire
was about a quarter of a mile east of the Navajo Housing Authority
subdivision on Sundance Road.
The call to assist officers under fire drew a Navajo police tactical
operations team, a team from the McKinley County Sheriff's Office
and New Mexico State Police officers...
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