Surviving the wild



Members of Gallup Boy Scout Troop 40 forge a path through the snow Saturday morning on Mount Taylor while competing against other area troops in a variety of skills, including first aid, shelter building and map reading.

Photo by Jeff Jones

 

---

MacDonald free
Hip surgery a top priority

Larry Di Giovanni
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The first thing former Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald plans to do as a free man is to get hip replacement surgery, he told a relative Saturday.

Glo-Jean Todacheene, principal of Mesa Elementary School in Shiprock, said she received a call from MacDonald, her clan uncle, Saturday morning.

MacDonald received word Saturday that he was one of 100 prisoners who were pardoned or their sentences commuted by outgoing President Bill Clinton.

"Oh my gosh, I was speechless there for a while," Todacheene said of the surprise phone call.

"He said the first thing he's going to do is get himself a doctor to have hip replacement surgery," Todacheene said. "I know a lot of the elders are just going to be thankful that he's coming home."

MacDonald had his 14-year federal sentence commuted by Clinton. He had served roughly half of his term since April 1993.
MacDonald has been incarcerated in the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, for health reasons.

"I urged President Clinton to release Mr. MacDonald early out of compassion for the former chairman and his family," U.S.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said Saturday. "Mr. MacDonald was a leader in his community for many years, and he still has
the support and respect of many, both inside and out of Indian country."

Another controversial Native American leader, Leonard Peltier, was passed over by Clinton. Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a series of events that occurred in Wounded Knee, S.D., in the late 1970s.

Bingaman's call to Clinton last month was his third request in 12 months for MacDonald's release. MacDonald has reportedly suffered at least one heart attack while serving his sentence, and has been confined part of that time to a wheelchair. He has also survived at least one major surgery.

MacDonald, 72, is reportedly in dire need of hip replacement surgery.

His wife, Wanda, and daughter Hope live in Tuba City, Ariz. However, they have unlisted phone numbers, and efforts to reach them Saturday were unsuccessful.

Another New Mexico congressman instrumental in MacDonald's release has been U.S. Rep. Tom Udall. He has worked in tandem with Bingaman for MacDonald's release, and hand-delivered a letter on that account in December.

"President Clinton has done an honorable duty by (releasing) Mr. MacDonald ... I wish Mr. MacDonald well as he is released and sent home to his wife and family. I am proud that I was part of this process."

MacDonald has received a commuted sentence, which is different than a full pardon. Both provide that a person is free from incarceration, but a commuted sentence means a former prisoner still gives up certain rights, such as the right to vote. Patty Hearst received a commuted sentence from President Jimmy Carter, and Saturday, received a full pardon from Clinton.

MacDonald was convicted on tribal and federal charges of bribery and conspiracy related mainly to the Big Boquillas Ranch purchase in the late 1980s, and events during a Window Rock riot in July 1989 that left two Navajos killed.

The melee followed five months of tension and other violence among members of the nation's largest tribe after MacDonald was suspended from office by the Navajo Tribal Council. The council acted after suspecting that MacDonald had accepted kickbacks from contractors and cronies.

On July 20, 1989, a group of his supporters stormed the tribal headquarters in Window Rock in an attempt to restore him to power. Tribal police opened fire, killing two MacDonald supporters.

MacDonald was convicted on federal conspiracy charges for inciting the riot and for taking bribes and kickbacks. He has maintained his innocence, although, in a 1995 letter to Clinton, he expressed remorse for the "tragic incident on July 20, 1989," according to a news release from Bingaman's office.

The tribal council pardoned MacDonald in 1995 and has advocated his release ever since.

Todacheene said former tribal leader Thomas Atcitty was also a major proponent of MacDonald's release.

Todacheene was part of the crowd during former President Clinton's visit to Shiprock in April who shouted for the release of MacDonald.

"I'm so proud of Bill Clinton," she said.

Supporters 'overjoyed'

Vern Lee of Waterflow, N.M., the head of a pro-MacDonald group, said he was overjoyed at the news that MacDonald would be released.

"I really thank God for hearing our prayers, and my people have been praying for so long for the return of our former chairman of our Navajo Nation," Lee said. "His family, his wife, his children, I'm sure are jumping for joy right now."

Lee said Clinton's action would help heal the divide between Indians and non-Indians and enable the United States to move forward to solve other problems.

Lee said he forgives any critics of MacDonald's release.

"They need to pull the veil of hatred from their sight and see beyond that. This is a sovereignty issue for the Navajo Nation," he said.

In the past, Clinton had rejected calls to pardon MacDonald, who led the Navajo off and on throughout the 1970s and '80s.

Through the years, many have come to support the release of MacDonald. State lawmakers in Arizona advocated bringing MacDonald to a prison hospital in his home state.

Presidential pardons frequently are sought through filings with the Justice Department. In order to file a pardon application, a person must wait five years after being convicted or released from prison, whichever is later, according to the manual of U.S. attorneys.

However, the president's power to grant pardons is contained in the Constitution and is unconditional.

MacDonald served as a Navajo Code Talker during World War II. He received a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1957, and worked for Hughes Aircraft in California until 1963.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

| Top |

---

Boy Scouts outwit snow on mountain
Camping trip tested skills

Tom Purdom
Staff Writer

MOUNT TAYLOR — It is difficult to tell the exact minute when a boy steps over the line into manhood, but one thing is certain 79 Boy Scouts came a lot closer to it Friday night and Saturday on the below zero, freezing side of Mount Taylor.

While many of the Boy Scouts' parents slept in their warm beds in Gallup, Grants, Ramah, Crownpoint, Bluewater and Thoreau, their kids were out having a ball in the Zuni Mountain District of the Boy Scouts of America Klondike 2001. They slept, ate and used extensively Boy Scout survival skills in about two feet of snow some 8,400 feet high on Mount Taylor.

To get down to basics, the Klondike is actually a tough competition among the troops of the Zuni Mountain District and this year the victory could not have been sweeter for six kids and their parents from Grants. Scout troops began doing Klondikes on their own across the United States in 1965 and by the early 1970s, the Boy Scouts of America Council adopted it as a yearly event.

Shirley Dickens, whose husband Eddie, is assistant scoutmaster for Church of the Latter Day Saints Boy Scout Troop 10, in Grants, helped coordinate this year's event. But it was teamwork that helped make Klondike 2001 a success in a lot more ways than one.

In short, the Klondike is an event to teach boys survival skills in weather that forces most folks inside.

Boys from ages 10 to 21 are given five tasks to accomplish: sharpen a knife and an ax; build a shelter; give first aid to an injured person; build a fire; and cook a pancake.

The average age of the boys on the Klondike in the Zuni Mountain District averages 12 or 13, said Gary Martin, senior district executive of the Zuni Mountain District of the Boy Scouts of America.

Scouts not only perform the assigned tasks, they must use compasses to find each work station, usually set about a quarter of a mile from each other.

For the boys of the Zuni Mountain District, it was an outright adventure.

Each troop is a team. The troops this year were: Church of the Latter Day Saints Troop 347 from Gallup; Troop 40, also from Gallup; Troop 10 from Grants; Troop 246 from Thoreau; Troop 244 from Bluewater; Troop 242 from Ramah; and a new group, Troop 94 from Crownpoint.

Cody Hebert, 11, a fifth grader in the Grants/Cibola County School District, went up the mountain a Cub Scout and came back a Boy Scout in a transitional ceremony called the Arrow of Light.

"That was the best part," Cody said. He also is part of the winning troop and so is his brother, Mike. The boys' father, another Mike, helped in the event.

Martin was the first person up on the mountain. He was pushing snow with the bumper of his vehicle getting to the designated camping area.

Part of the event is to see if the temperature drops below zero. Each of the scouts receives a Polar Bear Award if the temperature does take a nose-dive. "The temperature Friday night and early Saturday morning was well below zero," Martin said. "The boys get their Polar Bear Award this year."

Some of the boys began arriving at 2:30 p.m. Friday to set up their camps. Each camp was graded. "Some of the troops arrived late, so they had to set up their camps in the dark," Dickens said.

About 8:30 p.m. after eating foil dinners, a "cracker barrel" was held during which the entire Klondike was explained.

Tim Hine and Kathy Cash helped prepare the evening's activity and after the cracker barrel, Walter Meech served hot cocoa and M&Ms as a snack.

All women in the camp returned to Grants and only boys, helpers and scout leaders were allowed in camp.

Going back to a warm home was OK for Dickens. "I like my electric blanket too much," she said.

The scouts began getting up about 7 a.m. to a bone-chilling, below-zero temperature morning. Each cooked his own breakfast. "The boys also prepared their campsite because that was judged, too," Dickens said.

Each packer prepared a sled full of things they would need at each of the stations. The Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared," was never more true than in a Klondike. Bruce Prichard versed the boys in orienteering, which is the survival skill of learning to navigate across the land to a certain point via a compass and map.

For Bill Barnes, Troop 10 scoutmaster, and Eddie Dickens, all they taught the boys would come into play. All they could do was hope.

Each station was about one quarter of a mile from the other so the boys had to use orienteering to get to each site.

Shortly after 9 a.m. the boys, acting as teams, began pushing and pulling their sleds to the designated spots in the forest.

"There were snow drifts up there two feet high," Barnes said. "That was deep for these boys."

For a long time Barnes said he would remember how well the boys worked as teams and how they all got along with each other. "That was worth it all," he said.

To 12-year-old Keenan Sanshu, a sixth grader, it was "real cold, but that was OK."

For Keenan, the hardest part of the entire Klondike was pulling the sled through the snow.

To young Cody Hebert the hardest part of the journey was the first work station. "There were no tracks going to it, so we had to use our compass to get there," the new Boy Scout said.

Back in camp after all teams completed the work stations, cooks Delores Meador, Kathy Cash, Lois Ann Prichard and Cindy Sanshu prepared a little surprise of their own a hot meal for their little heroes.

Barnes said, "I never heard any of the boys complaining about the cold."

| Top |

---

Fire leaves mother, disabled son homeless in Bluewater

S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Kathy Marquez is too familiar with hard times. A single mother on a meager, fixed income with chronic physical problems of her own, her days are consumed with the care of her 18-year old disabled son, Sean.

He visits a variety of doctors and requires help with physical tasks. He is deaf, the result of a rare genetic disorder diagnosed at birth called Treacher-Collins Syndrome, and he often has trouble breathing. She does not complain.

On Sunday, Jan. 14, tragedy again landed at the Marquez door. She was awakened at midnight by her son. Between bouts of coughing he tried to tell her their home was on fire, his hearing aid had melted.

Alarmed by the smoke, she ran into the living room and tried to call the fire department. The hot fire had moved through the mobile home with such speed the phone lines were already destroyed.

"That's when we knew it was time to just get out," she said in a phone interview. They ran, salvaging only the clothes on their backs. The dog wasn't as fortunate.

"We were lucky we got out," she said. "In fact, we were lucky we got out at all. It was a miracle my son woke up he takes his hearing aid out at night."

Finally, a neighbor was alerted who called a fire crew, but it was already too late. The Bluewater Acres Volunteer Fire Department answered the call. By the time the call came in, however, the structure was gone. Knocking down the ruins to prevent injuries was all that could be done.

Earlier that frigid night, Marquez and her son had huddled around a space heater. When it got too late to stay awake, they went to bed. The fire began several hours later, from the overheated space heater.

Marquez used to heat with butane. When the price of butane sky-rocketed, between $1.60 and $1.70 per gallon, she began using space heaters in each room for warmth.

"On a fixed income, when electric costs less than butane, I went with it," she said. All of the space heaters were less than a year old. "I have to replace them frequently, they don't last long."

The Marquezes are staying temporarily in the home of her 90-year-old grandmother, who lives nearby.

News of the Marquez tragedy spread through Bluewater quickly. Neighbors and volunteers began collecting household goods, clothing and money to help the family through the emergency.

Dave Cuellar, a mobile home dealer, learned about the Marquezes' plight and has arranged for the family to obtain a new mobile home at a minimal cost. A team of Bluewater neighbors and volunteers will clean up the homesite and assist with moving the new home to the location.

While clothing and household items can be readily replaced, Sean's Marquez's hearing aid has not proven to be so simple.

"We are still working on it," Marquez said. "There are a lot of steps involved to get them. That makes it hard."

| Top |

---

Gallup boys outshot 64-31

Michael Peretti
Staff Sports Writer

ALBUQUERQUE — Gallup Bengal boys basketball coach Earl Diddle could not have been more right when he said the West Mesa Mustangs shot the ball well Saturday night.

The Mustangs, (5-9, 1-1 district) made even the toughest shots look easy, hitting their first 12 field goal attempts of the game on their way to a 64-31 win over Gallup Saturday night at West Mesa High School.

"They hit some big jump shots and came off screens well," said Diddle.

West Mesa did not miss a shot in the first quarter. Ruben Abeyta's three-point attempt went in and out with 4:36 left in the first half was the Mustangs' first miss. The only times the Mustangs did not score in the first quarter, was on a traveling violation and a double dribble call.

The Mustangs hit three threes, including one by Robbie Gallegos at the end of the first quarter from pro-range. The Mustangs also hit four jump shots and two lay-ups on their way to a 19-5 first quarter lead.

The Bengals, (3-11, 0-2) had no defense from the shooting of West Mesa, as they missed their first four shots and fell behind 6-0 before Drew Money hit 1-of-2 from the line for the Bengals' first point of the game.

After a West Mesa basket, the Bengals went on a 4-0 run to pull to within 8-5, but did not get any closer as West Mesa went on an 11-0 run to finish the first.

Robb Erickson opened up the second quarter with a lay-up for Gallup and then Maurice Guliford hit 2-of-4 from the line, but West Mesa would push the score to 32-9 before Gallup would score again.

After West Mesa missed its first basket of the game Gallup went on a 7-2 run, but still trailed 34-16 at the half.

After missing only two shots in the first half, the Mustangs would come out in the third quarter and miss their first shot and a free throw, but easily push their score up some more, hitting four consecutive shots to make their lead 43-16.

With under four minutes to go in the third Gallup would score their first points of the quarter on a put back by Zach Koerber.
Less than a minute later, after a rare Mustang miss, Fermin Gallegos would score the final points of the quarter and leave the Bengals down 43-20.

West Mesa would outscore Gallup 21-11 in the final quarter, running away with the easy victory.

Diddle said that there is not much the Bengals could have done with how well the Mustangs were shooting. "I thought West Mesa came ready to play," he said.

In the second half, Diddle said he thought the Bengals picked up their game up and started to play better. "I thought our post guys played a good game," he said.

Leading the way for West Mesa was Sammy Menton, scoring 19 points on 8-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-3 from three-point range. Goron Isirov and Thomas Sargent each scored 10.

The Bengals were led by B.J. Begay, scoring nine.

The Mustangs out rebounded Gallup 19-18, but only had three offensive boards. The Bengals did good on the offensive boards, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds.

Gallup shot 8-of-16 from the line while West Mesa hit 4-of-6.

The Bengals shot 1-of-4 from three point range, while the Mustangs hit 6-of-7.

The Bengals shot 11-of-36 from the field while the Mustangs hit 27-of-38 in the game, only missing 11 shots the entire game. Gallup turned the ball over 14 times while the Mustangs gave it up 11 times, only once in the third period.

Gallup will play in Rio Rancho on Friday.

Lady Bengals rout Mustangs

Carrie Loretto
Sports Editor

GALLUP — The Gallup Lady Bengal bench picked up where the starters left off, outplaying the West Mesa Mustangs in a 65-15 District 1AAAAA rout Saturday night.

"They're great kids, they work hard in practice and tonight they got out there and did a good job. They shot the ball extremely well when they went in at first tonight," Gallup coach John Lomasney, who sounded as if he was more impressed with the single digit turnovers by his team than by the 50 percent field goal shooting by the Bengals. "I thought everybody kept their composure, we never let the game get away from us, never let it get sloppy. "

That would have been easy for Gallup (4-0 in district, 11-5 overall) to do against a lesser West Mesa (0-4, 4-11 overall) ballclub which turned the ball over 22 times, many of those unforced errors. Instead, both the Lady Bengal starters and subs methodically picked apart the Mustangs, taking advantage of a smaller and slower team, as they dominated the game.

"We got out there and did what we're going to have to do Thursday night and never let the game get sloppy and I was proud of the girls for that," said Lomasney. "They went out there like they were playing for the state championship against a tough team and never let it get away from them."

Lomasney will be looking for a repeat performance Thursday when the district's other unbeaten team, Rio Rancho, comes to play. The c-team game will begin at 4 p.m.

"I hope we pack the gym, it's going to be a great game. I watched them, they're a very capable team, they beat a good Sandia ballteam, so it should be a good matchup," Lomasney said.

On Saturday, the Bengals dominated every aspect of the game. They outshot West Mesa making more field goals than the Mustangs had attempts, shooting 50 percent on 26-of-52 attempts. West Mesa attempted 24 field goals making just four. The Bengals outrebound West Mesa 29 to 16 and finished with only nine turnovers in the game and Gallup had 16 assists, while West Mesa tallied none.

three different players scored in the first minute and a half with Roberta Tahe opening up with a three. She then got the ball inside to Tanya Bailey then Vanessa Hubbard connected on another three-pointer as Gallup opened up an 8-0 lead.

It was Christine Begay's turn a couple minutes later with Sunny St. Clair handing out her second assist before West Mesa finally scored with 4:32 left in the first quarter.

Stephanie Montes' basket was the only one given up by the Bengals in the first period.

Meanwhile, Gallup continued to work its offense methodically to build a 20-2 cushion by the end of the period. Begay scored off an assist from Bailey, Bailey off an offensive rebound, and Tahe with a couple of drives to the basket. St. Clair, the last Bengal starter to score, drove through the lane with 1:02 left in the quarter.

Lomasney went to his bench in the second quarter and they continued where the starters left off.

Crystal Pinto got the ball to Mioshia Wagner breaking through the lane and Carla Paredes hit a three in the first minute for a 25-2 lead.

West Mesa got 3-of-4 free throws from Montes sandwiched around a pair of free throws from Paredes for its only points of the period.

The Bengals closed out the rest of the half with four more points from Wagner, six from Candace Roanhorse, a three-point play by Pinto and two more free throws from Paredes as they outpointed the Bengal starters by two.

The Bengal starters returned to the floor in the third quarter and held West Mesa to a field goal in the first seven minutes. A three-pointer by Montes with .8 seconds left in the period put West Mesa in double digits, but the Bengal lead was already 51-10.

A free throw at the beginning of the period was West Mesa's next score, but then Gallup scored the next nine points for a 60-11 lead.

Lomasney went to his JV players with 2:17 left and Sheena Begay hit a three-pointer on their first possession. Anna Antonio also scored as Gallup's JV outscored West Mesa 5 to 4.

Starter Christine Begay shared team-high scoring honors with Candace Roanhorse off the bench, each with 10 points. Tahe and Paredes also contributed nine apiece as 12 of 14 Bengals scored at least two. Wagner led the rebounding with seven boards and Bailey had the most assists (four).

Montes led West Mesa with nine points.

| Top |

---

New career-tech high school gets positive review

Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The Gallup-McKinley County School Board showed a positive response Saturday to the proposal to create a career-technical high school in the district.

Citing figures showing that many students in the school system begin thinking that learning is irrelevant to their lives by the time they reach the ninth grade, the district is now looking at creating a school that will enable students to start earning decent wages when they graduate.

James Cammon, principal of Gallup Junior High School and one of the two creators of the proposal, said, "The highest dropout rate in the district comes during the ninth and 10th grades. This is when many students begin saying they don't need school and don't see why it will help them (in their future livelihood)..."

| Top |

---

Panthers unbeaten in district

Abelita Rose Freeland
Staff Sports Writer

GALLUP — The Gallup Catholic boys (3-0) remain undefeated in District 6A beating the mystery Tohajiilee Warriors 60-45 in Saturday district basketball actions.

The Lady Panthers are still looking for their first district win after the Lady Warriors dominated them 54-24.

Boys Gallup Catholic 60, Tohajiilee 45

The Gallup Catholic Panthers took their lead in the first minute of the game against Tohajiilee and owned the rest of the game...

| Top |

---

---

Deaths

Lolita Dolores Verdugo

GAMERCO — Services for Lolita Dolores Verdugo, 74, will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 23 at Saint Francis Church. Father Diego Mazon will officiate. Burial will follow at Gallup City Cemetery.

A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. tonight at Saint Francis Catholic Church.

Verdugo died Jan. 17 in Gamerco. She was born Oct. 30, 1926 in Corrales.

Survivors include her son, Tommy Verdugo of Albuquerque; daughters, Annette Lopez of Gamerco and Rosie Verdugo of Gallup; brothers, Alvino Martinez of Zuni and Felix Martinez and Frank Martinez both of Gallup; sister, Martha Estrada of Gamerco; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Verdugo was preceded in death by her husband, Rafel Verdugo; parents, Juan B. and Maria Martinez; and brothers, Joe Martinez, Juanito Martinez and Raymond "Turkey" Martinez.

Pallbearers will be Eric Leon, Aqulino Lopez, Bernie Martinez, Donny Montano, Robert Montano and Mark Verdugo.

Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Jerry Brunk

MOBILE, Ala. — Services for Jerry Brunk, 92, will be held at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 24 at Dunn Memorial Chapel.
Brunk died Jan. 16 in Mobile, Ala. He was born Dec. 28, 1908 in Chickasha, Okla.

Brunk was a veteran of World War II serving in the U.S. Navy as a Seabee. He served with the New Mexico State Police for 30 years and retired as Captain in 1968. He served from the Tucumcari State Police Office.

Survivors include his daughter, Clara Brunk of Mobile, Ala.; numerous sisters; and four grandchildren.

Brunk was preceded in death by his wife, Francis Brunk and his son, Tom Brunk.

Clara Smith

SHEEP SPRINGS — Services for Clara Smith, 47, will be announced at a later date.

Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Correction

GALLUP — In the obituary published for Jesus Romo, 81, inadvertently omitted a rosary that will be held at 7 p.m., tonight at
Rollie Mortuary-Palm Chapel.