Gallup residents celebrate after watching the 2000 XXXIV Superbowl on a large projection screen at El Morro Sunday night. The St. Louis Rams won 23-16 over the Tennessee Titans.

Photo by Nicole Goodhue

Delegates stump for pay power
Council nixes Begaye's veto

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DWI Court provides a new route to recovery

Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The first time the police caught him drinking and driving, Raymond Salazar, now 42, was coming home from a party.

The second driving while intoxicated arrest came when Salazar got into his car after he turned to alcohol to soothe himself after his divorce proceedings.

The third and final time, the police charged Salazar with DWI the day before he gained custody of his daughter. He was drinking because he was worried about the custody lawsuit and his job.

"This is the worst thing that could've happened to me," Salazar said.

So Salazar, an Albuquerque resident, chose to go to the Bernalillo DWI and Drug Court Program instead of taking a sentence or fine.

"I could've gone to jail," Salazar said. "But I knew after I got my jail sentence done, I would be in the same situation again."
For the six months he has been enrolled in the program, Salazar said he has maintained sobriety.

McKinley County court

Stories like this and others inspired Paul Campos, the director of the McKinley County DWI Prevention Council, to establish a McKinley County DWI Court.

On Friday, the members of the court held their first meeting to discuss possible candidates for the first few court sessions.

The DWI court will be an alternative to magistrate court, where alcohol offenders usually plead their cases.

In the DWI court, a public defender, prosecuting attorney, judge and treatment adviser will determine what types of programs offenders should enroll in to ensure they do not commit alcohol-related crimes again.

Typically, these courts are called drug courts because they deal with people who have committed crimes related to the use of illegal drugs.

However, Campos said a court that applies the principles of the drug court to offenders misusing alcohol would help McKinley County more than a traditional drug court. Eventually, once the court is well-established, Campos said, he would like to expand its jurisdiction into drug-related cases.

To attend DWI court, a person must have between two and five DWI charges or be convicted of a crime directly related to alcohol or drug abuse.

No offenders involved in DWI cases resulting in serious injury or with a history of violence will be allowed.

Instead of fulfilling a jail sentence or paying a fine, the court's clients must complete counseling sessions, pass random drug and alcohol tests and meet their case worker and the judge regularly.

Offenders may be enrolled in DWI court for more than a year before they are released. The minimum time needed to fulfill court requirements is nine months, Campos said.

Repeat offenders targeted

The strength of the DWI court is its effect on multiple offenders.

In Bernalillo, about 50 percent of the offenders who complete a jail sentence or pay a fine get another DWI charge. Of the people expelled from the DWI court, 35 percent commit the crime again. And of the people who graduate the program, 7
percent get charged again, said Mark Pickle, supervisor of the drug court in Bernalillo.

In McKinley County, of the 1,678 DWI offenders assessed between 1997 and 2000, 41 percent were repeat offenders. Those numbers can be less than the actual figures because they depend upon the clients' statements, rather than official records,
Campos said.

The county will apply for a $500,000 grant to be distributed over three years by the federal government, said Gena Ruiz, the DWI court coordinator.

The money will pay for drug and alcohol tests as well as treatment programs administered by Connections Inc., a Gallup company that does counseling and DWI and substance absue classes. Clients may have to pay for a portion of their treatment if the judge requires it, Ruiz said.

The court meets every other week, but Ruiz said the meetings may become more frequent if the court is successful and receives many clients.

Magistrate Court Judge Karl Gillson said he is volunteering to be the DWI court judge, because he believes the court may be more effective in deterring repeat offenders.

"In the infancy of the drug court revolution in the U. S., research has indicated that drug courts are more efficient than traditional courts," Gillson said. "Rather than spending money to warehouse an alcoholic offender for a nonviolent crime the philosophy of the drug court is to spend the money to rehabilitate the offender."

Point system

The frequency and types of activities offenders must complete depends upon whether they are in phase one, two or three or in the aftercare phase. For completing any part of the requirements, the client receives points. To finish a phase and begin another, offenders must accumulate a certain number of points.

For example, to complete phase one, clients must earn 54 points. When they start phase two, some of their activities will change. Instead of meeting the judge twice a month, they will meet only once a month; and in addition to phase one counseling
requirements, they must do 10 hours of community service.

No matter the phase, however, court clients must remain sober and employed or enrolled in school.

In a traditional court, a judge can mandate counseling also, but often the court lacks the human resources to supervise and enforce that, Campos said.

Counseling can consist of Alcoholics Anonymous sessions, group therapy, appointments with professional counselors and other remedies.

Though Campos composed a list of tasks for each phase, the actual activities for each offender can differ if the judge deems that a change is necessary.

Salazar, the drug court client in Bernalillo, said instead of doing community service, his judge suggested he attend parenting classes.

"I've given her (his daughter) direction and meaning in life that I could never have given before," Salazar said. "I'm going to parenting classes to learn what happens with a child when the parents are going through divorce."

Mental health improves

One positive result from drug courts across the nation is an improvement in overall mental health, Campos said. This is because court officials review each client's activities before they meet.

If, for example, the offender is in the midst of a divorce, the court members may mandate him or her to attend a divorce group
session to understand how to cope with any emotional problems related to the divorce, Campos said.

Though court members will be sensitive to the offenders' problems and give mandates mostly for therapeutic activities, the DWI court does not intend to go easy on offenders, Campos said.

Until all four phases are completed, at least, the clients must maintain sobriety and report to the court and counseling sessions regularly. If the offender strays, the judge can issue a jail sentence and add requirements to the offender's program.

If the offender fails three drug or alcohol tests, the person is expelled from the court.

Salazar said he believes when the drug court forced him to be sober, he could understand his problems better. Though he lives in a house now, things were different before, he explains.

"Six months ago, I was sleeping in an apartment on an air mattress," Salazar said. "You drink and you don't prioritize the important things in life. Drug court makes you see what you've been missing."

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Man resists arrest, kicks city officer

Staff Report

GALLUP — An intoxicated Thoreau man was arrested for assaulting a police officer and kicking in the door of a patrol car Saturday night after police attempted to transport him to the Na'Nizhoozhi Center.

William Jake, 30, was charged with battery upon a police officer, criminal damage to property and resisting, evading and obstructing a police officer. He also was found to have an outstanding bench warrant for failure to pay fines.

Police initially were dispatched to the Allsup's on South Second Street in reference to a possible fight but located Jake at the Cowboy's Carwash. Jake, who was intoxicated, had a scratch on his forehead and told police he had been fighting.

When the officers attempted to escort Jake to the patrol car, police said he became angry, sat down on the ground and said he was not going anywhere. Police told Jake he was going to NCI because he was intoxicated and asked him politely to enter the car. It was at that time, police said, that Jake became "combative and unruly."

Officers then hancuffed the uncooperative suspect, carried him to the car and placed him inside. Jake continued to resist arrest, placing his legs outside of the patrol car and kicking the left rear door.

As the officer pulled out of the car wash, he noticed the back door was open due to the damage. When the officer tried to get the door closed, Jake kicked the officer in his midsection.

The officer advised Jake to settle down or else he would have to use Mace on him, to which the suspect replied "go ahead" and attempted to kick the second officer. Police then sprayed Jake. The officers called an ambulance to have Jake treated for the Mace and then transported him to McKinley County Detention Center.

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Tribal Council action

Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Here is a summary of actions taken by the Navajo Nation Council at Friday's marathon fifth and closing day of the winter session:

Approved, 63-0, giving Navajo courts jurisdiction over Navajo-only issues on Hopi-Partitioned Lands. The change to the tribal code required 59 votes, and the measure obtained only 57 votes Wednesday, so it was recalled to the floor.

Denied, 13-43-5, giving delegates the authority to become the direct supervisors of the 110 chapter managers, formerly known as community service coordinators.

Tabled to the spring session, by a vote of 40-26-2, approving supplemental appropriations of $686,000 for meeting stipends to district grazing committee and Eastern Agency Land Board members. Several other supplemental appropriations were not approved since they require dipping into the undesignated reserve, which is at a current level of $3.8 million.

Rejected, 30-37, a $5,000 supplemental appropriation for the Toadlena-Two Gray Hills Veterans Organization.

Reappointed, 58-0, Roger Shirley to a two-year term on the Navajo Government Development Commission.

Tabled, 36-22, to the spring session a supplemental appropriation from the undesignated reserve of $3 million for the Public Employment Program.

Rejected, 25-33-9, with harsh words for its fourth appearance on the agenda and the dangerous precedent it could set, a supplemental appropriation from the undesignated reserve of $132,875 to Jonas Mastach, who was laid off from his tribal job in 1995 due to lack of funds.

Approved, 63-0, state or tribal worker's compensation being the only remedy for employees injured on the job. This was in response to a Navajo Supreme Court ruling saying that under some conditions employees also could file civil suits for more money.

Approved, 63-6-3, increasing delegates' mileage by about one-third by removing the specific amount from the tribal code and having council members paid the same as all other Navajo Nation employees. Delegates will go from 24 cents a mile to 32.5 cents per mile.

Approved, 62-0, opposition to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Farmington approving gas drilling at the edge of Gobernador Knob (Ch'ool'ii).

Approved, 57-0, asking the U.S. Indian Health Service to put $34 million into the federal 2001 budget for the Pion Health Center, using the national priority list for construction.

Approved, 63-0-13, condolences to the family of former Pion area delegate Larry Beck, who died Dec. 7, and directed the speaker to provide $4,725 in assistance.

Approved, 61-12-3, renewal through 2004 of the federal agreement requiring disputes about environmental compliance with U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department grants, such as the $89 million from the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act, be decided in federal district court.

Approved, 59-4-2, a three-year, no-cost test of delegate caucuses in each of the five agencies to try to speed up the council's work by having advance explanations and considerations of proposed legislation.

Added to the agenda, but did not have time to consider, changing the retirement plan for delegates.

Overrode, by a vote of 61-12, Navajo President Kelsey Begaye's veto of the council's fall session resolution that would strip away the requirement of having 74 chapters approve any pay raise for delegates. The resolution still has to be approved by two-thirds of the Navajo Nation's 110 chapters.

Approved, 62-5, a two-step referendum to decide how many delegates should sit on the council. At the May primary election, voters will choose their favorite of seven sizes, with the top two advancing to the August general election.

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Letters throw gambling-pact vote into tailspin

Walter Howerton Jr.
Santa Fe Bureau

SANTA FE — When legislators gathered Saturday to hear public input on the Indian gambling compacts, they figured they would end the day fine-tuning recommendations and moving toward a vote.

Now, with the arrival of two letters, it looks as if there might not be a vote on the new compacts this session.

First, the U.S. Department of the Interior faxed the Committee on Compacts a letter literally only a few hours before met...

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Delegates stump for pay power
Council nixes Begaye's veto

Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Council may be able, in about a month, to give itself its first pay raise in 12 years. But the 88 delegates must still convince at least 76 of the 110 chapters within 30 days to surrender their power over pay raises for the delegates.

On Friday, the council voted 61-12 to override President Kelsey Begaye's Nov. 1 veto of the move to ask the chapters to give up their power over the delegates' pay raises.

It was the first time in three tries since the Begaye administration took office in January 1999 that the tribal legislature has succeeded in overturning a presidential rejection of one of its pieces of legislation...

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