Glenn's cats up for adoption

This is one of the cats taken from the Lighthouse Shelter. The cats were sick when they were seized from Victoria Glenn's "no kill" shelter, but she claims they became sick after they were taken to the veterinarian.

One of the 39 cats brought in from the Lighthouse Shelter stares out from its cage Tuesday afternoon at the Cedar Animal Shelter. Ten of the 39 cats were confirmed to have Leukemia, a highly contagious, fatal cat disease, spread through their saliva. Feline Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells.

Photos by Nicole Goodhue

 

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Hearing held for murder suspects Fry and Engh

S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer

AZTEC — District Court judges George A. Harrison and William Birdsall met Friday with District Attorney June Stein and attorneys representing accused murderers Robert Fry and Leslie Engh to compare notes on the progress of the cases and set a date for the next hearing.

Fry and Engh are accused of the June slaying of Betty Lee, 36, of Shiprock, and the April 1998 murder of Donald Tsosie, 41, of Ganado, Ariz.

In both murders, the victims were picked up and promised rides then driven to remote spots, beaten and killed.

Eleven members of Lee's family waited in the courtroom for a briefing about what had been decided in the judges' chambers.

Lee's 19 year-old daughter, Tashina, sat quietly next to her maternal grandmother, with whom she and her siblings now live.
Tashina said attending hearings and meetings about her mother's murder make it harder to think about.

Another daughter, Natasha, took a day off school to attend the hearing. She is a student at Shiprock High School.

Three of Lee's sisters and a brother also were absent from work and jury duty to sit in the Aztec courtroom. Several traveled from Albuquerque.

Another cousin drove up from Phoenix to show his support for his family in their moment of need.

In addition, Jeff and Christina Trecker, of Farmington, also attended the hearing and sat with the family in a show of support. Their son, Matthew, was killed four years ago. No one has ever been charged in the case, although Fry has always remained a key suspect.

Stein told the gathered family members that a plea bargain had been offered to the defendants but that it had been rejected. "At least so far," she said. "So, we're preparing to go to trial. And just because we're preparing doesn't mean it'll be very soon."

A motion hearing was set for Dec. 1, but family members will not be required to attend. "That's the deadline for filing requests for changes, like change of venue, splitting the cases or opposition to the death penalty," Stein said.

The defense is expected to file a change-of-venue motion.

Stein said she wants the trial held in Farmington. "It's fair for the trial to be here. The family lives here, the crime was committed here," she said. "And its right to allow a community to decide about what happens in their own community."

The family's next trip to the Aztec courtroom will be in January when another preliminary hearing will be held.

"In death penalty cases," Stein said, "there are two preliminary hearings to insure there are grounds to proceed to trial. It's an extra precaution, given its seriousness.

"Because we're asking for the death penalty, there's a lot more technical stuff. We must have the second hearing about the circumstances warranting the death penalty. Once the judge makes the determination, then a decision is made if the case is going to be heard here."

"There's lots of very compelling physical evidence," she reassured the family.

In February, judges will review all of the motions. The trial or trials will begin a few months later.

It has not yet been determined whether there will be one long trial for both the Lee and Tsosie cases or if they will be heard separately.

There has been only conviction in Farmington with a death penalty sentence.

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Seized cats are diseased, sick
Officials: Woman is cat 'collector'

Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer

GALLUP — It isn't exactly a Broadway production, but Gallup Animal Control hopes people with come and see its version of "cats."

Within days of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit ending its long run in New York, local animal control authorities were closing the doors on Victoria Glenn's cat sanctuary in the Mentmore subdivision.

Now authorities hope homes can be found for many of the 39 cats seized from Glenn's residence Sept. 27. Several have already been adopted, but more homes are needed for the remaining cats which have caused a surge of animals at the Cedar Animal Medical Center. Glenn, the former owner, approved euthanizing 10 cats which had leukemia.

The city gave Glenn a citation for keeping too many cats at her residence. Animal Control seized the cats from a shed where Glenn put the cats next to a local business.

All of the animals were believed to be owned and kept by Glenn, who said various foster homes were actually housing the cats.

Photographs of some of the cats taken Sept. 27 showed the animals with sores around their eyes and on other parts of their bodies, but Glenn said the cats became sick when they were taken to the veterinarian. She said only two older cats were sick when she had them.

People with Animal Control and other animal rights agencies said they worried that Glenn had become an animal collector, a person who takes in so many pets he or she can't manage them anymore.

"I am not a collector," Glenn said. "People said I was a collector because I refused to associate with shelters that euthanize."

The Mentmore resident has been trying to establish a no-kill shelter in Gallup. Glenn said she has not raised enough money to start the project yet. So, she added, sometimes up to 10 pets end up at her home while she's looking for additional foster homes or adopters. She said she's never had many more animals than that.

Glenn said the 39 cats were in foster homes and were going to go back after she gave them vaccinations that's why she had kept them in a storage shed for the day. However, no foster caretaker has surfaced. Glenn said the care-takers are afraid to come forward.

The day Glenn put the cats in the shed was also the day she had an appointment with Adult Protective Services. Social workers came to her home because they were told her home might be unfit for the older woman Glenn was taking care of. Protective services did not find any violations that day.

Several people have said they saw those cats and other animals at Glenn's home. Among those concerned about how many animals Glenn had were the people who worked with Glenn to build the shelter; they quit the project in August because they thought things were getting out of hand.

Animal Control had been watching Glenn for some time because they were concerned she was keeping too many animals at her home, said Cosy Balok, the director of the Gallup-McKinley County Humane Society.

When collectors have lost control of the animals, they are often left to fend for themselves, said Michele Rokke, who works on public education for the Animal Protection of New Mexico.

"They (collectors) start out to be well-intentioned, but soon lose sight of the gravity of the situation," Rokke said. "No-kills (shelters) try to do too much. They take in more than they can provide for.

"No-kills really leave the killing to someone else. No one likes putting the animals to sleep, but it really is the only suitable option ... when there aren't enough homes for the animals."

In a collector's environment, animals revert to living in packs and fighting others for food and to survive, Rokke said. The problem is, most domestic animals are used to humans and do not understand this kind of situation. Also, some animals that end up in shelters come from an abusive owner and need special care, Rokke said.

Rokke said she volunteered at a no-kill shelter where she saw that keeping a large number of animals was detrimental to humans and the animals.

It is not uncommon, Rokke added, if most or all animals in a collector's home are sick.

A veterinarian from APNM found 10 cats had leukemia, several more had upper respiratory infections and all had severe diarrhea.

"If there are some cats that are sick, they've gotten sick from stress," Glenn said.

She said moving the cats around has hurt them, and other diseases might have been picked up from animals already at the animal hospital.

However, the cats have had diarrhea for so long that they have sores and swellings due to that. Photographs of the cats right after they were taken from Glenn show that they had open sores and bruises.

Glenn said the people who were first working with her on the no-kill shelter may have exaggerated how many animals they saw at her house to be malicious.

People involved in the situation said they are worried for Glenn's mental health as well. In an animal shelter newsletter, a psychologist wrote that collecting animals can sometimes resemble other psychological problems, like obsession and addiction.

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Hopi High School officials plead for road paving

Stan Bindell
Special to the Independent

POLACCA, Ariz. — Officials from Hopi High School are continuing to lobby to see that 13.7 miles from Polacca to Low Mountain are paved.

Ivan Sidney, president of the Hopi Junior/Senior High School Governing Board, said Hopi Road (HIR) 60 needs to be paved for the safety of students as well as for emergency vehicles. Hopi High School picks up several students along this route to get them to school and takes this route in good weather for sports competitions at Pinon High School.

Sidney said he was pleasantly surprised to learn this week that the Hopi Tribe has applied for a $3 million grant for the planning and design of the paving of HIR 60.

"If we hadn't held these meetings we would not have known about the grant application," he said.

The funds would come from the federal highway administration but would be distributed through the state.

Sidney said it is important to keep the pressure up because there is no guarantee that the grant will be approved.

Officials estimate that the paving would cost $10 million to $12 million. HIR 60 goes by Hard Rock, Forest Lake, Blue Gap, Whippoorwill and Low Mountain. The road is unpaved and known for large potholes. It connects with Navajo Road 65, which goes to Pinon.

Sidney said several Navajo and Hopi schools use these roads to bus their students to school or for sports competitions between schools. He said during the fall this road is known to flood and could raise liability issues.

"When it rains, at times buses cannot cross," he said. "If we have Navajo support we have more chance of getting the road paved."

During bad weather, Hopi High School buses go the long way around Burnside to get to Pinon High School for sports competitions.

HIR 60 is entirely on Hopi land, but Sidney said paving the road would benefit both tribes. Officials from several Navajo chapters that use the road support the project.

Sidney said if any accidents occur on this road, it could be hours before help arrives. He noted that the Hopi Tribe used to have a transportation department to deal with issues like this, but that no longer is the case.

Sidney said Hopis and Navajos concerned about the road felt a grassroots initiative was needed to get the road paved.
Proponents of the project plan to meet with Arizona State Sen. Jack Jackson and State Rep. John Verkamp to gain legislative support for the paving.

The earliest proponents expect the road to be completed would be fiscal year 2002.

The next meeting on the road paving project will be at 9 a.m Oct.11 at Whippoorwill Chapter House.

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Scouts crush Pinon, 64-0

Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer

FT. DEFIANCE, Ariz. — Window Rock crushed winless Pinon 64-0 Friday night in 3A North Enchantment action.

"Pinon is having a tough year," Window Rock coach Errol Valteau said. "Last week we thought we'd played better against Winslow and lost 41-8. We still have a young team and we made some mistakes tonight especially with our penalties. Tonight we tried to stay on the ground to run the clock."

Window Rock, 2-4 overall, 2-2 in conference, will travel to Monument Valley next Friday. Pinon, still winless at 0-7, 0-3 in conference, will play at Tuba City next Thursday night.

"We have a lot of inexperience," Pinon head coach Dwight Witherspoon said. "Sixty percent of our players haven't played football before."

Witherspoon said he's glad that Pinon, with 435-440 students, will probably be dropping down from 3A to 2A next year.

"We've gotten beat up all five years the school has been in existence," Witherspoon said. "It will be good for the school to get
some success for a couple of years."

It took Window Rock, whose other conference win was a 62-0 blowout over Greyhills, six minutes before it scored its first of nine touchdowns against the Pinon Eagles.

From then on Window Rock was nearly unstoppable as the Scouts scored on six consecutive series.

Junior running back Randall Keedah capped an eight-play drive as he grabbed a 47-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Bryan Smith with 5:35 left in the opening period.

The Scouts had just had a touchdown called back just when Smith completed a 32-yard screen pass to Chase Law. But a clipping call against Window Rock nullified the play.

Window Rock made it 14-0 as sophomore running back Kyle Anderson, who scored three touchdowns on three carries, broke several tackles en route to a 32-yard sprint.

The Fighting Scouts capitalized on a Pinon fumble when Raphael Charley fumbled the ball and Shawn Walker recovered for Window Rock.

It took the Scouts just one play as senior Duane Thomas uncorked a 35-yard scoring strike on the halfback option pass to junior wide receiver Asa-Ryan Begaye who was all alone for the score.

Pinon gambled on its next two series, going on the fourth down and long deep in its territory. They failed both times leading to two more scores by Window Rock.

Window Rock took over at Pinon's 19-yard line and found the end zone on the first play with Anderson breaking through the middle from 19 yards out.

On its next series, Pinon again went for a fourth down play and came up short, deep in its territory at the 6. Window Rock scored in two plays as Anderson dove in from the 1 for his third touchdown of the game.

The Scouts made it a runaway at 42-0 with 8:41 left in the first half as Keedah blocked a punt by Seaton Clark. Keedah scooped up the loose ball and rambled 37 yards for six points.

It was 48-0 after Window Rock's Lawrence Hickson scored on a 28-yard reverse that fooled Pinon.

Pinon struggled in the first half as its defense had no rest. The Pinon offense failed to get a first down until late in the first half.
Pinon made a serious run at the start of the second half moving the ball to Window Rock's 20, thanks to several penalties against the Scouts for roughing the passer along with a pair of face mask calls. However Pinon quarterback Joe Nelson was intercepted by Keedah.

Window Rock had its second touchdown of the night called back, this one early in the fourth period.

Jeffrey Johnson sccored on a 29-yard run but a Window Rock clipping penalty again killed the play. But Window Rock came right back to score four plays later on a 9-yard halfback option pass from Johnson to Lawrence Hickson.

Window Rock ended its scoring on a 14-yard run by Smith with 3:38 left in the game.

The Scouts had a chance to score once more with seconds left but Smith knelt down at Pinon's 5-yard line that made the final, 64-0.

Window Rock's Kyle Anderson rushed just three times for 52 yards but scored three touchdown runs of 1, 19 and 32 yards.
Jeffrey Johnson had five carries for 53 yards, Bryan Smith carried six times for 52 yards and one touchdown, Chase Law had five rushes for 32 yards and Chris Milford rushed five times for 23 yards.

Pinon's leading rusher was Harrison Begay who rushed eight times for 19 yards.

Window Rock quarterback Bryan Smith completed 3-of-4 passes for 70 yards and one touchdown. Duane Thomas completed one pass for 35 yards and a touchdown and Jeffrey Johnson also completed one for nine yards and a touchdown. Randall
Keedah had two receptions for 59 yards and one touchdown and Lawrence Hickson had two for 20 yards and one TD. Asa-
Ryan Begaye had a 35-yard TD reception as well.

Pinon's quarterback Joe Nelson completed just 3-of-17 passes for 20 yards with one interception. Raphael Charley caught two
passes for 14 yards.

Defense keeps Gallup close
But Budick's two INTs not enough

Carrie Loretto
Sports Editor

GALLUP Gallup Bengal Frank Budick wants the ball so much he'll get his hands on it anyway he can.

The senior linebacker picked off a pair of interceptions and returned them for touchdowns to key a Gallup comeback bid which eventually fell short in last night's prep football game against Farmington at Public School Stadium.

Budick also pressured Farmington quarterback Brenden Gaskins into another turnover, hitting Gaskin as he released a throw which ended up in the arms of Bengal defensive back Jason Fierro.

Offensively however, his biggest contribution was in the fourth quarter when Gallup was set up on the ten-yard line and headed towards the line of scrimmage appearing confused. Having already taken time setting up the play, a heads up Budick called a time out to prevent a delay of game penalty.

After the timeout, Andrew Christianson scored the tying touchdown, but Gallup still came out on the losing end, 27-20.
Gallup drops to 1-4 on the year. Former district rival Farmington improves to 4-2.

"I'm playing well on defense, offensively, I just wish..." Buddick trailed off, then continued, "if they can get me the ball, I feel I can score."

Friday's interception returns were Budick's second and third defensive touchdowns of the year. He stripped the ball against Belen last week and ran it in for a touchdown. The 5'9" 210 lbs. running back, who transferred to Gallup from Kingman last fall, has four rushing touchdowns in five games. He's entered the game averaging about 4.8 yards per carry.

Against Farmington, Budick rushed once for two yards. Last week, he had seven carries for 30 yards.

"Number 40 made two great plays," Farmington coach Tom Lynch said about Budick. "He's their playmaker. We felt we controlled the entire game except for (the turnovers)."

"Frank Budick played an excellent game," Gallup coach Jeff Taylor. said. "He runs well on the football field. He's played well every game. He works hard on and off the field."

Budick's play ignited Gallup in the second half, who came out flat in the first half apparently feeling the effects of the fatal tragedy involving Gallup High junior Frankie Martinez, a close friend of several players, who was buried this morning.

"We had a strange week as you know, we were flat in the first half, but we came out in the second half and played hard," Taylor said.

"My hat's off to them, that's gotta be tough playing with that situation," Lynch said.

After netting minus-1 on the opening series of the second half, Gallup gained momentum when Budick picked off Gaskins on Farmington's second play of the half.

"I saw the back flaring out and knew it was a screen so I stayed with the ball and got one hand on it," Budick said describing his interception.

He returned it 27-yards and Christianson's PAT made it a 17-7 score with 9:38 left in the third quarter.

Just over two minutes later, Budick found himself in the right spot, picking off a deflected pass and returning it 58-yards for his
second touchdown.

"It went off his helmet, right into my hand," he said.

Again Christianson made good on his PAT and with 7:27 still left in the third, Gallup only trailed 17-14.

Gaskins answered with a 43-yard pass to Robbie Mullin, but Christianson and B.J. Begay sacked him for an 8-yard loss on the next play. On fourth-and-10, Fierro picked off Gaskins, but lost the ball on a fumble which was recovered by the Scorpions, giving them a first down on Gallup's 19-yard line.

Farmington picked up six more yards to give Dalton a 29-yard field goal attempt which he made to put Farmington back up 20-14.

Farmington was moving the ball once again on its first possession of the fourth quarter. On the fourth play of the drive, Budick closed in on Gaskins and hit him as he released the ball and Fierro came up with his second interception.

Six plays later, Christianson tied the game with his ten-yard run and it remained tied as Christianson missed the PAT. An 18-yard pass from Kevin Escajeda to Hendrix and another ten-yard run by Christianson keyed the drive.

On the ensuing series, after giving up 29-yards on three consecutive passes, Gallup's defense broke up Gaskins' momentum as Robby Bunch and Jarred Montano broke up a pair of pass attempts and Farmington was forced to punt for the first time in the game.

Gallup's ground game again proved futile and on third-and-9 Escajeda's pass went incomplete as Gallup punted for the fifth time.

Gaskins completed a pass to John Strickler who caught the ball in front of a fallen Gallup defender and ran it in 67-yards for the winning touchdown.

Gallup had two more possessions, but Escajeda threw an interception and was sacked twice, including on the game's final play.
Farmington had built a 17-0 lead with a no-huddle offense which was run out of the shotgun formation most of the night.

Gaskins hit Kevin Thomas for a 39-yard pass play on the game's first play. A clipping penalty and a ten-yard loss on a fumbled pitch kept Farmington out of the endzone, but Jeff Dalton kicked a 38-yard field goal to cap the 12-play, 60-yard drive.

Gallup's defense, which produced five Farmington turnovers, came up with one on Farmington's next possession when Bengal
defensive back Jarred Montano recovered a fumble on Farmington's 20-yard line.

"Our defensive unit again has been keeping us in the game," Taylor said. "We just need to learn to make big plays (on offense)."

Offensively, a lateral resulted in an 8-yard loss on the Bengals first play of the ensuing series, but Farmington was hit with an inteference call which moved Gallup down to the 12-yard line. However, a Bengal penalty and a quarterback sack stalled the drive and Gallup attempted a field goal.

The Bengals came away without any points as Scorpion Lee Acosta blocked Christianson's 37-yard field goal attempt.

Gaskins again led Farmington downfield keying the drive with a 60-yard pass play to Thomas. Chris Hendrix caught Thomas from behind to prevent the touchdown, but on the next play, Jon Strickler ran the ball in from the ten and Dalton's extra-point attempt put Farmington ahead 10-0 with 8:45 left in the half.

After forcing Gallup to punt, Farmington started at midfield and pieced together another 11-play scoring drive. With 2:28 left in the half, Gaskins scored from the one on a quarterback keeper. Dalton's PAT extended Farmington's lead to 17-0 which they took into the lockerroom.

Gaskins, who came into the game with almost 600 yards, threw for 336 yards against the Bengals on 19-of-33 completions with four interceptions, matching his season total coming into the game. Farmington also rushed for 91 yards.

Gallup only produced 58 yards rushing and 40 yards passing. Escajeda completed 4-of-12 passes with one interception. He was also sacked four times for -29 yards. Christianson had nine rushes for 49 yards.

"We were in the game up til the last minute. I feel like if you're in the game til the last minute, you've done your job. We've been in every one of them," said Taylor.

The Bengals will resume district action next week when they host Valley.

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Native groups may apply for drug grants

Staff Report

GALLUP — The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is encouraging American Indian and Alaska Native groups to apply for grants to address substance abuse in their communities.

The American Indian/Alaska Native population has the highest rate of illicit drug use in the U.S., according to the government's most recent survey data released in August. Among youth age 12-17, the rate of use is 19.6 percent among American Indians/Alaska Natives, compared to 11.4 percent for Hispanics, 10.9 for non-Hispanic whites, 10.7 percent for African Americans, and 8.4 percent for Asian Americans.

"While we have made progress nationally, we need solutions to address the disparities between American Indians and other groups," ONDCP Director Barry R. McCaffrey said. The national data show a 21 percent downward trend in overall drug use among 12-17 year olds in the U.S.

Illegal drug use among American Indians and Native Alaskans is predominantly inhalant abuse, marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine use...

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Stone discovered by janitor is fake

SANTA FE (AP) — A janitor who has been living a dream since discovering what he thought was a 9.72 carat diamond earlier this year has received a rude awakening.

Bruce Buck learned Thursday that the stone is actually a cubic zirconia a relatively inexpensive man-made imitation

A report from the Gemological Institute of America in New York delivered Thursday to his lawyer, Kathrin Kinzer Ellington of Santa Fe, confirmed that the stone was fake.

"Yes, I was disappointed," Buck said Thursday. "But I didn't have anything before this, and I haven't lost anything ... I'm just grateful I did the right thing (in trying to find the owner)..."

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Deaths

Tanya Luci "Punky" White

RED VALLEY, Ariz. — Services for Tanya Luci "Punky" White, 15, will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, Oct. 9 at the Brewer Lee and Larkin Funeral Home in Shiprock. Pastor Howard Begay will officiate. Burial will follow on the family cemetery in Red Valley, Ariz.

White died Oct. 4 in Red Valley, Ariz. She was born Oct. 28, 1984 in Shiprock.

Survivors include her parents, Francis Mike of St. Michaels, Ariz., Matilda King and Alfred King, both of Red Valley, Ariz.; brothers, Jerome King of Red Valley, Kevin Mike of Kayenta, Ariz. and Chris Mike of Grants; sisters, Tonia Anderson of Red Valley, Ariz. and Julian Begay of Flagstaff, Ariz.

Pallbearers will be Bill Anderson, Samuel L. Nakai, Harris L. Nakai, Irvin L. Nakai Jr., Dennis Arviso Jr. and Christian Trujillo.