Religious jewelry gets notice
Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Special to the Independent
GALLUP — Just like the custom jewelry he crafts, Carlton
Jamon seems to put his own personal stamp on new ideas and new
projects that catch his imagination.
It was just last October when Jamon, a Zuni silversmith, was linked
to news stories about Pope John Paul II's canonization of Katharine
Drexel, a wealthy heiress turned Catholic nun who founded the
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and donated her inheritance to
working with American Indians and black Americans. Jamon, commissioned
by the Diocese of Gallup, created a striking silver chalice for
the Vatican's ceremony.
And this past summer Jamon, along with his wife Julie and fellow
jeweler Myron Panteah, opened Silverbear Gallery, the first Zuni
owned arts and crafts business in Gallup. According to Jamon,
he and Julie were also the first Zuni artists to open a gallery
in Zuni Pueblo. Their goal of advertising on the Internet was
reached when the couple's teenage son Jeffery designed silverbearstudio.com,
a website for his parents' business.
In addition, Jamon is working with a coalition of other Zuni people
on a "trademark certification project" to protect authentic
Zuni arts and crafts from non-authentic knock-offs, mostly imported
jewelry. And as a new businessman in Gallup, he is considering
ways downtown business owners might band together to combat the
negative impact intoxicated bar patrons have on tourism and local
business traffic.
Silver bears and a chalice
Although stories about Jamon's silver chalice ran in newspapers
all across the Southwest, the artist said all the media attention
didn't really translate into lots of increased business sales.
A number of people, he said, told him he should have exploited
the situation with an aggressive marketing plan.
"I was really uncomfortable with that," he said. "Katharine
Drexel was the focus, not me."
Jamon, who is not Catholic, wanted to be respectful of the Catholic
religion just as he appreciates people who are respectful of his.
The chalice is now part of the Vatican's permanent collection,
said Jamon. "Unless I go to the Vatican," he said, "I'll
never see it again."
And unless a friend with a camera hadn't stopped by just before
a nun from the Diocese came to collect the chalice, Jamon wouldn't
even have a photo of his famous piece.
"I worked on it down to the wire," he recalled with
a laugh. "I was still polishing it when the Sister showed
up."
But it is actually little hollow silver bears that have helped
to imprint Jamon's name in the Indian arts and crafts business.
He had dabbled in the jewelry making business since his grandmother
had taught him the basics when he was a teen, but it wasn't until
his second son, Alex, 12, was born that his work really began
to sell.
It all began with an idea of Julie Jamon's. She looked at the
popular carved fetish necklaces and suggested her husband create
silver fetish animals. After experimenting with different techniques,
Jamon settled on a sleek, silver bear that he made hollow so it
would be lighter and more comfortable to wear.
Jamon credits his wife with inspiring many of his successful designs.
She frequently comes up with design ideas, he said, and then he
has to "figure out how to do it."
The Jamons' silver bears became very popular with dealers, and
the couple found themselves putting in endless hours trying to
meet the demand for the designs. Unfortunately, however, they
began to realize that the dealers were making more money off the
Jamon's product than they were. The couple took a close look at
the situation and decided they needed to come up with a business
plan to market their own creative designs.
They eventually stopped selling their work to dealers and began
traveling to Indian art shows across the country and marketing
their own work. They experienced hard times, said Jamon, but the
couple realized they were never going to be financially successful
if they weren't determined to stick to their goal.
Something different
The Jamons opened Silverbear Studio and Gallery in Zuni four years
ago. Located about a half block south of Halona Plaza, the business
is currently closed for the winter because of the seasonal drop
off of the tourist market. They opened the Silverbear Gallery,
233 W. Coal, this past July with the idea of reaching a larger
market.
With its dark walls and dramatic spotlights, the gallery reflects
the contemporary artwork of its owners. Jamon said he, his wife,
and Panteah set out to create a striking art gallery rather than
a typical Gallup arts and crafts shop. "That was our whole
intention," he explained, "to have something different."
Jamon said he has been pleasantly surprised by the number of other
Gallup business owners who have stopped in to welcome the gallery
to the business community. "The local community has been
really supportive," he said. Unfortunately, he added, sales
are lower than expected.
One disappointment, he explained, has been to see the impact on
gallery business by intoxicated patrons of the bar down the block.
During the summer Jamon would watch tourists across the street
trying to decide if they should cross the street and risk encountering
intoxicated individuals. He would have to have to stand in the
doorway and wave the tourists into the gallery.
According to Jamon, business at the gallery benefitted when the
Gallup Police made frequent rounds.
This past weekend Jamon joined with many other Zuni artisans to
host the first Zuni Heritage Fair at Gallup's Red Rock State Park.
This coming weekend he is joining fellow members of the Zuni Cultural
Arts Council at an art show in Florida. He is an advocate of Zuni
artists sharing information, pooling their resources, and working
on projects that enhance business
opportunities for all. Such collaboration "only brings more
attention to Zuni artists," he explained. "We're all
in this together."
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Uranium foes rally for support
Larry Di Giovanni
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Groups that oppose uranium mining plans for Church Rock
and Crownpoint are in a "pivotal spot" in their seven-year
fight against in-situ leach mining, attendees were informed at Saturday's
"Make a Difference Day" event held partly at the University
of New Mexico-Gallup campus.
Dr. John Fogarty, a Crownpoint emergency room doctor and member of
Concerned Citizens of Crownpoint, said CCI members, joined by Eastern
Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) members, will appear in
Washington Nov. 5 to 9 for a crucial hearing before the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission. The hearing involves another step in Hydro Resources Inc.'s
plans to gain approval for its Church Rock Section 8 license and restoration
plan.
HRI is a subsidiary of Uranium Resources Inc. of Lewisville, Texas.
"The time to act is now, and I literally mean this week,"
Fogarty said. "Sen. (Jeff) Bingaman needs to hear from everybody."
Fogarty and his fellow HRI opponents appeared convinced that they
won't get any help from U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), who has
supported and co-authored the Senate version of legislation that proposes
to give uranium mining companies $30 million over three years for
low-cost, environmental restoration technologies. U.S. Rep. Heather
Wilson (R-Albuquerque)
co-sponsored the House version of the amendments that passed as part
of the House energy bill.
Bingaman does not support Wilson's amendments, and Fogarty said CCI
and ENDAUM members hope to meet with him and support the drafting
of the senator's own energy bill. Domenici recently said his legislation
affects only existing mining
operations that were in production no later than 1998. The Republican
senior senator of New Mexico said anyone who is trying to tie his
energy bill to Church Rock and Crownpoint is dishing out "some
serious misinformation."
Fogarty, however, said there are four companies that stand to benefit
from Wilson's proposals, one being Uranium Resources Inc., HRI's parent
company.
"It's kind of like saying if you win the lottery, your daughter
wouldn't benefit ... and it's simply absurd," Fogarty said.
The public also needs to know the truth about the community of Crownpoint's
feelings toward ISL mining in their area, the doctor said, since some
HRI supporters are trying to tie the benefit of new jobs to community
views.
"I can tell you the people are overwhelmingly opposed to this
type of mining, overwhelmingly opposed," Fogarty said. He added
that ISL mining "doesn't bring in a lot of jobs."
Crownpoint opposition comes from past experience with uranium mining,
he said. Fogarty cited as one example a Mobil company uranium pilot
project near Crownpoint, with a relatively small number of wells used.
The project lasted 10 months, but "they spent the next six years
trying to clean it up," he said. "They couldn't do it. The
NRC had to relax (cleanup) standards to allow them to leave the site."
CCI and ENDAUM have expressed concerns, along with technical evidence,
to support their argument that HRI won't be able to clean up the mines
they use, and in fact will contaminate the aquifer of which thousands
of Navajos rely on for their drinking water.
ISL mining is a process in which oxygenized water is injected into
the ground water hundreds to thousands of feet below the surface,
"rusting" uranium particles off nearby rocks. The uranium-plentiful
solution is extracted, the uranium separated, and then the remaining
water injected back into the ground.
HRI President Mark Pelizza says the process is safe and will not contaminate
drinking water, but the grassroots groups' watchdog organization —
Southwest Research Information Center of Albuquerque — has stated
that the state of Texas has relaxed cleanup standards for URI because
its mines could not properly restore water to baseline levels.
Dale Mason, a "Make a Difference Day" participant, noted
that the U.S. governrment has announced it will spend billions to
build new fighter aircraft — and announcement that comes during
a war, a time when such a revelation is welcomed.
Regarding uranium, he said "We can't allow military crises to
push us into irrational decisions." Mason is an assistant professor
of political science at UNM-Gallup.
Participant David Orr said he was offended by a statement from a Domenici
representative that compensation for uranium victims exposed to harmful
radiation is predicated on scientific proof and nothing else. The
"game" seems to be that unless you have scientific proof
— which can take a lifetime to achieve — the government
can't help, Orr said. Meanwhile, a new class of uranium mining, which
may be more dangerous than underground mining because of the involved
drinking water issues, is just around the corner.
"Make a Difference Day" involved a Sunrise ceremony conducted
by Western Shoshone spiritual leader Corbin Harney at Red Rock State
Park, a bus tour of the proposed Church Rock and Crownpoint ISL sites,
led by ENDAUM co-founders Mitchell and Rita Capitan, and a uranium
issues forum at UNM-Gallup sponsored by the Western States RECA Reform
Coalition.
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Bush pressed to send troops
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration is under growing pressure
from lawmakers and Afghan rebel leaders to step up its military campaign
in Afghanistan and send in ground troops, even as key allies warn
that increasing civilian death
tolls could undercut support for the U.S. effort.
U.S. attacks on the Afghan capital of Kabul killed at least 13 civilians
Sunday, and warplanes returned for a second wave of attacks later.
American bombs pounded targets in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif,
the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar in the south, Herat in the west
and Jalalabad in the east, said the Afghan Islamic Press, a private
news agency.
Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, warned last week against
"excessive collateral damage" to civilians — a concern
also voiced by the leaders of China, Malaysia and others.
But Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Sunday that America must unleash
"all the might of United States military power," including
large numbers of ground troops, to prevail in Afghanistan.
"It's going to take a very big effort, and probably casualties
will be involved, and it won't be accomplished through air power alone,"
McCain said on CNN's "Late Edition."
The largest known U.S. ground force in the Afghanistan region is 2,100
Marines, who are aboard the USS Peleliu in the Arabian Sea. In addition,
1,000 soldiers with the Army's 10th Mountain Division, are at an airbase
at Khanabad, Uzbekistan, 90 miles from the northern Afghan border.
These troops are trained for combat in wintry and mountainous conditions.
Thousands of U.S. soldiers and Marines were in Egypt this week for
training exercises.
White House chief of staff Andrew Card, and Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld were noncommittal Sunday when asked about significant
ground forces. "Let's not go there yet," Card said on NBC's
"Meet the Press."
Some 100 airborne Rangers and other special ground troops struck a
Taliban-controlled airfield and a residence of a Taliban leader earlier
this month, but McCain said that was inadequate. He called for a "very,
very significant" force large enough to capture and hold territory.
McCain, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Bush's
rival for the 2000
Republican presidential nomination, has contended that undue restraint
by the U.S. military and allies was emboldening Taliban fighters.
Considerations such as civilian deaths from U.S. bombing and the Muslim
holy month of Ramadan that begins in mid-November must be "secondary
to the job at hand, which is to wipe out nests of terrorism,"
McCain said.
Card defended the intensity of the military attacks by the United
States and Britain. "We're not holding back at all," he
said on "Fox News Sunday." "We'll do what we have to
do to win."
In back-to-back TV interviews, Card emphasized Americans need to be
ready for a protracted struggle, using the word "long" six
times to describe it. "It could take years," he said on
NBC.
Card backed off of the Pentagon's assertion Oct. 16 that the combat
power of the Taliban has been "eviscerated," saying instead
it has been "disrupted." He also pointed to signs of progress.
"We've certainly taken out most of the significant targets in
Afghanistan with our superior military force, and we'll be working
with the ground forces to make sure that we can rout the Taliban out
so that we can get to al-Qaida (terror network) and Osama bin Laden,"
he said.
Rumsfeld said steady bombing has forced Taliban fighters to shift
positions, providing U.S. bombers "additional targeting opportunities."
He also rejected claims that the United States is not providing adequate
help for northern alliance forces opposing the Taliban.
Rebels confronting Taliban troops north of the capital, Kabul, have
been complaining publicly that the American airstrikes weren't doing
enough to advance their cause.
The administration is also facing criticism on other fronts, including
the bombing for the second time of a warehouse of the International
Committee of the Red Cross in Kabul.
Card said he felt "horrible" when he learned of that incident.
"But the vast majority of the work done by our military has been
outstanding and right on target, and it's making a difference,"
he said.
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Rehoboth loses
Michael Peretti
Staff Sports Writer
SANTA FE — The Rehoboth boys soccer team put up a good fight,
but in the end St. Michaels was too much.
Taking on a AAA school in the Region A tournament, the Rehoboth Lynx
played with the Horsemen for the first half and stayed in the game
for most of the second half.
"I think we played very well, I am very pleased," said Rehoboth
head coach Jim Geertsema.
Geertsema said that he was very happy with this season, and that there
were three games that stood out in his mind.
"Today, especially in the first half, the first time we played
Gallup Catholic this year and the first time we played Sandia Prep,"
he said were the three games he will remember the most this season.
"We may have lost today, and the Sandia Prep game, but I think
those three games showed what we are capable of doing."
The Lynx fell to St. Michaels 3-0, one day after the Lady Lynx lost
to the St. Michael's girls team 8-0.
The Lynx stayed in the game throughout the first half, and at halftime
were still tied 0-0. Most of the first half was played near midfield
with the two teams breaking away only a few times for shots. In the
first half Rehoboth took nine shots on goal and held the Horsemen
to only 12.
Ten minutes into the second half the Rehoboth defense began to tire
and St. Michael's took control of the game. St. Michael's got several
close shots on goal and held the ball near Rehoboth's goal for most
of the second half. Still, the Rehoboth defense held the Horsemen
to only three goals.
Rehoboth stopped nine striaght shots before the Horsemen were finally
able to score, the first goal coming from Dillon
Williams. Williams had three straight shots stopped by Rehoboth goalie
Ethan Fairey before he got his goal. The goal came when he got the
ball and made a move, causing his defender to fall down which left
Williams one-on-one with Fairey.
Williams rocketed the ball in from the right side into the left corner
to break the scoreless tie.
Minutes later, Brock Romero scored for St. Michael's. Romero got open
on a breakaway and got one-on one with Rehoboth's goalie and put the
ball in for a 2-0 lead.
The final goal came on a Zach Ortiz shot. Ortiz got a pass from Matthew
Paco and put the ball in.
Rehoboth only had two shots on goal in the second half until after
Horsemen's hree goals were scored. The Lynx finished the game with
16 shots on goal.
Late in the game, the Lynx broke out with four close shots, but Mark
Sena stopped all of the shots for St. Michaels.
With about 10 minutes remaining in the game, Nick Donkersloot went
down with a sprained ankle and did not return for Rehoboth.
J.M. DeYoung had several breakaways in the game, but could not convert
on any of the shots for Rehoboth.
"The first half they came out and played really agressive,"
said St.Michael's head coach Mark Miller. "They pressured us
really well. I think in the first half we got a little greedy and
tried to score up the middle, but their defense stopped us."
Miller said that Rehoboth suprised the Horsemen in the first half
and that in the second half they had to go back to their game plan
and be more patient.
"Overall I think it was a really good season," said Geertsema.
"I think we did very well."
The Lynx finished the season 5-7 and made their first appearance in
the regional tournament.
Rehoboth will be losing four players to graduation. Fairey, DeYoung,
Will Kryzmowski and Jeff Horney are the seniors on the team.
"Those four players led not only on the field but also off of
it," Geertsema said. "They were athletic and just real fun
to coach. They will be missed on the team. They led by example and
were real team leaders."
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Aragon claims Senate post
SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — State Sen. Manny Aragon, stripped
of his Senate presidency last winter, claimed the post of Senate majority
leader in a weekend Democratic caucus attended by just 12 senators.
Questions were immediately raised among those not present over the
legality of the vote.
Two senators voted by proxy, giving Aragon 14 votes, Sen. Phil Griego
reported Sunday. If it stands, Aragon would replace Sen. Tim Jennings,
D-Roswell, as Senate majority leader, said Griego, D-San Jose. Senate
Democrats have a 24-18 edge over Republicans.
"I respect the process, and I serve at the will of the Democratic
caucus," Jennings said Sunday. "If it was a legally constituted
meeting and the Democrats made that decision, then so be it..."
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Attacks spark new sense of responsibility in teens
CHICAGO (AP) — Nanette Milner tried to sleep that night but gave
up, flicking on the light and grabbing the first notebook she could
find amid the piles of clothes and books in her bedroom. It had been
a week since terror struck New York and Washington — and the
16-year-old's mind was racing.
"I feel like we are screaming at the top of our lungs and no
one can hear us. I have much to say, and so do my peers. Will anyone
listen?" Milner wrote, later typing her words into an e-mail
to her hometown newspapers in Chicago and Rolling Stone magazine.
"We are the ones who will be fighting this war for you. We are
the future of this country."
The letter was the first Milner had ever written to an editor —
and one of many signs that the terrorist attacks are causing teens
to reach beyond their own worlds, perhaps for the first time...
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Gov. Johnson open to debate on death penalty
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Gov. Gary Johnson says he is open to a debate
on New Mexico's death penalty policy.
"Although I do not intend to declare a moratorium on executions
in New Mexico, eliminating the death penalty in the future may prove
to better public policy given the reality of the sentence today,"
Johnson said in an essay that appeared in Sunday's edition of the
Albuquerque Journal.
The governor was expected to meet with the American Civil Liberties
Union Monday to hear its clemency request for convicted child-killer
Terry Clark.
Clark is scheduled to be executed Nov. 6 for the 1986 kidnapping
and murder of 9-year-old Dena Lynn Gore, who was abducted while
riding her bicycle in Artesia...
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Lubbock man to go on trial for murder
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Jury selection is set to begin Monday
in the case of a Lubbock man charged with murdering a co-worker
whose body was found in February in a rural New Mexico gravel pit.
Michael W. Miles, 36, is accused of killing Mark Alexander on Jan.
17. Alexander's body, wrapped in a tarp and chains, was found more
than a month later floating in a water-filled pit north of Hobbs.
Miles' trial originally was scheduled for June but was postponed
several times at the request of defense attorney Brian Murray, the
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported in Sunday's editions. The trial
was further delayed when Murray withdrew from the case, according
to court records...
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Precariously perched rocks worry First
Mesa residents
Stan Bindell
Special to the Independent
POLACCA, ARIZ. — First Mesa Consolidated Villages needs to
get its rocks off, but it has to be careful how it does it.
Six large boulders rise over Route 508 leading up to the north end
of Hano Village and serving as the only way up to two other villages
on First Mesa.
Residents, education and village officials have become concerned
that these large boulders have become unstable and could cause safety
hazards to the vehicles passing below.
Approximately 50 education and village officials aired their concerns
during a meeting Oct. 11 at Hopi Junior/Senior High School. Some
village leaders are concerned that the boulders have moved and wondered
if there could be a huge rock slide at any given time without warning...
Ramah Mustangs rear up
Carrie Loretto
Sports Editor
RAMAH — The Ramah Mustangs are looking to go out on top.
Slated to move up to 11-man football next season, the Mustangs are
primed to end their final six-man season with a state
championship. They took the first step towards that end with a 64-16
victory over the Logan Longhorns in the quarterfinals of the state
playoffs at Ramah High School Saturday afternoon.
The Mustangs (8-1) will travel to Floyd to take on the only team
that has beaten them the last two seasons. The meeting will be a
rematch of last year's state championship won by Floyd.
"It'll be a tough game," Ramah coach Ron Stevenson predicted.
He also anticipates a closer contest than this year's regular season
matchup which Floyd dominated 82-32...
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Deaths
Richard Owen Weigl
Benton, Ariz. — Richard Weigl died October 26 in Benton. He was
born December 12, 1940 in Clovis.
Weigl served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was the owner
of Sutherland Furniture and Appliance in Gallup.
He enjjoyed hunting and fishing.
Survivors include his wife, Kathy Williams Weigl of Gallup; daughters,
Tawana Rasco of Colorado Springs and Cassandra
Weigl of Gallup; son, Mike Williams of Gallup, and six grandchildren.
By wish of the deceased no service is planned.
Rick W. Hohman
ALBUQUERQUE — Services for Rick Hohman will be announced at a
later date. He died October 19 in Albuquerque.
He was an English teacher at Gallup High School for 13 years.
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