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Kayenta in the black
Revenue from sales tax gives town a boost

By Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

KAYENTA, Ariz. — Income from a local sales tax greatly exceeded the budget, while expenses were much less than planned, according to the second annual audit of the Kayenta Township.
Kayenta Township expected to receive $400,000 in its general fund for its 1998-99 financial year that ended on May 31. Audit results published last week showed the Monument Valley government taking in $499,258. Most of the projected and actual income for the general fund came from its local sales tax with $427,982 received, while only $328,000 had been expected from the levy on retail sales.
While the township put on its books that it expected to go into the hole by spending $524,403, auditor Newlon Dickson Benner found $333,197 actually was spent. Benner is a former Navajo Nation auditor general.
So instead of being more than $124,000 in the red, the township ended up in the black by $166,061 in its general fund. This excludes $47,697 that was shifted into special revenue fund expenses.
In September, groundbreaking ceremonies heralded 120 new homes on township-owned land, half of a projected 260-unit housing development. The township received $39 million for the project, which is being done by the Fort Defiance Housing Corporation. Both rent-to-own and mortgage homes are included. The township also operates a trash transfer station.
The township is the Navajo Nation's first active independent local government in an area as big as West Virginia.
Only two other local governments in the Navajo Nation operate independently of the central government in Window Rock the Navajo, N.M., Townsite Development Corporation and the Shonto Chapter, which was the first of the 110 Navajo chapters to obtain certification for self-governance under the 1998 Local Governance Act of the Navajo Nation Council.
Kayenta began its drive for local government in 1985, with the Navajo Nation Council setting up a five-member township commission in 1996. In May 1997 the commission began collecting the local sales tax. Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye wants the central government to impose a similar "retail excise tax," placing the levy on the businesses rather than the customers, although customers end up paying either one.
Begaye got the council to approve an 18-cent a gallon gas tax and the nation began collecting the levy on fuel distributors Oct. 1, with an expected net revenue of $7.6 million. The tax offsets similar taxes by Arizona and New Mexico.

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Zuni to use funds to study alcohol issues

By S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer

ZUNI — A $50,000 grant to study issues related to alcohol has been awarded to the Pueblo of Zuni by Native American Connections of Phoenix.
The purpose of the grant is to look at underage drinking, the juvenile justice program and strengthen the infrastructure of the whole system, said Recovery Center Program Director Danny Ukestine.
Ukestine said a study group will also assess the overall impact of liquor establishments near Zuni.
"A lot of money is funneled in and out of Zuni for alcohol," he said. "We have people who are becoming millionaires off Zuni drinking. It's time to decide whether or not things are going to remain the same or we are going to exercise control."
"There's a confusion about alcohol on our reservation," he said. "It's discouraged and not sold here, but there's no prohibition. There isn't much enforcement of laws we do have except during holiday times."
Underage drinking is the most obvious at graduation time, Teen Intervention Coordinator Vurlene Bowekaty said, adding, "Parents who normally don't condone it will buy their kids a keg of beer, like a rite of passage. There's a feeling that it's not a party without alcohol."
About 14 teens each month are referred to Bowekaty for treatment. "That's not an accurate number, though, of teen drinkers," she said. "We have a lot who aren't in the judicial system yet."
Through the new program, Bowekaty said, pressure will be applied to the tribal council to stiffen penalties for adults who supply minors with alcohol. "We want to be tougher on permissive parents and focus attention on the negative effects of excessive partying," she said.
Ukestine hopes to open a discussion about the alcohol issues through town meetings. He favors legalization and control of the sale of alcohol on the reservation, with the revenue being used for positive programs, for youth or for additional rehabilitation.
"It's controversial, but those dollars are going to be spent regardless," Ukestine said. "Do we want to keep it that way or recapture it and have it do some good? If we outlaw booze, then we really need to enforce prohibition and do it like we mean it. Then we need police to patrol the highway to make sure people don't bring it onto the reservation."
In addition, the judicial system is overburdened by processing substance abusers, Ukestine said. "We don't have hardened criminals," he added. "We prosecute a lot of domestic and drunk drivers. The alcohol issue is a big drain to our system."
The Pueblo of Zuni reported 4, 400 offenses in 1998. Of those, 531 were for drunkenness, 116 were for violations of liquor laws and 170 were for driving while intoxicated. Another 154 citations stemmed from drug abuse violations, involving selling, manufacturing or possession.
The study group will review tribes throughout New Mexico that have legalized alcohol to determine what's been successful, Bowekaty said.
Bowekaty cited the Jicarillas of northern New Mexico as an example. Profits made from the sale of alcoholic beverages at several bars and at the casino on the reservation were used to fund youth programs, such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, 4-H and Indian Youth Leadership.
"It's not a positive way to fund youth projects, but we need to network with other tribes to see the pros and cons," she said.
The grant money will also fund another staff position at the Recovery Center, which will be responsible for the development of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Students Against Drunk Driving chapters.
"We need to present the facts and let the people have a say maybe put it on a referendum for voting. Where do we stand as a community? Unless we can send a very clear message about what is best for our community, we'll never move on."
"It's imperative the tribe gets a handle on this rather than let it fester for another 20 years or a millennium," Ukestine said.

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Analysis — Navajo firefighters need to allow time

By Walter Howerton Jr.
Staff Writer

WINDOW ROCK — There was a palpable sinking feeling in the conference room at the Navajo Museum last week when fire and rescue workers walked out of a meeting and off their jobs with Navajo Nation officials.
They had been threatening to walk off their jobs for weeks in their effort to get rid of long-time Fire Chief Dicky Bain and they finally did it.
The sinking feeling came from the fact that they were walking out at the very moment they were a whisker away from getting what they wanted: the investigation and possible removal of Bain, who has been placed on administrative leave.
The firefighters claimed they had been insulted by Herbert Clah Jr., executive director of the Division of Public Safety. It didn't seem like much of an insult, the mere suggestion by the frustrated Clah that maybe they should just go ahead and walk out if that was what they were determined to do.
But to a group of people who have made it clear in two long meetings and a September memo signed by 42 members of the department that they have felt insulted for a long time by Bain's actions, it was enough. What they did was understandable.
Clah responded somewhat angrily to the walkout, threatening the whole group with termination and saying what they were doing was "their decision." And what Clah did was understandable, too.
Clah and Navajo Nation Vice President Taylor McKenzie, M.D., had just spent two hours explaining to the firefighters the procedure involved in reviewing their complaints about Bain.

Immediate action wanted

The problem, of course, was that the firefighters didn't want to hear explanations. They wanted action immediately.
But in the modern world of work, that is not the way things work.
Clah, McKenzie and President Kelsey Begaye's chief of staff Tom Ranger all had tried to explain that there could be no action without following proper personnel procedure.
Ranger went even further to explain that the Navajo Nation has paid out about $800,000 in disputed employment claims since last January. Clah said they want the Bain case handled "properly."
The firefighters didn't seem to want to understand that.
Clah had even explained in his very first meeting with the firefighters that when Bain was investigated two years ago proper procedure had not been followed.
Danny Barney, a volunteer fire and rescue worker who proclaimed at that initial meeting that firefighters would accept nothing less than Bain's removal, demotion or transfer asked, "Why can't you just move him" to another job?
"That might be an option after an investigation," Ranger said.
Despite the fact that tribal officials and Navajo council members were at the meeting and despite being informed that Begaye's office had taken a personal interest in the matter, the fire and rescue personnel claimed their complaints were not being taken seriously. They were fearful that they would be victimized by tribal politics or that Bain would be protected by what one of the firefighters repeatedly called the "buddy system" that they felt had protected him before.

'On the same page'

Ranger tried to assure the firefighters that everyone was "on the same page" on the Bain issue. "Let's let the process go," he said. "This is a good way to get the outcome we want."
The firefighters seemed unconvinced, adjourning to assess and strategize three times during the two-hour meeting.
They were afraid of being taken advantage of, so afraid, finally, that
they didn't seem to be able or willing to understand how far they had come.
The firefighters complain of foot-dragging on the part of officials, despite the fact that it is only early November and their memo/petition against Bain was issued only two months ago. They complain that changes they want are not being made, despite the fact that Clah has placed Bain on leave.
They gripe that they are not being taken seriously, despite the obvious show of concern on the part of Clah, McKenzie, Begaye, and others. Tribal officials beg for patience and understanding; the firefighters cry out for instant gratification of their desire to see Bain gone.
Clah, in the process of being a dutiful bureaucrat, finds himself in the position of being an untrusted autocrat. He is understandably frustrated.

Understandably wary

It is what happens when grassroots demands for change run hard up against the complexities of dealing with modern personnel issues. It is also what happens when a group of people mistrusts those in charge largely because they feel they have not been heard or taken seriously in the past. They are understandably wary.
They wanted to walk out and they did it, but they came dangerously close to walking out on the best chance they ever have had for victory.
Now, fire and rescue personnel who claim they need a new chief in order to enter the modern world of fire and rescue work need to surrender themselves to the modern world of the personnel department. They should give Clah and other tribal officials the 16 days they want to investigate Bain properly.

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Polacca to get NPC classrooms
Staff report

POLACCA, Ariz. — A construction contract for the long-awaited Northland Pioneer College classroom facility in Polacca has been awarded to Evans Southwest by the Navajo County Community College District Governing Board.
Groundbreaking ceremonies will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the site adjacent to the Hopi Junior/Senior High School off Arizona Route 264, five miles west of Keams Canyon.
Lowest of 12 bidders, Evan Southwest expects to have crews on-site within the next two weeks. The firm is already working on a $7 million project in the area.
Evans bid $1.445 million for the base structure and $46,827 for the accepted landscaping alternate. The next lowest bid was $36,000 higher on the base project.
Capital improvement funds for the new facility were approved by Navajo County voters in May 1995. A long-term lease with the Hopi Tribe was approved in January.
The 9,626-square-foot complex will include general purpose, science and interactive distance learning classrooms and will replace NPC's existing educational center in the old BIA school in Keams Canyon.
Board member Ivan Sidney, who represents the Hopi Reservation on the governing board, has pushed for a new facility since he was appointed to the board in 1992. NPC's current Keams Canyon Center serves nearly 200 students each semester.
The board will meet again at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Hopi High for its regular monthly meeting.

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Four vie for seats on Hopi school board

By Stan Bindell
Special to the Independent

POLACCA, Ariz. — Ivan Sidney, president of Hopi Junior/Senior High School's governing board, will have three opponents in the Nov. 16 school board election.
Phyllis Kelhoyowma, Wil Numkena, Caleb Johnson and Sidney have filed petitions to run for the school board seat.
Sidney is community service administrator for First Mesa Consoli dated Villages; Kelhoyowma works for the Hopi Tribe's education department; Numkena is the community service administrator for Hopi Day School; and Johnson is a member of the Hopi Tribal Council.
The election will be held Nov. 16 with the polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Those residing in the Hopi Day School attendance area in Kykotsmovi may vote.
The five governing board seats are staggered, and this is the only seat that is up for election this school year.
Those wanting to join the race must reside in the local elementary school attendance area for a minimum of two years and must be at least 21 years old.

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Concert opposes mining on peaks

By Stan Bindell
Special to the Independent

KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz. — John Trudell and an all-star lineup of musicians will perform a concert to oppose the expansion of a pumice mine on the San Francisco Peaks and to help preserve the peaks in the future.
The concert will be held from noon to 10 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Hopi Veterans Memorial Center in Kykotsmovi. Tickets are $3, but admission is free to those 13 and younger or 65 and older.
Blackfire, Burning Sky, Walt Richardson and his Morning Star band, Casper and his band 602, Nation's Ensemble and Bad Moon Rising will fill out the lineup.
The Sierra Club is sponsoring the concert along with the Yavapai-Apache Nation, the Havasupai Tribe, Apaches for Cultural Preservation, Diné Citizens Against Ruining the Environment, the Hopi Cultural Center, Navajo Medicine men's Association and Red Rock Foundation Inc.
Sharon Galbreath, spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, said the concert is not to raise money, but to raise awareness about the White Vulcan Mine on the San Francisco Peaks. The peaks are mined for pumice, which is used to make stone-washed jeans.
Galbreath said the Hopi Veterans' Center was selected because it was the largest venue that was available on the Hopi or Navajo nations.
"We wanted it on tribal land rather than Flagstaff because we're trying to raise the awareness of young tribal members," she said.
During the concert, petitions will be available for those who want to oppose the mine. Raffle tickets will be sold to raise money for the preservation effort.
Galbreath said the concert will be a multicultural event with 13 tribes expressing an interest in joining the festivities.
Galbreath said three Hopi distance runners, led by Buck Preston, have said they will run for three days and finish at the site of the concert to express their support for the event.
Hopi Councilman Norman Honanie, a Kykotsmovi representative, recently wrote letters to area newspapers expressing opposition to concerts that included Trudell. The councilman said the musician has used funds from his concerts to support Navajo families resisting relocation on Hopi Partitioned Land in the past and may do so again.
Andy Bessler, another Sierra Club spokesman, responded in a letter to Honanie that the small amount of money raised by this concert will be used to pay for travel and lodging of all performers. Bessler noted that the sound system and renting of the Hopi Veterans' Center will also cost money. He emphasized that the focus of the concert is raising awareness about the San Francisco Peaks.
Tickets are available at Tsakurshovi on Second Mesa, McGaugh's Newstand in Flagstaff and Baldwin's Minimart in Chinle.
For more information, telephone (520) 774-6103.

Infant, man die in crash
Family from Laguna area

By Sekai K. Mutunhu
Staff Writer

GALLUP — A 7-month-old baby and an unidentified male were killed when the pickup truck they were traveling in tried to pass a semi-truck over the weekend.
Tasia Vicente, 7 months old, Shannon Vicente, 30, Zachary Vicente, 6, and an unidentified male were heading westbound on Interstate-40 toward Grants in a 1997 Ford truck when the driver tried to pass a semi-truck.
According to police reports, the truck was passing in the left lane and was in the semi's blind spot when the semi driver switched lanes and inadvertently forced them off the road. The Ford truck veered off into the median and flipped over, ejecting three of its four passengers.
Tasia Vicente and a young male, whose name and age were not immediately available, were killed. Police said the male, who appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene. The baby was transported to Cibola General Hospital where she was pronounced deadly shortly after.
Tasia, Zachary, and the other male, believed to be a relative, were all thrown from the car during the accident just before 5 p.m. Saturday.
None of the passengers, believed to be from the Laguna Acoma area, was wearing seatbelts, said State Police Captain Glenn Thomas.
"If the child had been in a child restraint seat it probably would have made a difference," he said.
Alcohol was not involved in the accident, Thomas added.
Buckling up is only one way to avoid similar tragedies from happening, said State Police Patrolman Rodney Huffman who responded to Saturday's accident.
"Secondly, there's a big blind spot on these commercial trucks and if you get into one of these spots and stay there for any length of time they can't see you," he said. "Stay behind them or get out in front of them quickly. You don't drive next to a semi. In this case the driver made a lane change, the vehicle was in a blind spot and it just ran them off the road."
Huffman said the semi driver, a long-distance driver heading toward California, was not aware the accident had even occurred until he was informed by police who stopped him shortly afterward.
"All charges are pending until we complete the investigation," Huffman said.
Shannon Vicente, the mother of the child who was killed, was air lifted to Albuquerque for emergency medical treatment. Zachary Vicente, 6, is in serious but stable condition, officials said.

Two charged with handling stolen goods

By Tom Purdom
Staff Writer

GRANTS — Two Grants men have been indicted by the Thirteenth Judicial District on charges of receiving stolen property, getting rid of the goods and conspiracy.
An air compressor is what got Bernie D. Gonzalez, 35, of 542 Valencia, and Leonard Vigil, 41, of 401 Ash, in big trouble with the law.
According to the indictment, handed up late last week, sometime between Aug. 20 and 28, Vigil and Gonzalez took the air compressor, which they knew was stolen. The indictment stated the air compressor was worth more than $250. For taking the air compressor, both men were charged with receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony.
The indictment goes on to state that both men disposed of the stolen merchandise and when they did, each was charged with an additional fourth-degree felony.
The last charge states that the men conspired to receive stolen property.
In other matters the grand jury: Indicted Corena Morgan, 44, of Gallup, with driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, driving with a suspended or revoked license and impeding traffic.
Indicted Allen Martinez, 29, of 564 A Washington, with tampering with evidence and failure to stop upon striking an unattended vehicle.
Indicted Manny Martinez, 42, of Cubero, with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended or revoked license, failure to carry proof of financial responsibility and operating a vehicle without required head lamps.
Indicted Cassandra Yazzie, 20, of 1801 Cordova Ct. #108 and also of 9611 Berry Parch Lane, Las Cruces, with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Indicted Veronica Roybal, 21, of 7500 Maplewood Dr., Albuquerque, with aggravated battery.
Indicted Keeven John, 27, of 817 Frost, with battery upon a peace officer.
Indicted Hipolito Martinez, 51, with a fourth offense of driving while intoxicated, possession of alcoholic beverage in open container, speeding and driving with a suspended or revoked license.

PNM cuts hours

By Tom Purdom
Staff Writer

GRANTS – PNM Electric and Gas Co. in Grants is cutting office hours in half as an experiment, an official with the company said Saturday.
Julie Grey, a spokeswoman with PNM in Albuquerque, said the shortening of hours affects only the Grants office at 307 N. First St. and not the Gallup office, 1510 E. Aztec.
Grey explained the reason why.
"One of our customer service representatives left there, leaving us only one so we had to reduce the work flow," Grey said. "There's no immediate plans to fill the vacant position."
Cutting a position is certainly a cost reduction factor, but Grey said cost reduction is not the main concern of PNM. Grey said the company is experimenting with the work the one customer service office worker can handle.
"What we're doing is gauging to see how it works," Grey said.
The new office hours are from 9 a.m. until noon Monday through Friday.
"We want to hear from our customers if they find the new office hours adequate," Grey said. "Please stop by the office and let us know what you think."
Grey said the change is not a prelude to closing down the office, adding, "We have no plans for doing that."