Teenage mothers

Michelle Whitmore, 16, and other Central High School teen mothers pick up their babies from the school's daycare at the end of the day. Teen mothers are allowed to visit their babies during breaks in their class schedules.

After readying herself for school, Central High student Gabriela Padilla, 18, combs the hair of her son Isia, 2.

Photos by Nicole Goodhue

 

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Citizens ask Gallup to clean up Hillside

Tanya Brazil
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Gallup community members are asking the city to take over and restore the long abandoned and deteriorating Hillside Cemetery.

At the last Gallup City Council work session, Octavia Fellin, a community leader and member of the Plateau Sciences Society, asked councilors to consider using funds from the city's recent one-eighth of 1 percent gross receipts tax increase to fix up the cemetery.

Fellin said the money would be used for signs that reflect the history of the cemetery and partial list of who is buried there, landscaping with native plants in the entrance area and a chain link fence around the cemetery grounds.

But because the cemetery is private property owned by Dave Dallago Jr., the city cannot use its money to make the improvements. Only if the city decided to take over the property would it be able to spend municipal funds.

So council members have directed City Manager David Ruiz to research the property and then meet with Dallago about the possibility of a land exchange.

"Before I would speak to the property owner about a land exchange," Ruiz said, "I feel that I would need a clear description of the land and how much land we're talking about."

Ruiz also wants to research whether the Hillside Cemetery property is defined in the property description and the legalities associated with a transfer of land on which a cemetery is located.

"In addition to that," he said, "are there any prescriptive rights that accrue to this piece of property for the past use as a cemetery?"

Dallago said the cemetery came as part of a large acquisition of property sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s and that since then he has developed some of the surrounding land.

Then, Dallago said, in the late 1980s he offered to swap the land with the city in exchange for land of equal value but the city declined, saying it was not interested in acquiring another cemetery.

Since then, he said, the cemetery has been maintained by members of the Plateau Sciences Society and people who have families buried there.

In a telephone interview, Fellin said she has talked to Gallup Mayor John Pena and other council members and that they seem receptive to the idea of preserving the cemetery.

Fellin, who has been researching Gallup cemeteries, said volunteers have identified between 25 to 30 tombstones at Hillside Cemetery and that she believes people were buried there as early as 1901.

She is compiling a log of as many burials as she can identify between 1903 and 1915 and so far has discovered that the first four people who were buried at Hillside Cemetery were two infants, one man and her great-grandmother.

The cemetery also had designated areas for graves of children, Catholics and members of the International Odd Fellows Masonic Lodge, she said.

Fellin will continue to do the mapping and identification of the grave sites, she said, and considers the restoration of the cemetery to be a long-term project.

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Most teens keep their babies

This is the second in a series of articles looking at how teen mothers juggle their lives and responsibilities.

Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Michelle Whitmore was 14 and on vacation in California when her mother, in Gallup, found out Whitmore was pregnant.

Long before Whitmore had a child, "Mom told me, 'I'm going to kick your butt if you ever do this,'" Whitmore said. "I was scared when I got back from California. Mom cried when she found out."

It was Whitmore's boyfriend, Brandon Barton, who told her mom back in Gallup. Barton used to be close to the family; he had been living with them off and on since he and Whitmore began dating when she was 13 and he was 14.

Whitmore's mom made it clear she wouldn't condone her daughter getting pregnant while she was still in school. Other than that, Whitmore said, they didn't have a serious discussion about sex and contraception. Whitmore said she wishes they had.

Amber Bowekaty, 17, who has a 2-year-old son, also wishes her mother spoke to her more about birth control. Bowekaty, Whitmore and Gabriela Padilla, who was also interviewed for this story, said they used contraception at first, but they stopped using it after a while.

Information crucial

Organizations which try to reduce teen pregnancy rates say it is important that teen-agers get information on abstinence and on contraception. Contrary to some beliefs, telling a teen-ager about contraception does not encourage sexual activity. However, groups that tell young people not to have sex because contraception is unsafe and ineffective often discourage them from using contraception without discouraging many of them from having sex.

Forty-seven diverse sex-education programs were studied and discussed in a KIDS COUNT Special Report, prepared by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which is a private organization that works to help disadvantaged children. The study found that sex-ed does not encourage sexual activity, but instead it can influence students to delay sexual activity, and the programs can help reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

Anyone, no matter the age or gender, can get confidential sexual health care without parental permission or a referral.

The Teen Pregnancy Coalition in New Mexico has set a goal to reduce the number of teen pregnancies in the state by 20 percent by 2005. For McKinley County that would mean 47 fewer pregnancies than projected for the time between 2000-2005.

In McKinley County, 67.4 out of 1,000 teen-age girls gave birth in 1998. The county had the 16th highest rate out of the 33 New Mexican counties. In New Mexico, the rate was 67.7 out of 1,000 teens and in the United States, the rate was 51.1 out of 1,000 teens.

Those rates have been decreasing recently. So has the number of teen-agers who get abortions. Though all of the girls interviewed for this series said they thought about abortion, none of them went through with it. They didn't consider adoption either. In fact, few teens nationwide give up their baby for adoption. One of the reasons for this is the culture; another reason
may be that being young and having a child is not so much of a stigma anymore, said Linda Phillips Leahrer, the community
liaison for the Teen Pregnancy Coalition.

Teen Pregnancy Coalition has found that girls at-risk to become pregnant tend to have early school failure, early behavioral problems and they come from poor families.

"The young people who are least likely to be able to provide a healthy environment for their child are the ones who are most likely to have a child," Leahrer said.

However, she added, it is important to remember teen-agers who are doing well in school and at home get pregnant as well.

Poverty a factor

Overall, Leahrer said, poverty is one of the most pivotal factors in understanding teen pregnancy.

For example, Hispanics have the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state and in the nation. And while the overall teen pregnancy numbers have decreased significantly everywhere (5.9 percent lower in New Mexico and 3 percent lower in the United States), the rate of Hispanic teen-age girls has not decreased as much. However, if Hispanics are compared with other teens from the same socioeconomic group, there is no difference.

"It's our most impoverished group (Hispanics) that has the most teen pregnancies," Leahrer said. "On the surface it looks like this is an ethnic issue, but if you dig a little further, you see it's a poverty issue, again."

Whitmore's mom receives assistance from the government, but, other than that, Whitmore doesn't fit into any of the other at-risk categories. However, Whitmore is part of another trend.

Whitmore became pregnant when she was 14 and her mom was pregnant with her when her mom was 16. KIDS COUNT reported girls born to teen-age moms are 83 percent more likely to become pregnant when they are teens. Whitmore said this may have been a factor in her case.

"Mom did a lot of stuff around me," Whitmore said. "She used to party and that looked fun to me and I went out and partied and that got me pregnant."

But Whitmore said she hopes the similarities stop there. She's trying to be a different mother. Her mother went to school in Albuquerque and left Whitmore with her grandmother. When she was 13, Whitmore's mother moved back to Gallup and they lived together, but Whitmore is back at her grandmother's house now because Whitmore's mother moved to Grants recently.

Whitmore wants to raise her daughter herself.

"I just don't want to be like my mom," Whitmore said. "Mom didn't raise me until I was 13 my grandma raised me."

Whitmore's hoping her daughter Kiara will stop the teen-pregnancy cycle.

School a struggle

The girls interviewed for this story are all doing well in school. Whitmore did well before she had Kiara and after. Gabriela Padilla said she wasn't doing well in school before she got pregnant, but after having Isiah, she became more serious about her grades. And Amber Bowekaty also did better at school after she had her son.

However, many teen-age moms struggle with school before and after having children. According to KIDS COUNT, in the
United States, 36 percent of all young mothers do not graduate from high school or earn a General Educational Development.
Compare that to the fact that only 6 percent of teen-age girls without children don't graduate or earn a GED.

When they don't finish school and they take on the responsibility of raising a child, the young women often get low-paying jobs and they rely on welfare for financial help. About 80 percent of all teen mothers eventually go on welfare.

And the child is put into the same stressful situation his or her mother was in as a child. Children of teen parents are at a higher risk for abuse and are 10 times more likely to be poor.

Tuesday: Teen pregnancy is not a modern phenomenon.

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Passage of bond crucial for district

Tara Drolma
Staff Writer

GRANTS — Linda Coy, superintendent of the Grants/Cibola County School District, told the Grants/Cibola Chamber of Commerce members that passage of the Dec. 12 bond is crucial.

"If we don't pass this bond issue, we don't have any funds from the state. We are finished done," she said.

Coy was referring to the $6 million general obligation bond when she made those remarks during her talk at the chamber luncheon meeting last week. She said the district must pass the bond issue in order to qualify for more Critical Capital Outlay funding from the state in the future.

The state has already allocated $3.8 million for the new Laguna-Acoma High School construction. If the bond issue passes the state will add $500,000, for a total of $4.3 million this year and the district will be able to qualify for an additional $4.3 million
for several more years.

Coy said her office would submit the application for next year's funding in the next couple of weeks. If the bond passes, the district will be bonded to 100 percent of its bonding capacity and this will put the district in a good position for competing for the funds at a state level. She said legislators in Santa Fe want to see community support for the funding.

If the bond doesn't pass, Coy said the district will be able to keep the $3.8 million, but that is all it will get and the district will not be able to apply for the additional funding.

Coy said it is somewhat true that people on the west side pay for all bonds since the bond is a property tax. Most of what is called the east side is pueblo land and it is not part of the county property tax base.

However, Coy said there is a mechanism in place to make up for this inequity, but it is not used properly in New Mexico. She emphasized this is not the fault of the people on the east side.

The federal government gives Impact Aid money to county school districts that have military bases and reservations to make up for the loss of property taxes. In New Mexico this money is placed into a pool in the state and distributed among all school districts.

Coy said Cibola County should get $1.5 million each year and the Gallup-Mckinley School District should get $25 million. Because the two counties are not getting their fair share of this money, they have filed a lawsuit against the state.

Coy is asking the community to support the bond issue, understanding it is not the fault of the east side communities that the district does not have its rightful share of Impact Aid money.

Coy said the following schools would receive money from the bond: $3.3 million, new Grants High School; $700,000, Laguna-Acoma High School; $500,000, San Rafael Elementary; $250,000, Cubero Elementary; $100,000, Seboyeta Elementary; $200,000, Los Alamitos Elementary; and $700,000, general maintenance and technology needs

After the talk, Charlie Harding, owner of L&C Pump and Pipe, asked Coy if the district would spend the money according to
the resolution passed by the school board.

Coy said it would be "political suicide" not to spend the money the way the board has said it would, adding, "It would be very unwise ... we need everyone's support."

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Lady Bengals go deep in season-opening rout

Carrie Loretto
Sports Editor

GALLUP — Gallup girls coach John Lomasney wasn't kidding when he said he had the deepest bench he's ever had.

He was able to go down to his third team as Gallup routed visiting Moriarty 55-27 in their season opener at home Saturday night.

"We've got the strongest bench we've ever had," repeated Lomasney, who had said that was one of the team's strengths in his season preview Friday. "The people on the floor early gave us a quick start. We have four that suit for JV (games) it was nice to get them in there."

All ten of Gallup's regular varsity players scored at least once in the victory while the Bengal defense limited Moriarty to just 26.5 percent shooting and forced 25 turnovers.

"Gallup's always strong, we play them to get better," Moriarty coach Mike Trujillo said. "I feel at times we did play well, they're just too hard to stop."

The Bengals jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the game's first four minutes and never looked back. Roberta Tahe and Tanya Bailey knocked down a pair of three-pointers on Gallup's first two possessions. That opened things up inside and Tahe found Crystal Pinto on the baseline for another basket.

Meanwhile, the defense rebounded each of Moriarty's three missed attempts and forced another three turnovers.

The Pintos finally scored with 3:52 left in the first quarter as Haley Dunlap beat Pinto to the basket.

Gallup responded with a driving layup by Tahe and another three pointer from Bailey to go back up 13-2. Another basket by Carla Parades, off an offensive rebound by Pinto, capped another 7-0 run.

After Dunlap made a shot at the top of the key, Paredes returned the assist to Pinto and Gallup's lead went back up to 17-4.

A pair of free throws with no time remaining at the end of the quarter made it 17-6 going into the second.

Turnovers continued to plague Moriarty in the second quarter as they lost the ball 13 times. Gallup responded with some sloppy play of their own, losing the ball seven times which surpassed their game total for the other three periods (5). As a result,
Gallup was limited to 10 points, but still built a 27-8 halftime advantage because they did limit Moriarty to two points.

Tahe scored three points and Mioshia Wagoner also contributed three off the bench. Amanda Rogers had the only bucket for the Pintos.

Six points off offensive rebounding keyed a 10-0 run in the third quarter which put the Bengals in control for good.

Dunlap hit a three-pointer to open the third quarter, but then a steal by Bailey resulted in a score by Tahe.

Christina Begay rebounded a Bengal miss, then assisted Vanessa Hubbard who was also fouled on the basket. Hubbard was unable to complete the three-point play, but Gallup led 31-11 with 5:30 still left in the third quarter.

Another rebound by Begay was converted into another basket by Sunny St. Clair off an assist from Bailey. Bailey also registered another assist to St. Clair following a Moriarty turnvoer.

Bailey capped the Bengal run with two free throws after getting fouled trying to put back up an offensive board.

Bailey finished the game with a team-high four assists, but made several nice passes to teammates who were unable to finish off with baskets. Still, the Bengal offense proved unselfish as Gallup handed out 12 assists.

Tahe and Pinto led the Bengals with 10 points. Bailey had a strong all-around game with eight points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Pinto also grabbed five boards and Tahe came up with three steals.

"They're all role players," Lomasney said of the well-balanced display. "We did what we thought we could do. I was pleased with the rebounding, I was really pleased with the passing, I thought we did a good job of finding open people. Everyone contributed offensively."

The Bengals shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) for the game, while limiting Moriarty to just 8-of-29 shooting. Gallup outrebounded the Pintos 32 to 22, and forced 25 turnovers while losing it just 12 times.

"We don't want to be error free, we need to know what we need to work on, but we need those to go down," Lomasney said of the turnovers. "We can't afford those against Kirtland Tuesday. Hopefully, some people got their nervousness out tonight."

Moriarty was able to outscore Gallup 15-14 in the fourth to slice into the final score. Dunlap scored five of her team-high 12 points in the fourth.

"They are hard to defend, Gallup is so patient and they shoot well," said Trujillo. "It's tough to key on one thing, if you do, they'll change and do something else. That's what they did."

Shiprock unable to overcome slow start

Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer

SHIPROCK — No. 2 ranked Portales jumped to a 21-0 first half lead en route to eliminating Shiprock 28-0 during the Class AAA state football quarterfinals on a cold, gusty Saturday afternoon.

Shiprock, which finished the season at 5-6, was able to play the 8-2 Rams, nearly even in the second half but was unable to overcome the first half deficit.

Shiprock head coach Monte Maxwell said he was pleased with his team's overall performance.

"We've been a solid second half team all season," Maxwell said. "Our defense picked it up and we made a few adjustments here and there. But Portales is a tough team. They deserved it. We knew we were the underdogs but we played hard. I would have liked to play next week (in the state semifinals)."

Portales (8-2) will host Cobre (6-5), 14-13 winners over Raton, next Saturday in one of the state semifinals. In the other semifinals, top-ranked Lovington (9-3) will travel to No. 3 ranked St. Michael's (9-2).

The Portales Rams were able to grab the early lead over the Shiprock Chieftains, scoring on their second and third possessions of the first quarter.

While the Chieftains with their usually consistent ground attack with junior tailback Marcus Benally, one of the state's leading rushers along with Benson Billy, unable to move the ball for a first down on their first five possessions in the first half, Portales showcased its ground game.

After an unsuccessful opening drive, the Rams found the end zone on their next two drives.

Portales capped a quick four-play drive, grinding out all the yardage on the ground. After Ram senior quarterback Cody Johnson fumbled and recovered the ball on a three-yard gain, senior running back Tyrone Sharpe, who rushed for 61 yards and one touchdown, broke through the Chieftain defense for 12 yards and a first down. After picking up four yards on the next
play, senior running back Brad Briney, who led the Rams with 109 yards rushing on 15 carries, made a nice cut back during a
42-yard scoring jaunt. Junior kicker Brandon Hightower booted his first of four PATs that gave Portales a 7-0 lead.

Late in the opening period, the Rams increased their lead to 14-0 as Portales capped an eight-play 50-yard drive for its second score.

With the exception of one incompleted pass, the Rams stayed exclusively on the ground. Two key plays produced gains of 14 and 13 yards by Sharpe. Two plays later, Sharpe dove in from the three for the six points.

Shiprock was unable to capitalize on a Ram turnover when Eric Gallegos fumbled the ball on a punt return. Shiprock's Benson Billy recovered the ball. However for the fifth possession in a row, the Chieftains went three and out without a first down.

Portales pushed its lead to 21-0 late in the first half, this time finding success with its passing game.

After keeping the ball on the ground for five plays, quarterback Johnson lofted a 60-yard scoring strike to Briney who bolted down the sidelines into the end zone. Hightower's PAT made it 21-0 with 1:36 left in the first half.

Shiprock had the chance to score late in the first half with time running out.

Shiprock junior tailback Benally sprinted downfield on a 42-yard run before being tackled by Sharpe on Portales' 11-yard line, giving the Chiefs their first first down of the game. But on a third and goal on the 10, Billy's halfback option pass was intercepted by Angel Lozano with 32 seconds on the clock.

"That interception was disappointing," Maxwell said about the crucial turnover late in the first half.

The Rams dominated the first half stats with 213 yards of offense to Shiprock's 57 yards with 42 of those coming on Benally's run late in the half.

Trailing 21-0 at the half, Shiprock played Portales even in the second half, shutting down its running game, stopping one drive on the 13.

After being held scoreless in the second half, the Rams were able to get on the scoreboard for their fourth and final score of the afternoon.

Quarterback Johnson broke into the open on a 25-yard run with 1:46 left in the game for a 28-0 cushion.

With time running out, Shiprock quarterback Dale went to the airways to move the ball downfield.

Dale completed passes of 18 yards and 13 yards to senior wide receiver Brandon Bull. Dale then found senior tight end Frederick Powell open for a 15-yard pass completion to the 29. Dale then lofted a short pass to Powell who then pitched the ball to Benally for a six-yard gain to the 23.

With 4.7 seconds left, Dale dropped back and threw an incomplete pass to Ambrose Lee in the end zone. However withe no time left on the clock, the Rams were called for pass interference.

Dale had one final chance to get a score but overthrew Billy in the end zone as Portales secured its shutout and advanced to next week's state semifinals.

Maxwell backed up his use of his consistent running game for most of the game until the final two minutes when Shiprock tried to avoid the shutout by going to the airways with sophomore backup quarterback Dewayne Dale, who was able to complete four consecutive passes of 18, 13, 15 and 6 yards before overthrowing Billy in the end zone with no time left on the clock.

"With our running game all season we have great running backs," Maxwell said. "Our passing game was shakey all season. But our players wanted to score so we passed the ball. (Dewayne) Dale stepped up for Hendricks (Begay) at quarterback who had a knee injury against Tohatchi two weeks ago. We have both of them coming back next year so we need to figure out how we can
use both of them in there."

Shiprock tailback Marcus Benally, one of the state's leading rushers this season, carried 22 times for 108 yards in a losing effort, with 42 of those yards coming on a carry late in the first half. Benally was stopped for no gain on four of his rushes by the tough Ram defense.

Shiprock backup sophomore quarterback Dewayne Dale filled in for the injured starting junior quarterback Hendricks Begay. Dale completed 5-of-12 passes for 59 yards with four of the completions coming on the Chieftain's final drive with time running out.

Portales senior running back Brad Briney just about matched Benally's total, rushing for 109 yards on 15 carries. Senior quarterback Cody Johnson, who had 1,004 rushing yards coming into the game, rushed for 71 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown. Johnson also completed 3-of-4 passes for 60 yards and one touchdown. Senior running back Tyrone Sharpe added
eight carries for 61 yards and one touchdown for the Rams.

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Torreon to get better roads

S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Eight miles of much-needed paved road is coming to Torreon soon. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will present a right-of-way permit and funds for an engineering and design plan for the construction of eight miles of a two-lane road.

The road slated for improvment is a frequently traveled dirt road known as the "pipeline road." More than 500 Torreon residents who commute to Albuquerque for work or to visit medical facilities use the primitive thoroughfare on a regular basis, since it is the most direct route. After improvements, the road will not only cut 40 miles off the distance, but shave an hour off the travel time each way as well.

BLM officials are expected to present the permit and $128,500 check to the Sandoval County Commission Thursday night to begin the project. The money is expected to cover all aspects of the planning including safety requirements. Planning has been in progress for three or four months, according to BLM Realty Specialist Joe Jaramillo...

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Zuni business gets grant
Furniture firm to expand

S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Pueblo of Zuni Furniture Production recently received a $73,400 grant to be doled out over a two-year period to expand the business.

The plan is to add a general manager and also a production manager. The tribal council is also looking into the possibility of hiring a consultant to increase promotion, public relations and marketing for its furniture products.

Zuni Furniture was established by a previous administration and managed under the tribe. When the performance and revenue return of the enterprise was disappointing, tribal delegates considered abandoning the business altogether. Instead, an opportunity presented itself to apply for the grant that would shore up the sluggish business, they reconsidered and decided to give it another shot at success.

The furniture produced through this enterprise also uses local lumber from the Zuni community sawmill. The sawmill uses timber from the Cibola National Forest through a contract...

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Deaths

Anthony Yurcic Jr.

LAS CRUCES — Services for Anthony Yurcic Jr., 82, will be held at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 21, at Holy Cross Catholic Church. Msgr. John Anderson will officiate.

Yurcic died Nov. 18 in Las Cruces. He was born Jan. 16, 1918, in Gallup.

Visitation will be Monday, Nov. 20, from 6-7 p.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church and a prayer vigil will be held at 7 p.m.

Yurcic was a 1942 graduate of New Mexico A&M and a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served in World War II.

Survivors include his son Scott Yurcic of Las Cruces; brothers Joe and John Yurcic of Gallup; sisters Mary Radick and Julie Blazovic of Albuquerque and one grandson.

He was preceded in death by his wife Selia Yurcic and his parents Anthony and Antonija Yurcic.

Abby Silversmith

TOHATCHI Services for Abby Mae Silversmith, 36, will be held at 10 a.m. at Cope Memorial Chapel. Deacon Sharman Manuelito will officiate. Burial will follow on family land in Tohatchi.

Silversmith died Nov. 16 in Gallup. She was born June 26, 1964 in Gallup for the Edge Water People Clan into the Folded Arms People clan.

Silversmith attended Tohatchi High School, She was employed at the Tohatchi Special Education Center, Tohatchi Elementary School and at Chee Dodge School. Her hobbies included canvas work, rug weaving and crocheting.

Survivors include her husband Harold Saxton of Gallup, her parents Mary Henry and Benson Silversmith Sr. of Tohatchi; brothers Ronald Henry of Albuquerque, James Silver of Tohatchi, Dory Silversmith of Black Falls, Idaho, and Benson Silversmith, Jr. of Tohatchi; sisters Mildred Henry and Marlene Henry of Gallup, Cheryl Henderson of Sanostee, and Imogene
Morris of Naschitti.

Silversmith was preceded in death by her brother Bronsen Silversmith; sister Martha Ann Henry; grandparents Tom and Annie Holyan and Russell and Alice Silversmith.

Pallbearers will be Robby Henry, Marty Henry, Jeffrey Silver, Benson Silversmith Jr., Ronald Henry and Dory Silversmith.
Cope Memorial is in charge of arrangements.