Pat Nelson

 

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Union head: New teachers need training

Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The Gallup-McKinley County School system is losing dozens of teachers annually because officials don't give them proper training or don't address their teaching concerns, according to the head of the local teachers' union.

This may be among the main reasons why between 125 and 130 teachers resign each year from the district, said Tom Payton, president of the McKinley County Federation of United School Employees.

Payton was responding to a story in a recent issue of the Gallup Independent that talked about the district's efforts each year to recruit enough teachers to replace those who resign or retire.

The district wouldn't have to spend so much time and money, he said, on recruiting if district officials paid a little more attention to how the teachers they have are treated.

Payton said his talks with some of the teachers who have resigned here indicate that many have left because they were just upset at district policies or the principal at their school.

As an example of the kind of thing that teachers have to put up with in the Gallup district, Payton said there was a recent case where a teacher was ordered by her principal not to leave her classroom during the day, not even to go to the bathroom.

He said that one of the last teachers he talked to who had decided to leave the district told him, like others have, that "she felt she got no support from the district."

Another teacher told him she was leaving because "she did not feel that the students' needs were being taken care of."

Instead of addressing these and other concerns that make teachers leave here for other districts, Payton said the district basically writes them off.

"Very little is ever done to keep teachers here," he said.

Another reason that a lot of teachers resign or leave the district, he said, is because of stress.

In many cases, teachers new to both the district and to the profession complained about the lack of training on how to handle discipline in their classrooms.

These are teachers who never had a chance to learn about how to maintain discipline in the classroom, either in their college courses or in their student teaching career.

"Once a teacher is hired, the district just shows them to their classroom, gives them their keys and leaves them on their own," Payton said.

As a result, many teachers are forced to send their disciplinary problems to the principal's office to handle. In some cases, the students are sent back to the classroom and the teachers are told to handle their own problems.

"If this continues, the administration either ignores the problem and hopes it goes away or they terminate the teacher," Payton said.

If the teacher is terminated, this basically ends the teacher's career since one of the questions a prospective teacher is asked by a new district is whether he has ever been fired or had a district refuse to renew his contract.

He said that a few principals in the district go out of their way to provide new teachers some training in classroom discipline.
One principal, for example, took the new teachers in her school to a one-day seminar at Kiwanis Park to address their concerns.
The district also has a mentoring program in which it assigns a new teacher to an experienced teacher. The problem with the program, Payton said, is that the prep periods of the two usually don't match so any mentoring has to be done before or after
school or during the lunch period.

He said the union offered to provide a training session for new teachers. The course already is being used by some 100 districts throughout the United States as a way to provide some instruction to new teachers on some of the problems including discipline that they would encounter in the classroom.

Payton said he wrote a letter to the district offering to get the session set up for the Gallup district but he received no response.
And then there's the money issue.

Payton agreed with school officials that the salaries here are low and need to be brought up but what really upsets a lot of teachers, he said, is a feeling that the school administrators and the local school board do not support the local teachers' efforts to get a fair salary.

This has been made evident, he said, for the past three years when the school board refused to allocate all the money authorized by the state legislature.

The district has made it worse, he said, by formulating a system that, in some cases, pays new teachers the same or more than teachers who have been working in the system for a year or two.

The difference is only about $1,000 to $1,500 a year but this disparity continues year after year, Payton said, and can grow into a tidy sum of money over the course of a career.

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Ex-Navajo police chief survives traffic accident

Larry Di Giovanni
Staff Writer

GALLUP — A former Navajo Nation chief of police from the early 1950s through the 1960s, Pat Nelson, is slowly recovering from life-threatening injuries suffered during an auto accident.

The accident occurred the afternoon of Nov. 12 in Mesa, Ariz., where Nelson lives in an apartment complex. His truck was in need of repair, so a fellow tenant and friend was in the process of taking Nelson to the grocery store, said Nelson's son, Robert E. Nelson of Olathe, Kan.

As the driver and the senior Nelson were turning northbound and left into a shopping center, their vehicle was struck by an oncoming car in an area where the speed limit is 40 mph. The passenger side of the vehicle took the impact.

Robert Nelson said his father, who is 81, suffered a broken neck, ruptured spleen, broken ribs and other complications. He was on a life-support ventilator for several weeks before being taken off the machine in recent days.

"We weren't too sure he was going to make it," Nelson said.

The senior Nelson can now speak but still cannot eat on his own, his son said. He has had neck surgery at Scottsdale Osborn Memorial Hospital, which involved insertion of a bone plug and titanium plate.

He has been moved from an intensive care to an intermediate care facility. Following hospitalization, he will likely be moved to a residential care facility, Robert Nelson said.

Pat Nelson was well known in the Gallup and Window Rock areas in his capacity as the tribe's police chief. He had a good working relationship with the Gallup Police and McKinley County Sheriff's officers, and helped provide security for the city's Inter-Tribal Ceremonial, his son said.

He was a long-time member of the local Elks Club.

"I'm sure lots of old timers will remember my father," the younger Nelson said. "He was pretty well known."

The older Nelson has 11 children. Robert Nelson, who worked for the county clerk's office in the early 1960s, has seven brothers and three sisters. He and one brother are planning a trip to Scottsdale over the weekend to see their father.

The Nelson family is well connected to Gallup. Pat Nelson's granddaughter and Robert Nelson's daughter, Bonnie Aysheh, is married to Mohammed Aysheh, owner of Gallup Indian Plaza. Her uncle, Armand Ortega, owns El Rancho Hotel and a number of native arts and crafts stores. Her great-uncle, Gilbert Ortega, is the former owner of Glibert Ortega's Retail
Wholesale Jobber in east Gallup.

Well wishers who remember Pat Nelson may send cards in his name to: 973 Leisure World, Mesa, Ariz. 85206.

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Oops! They did it again — and were caught

Tara Drolma
Staff Writer

GRANTS — A pair of teen-agers probably wish they had called it quits after robbing one convenience store. The second store was one too many.

Charles Hausam, 17, of San Rafael, and Danielle Tafoya, 19, were arrested Wednesday after allegedly robbing two Allsup's stores and threatening the clerks with a 10-inch knife.

Grants Police Department Detective Marty Vigil received a call about 3 a.m. Wednesday asking him to respond to a robbery at the Nimitz Street Allsup's. He was told two people had robbed the clerk at knifepoint and escaped in a white car. They had taken cash from the register, cigarettes and snack items.

As he was driving toward the Nimitz store, Vigil heard a call on the radio saying New Mexico State Police were in pursuit of a white car. As he headed down First Street to help, the call for a second robbery at the Allsup's at First and Jefferson came across the radio. Vigil headed to the First Street store.

Vigil knew the robberies were connected because both clerks said a young, blonde male, 5 feet, 4-8 inches tall, in his early teens had threatened them with a large knife and demanded money. They said there was a dark-haired woman involved and the two were driving a white car.

Vigil said he was grateful for the quick thinking of State Police Officer Billy Cunningham.

Cunningham heard the call on the radio at about the same time he noticed a white car. As he chased the car the officer could see the occupants throwing things out the window.

Cunningham stopped the car and arrested Tafoya, who was driving. She was charged with the robberies and an additional charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The passenger, a young male later identified as Hausam, ran away when the car stopped. After searching the area where the items had been tossed, officers found a 10-inch knife with a black handle and silver blade.

Vigil said Hausam was found later at an apartment and was arrested without incident.

The store clerks were not harmed, but they were left shaken by the incident.

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Woody bests Sky City in rematch

Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer

ALBUQUERQUE — Rock Point, Arizona bull rider Jarvis Woody made good on his second chance on his bull Sky City.

After being bucked off Sky City several weeks ago at the Fort McDowell Rodeo, Woody conquered his bull on a rematch, pushing it to a second-round winning score of 84 Thursday night during the 25th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo.

Woody's win in the second go round of the bull riding was one of a number of solid performances by area rodeo contestants that were able to place in the money.

The rodeo resumes tonight at Tingley Coliseum with the third round and concluding Saturday night with the fourth and final go round with the eight world champions being crowned.

Woody, 24, admitted that he was looking to get a rematch on Sky City.

"I wanted that bull," said Woody who finished fourth during last year's INFR and won the second go round with an 86. "He bucked me off at Fort McDowell. That bull usually goes to the right and it went to the left tonight which surprised me so I started spurring."

Woody is hoping to better last year's fourth place showing in the average.

"I'm going to take one bull at a time just like any other rodeo," Woody said, "then I'll let the rest take care of itself."

Julius Y. Begay, a former two-time world champion, barely escaped serious injury during the first round Thursday when he was hammered by his bull Undertaker. Despite having to wear a splint on his right leg, Begay pushed Little Willie to an 82 score for second place money in the second round of competition. David Alexander and Hank Winnier tied for third with 74 scores.

Winnier leads in the bull riding average with a 158 total with scores of 84 and 74. Woody, who finished third in the opening round with a 73, trails one point back with a 157 with Justin Gopher third with a 128. Alfonso Francis of Ganado, Ariz. had a no score after a 76 in the first round that placed second.

Ernest Bitsui of Steamboat, Ariz. won the bareback second round with a winning score of 80 on Show Boy for a first place payoff of $1,000. Kelvin Fox placed second with a 78 ($750) with Curtis Taypotat third with a 76 ($500) and Shawn Best fourth with a 75 ($250). Fox leads in the bareback average with a 155 total on two with Best second with a 153. Taypotat is third (144) with Byron Bruisedhead fourth (141). Bitsui is tied for fifth with Lee Thomas with 140s. Daniel Billy of Manuelito had his second straight no score while Mike Murphy of Fort Wingate was bucked off Rappin Harry after placing third in the
first go with a 73. Former world champion Bennie Begay of Rock Point, Ariz. had to withdraw from the INFR with an injury
on his riding hand.

Benson Charley of Standing Rock placed second in the calf roping second go round with an 9.2 after a no time in the opening round. Corbin Warren won the second round with an 8.2. Gallup's Gerald Daye placed third (9.8) with Allen Fisher fourth (10.6). Warren has a comfortable lead in the average with a pair of impressive winning times of 9.8 and 8.2 for an 18.0 total.
Troy Crawler trails in second with a 24.2 while Albuquerque's Donovan Yazzie is third with a 24.8 with times of 11.2 and 13.6. Jack Carlisle is fourth (29.5).

Carole Jackson Holyan tied for second in the breakaway roping with a 4.2 with Lizzie Dixey. Fort McDowell's Brandi Enos Janis representing the SWIRA won the second round with a 3.8. Former world champion Courtney Small was fourth with a 4.8. Kasi Prather leads the average with a 7.6 with Dixey second with a 7.8. Holyan is third with an 8.7 with Small fourth with
a 9.6. Crownpoint's April Pablo came up with her second no time in a row. Fruitland's Jacey Mike also failed to post a time,
failing with a second loop and failing to get a time within the 45-second time limit after finishing second in the opening round
with a 3.7.

Former world champion Ben Bates Jr. of Mexican Springs placed fourth in the steer wrestling second round with a 4.6. Stan Wells took first place money with a 4.0. Kevin Littlelight finished second with a 4.4 with Lyman Colliflower third (4.5).
Former world champion Howard Edmundson of Dewar, Oklahoma, is leading in the average with an 8.8 total. Wells trails with a 9.4 with Colliflower third (10.5) and Marty Johns fourth (11.2). Bates Jr. is fifth with a 12.0. Robert Tom of Pinon, Ariz. has a 13.6 with times of 5.2 and 8.4. Tyrone Tsosie of Crownpoint has a 16.4 total with runs of 9.5 and 6.9. Dwayne Salaway of Fort Defiance, Ariz. posted a 4.8 in the second go.

The team of Marco and Lucius Sells of Rough Rock, Ariz. finished fourth in the team roping second round of competition with a 7.7. The team of Sam and Dustin Bird topped the field with a 5.7 with the team of Terry Fisher and Darrel Watson finished second with a 7.3. The team of Jay and Troy Crawler was third with a 7.6, just ahead of the Sells team. The Bird team has the lead in the average with a 12.7. The team of Preston Williams and Casey Green is second with a 15.5. The Sells team is sitting in third place with a 15.6 with the Crawler team fourth with an 18.1. The team of Tedson and Clarence Yazzie of Mexican
Springs posted a no time in the second round while the team of Roderick and Reginald Tso posted a 21.3.

Patrick Smith of Steamboat, Ariz. tied Ramos Benny of Bloomfield in the saddle bronc second round. Both posted identical scores of 74. Former three-time world champion Marty Hebb of Eagle Butte, South Dakota won the round with a 78.
Defending world champion Phillip Whiteman took second with a 77 with Jake Caldwell third (75). Hebb leads in the average
with a 156 total with Whiteman second with a 151. Jay Louis is third with a 143 with Caldwell fourth (140). Benson Kee of Keams Canyon, Ariz. is fifth with a 130 total on rides of 62 and 68. Former world champion James Hunt Jr. of Toadlena scored a 71.

Montana cowgirl Yvette Fangsrud topped the barrel racing field in the second round with a fast 15.74 second run. Tess Duchenaux was second with a 15.99 with Kartina Williams third (16.10) and Dezaray Varland fourth (16.15). Fangsrud is leading in the average with a pair of sub 16-second runs of 15.92 and 15.74 for a 31.66 total. Nicole Welch Romo is second with a 32.29 with Laci Best third (32.47). Lisa Creighton is fourth (32.62). Shannon Burnette of Fort Defiance has a 32.80 total with runs of 16.35 and 16.45. Leeja Bitsoi of Twin Lakes has a 32.83 total with runs of 16.58 and 16.25. Charlene Jackson of Casa Grande, Ariz, has a 33.19 total with runs of 16.49 and 16.70.

Bengals score first win

Michael Peretti
Staaff Sports Writer

GALLUP — The Gallup Bengal boys basketball team used a balanced scoring attack with three players in double figures to beat Window Rock 55-44 Thursday night at the Gallup High School gym.

It was the first season victory for the Bengals who are now 1-3.

Gallup had a big second quarter to take the lead and a big fourth quarter helped defend itfrom a Scout comeback.

The Bengals outscored the Scouts 20-7 in the second quarter to take the lead 28-18 at the half. Window Rock cut the lead to seven, 39-32 going into the final period, but Gallup was able to hold on with another big quarter, outscoring the Scouts 16-12 in the final period.

"I thought we played well," said Bengal head coach Earl Diddle. "We played well defensively and did what we had to offensively."

Gallup started off slow in the first quarter. Turnovers and bad shooting helped Window Rock out to an 11-8 lead at the end of one.

The Bengals battled back, scoring 20 in the second quarter. Maurice Guliford scored nine points in the second quarter to help give the Bengals the lead.

Guliford also grabbed six of his 11 rebounds in the second quarter. The Bengals scored on all four of the Scouts turnovers,
Guliford scoring off two steals and Tredell Dawes and Chris Vicente each hitting two free throws when they were fouled attempting layups after steals.

Gallup shot a total of eight free throws in the second quarter, hitting six. Guliford hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line in the quarter. Both of his free throws came after he was fouled shooting and made the basket.

The Bengals led by as many as 13 points, but Window Rock refused to give up, going on 4-0 runs and 6-0 runs in the second half to keep the game close.

Gallup started the game off slow, turning the ball over six times in the first quarter, but finished strong with only eight turnovers the rest of the game.

Window Rock only gave the ball away once in the first quarter, five times in the first half, but turned it over 11 times in the second half.

The Bengals were able to keep the lead late, despite a mediocre shooting performance from the line in the second half. Gallup hit 8-of-10 from the free throw line in the first half but shot 6-of-11 in the second half.

Late in the game the Bengals had key rebounds off Window Rock misses that helped put the game away. B.J Begay grabbed five rebounds in the final period to help seal the win.

With the Scouts up 7-6 in the first quarter the Bengals gave the Scouts a little help when Elcaro Lee from Window Rock took a shot and , while attempting to knock the ball out to a teammate, a Bengal player deflected the ball in for two points for the Scouts.

Several Bengals scored in the game, Maurice Guliford leading the way with 15. Drew Money added 13 and Tredell Dawes scored 11.

"We had some real unselfish play tonight," said Diddle. "We had some players setting screens and passing the ball, We played pretty unselfish."

The Scouts were led by Lee with 16. DeWayne Morgan was the only other Scout in double figures, finishing with 11.
The Bengals were able to outrebound the Scouts, 48-36 in the game.

Guliford led the Bengals in rebounding, grabbing 11 boards in the game. Lee led the Scouts, grabbing nine boards.

The Bengals are off until next week when they play Rio Grande.

Window Rock is in action tonight against Greyhills. The boys game will be played after the girls game at about 7:30 p.m. The game will be played at Window Rock High School

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Union to 'supervise' local serving IHS workers

Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Laborers International Union of North America is now supervising the operations of Local 1376, the 900-member unit serving the Indian Health Service's Navajo Area, plus Zuni, Laguna-Acoma and Albuquerque.

Last week, International President Terence O'Sullivan appointed Julie Claymore of Albuquerque as deputy trustee to operate the local the largest local in the country whose members work for the IHS for up to 18 months.

But O'Sullivan's move will be subjected to a hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Gallup Holiday Inn to decide if the appointment and supervision will be upheld. The hearing will be open only to the members, according to Bob Purcell, the international headquarters official in charge of federal agency locals.

Members of the local who cannot attend can forward written testimony in a sealed envelope to be delivered by other members, according to Local 1376's Business Manager Ben Henderson...

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Teen suffers gunshot wound

Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — A 17-year-old boy, walking to a neighbor's house near Teec Nos Pos on Wednesday night, was wounded by a rifle shot fired by an unknown assailant.

According to the Shiprock Police District detective's report, the boy was about 100 yards south of his mobile home, which is about three miles northwest of the Arizona Port of Entry at Teec Nos Pos.

He heard his dog bark, then a .22-caliber rifle shot before being grazed on his upper right arm. The boy then heard five more shots, but was unable to locate who was firing them.

Emergency medical technicians treated him around 7 p.m...

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Deaths

Louie Yazzie

COUSINS — Services for Louie Yazzie, 69, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 8, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Burial will follow on private land, Smooth Mountain Road.

Yazzie died Dec. 3 in Vanderwagen. He was born Sept. 5, 1931, in Two Wells, Ariz.

Yazzie attended Sherman School in California and Fort Wingate. He worked for Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroad and did carpentry work. He was a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church. His hobbies included wood hauling, sheep herding.

Survivors include his wife, Bessie J. Yazzie of Cousins; sons, Charley Yazzie and Bill Yazzie of Cousins and Sammy Yazzie of Twin Lakes; daughters, Elsie Thomas of Two Wells, Jenny White of Pine Hill, Margaret Yazzie of Las Cruces and Rita Chee, Belinda Yazzie and Tanya Becenti, all of Cousins; 30 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Yazzie was preceded in death by Urbar and Seebah Yazzie.

Pallbearers will be Darrell Chee, Calvin Skeet, Ivan Skeet, Bennie White, Russell Thomas, Jr. and Dwayne Yazzie.

The family will receive friends and family after the burial services at the Yazzie residence.

Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Pete Franco

EAST CARBON, Utah — Services for Pete Franco, 88, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at Good Shepherd Catholic
Church in East Carbon. Burial will follow at Price City Cemetery.

Franco died Dec. 4 in Price, Utah. He was born Feb. 24, 1933, in Gallup.

Franco was a member of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, where he was a Knight of Columbus member. He worked for various mines in the area, was past vice president of Kaiser Steel Local 9958 and a retired member of U.M.W.A. He worked for Green River Missile Range as a propellant supervisor. He was also a manager for a local baseball league in Sunnyside.

Survivors include his sons, Pete Anthony Franco of East Carbon, Utah, and Paul Roy Franco of Salt Lake City, Utah; daughters, Mary Stella Bigbee of Buena Vista, Colo., Sylvia Marie Pacheco of Boise, Idaho, Cecilia Dean Martinez of Riverside, Calif., Darlene Romero of Price, Utah, and Dorothy Lucero and Janet Clorice Campos, both of Gallup; brothers, Carmen Franco and Jessie Cota, both of California, and Ruben Gonzales of Gallup; sisters, Lupe Murnell of Arizona and
Aurora Espinosa, Ermina Santiago and Lorretta Torres, all of Gallup; 27 grandchildren and 43 great-grandchildren.

Franco was preceded in death by parents; son, Frank R. Franco; brothers, Tony Franco and Raymond Gonzales; and sister,
Mary Romero.

Mitchell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.