Construction continues

 

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Adults, kids will line up for gift grab

Larry Di Giovanni
Staff Writer

ST. MICHAELS, Ariz. — Adults will make off better than the kids when a semi truck's 55-foot trailer crammed with toys for tots and refrigerators, couches, chairs, tables, and power tools for grownups comes to the St. Michaels Chapter House.

Sponsors of the pre-Christmas gift giveaway are inviting Navajo families to the chapter house parking lot at 9 a.m. Dec. 16.
The charitable donations come from two sources. The toys for children of all ages, featuring the latest items from Mattel, Toys 'R Us and other brand names, will come courtesy of the Native American Toys for Tots, a project of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

The gift giveaway for adults, featuring expensive items such as refrigerators and couches, was organized via a collaborative effort from the Phoenix/Mesa areas of Arizona. Sponsors include Swift trucking company, Lufthansa Airlines, Canyon Ridge Bible Church of Chandler, Ariz., Sunshine Acres of Mesa, an orphanage, Western Area Ministries of Tse Bonito, and about 30 volunteers who will be on site.

The Rev. John Clark of Chandler's Canyon Ridge Bible Church, known in the Window Rock area as "Chaplain John" during the 1970s and 1980s when he was chaplain of the Navajo Nation Police Department, is one of the gift program's main organizers.

This is the first year that Native American Toys for Tots and the sponsors of the gift giveaway for adults will be bringing a full tractor-trailer to the Navajo Nation. But adults aren't the only ones who will benefit from the collaborative gift giveaway some children will receive bicycles, Clark said.

The gifts are being loaded onto the trailer from the Sunshine Acres warehouse in Mesa. When the giveaway starts the morning of Dec. 16, it will be first-come, first-served. Families are encouraged to bring vehicles big enough for loading.

"I have no place to store it up there," Clark said. "People need to pick everything up."

Clark works as a salesman for Ultra-Chem Inc. of Phoenix, which sells environmentally safe industrial chemicals. Radio station KHAC-AM of Window Rock was founded in the 1940s by his grandfather, Howard Albert Clark. KHAC plays programming on behalf of Western Area Ministries of Tse Bonito.

Clark said he started Navajo Nation Toys for Tots in 1980 while he was the tribal police chaplain. He was also director of the Navajo Nation Red Cross.

In the late 1970s, the Red Cross pulled out of the reservation because officials within the administration of former tribal Chairman Peter MacDonald had allegedly used Red Cross vouchers for personal gain, Clark said. They had taken vouchers used for purchases of furnishings from Gallup stores and placed the items in their own homes. The vouchers were intended to aid Navajo house fire victims.

"The Red Cross, of course, bases everything on trust," Clark said. After the Red Cross pulled out, "People were just stacked up in the President's Office, wanting help."

Clark traveled to Washington in 1980, the same year he founded Navajo Nation Toys for Tots, to plead for Red Cross officials to reconsider their decision. They agreed to a one-year trial period.

Under Clark's direction, that Red Cross commitment turned into six years of service.

"I was the only one who could sign the vouchers," he said.

The Native American Toys for Tots program, of which Clark is now affiliated, is different than the Navajo Nation Toys for Tots that he founded.

The tribal Toys for Tots is run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in conjunction with the Window Rock Police District. It has its own toys giveaway program set for mid to late December.

Events at the St. Michaels Chapter House Dec. 16 will also include a lunch for families, and rcruiting efforts by Swift trucking company and Lufthansa airlines. Representatives will discuss employment opportunities and training, including scholarships.

Those wishing more information on the Native American Toys for Tots and gift giveaway for adults and all family members in St. Michaels may call Western Indian Ministries, (505) 371-5749.

Those wishing to give to Navajo Nation Toys for Tots may make call the Window Rock Police District, (520) 871-6111/6112. Or , they may make checks payable to: Navajo Nation Toys for Tots, PO Box 2875, Window Rock, Ariz., 86515.

Contacts for Navajo Nation Toys for Tots are Samuel Tsosie Jr., police sergeant, and Ophelia Begay, detention officer.

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When children get stupid, adults should get smarter

Walter Howerton Jr.
Managing Editor

I hate finger-pointers, moralizers, holier-than-thouers.

You know the type. They want to tell you where you went wrong, where your children went bad, how you should do this and shouldn't do that, mostly how if you only would listen to them and do it their way, things would be just fine.

I once watched a TV preacher (now that's entertainment) wave his Bible around and tell a crowd of teen-agers well, not all of the teen-agers, just the girl teen-agers "Young ladies, everything you need to know about birth control is in this book." I guess he figured young guys don't need to know anything about birth control. It's the kind of lopsided thinking that holier-than-thouers are famous for and I guess it's the kind of thinking that led him to chasing hookers down in New Orleans (which is just what he did eventually and got caught at it and was defrocked). Right to the end, he was a heck-of-a piano pounder and he sure knew how to point that finger and shake that Bible.

Anyway, I'm not one of those.

And I'm not one of those hair-tearing, breast-beating what's-happened-to-our-lovely children, they-used-to-be-so-good-in-the-old-days types either.

Come on. Grow up. Get a grip. Things change, but children well, it seems the little darlings stay the same. They just keep on doing stupid stuff.

The problem is that sometimes the stupid becomes illegal and the illegal becomes irrational and somebody gets hurt or the police get involved or both.

Sometimes it is frightening stupidity, like the local case we had this week of a man threatened with a baseball bat and knife by his 10- and 12-year-old nephews. He had asked the older one to wash the dishes. Where does that kind of violent behavior come from?

Sometimes it is absurd stupidity, like the girls who got into it at a local junior high pompom practice. Then, their moms ended up calling each other names and making threats rather than simply taking control of their children's childish behavior. No reason to ask where that behavior comes from.

But it all ends up in the police report.

Take this party that a bunch of juveniles had in Indian Hills the other night. A few were 20 years old, a few were 15 years old and some fell in between. Not one adult was listed on the police report. Not one of them was old enough to buy alcohol, but somehow they obtained it and they must have had plenty because by the time the police got them out of the house some of them were blowing really high numbers on the police breath test unit.

A couple of the little girls (and I'm sure they are just the sweetest little things if they aren't loaded) reportedly blew numbers in the .12 and higher range. That is grownup drunk. And they weren't the only ones.

Now, two things come to an adult mind right away: 1) Why were all those children inside a house in Indian Hills ALL NIGHT with NO ADULT present, given the fact that all adults know children sometimes do the dumbest things when they are alone (the theoretical reason adults exist)? and 2) If nobody in the house was old enough to buy alcohol, who bought it for them (or, better yet, who sold it to them? But that is the kind of question Gallup can't afford to ask itself and still look its lovely children in the eye, because then they might know who we really are and what kind of world they are growing up in, right?)?

So, there was a complaint about the noise and the police showed up. The lovely children inside locked the doors and started turning out the lights as if that would save them. According to their own report, police could see what clearly were juveniles inside the house drinking.

And what did the officers of the law do in the presence of clearly illegal activity? First they ran a few license plates, tracked down the adult owners of the cars outside the house and called some parents. One set of parents showed up to haul their offspring away. One.

(Another question: Where were the rest of the parents that night? Did they decide to let their own little darlings suffer the consequences of their stupidity not likely, most parents would rather take out their children's stupidity on cops, teachers, whoever happens to be in charge or did they simply not show up more likely).

After that the cops knocked on the door again and when the juveniles inside (crafty little devils) refused to open it, the cops told them to keep the noise down or they would be back. (I'll bet that had the little stinkers quaking in their high-priced sneakers.)
So, the cops left (sometimes these kids are so stupid they seem smart).

Now, if you were one of the underage drinkers inside (even if you weren't drinking that much and especially if you were involved in important school activities like the pompom squad or the basketball team) wouldn't you have picked that moment to beat it for the door as fast as possible?

Not these charming children, our sparkling gene pool, our bright hopes for the future.

What did they do? They kept right on partying down. Oh, yeah. Until the cops were called again. By this time it was nearly 2 a.m. and even the cops had had enough. They called for a search warrant, set up a perimeter around party central and settled in to wait for the wheels of justice to turn.

Meanwhile, the lovely children flipped them off and called them dirty names from inside the house. (According to police, you might be surprised by just how dirty the little apple of your eye can talk, especially with a little booze in him or her.)

One enterprising young man apparently tried to climb out a window and escape, but a pistol-waving officer (now there is something worth a few questions from the adults among us) drove the little dear back inside.

About 4:30 a.m. the warrant arrived, the police kicked in the back door and a bunch of juveniles found themselves in the clink (apparently including a couple of pompom girls and a Gallup hoopster who all were back in the game a few days later).

Finally, it ended up here in the paper where it belonged in the first place (just to make the kids a little bit accountable and give the adults among us pause to think).

The juveniles' names were in the paper, but the questions surrounding the incident are for adults, and there are many:

Why was no adult around that night? Where did the alcohol come from? Who bought it? Who sold it? Why were juveniles as young as 15 years old at an all-night party in the first place? Why were any juveniles at an all-night party? Why didn't parents show up to retrieve their children when they had the chance? Why did the police go away and leave juveniles drinking illegally? Is it a police policy to look the other way? Would they go away if I locked them out of my house or you locked them out of yours? Was it necessary for an officer to pull a pistol? They go on and on.

But the biggest question is: What happens now?

That juveniles drink should be no surprise to any of us. I once had a police chief tell me that alcohol (actually he said Budweiser) is the real drug of choice in New Mexico. That juveniles should try to break the law and the rules and get away with it shouldn't surprise us either. We were young and stupid once.

But this bunch did not get away with it. They did it. They were caught. And they should be held accountable by the law, by the newspaper, by the community, by parents, by school officials, by athletic and activities officials. We have let them be children and do the kind of stupid things children do. Now, we must be adults and not allow them to get away with it.

Otherwise we are as inept as parents as our police officers proved to be as police officers the first time they showed up outside the party that night, allowing our drunken children to scream obscenities from behind locked doors while we turn our backs and walk away mumbling threats.

Don't moralize or point fingers or wave Bibles and deliver sermons. Don't be holier than thou. Do something. Be an adult. And make it count. Take away the pompoms and basketballs, take away the car, make them pay the cost of the whole thing, find who bought the booze, who sold it, ask yourself where you were that night. Do something. You won't get that many chances.

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Grants man arrested with black tar heroin

Staff Report

GRANTS — A Grants man was arrested Tuesday after police seized three grams of black tar heroin found underneath the seat of a vehicle he was driving.

The suspect, Rudy Gonzales, 42, was arrested after the Grants office of the Region II Narcotics Enforcement Task Force and the Cibola County Sheriff's Department set up a surveillance station east of Grants on Interstate 40 near mile marker 96.

Police had received information from a Region I agent indicating that Gonzales would be traveling from Albuquerque to Grants and would be in possession of an unknown quantity of heroin.

The suspect's vehicle was spotted about 2:30 p.m. and a traffic stop was initiated by a sheriff's deputy, who then located the drugs underneath Gonzales' seat.

Gonzales was booked into the Cibola County Adult Detention Center for felony possession of heroin.

Police said the vehicle two other occupants, Wes Masterson and Elizabeth Triana, both of Grants, were questioned and released...

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Thoreau, Navajo Prep dominant in semis

Abelita R. Freeland
Staff Sports Writer

THOREAU — The Navajo Prep Eagles and the Thoreau Hawks dominated in the second round of the Thoreau Hawk Classic. Navajo Prep beat the Crownpoint Lady Eagles, 43-59, and Thoreau was victorious over Newcomb, 77-44.

In the consolation bracket, Sandia Prep beat Navajo Pine 51-40 and Valley edged out Grants 38-37.

Thoreau will meet Navajo Prep for the championship tonight at 7:30 p.m. and Newcomb will play Crownpoint for third place at 6 p.m.

Navajo Prep 51, Navajo Pine 40

Navajo Prep jumped out to a 17-1 lead behind Venessa Francis' 10 points in the first quarter with its full court pressure on Crownpoint.

"I feel we did very well against a much improved Crownpoint team. We have played Crownpoint for seven years and that is the beat team I have seen them put together," Navajo Prep coach Robert Adams said.

In the second quarter, a more aggressive Crownpoint team outscored Navajo Prep, 17-7, but having already been down after the first quarter, Navajo Prep went into half-time leading 25-18.

In third quarter action, Navajo Prep did not relinquish their lead out tallying Crownpoint 18 to 8, Navajo Pine also had six turnovers compared to Crownpoint's three.

Crownpoint finally went head-to-head with Navajo Prep in the fourth quarter, but Navajo Prep maintained their early lead.

Navajo Prep had an assist to Delano Yazzie from Sasha Lewis for the basket gave Navajo Prep a 43-27 lead. But Crownpoint came right back with Raynie Arviso assisting Deborah Butler for a basket.

At 49-32, Butler had an assist to Jerrilene Kenneth and Kenneth had an assist to Nelrita Jake for two more baskets for Crownpoint and a score of 49-36.

Navajo Prep then came back with a three-point basket from Genice Morris, followed by a drive from Crownpoint's Butler and then another three-point basket from Navajo Prep but this time from Marian Goodluck, 55-38.

At that point, Navajo Prep took the game with two more baskets, both from Kendra Henry.

"They're are not afraid of Navajo Prep anymore and that it is good," said coach Adams referring to Crownpoint's challenge.
"We were challenged and we accepted the challenge very well. The girls stepped up on the court and on the bench."

Leading Navajo Prep was Francis with 15 points, eight rebounds and a steal. Also, Yazzie had nine points, eight rebounds and four steals.

For Newcomb, Nelrita Jake led the effort with 10 points, six rebounds and a steal. Jerrilene Kenneth had nine points, an assist, seven rebounds and three steals.

Thoreau 77, Newcomb 44

The Thoreau Lady Hawks played to their full potential against Newcomb, wiping out the Skyhawks 77-44.

"I was very pleased with our defense. I thought that we played really good defense and I think we forced Newcomb (into) a lot of turnovers and our intensity level was up a lot higher which it should be," said Lady Hawks coach Jori Flom.

Newcomb coach Alan Carter was displeased with his team's performance in the loss.

"It wasn't a fundamental or skill thing," Carter said. "It was an effort and attitude thing."

Both teams played a close first quarter, but Thoreau took the first lead, 6-0.

Skyhawk Randolyn Chee then cut that lead in half on a three-point basket. Newcomb then got a turnover on a bad Thoreau pass and Stacey Begay drove the ball to the basket for two more points.

With Thoreau ahead 8-5, Kaytaundra Francisco had her first steal of the game and assisted Cindy Morgan for the basket.

Trailing 11-5, Newcomb took a two-point lead. Tesheena Johnhat had a pair of assists to Tamera Brown and Constance Johnson and Johnhat went 1-for-2 at the line which tied the game at 11-11. A jump shot by Brown gave the Skyhawks the lead.

That lead didn't hold up for long when the Hawks came back with Katrina Velasquez going 1-for-2 at the line and added a jump shot. The quarter ended with an assist from Lisa Ramone to Morgan for an 18-13 Thoreau lead at the end of the first quarter.

That was the closest quarter of the game as the Lady Hawks dictated the rest of the game.

At the half, Thoreau was leading 42-26.

In the third quarter, Thoreau played a tough defense allowing Newcomb to score only five points while their offense continued strong for 24 points.

The Lady Skyhawks scored their first three points at the beginning of the quarter when Johnhat was 1-for-2 at the line and Johnson had a basket.

From there Thoreau scored nine straight baskets until a lay-up by Tanya Tso stopped the run. But Thoreau led 62-31. Hawks Ramone and Velasquez scored the last two baskets of the quarter, to open up a 66-31 going into the final period.

Newcomb outscored Thoreau in the fourth quarter by one basket, but that didn't have any effect on Thoreau's lead.

"I was really pleased with the teamwork and effort. Everybody was able to contribute (on) the team," said Flom who had the opportunity to play her bench freely.

Leading the Hawks was Kaytaundra Francisco with 19 points, eight assists, four rebounds and five steals.

Also for Thoreau, Cindy Morgan scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and came away with two steals; Lisa Ramone had 10 points, three assists, five rebounds and two steals; and Katrina Velasquez had nine points, five rebounds and two steals.

Leading player for Newcomb was Constance Johnson with 16 points and six rebounds.

Sandia Prep 51, Navajo Pine 40

Scoring in double digits for Navajo Pine was Cassandra Chee with 16 points.

Sandia Prep was led by Elyce Tryon with 20 points and Mia Whiting with 10 points.

Valley 38, Grants 37

The Valley Pirates took a one-point victory over the Grants Pirates with one second remaining in the game.

Grants led 37-36 with 17 seconds left in the game but was not able to take the game when they missed their free throws.

With 10 seconds left in the game, Valley was able to get a turnover, but was fouled by Grants, putting Valley at the line. Both foul shots were made giving the Sanders the win.

Leading Valley was Amber Matt with 12 points. Terilyn Keedah had 11 points.

For Grants, Antonia Dominguez had 12 points and Brook Metzger finished with 10 points.

Gallup loses second straight
Lack of leadership frustrates coach in second OT lossCarrie Loretto

Sports Editor

GALLUP — The Gallup Lady Bengals have a lot of depth this season, but lack a strong floor presence and that came through in their second straight overtime loss Friday night.

The Bengals blew a four-point lead in the final minute and Farmington came back to capture a 45-43 overtime win at Gallup High School.

"We've got no leadership," Gallup coach John Lomasney said after the Bengals dropped to 4-2. "We had a chance to win and
we turned the ball over. We had numerous chances to win but we had some major defensive breakdowns.

"We let them score off our mistakes," continued Lomasney. "They're used to scoring 70-80 points, we kept them out of their fastbreak when we wanted to, they scored on our turnovers."

Two of the Bengals' 16 turnovers in the game came in the overtime period.

After Tanya Bailey made the second of two free throws which put Gallup ahead 40-36, Farmington came back from a timeout and worked the perimeter for a three-point shot by Shantel Adams. Farmington then fouled Christine Begay to stop the clock with 30.8 seconds.

Begay made the first of the two-shot foul, but missed the second and April Ledesma rebounded the miss. At the other end, a scramble for a loose ball resulted in a Bengal foul on Adams. She went to the free throw line and made both shots to tie the game at 41-41 with 25.2 seconds left.

On Gallup's ensuing possession, Bailey attempted to drive to the middle, but lost control as Farmington's defense collapsed on her to force a turnover.

Farmington had a final shot with 7.3 seconds left, but missed a shot from the baseline and Begay rebounded the miss.

In the overtime, Gallup went ahead 43-41 after Iris Wilson got the ball to a breaking Vanessa Hubbard who was fouled on her way to the basket. Hubbard sank both shots, but Farmington answered back quickly.

After getting the ball upcourt, Adams finger rolled in a shot on the drive to retie the score and then Gallup turned the ball over.

After getting a reprieve with a five-second violation on Farmington which came on a new rule change which continues the count even if the defense switches on the dribbler, Gallup again threw the ball away at midcourt.

Adams drove the lane again and drew a foul. She made the first free throw and Gallup was still alive after Hubbard rebounded the second miss with 43.8 seconds left.

The Bengals were unable to work their offense effectively as Bailey threw up a three-pointer that was rebounded by Megan Ratcliff. The Bengals also let the clock run down before fouling Ratcliff to stop the clock.

Ratcliff made the first of two free throws with .2 seconds left to seal Farmington's first win over Gallup in five years.

"Making our free throws," Farmington coach Brad Dalton felt was the difference. "We hit some big shots and we were also driving inside and getting fouled. I knew we had two girls that were quicker than anyone they had."

Farmington (3-1), shooting 70 percent from the free throw line entering last night's contest, made 13-of-18 in the win.
Gallup made 14-of-19 free throws in the game including 9-of-12 in the fourth quarter.

Two free throws by Candace Roanhorse in the first quarter triggered a 9-2 run which put the Bengals up 17-11 at the end of the period. Roberta Tahe hit a three-pointer and Hubbard scored twice, first off an assist from Begay then on an offensive rebound.

But Farmington, which ran their halfcourt offense running chunks of time off the clock at times and at others capitalized on the quickness of Ledesma and Adams by driving to the basket, pulled within one by halftime.

Allie Hampton hit a basket to start the second quarter, but Sunny St. Clair responded with a drive to the basket and was fouled. She made the free throw to complete the three-point play for a 20-13 lead.

The teams then traded misses and turnovers until Begay spotted an open Roanhorse for a layup, but then Gallup went scoreless over the last three minutes of the half while Farmington made 6-of-6 free throws as Gallup's lead disintegrated to one point.

The score was tied at 28-28 going into the final period where the teams each held the lead once with Farmington going up 32-29 on an open shot from the perimeter by Samantha Roberts.

Gallup came back to take a 33-32 lead with a rebound basket and two free throws by Bailey.

Bailey continued to take charge after Roberta Tahe fouled out of the game with 4:19 left. Bailey made two more free throws and a basket off an assist by Hubbard put the Bengals up by five with two and a half minutes left in the game.

Bailey finished with 15 points as the only Bengal in double digits. She also had six rebounds and a steal, but her assist total was down with just one. Christine Begay led the team with four assists. She also had five rebounds, a blocked shot and five points.
Hubbard scored eight points, blocked a shot and led the rebounding with eight boards.

"We looked at a lot of people tonight who will work together as a team, especially at crunch time," said Lomasney.

The Bengals started Roanhorse and Mioshia Wagoner in place of Hubbard and Iris Wilson.

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Logs raised for Diné College Culture Center

Staff Report

TUBA CITY, Ariz. — Volunteer workers from as far away as Phoenix and the state of Montana came together last week to raise logs for a new culture center on the new Diné College-Tuba City campus constuction site.

The log structure will be a 1,300-square-foot hogan. This effort is part of the American Indian Higher Education national initiative to create repositories for art and culture at each of its member institutions.

The project to build cultural learning centers on tribal college campuses across the country is based on a partnership between the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, supplier of infrastructure support at each college; the National Association of Home Builders' Council, whose members have donated log material packages to 29 colleges; and the American Indian College Fund.

Air-Lock Log Homes of Las Vegas, N.M., has donated this octagonal structure, the fourth of four cultural centers the company has donated to tribal colleges nationwide...

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Direct grant pays off for Ramah Head Start school

Larry Di Giovanni
Staff Writer

RAMAH — The Ramah Navajo School Board of Pine Hill has been awarded a federal grant of $643,539 to continue its enrollment-based Head Start program.

The school board used to receive Head Start funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services via the Navajo Nation. About four years ago, the school board became a direct grantee, said Jim Hooper, acting executive director of Pine Hills Schools.

"When it goes through the Navajo Nation, it takes longer," Hooper said. "You go through many agencies and offices."

Becoming a direct grantee must be justified, and Ramah's remote location far from the Navajo Nation does so, he added...

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Deaths

Royal Staley

GALLUP — Graveside services for Royal Staley, 87, will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, Dec. 11 at Sunset Memorial Park. Father Pat Universal will officiate.

Visitation will be held at 2-5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 10 at Rollie Mortuary-Palm Chapel.

Staley died Dec. 6 in Gallup. He was born May 1, 1913 in Sherman, Iowa.

Staley went to high school and college in Whittier, Calif. He worked in the lumber mills of Oregon and at Rainbo Bakery in Gallup, where he retired.

His hobbies included playing and watching baseball, carpentry and fishing.

Survivors include his wife, Penny Staley of Gallup; daughters, Sharon Hunt of Marion, Ark., Debra Rhodes of Oklahoma, Okla. and Cheryl Barrett and Andrea Campos both of Gallup; stepchildren Richard E. Brown, Jodi Mitchell, Llona Elhoni, all of Missouri and Gaye Brown de Alvarez of Gallup; ten grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.

Staley was preceded in death by parents, Daniel and Maggie Staley and first wife, Mary Ann Staley.

Pallbearers will be Ricky Hunt, Michael Hunt, Anthony Rhodes, Larry Rhodes, Carl Campose, Pat Campos, Tim Campos, Ernest Campos, Armando Alvarez, Rusty Martinelli, Dennis Martinelli and Joe Martinelli.

Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.