Fruitland blacks out during Christmas
FRUITLAND, N.M. (AP) — Navajo Nation residents looking for a
white Christmas got a blackout instead.
More than 10,000 tribal residents were left without electricity when
the Arizona Public Service Four Corners Power Plant in Fruitland lost
power about 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The power plant supplies electricity
to some customers of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.
Power was restored to the reservation by late Saturday and the power
plant was returning to normal operations Sunday afternoon.
"Apparently, we had two pieces of equipment fail simultaneously
that caused the entire plant to shut down," spokesman Craig Nesbit
said.
Across the north side of the San Juan River, Farmington, Kirtland
and Waterflow were lit up. But on the other side of the reservation
line, people spent most of the night in the dark.
Paul Jones of Upper Fruitland stayed indoors during
the blackout because he was baby-sitting his 2-year-old granddaughter
and thought the power outage was Y2K-related.
"If the computer went down, I can see why the power went off,"
Jones said. "It's not even that time and the power is out."
Nesbit said Saturday's incident was not related to Y2K or computer
problems.
"But if this had happened a week from now, there's
no way we could convince anyone the other way," he said.
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Eviction of HPL families not likely
Bill Donovan
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The nine Navajo households that have continued
to resist signing the accommodation agreement with the Hopis are supposed
to be evicted from their homes on Feb. 1.
But Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye said last week he doesn't
expect any Navajos to be evicted at that time.
"I don't expect any evictions to occur for at least two or three
years," he said.
The question of forcible evictions from the Former Joint Use Area
and now the Hopi Partitioned Lands has been talked about since the
early 1970s, with a small core of Navajos who live in the area saying
they will fight to the death before they allow federal marshals or
Hopi rangers to forcibly evict anyone.
Although more than 120 Navajos families have been relocated from the
area since the 1970s, all the relocations so far have been voluntary.
A number of militant groups, such as the American Indian
Movement, has stated publicly numerous times over the past two decades
that they will form a wall of armed guards if any forced relocation
is begun.
Hopi tribal officials are continuing to say that those Navajo households
that did not sign the accommodation agreement last year will eventually
have to leave the HPL but that the Feb. 1 deadline was never etched
in stone.
Instead, the belief was the nine households, which Begaye estimates
contain between 100 and 120 Navajos, would eventually decide to sign
the agreement after they began seeing their neighbors getting services
like electricity and running water.
The agreement allows Navajo families the right to stay on their lands
for another 75 years, with the possibility of an extension beyond
that date if they agreed to comply with the provisions of the agreement.
Those who refused to sign say they have done so primarily because
of principal they believe the land belongs to them and because they
don't trust the Hopi government to adhere to its promises.
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Accused stabber freed
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Held on charges of voluntary manslaughter, Patrick Beard
was discharged from custody after his preliminary hearing last week.
Magistrate Judge Karl Gillson gave the judgment that insufficient
evidence was presented for the case to stand trial in district court,
said Gerald Byers, assistant district attorney and prosecutor for
the case.
Beard was charged with stabbing and killing Vincent Tony on Dec. 11
in a fight in the 600 block of Fifth Street, according to Gallup Police
Department records.
Tony's sister, Flora Paquin, said she was upset by the ruling because
the culprit remains unknown. She added she hopes the police continue
to investigate the case.
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Group wants to replace stolen toys
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — The Grinch visited Gallup Saturday evening
when toys for almost 500 needy children were stolen from a truck that
was to transport the gifts, said Gerald Valdez, president of the Northwest
New Mexico Motorcylce Riders Association.
The organization has collected toys for needy children for 11 years,
and this is the first time it has faced theft, Valdez said.
Children sign up to receive the donated presents by going to the Rio
West Mall. The children must be from families on Medicaid or other
welfare programs...
'Time capsule' idea takes off
Sekai K. Mutunhu
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Approximately $3,000 has been raised to support Gallup's
first time capsule, a project approved by city council members here
last October to rejuvenate the historic but derelict Hillcrest Cemetery.
City Beautification Project Manager Joe Athens said he is confident
the project will gain momentum over the next few months.
"Many people didn't even know what a time capsule was, and that
was a surprise to me," he said. "We will spend time educating
people on how this is going to work..."
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Navajo Police probe 3 deaths
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Police are investigating three deaths one
believed to have been caused by arson in the Black Hat area, another
from a one-vehicle rollover in Yah-Ta-Hey and the third, a pedestrian
struck by a hit-and-run driver while lying on the pavement of U.S.
191 near Wide Ruins.
Around 5 p.m. on Dec. 16, officers of the Window Rock Police District
turned an unidentified juvenile over to the McKinley County Sheriff's
Office and sent a dead man's body to the New Mexico Office of Medical
Investigations in Albuquerque for an autopsy in connection with the
arson investigation.
After the fire, unidentified individuals held the youth
who may have been drinking alcohol with the victim, the report stated
until authorities arrived. The fire was in a coal mining company subdivision
house in Black Hat...
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1,000-year-old fire leaves high desert
jewel
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
WINDOW ROCK — Terrible flames destroyed a pit house more than
1,000 years ago, forcing its inhabitants to flee the dwelling, abandoning
their personal possessions. But that fire may have left behind a jewel.
Archaeologists with the Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department
discovered this diamond in the rough about two years ago.
They believe the residents who fled were Anasazi Indians who lived
in this area at that time...
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Mentors help fallen students get on track
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Andy Nguyen dropped out of high school three
months before graduation day.
The reason was simple, and so was the solution: Nguyen's family was
in a financial crisis, he had to work and school would have to wait.
After working two years at an Albuquerque pharmaceutical company,
Nguyen was ready and able to finish high school. He called Albuquerque
Public Schools and talked to educator Mary Darling about getting back
in...
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Six chapters receive money
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — More than one-third of a million dollars worth
of projects in six chapters mostly for electricity was approved by
a key Navajo Nation Council committee just before Christmas.
Most of the $376,098 will help extend electric power lines to 69 homes
in five chapters. The rest of the money will remodel a senior citizens
center.
The Transportation and Community Development Committee of the council
last week also approved transferring $28,189 to cover the cost of
keeping a systems analyst on the payroll in the Division of Community
Development headquarters...
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Man killed in rollover
Sekai K. Mutunhu
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Authorities are investigating an accident that took
the life of a New Mexico man on Christmas afternoon.
Earnest Vincenti, 51, was killed around 4:30 p.m. when he lost control
of his 1972 GMC pickup truck. Officials from the McKinley County Sheriff's
Department said the truck was heading east on New Mexico Road 118
when Vincenti swerved and the vehicle rolled over.
It is unclear what caused Vincenti to lose control of his truck just
outside the Arizona state line, said Sheriff's Department spokesperson
Dan Patton...
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