Wet n' wild



Water splashes out from a vehicle driving through melted snow on Marguerite Street in Gallup onTuesday afternoon. One area business owner complained that the water is dangerous because people driving fast along the road splash water onto the windshields of oncoming vehicles, making it difficult to see.



Merrill Fence employees Fred Tabaha (left) and Joseph Holt string razor wire along the top of a new fence Tuesday at the McKinley County Adult Detention Center. The newly fenced area will be used as an exercise yard for the inmates.

Photos by Jeff Jones

 

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MacDonald fans gear up for return
Farmington visit planned

Larry Di Giovanni
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Former Navajo tribal Chairman Peter MacDonald will make his first public appearance in more than seven years on Saturday in the Farmington Civic Center theater/auditorium.

MacDonald family friend Vern Lee, who helped lead the crusade to have MacDonald freed through operation of a Web site, said MacDonald's words to the public will focus on "forgiveness, reconciliation and healing." The Civic Center event is planned from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, with heavy attendance expected from the regional television and print media.

Before his noon talk, MacDonald, 72, is expected to field questions from reporters during a press conference tentatively scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m., Lee said.

"We'll be focusing on harmony, the healing of the Navajo Nation," Lee said.

Lee added that he has spoken to MacDonald just once by telephone, the day after his Jan. 20 release since former President Bill Clinton commuted MacDonald's 14-year federal sentence on that date. He has also been in contact with family members since that time. A number of area dignitaries will likely attend Saturday's gathering, Lee said, including tribal leaders and possibly congressional representatives.

Lee said MacDonald's home town of Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., was the MacDonald family's first choice for his initial public appearance following his seven-year incarceration at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. However, "It didn't work out due to lack of facilities," Lee added.

Shiprock was apparently the second choice, but its facilities are already set for use Saturday.

Asked if MacDonald will address the current state of the Navajo Nation government where the 88-member tribal council now clearly has an imbalance of power to its advantage Lee said, "I doubt it. We're staying away from all of that."

On Friday, Tuba City Chapter officials told The Independent that a MacDonald homecoming is set for their chapter on Saturday, March 3, starting with a 9 a.m. parade. MacDonald and his wife, Wanda, live in Tuba City.

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Ex-election board vows to fight back

Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The U.S. Supreme Court may well end up deciding if the majority of the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors committed a criminal act in aborting last August's election.

This is the prediction of two of eight supervisors in interviews Friday about the pair of criminal charges lodged against each member of the group for canceling the chapter-level general election.

And the real outlaws ought to be the Navajo Nation Council, say other board members about the criminal charges filed against them Jan. 31 in Window Rock District Court. When interviewed all five said they had not yet been served with a summons or the complaint.

But all eight will have their day in tribal court in early March and one said he will demand his right of a jury trial, which is extremely rare in Diné courts.

Five supervisors responded to reporters seeking their comments about the charges. Two others could not be contacted due to a lack of telephones and one did not return messages left over several days. The three are Harry Brown, Roy Tso and Jay DeGroat.

One of the five, veteran member Paul Redhouse, said he had not been served as of Monday and "therefore can't make any kind of a response."

According to court records, Begay, Brown and Juliette Largo have been summoned to appear March 7, two days after Vice Chairwoman LeNora Fulton, Redhouse, Tso, DeGroat and Jackie Burbank.

Attorney General Levon Henry's prosecutors charge the eight with abuse of power and not performing required duties. The complaint asks the judge to throw all eight out of office, fine them $3,700 each, put them behind bars for a year and make them repay $153,189.

Two members of the 10-member elected board Bessie Yellowhair and Leonard Begay were absent (and therefore not charged) for the fateful July 31 vote to cancel the next day's election and recommend to the Navajo Nation Council that the referendum question on reducing the size of the council, and the chapter-level four-year terms, be decided Nov. 7 instead of Aug.
1.

Jackie Burbank

Supervisor Jackie Burbank of the Chinle Agency denied the board broke the law, adding, "We stood up for Navajo voting rights." He welcomed the suit because by going to court, "We will have our say so. This will go all the way to the top federal court."

Burbank charged the Office of Legislative Counsel, which initiated the idea for the suit by a memo answering Council Delegate Freddie Howard's question, with a direct conflict of interest.

Burbank said the board took the advice of Chief Legislative Counsel Steve Boos' top deputy, Frank Seanez. "The wording (of the board's resolution) was recommended by him," Burbank said.

Turning to a related sore point, Burbank said he hopes the court will appoint lawyers for the supervisors the council did not provide the funds for the board to have an independent attorney, either a private lawyer or the Attorney General's staff, while Boos' and his staff were advising the council, its committees and the board at the same time.

In an Aug. 18 memo to President Kelsey Begaye, Henry wrote, "In regard to the request for legal services on behalf of the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors, I believe this request is premature. In addition, should there be criminal charges filed, this office, through the Office of the Prosecutor, will be filing those charges."

Henry also denied there was an investigation under way. But by mid-December, the White Collar Crime Unit of the Chief Prosecutor's Office had finished its report.

"We are entitled to outside legal counsel, which we never had before," Burbank said.

The Chinle Agency supervisor said he would vote the same way again, adding, "We stood up to the Tribal Council and we stood up for Navajos' voting rights. Mr. Redhouse went through this before. I'm going to plead not guilty and ask for a jury trial."

Juliette Largo

One of the two Eastern Agency supervisors, Largo said, "We acted on behalf of the people. There were a lot of election laws being violated in the case of the Navajo Nation Council."

She said there wasn't enough time to do the required public education on the referendum because, "At the time there was no budget for us. There was just no money and you can't work without money. And we asked for a budget at the beginning."

Largo also said the attempt to put the board behind bars is nothing more than retaliation by the Legislative Branch leadership.

She also pointed to the conflict of interest with the Office of Legislative Counsel and said the chief deputy, "Told us it was OK to do certain things and later it wasn't. He was sitting there when we brought this up to him. Then he said a completely different thing to the Navajo Nation Council."

She charged that non-Navajo lawyers were causing a lot of unrest, "Turning people against one another," just as they did with the council and the board.

Largo believes, "We have enough qualified Navajo lawyers. We do better with people who understand us as a
people."

LeNora Fulton

One of the two Fort Defiance Agency supervisors, Fulton said, "I believe that it is retaliation. This is pure retaliation, plain and simple. The election is over. IGR took over our election duties. They have accomplished what they wanted. I don't see why we have to go back and rehash this all over."

Fulton said, "It's well-known that there was a violation of the public's voting rights" in trying to force the board to hold the election in August.

"There was not sufficient funding available for educating the people, not sufficient funding or time to educate the public on the referendum," she said.

The Election Code, she said, gave the board the right to delay the voting, and the board acted that way after receiving the legal advice of the Office of Legislative Counsel.

"I always maintained we followed the laws; we adhered to all the election laws and the laws of the Navajo Nation," she said. Fulton also pointed to the conflict of interest of Boos' office.

"The voting rights of the general public are protected by federal laws. I think this case has all the merits to go to the Supreme Court not only the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, but the U.S. Supreme Court," she said.

Fulton said an Aug. 1 election would have violated absentee voting rights for tribal members, for instance, overseas in the military, in Boston, and even Albuquerque because they wouldn't have had the opportunity.

"Nor did the public receive a full education on the referendum," she said.

Fulton also said, "It's a total waste of the Navajo people's money to continue this disagreement. We do have a Judicial Branch to interpret the laws. This is where it should have gone in the first place."

But on July 27 the tribal Supreme Court rejected the board's petition for interpretation in the matter.

Fulton also charged prosecutors failed to comply with the tribal Sovereign Immunity Act against lawsuits.

A challenge to the election (over the referendum) "did not happen because of the sovereign immunity for the council. It also covers the elections board."

She said no one had the $15,000 at the time it would have taken to obtain independent attorneys. Fulton said the board acted in its official capacity, and therefore the act should cover the board, too.

The former Navajo presidential candidate added, "The general public is getting tired of some of the actions by the Navajo Nation Council. We have so many needs. Rather than waste resources disputing among ourselves we could get moving with economic development. This situation continues to impede progress."

One way to save money, she added, would be the $10,000 raise (more than $1 million a year if benefits are included for the 88 delegates) the delegates gave themselves. "If they want to talk about saving money, that's where to start," she said.

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Milan man held in fatal shooting

Tara Drolma
Staff Writer

GRANTS — A 61-year-old Milan man is being held in connection with the shooting death of one Milan man and the wounding of another man Monday night.

Arcy Martinez, 61, was arrested for the murder of Anthony Vallejos, 33, and the shooting of Ralph Gonzales, 41, both of Milan.

Gonzales was taken to Cibola General Hospital were he underwent surgery for a gunshot wound in his lower left abdomen and was listed in critical condition Tuesday.

Martinez has been charged with an open count of murder and one count of aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm.

Milan police were called to 621 San Jose Street in Milan at 5:15 p.m. Monday. According to a statement given to the police, Martinez called 911 and reported the incident.

Sgt. Jerry Stephens, the investigating officer, said Vallejos was pronounced dead at the scene.

Stephens said Gonzales was still in intensive care Tuesday afternoon when he interviewed him. Gonzales spoke to Stephens about the incident for about a half hour.

Deputy Medical Investigators Ernest Martinez and Robert Hayes were called to the scene Monday night where they pronounced Vallejos dead. However, they were not able to locate any entrance and exit wounds on Vallejos so police do not know how many times he was shot. Stephens said the Office of Medical Investigations in Albuquerque is preparing the autopsy report and
he won't know for sure what the wounds are until he receives the report.

Stephens said his preliminary investigation indicates the three friends had been drinking, but it will remain unclear how much alcohol was involved until the results of the toxicology report are available.

Stephens said it is not clear yet exactly what happened. Apparently there was an argument. He said one statement he took said Vallejos had accused Martinez of calling his girlfriend and complaining to her about something Vallejos had done. The witness (Gonzales) said they were horsing around and it got out of hand.

Martinez, Vallejos, and Gonzales were the only ones at the house when the shooting occurred. Stephens said he would be interviewing other people as part of his investigation.

Martinez was taken into custody and he gave police a statement about the incident. Afterwards he was taken to Cibola County Correction Center where he was booked and charged.

Stephens said he thought the first hearing for Martinez might be held today, but he did not know if Martinez would be released on bail.

Milan Police Chief Alfonso Martinez said it was the first homicide in Milan in 22 years that he remembers. He said there were two homicides in Milan in 1979 in separate incidents. Both of the homicides occurred at gas stations and involved the attendants.

One was at the Mustang Gas Station and the other occurred at a Chevron station that used to be located across from the Petro Station.

A gas station attendant at what used to be a Texaco Station on East Santa Fe Avenue was murdered in the same week as one of the Milan murders.

Martinez said all of the men were murdered with no apparent provocation. Burglary was not involved and there was no apparent motive for the shootings. Whoever shot the men just walked up and killed them.

He said the man at the Chevron in Milan was working on his truck at the time he was killed.

At the time authorities thought the suspect in all of the murders was the same person, but they were never able to prove it or to bring the case to court. To this day the murders remain unsolved.

When the murders occurred Ed Bale was the Grants police chief and the assistant chief was Bill Johnson.

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Rough Rock advances

Abelita Rose Freeland
Staff Sports Writer

ROUGH ROCK, Ariz. — The Rough Rock Sun Devils took control of the game in the fourth quarter to beat Many Farms in a crucial 2A Conference game, 70-60 at Rough Rock High School on Tuesday night.

"We did pretty good. We had a tough week last week and we lost to Many Farms but tonight we came out strong," said Sun Devil coach Gary Pete. "I knew we could do a better job than last week."

"They started out a little slow, but I thought they played well in the second and third quarter and they didn't take care of the ball in the fourth quarter," said Lobo coach Steve Clarke. "We beat them in a close game last week, so I knew they were would come out tough looking to win this game. They did what they had to do to win the game."

Rough Rock will travel to Sanders to play the Valley Pirates tonight at 7:30. In other 2A Conference games, Red Mesa plays at Hopi tonight and the winner of that game will play the winner of the Rough Rock and Valley game on Friday night at the site of the high seeded team.

The Sun Devils were able to take a 14-4 lead in the first quarter.

Lobo Edwin Bahe opened the scoring on a steal for a layup, but Ike Sells cut the lead in half, going 1-for-2 at the line. Xanthus Charley ended the first quarter scoring for Many Farms with a pair of free throws.

Behind 4-1, the Sun Devils went on a 13 point run to end the quarter.

Sun Devils Nelton Begay had a drive to the basket for a lay-up, Phillip Lee sank a trey, Wilfred Bia connected a jump shot and finished the three-point play at the line, Bia then came right back with a steal and a lay-up and Terrance Sam made a three-pointer to end the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Lobos rallied to catch up, limiting Rough Rock's scoring to only 14 to ManyFarms' 23.

The Sun Devils started the quarter with Sam connecting a trey and Bia with a lay-up, leaving Rough Rock ahead 19-4.

Lobo Darryl Mailboy answered back with an offensive rebound and finished the three-point play at the line, and then came right back with an jump shot. Sun Devil Begay ended Mailboy's run on a jumpshot.

Trailing 21-9, Many Farms went on a 13 point run to take a brief 22-21 lead.

Lobo Edwin Bahe sank a lay-up, was one for two at the line and made a drive to the basket, Charley sank a jump shot and a trey and made another basket assisted by T.R. Begay and finished the three-point play at the line.

Sun Devil Teller stopped the run on a pair of free throws, but Lobo Charley answered back with an offensive rebound and finished the play at the line, leaving Many Farms ahead 25-23.

Rough Rock took possession of the lead again with a jump shot from Teller and a trey from Aaron Bia, but Lobo Edwin Bia allowed Rough Rock to go into half-time with only a 28-27 lead when he put the ball back in the basket on a rebound.

The two teams continued to battle in the third quarter, but Rough Rock still lead into the fourth quarter, outscoring Many Farms 17 to 15.

Tied at 57, the Sun Devils finished the game behind Teller, who scored 10 of the 13 final points.

Teller started with a drive to the basket, shot 1-for-2 at the line, sank a lay-up, went one for two on free throws, grabbed a steal and made a lay-up and connected the a jump shot. Lobo Mailboy ended Teller's run on a basket and finished three-point play at the line.

Sun Devil Aaron Bia closed the game with a trey at the buzzard, giving Rough Rock a 70-60 win and advancing the Sun Devils to Sanders.

"Many Farms called a time and I thought then that this was the time to do it and they stepped up," Pete said on his teams fourth quarter finish.

"Today was probably a big boost for the guys and hopefully we can come out and play tomorrow. We did a real good job of stepped up in the fourth quarter and the kids finally played as one. They haven't played like that in a long time," Pete concluded.
"It is kind of a tough way to end the season, losing a close on like this but we have a lot of young players coming back next
years. So I am looking forward to next season, I think we are going to be competitive next year," Clarke concluded.

"We stuck together and they guys all stepped with me tonight," said senior Teller who led his team with 19 points, five rebounds and four steals. "I just hope my teams comes out the way they did tonight and keep their heads up because we have a big game against Valley.

Sun Devil Bia walked away with 14 points and grabbed nine steals and Aaron Bia tallied 10.

Lobo's Edwin Bahe and Mailboy led the effort with 16 points each. Charley and Platero added 13 points each.

Thoreau gets big district win at home

Carrie Loretto
Sports Editor

THOREAU — Shiprock coach Kevin Holman did the math to figure out what his Chieftains needed to get themselves back into the game in the fourth quarter. However, he didn't count on all the variables such as costly turnovers as Thoreau pulled off a key 43-41 District 1AAA victory at home Tuesday night.

The win leaves Thoreau (13-6) at the top of the standings in 1AAA with a 5-0 mark, while Shiprock (8-11) slips to second with a 4-1 record. The two teams will meet again next week.

Holman was overheard telling his team what shots would get them back into the ballgame during the quarter break and outside shooter Benson Billy supplied three three-pointers in the fourth to help Shiprock overcome a nine-point deficit.

"We're never out of it, Benson lit it up from three and we had it,"Holman said."We had it, we had a three point lead with the ball, we turned it over and then Thoreau executed. The kid hit a big three, nice shot, gotta give them credit, they made the shots. It was just a good ballgame I guess."

'The kid' was Thoreau Hawk Gerard Gibson who sank his third trey of the night to regain the lead for Thoreau with a minute left in the game. Kerry Dodge forced the Shiprock turnover, recovering from a slip to knock the ball loose.

Shiprock had a couple of opportunities to at least tie the game on its next possession, but an open three-point attempt rimmed out. Thoreau teammates Rollen Walthall and Woody had position for the defensive board, but watched the rebound go out of bounds. Chieftain Henry Haven then tried to drive up the middle, but slipped and lost the ball on another turnover.

Forced to foul, Shiprock put Dodge on the free throw line and he converted the one-and-one opportunity which proved to be the winning points when Owen Wero put back a missed three-point attempt at the buzzer for the final margin.

"I think our aggressiveness really helped us, we came up with the rebounds,"Thoreau coach Mike Christie felt was a key late in the game.

In the battle of the boards which saw numerous rebounds go out of bounds, Shiprock finished with a 15 to 14 advantage. The Chieftains also turned the ball over 20 times to Thoreau's 12.

Shiprock's strong fourth quarter start matched the Chieftains early momentum as they jumped out to a 9-1 early lead. Both teams utlized an aggressive man-to-man defense with Shiprock getting the upper hand when Wero connected on a three-pointer to loosen things up inside. Also for Shiprock, Billy had an offensive putback, Andrew Yazzie hit a jumper and Haven weaved his way through the Hawk defense.

Thoreau's lone point came on a free throw by Woody two minutes into the game. Dodge finally broke the ice with a drive to the basket, getting the roll with thee minutes left. Gibson came off the bench and added an offensive spark, nailing a pair of threes, the second of which tied the game at 9-9 with half a minute left in the period.

Wero hit a 10-foot jumper to close the quarter as Shiprock took an 11-9 lead.

Thoreau capitalized on free throws in the second quarter as fouls against Shiprock began to mount.

Dodge was fouled on his way to the basket following a steal and made both free throws to tie the score. Thomas and Tarraco Henry each added two more foul shots and after Thomas was awarded another pair, Holman utilized a thirty second time out to point out to the officials that the foul differential was 10 to 5 against his team.

Thomas missed both his attempts, but Woody rebounded the second and put it back up to continue Thoreau's 10-1 run.

Shiprock did have the next free throw opportunities after Wero drew a foul on his drive to the basket. He missed both and Woody added two more for Thoreau which was followed by Yazzie converting the one-and-one opportunity for Shiprock.
Wero finally ended the Chieftains' 0-for-6 performance from the field stretching back to the first quarter when he sank a three-
pointer with 1:42 left in the first half.

Still, despite making just 2-of-6 field goals and Thoreau shooting 80 percent (8-of-10) from the line, the Chieftains only trailed
23-19 at half-time.

The Chieftains were called for 11 fouls in the first half, while Thoreau was whistled eight times. Shiprock finished the night with 18 fouls to Thoreau's 16. The Hawks converted 13-of-17 free throws while Shiprock sank 10-of-14.

The Hawks' defensive intensity continued in the third quarter as they held Shiprock to 1-of-7 field goal shooting while opening up a nine-point advantage.

Wero and Billy each scored 15 points to lead Shiprock, but only two others scored for the Chieftains. The Hawks, which had eight different players contribute, were led by Dodge with 14 poihts. Gibson finished with nine and Woody scored eight.

"We had to protect homecourt, now we gotta get one at Crownpoint, that's going to be tough because Crownpoint's much improved then we gotta go to Shiprock and try to steal one,"Christie said about the district race.

"It's huge for Thoreau, they're in the driver's seat,"said Holman."Our number one seed out of this district has a real shot to get to the final four. Portales is a good team, Lovington is, they're both good, but we can play with them. Number two seed has got probably Ruidoso and they're probably the most talented team in the state so it's huge to get that number one seed. Right now Mr. Christie and the Hawks have one up on us, but they got to come to our place."

Shiprock will play at Crownpoint Thursday while the Hawks will play there Saturday.

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Chinle boys win and advance

Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer

CHINLE, Ariz. — All-region and all-conference Wildcat senior guard Jimmy Skeet was a little late in making the opening tipoff. The Chinle Wildcats as a team were also a little late in getting their game untracked before making a little bit of history with a stunning second half comeback.

Skeet triggered the Wildcat offense with a game-high 27 points, helping overcoming an 18-point third period deficit in toppling Sinagua 70-63 Tuesday night during the opening round of the 4A Grand Canyon regional playoffs.

For Chinle, it marked the first time in the school's nine-year history in the Class 4A of advancing past the first round of the regional playoffs. The Wildcats will be looking to make a few more historic firsts as they go up against top-seed Mingus Friday night at 8 p.m. at Sinagua High School in Flagstaff, Ariz...

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Chemicals in Grants' water table

Tom Purdom
Staff Writer

GRANTS — As if the area didn't have enough to think about with petroleum-based plumes contaminating ground water tables, now there's another potential threat. A plume of cancer-causing cleaning solvent chemical is in the water table in the center of town.

The New Mexico Environment Department Ground Water Quality Bureau sent a Jan. 30 letter to Grants about a situation discovered in the basement sump of a home near the 600 block of First Street. Water samples taken from the sump showed exceedingly high levels of tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), and dichloroethene (DCE).

Grants' water supply is not in danger of chemical contamination at the present time. The water supply is sucked from wells some 200 feet deep and the contaminated water table is just below the surface of the ground, an official with the Environment Department said...

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Deaths

Arlene W. Shillingburg

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Services for Arlene W. Shillingburg, 96, will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at Rollie Mortuary-Palm Chapel. The Rev. Edward S. Richmond will officiate. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery.

Shillingburg grew up in Sturgis, S.D. and attended teacher training in Aberdeen, S.D. She moved to Crownpoint in 1925 to teach at Navajo Indian School. She lived in Gallup, then returned to Greasewood Springs to own and operate a trading post near Lukachukai, Ariz. She attended numerous colleges, including Universtiy of New Mexico, Columbia University, N.Y., and received a bachelor of arts from the University of California, Berkeley. She moved to Scottsdale in 1966.

Survivors include her sons, Don Shillingburg of Colorado and J. Edwards Shillingburg of Shelter Island, N.Y.; brothers, Charles Weedman of Kansas City, Kan., and Gail Weedman of Kokomo, Ind.; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Shillingburg was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Metzner Shillingburg, and mother, Lelila Evans Weedman.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Tom Thompson

NAHODISHGISH — Services for Tom "Thomas" Thompson, 79, will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at Latter Day Saints Church, Crownpoint. Brother Stan Chischillie will officiate. Burial will follow in Crownpoint.

Thompson died Feb. 2 in Crownpoint. He was born June 16, 1921, in Standing Rock into the Towering House People Clan for the Water Flows Together People Clan.

Thompson served in War World II. He was employed with the railroad, Gallup-McKinley County Schools as a bus driver, and carpenter for the Navajo Nation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Survivors include his sons, Roy Thompson and Ambrose Thompson, both of Nahodishgish, Larry Thompson of Standing Rock, Leonard Thompson of Haystack and Leroy Thompson of Thoreau; daughter, Lucinda Willie of Standing Rock; brothers, Jim Thompson and Ernest Thompson, both of Nahodishgish; sisters, Lenna T. Morgan and Molly Yazzie, both of Nahodishgish; 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Thompson was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy Thompson; parents, Charlie Thompson and Rose Silago; son, Alvin Thompson; and daughter, Sophia Thompson.

Pallbearers will be Adrian Thompson, Emery Willie, Otis Peshlakai, Larry Holona, Harvey Yazzie and Roy Thompson.

The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Dalton Pass Chapter House.

Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Nora Ashley Frank

PINE SPRINGS, Ariz. — Services for Nora Frank, 76, will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at St. Anslem Catholic Church, Houck, Ariz. Father Cormack will officiate. Burial will follow on family plot, Pine Springs, Ariz.

Frank died Feb. 5 in Farmington. She was born May 12, 1924, in Pine Springs, Ariz., into the Black Sheep People Clanfor the One Who Walks Around You People Clan.

Frank was a homemaker.

Survivors included her sons, Wilson Joe, Roger Joe, Rudy Frank, Leroy Frank and Roger Frank; daughters, Rose A. Daukei, Christine Deal and Alice Frank; 46 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren.

Frank was preceded in death by Navajo Frank and Henry Joe.

Pallbearers will be Malcolm Deal, Rueben Joe, Kendall Joe, Tyrone Joe, Dewayne Joe and Horace Daukei Jr.

The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Nora Frank's residence.

Alfredo Torres

GALLUP — Services for Alfredo Torres, 76, will be announced at a later date.

Torres died Feb. 5 in Gallup. He was born Feb. 21, 1924, in Pichacho.

Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Elsie L. Ashley

WINDOW ROCK — Services for Elsie L. Ashley, 79, will be announced at a later date.

Ashley died Feb. 5 in Fort Defiance, Ariz. She was born May 12, 1921.

The family will meet at 7 p.m. tonight at Elsie Ashley's residence.

Cope Memorial is in charge of arrangements.