Navajo police reports
Ganado bus collides with car
WINDOW ROCK — A Ganado school bus collided with a car early Monday
in a two-vehicle accident during a snowstorm on icy Arizona Route
264 between St. Michaels and Ganado.
None of the passengers on the school bus was injured. Details of the
accident were still sketchy Monday, but police said 44 students and
adults were taken to Sage Memorial Hospital in Ganado to be checked.
Four doctors, two physicians assistants and hospital
employees pulled from other departments screened those who needed
treatment. One of the doctors, Carlyle Schlabach, said one adult from
the second vehicle was admitted with serious injuries, but would not
identify the person. The first load of students and adults arrived
at the hospital at 8:20 a.m.
The Ganado Unified School District said the boys and girls, ranging
from kindergartners to seniors in high school, continued on to the
district's four schools once they were released by the hospital.
Sixth fatality
SHIPROCK — Navajo police said alcohol may have been involved
in the sixth traffic fatality on the reservation this year when a
Gallup man died last week on a rural road near Shiprock.
Police said David Bahe, 36, of Mentmore, died shortly before 7 p.m.
Thursday on Navajo Route 364 east of Fifth Lane. Officers found Bahe
outside the vehicle face down with severe head injuries.
Police also found Roy Curley, 38, of Shiprock with a blanket wrapped
around himself sitting about 20 yards east of the dead man. Curley
was bleeding and apparently was taken to the Indian Health Service
hospital in Shiprock.
Alcohol-involved accident
FORT DEFIANCE — A 37-year-old Tohatchi man died Friday night
at the Indian Health Service hospital here after his 1973 pickup truck
hit a tree in what Navajo police are calling yet another alcohol-related
fatality.
The Window Rock Police District report identified Ernnesin Nez, who
lived about 10 miles north of the store in Tohatchi, as the seventh
traffic fatality of the year on the Navajo Reservation with six of
them reportedly involving alcohol.
Officers were called at 8 p.m. Friday to the fatal wreck
almost five miles south of Fort Defiance on Navajo Route 112. Police
reported finding an unspecified number of alcoholic beverage bottles
inside the vehicle.
Kidnapped
SHIPROCK A Farmington man was kidnapped and then transported to Shiprock
last week, where his alleged kidnapper gave him money to get back
home.
The kidnapper, described as an 18- or 19-year-old Anglo man, used
a gun on Jan. 25 to force Craig Nelson, 33, from his home into a sports
utility vehicle parked outside. The police report did not say whether
the vehicle belonged to Nelson or the kidnapper.
The victim was forced to drive to the southside Thriftway store in
Shiprock and buy gas, then to the Citgo station in Shiprock to buy
cigarettes. Then the kidnapper made Nelson drive west on U.S. 64,
letting him out of the vehicle at Mile Post 17, which is three or
four miles from Shiprock.
The kidnapper allegedly gave Nelson $6 to hitchhike home.
Drunken shooting
KAYENTA — Marvin Laughter, 45, was arrested Jan. 12 by Navajo
police on two charges of aggravated assault, plus unlawful use of
a weapon, unlawful carrying of a weapon, endangering the welfare of
a minor and public intoxication after he allegedly fired a pistol
into a blue Chevrolet van carrying a woman and a young girl.
Police said federal charges are pending against Laughter, who lives
about three miles northwest of the White Post Church in the Shonto
Chapter. The incident happened on Navajo Route 6312, one mile north
of Mile Post 369 on U.S. 160, according to the report by the Kayenta
Police District.
The van's driver, Victoria Laughter, 31, with passenger
Melissa Laughter, 8, escaped injury when one bullet struck the passenger's
door and ricocheted away. A second bullet penetrated through the cab
and shattered the driver's side window.
Police said the man had been drinking and had a strong odor of liquor
on his breath when arrested.
The report did not say whether Marvin Laughter was related to Victoria
and Melissa Laughter.
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Study finds local teen-agers drinking
the most alcohol
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — McKinley County teen-agers consume alcohol
more than teen-agers in any other New Mexican county, according to
a 1997 survey of New Mexican high schoolers.
McKinley County youth also committed the second highest number of
driving while intoxicated offenses in New Mexico. (Guadalupe County
has the No. 1 spot.)
And society suffers consequences from monetary costs to behavioral
delinquency when youngsters drink.
Of the 1,400 teens brought to the McKinley County Juvenile Detention
Center in 1999, 40 percent had been caught using alcohol. Many of
the delinquents charged with other crimes were also using alcohol,
said Julian Mestas, the center's staff manager.
For all New Mexico, the medical costs for problems attributed to teen-age
alcohol use in 1996 was $48 million. Money lost from unfinished work
and other costs came to $192 million.
The nation paid $29.4 billion in 1996 for violent crimes caused in
part by alcohol use involving people under the age of 21.
As a caseworker for Connections Inc., a company that offers counseling
and classes on drinking while intoxicated, Gabriel Claw said he works
with youth from the McKinley County Juvenile Probation office. He
said roughly 80 percent of his clients have problems because they
abuse alcohol.
Moreover, alcohol is considered the "gateway"
drug, and children who drink often try other controlled substances
as well, which can lead to more social and economic problems.
No suggestions
The numbers above come from the most recent government surveys and
studies. And while none of the studies indicate how to curb the problem,
they do suggest that something needs to be done.
School counselors, counselors at treatment centers and local DWI Prevention
Task Force officials flood the schools with programs for substance
abuse prevention and intervention. Some also offer individual counseling.
However, as many teen-agers revealed, the task can be daunting because
the appropriate program for each person varies. For some children,
no program can convince them not to drink.
When Victor Curley of Gallup Central High School was caught drinking
and driving at 17 he finally decided to drink less. But he would not
change his past habits, he added.
He used to ditch his freshman and sophomore classes to hang out with
friends. Now as a 20-year-old senior at Gallup Central High School,
he said he is serious about school, but would not change his past.
"I didn't feel guilty. I worried about what my
parents would do afterwards," Curley said. "I don't regret
it either because I had fun. It's the only time I get to be young."
A 17-year-old junior at Gallup Central High School does not drink,
but he uses marijuana. He began smoking marijuana when he was 12.
Since his name will not be used in this story, he will be called Adam.
Marijuana use
His parents recently reported his marijuana use to his probation officer
at the Juvenile Probation Office, so starting this week, Adam will
have to remain sober.
"I'm not looking forward to being forced off pot," Adam
said, "because it's a part of me, and I do it every day, and
all of my friends do it. Now that I can't do it, there's nothing for
me to do."
After his probation if he is still hanging around the same friends
and he feels like restarting the habit he said he probably will smoke
marijuana again.
An 18-year-old sophomore said she stopped drinking a month ago when
she learned she was pregnant. She requested her name not be used in
this article, so she will be called Anne.
Like Adam, Anne said she drank to have fun with friends, and sometimes
she still misses alcohol because she thought it was fun. Anne, however,
said she will never drink again.
Anne said she tried crack, methamphetamine and marijuana,
but did not develop a habit by the time she decided to give up all
drugs, including alcohol.
Another 18-year-old sophomore said he began drinking at 11. He asked
that his name not be used, so he will be called George.
Adult purchasers
George was curious, so he asked an adult on the street to purchase
alcohol for him. He finished a 40-ounce beer bottle that night and
passed out on his porch stairs.
Jovanna Martinez, coordinator for the McKinley County Combating Underage
Drinking Program, said police are trying to patrol bars and liquor
establishments more closely to stop adults from providing alcohol
to teen-agers.
"They get access to alcohol from older friends," Martinez
said, "They steal it, they get it from older family members,
or they just hang around outside and wait for older people and ask
them to purchase the alcohol for them. We're trying to get more police
to do drive-by patrols."
When teen-agers come from families that drink heavily, the chances
are they will drink heavily also.
Curley began drinking when he was 12. He crept out of his room late
one night. He said his parents, aunts and uncles drank, so this night,
after his relatives were asleep, he said he wanted to see for himself
what it was like.
Curley's parents have told him to stop drinking, but he never thought
they meant it, he said.
How much a community will tolerate drinking correlates with how many
of its youth drink, said Freida Bruysschaard, the counselor and co-chief
executive officer of Bradams Inc., a company that treats adolescents
who abuse control substances.
Only a beer
"The attitude in the community that (attitude) may be diminishing
now and sometimes we hear parents say it too (is) 'Well, what's the
big deal? It's only a beer,'" she said.
Not all family problems involve alcoholism, but other domestic trouble
like violence and negligence can prompt youngsters to turn to alcohol
also, said Judy Oakes, the coordinator of Gallup-McKinley County Schools
counselors. Many teen-agers use alcohol as a form of self-medication,
to soothe frayed emotions, she added.
However, the family can also provide the best help for troubled youngsters,
Oakes said.
When Curley decided after his DWI incident that he wanted
to stop drinking heavily, it was an aunt and uncle who did not drink
who got him into a counseling program.
Professional treatment, like Curley's program, is the
best way to reduce alcohol use among older students who have already
started drinking. While antidrug programs influence younger children,
they often do not work for older youngsters, Oakes said.
Of children who do receive treatment, Oakes said, "The majority
of kids are receptive to counseling, 'cause they know somebody cares
about them. There's an adult who will listen."
The schools are conducting a needs-assessment to understand what types
of programs their students should have access to help them avoid or
give up drug abuse, Oakes said.
Forcing teens to stop
Sometimes the only way to get teen-agers to think about drinking less
is to force them to stop, said Claw, the caseworker who monitors youth
from the probation office.
"We help them decrease usage by random UAs (urine analyses),"
Claw said. "A lot of them are in denial about their abuse and
alcoholism."
When forced off alcohol, "they come to realize the problems are
still there when they sober up," he added.
The strongest force pushing teen-agers to use alcohol is usually their
friends. Anne said she drank because it was the only thing her friends
do to have fun.
Looking back, Anne said she could have withstood the peer pressure,
but she did not feel like that when she was 15 and her friends insisted
she would enjoy drinking.
Though friends often introduce alcohol to teen-agers, drinking is
seldom social for them.
Martinez said in her discussions with youth, she has
found that most teen-agers drink to get drunk.
Part of this trend may be a function of the teen-agers' biology.
Oakes, the school counselor, said: "For a teen-ager
to go from social drinking to where it's a problem that's a very short
time frame because they are still going through development."
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Missing woman's body is found
Nancy Watson
Diné Bureau
GALLUP — The body of a 74-year-old Gap woman was found this week
by a search party after she had been missing since Jan. 22.
The body of Rose Manymules was found Thursday by a search party of
friends and relatives nine miles south of Page and five miles west
of Highway 89 at milepost 540.
She apparently died of exposure, said Lt. Greg Adair of the Navajo
Police Department's Tuba City office. She had been dead about a week.
There was no evidence of foul play.
She was last seen hitchhiking to her daughter's home in the Coppermine
Chapter area on Jan. 22.
She was not reported missing until Feb. 1, because family
members living near Manymules' home, 11 miles north of the Gap Trading
Post, thought she was at her daughter's home.
However, her daughter, Rosie Manymules, thought her mother was at
home.
Rose Manymules suffered from dementia and often regressed into her
past when hitchhiking, said her nephew Floyd Stevens.
On Jan. 22, a woman gave Rose Manymules a ride to her daughter's home,
which is located on Highway 89. The woman reported she left Rose Manymules
on the highway about 200 yards from her daughter's home.
She had apparently walked toward her daughter's home, but became disoriented
and lost her sense of direction, Adair said.
Tracks indicate she walked toward Page, perhaps following
the smokestacks of the power plant during the day and the lights of
Page at night.
"This happens at least once a year," said Adair. "An
elder with dementia (the early phase of Alzheimer's) walks out to
the woodpile, for instance, and they wander off and never come back."
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Family seeks their son's return
Teen jailed for murder; food sales pay legal fees
Bill Donovan
Diné Bureau
GALLUP — A shack that sells Navajo food a few miles south of
Gallup has become the headquarters for a family's effort to get justice
for their son, Justin Fred.
Fred is in a San Juan County jail waiting to be sentenced after pleading
guilty to the second-degree murder of Sheridan Peters in San Juan
County last August. His family has not only stood behind him, but
his mother and father have spent the past five months raising money
for his defense by selling traditional Navajo foods.
"My son has been framed for murder," his father, Ernest
Fred, said Wednesday as he prepared fry bread, mutton stew and other
Navajo foods for customers...
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Navajo culture focus of museum
Nancy Watson
Staff Writer
WINDOW ROCK — There was a time when Char Tullie would never have
dreamed she would be educating people about her Navajo culture.
But Tullie, now the registrar of the Navajo Nation Museum, will be
doing just that on Friday at the Ute Indian Museum, in Montrose, Colo.,
when she talks to a group there about Navajo winter stories.
Tullie, who grew up in the forests between Ganado and St. Michaels,
left the Navajo Reservation for Wyoming when she was 18, planning
on returning after a five-day vacation. During that vacation, however,
the National Park Service hired her, and she went to work in Grand
Teton National Park. She loved learning about the Plains Indians,
taking part in their ceremonies and learning how to do quill work
and beading...
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Kayenta Township is under fire
Land users dispute new boundaries
Nancy Watson
Diné Bureau
KAYENTA, Ariz. — The Kayenta Township this week continued to
defend itself in a boundary dispute with the local grazing committee.
The dispute centers around the development of a 240-acre subdivision
within the Kayenta Township that has been under fire since November.
The District 8 Grazing Committee has requested work on the subdivision
to cease, pending a review of the boundary lines by the tribe's Resources
Committee...
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Tribe lacks funds for state projects
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation took steps last week to get five
projects funded by the state of New Mexico back on track.
Now four of the projects are stalled again because the tribe can't
come up with matching funds.
The chairman of the tribal council's Government Services Committee,
Ervin Keeswood, said Monday that approving the projects would be a
futile gesture "unless we openly admit to the world we don't
have the money..."
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Begaye gets first-hand look at tribal
needs
Bill Donovan
Diné Bureau
GALLUP — Although he's been president of the Navajo Nation for
just over a year, Kelsey Begaye spent time last week learning about
the many needs of tribal employees.
"He was surprised to learn just how much people working for the
tribe do beyond what is expected of them," his spokesman, Mellor
Willie, said.
When Begaye gave his inauguration message, many listeners had the
feeling that in his campaign to become president, he had talked to
a lot of Navajo voters who complained that too many tribal employees
were lazy and didn't care about their jobs...
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Possible drought worries area livestock
owners
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Local ranchers are worried because the lack of snow
this winter may grow into a drought if spring and summer rains do
not make up for the absence of precipitation.
A customer at the CowTown Feed and Livestock store said he plans on
selling his livestock if it does not rain in 60 days, said Dudley
Byerley, the store's owner.
Byerley said he read weather forecasts and agricultural reports predicting
drought for New Mexico this year. Some reports foretell 10 years of
drought, he added...
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Deaths
Charlie Skeets
ROCKY POINT — Services for Charlie Skeets, 70, will be held at
11 a.m., Monday, Feb. 14 at the Estabished in the Word Church, behind
Chee Dodge Elementary School. Pastor Arthur J. Williams will officiate.
Burial will follow on the private family cemetery.
Skeets died Feb. 8 in Albuquerque. He was born May 15, 1929 into the
Towering House People Clan for the Salt People Clan.
Survivors include his wife, Denise Skeets of Gallup; sons, Roger Skeets
of Gallup and Bennie Skeets of Coyote Canyon; daughters, Gracie Gatewood,
Rose Mary Joe, Christine John, Gloria Skeets, Marie Skeets, Nina Jane
Skeets and Susie Skeets, all of Gallup; brothers, Joe Skeet of Dallas,
Texas, Tommy Skeets of Vanderwagen and Kim Wilson of Las Vegas, Nev.;
sisters, Jane Lee and Helen Nez, both of Vanderwagen, Mary Alice Lucas
of Chicago, Ill. and Annie Rose Skeet of Gallup; 23 grandchildren;
and 19 great-grandchildren.
Skeets was preceded in death by his parents, Money Skeet and Hasban
Tsinaajiinee; brother, Patrick Skeet; and sisters, Mary Chee and Betty
Nelson.
Pallbearers will be Virgil Chee, Claude Gatewood Jr., Jack Joe, Davey
Skeets, Scott Skeets and Tatum Skeets.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Jennie Y. Arviso
PINEDALE — Services for Jennie Y. Arviso, 74, will be held at
11 a.m., today, Feb. 12 on family land at 241 Second Canyon Road.
Reverend Mark Thomas will officiate.
Arviso died Feb. 7 in Gallup. She was born Nov. 27, 1925 in Pinedale
into the Mountain Cove People Clan for the Red Streak People Clan.
Survivors include her sons, Felix Arviso, Frank H. Arviso Jr., Stanley
D. Tsosie, Steven K. Tsosie and Earl k. Tsosie, all of Pinedale, Leo
D. Tsosie of Twin Lakes, Jay H. Arviso of Vanderwagen; daughters,
Virginia A. Ben, Alice Largo, Mary T. Sherman, all of Pinedale, Grace
A. Talk of Fort Wingate; step-sons, Lorenzo Arviso, Edison Arviso,
Marvin Arviso, all of Brimhall, Franklyn Arviso, and Martin Arviso
of Albuquerque; step-daughter, Cathy Arviso of Brimhall, Rose Garcia
of Gallup, Jean Kline of Albuquerque; brother, Chee Tony Yazzie of
Pinedale; 53 grandchildren, 57 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Arviso was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Henry Arviso Sr.,
parents, Navajo Frank Yazzie and Alka Bah Yazzie; sisters, Marie Y.
Davis and Minnie Keyannie; brother, Bob Yazzie.
Pallbearers will be Felix Arviso, Elbert Burbank, Shaniel Largo, Everett
Sherman, Leo D. Tsosie and Stanley D. Tsosie.
Rollie Mortuary of Gallup is in charge of the arrangements.
Lucy Newood
NEWCOMB — Services for Lucy Newood, 77, will be held at 11 a.m.,
Monday, Feb. 14 at the Frist Assembly of God Church in Newcomb. Pastor
Fred Yazzie will officiate. Burial will follow at the family cemetery
in Two Gray Hills.
Newood died Feb. 10 at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.
She was born May 25, 1922 in Newcomb.
Newood was a retired head cook for the Church Rock Elementary School.
She attended Deeper Faith Ministries. Her hobbies included crocheting,
sewing and crossword puzzles.
Survivors include her husband, Notah Newood of Newcomb; sons, Donald
Newood of Sanders, Ariz., Daniel Newood of Newcomb, Russell Newood
of Church Rock and John Job of Altus, Okla.; and daughters, Barbara
Newood of Sanders, Ariz., Beverly Tolbertson of Shiprock and Evelyn
Hood of Church Rock.
Newood was preceded in death by a son, Norman Newood; daughter, Mary
Sam; and brothers, George Willie, John Willie and Willie Alfonso.
Pallbearers will be Bryson Hudson, Anthony Newood, Larry Tsosie, Arnold
John, Paul Williams Jr. and Irving Alfonso.
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