5 die in 4 separate accidents
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Five people died in four separate traffic accidents
on the Navajo Reservation Thursday and Friday, including a woman who
reportedly darted in front of a Navajo police officer's vehicle in
Shiprock.
Roxanne Jim, 42, of Waterflow died shortly before 9 p.m. at the Indian
Health Service hospital in Shiprock, where she was taken after the
8:30 p.m. collision with a patrol vehicle driven by Officer Jame Joe.
Joe had been heading east on U.S. 64 near mile post 23.7, when Jim
tried to cross the eastbound part of the highway.
According to the police, three witnesses saw the pedestrian-vehicle
collision. The report did not indicate how fast the officer was traveling
or whetehr he was responding to a call at the time of the incident.The
case was turned over to the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations.
Driver ejected, dies
TUBA CITY — Cornelius Yellowhair, 18, died from massive internal
injuries after he was ejected from his vehicle when it rolled over
shortly after midnight Friday. Police said alcohol was a factor in
the accident.
Yellowhair, who lived in the BIA subdivision in Tuba City, was headed
south on a dirt road about one-quarter of a mile north of the Three
Water Tanks area of Tuba City when he went off the right side of the
road, up an embankment and rolled the vehicle two times.
The accident happened about 12:10 a.m. Friday, and Yellowhair was
declared dead at the Indian Health Service hospital in Tuba City about
6:20 p.m..
His two passengers a 12-year-old Tuba City boy and Amelia Yellowhair,
21, of the same address were not ejected from the vehicle, but were
also taken to the IHS hospital in Tuba City.
Skids on icy road
CROWNPOINT — An 82-year-old passenger died about 9 a.m. Thursday
when the van in which she was riding skidded and flipped on an icy
road about one mile southeast of Apache Corner.
Edna H. Castillo, who lived about two miles west of Apache Corner,
was riding behind the driver, Dorothy Buitsuie, no age available but
who lived at the same address.
The van was headed east on BIA Route 474 when it skidded on the icy
dirt road and went up a 12-foot berm on the side of the road. When
it came back down, it flipped onto the driver's side, crushing the
driver and passenger, who were partially ejected.
Castillo and Buitsuie were flown, along with another unidentified
passenger, to the hospital in Farmington.
Two die near Navajo
NAVAJO, N.M. — A 52-year-old man from here, and a woman whose
age and hometown were not immediately known, died around 2 p.m. Thursday
in what the Department of Law Enforcement calls an alcohol-related,
one-vehicle crash on BIA Route 12, about two miles south of here.
The names of the victims were not released, pending notification of
the next of kin.According to the report by the Window Rock Law Enforcement
District, a third victim was the only occupant of the red pickup truck
to survive. The survivor was thrown beyond a fence at the site of
the wreck at mile post 37.4 on the paved, two-lane highway. He was
taken to the Indian Health Service hospital in Fort Defiance, then
flown to a hospital in Albuquerque.
The 52-year-old man was crushed in the cab and died at the scene.
The woman died at the hospital in Fort Defiance.
Witnesses told police the pickup wove in and out of
traffic while headed toward Fort Defiance from Navajo. The driver
police haven't determined which one of the trio was driving the vehicle
lost control and spun the truck, which rolled over, ejecting the woman
and the man who survived the impact.
Police said alcoholic beverages were found at the scene.
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Ground broken for new Shiprock BIA office
S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer
SHIPROCK — It's taken 20 years of planning, but the new replacement
facility for the Northern Navajo Bureau of Indian Affairs is finally
becoming a reality. Ground was broken at the site by dignitaries from
the Navajo Nation Council and the BIA Friday. Also donning hard hats
and prying hard soil from the ground were representatives from the
offices of U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman,
D-N.M.
Approximately 100 people attended the ceremony.
Construction on the building is due to begin within the month, with
a target completion date in November.
The facility is a partnership of the BIA and the Navajo Nation. When
completed, the building will be home to some of the BIA's programs,
including special education, facility management and other offices
now housed in the present BIA location across the San Juan River.
All Navajo Nation programs in the Shiprock area that have been subcontracted
from the BIA, which includes the census office, criminal investigations,
social services and scholarship, will also share the address. Those
include the Navajo census office, criminal investigations, social
services and scholarship programs.
The new 34,500 square-foot center will be located on the south side
of the City Market shopping center. But this is only the first phase.
Later in the month, a groundbreaking is scheduled for a new Diné
College campus in the same complex.
San Juan County Commissioner Wallace Charley used the groundbreaking
to address some of his concerns about the path the Navajo tribal government
was taking.
"Where have all the risk takers gone? This is the nagging question
that overshadows our Navajo Nation government today," he said.
"I feel as leaders, we're allowing fear to overwhelm us our fear
of being sued, being victimized by modern society. Our community here
is celebrating a symbolic accomplishment. It did not shrink from risk-taking
to make this a reality," Charley said. We'll soar on the wings
of conquering our fear of risks."
During World War II, a helium factory that had homes for the workers
occupied the land the BIA and Navajo Nation are now developing. According
to Elouise Chicharello, Navajo BIA regional director and lifelong
resident of Shiprock, the factory contributed substantially toward
the nation's war effort.
"The idea is to be able to provide service from a local point
instead of being sent to different locations a long way from here,"
Shiprock Planning Commissioner Duane Chilly Yazzie said. "It
asks for more local involvement. We like to think that we can think
for ourselves once in a while instead of having to always ask Window
Rock."
This is only the start for the community center. A new tribal building,
designed as a mirror image of the BIA center, will be included in
the community complex.
Another phase calls for a 67,000-square-foot recreation center with
businesses and a fire department.
The cost for the finished complex will be close to $100 million.
"A dream can become true," Yazzie told the crowd. "A
dream becomes a plan and the plan, reality."
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Is there life after high school?
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — In addition to math, English and science, educators
are talking about teaching children a new subject: life after high
school.
Local educators and state officials met Friday at the University of
New Mexico-Gallup to talk about how to better prepare students for
college. The State Board of Education began these discussing this
two years ago.
"We're starting to look at education as a process that doesn't
stop at high school," said Pat Stall, the coordinator of Friday's
Gallup Regional Roundtable on K-16 Partnerships for Teacher Preparation
and Development.
Principals, teachers and counselors from area school districts tried
to look at the entire educational system from kindergarten through
the last year of college as a continuous process, Stall said.
Educators suggested that employers, artisans and other workers be
brought in to talk to students about the job place.
Stall is also the coordinator for UNM-G's Upper Division Teacher Education
Program. She said colleges must teach teachers how to prepare their
students for college.
At the discussions, teachers said they needed better communication
venues between them and their supervisors and other school officials.
They also wanted to have more time to develop their teaching skills.
Both of these things would help teachers work with their students.
To talk to children about their future, a teacher should
know their background, said Edward T. Begay, the speaker of the Navajo
Nation Council.
Bruce Hamlett, the executive director with the state Commission on
Higher Education, said teachers often have the "notion that,
'I went to college, I prepared to teach and now I'm in the classroom,
and you sent me the wrong students.'"
Colleges should give a realistic idea to teachers about
the children they will teach and how to instruct students so they
can reach their potential in the future, Hamlett said.
Part of learning a child's background in McKinley County is learning
about Native American cultures.
"I've been to orientations where they say, 'We're
going to expose you to the Navajo culture,' and they serve fry bread,
stew and coffee," Begay said. "That's not culture; that's
just part of the menu."
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Information sought on dead baby found
Staff report
GALLUP — Police need help solving the case of a newborn found
dead beside a gate along Cousins Road in Vanderwagen.
Police say the Native American or Hispanic baby boy's umbilical cord
was still attached when he was discovered on Sept. 27 at about 12:30
p.m.
A passerby found the infant buried underneath a pile of rags, moved
the body out of the sun and called police, a police report said...
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Jury trials are beoming rare on reservation
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Jury trials on the Navajo Reservation, which were
common at one time, are now relatively rare, according to tribal judicial
officials.
A jury trial held last month was only the 10th time such trials have
happened on the Navajo Nation since Sept. 1, 1998.
In the five months since fiscal year 2000 began on Oct. 1, only two
jury trials have been held in Navajo courts, one in Chinle and one
in Crownpoint...
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Gang member gets trial
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — An 18-year-old gang member will go on trial in
federal district court on a charge of murdering a 53-year-old Fort
Defiance man in February.
Loren Nez, who lives on Old Red Lake Road in Fort Defiance, is a member
of the Cobra gang, according to the FBI and the Navajo Department
of Criminal Investigations.Nez allegedly beat Freddy Hardy to death
on Feb. 12. Hardy's body was found about 6:15 a.m. that day on Roanhorse
Drive at Old Red Lake Road.
Police arrested Nez on Feb. 24. He received his preliminary hearing
before a federal magistrate in Flagstaff and was held without bond.
No trial date has been set.
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Murder down on Navajo reservation; liquor
arrests up
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Navajo police are cracking down on
gangs, marijuana use and bootlegging, and one result is fewer murders
and more drug and alcohol arrests.
Leonard Butler, who heads the Navajo Nation's police force, said this
week there were 32 murders on the reservation last year, one less
than in 1998 and a major improvement over the 67 in 1996 and 57 in
1997.
Butler said educational efforts in schools helped lead to the change
in violent crimes, though the gangs remain...
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Screaming man arrested
Staff Report
MILAN — A Thoreau man was arrested for being a public nuisance
when a Village of Milan animal control officer found him screaming
across the street from an elementary school Tuesday afternoon.
The incident happened around 3:38 p.m. Children are reportedly let
out of class each school day at 2:50 p.m.
The screaming man, Wayne Abeita, 31, was arrested on the nuisance
charge...
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Police chief Ross's daughter: Scapegoat
or roublemaker?
Andrea Egger Rider
Special to the Independent
GALLUP — When residents of the Mentmore Subdivision talk about
the growing crime problem in their area, some of them bring up the
name of Tracey Ross, daughter of the town's police chief.
The accusation: Danny Ross' 16 year old is getting special treatment
because she is his daughter.
High-ranking police and city officials say there is no evidence that
Tracey Ross is involved in the break-ins and other crimes of vandalism
that have plagued Mentmore in recent months...
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Thoreau goes to state
Alan Arthur
Sports Editor
GALLUP — Late in the fourth quarter, Venson Tyler came up with
a big play for the Tohatchi Cougars. The only problem was that Thoreau
Hawk Kerry Dodge still had time to make his own big play.
Dodge hit a jump shot with only three seconds left to lift Thoreau
to a 53-51 victory over Tohatchi in the District 6AAA semifinal boys
basketball game played at Gallup High School on Friday night.
The win puts the Hawks into the state tournament and into tonight's
district championship game against the Wingate Bears at 7 p.m. All
the tickets alloted to Wingate High School have been sold out. Tickets
were to be sold today at Thoreau High School. If any were left, they
would be sold at the game...
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Deaths
Edith L. Robbins
GALLUP — Services for Edith L. Robbins, 83, will be held at 10
a.m., Monday, March 6 at the First Baptist Church of Gallup. Pastor
Jay McCollum will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial
Park.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Monday, March 6 at the
First Baptist Church of Gallup.
Robbins died March 1 in Gallup. She was born Nov. 24, 1916 in Franklin,
Ark.
Robbins was a member of the First Baptist Church and the Kappa Kappa
Gamma.
Suvivors include one grandson.
Robbins was preceded in death by her daughter, Susan Phillips; parents,
Ernest Edward Dodson and Bessie Dodson.
Rollie Mortuary of Gallup is in charge of the arrangements.
Linda Marie Dimas
GALLUP — Services for Linda Marie Dimas, 55, will be announced
at a later date.
Dimas died March 2 in Gallup. She was born April 29, 1944 in Gallup.
Donations can be made to the Linda Dimas Memorial Fund at the Wells
Fargo Bank in Gallup.
Rollie Mortuary of Gallup is in charge of the arrangements.
Ernest Benjamin Wilson
CRYSTAL — Services for Ernest Benjamin Wilson, 51, will be held
11 a.m., Monday, Mar. 6 at the Latter Day Saints Church in Crystal.
Brother Lafe Damon will officiate. Burial will follow on family land
in Crystal.
Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the LDS church.
Wilson died March 2 in Navajo, N.M. He was born May 11, 1948 in Fort
Defiance, Ariz. into the Bls the prosecution's case is weak, it can
lead to a pretrial settlement, she said.
Evidence sent to a lab for analysis must come back in time for a trial.
If it doesn't, that could lead to a plea bargain. If not, that again
weakens the prosecution's case because of the requirement for a speedy
trial.
Donovan Brown, the chief of the prosecutor's office, said, "I
can only guess that ... the community has possibly learned, 'Why would
I want to incur the cost of hiring sod in death by his mother Rose
Wilson.
Pallbearers will be Larry Halona, Ben Laughing Jr., Freeman Yazzie,
Bryon Jones and Perry Wilson.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
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