Ch'ooshgai Schools stable
Officials deny closure rumor
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
TOHATCHI — An almost 10 percent decrease in student enrollment
at Ch'ooshgai Community Schools may be because of rumors that the
schools were going to close, Joseph Shunkamolah said at Monday night's
school board meeting here.
Shunkamolah is the student services director for the schools.
He said some parents were concerned that because of a lack of money
or the schools' failure to receive accreditation, Ch'ooshgai Community
Schools would close. Ch'ooshgai is a grant school formerly known as
Chuska.
However, the schools are financially secure, its teachers and employees
are certified and the schools are completing the process to get accreditation
from the state and the North Central Accreditation office for next
year, Shunkamolah said.
He added that some people may be worried because they see other grant
schools are having money and accreditation problems.
Other parents pulled their kids out of classrooms because they heard
there would not be a basketball team this year. The schools still
have a basketball team, Shunkamolah said.
The board approved the minutes of six meetings held in January.
In accordance with new Navajo Nation laws, the Ch'ooshgai School Board
passed a resolution last year to meet once a month. The resolution
states that board members will get a $100 stipend for each of those
meetings; if a special meeting is called later in the same month,
members get $60. In both cases, members get reimbursed for mileage.
Of the six meetings held in January, one was a regular meeting, two
were special meetings and three were corporate meetings. For each
of the corporate meetings, members received $100 and mileage, said
Edwin Begaye, assistant to the school board.
He explained that corporate meetings are like work sessions. In January,
the board members had to reform the personnel policies and procedures
during the corporate meetings.
Begaye said he does not expect to see so many meetings in one month
in the future. In February, the board attended one regular and one
special meeting.
Also at the meeting, the new principal, Ethel Manuelito, said she
was working to establish new policies for her staff to add to the
existing regulations so that they could better operate the school
and communicate with each other well.
Right now, gaps in the policies and procedures manual frustrate faculty
and lower morale, Manuelito said.
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Top staff in Window Rock shifted
Bill Donovan
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye has a new
chief of staff and soon may lose two of his closest advisers.
Begaye, in a memo to tribal division directors Monday, told them he
has named Sharon Noel as chief of staff, effective immediately and
"until further notice."
Noel, who has served as Begaye's legal adviser since May, replaces
Tom Ranger, who has been on a leave of absence since Feb. 24 after
he became involved in a domestic dispute with his wife near the family's
home in Window Rock.
Ranger is set to return to work next week, but there was uncertainty
Monday about whether he would return, and if he does, what role he
will play in the president's office.
Tribal employees reported seeing a moving van in front of Ranger's
tribal house Monday, thus sparking more speculation about Ranger's
future with the tribe.
Mellor Willie, Begaye's spokesman, said Monday he couldn't comment
on Ranger's status with the president's office, except to confirm
that Noel was the tribe's new chief of staff.
As for the moving van in front of Ranger's house, Willie pointed to
recent stories in the media about problems Ranger and his wife were
having in their marriage and said it is possible the moving van was
there as a result of those problems.
He said he also couldn't comment on speculation that began Monday
about the status of Larry Foster, Begaye's former chief of staff.
Tribal officials had said earlier in the day that Foster had been
asked to leave the regular meeting of the division directors early
Monday morning and had stayed outside until the meeting had adjourned
more than an hour later.
When asked about Foster's status with the president's office, Willie
said Begaye planned to make an announcement Tuesday that would answer
all questions about the status of both Ranger and Foster.
Foster was at work throughout the day but also declined to say anything
publicly until Tuesday's announcement.
Noel, a former staff attorney for the tribe's Department
of Justice, has now become the highest ranking woman in the tribal
government, with the responsibility of running the day-to-day operation
of the president's office.
A native of Shiprock, her father is a member of the Flathead Tribe
in Montana and her mother is a Navajo. She has a law degree from the
University of Montana and has been certified in both New Mexico and
the Navajo Nation.
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Townsite may not qualify for tribal grants
S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer
GALLUP — The Navajo Townsite Community Development Corp. may
not be eligible for grants from the Navajo Nation to create a housing
development in Navajo, N.M., because it owes $62,400 on a business
and industrial development loan from the tribe.
But 24 families have refused to leave the mobile home park where the
townsite wants to put its housing development. The families received
a notification from the NTCDC telling them to move by last Friday.
Last month, NTCDC gave 26 families at the park 20 days to move their
homes. Two families with small trailers left before the deadline but
the other 24 families have paid their delinquent rents and still oppose
the relocation.
NTCDC plans to build 60 units of single- and multiple-family housing
on a 35-acre site that includes the trailer park. The land is one
of two tracts that NTCDC leases under an arrangement, known as a master
lease, from the Navajo Nation.
NTCDC's Executive Director Leonard Teller applied to the U.S. Housing
and Urban Development in 1998-99 for funding that would be paid to
NTCDC through the tribe. The company expects to begin moving dirt
at the site in April, with construction beginning in early summer.
Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye expressed his concern last week
about the evictions in a letter to Teller. "The NTCDC is displacing
the tenants in order to house other families who are currently without
homes," Begaye wrote Thursday. "What does this accomplish
in the end when your current tenants are without a place to live as
well?"
A Feb. 29 memo from James E. Fitting, an attorney with the Navajo
Nation's Department of Justice, also disclosed, after a six-month
review, that some of the things NTCDC is doing is "of questionable
legality," citing problems with the articles of incorporation,
the legitimacy of some or all of its directors and its ability to
hold leases.
Fitting told NTCDC in August the justice department would not oppose
relocating trailers at the mobile home park as long as residents did
not object.
But when he was asked to review the request, Fitting said in a phone
interview Monday, he wasn't aware residents had not been informed
about the impending move or proposed housing development for the site.
"A number of tenants do not wish to move, and contend that the
NTCDC lease of certain area within the Navajo townsite is invalid,
as it was granted without consideration of their already existing
tenancies," the Feb. 29 memo continued.
"Since neither the Navajo Land Department nor the Department
of Justice, which gave final approval to the lease under Navajo Nation
Council resolution, were made aware of these tenancies at the time,
questions are now being raised as to the validity of the NTCDC lease."
The analysis from the Justice Department also highlighted a series
of unresolved issues from the legislative history between the Navajo
Nation and NTCDC: "The Navajo Nation has never completed the
'winding down' of Navajo Forest Products Industry. There have been
no directors, officers or employees for the past five years, yet there
are millions of dollars of assets belonging to the Navajo Nation that
are still held in the name of NFPI."
In the late 1980s, NFPI, which had a sawmill in the area, established
the Navajo Township Community Development Corp., a nonprofit organization,
because it could no longer support the community created for its employees.
NTCDC was to identify new sources of funding to keep the community
vital, and Teller was appointed as NTCDC's executive director.
An additional problem, however, disclosed through the memo, indicates
funding for the new housing may be in jeopardy. "As of Jan. 1,
2000, the NTCDC was in default in the amount of $62,400 on a Business
and Industrial Development Loan," the memo said. "Under
the Navajo Nation Business and Procurement Act, the NTCDC could not,
at this time, obtain a procurement clearance and would be ineligible
for a grant contract, or lease from the Navajo Nation."
What the memorandum brings up, said attorney Forrest Buffington, who
has been advising the tenants, is the question of the legal standing
and authority of NTCDC.
"Up until now," Buffington said, "no one has asked
the hard questions: Who are these people? Who gave them the right?
And by what authority are they evicting? And why is the Navajo Nation
money going to a private corporation?"
In related news, a trailer park contingent delivered a petition to
Begaye Friday afternoon with 150 signatures requesting a thorough
audit and investigation of NTCDC to find out how the corporation was
using its funds.
"Since the program started," the petition read, "we
have not benefited or seen improvements in our community from these
funds."
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Laguna students learn to shop within
a budget
Christian Oberholser
Special to the Independent
LAGUNA PUEBLO — Home living students at Laguna Middle School
discovered that Joann's Clothworld in Albuquerque can be a classroom
outside of school.
Students from Josie Fernando's home living classes spent several hours
applying what they learned about comparative shopping and staying
within a budget.
The 30 students had a calculator and a student mentor to give them
advice. Their challenge? Stay within their $20 limit...
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Policing: Citizens serve as 'eyes and
ears' of officers
Tanya Brazil
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Residents of Gallup who think crime is taking over their
neighborhoods can take control of their streets if they know what
to do.
That was the focus of a community-oriented policing seminar this weekend
that informed citizens how they can serve as the "eyes and ears"
of their local police department.
"It's to get the community to work with police in helping solve
their crimes or social problems," Gallup Police Lt. Marty Esquibel
said. "The police can't do everything by themselves..."
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Adults urged to write to special kids
Grants Council endorses idea
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — Monday's city council meeting almost slipped by without
a whimper except for one "childish" thing.
Mayor Pro Tem Ron Ortiz read a proclamation that could have a profound
effect on children in New Mexico as well as elsewhere. The proclamation
honors Absolutely Incredible Kid Day, sponsored by Camp Fire Boys
and Girls, in which all adults are asked to write a child, any child,
a loving letter of support on March 16.
Elaine Garcia, marketing and public relations director for the New
Mexico Council of Camp Fire Boys and Girls, said the letter-writing
campaign is open to any adult who wants to write a letter to any child...
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N.M. lawyer accused of cocaine use transferred
Andrea Egger Rider
Special to the Independent
GALLUP — A lawyer who has defended Gallup residents facing capital
murder charges hasn't been cleared of accusations he used cocaine
during a trial, but his boss has moved him to another New Mexico district.
State Public Defender Joe Shattuck answered the telephone at his Las
Cruces office, confirming he had been moved there, but he would not
comment on allegations against him.
He said he might be willing to do so in the future when he gets permission
from his attorney, Gary Mitchell of Ruidoso...
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Navajo Police identify 2 men killed in
wreck
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The identities of the two people killed Thursday
near Navajo, N.M., have been confirmed by Navajo police.
Killed in the one-vehicle crash about two miles south of the Navajo
townsite on BIA Route 12 were Winifred Brown, 41, and Ernest Wilson,
52, both of Navajo, N.M.
The lone survivor in the accident was Benjamin Wilson, 55, of Crystal,
according to police...
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Group opposed to IHS takeover to hold
rally
Nancy Watson
Diné Bureau
GALLUP — A group opposed to the tribal takeover of the U.S. Indian
Health Service will hold the first of four rallies this weekend.
The Dood IHS-638 Committee will host the rally Saturday at the Civic
Center in Window Rock, starting at 10 a.m.
The rally will be an informational session and an official start-up
for the committee's campaign to get the issue put on the ballot for
the tribe's general election in August...
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Local teams begin bids for titles
Four area squads open state tourney play on Wednesday
N.M. girls state tournament
Alan Arthur
Sports Editor
GALLUP — Four teams begin their quest for a state championship
on Wednesday as play begins in the 2000 New Mexico girls state basketball
championships at Albuquerque.
Thoreau and Shiprock will try to take the long way to the title as
they open their bid with pre-playoff games in Class AAA. Thoreau faces
Lovington at 8:30 p.m. and the Chieftains will meet Portales at 3:30
p.m. Both games will be played at La Cueva High School.
In Class AA, the defending state champion and Region F champion Navajo
Prep Eagles begin their try for another state crown by playing Escalante
in the first round at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The Region F runner-up Newcomb
Skyhawks face McCurdy at 8:30 p.m...
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Deaths
Frank Jackson Jones
HOUCK, Ariz. — Services for Frank Jackson Jones, 81, will be
held at 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 8 at the Houck Assembly of God Church.
The Rev. Allen Goetjen will officiate. Burial will follow at the Houck
Community Cemetery.
Jones died March 1 in Sanders, Ariz. He was born Sept. 18, 1918 in
Fort Defiance, Ariz. into the Meadow People Clan for the Red Running
People Clan. Jones attended school in Sanders, Ariz., Wingate, and
finished high school in Fort Defiance, Ariz. He worked on the railroad
and was a sheepherder most of his life. His hobbies included being
around his dogs, cats and livestock, spending time with family, watching
television and playing cards.
Survivors include her son, Raymond Murphy; daughter,
Lillian Jones Hoskie; brothers, Paul Jones; 21 grandchildren; 69 great-grandchildren;
and 39 great-great-grandchildren.
Jones was preceded in death by his son, Kenneth Jones; daughter, Rose
Jones; parents, Aki James and Nanazba; brothers, Woody Low and Sobei
Low; and sister, Winnie Low.
Pallbearers will be Leland Iashie, Lester Nez, Christopher Haskie,
Darrell Ashley, Bertrum Hoskie and Arnold Goodluck.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Esther Rose Jean
MANY FARMS, Ariz. — Services for Esther Rose Jean, 57, will be
held at 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 8 at the St. Anthonys Catholic Church.
Burial will follow on private family land in Tse Ya Toh, Ariz.
Jean died March 3 in Phoenix, Ariz. She was born Oct. 3, 1942 in Many
Farms, Ariz. into the Bitter Water People Clan for the Mexican People
Clan.
Jean was a well-known song and dance member. She was the lead singer
for the Many Farms White Eagle Singers.
Survivors include her husband, Wilson W. Jean of Many Farms, Ariz.,
sons, Tyrone Jean of Many Farms, Ariz. and Marcus Smith of Canon City,
Colo.; daughter, Rhoda Jean of Glendale, Ariz.; brothers, Anslem Etsitty,
Anson Etsitty, Mike K. Etsitty, Raymond Etsitty Sr., Richard Etsitty,
Stacy K. Etsitty II and Alfred Reed Sr., all of Many Farms, Ariz.
and Tommy K. Etsitty and Yazzie K. Etsitty, both of Valley Store,
Ariz.; sisters, Rita Curley, Aurelia R. Etsitty and Linda E. Etsitty,
all of Many Farms, Ariz., Rena Marie Etsitty of Erick, Okla. and Mae
Williams of Steamboat, Ariz.; and one grandchild.
Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Stacy K. Etsitty and Elizabeth
J. Etsitty.
Pallbearers will be MacDonald Boyd, Anson Etsitty Sr., Richard Etsitty,
Tyrone Jean and Marcus Smith.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Edward Muniz Sr.
GALLUP — Services for Edward Muniz Sr., 71, will be announced
at a later date.
Muniz Sr. died March 4 in Gallup. He was born Dec. 28, 1928 in Gallup.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements
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