School district may hire its own 'spin doctor'
Gomez calls Independent unfair
Bill Donovan
Staff writer
GALLUP — The Gallup-McKinley County School Board is considering
hiring a public relations specialist in an effort to get fairer treatment
by the local newspaper.
School Superintendent Robert Gomez Monday supported creating a community
relations position in the district because The Gallup Independent
refuses to print positive stories about the district.
"Time after time we have fed them information about good things
that have happened in the district and it never makes the paper,"
he said, adding that the paper would rather print "gossip and
rumor" than the truth.
Walter Howerton Jr., managing editor of the Independent, said the
paper has given time and space to a variety of positive stories about
the district and will continue to do so. He also said the Independent
will not shy away from looking at problems in the clearly troubled
Gallup-McKinley district.
"However," Howerton said, "we will not allow ourselves
to be 'fed' information, as Gomez seems to think is what should be
happening. Parents and other people in the area deserve to know what
is going on in their schools. And we will continue to find out and
let them know."
The board did not make a decision on creating the position but it
is expected to come up again at the next board meeting.
Gomez has been very vocal in recent weeks about what he views as unfair
treatment by the paper, which has lashed out at him for the poor showing
of the district on the most recent state accountability report. That
report, which compared Gallup to the other school districts in the
state, showed Gallup at or near the bottom in almost every category.
What the paper doesn't report, said Gomez, is that almost every school
in the district has been showing improvement a few vast improvements
in increasing student performance.
"It would be nice if the paper would support the good things
that we are doing," he said. "Instead, they would rather
publish gossip instead of going after the facts."
He agreed that the district may be partly at fault in this by not
having someone available to work with the media by writing press releases
and taking photos. But he and other school administrators claim that
when they report positive news to the paper, it usually doesn't get
in.
Gomez pointed out that others such as the UNM-Gallup Branch and the
Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital have a public relations staff
in an effort to get positive news in the media.
School board member Bill Bright said that while he wouldn't want to
see someone hired to just put the district's spin on a story, he would
support the idea of a community relations specialist if that person
would "get people in the community more involved so that they
just don't take potshots at the district."
But the person would do more than just write press releases, according
to the job description the district is now considering. The official
would also assist in grant writing and preparing a newsletter, as
well as speaking to community groups about district happenings.
Tom Payton, head of the local teacher's union, said he wasn't happy
hearing about the possibility of a new administrative position since
the funds to pay that person estimated to be in the mid- to high-
$30,000range when benefits are counted in will come out of the fund
to pay teachers.
"This will mean that there will be less money to pay teachers,"
he said.
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Youths caught after stabbing at Cowboys
Staff Report
GALLUP — A stabbing victim was treated and released from the
hospital late Saturday, and two juveniles were arrested, Gallup Police
say.
Officer Donald Howard was called to Cowboys Saloon on North 9th Street
around 10 p.m. and found Elvis Yazzie, 33, of Verdi Drive in Gallup
lying in the parking lot, according to a police report. Yazzie had
a stab wound to the left side of his upper back and two stab wounds
on his right thigh.
Yazzie's wife, JoAnn, said she saw two young men attack her husband.
She doesn't know them and doesn't know why they
would beat up her husband.
JoAnn Yazzie described the young men to officers and said they ran
west and met up with an older male. The three ran west
through the alley between Maloney Avenue and Wilson Street.
A security guard told police he chased the men to 614 W. Maloney.
Howard and the security guard went to that address.
The security guard pointed out the suspects. Howard arrested Ace Garcia,
17, and Jacoby Garcia, 13, and charged them with aggravated battery,
a felony.
As Howard walked the juveniles to his vehicle, Jacoby Garcia reportedly
said: "Did you find my fingerprints on a weapon?"
Howard hadn't mentioned to the suspects that a weapon was used in
the incident.
The man the boys ran home with, identified as their father, Chico
Garcia, 40, of the same address, would not allow Howard to enter the
home to search for a knife.
Howard took the boys to the Juvenile Detention Center and booked them.
The case will be turned over to the Juvenile Probation and Parole
Office for investigation and later will be turned over to the 11th
Judicial District Attorney's Office.
Yazzie was treated and released from Gallup Indian Medical Center.
Yazzie and Chico Garcia could not be reached for comment after several
attempts.
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Area in brief
Public hearing
TUBA CITY, Ariz. — There will be a public meeting on Title IX
Formula Grant Project at 2 p.m., Thursday at the Native American Cultural
Center conference room. Information: (520) 283-6280 ext. 1033/1031.
Agriculture day
SHIPROCK — The Shiprock Agricultural Resources Advisory Council
will be having the 8th annual Shiprock Agricultural Days on March
22 and 23, at the Shiprock Chapter House, Shiprock. Workshops are
scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with registration beginning at 8
a.m. on both days. Information: (505) 368-1028/1029.
Parent advisory meeting
TOHATCHI — Tohatchi Area of Opportunity and Services, Inc. will
be having a Parent Advisory Committee meeting at 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday,
in the Sun Rise Building. Information: (505) 733-2385.
Diabetes support group
TOHATCHI — There will be a support group meeting for diabetes
at the Tohatchi Chapter House at 8 a.m. to noon, Thursday, March 22.
Information: (505) 722-1537 or (520) 871-6532.
Parent committee meeting
SAINT MICHAELS, Ariz. — Saint Michael's Head Start will have
a parent committee meeting at 5:15 tonight.
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Athletes of the Week
Abelita Rose Freeland
Staff Sports Writer
The Athletes of the Week for March 12-17 are Shiprock Lady Chieftain
Alexis Jones and Gallup Bengal Will Silva.
Alexis Jones had been the ace pitcher for the Lady Chieftains softball
team.
In Jones' first game of the season, she struck out 10 batters to lead
Shiprock to a 2-1 win over rival Kirtland-Central.
Jones continued to show her strength on the mound against St. Pius
X and Los Alamos this past weekend.
Jones allowed five hits against St. Pius and ended up losing 8-2 because
of team errors and a few mental mistakes. Against Los
Alamos, Jones gave four hits and struck out 11, losing 4-2.
Jones is averaging close to only 70 pitches, 8 strike outs and one
walk per game with a current ERA of 2.1.
"Alexis had been pitching well and keeping (batters) off base,
which we need to do,"said Lady Chieftain coach Kevin
Werth."She has been doing well at the plate and I can't ask for
anything more than that."
"We are looking to improve at every game and it looks like we
are doing alright and we are headed in the right direction,"
"Wow, I am really happy,"said senior Jones about being named
Independent's Athlete of the week."I thought that I would
never get it and I am surprised, but I feel really good about it."
Jones started pitching after her eight-grade year. With just close
to four years of pitching experience, Jones has shown that she
has the talent, heart and ability to be a good pitcher. She has been
offered a softball scholarship to Dixie College in Utah, where
she will study physical education, as well as in the area of medical.
Jones has also participated in volleyball while attending Shiprock
High School.
"Since the season has started we have been holding on pretty
strong, getting along and helping each other get through the
games,"Jones comments on her teammates.
As for goals before Jones graduates, she hopes to be named Pitcher
of the Year and her team being district and state
championships.
Gallup Bengal Will Silva was the other Athlete of the Week.
"I am happy,"said junior Silva about being named Athlete
of the Week.
Silva first hit went to right field before he was able to hit back-to-back
homeruns at the Farmington Invite this past weekend.
Silva, a first year varsity player, is hoping that his performance
and effort since the beginning of season will earn him a starting
position in the future games.
"I was very surprised,"junior Silva comments on his homeruns."I
knew I had the power there, but I didn't think I could do it."
"You can't ask for more than that,"said Bengal coach Erp."But
he's been working hard for us and he's had a good attitude.
"We are looking at some players to step up for us and we are
hoping that he can for sure".
Coach Erp was not surprise of the power and capability that Silva
had at bat,"When (Will) hits the ball he hits it hard. We knew
he had power. He has good power, probably the best on the team and
he showed it. Hopefully, he can give us some more of it.
We just need to get him to hit the ball a little more."
"I am hoping we do good as a team,"said Silva on his next
games coming up."I hope the coaches will start me, so I can help
the
team some more."
The Bengals will play at Rio Grande today, two games on Saturday and
their first district game on Tuesday against
Albuquerque High.
Lunsford takes over Bengal football team
Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer
GALLUP — Lunsford takes over a struggling Bengal football program
that has yet to post a district win in the last four straight seasons.
Lunsford, who is from the Loving-Carlsbad area in the southern part
of the state, was the head football coach at Tohatchi during the late
1980s for several years.
"He had the football program here and the kids really liked him
and respected him," said veteran Tohatchi athletic director and
girls basketball coach Fern Spencer about Lunsford. "We liked
working with him. I thought he had a good idea of what he
wanted to do. He brought a positive influence into the program."
Former Bengal head coach Jeff Taylor resigned amid pressure to step
down last December after guiding Gallup to a 1-9 season,
0-5 in the new District 1AAAAA. The Bengals lost to Valley, Rio Rancho,
West Mesa, Albuquerque High and to Cibola 34-0 in
the season finale.
In six seasons under Taylor, Gallup had a combined win-loss record
of 14-52. During this season a petition circulated asking
for Taylor's resignation. Taylor finished his sixth season as Bengal
head coach but ended up resigning a month after the season
ended.
Before taking over as head coach, Taylor was the defensive coordinator
under veteran Gallup head coach Alex McAllister for
nine seasons. The last time the Bengals had a winning season was in
1994 during McAllister's final season when Gallup
finished with a 9-3 record and advanced to the state semifinals before
losing to Clovis on the road.
Taylor will remain as a teacher at Gallup High.
Gallup will be losing just four seniors on the varsity team to graduation.
This season the Bengals were hit by a rash of injuries
including the suicide death of football player Frankie Martinez.
In related news, Lunsford's father-in-law, Jack Chapman, passed away
this past Sunday after a lengthy illness. Chapman was
the former owner of the Gallup radio station KGAK.
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Police: Legal speed limit no defense
against black ice
Andrea Egger Rider
Staff Writer
GALLUP — While residents hope Friday's slushy snow will be the
last of winter, police want residents to watch their driving skills
in icy conditions just in case.
The National Weather Bureau reports clear skies for the next few days,
with a chance of rain or snow over the weekend.
New Mexico State Police Officer Paul Mendoza and McKinley County Sheriff's
Department Capt. Donna Goodrich both mentioned the most important
idea for residents to keep in mind in cold, rainy or snowy conditions:
Bridges freeze over the
quickest. The officers urge residents to take extra precaution when
driving up hills or crossing bridges on the road.
"The sun goes down and it's frozen in five minutes, and it's
all black ice," Mendoza said of the bridges...
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Students must take CTBS test again
Bill Donovan
Staff writer
GALLUP — Students at Kennedy Mid-School will be
taking the entire CTBS over again this week, school officials reported
on Monday.
Originally, students were supposed to only take the
science and social studies section of the Comprehensive Test of Basic
Skills but state officials are now requiring the students to take
the entire test.
School Superintendent Robert Gomez said this is probably the best
thing to do.
"I think this is necessary to get an objective evaluation of
any assessment," he said...
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Judge allows Peabody suit to continue
PHOENIX (AP) — The Navajo Nation can move forward with a lawsuit
seeking $600 million in coal royalties from the Peabody Group and
a California utility.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington rejected motions
filed by Peabody, the world's largest coal company, and Southern
California Edison Co., that sought to have the case dismissed. Sullivan
has yet to rule on a similar motion filed by Salt River Project,
a Phoenix area utility.
"We are extremely pleased that this federal judge has kept
the courthouse door open so that we can move forward with our case,"
Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye said in a statement. "We
believe that the defendants' unscrupulous secret outside influence
corrupted our trustee's judgment and did grave injury to the Navajo
people."
The Navajo Nation, now joined in the case by the Hopi Tribe, alleges
that between 1985 and 1987, the companies hired a friend of then-Interior
Department Secretary Donald Hodel to work with Hodel on the coal
royalties, but did not include the tribes in that process...
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Le Chee man dies after car rollover on Route 98
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — A 22-year-old Le Chee Chapter man died early Sunday
morning after he was ejected in a one-car rollover between Le Chee
and Shonto on Arizona Route 98, Navajo police report.
Lenoris Katneay died around 3:30 a.m. from a collapsed left lung at
the Page Hospital where an ambulance had taken him after the 1:40
a.m. crash in a 1995 Dodge Neon at Mile Post 312, according to the
Navajo Law Enforcement Department report.
Officers believe alcohol was involved since several opened 12-ounce
Budweiser beer bottles were found, along with two still
capped bottles, the Tuba City Police District report said.
Katneay was identified from documents in his wallet. The report said
he was alive when the first officer arrived around 2:15 a.m. from
the Kaibeto sub-station...
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Group pushes petition for tribal 'sovereignty'
Lawyers are prime target
Larry Di Giovanni
Staff Writer
GALLUP — A Diné grass-roots group concerned with the
disenfrachisement of the Navajo people by its own government may
soon test the "redress of grievances" section of the Navajo
Nation Bill of Human Rights.
In Monday's Independent, the Tuba City, Ariz., based Diné
Sovereignty Defense Association placed an entire full-page, four-color
advertisement in the second section, page 18. The bottom section
of the ad, in yellow, contains room for signatures and
addresses (including chapters) of up to 16 signatories.
The petition asks, in the name of "sovereignty and self-determination,"
for an end to "the many years of bilagaana (white)
lawyer control over our government, our leaders, our lives and our
destiny by firing bilagaana lawyers, Steve Boos, Stanley
Pollack, and Britt Clapham." Boos is the Navajo Nation's chief
legislative counsel. Pollack is the tribe's only full-time water
rights lawyer, while Clapham is deputy attorney general in the tribal
Department of Justice...
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Deaths
Jack Bertram Chapman
GALLUP — Services for Jack Bertram Chapman, 77, will be held
at 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 21 at Westminister Presbyterian Church.
Rev. Don Poisson will officiate. Burial will follow at 11:30 a.m,
Thursday, March 22 at the Santa Fe
National Cemetery.
Chapman died March 18 in Gallup. He was born March 2, 1923 in El Paso,
Texas.
Chapman lived in El Paso, Texas until 1967 when the family moved to
Gallup. While in El Paso, he was active in community
affairs, and in 1958 received the El Paso Junior Chamber of Commerce
annual award, "Outstanding Young Man of the Year".
He served on the boared of directors and as president in 1965 of the
Southwestern Sun Carnival which sponsored the annual
Sun Bowl football game in El Paso. In the radio and television business
all his life, he entered the Army serving in Radio
Intelligence of the U.S. Army Signal Corp. He served throughout World
War II in England, France and Germany. Returning to
El Paso after the war he graduated from the Texas College of Mines,
later UTEP, with a Bachelor of Arts degree, then resumed
work in radio and television at KTSM. He married Betty McMurry in
El Paso in 1948.
After acquiring KGAK in Gallup, Chapman pioneered the development
of national award-winning local news at the Gallup
radio station. He continued the Peabody award-winning program, "The
Navajo Hour" broadcasting to the Navajo People in the
Navajo Language. He served on the Radio Board of Directors of the
Naional Association of Broadcasters, and as president of
the New Mexico Broadcasters Association. As a broadcaster. Jack used
radio to support and sponsor numerous charities and
public service causes in the Gallup area.
Survivors include his wife, Betty McMurry Chapman of Gallup; son,
John McMurry of Gallup; daughters, Cynthia Chapman
of Albuquerque, Kelly Chapman Lozano of San Antonio, Texas and Lisa
Lunsford of Carlsbad; brother, Roy Chapman of El
Paso; sisters, Lydia Conrad of Westlake Village, Calif. and Maryon
Woodward of Ventura, Calif.; eight grandchildren and one
great-grandchildren.
Chapman was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Marie Chapman.
Memorial contributions can be made to University of New Mexico, Gallup
Branch, care of Director, 200 College Drive, Gallup
or to The Westminister Presbyterian Church, PO Box 1130, Gallup, NM
87305,
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Mattie D. Tsosie
NASCHITTI — Services for Mattie D. Tsosie, 96, will be held at
10 a.m., Thursday, March 22 at Christian Reformed Church, Naschitti.
Phillip Destea will officiate. Burial will follow at Naschitti Community
Cemetery.
Tsosie died March 17 in Gallup. She was born Feb. 15, 1905 in Naschitti
into the Towering House for the Overhanging Rock
People.
Tsosie was a resident of Naschitti, she was a homemaker and rugweaver.
She attended Crownpoint and Tohatchi Boarding
School, and the Sherman Institstue in Riverside, Calif. She was a
member of the Naschitti Christian Reformed Church.
Survivors include her daughters, Lillie K. Malone and Mary P. Tsosie
both Nashcitti; 19 grandchildren and four great-great
grandchildren.
Tsosie was preceded in death by his sister, Lula and a grandson.
Pallbearers will be Anthony Nez, Salvador Nez, Sampson Nez, Theodore
Nez, Kevin Tsosie and Ervin Tsosie.
Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
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