Busted!



New Mexico State Police Agent Kevin Bruno photographs cars being repaired in a garage at Bishop Optical on Thursday morning. The cars were impounded by the State Police because Bishop Optical was an unlicenced car dealer. Owner Doug Bishop faces over charges with over 60 counts of false evidence to title and registering of motor vehicles.



A sign from inside a Bishop Optical car repair garage which was holding vehicles under repair for illegal sale by Bishop Optical. New Mexico State Police raided the business in Gallup Thursday.

Photos by Craig Robinson

 

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Historic Route 66 or dilapidated Route 66?
City councillor wants cleanup

Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — Gallup Councilman Charlie Chavez wants the city to do something about the increasing number of boarded up and burned down motels and service stations that are blighting the area.

Not only are they an eyesore, but Chavez said during Tuesday's work session of the city council that he thought that the
buildings posed a danger to city residents.

City planner Lisa Baca Diaz, who was at the meeting, said her department would look into the matter and see what could be
done.

Several motels were mentioned on Tuesday, including the Shalimar, the El Hopi and the old Thunderbird.

City Manager David Ruiz said the city already has looked at what is going on at the Shalimar where the owner has boarded up
part of the complex and is continuing to rent rooms in the other portions.

He said that in the case of the Shalimar, there wasn't much that the city could do.

"If the building is not in danger of collapsing, we can't do anything," he said. If there is structural damage and the building is
dangerous, the city could condemn the building and require the owner to tear it down.

Chavez said he worried about the possibility that these boarded up buildings could be used for improper activities, saying that if
the city continues to ignore the problem, some "(bad) things are going to happen."

There has been some concern that some of the area's homeless may move into the abandoned buildings and use them as
lodging. This could lead, said city officials, to the possibility that the people using the buildings will set fires in the building to
keep warm and set up a potential fire hazard.

Gallup Fire Chief Louis Chavez said that while this is a danger, he doesn't know of any cases where this has happened in the
Gallup area in recent years.

He said that the fire department requires owners of abandoned or unused property to make sure that the building is securely
boarded up to make sure that the homeless and others don't have access to the property.

There have also been cases in other cities where abandoned buildings have been appropriated by people doing illegal drugs or
used for other criminal activity but Gallup police officials say they don't know of any cases in the Gallup area where this has
happened.

Ruiz said that this may be a problem that city officials may have to seek legal advice from the law firm that handles the city's
legal matters.

"We will have to look and see if there is anything in the city code we can use to make the owners fix up the buildings or tear
them down," he said.

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Local car seller raided

Andrea Egger Rider
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Doug Bishop of Gallup faces 60 felony charges after selling vehicles to residents without having the vehicle titles
and without having a dealer's license.

New Mexico State Police Criminal Agent Henrietta Soland of Gallup served Bishop a restraining order against selling vehicles
Thursday at Bishop Cars, behind Bishop Optical, 1500 S. Second St. With the restraining order, which is out of Santa Fe
District Court, Soland also gave Bishop notice of charges filed in Magistrate Court in Gallup the 60 felony charges of having
false evidence of title and registration and three misdemeanor charges of having no dealer's license.

Each of the 60 charges concerns separate vehicles. Soland found records of 54 people who had purchased vehicles and were
issued permits for vehicle registration. Six residents purchased two vehicles from Bishop.

Soland found that Bishop doesn't have title to these vehicles.

On Thursday, the state police confiscated 37 older-model cars, trucks and vans from Bishop Cars. Most of the vehicles had to
be towed as they had mechanical problems and couldn't be driven off the lot.

The cars are now sitting at the state police office on east N.M. 118, where they will stay until the investigation ends. Sandoval
doesn't know where Bishop got the vehicles that he sold or the 37 on his lot.

Sandoval also seized records at Bishop Cars and found that he does own titles for some of the 37 vehicles confiscated. She
hasn't yet figured how many of the vehicles are titled.

The state police closed the doors on sales for Bishop Cars. Bishop Optical was serving as both the eyeglass dealer and the car
shop. The eyeglass shop will remain open.

Residents who have purchased a vehicle from Bishop are asked to call the state police, 863-9353, and report it. Soland isn't
sure that she has records of every transaction.

She plans to call all the people in the files.

"We'll try to work with them and the Motor Vehicle Department so they don't have to drive around in cars with no valid
registration," Soland said.

People who bought cars from Bishop aren't in any trouble. Police don't want to confiscate cars from people who purchased from Bishop.

"They didn't know what they were buying," Soland said.

Bishop will now have to appear in Santa Fe District Court regarding the restraining order and in Gallup Magistrate Court on the felony charges.

The restraining order was filed in Santa Fe District Court because Santa Fe is where the Motor Vehicle Department is based.

State police met with attorneys for the Motor Vehicle Department in Santa Fe to discuss the case after Soland became aware of a problem last week.

Soland was contacted after a woman went into the Motor Vehicle Department to register a car she bought from Bishop, and an employee of the office found that Bishop was using a dealer's license that had expired.

"You can't transfer a license. You can't go to a dealer and say, 'Let me buy your license. I want to sell vehicles,'" Soland said.
Instead, if you want to sell cars, you have to apply for a license and pay a fee, she said.

After the Motor Vehicle Department learned that Bishop might be selling vehicles without a license, department staff contacted
the state police. Soland went to Bishop Cars and asked them to produce their dealer's license. Employees couldn't prove the car
shop was licensed.

Soland learned Bishop had tried to get blank permits from the Motor Vehicle Department in Gallup in the past, and they
wouldn't give them to him because he wasn't licensed. The department staff gave him an application for license, but he never
filled out the form and returned it.

When Soland confiscated records on Thursday, she also confiscated blank permit forms.

"I have no idea where he got them. It wasn't in Gallup," she said.

The permits could only have come from a branch of the Motor Vehicle Department. The blank permits don't show which agency
gave Bishop the forms.

Most of the vehicles Bishop sold were older models, from 1974 to 1990. The state police also is investigating whether Bishop
sold the vehicles for four or five times higher than the price he paid.

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Youth festival slated for spring break

Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Special to the Independent

GALLUP — With Spring Break just around the corner, local students have more than just a week's vacation from school to
enjoy. Organizers of the 2nd Annual Gallup Area Youth Festival and Powwow are planning a multitude of community activities
and entertainment events for the final Spring Break weekend.

The festival, which begins on Thursday, March 29 and runs through Sunday, April 1, will feature a contest powwow, music
concert, youth dance, student art show, 5K run/walk and children's one mile run. And like last year's festival, organizers are
calling this a community wide event where everyone, not just Native Americans, are encouraged to participate in the alcohol and
drug free festivities. All events will take place in the old Wal-Mart building, located north of the Rio West Mall.

Norman Roach, a teacher at JFK Middle School, and Knifewing Sequra, a well known Chiricahua musician, artist and
entertainment producer, talked recently about the youth festival. Roach is the principal festival organizer, and Sequra will
coordinate the concert as well as perform in it.

As Roach originally envisioned it, the youth festival was meant to be a cultural celebration whereby the local school district
could open up its doors to the local community. The Gallup McKinley County Schools, one of the event's primary sponsors
last year, is not participating this year; however, the Boys and Girls Club and Wal-Mart have stepped in as major sponsors. The
only school still helping to sponsor the event is the staff of JFK Middle School, said Roach.

Sequra said he became involved with the festival because it promotes"culture pride"and positive role models to children in the
community.

Youth Dance

The festival will open with a teen dance on Thursday, March 29 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Two DJs, one from Albuquerque and one from Zuni, are scheduled to provide the music for the dance. Admission is $3 per person.

Concert

Friday evening will feature a music and comedy concert from 7-11 p.m. with music by award winning entertainers. Knifewing, who has performed at Farm Aid and was named Native American Male Vocalist of the Year in 1995, will perform with his group Tribal Jam. Robert"Tree"Cody, a flutist, dancer, storyteller and actor will play the flute and later emcee the powwow. Popular Native American comedian Drew Lacapa will perform comedy routines throughout the evening. The concert will also feature a special guest appearance by Janice-Marie Johnson, a Grammy award winning performer who formerly led the group Taste of Honey. Johnson, an African- American singer and songwriter, also has Native American ancestry and has recently released a CD featuring"Let Love Rain Down,"a song with American Indian musical influences.

Native Pride Youth Council, a singing group made up of Gallup High School students, will open the concert, said Roach.

Concert tickets are available at Ellis Tanner's, Kanyon Plaza and Western Warehouse in Gallup and Cool Runnings in Window
Rock. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the door and books of ten for $70. Special students group rates are available. Call
Sequra's studio for more concert information at (505) 863-0644.

Run and walk

On Saturday morning, March 31, the run/walk, student art show and contest powwow will begin. Registration for the run/walk events will take place from 7- 8 a.m., with the race beginning at 8 a.m. The 5K race fee is $8 in advance and $10 the morning of the race. The youth one mile run will begin at 9 a.m., with a $3 registration fee. For further information, contact Brian Chee, race coordinator, at (520) 871-4534.

Student Art Show

All area K-12 students are invited to enter fine arts pieces: drawings, paintings, pottery, sculpture, paper mache or mixed media in the student art competition. The work will be displayed inside the old Wal-Mart building during the two days of the powwow, and prize ribbons will be awarded. According to Roach, artwork can be submitted up through Saturday morning. Amanda Kinsel is the art show coordinator; she can be reached at (505) 722-9176.

Contest Powwow

The powwow, which will award over $8,000 in cash and prizes, will begin with registration at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. Gourd dancing will be from noon-1 p.m. and 6-7 p.m. on Saturday, with the grand entries at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday's grand entry will be at 1 p.m. The head gourd dancer will be Art Cometsevah of Fort Wingate, NM.

The powwow emcees will be Robert"Tree"Cody and Roach. Comedian Lacapa may also emcee on Sunday. The arena director
will be Lloyd Bald Eagle of South Dakota and the head judge will be Ramona Roach. The northern host drums will be Rocky
Park of Leupp, Ariz.; southern host drums will be Zotigh Singers of Albuquerque. All drums are invited, and Cool Runnings is
sponsoring a hand drum contest.

The powwow will feature contest categories for adults in the northern and southern categories and for youth in northern and
southern combined; head dancers will be picked each session. MacArthur Lucio, a hoop dancer from Gallup who has placed in
world champion competitions, is scheduled to dance at the powwow.

Janice-Marie Johnson may also appear at the powwow, as well as Harrison"The Hammer" Funmaker, a professional boxer
from Wisconsin.

Powwow admission is $4 a day for adults (or a two day pass for $7), $2 a day for students 5-17 and free admission will be
granted to elders 65 and older and children under five. Powwow participants and audience members need to bring their own
chairs.

Arts and crafts booth space is available to vendors for $30 for the two days. Vendors must provide their own tables and chairs.

In addition to the Boys and Girls Club and Wal-Mart, other festival sponsors include the City of Gallup, Comfort Inn West,
Cool Runnings, Ellis Tanner's, JFK Middle School, Knifewing Productions and the McKinley County Sheriff's Department.
According to Roach, sponsors are welcome to post advertising signs during the festival.

Volunteers are also welcome, he added, to assist with the numerous small jobs of putting on such an event. Contact Alicia M.
Begay at (505) 722-9176 for further information about the powwow, vending space, volunteering or the festival in general.

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Diddle leaves Gallup for junior college position

Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer

GALLUP — Gallup boys basketball head coach Earl Diddle turned in his letter of resignation Tuesday after just one season.

Diddle, 51, is taking over the head coaching job at Pratt Community College in Pratt, Kansas next month.

Diddle was the fifth Gallup head coach in the last seven years for a struggling Bengal program that has been unable to produce
victories. Zach McBride coached for two years before Diddle was hired. McBride took over current Greyhills athletic director
and basketball coach Mark Ruybal coached for just one season before resigning. Current Gallup High vice-principal Bill Miller
coached for two seasons before McBride. Gallup High principal Mike Butkovich was the head coach before Miller.

Diddle, who was the head coach at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales for 10 years before being hired at Gallup, said
that he enjoyed his brief stay at Gallup High.

"I appreciated the people in Gallup and I enjoyed the faculty and administration which was the best I've ever worked for,"
Diddle said. "I had tremendous support from Mike Butkovich. He was the only reason I came here. I really enjoyed the kids
and I thought the kids were getting better. I really enjoyed my stay in Gallup. Mike Butkovich and Bill Miller run a very good
high school. I was very happy with my job. I got a lot of satisfaction. The kids were very good. The kids were cooperative
once we got going. We had four players that were all district all-academic. These are small victories. We established a lot of
good things. I came here because I wanted to be here, not that I had to be here. I wanted a challenge and I wanted to be here. I
hope people will think well of me. I'm at a point in my life that I can do anything I want to do."

Diddle said that this past year about 10 junior colleges and small schools contacted him to apply for job openings.

"I said 'No'," Diddle said. "But Pratt Community College called me last week to see if I was interested. I interviewed for the
job Saturday and they offered the job to me. I drove back to Gallup Sunday and thought about it. I called them back and told
them I'd take the job."

Diddle will be taking over the head coaching job at Pratt Community College where the Beavers finished a disappointing 1-15
this past season, competing in the Western Division of the Jayhawk Community College Conference.

With only four wins in 23 ballgames this past season, Diddle said that he wished that the Bengals had produced more victories.

"I wished we could have won more games. But our schedule will be better next year. We're a little over-scheduled. Ed Ping has
been scaling down our schedule. Our first goal is to get competitive."

Diddle said that whoever the new Bengal coach is, he will have to be patient to turn around the struggling boys program.

"It's a five to 10 year program. Whoever takes over will have to build a feeder system. No person on this planet will have a
magic wand to change the program. It will be a long process. You have to get good coaches and whoever takes the Gallup job
should have a strong background in the feeder system. This year we had only 13 seventh graders that turned out. That's not
good. In the midschool we should have two teams not one. We should disband intramurals and focus the kids into the
interscholastic area. It's more than just coaching the team."

Diddle came under fire for admitting that Gallup was a just "3A team" during the Gallup Invitational, when the Bengals finished
seventh in the eight-team field.

"It's true that Gallup is just a 3A team," Diddle said. "It's not easy to say and I know it hurt a lof of people to hear that.
Sometimes the truth hurts."

Diddle also felt that the coaching stipend of $2,400 was not enough.

"I made more back in 1973 coaching high school basketball than I did this year," Diddle said. "They need to make a
committment that's an investment in the kids. We're a large school playing with a small school mentality. It's really hard on the
coaches and it's very hard to compete. Miller and Butkovich since they're former coaches understand the toughness of the job."

Butkovich said that no deadline has been set to pick a new basketball coach who will be the sixth head coach in the last eight
years.

Gallup High School principal and former boys head coach Mike Butkovich said a new hiring committee will be formed to look
for a new coach.

"In a lot of aspects I was surprised that Diddle resigned," Butkovich said.

Butkovich said that during the interim, JV coach Ben Chavez and C-team coach Arnold Peralez will be moved up a notch to run
the basketball program and basketball class.

Gallup, 4-19 overall, competed in the new District against Albuquerque High, Rio Rancho, Cibola, Valley and West Mesa. The
Bengals finished last in the district with a 1-9 district record with their only district win against West Mesa. Gallup also posted
wins over Window Rock, Gallup and Moriarty.

Butkovich said that they will be looking at the activities director position that Diddle had while coaching at Gallup High.

"We don't know about it right now," Butkovich said. "Our main concern is finding a new coach."

Bengals hold off Highland

Michael Peretti
Staff Sports Writer

GALLUP — A three run third inning was all the Gallup Lady Bengals needed to hold off Highland 3-2 Thursday afternoon at the Sports Complex in Gallup.

"We came out at 3 p.m. and we didn't look very focused," said Gallup head coach Marty Alderete. "We are trying to work with
a new catcher."

Alderete said the former Gallup catcher is academically ineligible to play. "Monique (Becenti) did a good job today behind the
plate," he said.

Gallup (6-3) battled with Highland (5-6) with neither team doing much until the third. Both teams threatened in the early
innings, but neither could capitalize.

In the first inning Gallup loaded the bases with two outs. Natalia Reeder was walked, Jennifer Christensen singled and Tiara
Sanchez walked, but Highland was able to get out of the inning without giving up a run.

In the second it was the Lady Hornets turn to threaten. With two outs Pam Maestas singled and advanced to second with a steal,
but the Lady Bengals held as Melinda Alderete struck out the next batter to get out of the inning.

Highland broke the scoreless game in the top of the third when Niccole Mulroy scored. With one out and a runner on, Mulroy
hit into a fielder's choice for the second out. Mulroy advanced to third on passed balls and then scored on a single by Becky
Garcia. Garcia reached third on passed balls, but Gallup got the next batter to ground out for the third out.

The Lady Bengals took the lead in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on one hit. With one out and the bases empty,
Gallup started their run. Alderete and Reeder each walked and then Jennifer Christensen brought them both in, hitting a triple.
Christensen came in on a hit by Tiara Sanchez for the Lady Bengals' final run in the game.

Chelsea Scrimshon tripled to start the fourth for Highland and then scored on a single by Pam Maestas to pull The Lady Hornets
within one, 3-2.

The Hornet and Bengal defenses held the rest of the way, neither team allowing the other to score.

Highland put two runners on in the fifth but one was left stranded and the other was thrown out stealing. Gallup got a runner on
off a walk and one off a strikeout that got away from the catcher. Gallup was unable to score any runs the rest of the way, one
player getting tagged out running home and the other getting stranded at first.

Each team put one runner on in the sixth, but neither advanced past first. Highland went down in order in the seventh to end the
game.

"We didn't look very focused out there," said Marty Alderete. "We didn't do well behind the plate once they brought their ace in
to pitch, but we did enough to win."

Gallup was led by Jennifer Christensen, going 2-for-2 with a single and a triple. Christensen had Gallup's only two hits in the
game.

Highland was led by Becky Garcia and Pam Maestas, each going 3-for-3.

Picking up the win was Melinda Alderete, (5-2) going the distance giving up two runs on nine hits while striking out five.

Finishing with the loss was Leslie Benevidez, going three innings giving up three runs on two hits and four walks.

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Hopis want Peabody to use less water

POLACCA, Ariz. — The Hopis want Peabody Coal Co. to use less Hopi groundwater.

Vernon Masayesva, executive director of the Black Mesa Trust, is in Washington, D.C., this week meeting with federal
officials. He is lobbying them to ask Peabody Coal to find another water source for transporting coal from their mine to
Nevada.

The Black Mesa Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving Hopi groundwater.

Masayesva, a former Hopi chairman, said the Hopi groundwater is already at a dangerously low point. Masayesva notes that the lease between the Hopi Tribe and Peabody Coal Co. states that the U.S. Interior Secretary can force Peabody to find an alternative water source for Peabody's Black Mesa Mine if the Hopi groundwater is endangered...

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Parents protest ouster of principal

Jim Maniaci
Dine' Bureau

KINLICHEE — Elmer Yazzie told the Kin Dah Lichi'i Olta Parents Advisory Committee Thursday night: "We want our principal back."

He referred to ousted long-time Principal Lena Draper.

Draper was placed on a 120-day administrative leave during a recent 15-minute school board meeting.

The crowd of about three dozen men and women in the school's gymnasium also was told the Sam Billison-led board majority
had installed Justin Jones as chief executive officer, not as principal...

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Deaths

Benjamin George McCurtain Sr.

CRYSTAL — Services for Benjamin McCurtain Sr., 80, will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 24 at Assembly of God
Church, Fort Defiance, Ariz. Rev. J. Robert Villa will officiate. Burial will follow on family land, Crystal.

McCurtain died March 20 in Albuquerque. He was born July 20, 1920 in Black Mountain, Ariz. into the Red House Clan for the Red Streak Running into Water Clan.

McCurtain Sr. attended Rough Rock Day School, Chinle Boarding School, Fort Wingate High School and two years of Haskell
Junior College, where he completed carpentry training. He was employed with the Navajo Services Warehouse in Gallup,
construction worker in Shiprock, at Intermountain Boarding School in Brigham City, Utah, Public Health Services as a driver
interpretor and civil services with the U.S. Government.

Survivors include his sons, Ben McCurtain Jr. of Saint Michaels, Ariz. and Bernett McCurtain of Phoenix; daughters, Francine
Catron of Chinle, Beverly Ashike and Jacey Johns both of Crystal; sister, Jean McCurtain of Rough Rock, Ariz.; 13
grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

McCurtain Sr. was preceded in death by his son, Bernard McCurtain; sisters, Mary Kinlicheeny McCurtain and Alice
McCurtain; brother, Teddy Nez McCurtain and parents, Taachiinii Nez and Helen Kinlicheeny McCurtain.

Pallbearers will be Ryan Ashike, Ben McCurtain Jr., Del Ray Redhair, Emerson Shirley, Bernett McCurtain and Charleston
Morgan.

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

Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Jack Byron Aldridge

GRANTS — Services for Jack Aldridge, 81, will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 24 at Grants Mortuary. Burial will follow at Grants Memorial Park.

Aldridge died March 22. He was born Oct. 14, 1919 in Dallas, Texas.

Aldridge came to Grants in 1931. He owned and operated several businesses in Grants, one being Sierra Vista Trailer Court.
He moved to San Fidel in 1982 and then to Albuquerque in 1992. He was past master of Malpais Lodge #71, a member of
theNational Rifle Association and of Rio Grande Baptist Church, Albuquerque. He was a World War II Veteran.

Survivors include his wife, Ina Dell; son, Jerry Aldridge; daughter, Ruth Robertson; two grandchildren and six great-
grandchildren.

Pallbearers will be Roy Robertson, Shawn Jenkins, Mark Rudd, Bill Barnes, Billy Joe Barnes, and Phillip Thiessen.