Hopi elders watch bills
Stan Bindell
Special to the Independent
KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz. — Hopi elders are keeping an eye on bills
in the Arizona legislature because they are seeking three senior
citizen centers for the Hopi Reservation at a cost of $779,590.
According to the proposal, Kykotsmovi would get a 4,850-square-foot
building constructed for $300,000, Hotevilla would get a 5,000-square-foot
building for $300,000 and First Mesa Consolidated Villages would
get a 5,300-square-foot building for $179,590.
The Hopi proposal is part of a larger bill attempting to fund
many senior centers on reservations in Arizona including those
of the Navajo Nation.
Rep. Sylvia Laughter proposed a bill in the House and Sen. Jack
Jackson proposed a bill in the Senate. Each House is reviewing
the bill by the other branch and eventually they hope to agree
on specific language and send the bill to Arizona Gov. Jane Hull
for final approval.
Monica Navamsa, a spokeswoman for the Hopi chairman's office,
said the chairman has actively sought construction of these facilities,
but he could not be reached for comment at press time. All three
of these senior centers would be multi-purpose buildings that
would be dedicated to senior services and the community.
The Kykotsmovi building activities would include nutritional services,
youth and senior programs, community programs and administration.
Hotevilla activities would include recreation and education. First
Mesa activities would include education, food bank and youth and
seniors programs. All three village buildings would include outreach
programs such as Meals on Wheels.
In early March, Hopi elders lobbied state legislators at the state
capital. They were well-received after they presented the legislators
with corn and performed the Corn Maiden Dance.
Lloyd Ami Sr., chairman of the elders program for the Hopi Tribe,
said elders throughout the Hopi Reservation need a place to gather
for social activities. He emphasized that each of these communities
will have a grandparenting program where they will encourage seniors
and youth to interact something that isn't happening on Hopi as
often now as the elders would like.
"We need to get the elderly and the youth back together because
right now there's a separation where the youth aren't looking
at the elderly," he said.
Ami said elders could teach Hopi youth about Hopi culture from
planting to cooking.
Ami said a lot of Hopi elders like to sew, but they need a center
where they can leave their sewing machines rather than carting
them around. He said the seniors have many activities now, but
often spend a lot of time looking for a building where they can
meet.
Ami, who has held his post since July, said social security and
other support services would be offered at these senior centers.
Currently, support service representatives meet people at the
Hopi Civic Center when it's available or they have to seek the
people out at their homes.
"It's hard and difficult to get places in the villages to
meet. Getting these centers would help because we don't have enough
facilities," he said. "It would be great if the villages
got this rather than people having to drive great distances for
services.
These people are elderly and sometimes they have to go out in
bad weather. Transportation is a real problem and this would be
a great help."
Ami said the new facilities would make it easier for elders to
discuss important issues from diabetes to elderly abuse.
Ami said the legislators were receptive and happy to see them
when they lobbied at the state capital. He praised Rep. James
Sedillo, a Flagstaff Democrat, and Karen Johnson, Republican chairwoman
of the House Budget Committee, for taking up this cause. He also
praised Hopi Councilman Todd Honyaoma for helping the elders lobby.
Ami, who graduated from Winslow High School in 1959, recalls that
Hopi has not had any new senior centers as far back as he can
remember.
"The buildings are small, old and unsafe," he said.
"First Mesa (became even smaller because it) had a partition
put in so they could put in a post office."
Ami said he remains upbeat about the state legislature approving
the funding.
"We have a positive attitude. We hope and pray that the state
representatives and senators see the light that there's a need
for this," he said.
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Don't regret us, just forget us
Reporter column
Gaye Brown
Features Editor
GALLUP — As a Gallup resident off and on now for almost 30 years,
I get riled up anytime somebody starts knocking my town.
You know the type, they move here, they're usually doctors, nurses,
specialists, yes, even reporters and editors, and they think it's
gonna be a Santa Fe thing.
They see visions of chile ristras hanging from porches, sagebrush
covered hills, gorgeous red rocks in their back yards, muscular Indian
braves sitting on paint ponies on the horizon, looking forlorn and
romantic, they buy SUVs, concho belts, hiking boots and leather couches
and then they're ready for the ultimate fun Southwestern experience.
Only it doesn't quite work out. We have poverty here, and dirt, lots
of dirt. Expensive SUVs get clobbered by drunks running red lights
in 1973 Chevy pickups. Mongrel dogs tip over garbage cans. Chile ristras
shrivel up and get hard in the high altitude sun. Nothing grows but
weeds. And the wind blows 80 miles per hour every day in the spring
and into the summer. Allergies flare up, skin dries out and depression
sets in. And it takes a special type of person to live here and like
it.
Just like it takes a special type of person to live in Alaska, or
New York City and like those places. Gallup is not for everyone.
Sometimes I can't believe that people don't see the beauty of the
Four Corners and the peace and quiet in this remote land between the
four sacred mountains of the Diné. I can't believe that anybody
would ever want anyone but Navajos as neighbors.
People have asked me many times what brought me to Gallup. It's hard
to answer. I suppose I came here the same way other people do, for
a job, or with a boyfriend, or some other reason that seems insignificant
now.
I remember as a teenager on my first trip to Los Angeles to see Frank
Zappa in concert. I remember hitting the New Mexico border and the
amber-red hills polka-dotted with blueish-green shadows. I remember
my lips growing chapped in the dry heat. I remember looking out over
the sandy horizon and thinking "where are all the PEOPLE?"
Years later, I drove through Gallup again with a friend. We stopped
at the edge of town, I got my bicycle out of the car and rode through
town to get some exercise. My friend picked me up on the other end
of the city. I remember the hustle and bustle of Indians, semi-trucks,
downtown noise and the high, dry air rejuvenating me for the long
ride ahead.
When people ask me what brought me here, I rant and rave about the
hell-hole I came from. St. Louis. The mosquitos. The humidity. The
traffic. The violence. The 16-lane freeways. The 747s that flew 500
feet over my house as they approaced the runway. The racism and snobbery
and the colleges I couldn't get accepted at because I didn't have
the money or the right surname. The day after I turned 18, I got out
and never looked back. I can't stand to go back there to visit and
I miss my brothers and sisters terribly. I'm even a St. Louis Cardinals
fan, but I won't go back to see a game. My 30-year high school
reunion is this summer. Uh-uh, no way.
I'd rather go camping at McGaffey, hiking through Coyote Canyon, boating
at Lake Powell, or bike riding through the desert.
Maybe go down through Mexico again. Drive across the Lukachukais.
Camp out in the Gila Wilderness. Anything east of Moriarity is TOO
east for me.
There's a sure-fire method on how to learn to appreciate Gallup. Go
to Santa Fe. Look at real-estate prices, or restaurant menus. Listen
to the new-agers talk about rolfing or colon cleansing or kinetic
haircuts or other such nonsense. Sit in traffic on the tiny streets
downtown while California transplants in giant SUVs talk on their
cell phones and ignore pedestrians.
I say: If you don't like Gallup, get out. If you can't learn to appreciate
the subtle beauty of this land or the wonderful humor of the Diné,
we don't need you here. Stay in Santa Fe. We have our problems here
in Gallup, that's for sure, but we don't need a bunch of outsiders
telling us how dirty our streets are, or how bad our alcohol problem
is. We're working on it in our own way, which is sometimes slow and
methodical. The improvement I've seen in my decades here is absolutely
fantastic. Those who can't see it are blind to the simple wonders
of life and the down-home real culture of the West.
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Food cupboard is bare
Donations sought from community
Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Special to the Independent
GALLUP — The Community Pantry, Gallup's food bank, knows about
emergency food needs it routinely helps poor families with emergency
food boxes. Now, however, it is having a food emergency of its own.
Thursday morning, the organization gave out three emergency food boxes,
but by the afternoon, warehouse manager Tom Crider surveyed the almost
barren shelves and estimated only one more emergency box could probably
be assembled.
The food bank is appealing to community members in McKinley County
to donate needed items for its emergency food supply. They are in
particular need of juices, canned fruits, vegetables and beans, cereal,
soup, tomato sauce, tomatoes, pasta, instant potatoes, crackers, cookies,
Helper mixes, rice, dry beans, flour, Bisquick mix, peanut butter,
jelly, macaroni and cheese, Ramen noodles, cheese, dry milk, canned
fish and canned meat.
The dire circumstances of the situation aren't readily apparent with
just an initial look into the facility. The place is filled with food.
However, Community Pantry officials explained that the organization
runs three different food assistance programs, and food from the other
two programs doesn't supply the emergency food box program, which
gives away food in emergency situations.
The other two programs sell food at reduced prices, food that is purchased
by the Community Pantry. "The Dollar Stretcher" program
sells boxes of food, containing $35 to $55 worth of food, to low-income
families for $15. The Agency Food program sells low-cost food to non-profit,
charitable organizations that supply the food to their clients.
According to Claresia Montoya, the food bank office manager, the Community
Pantry relies on donated food to supply the emergency food program.
During the Christmas holiday season, some church and school groups
make donations. However, only two community groups conduct annual
food drives for the organization.
During the fall semester, teen-agers from local Catholic churches
conduct a city-wide food drive as part of their community service
work for their Confirmation instruction. And each spring, mail carriers
with the U.S. Postal Service conduct another city-wide drive. The
Postal food drive won't occur until May 12.
Montoya said the Catholic youth collected 5,600 pounds of food on
Dec. 4. That sounds like a lot of food, she said, but in a month filled
with many needy families, 5,600 pounds doesn't last long.
Last month was that kind of a month.
"Right now, we're kind of scraping the bowl," Montoya said.
The Community Pantry gave out 5,300 pounds of food in 68 food boxes
to feed 227 people. And, Montoya added, the food bank saw an unusually
high number of large families asking for assistance. Those families
must meet certain guidelines for free emergency food boxes, she said,
and be referred by health care or human service agencies.
In addition to donating food right now to tide the food bank over,
Montoya suggested several ways the community could help the Community
Pantry.
Since many of the families who seek help through the emergency food
program come from McKinley County, Montoya would like to see more
food drives take place in the county by churches, schools or community
organizations. Currently, most of the donated food comes from Gallup.
Montoya would also like to see people who receive commodity food from
the government donate the items they don't use.
Food bank clients will put the food to good use, she said. The food
bank publishes recipes that tell how to use and prepare some foods
that many people are unfamiliar with, and Montoya would like to expand
that idea to recipes using government commodity food.
The Community Pantry could also use more volunteers to regularly donate
some work hours. Through the month of April, the hours for the food
bank are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. After
April, it may extend its weekday hours and close on Saturday.
The Community Pantry is located at 107 S. Dean, near the Viro Park
neighborhood. Its phone number is 726-8068.
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Grants rallies past Shiprock
Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer
GRANTS — Grants rallied in the fifth and sixth innings to turn
back Shiprock 9-5 Thursday afternoon in a non-district baseball contest.
"It was a good win for us," Grants coach Walter Sarracino
said. "Hopefully it will get us back on track again. We made
a couple of mistakes but we had good defensive plays along the way.
I was impressed with Shiprock. They're a good ballclub. They hit our
fastball well. It took a team effort to win this game. We were down
5-4 and kept our heads in the game. We came back and played good defense,
hit the ball and scored some runs. This win is a good motivator. Hopefully
it will give
us a little momentum against Bernalillo (Tuesday)."
Grants (4-5 overall, 1-1 in district) will host Bernalillo Tuesday
in a single district game at 3 p.m.
Shiprock led 5-4 after four innings before Grants rallied for three
runs in the fifth and two in the seventh to win 9-5.
Picking up the win for the Pirates was relief pitcher Jeff Killough
who pitched three and one third innings and allowed one run on three
hits. He fanned three and did not walk a batter. Pirate starting pitcher
Marty Lujan went three and two-thirds innings and gave up four runs
on four hits. Lujan fanned six, walked one and hit one batter.
Pacing Grants at the plate were catcher Wade Pynes who went 2-for-3
with two singles, a walk and one RBI; leftfielder Boudy Melonas 3-for-3
with three singles and a walk and Jeff Killough 1-for-1 with a double,
a walk and one RBI.
Shiprock's leading hitters were first baseman Roland Etsitty 3-for-4
with one single and two triples; second baseman Marcus Benally 2-for-5
with two singles; and catcher Dewayne Dale 2-for-3 with two singles.
"We have more games to play and I hope our pitching holds up,"
Sarracino said. "We'll come together despite everything that's
going on. We'll come through and have a good season."
Durango 22, Kirtland 3
Durango, Colo. pounded Kirtland Central 22-3 in five innings Thursday
in a non-district game.
"It got pretty ugly on our side," Kirtland coach Jim Belveal
said. "Durango has a lot of size and speed."
Kirtland (5-9 overall, 1-3 in district) will travel to Piedra Vista
Saturday for a district doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Next week
the Broncos will stay on the road with games at Aztec next Tuesday
and at Durango next Thursday.
The Broncos used five pitchers Jason Haskie, Chris Manning, Domingo
Misquez, Trent Platero and Kenny Smith.
Games postponed
There were several area baseball games that were postponed due to
bad weather.
The Greyhills at Pinon conference game was delayed until next Thursday,
April 19 at 2 p.m. which will be played at Greyhills instead. Pinon
will also play at Tuba City the same day at 4 p.m. with another single
conference game.
The Zuni at Wingate game was also postponed.
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Police academy at UNM under way
Andrea Egger
Staff Writer
GALLUP — The police academy at the University of New Mexico-Gallup
is under way with 12 cadets this year.
Eight of the 12 have already been hired by Gallup Police, while four
want to keep their options open.
Cadets study a grueling curriculum of 42 credit hours in the 16-week
academy, said police academy director Floyd Kezele, who is also the
director of the criminal justice program for the local campus. Kezele
has been the director for four years and has worked as an instructor
for 25 years.
The academy is held once a year in the spring...
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27 to explain bad debts
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Although three people have been removed from the
list of 30, the other 27 men and women will be hauled before the tribal
Ethics-Rules Committee April 24-26 to explain why they haven't paid
restitution.
On March 2 the committee approved the three meeting days, in tending
for 10 defendants to appear at the show cause hearings.
Tuesday, Ethics Director Virgil Brown Jr. said he removed three people
from the list. They are former Navajo Nation Council Delegate David
John, who had paid $3,000 of his $7,500 in a 2000 case; former Navajo
Tribal Utility Authority board
member Bessie Allen, who paid all $3,300 in a 2000 case; and Roy Vandever,
who paid $951 in a 1998 case.
This means the total past due has been reduced from $201,958 to $194,707...
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Cop: Hazing big problem
Tara Drolma
Staff Writer
GRANTS — The New Mexico State Police officer investigating
a hazing incident at Grants High School said it is obvious to him
the school has had a serious problem with initiations for some time.
Agent Tomas Salizar with the state police Farmington office said,
"The boys saw nothing wrong with what they did because this
has been going on so long they thought it was OK."
Salizar said the students' defense was, "Why is this an issue
now?" Salizar asked the boy victims if they had reported it
and how they felt when it happened. He said they told him they didn't
like it, but afterwards they were left alone. Salizar told the boys
it is an issue now because someone reported it.
Salizar said he thought the school district has had a long issue
of initiations. "I think it was never reported," he said.
"The upperclassmen all said it had happened to them. The things
they related, if I had been a parent, I would have complained..."
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Hopi blasts Rough Rock
Stan Bindell
Special to the Independent
POLACCA, Ariz. — Hopi unleashed its bats and had enough pitching
to sweep Rough Rock, 15-5 and 18-5 in a 2A North Conference baseball
doubleheader Thursday afternoon.
It was the conference opener for the Bruins who improved to 9-5
overall.
The first game was a lot closer than the final score indicated with
the score being tied 5-5 through three and a half innings. Hopi
broke the game open with four runs in the fourth, four in the fifth
and two in the sixth.
Logan Koopee spun a two-hitter, but gave up seven walks while striking
out four...
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Takeover of IHS could go to voters
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Council will be asked to put
the proposed takeover of the area's Indian Health Service to a vote
of the people.
The council's Ethics-Rules Committee approved the addition of a
possible referendum to the spring session agenda, raising the number
of resolutions to be considered to 26, along with eight reports.
Delegates are scheduled to convene their quarterly five-day session
at 10 a.m. Monday, but the current 19th Council hasn't started on
time since its inception.
In a January letter to delegates signed by Larson Manuelito, the
Diné Bi Health Care Referendum Committee of Tohatchi said
it has resolutions from 69 of the 110 chapters asking for a referendum...
Feds join probe of auto office
Grants office closed; CDL tests recalled
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — New revelations keep pouring out of the state investigation
of the Motor Vehicle Division office here, including a huge one
Thursday involving commercial driver licenses (CDLs).
Jim Burleson, deputy cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Taxation
and Revenue Department, revealed that one of three CDL tests used
to test the proficiency of tractor-trailer rig drivers somehow floated
out of the Grants MVD office and made its way to a New Mexico trucking
company. With the test out of the hands of the MVD, Burleson said
the test has been compromised.
Burleson's boss, Glenn Ellington, secretary of the New Mexico Taxation
and Revenue Department, said because the test disappeared out of
the Grants MVD office and ended up in the hands of the trucking
company, the same test will be recalled from every MVD office statewide
starting today...
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Deaths
Mary H. Largo
SMITH LAKE — Services for Mary Largo, 88, will be held at 10
a.m. Saturday, April 14 at Crownpoint First Navajo Baptist Church.
Pastor Ted Becenti and George Jim will officiate. Burial will follow
in family cemetery, Smith Lake.
Largo died April 10 in Gallup. She was born July 4, 1912, in Smith
Lake into the Towering House People Clan for the Start of the Red
Streak People.
Survivors include her sons, Jameson Largo and Nelson Largo, both of
Smith Lake; sister, Martha Largo of Smith Lake; and seven grandchildren.
Largo was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Jimm Largo, and
parents, Charley Hill and Tash-Ha-Dos-Dah.
Pallbearers will be Emmerson Largo Jr., Frank Jim Largo II, Larren
Largo, Norman Largo, Lansferd Lee and Leander Lee.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Albert Castillo
LITTLEWATER — Services for Albert Castillo, 45 will be held at
10 a.m. Saturday, April 14, at Hosanna Pentecostal Church, Crownpoint.
Harry Cayatineto will officiate. Burial will follow at Thoreau Communtiy
Cemetery.
Castillo died April 9 in Crownpoint. He was born March 9, 1956, in
Crownpoint into the Chiracahua Apache for the Zia People.
Castillo was employed with the railroad. He was a kachina maker and
did arts and crafts. His hobbies included coaching Little League.
Survivors include his wife, Roseline Castillo; sons, Ryan Castillo
and Corey Castillo of Little Water; daughters, Kimberly Castillo,
Kelly Castillo and Kerri Castillo, all of Little Water; father, Donald
Tolth; brother, Alfred Castillo of Littlewater; and sisters, Gladys
Platero of Thoreau and Irene Rose Begay of Littlewater.
Castillo was preceded in death by his mother, Annie Castillo, sister,
Lorraine Tolth; and grandparents Juan and Margaret Castillo.
Pallbearers will be Gino Morgan, Gene Morgan, Burt Garcia, Harrison
Sam, Ervin Platero and James Belin.
The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services
at Thoreau Chapter House.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
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