Council to consider pay, potatoes, pot
Jim Maniaci
Dine' Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Several major issues that could bring growth to
the Navajo economy, increase council delegates' paychecks and the
deplete the Undesignated Reserve Fund even more will be considered
by the Navajo Nation Council during its summer session Monday through
Friday.
In addition to the Tohajiilee (Canoncito) Chapter's continued effort
to develop a local economy by getting the criminal code changed to
allow the chapter and only that chapter to have a Nevada-style casino,
the council will be asked to amend the criminal code to allow the
growing of hemp, which is related to marijuana. Proponents plan to
show Navajo blankets woven from the fabric.
A companion measure to the hemp-growing proposal will be to begin
a total prohibition of the possession of marijuana.
Currently the tribal code imposes a tiny fine for possession of up
to one ounce of pot for personal use.
Amending the Sovereign Immunity Act, which forbids the tribal government
to be sued, will be considered by the council. Allowing disputes to
be settled in either tribal or federal court is one of the key factors
in getting R.D. Offut Company to operate two joint ventures with Navajo
Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI) south of Farmington. About 15,000
acres a year of potatoes would be grown on NAPI land, as one venture,
to be processed into fast foods in a multi-million dollar plant, a
second venture.
In addition to approving a $10,000 a year pay raise for the 88 delegates,
the president and vice president which would raise the total salary
cost per year to $3.1 million, not counting mileage, rooms, meals
and deferred compensation the council will consider a five-fold increase
in mileage to be paid to delegates. Earlier this year the council
raised its mileage allowance by one-third, to the same level as tribal
employees. Delegates would receive their round-trip mileage daily
for the council session instead of only once a week.
Delegates also will be asked to approve letting council members serve
on school boards, county commissions and boards of supervisors. (Please
see related stories.) This would affect more than 40 per cent of the
council, about three dozen of whom receive meeting stipends and mileage
as tribal school board members.
As of Friday the Ethics and Rules Committee had not placed on the
agenda so it will have to be added on the council floor taking almost
$800,000 from the Undesignated Reserve for all three government branches.
Most of the funds will go to Legislative agencies, with each council
committee getting more mileage and meeting funds. Included will be
$20,000 to replace the electronic tally board in the historic Council
Chamber, $38,086 for the Office of Legislative Services to buy computers
and $18,884 for supplies, after the copier in the delegates office
ran out of paper.
Resolutions to draw from the $4 million left in the Undesignated Reserve
include $3 million for the Public Employment Program, $2 million for
the Navajo Housing Services Department to finish present projects
and take care of 15 burned out homes, $550,000 equally divided among
the 110 chapters for maintenance, $151,630 for the second half of
the fiscal year for the Dine' Power Authority's operation to secure
$2.7 million worth of rights-of-way for the $560 million major transmission
line from near Shiprock to near Las Vegas, Nev.
Under the 1998 Appropriations Act, which the council continually waives
over the objection of the Budget and Finance Committee, the reserve
is supposed to hold at least half the amount of the previous year's
budget $48.9 million and only be spent for emergency operation of
the government.
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Goat's milk dairy is a labor of love
Amanda Witt
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Lactose intolerant, looking for an alternative to cow's
milk?
Timothy Nelson is the owner of Rocky Mountain Goat Dairy; the only
goat dairy in Gallup. Nelson produces about three gallons of goat's
milk every day. He also makesherb cheese, cheddar, dill and garlic
cheese which sell for $5 a brick.
Albertson's is the only grocery store in the area that sells commercial
goat milk in the dairy casefor about $3 a quart. The difference in
taste, Nelson said, is that the milk is creamier and has more of a
vanilla taste. The taste is not drastically different but has a different
smell. Nelson said, a lot of people who are lactose intolerant are
able to drink the milk and some were raised on it.
"It makes great chocolate milk, especially if it settles for
24 hours," Nelson said.
Nelson has a few regular customers. He said he sells the milk for
animal consumption since he does not have a license.
"I am not in it for money. I am into it because I like the animals,"
Nelson said. Goats are very friendly, docile and affectionate animals
he said.
Nelson begins his day by milking the goats at 6 a.m. and milks in
the evening. There usually has to be a 12 hour span between the milking.
Currently he milks three goats a day, two alpine Swiss goats and a
Nubian. He has a total of 10 goats including one buck.
Nelson is from Wisconsin and teaches fourth grade at Red Rock Elementary.
He plans to take his class on a field trip to the dairy when the school
year gets going again.
As a joke from a friend, Nelson was given a Nubian goat two years
ago, Esmeralda. He started milking her to make her more comfortable.
Since then he has added nine goats. He has five Nubian goats and five
Swiss alpine goats.
Last spring Nelson turned the water shed on his property into a milk
house.
"The goats graze in the county and are milked in the city,"
Nelson said of his property off of Baker Street near the University
of New Mexico Gallup Branch.
Nelson is very fastidious about the cleanliness of the milking process
and the pasteurization. Before he starts milking he cleans the goats
udders with hot water and antibacterial soap. He cleans and sterilizes
the milk containers after every use.
After each milking, he sweeps and once a day he mops.
The milking machine Nelson uses is from Italy. The stanchion is from
Kansas, it is built for the goats to put their heads in and eat while
being milked. The Swiss are breed for milk and the Nubian have a higher
fat content. The Swiss is milked all year round even when pregnant.
Nelson said he gets about three gallons a day from the goats. He said
it would be good if the goats did not produce as much because it takes
a while to process the milk.
He provides a woman from Red Rock animal Clinic with milk for her
dwarf goat. People who are also more interested in organic foods buy
the goat milk products, especially people from the East who live in
Zuni, Nelson said.
Nelson said he gained his knowledge about milking mostly from meeting
people on the Internet. His biggest help has been from a man in Winslow
who has helped Nelson with the procedures.
"It has grown more from a hobby to a production," Nelson
said. The people who buy the milk or the products cover the goats
feed, he said.
The goats Nelson buys are papered goats. They are tested and vaccinated
twice a year. The average life span of a goat is 12 to 18 years. Goats
have four stomachs.
The milk is filtered after it is taken out of the milking machine.
When Nelson pasteurizes the milk he brings it to a boil at 175 degrees.
The normal temperature for milk to be sterile is 161 degrees but Nelson
does it higher to be safe. The whole process takes about an hour to
complete and he does it once a day.The sooner the milk is pasteurized,
the longer it lasts.
The reason Nelson makes cheese is to use the milk he gets. It takes
four gallons of milk to make cheese. It usually takes about three
hours to make the cheese. The cheddar is better eaten after aged for
a month but the herb can be eaten right away.
Nelson's next project is to make soap from the goats milk. The people
in Winslow sell the soap they make to bed and breakfasts across the
country. The soap is supposed to be creamier and has no dyes in it,
Nelson said. He already has a woman interested in buying it.
For more information call: 726-0256 or email timmy@cia-g.com.
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2 dead in reservation accidents
Jim Maniaci
Dine' Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Two more people have died in traffic fatalities
on the Navajo Reservation, one on a rural highway, the other in downtown
Chinle.
On July 7, Gaylene H. Selina, 36, of Shungopavi Village on the Hopi
Reservation, died when she was ejected from her pickup truck which
then rolled over on her, crushing her to death at Mile Post 378.2
on Arizona Route 87 in the Dilkon area, according to the Law Enforcement
Department report.
A five-year-old girl passenger, also believed to be from the same
village, was flown to the Flagstaff Medical Center, according to the
Dilkon Police District report. She also was ejected, as the report
indicated seat belts apparently were not used by either the driver
or passenger.
The two were headed south in a 1998 GMC 1/2-ton Sonoma that went off
the pavement, came back on, skidded sideways and rolled four times
after all the left side tires blew out.
The report said there was one witness, but officers don't know if
the driver fell asleep or was distracted in the 11:15 a.m. wreck.
Pedestrian killed in Chinle
Chinle district police said Calvin Ayze, 29, who lived about five
miles northeast of the Canyon De Chelly National Park headquarters,
died the morning after being hit on U.S. 191 about one-quarter of
mile north of the Wells Fargo Bank.
The scene is just north of the junction of Bureau of Indian Affairs
Route 7 in the main business district.
An officer was at the nearby Taco Bell about 9:25 p.m. last Saturday
when told of the accident. He found the young man face down in the
northbound lane, bleeding profusely. Ayze was flown to an unidentified
hospital in Albuquerque where he died about 7 a.m. Sunday.
There was no arrest listed in the Chinle district report that identified
the driver as Jerome Dayzie, 27, who lives about 1.5 miles west of
the Round Rock Trading Post, and passenger as Tara Reed, no age listed,
of the same address.
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Navajo election set for October 3
Speaker Begay is disappointed
Jim Maniaci
Dine' Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Edward T. Begay, Navajo Nation Council speaker,
has expressed his disappointment and concern with Thursday's decision
by the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors to keep the general election
on Oct. 3.
On June 22, because there was no assurance the legislative leadership
would provide the money needed to conduct the election, the board
voted to postpone the Aug. 1 chapter-level general election until
the next fiscal year and included its justification to comply with
tribal law about delaying an election.
At the request of Ervin Keeswood, chairman of the council's Government
Services Committee, Chief Legislative Counsel Steve Boos issued a
legal opinion saying the board didn't meet the four very limited conditions
under which the supervisors can postpone an election to get new ballots
printed. The legal opinion added that Navajo law requires the general
election to be held the first Tuesday of August.
Monday the Inter-Governmental Relations Committee, of which the speaker
is the chairman, approved $153,189 as the officially-requested amount
and the funds quickly were transferred. Election officials had said
they really need between $217,000 and $242,000 to conduct a proper
election.
Thursday the elections board reaffirmed its decision to allow all
the deadlines that lead up to an election to be met. The board agreed
with the elections director that some of the deadlines had already
passed, if a vote were to be taken in August.
Several citizens spoke to the board, supporting the delay to allow
a fair election and give them time to learn about the referendum that
proposes to reduce the size of the council by 64 delegates. Several
people urged the board not to be intimidated by the lawyers, whom
they accused of running the government.
Friday the speaker said the board did not meet the specific requirements
to postpone the voting and"I am concerned that...the entire chapter
election, including the referendum vote on the sizing of the Navajo
Nation Council, might be challenged and overturned. If that happens,
the time and effort and resources of all the Navajo people will have
been wasted needlessly."
Speaker Begay said his committee reallocated the funds requested."Now
we are told the that the board still won't conduct the chapter election.
Now the board and the election administration are making more excuses
for why they refuse to follow the law. They have pushed the election
date into the new fiscal year, even though they don't have any funds
available for the conduct of the election in the next fiscal year
and won't conduct the election in this fiscal year, even though they
have the funds available."
The speaker accused the election officials of denying Navajos their
right to apply for and cast an absentee vote, with the situation getting
worse every day.
Begay, a strong promoter of preserving Navajo traditional culture
concluded, "As Dine' we know that there are certain times of
the year when activities must be conducted in order for them to bring
a positive result. If they are not done at the proper time, or done
in an improper way, the activities do not bring benefit to the Dine'.
Instead of maintaining harmony, they result in discord and negative
consequences for those involved, as well as the whole Dine' people.
We must all be astute to this important concept of traditional teachings."
With an Oct. 3 voting date, write-in candidates have until Aug. 21
to file, with voter registration closing and absentee voting beginning
Sept. 5. The elections board voted Thursday to charge a $25 filing
fee to school board candidates and $75 to chapter-level candidates.
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Diné College president candidates
meet the public
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — The anxieties of student and staff at the Diné
Community College were evident as many of them asked questions to
four candidates for college president.
The Diné Community College Board of Regents will soon pick
a president for the school. At Friday's open forum in Tsaile, the
faculty, students and public got a taste of the different administrations
they may see in the fall.
The audience's questions reflected some of the troubles the college
has been experiencing. People asked the candidates how they would
seek more funding, secure accreditation, quell infighting and meet
students' needs.
The four candidates are Merlee Arviso of Albuquerque, Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet
of Oregon, Anita Pfeiffer of Albuquerque and John Smelcer of Alaska...
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Union claims Chevron is stalling strike
talks
Jim Maniaci
Dine' Bureau
TSE BONITO — Union officials said Friday they believe Chevron
Corporation is holding off negotiations to end the more than two-month
old McKinley Mine strike until the contract at Peabody Group's mines
ends in August.
The United Mine Workers of America has launched a national campaign
to pressure San Francisco-based Chevron to have its subsidiary return
to the bargaining table. The strike began May 15, with the last negotiation
being a one-day affair on June
7 when P&M studied, then rejected, a revised proposal from the
union.
A Peabody Western Company spokeswoman said there is a blackout on
the negotiations that began earlier this month. The contract at four
coal mines will end Aug. 31, said Beth Sutton, and is being negotiated
as a western regional pact...
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Catholic Indian Center on Route 66to
get a new face lift
Sylvia Carlson
Staff Writer
GALLUP — When the Independent ran a photo last week of the new
bingo hall being built by Gallup Community Services, the Catholic
Indian Center starting getting a lot of phone calls.
The phone calls came as a result of confusion brought about by the
fact that the Catholic Indian Center (CIC) at 506 W. Hwy. 66 is actually
not going anywhere but it is going to get a face lift. The bingo hall
was simply one of the tenants in the center, and is moving to its
own location.
"They have been wonderful tenants of the Catholic Indian Center
and their services complemented Catholic Charities' services so they
will be missed," said the center's executive director, Sister
Betty Marie Dunkel, in a recent letter sent to the Independent to
clear up any confusion...
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Grants family center offers free computers
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — Thanks to a donation of five Gateway computers from
Quivera Mining in Cibola County, the Future Foundations Family Center
is now offering a free community computer lab.
The lab offers the use of a computer to enhance employability and
life skills for county residents.
Desiree Elkins, youth council coordinator and administrative assistant,
said the computers were obtained through a school district program.
Volunteer tutors, mostly college level students, will teach the classes.
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Paria Plateau may be next Arizona monument
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt may
recommend the creation of a new monument near Page, a newspaper reported.
The Arizona Daily Sun in a copyrighted story reported Friday that
the Paria Plateau west of Page may be recommended as the site of another
Arizona monument.
The 280,000-acre plateau near the Utah state line includes remote
canyons and scenic vistas. Part of it already receives federal protection
as a designated wilderness area.
Babbitt met with the mayors of Page, Fredonia and Kanab, Utah, and
planned to hike the plateau over the weekend, the Sun said...
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Navajo Marketplace offers cultural gems
Staff Report
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Nearly 60 Navajo artists including dancers,
musicians, weavers, jewelers, carvers, and potters will show their
art from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 5 and 6, at the
Museum of Northern Arizona's 51st Annual
Navajo Marketplace.
The Marketplace is part of the museum's annual Heritage Program, a
summer celebration of Native American, Hispanic, and Western arts
and cultures.
Visitors to the Navajo Marketplace not only have the opportunity to
purchase rugs, folk art, jewelry, bead and feather work, glasswork,
and pottery, but they also have the opportunity to watch artists demonstrate
how they craft the art works...
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Deaths
Miriam D. Martin
FORT DEFIANCE, Ariz. — Funeral services for Miriam D. Martin,
90, will at 10 a.m. Monday, July 17 at the Presbyterian Church in
Fort Defiance. Roger Davis will officiate. Burial will be in Fort
Defiance.
Martin died July 14 in Gallup. She was born Nov. 18, 1909 in Ganado,
Ariz. for the Edgewater People Clan into the Black Streak of Forest
People Clan.
Martin attended Ganado Mission. She work for the mission and PHS Hospital
in Fort Defiance, and was later a housewife.
Survivors include son, Ernest Martin of Fort Defiance; daughters,
Charlotte Blatchford and Jeannie Martinez, both of Fort Defiance;
brother, Herbert Morgan, Sr. of Manuelito; sister, Nellie Yazzie of
Fort Defiance; 22 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.
Martin was preceded in death by husband, Guy Martin; and sisters,
Pauline Yazzie and Elsie Curtis.
Pallbearers will be Darryl Martinez, Christopher Martinez, Ed Cohoe
and Verne Blatchford.
The family will receive relatives and friends at Fort Defiance Chapter
House.
The family will meet at 7 p.m., tonight at the Fort Defiance Chapter
House.
Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
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