Shawndin Yazzie, 4, above, swings her bat at J-me Jim's pitch ater the USSA Native American Softball tournament Sunday at the Gallup Sports Complex.

Photo by Nicole Goodhue

 

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Diné College gets 1st woman leader

Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer

GALLUP — For the first time in its 32 years of operation, Diné College will be led by a woman. Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet will be the college's new president.

The Board of Regents chose Manuelito-Kerkvliet on Saturday, and she accepted the job on Sunday by phone.

At an open forum Friday in Tsaile, Manuelito-Kerkvliet discussed some of the ideas she had for the college.

She said the college should begin to offer evening classes and distance-learning courses through the Internet or the television.
The school should also work more closely with four-year and two-year colleges to make sure Diné College students can transfer credits easily.

After the forum, Manuelito-Kerkvliet said the public's questions indicated to her that one of her first tasks as a president will be to boost morale. One of the best ways to do this would be to bring in a leader from the outside who is not involved in the politics of the school, she added.

Manuelito-Kerkvliet has been living in Oregon, but her parents are from Naschitti. At the open forum she said she has been wanting to live in New Mexico close to her relatives.

Manuelito-Kerkvliet has worked as an educator and educational administrator in Oregon. She has been with the University of Oregon since 1995. She said she opened one of the first Indian education offices in the state. She is working toward a Ph.D. right now.

Three other candidates for the position also attended the forum and met with the board. The other candidates were Merlee Arviso of Albuquerque, Anita Pfeiffer of Tohatchi and John Smelcer of Alaska.

All of the applicants are Navajo except Smelcer, who is a quarter Alaskan Native. Right before his scheduled interview with the Board of Regents, Smelcer withdrew his application, saying he felt the presidency should be filled by a Navajo.

The new president will have a full dish in the coming months. The college has had some troubles, including tension between branch campuses and problems with accreditation.

Phil Bluehouse, president of the board, said the appointment of a president for the college was a part of the "healing process" and it was now time to move forward.

Manuelito-Kerkvliet acknowledged the challenges and said she hopes her efforts along with the support of the community, staff and students will help improve the college.

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Tribal police nab six bootleggers in Pinon

Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Six people were arrested in three different anti-alcohol cases within five days in the Pinon area, according to Navajo police.

Larson Agoodie, 37, and Jane Judge, 33, who live on Bureau of Indian Affairs Route 4 in Pinon, were arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and delivery of liquor.

According to the Chinle Police District report, they were videotaped allegedly selling two bottles of Garden DeLuxe tokay wine shortly before 10 p.m. July 3. Navajo District Court Judge Leroy Bedonie signed the search and seizure warrant shortly before 2 a.m. and the couple was arrested around 4:20 a.m., according to the report.

Bedonie also signed the warrant early in the morning that led to the arrests of Sadie Plummer Benally, 49, Ronald Bahe, 27, and Altena Tsosie, no age listed, on delivery of liquor charges.

According to the Chinle Police District report, officers of the Special Operations Group had identified Benally as an alleged bootlegger from previous videotaping. At 6 p.m. July 3 they videotaped undercover officers making a buy and again less than three hours later.

Benally and Bahe live on BIA Route 4. Tsosie lives about 7 miles southeast of Pinon, according to the report.

Officers of the Special Operations Group did not need a warrant from Bedonie on July 8 about one-half mile south of Pinion when they arrested Sharon Blake, 26, of that location on the delivery of liquor charge.

Two undercover officers purchased two pints of Garden DeLuxe, the most common wine sold by bootleggers on the reservation, and obtained consent to search.

They found a full case of the wine, plus nine empty cases, with five of them being the wine, three being 40-ounce Coors beer bottles and one 40-ounce Olde English brew. An unlisted amount of cash also was seized.

Officer injured

A Navajo police officer injured his right wrist trying to handcuff a drunken driver in the Tachee-Blue Gap area.

Officer Clarence Bahe was looking for a reported drunken driver forcing others off the road, headed toward Blue Gap on Bureau of Indian Affairs Route 29, last week. He found the two-door gray Chevrolet Beretta stopped about two miles west of the junction with BIA Route 4.

He arrested Paul D. Wayne, 24, who lives about 2.5 miles west of the junction.

A passenger, identified as Paul Benson, 32, who lives about 2.5 miles northeast of Blue Gap, became involved, according to the Chinle Police District report. The report did not say if any charges were placed against him.

Man's face slashed

Shiprock officers did not list any arrests in a July 9 stabbing in the Hogback Chapter.

Fernando Simms, 22, who lives about 1.5 miles southwest of the Nenahnezad Chapter House, was driving around with Cindy Jackson, no age listed, who lives about one-half mile east of the Nenahnezad Chapter House, around 1 a.m., according to the Law Enforcement Department report.

When she slashed him with a knife on the right side of the face, he abandoned the car and ran to a nearby home. The unidentified residents took him home and his mother took him to back to the Shiprock Indian Health Service hospital.

The injuries were not life-threatening, according to the report, but it took 21 stitches to close the wounds. The report indicated alcohol was involved, but didn't specify how.

Officer draws gun

A Kayenta Police District officer talked an enraged assailant into putting down a knife in a domestic disturbance about 11:50 a.m. July3, but had to draw her gun in the incident.

Officer Charlene Bahe was called to a home one-quarter of a mile south of Mile Post 402 on U.S. 160 by Daisy Grandson about her daughter Terrilettshon Atine, 24, going crazy and throwing things.

The suspect drew a knife from under her shirt when the officer knocked on the door, so Bahe drew her gun and ordered Atine to put down the knife. The suspect advanced on the officer who retreated toward her patrol vehicle.

According to the report, the suspect taunted the officer, encouraging her to shoot. The officer kept moving back to her vehicle. When the suspect got about halfway to the vehicle, she turned around and went back into the house, the report said.

This gave the officer time to calm the suspect down and convince her into surrendering her weapon.

The report did not list an arrest being made.

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Kayenta shelter to stay open

S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer

KAYENTA, Ariz. — A shelter for domestic violence victims will remain open after all.

The Toahdenassahai Shelter Home came close to having to shut down last week when a mixup in paperwork delayed funds. However, those problems have been resolved, shelter Manger Berniece Sage said.

Statistics indicate that the shelter is a much-needed operation on the western side of the Navajo Nation.

Sage said the shelter serves more than 20 families each month. The maximum capacity at any given time is 19 individuals.

In June, the home turned away five families for lack of bed space. Earlier this month, still another family had agreed to sleep on the floor one night to guarantee a safe place to stay.

Kayenta police receive more than 1,000 calls a month from women and/or families involved with abuse or violence,
frequently involving alcohol use by both the victim and the abuser. Due to the lack of officers, only about 100 are answered by law enforcement officers. That works out roughly to 10 percent of the calls. Out of that number, just two percent will make it into the shelter.

Out of that, only four percent will get as far as to file a protective custody order, Sage said.

Too many victims, Sage said, are willing to return to an abusive situation. It can be a vicious circle.

In spite of the demonstrated need, the shelter came close to having to close last week. But, the crisis has been averted, Sage said, and the story has a happy ending.

The problem began when invoices for March and April from the shelter to the Navajo Nation Department of Finance were repeatedly rejected. A spread sheet and an invoice did not match, so the department kept returning the invoice, with no explanation.

Finally, shelter staff became concerned when the telephone company threatened to disconnect the hotline and funds were not available to meet this week's payroll.

Sage and some of her staff met with Navajo Nation Department of Health Services representative to solve the discrepancies.

Some of the concerns stemmed from contracts and the stipulations placed on the money by the funding grant. Placement of some administrative expenses on the wrong line of the report created a deficit in funds and resulted in rejection of the payments to the shelter.

Division of Social Science Contracts Compliance Officer Edna Scott reviewed the reporting methods with the shelter staff, new invoices were created and the shelter received the long-awaited money Friday.

"Our main concern was how to keep our services open and funded," Sage said.

The shelter works closely with Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence and provides services to anyone who needs help, regardless of race.

The program also provides relocation to some families. "If someone from a different location marries into the Navajo Nation, and they want to return home, we work with the ACADV to return them," she said, adding that ACADV gives them bus fare.

Toahdenassahai Shelter Home feeds children under 12 years old, Sage said. Seventeen young people were fed last month at the shelter. Already 13 have requested meals so far in July.

The shelter expects to open its new 20-bed facility in mid-November.

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Goods for Navajo needy destroyed by water

Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Tom Gantt sometimes thinks God is sending him mixed messages.

Gantt, a recovering alcoholic from Missouri who has made helping the Indians in the Southwest and Mexico his mission, arrived back on the Navajo Reservation Friday to spend the this week dispensing Bibles, toys, clothes and other items to area families.

But, for the second time in less than a year, he returns to the reservation after suffering the loss of most of the materials he had collected. Eight months ago it was a fire; this time it was a flood in mid-June that destroyed about 66 percent of the materials he had collected.

The flood, he said, occurred on a Friday night and the next morning he came into Cassville, Mo., where he has a trading post.
On his way to the post office, he noticed that the small shopping center in the middle of town was flooded and that the water had been so forceful that it tore up chunks of asphalt from the roads.

"I went over and looked at it and someone told me that a wall of water went crashing through the shopping center," he said.

His trading post was located near the shopping center but when asked how the flood affected him, he said that he wasn't worried because other floods had not damaged his store. But his friends advised him to check the store because this flood was a big one.

When he got to the store, he found between two and three feet of water on the floor.

"It wiped out most of the stuff we had been collecting for this trip," Gantt said. "We were only able to save about a third of it."

Gantt said he had hundreds of Bibles stacked on the floor and the water from the flood soaked the carpet, causing the Bibles to just soak it up.

The flood also caused between $30,000 and $40,000 worth of damage to supplies in his trading post. None of it was insured.

"But I've learned something over the years," Gantt said, referring to the fire last year that wiped out his home. "When something bad befalls you, God makes sure that something good follows."

Shortly after word got out in the media about Gantt's latest tragedy, one Missouri man donated 2,000 Bibles for Gantt to distribute during this trip. Another organization, which helps the handicapped in the Franklin, Mo., area, donated a pickup load of candy.

"People were bringing in toys especially stuffed animals, many of them new because of the stories that we had lost a lot of stuffed animals in the flood," Gantt said.

So, despite some mechanical problems with his truck, Gantt and his family are now back on the reservation with plans to spend this week dispensing the donations and holding church meetings.

This includes a tent revival at 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Del Muerto Presbyterian Church where appliances, washers and dryers will be given out each night, along with the Bibles, clothes and toys.

Also traveling with the Gantts this trip are Kris and Christopher Davies, a couple from Iowa who will be putting on a puppet show nightly.

Other places that the group plans to visit this trip are the Rock Point Church of God (9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday-Wednesday), and the Canyon Family Church in Chinle (5-7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday).

He said that this trip will shed a little more light than the ones he has made in the past, thanks to a generator that was donated earlier this year to his ministry. He pointed out that some of the churches he visits, such as the ones in Jeddito and Blue Gap, have no electricity.

From here, he is traveling to the Tohono O'odham Reservation and then to Mexico. Two more trips are planned this year, he said, one in the fall and the other around Christmas.

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Appeals by Gishey, Laurence rejected

Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Supreme Court has upheld the Ethics and Rules Committee and the Board of Elections Supervisors in two appeals filed against them.

On July 5, Chief Justice Robert Yazzie and Associate Justice Raymond Austin rejected the appeal by Grace Laurence against the board, which followed up on her removal as the Smith Lake Chapter secretary-treasurer by the committee for violating the Navajo Ethics in Government Law.

"Additionally, the record shows that (Laurence) pleaded no contest to the charges against her and she agreed not to appeal the decision of the Ethics and Rules Committee. She will be held to that agreement," the justices wrote.

She faced five charges in 1999 cases, with the committee dismissing some and upholding others...

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Fort Defiance votes down Nov. 7 election

Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau

LOW MOUNTAIN, Ariz. — A resolution to support a Nov. 7 election date failed during a meeting of the Fort Defiance Agency Council on Saturday.

The resolution simply expressed a desire to postpone the election to that date, but the agency does not have the power to change the date.

Last week, the Board of Election Supervisors voted to keep the election on Oct. 3, rather than return to Aug. 1.

The vote was 26-25 plus four abstentions, which meant less than a majority of the votes favored the resolution. The council includes the elected tribal officials of the 27 chapters, plus council delegates, within the agency...

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Judge: District doesn't have to talk with union

Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The Gallup-McKinley County School Board has no obligation to continue bargaining with the local school employees' union, according to District Judge Grant Foutz's decision on a complaint filed by the union.

The McKinley County Federation of United School Employees sued the school board for violating the bargaining contract last year.

On June 21, 1999, the school board members voted that they would not renew the contract after it expired at midnight June 30, 1999.

The last few bargaining meetings scheduled between the school and MCFUSE were on June 28, 1999. In the lawsuit, the union members argued that bargaining in good faith wasn't possible because school officials made it clear that MCFUSE would not have any negotiating power the next school year. In essence, bargaining ended on June 28, two days before the contract expired, the lawsuit alleged...

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Defending champ Muellar loses title to friend

Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer

CHURCH ROCK - Defending two-time Wild Thing bull riding champion Daniel Muellar was philosophical about coming up just shy of an unprecedented third consecutive title during the 7th Annual Wild Thing Championship Bull Riding Saturday night in front of a near capacity crowd at Red Rock State Park.

If he didn't win it, Muellar figured it might as well be a close friend of his.

"I was just happy it went to a good friend," said Muellar about Talmadge Langley stealing the title on the second-to-the-last
ride of the night. "We travel together to rodeos a lot. Now at least we don't have to eat at McDonald's. We can eat steaks."

Muellar was sitting in the driver's seat leading the field with a 93 score on Wooly Bully with the taste of a impressive third Wild Thing title within his grasp with just two contestants behind the chutes ready to go. His good friend Langley was one of them...

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Shush declared winner in rain-shortened tourney

Alan Arthur
Sports Editor

GALLUP — The USSSA Native American State Softball Tournament came to a premature end. That was probably just fine with the team called 'Shush'.

Shush was declared the coed champion of the tournament when it was called off due to the rains that hit Gallup on Sunday night. Shush was leading Gallup Indian Medical Center (also known as 'Here Comes Da Judge') 9-7 when umpires called teams off the field after the third inning.

In the men's portion of the tournament, the Stoneweavers captured the title with an impressive 34-11 beating on the Farmington River Rats. Taking third place in the men's tournament was Da Judge followed by the Indians.

In the coed tourney, the Royals were the third place team and the Mudbugs finished fourth...

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Gallup sweeps improved Thoreau All-Stars

Carrie Loretto
Staff Sports Writer

THOREAU — A more solid effort on Sunday couldn't keep the Thoreau All-Stars from being swept out of the District 9 Little League tournament by Gallup.Errors proved costly for Thoreau which lost 22-7 on Saturday and 9-2 on Sunday at Shelly Field in Thoreau."I think they really came out and played ball this time," Thoreau manager Robert Esquibel said. "We had too many errors (Saturday). Today we played defense and stopped having so many errors.""Compared to (Saturday) they had a real good team," Gallup manager Paul "Fluffy" Saucedo said. "I think this is the best team they've ever had. I think this is the first year they haven't been shut out."The Gallup All-Stars will have a couple weeks to practice in preparation for the state tournament in Santa Fe. Gallup will play against the Clovis district on Friday, July 28, at 6:30 p.m...

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Deaths

Mary Nez Hale

KLAGETOH, Ariz. — Funeral services for Mary Nez Hale, 92, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 19, at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Klagetoh. Father Flann O'Neill will officiate. Burial will follow at the Klagetoh Community Cemetery.

Hale died July 13 in Show Low, Ariz. She was born July 20, 1909, in Klagetoh into the Bitterwater People Clan for the Salt People Clan.

Hale was a member of the grazing committee in the 1960s and president for District 18, Oaksprings. She was a lifelong rug weaver.

Survivors include: brothers, Albert Nez and Robert Nez, both of Klagetoh; sister, Mary Taliman of Klagetoh; four grandchildren; 37 great grandchildren; and 67 great-great-grandchildren.

Hale was preceded in death by father, Ashii Nez; mother, Ya'he'ne'bah Nez; brothers, Archie Nez and Donald C. Nez; and sister, Alice M. Ashley.

Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements.

George Kee Williams

FOREST LAKE, Ariz. Funeral Mass for George Kee Williams, 60, will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, at Cope Memorial Chapel in Gallup. Father John will officiate. Burial will follow in Sunset Memorial Park.

Williams died July 13 in Gallup. He was born Oct. 29, 1939, in Forest Lake for the Bitterwater People Clan into the Bitter Water People Clan for the Manygoats People Clan.

Williams was employed with Peabody Coal Co. for 25 years.

Survivors include: wife, Louise Williams of Church Rock; sons, Patrick Williams of Sundance and Buck Williams of Gallup; daughters, Geraldine Williams, Georgette Williams and Geneva Williams, all of Sundance; parents, George and Mae Paulinos of Forest Lake; brothers, Kee Williams, George Nelson Williams and Jack Williams, all of Forest Lake, Ariz.; sisters, Alice R. Yazzie, Julia Sherlock, Betty Williams, Elouise Williams, Bessie Williams and Shirley Paulson, all of Forest Lake; and one grandchild.

Williams was preceded in death by Pete Williams and Virgil Williams.

Pallbearers will be Phillip Hovel Jr., Joshua Joe, Roland Yazzie, Tony Hovel, Thomas Sherlock and Jason Livingston.

The family will receive relatives and friends at the Williams Residence.

Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Jones McCauley

CROWNPOINT — Funeral services for Jones McCauley, 88, will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Crownpoint Lighthouse Assembly of God in Crownpoint. Pastor Carlos Baki will officiate. Burial will follow at the Crownpoint Community Cemetery.

McCauley died July 14 in Crownpoint. He was born Jan. 8, 1912, in Whitehorse Lake for the Beneath His Sheeves People
Clan.

McCauley was retired from Fort Wingate as an ammunitions inspector.

Survivors include: stepsons, Raymond Charleston of Shiprock and Joe Lee Smiley of Brimhall; daughter, Lucia A. Craig of Crownpoint; stepdaughter, Lilley Smiley of Crownpoint; 15 grandchildren; and 21 great-grandchildren.

McCauley was preceded in death by wife, Elizabeth McCauley; parents, Julio and Hashapah Mescale; stepdaughter, Mattie Pino; and stepson, Levi Smiley.

Pallbearers will be Alexis Ellsworth and other family members.

Rollie Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements.

Alwood Begay

GANADO, Ariz. — Funeral services for Alwood Begay, 63, were held at 10 a.m. today, July 17, at the All Saints Catholic Church in Ganado. Father Flann O'Neill, O.F.M., officiated. Burial followed on family land in Ganado.

Begay died July 13 in Phoenix. He was born July 21, 1937, in Naschitti into the Towering House People Clan for the Salt People Clan.

Begay was in a five-year program in Steward, Nev.

Survivors include wife, Marie Ann Begay; sons, Clifford Begay and Randall Begay; daughter, Victoria Spencer; parents, Marvin and Grace Begay; sister, Marta Kirk of Flagstaff, Ariz.; 23 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Begay was preceded in death by sons, Marvin Begay, and daughter, Patricia Begay.

Pallbearers were Kenneth James, Dennison Begay, Larry Yazzie, David Bob, Edison Charley and Damon Begay.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements.

Emily Martinez

DALY CITY, Cali. — Services for Emily Martinez, 85, were held Friday, July 14, in Daly City, Calif.

Martinez died July 9 in Daly City. She was born Sept. 26, 1914.

Martinez was a former resident of Gallup.

Survivors include: sons, Ben Martinez and Tom Martinez; sisters, Margaret Gonzales of Montebella, Calif., and Rose Garcia of Albuquerque; brother, Louis Montoya of Gallup; and three grandchildren.

Martinez was preceded in death by husband, Ben Martinez; sisters, Dorothy Jaramillo and Helen Herrera; brother, Tom Montoya; and parents, Margaret and Inez Montoya.

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