Navajo election off; payraise on
Voting delayed to Nov. 7
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The Board of Election Supervisors voted unanimously
Monday to postpone the general election until Nov. 7.
But a Navajo vote on the same day as state and national election probably
won't happen either.
It is just another punch thrown in the election brawl that has left
Navajo voters increasingly confused.
Navajo Nation Council Speaker Edward T. Begay called the delegates
back into their 12th special session on Wednesday to decide on a new
election schedule after the supervisors canceled today's voting.
The supervisors, because of their defiance of the council, will be
stripped of their duties and pay but not kicked out of office because
the council voted 60-14 on Monday, in special session, to override
a President Kelsey Begaye veto, with one vote to spare.
The president had vetoed the delegates' July 18 action to sanction
the elections board if it didn't hold the chapter-level general election
Aug. 1 and provide four additional business days for absentee voting,
a process that usually takes place during the month before the election.
After the council's action, the board met for the fourth time in a
week with each member continuing to maintain his or her job is to
provide voters with a fair, informed and unbiased election.
The council majority, with extensive support and encouragement from
the Office of Legislative Counsel and the Office of the Council Speaker,
has maintained steadfastly that the law is the law and the law calls
for the general election to be the first Tuesday of August.
Chief Legislative Counsel Steve Boos reminded the council that the
date was set 10 years ago and that what constitutes fairness is up
to the delegates. He told the council that if it wanted to postpone
the election, it would need a second resolution.
Delegate Ervin Keeswood (Hogback Chapter) then meticulously went through
a half-dozen points, urging the other legislators to vote to override
the veto so an election could be held today and because there was
no other document introduced to waive the necessary laws.
Supervisors wanted to get a resolution on the floor for the council
to uphold the Oct. 3 voting date the board had been working toward,
but it didn't clear the review process before adjournment at 12:45
p.m.
Keeswood said the president did not veto the referendum date, that
Begaye should have vetoed the referendum resolution in February if
he felt the council had a conflict of interest, that there is confusion
about how many votes it will take for the referendum on the size of
the council to pass, that not overriding the veto would subject the
council to a lawsuit, and wondering how much was left of the $153,189
transferred by the Inter-Government Relations Committee on the condition
it be used for an Aug. 1 election.
In a press release, Speaker Begay said, "In his veto message,
President Begaye suggested that the board be criminally prosecuted
if the election were not held on Aug. 1."
President Begaye's veto memo said, "The Navajo Elections Code
(section number) clearly sets forth the penalties and the procedures
of finding violations of Navajo election laws. These laws should also
be adhered to if a violation, indeed, exists."
The veto message concluded, "The most important reason behind
my veto is due to the confusion the elections dispute has caused.
At this point in time it is with difficulty to determine whether an
Aug. 1, 2000, election will provide the Navajo people a fair and unbiased
election. When it comes to the rights of the Navajo people it does
not matter which entity within the Navajo Nation government is at
fault. The bottom line now is what is fair to the Navajo people?"
Begaye's veto canceled out the four extra business days voters had
to cast absentee ballots; the override reinstated those four days;
the election board postponement effectively wiped out both.
The council's sanctions resolution turns the board's duties over to
the Inter-Government Relations Committee, which is composed of the
speaker and the chairmen of the council's 11 standing committees.
It also places the elections director under the control of Rose Graham,
director of the Legislative Services Office and set a special session
for Aug. 2 if the Aug. 1 vote was not held.
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BIA restricts Navajo livestock on Hopi
land
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The Bureau of Indian Affairs is warning
Navajos with too much livestock on Hopi land to remove the animals
or face impoundment of some of their sheep and cattle.
Tom Davis, a range management specialist with the BIA, said letters
have been sent out ordering Navajos living on Hopi land under a recent
lease agreement to make sure their herds are no bigger than their
permits allow.
The BIA and Hopi Tribe estimate Navajos have more than 50 percent
more sheep than they are allowed on many range units.
Navajos who fail to remove the extra animals within five days of receiving
the warning letter will face impoundment of the excess sheep and cattle.
They will have to pay the BIA's costs to get the animals back.
Hopi officials say they have been carefully monitoring Navajo use
of the land.
"Our rangers have been concerned because of the drought,"
said Hopi Tribe spokesman Eugene Kaye, adding that problem with Navajo
livestock has grown as the hot summer progressed.
Each year, the Hopi Agency of the BIA inventories livestock owned
by an estimated 90 Navajo and 50 Hopi permit holders grazing on Hopi
Partition lands.
A 1996 accommodation agreement signed by the Navajo families gave
them 75-year leases to live and graze livestock on the Hopi land,
which had been part of an ongoing dispute.
The Hopi Agency, which monitors livestock grazing and issues annual
permits for range units, says many permit holders have more cattle
and sheep on the land than allowed.
"The rangelands are in poor condition right now. We are in a
serious drought," said Wendell Honanie, superintendent of the
Hopi Agency.
A spokeswoman for the Navajos living on the Hopi Partition lands did
not return a call for comment Monday.
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1 dies in wreck near Kayenta
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — An 18-year-old Phoenix man died early Saturday
in a one-vehicle rollover in Shonto, according to the Navajo Law Enforcement
Department.
Preston J. Ameelyenah was riding in the bed of a Chevrolet S-10 pickup
truck in the 5:15 a.m. accident at Mile Post 362.5 on U.S. 160 and
was ejected. He was pronounced dead at the Kayenta Indian Health Service
hospital.
The driver and a passenger were taken to two other hospitals, according
to the Kayenta Police District.
The report said the driver, a girl who will be 18 on Sept. 23 and
who lives about one mile northwest of the Tuba City Trading Post,
said she lost control. The truck landed on its side, the investigating
officer said. She was taken to Tuba City Indian Medical Center.
A 20-year-old passenger, Ronnie Toledo, who lives in the Old Mutual
Help subdivision in Kayenta, was taken to Flagstaff Medical Center.
No charges were immediately filed and the case was turned over to
the Criminal Investigations Department.
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Trial set in murder of cop
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — The most important trial in accused cop killer Michael
Archuleta's life will begin Aug. 14 in Cibola County.
Archuleta allegedly shot Sierra County Sheriff's Deputy Kelly Clark
to death in a wild scuffle with her service pistol on March 4, 1999.
The trial is expected to take about three weeks in the death penalty
case against Archuleta, 21, who was being taken by Clark from the
Sierra County Detention Center to Western New Mexico Correctional
Facility in Grants to serve out the rest of a short sentence because
of a probation violation.
The killing happened on Interstate 40 near mile marker 92, as the
transport car was being driven west.
According to court records, Archuleta was sitting in the back seat
of the transport car when he reached through a Plexiglas partition
between the front and back seats, snatched Clark's .40 caliber semi-automatic
service pistol from its holster on her right hip, shot her once in
the right leg when she apparently struggled with him and then put
the pistol at point blank range behind her right ear and pulled the
trigger a second time.
Clark was driving the vehicle and was the only other person in the
car with Archuleta.
The sheriff's department vehicle swerved across the center median
and slammed into a semi-tractor trailer rig being driven east on Interstate
40.
Archuleta got out of the wrecked car and allegedly carjacked a Grants
minister on his way to Albuquerque. The minister was released and
Archuleta was captured by the authorities at a service station telephone
booth on the west side of Albuquerque.
Clark was rushed to Cibola General Hospital where she later died.
She was a single mother of a teen-age daughter.
A little more than a month after the shooting state prosecutors already
were talking about the death penalty for Archuleta and on July 19,
1999, District Attorney Mike Runnels filed the papers in Cibola County
seeking the death penalty.
There appear to be no further barriers to the Aug. 14 trial date.
Prosecutors estimate it will take a week to select the 12-person jury
and the actual trial should take an additional two weeks.
The state witness list shows 27 New Mexico State Police officers slated
to be called, five Cibola County Sheriff's Department deputies, two
Sierra County Sheriff's Department deputies, one officer from the
Grants Police Department, six Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department
deputies, seven officers from the Albuquerque Police Department, two
Mount Taylor Ambulance Service employees, five employees from the
Department of Public Safety Crime Lab, one person from the Colorado
Probation Office, six personnel from the Sierra County Detention Center,
the attending doctor at Cibola General Hospital, four persons from
the medical examiner's office and 35 civilians.
Clark was the 144th peace officer and the second female officer to
be killed in the line of duty since New Mexico was a territory.
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Foursome teams up for 5-stroke win
Alan Arthur
Sports Editor
GALLUP — Five turned out to be the lucky number for the winning
team at the 12th Annual A.C. Houston Benefit Golf Scramble that was
held on Sunday.
The winning team of Mike Peters, Wesley Shank, Charles Becenti and
Ron Silva turned in the top gross score of 55.0 (which, incidentally,
was also their net score since they had a handicap of 0.0). That effort
was good enough for a five-stroke victory in the tournament held at
the Gallup Municipal Golf Course.
Three teams finished behind with gross scores of 60. It then fell
to net score to decide the placings with the team of Obit Cayedito,
James Howe, Loren Miller and Ruben Sanchez taking runner-up honors
with a net score of 57.1...
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Election Board stares down Tribal Council
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Even though they will be stripped of their powers
Wednesday by the Navajo Nation Council, the Navajo Board of Election
Supervisors will have accomplished its goal of giving voters more
time to learn about the issues and candidates.
Jay DeGroat said his motion Monday afternoon to postpone the election
until Nov. 7 "is coming from my heart. If the council wants to
take over the election, the time will be there for our people to have
a better preparation. Let them sanction us.
If we postpone it there will be no election (today)."
The other supervisors agreed and voted 7-0 for the postponement...
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2 Dems, 1 Republican unite to run as
a team
Bill Donovan
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Two Democrats and a Republican have joined forces
to gain the support of Navajo Reservation residents in the upcoming
Arizona primary.
The odd threesome consists of State Sen. Jack Jackson and State Rep.
Sylvia Laughter, both Democrats and both running for re-election,
and Caleb Roanhorse, a Republican who is running as a write-in candidate
for state representative.
The three held a press conference in Window Rock on Monday to announce
their decision to run as a ticket, saying that having a combination
of Democrats and Republicans can only be good for the Navajo people...
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County approves funds for Northside Clinic
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Though Edward Muoz urged McKinley County Commissioners
to delay a vote regarding Presbyterian Medical Services, the commissioners
decided to approve funds for PMS.
The fund gives about $147,000 for primary care, mental health, administrative
costs and other health care services at the clinic.
Muoz told commissioners he was concerned that PMS was not serving
its patients as it should.
In his presentation, Muoz said the clinic's physicians leave at a
high rate. PMS does not do its part to recruit doctors and make sure
their service is always available to patients, he added...
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Council overrides pay veto
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — In what one delegates claims is a tainted vote,
the Navajo Nation Council barely overrode President Kelsey Begaye's
veto of the $10,000-a-year pay raise for itself, the president and
vice-president.
Delegate Wallace Charley (Shiprock Chapter) said after the meeting,
"When the speaker locked in the vote I was looking at the back
of the Council Chamber. Someone pushed it (his 'yes' button) and it
sure wasn't me." He said he had voted against the raise all along.
Asked if he knew who did it, Charley said either Jerry Bodie (Sanostee
Chapter) or Harry Clark (Chinle and Nazlini chapters). They are the
delegates who sit on either side of him.
With 59 votes needed for the override to succeed, the official vote
was 59-17...
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Tso has big payday at Crownpoint rodeo
Carrie Loretto
Staff Sports Writer
CROWNPOINT — Roderick Tso was the big winner at the Eastern Navajo
Fair Rodeo held this past weekend in Crownpoint.
The calf roper won the short go in 9.70 which, combined with his time
of 9.30 in the long go, produced the top average (19.00). Those payouts,
combined with winnings in the team roping netted him $1567.
He placed fourth in the long go with Reginald Tso in 6.52. They shaved
off seven-tenths of a second in the short go to tie Alvin Willie and
Nelson Long (5.80). The Tsos finished behind Willie/Long in the average,
10.84 to 12.32.
Donovan Yazzie won the calf roping long go with a time of 9.12. Speck
Arviso trailed Tso in 9.40, Ed Holyan was fourth in 9.81 and Karl
Dennison fifth in 10.41...
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Deaths
Roy F. Yoder
GALLUP — Services for Roy F. Yoder, 77, will be held at 10 a.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 2, at the First Baptist Church of Gallup. Pastor Jay
McCollum will officiate. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery
in Gallup.
Visitation will be held from noon to 7 p.m. today at Rollie Mortuary.
Yoder died July 28 in Rio Rancho. He was born June 11, 1923, in Rehoboth.
Yoder was a veteran of World War II, serving with the U.S. Navy. He
was a self-employed building contractor in the Gallup area for many
years. He was a member of the Masons, member and deacon of the First
Baptist Church of Gallup, VFW and a life resident of Gallup. He was
a past member of the Chamber of Commerce and past board member of
Rehoboth Hospital.
Survivors include wife, Barbara Yoder of Tucson, Ariz.; son, Mark
Yoder of Gallup; daughters, Daphne Rogers of Bayfield, Colo., and
Bridgette Santillanes of Jamestown; brother, William Yoder of West
Point, Calif.; and five grandchildren.
Yoder was preceded in death by wife, Virginia; parents, Roy P. Yoder
Sr. and Mary Yoder; daughters, Debbie Yoder and Stephanie Yoder; sister,
Marjorie Blackburn; and brothers, George Yoder, John Yoder and Ralph
Yoder.
Pallbearers will be James Boyd, Eurell Malone, Mike Mataya, Bill Richardson,
Stan Rogers, Will Santillanes, Gene Smith and Steven Yoder.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Evelyn (Maloney) Tallman
TUBA CITY, Ariz. — Services for Evelyn (Maloney) Tallman, 84,
will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at the Tuba City Latter
Day Saints Church. Bishop Tully Haswood will officiate. Burial will
follow at the Tuba City Cemetery.
Tallman died July 30 at Tuba Indian Medical Center.
She was born May 16, 1916.
Survivors include her husband, Danial Tallman; sons, Tully Haswood,
Heber Tallman, Pete Tallman and James Tallman; daughters, Mazie Dressler,
Anita Tallman, Juanita Burns and Cecelia Sloan; and a sister, Eva
Haswood.
Tallman was preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Ester Maloney;
brothers, Mach Maloney, Mike Maloney and Jimmie Maloney; and a sister,
Ida Mae Martinez.
Pallbearers will be Heber Tallman, Pete Tallman, James Tallman, David
Tallman and Orrin Tallman.
Michael Avery Hansen
ALBUQUERQUE — Memorial services for Michael Avery Hansen, 39,
will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2, at the Chapel of Fitzgerald
and Son Funeral Directors at 3113 Carlisle NE, Albuquerque.
A memorial rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. tonight, Aug. 1, at the
Chapel of Fitzgerald and Son Funeral Directors.
Hansen died July 29 in Albuquerque.
Hansen was a 1979 graduate of Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City,
Iowa. He was a 20-year employee of Klinger Constructor, Inc. He enjoyed
the sport of body building and he actively competed for more than
20 years.
Survivors include wife, Carol Burch of Gallup; parents, Skip and Camilla
Hansen; sisters, Maureen Pape and Mary O'Brien; and grandmother, Helen
Conway.
Shay B. Watson
TWIN LAKES — Services for Shay B. Watson, 96, will be announced
at a later date.
Watson died July 31 in Gallup. She was born Dec. 3, 1903, in Rocksprings
for the Towering House People Clan into the Edge of the Water People
Clan.
A family meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Twin Lake
Chapter House to plan the funeral.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
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