Memories on sale in Milan
Swap meet brings past alive
Christian Oberholser
Special to the Independent
MILAN — Located just west of Milan along "old Route 66,"
Swap-Meet 66 houses not only memories for Thomas LaMance, but collector
items like a 1815 Philadelphia Gazette newspaper.
National Geographics dating back to 1913, a 1926 full-page
magazine ad for a Fordson farm tractor priced at $495, and a stamp
collection with dates from the early '20s are a few examples of the
treasures found at Swap-Meet 66.
Several first-day covers are part of the stamp collection. LaMance's
button collection features an array of buttons from the President
Jimmy Carter era.
Hub caps and license plates cover the exterior of the old wood frame
house. Signatures from Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands,
which fill his guest book just inside the door, demonstrate his popularity
in Europe.
After filling one spiral-ring notebook with guest signatures, LaMance
is still looking for guests from two particular countries.
"People from all over the world have signed my guest book, but
I've had no visitors from China and Korea," LaMance said.
LaMance's international reputation also extends to the Far East. The
Swap Meet 66 sign identifying his unusual business was an excellent
backdrop for a Japanese film company and model from Japan. They spent
a day this spring shooting still shots.
Framed and hanging over the wood-burning stove that keeps him warm
on winter mornings while cataloging his inventory, a picture from
a Swedish newspaper shows LaMance in front of his latest business
venture.
His 50-year career started by farming in the El Morro area. Another
picture of LaMance and his brother driving a team of horses pulling
a wagonload of pinto beans to market is evidence of the farming industry
that once thrived in the high country of El Morro. He soon moved to
California where he was an auctioneer and later a guard at Alcatraz.
LaMance recalls accumulating most of his Swap-Meet 66 inventory while
auctioneering in California.
"There were many trips over an eight-year period to get everything
moved back to New Mexico," LaMance said. "We planned to
set up an auction house here."
Then his career took another turn. Instead of calling as an auctioneer,
the 86-year-old now operates his permanent indoor swap meet along
one of the world's most famous roads Old 66. His business card expresses
his business approach: "Open when I feel like it or by appointment."
LaMance also finds time to do some freelance writing for monthly publications.
Every two years LaMance receives a call from an English advertising
agency. Using his Swap-Meet 66 as a back drop, the European agency
spends three days shooting photos for a new ad campaign.
"Old Route 66 has an international reputation," LaMance
said. "When international associations schedule a tour of the
old road, they usually include a stop at my swap meet."
LaMance depends on the mail for most of his business. Ads regularly
run in magazines like "Today's Collector" and newspaper
articles open up a new market for his collectables. Recently, he sold
a newspaper dating to the late 1700s for $25. "I don't seem to
have any Civil War era published newspapers left," he added.
LaMance first showed his entrepreneurial qualities as early as 14.
His first shot at the business world was hunting soda-pop bottles
so he could buy his first Stetson.
He sold those bottles for 2 cents apiece to an old man who used them
to bottle whiskey he brewed in the hills.
That same entrepreneurial spirit still persists with more of a laid-back
attitude. Freelance writing for magazines gives LaMance a chance to
share life experiences that took him on dusty roads from Kansas to
California. His writings take an inside look at the life of old-time
horse traders and describe life from inside Alcatraz.
While at "The Rock," LaMance guarded inmates such as the
Bird Man, Al Capone, and Pretty Boy Floyd, all calling a 5-by-9-foot
cell home in the "America's toughest federal penitentiary."
"Many a time I stood guard while the Bird Man took a shower,"
LaMance said.
Writing, keeping regular shop hours on Saturday, and opening the door
for anyone dropping by during the week "keeps me busy enough."
"When anyone stops, my dogs will let me know," LaMance said.
"And, I'm more than glad to walk over and open the door anytime."
| Top |
Police hunt driver in fatal crash
Daughter, father killed
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Navajo police are looking for the 34-year-old Window
Rock driver whose alleged drunken driving killed a father and his
9-year-old daughter at the western edge of Yah-Tah-Hey last week.
Wayne Plummer escaped from the Gallup Indian Medical Center after
tribal police arrested him, but before they could book him, on a charge
of driving while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, according
to Lt. Ivan Tsosie of Criminal Investigations Department.
Tsosie asked that anyone who has seen Plummer, or knows where he is,
to contact Sgt. Eldon Young at the CID Window Rock office at (520)
871-7519.
Derwin Williams Sr. of Hunter's Point was headed toward Gallup on
New Mexico Route 264 at Mile Post 15 around 2 p.m. July 26 with his
wife and two children when Plummer reportedly tailgated him, forcing
him onto the eastbound shoulder.
Plummer allegedly then whipped a left turn, cutting in front of a
New Mexico Highway and Transportation Department dump truck. The dump
truck driver lost control, crossed the median and hit the Williams
car, killing the driver at the scene and trapping his 9-year-old daughter
in the back seat.
The girl died the following day.
An autopsy showed she died of massive internal injuries July 27 at
the University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque, Lt. Tsosie said.
An officer was about one-half mile behind the dump truck when the
collision occurred and found Christie Williams, 28, cradling her 2-year-old
son by the side of the family's smashed 1991 Chevrolet.
The impact forced both the Williams car and the state dump truck to
the eastbound right-of-way fence.
Passenger killed
Navajo police said alcohol was involved in the first traffic fatality
of the month on the reservation, about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Michael Alonzo Wagoner, who lived about 1.5 miles north of the Sweet
Water Chapter House, died when he and the driver, Leon Taylor, 21,
who lives about one mile north of the chapter house, were both ejected
when their 1996 Ford Contour 4x4 rolled twice.
They were headed south at a high rate of speed on the Bureau of Indian
Affairs Route 35 some 7.3 miles south of Mile Post 450 on U.S. 160
when they lost control on the graded dirt road and skidded sideways
onto the shoulder.
Police said neither man was using his seatbelt and the victim landed
40 feet from the vehicle.
The chapter is in the northeastern corner of Arizona, about 25 miles
southwest of the Four Corners Monument.
Stabbing in Greasewood
Dilkon Police District detectives are trying to find out why and how
Randolf Yazzie, 43, of Dilkon got stabbed Tuesday.
Officers received the call around 6:30 p.m. and found him sitting
several feet from the home of Nora Yazzie, which is about 1.5 miles
southeast of the Greasewood Trading Post.
He had been stabbed in the stomach and also had a deep chin cut. He
was flown to Flagstaff Medical Center after treatment by an ambulance
crew and Sage Memorial Hospital in Ganado.
| Top |
Jury indicts armed inmate
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — A 38-year-old man in prison found out the hard way prisoners
do not carry weapons.
Carl Segura, also known as Joe Garcia, is an inmate at Western New
Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants and was caught May 11, carrying
a shank, which is a homemade knife.
Prisoners are not supposed to have weapons so Segura was charged with
possession of a deadly weapon or explosive by a prisoner, a second-degree
felony.
In July, the Cibola County grand jury indicted Segura on the charge.
In other judicial matters in Cibola County:
District Judge Joseph F. Arite sentenced Felix Ramirez, 27, of Grants,
for an assault that happened on Oct. 15, 1999. Arite deferred sentencing
for six months and ordered that Ramirez be placed on supervised probation
for the same length of time.
Lawrence Chavez, 37, was sentenced for driving while under the influence
of liquor or drugs, driving while his license is suspended or revoked,
failure to carry proof of financial responsibility and driving a vehicle
at night without lighted lamps.
Chavez received 18 months for the drunken driving plus 364 days in
jail for the driving while his license was suspended or revoked. The
judge suspended all but eight months and seven days of the sentence.
The judge also ordered that Chavez be placed on supervised probation.
Fabian Chavez, 33, of Grants, was sentenced for burglary of a home.
The crime happened Nov. 10, 1998.
The judge sentenced Chavez to three years in prison and then suspended
the sentence on the provision that Chavez be placed on supervised
probation for three years.
Willie Salazar, 20, of Grants, was given 364 days in jail on a conviction
of aggravated battery without great bodily harm. The judge then suspended
the sentence with the provision that Salazar be placed on supervised
probation for one year.
Mindi Gonzales, 22, of Grants, received a two-year deferred sentence
for shooting at, or from, a motor vehicle without injury. Arite placed
Gonzales on supervised probation for two years.
Steven Lee Ford, 29, of Grants, convicted of possession of a firearm
or destructive device by a felon, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The judge then suspended the sentence on the condition that Ford be
placed on supervised probation for 18 months.
Arite sentenced Andrew Gurule, 26, of Grants, for receiving stolen
property over $2,500, conspiracy, tampering with evidence and possession
of a firearm or destructive device by a felon.
Gurule was sentenced to a total of seven and one half years. The sentences
are to run concurrently, meaning that the actual sentence is three
years.
| Top |
Days Inn open while court fight continues
Bill Donovan
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — A lot of people on the Navajo Reservation are still
wondering how Romero Brown has been able to keep his hotel so long.
"We still get people calling up asking if the hotel is going
to be closed or if I still own it," Brown said earlier this week.
The answer is a qualified yes.
It's qualified because Brown and his attorneys are still in court
fighting off an attempt by a Phoenix bank, Community First
National, to foreclose on him for default of a $3.2 million loan.
Brown was supposed to start paying the bank back for the loan a year
ago but refuses to make any payments because of his claims that the
bank allowed the contractor to do shoddy work that has sharply reduced
the value of the Navajoland Days Inn.
Currently, however, the court dispute has nothing to do with this
claim. Instead, for the past six months, Window Rock Tribal Judge
Allan Sloan has been pondering the question of where the dispute should
be held in state court as the bank wants or in tribal court where
Brown says it should be heard.
The bank contends that it should be held in state court because Brown
agreed when he got the loan that any disputes would be held there.
But Brown's attorneys argue that the matter should rightfully be heard
anyway by the tribal courts because of tribal sovereignty since it
was a contract signed by a Navajo living in Indian country.
While all of this goes on and on and on Brown continues to run his
motel, hoping to keep it going so that he can continue paying salaries
to the 30 Navajos working on staff.
"I have yet to take a cent in salary, even though it's been open
18 months," he said.
Before the hotel opened, Brown was hoping to see occupancy by its
second summer hit the 60 percent range but because of the media attention
on Brown's problems, so far the best he could do was 55 percent and
that was for one month.
Mostly, he's averaging between 30 and 35 percent a month.
A lot of this is caused by people hearing about his problems and worrying
whether he will be open two or three months down the road when they
come to Window Rock.
"I try to assure them that I'm going to be here," Brown
said. Some people take a chance; others, however, book rooms at the
Navajo Nation Inn or in Gallup.
Brown said he would like the dispute resolved so that he can devote
his total attention to running the motel and resolving the construction
problems that have seriously affected the building.
He said that he has received calls from the bank asking him to consider
going into forfeiture so that the bank would then be able to get his
loan paid by the federal government, which guaranteed it.
"But if I do that, it would be just the same as declaring bankruptcy
and this would affect my credit. I would lose everything," he
said.
He would lose the hotel although in one scenario suggested by the
bank, the tribe would buy it for $250,000 and then sell it back to
Brown for the same amount. This would also allow the bank to go after
the federal government for the remainder of the loan.
The problem there, Brown said, is that he would have possession of
a hotel which everyone admits is no longer worth the $3.2 million
that it cost to built.
Brown said that one architectural study of the building indicated
that it was worth at most $500,000 because of the structural damage
caused by poor construction.
Eventually, the question of whether Brown or the bank was responsible
for allowing the poor construction will be settled in court but both
sides admit that may be years in the future.
In the meantime, Brown said he plans to continue running the hotel
and serving the public while waiting for the day when all the legal
hassles are behind him.
| Top |
Shiprock team puts on own clinic
Carrie Loretto
Staff Sports Writer
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The Shiprock Reds didn't have time to take advantage
of the free baseball clinic which preceded the start of the 2nd Annual
Arizona Diamondbacks Inter-Tribal Youth Baseball Invitational.
Not that they seem to have needed it.
The Reds played flawless ball as they shut out the AK-Chin
A's 13-0 Thursday.
"We had time to get here (to Phoenix), eat, check into our hotel
and get here (to the ballpark) for our game," Shiprock coach
Jack Tome said. "We didn't get a chance (to participate in the
clinic)..."
| Top |
Begaye divided about Canoncito gambling
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye explained
his divided feelings about the Canoncito Navajo Reservation's efforts
to obtain casino-style gambling in a statement issued Thursday night.
Begaye decided not to veto the Navajo Nation Council resolution for
an exemption to the tribal criminal code against nontraditional gaming.
This allows the satellite reservation to try to negotiate a gambling
compact with the State of New Mexico. A compact is required under
the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
But the president said he still supports the decision, made in two
referenda by tribal voters, not to allow gambling anyplace else on
the main or the other two satellite reservations at Ramah and Alamo...
| Top |
Gallup, Zuni districts put on list by
mistake
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — A list of poorly-performing school districts published
Sunday in the Albuquerque Journal included the names of Gallup-McKinley
County and Zuni Public Schools.
The article led readers to believe the list came from the state Department
of Education, but the Journal corrected itself on Tuesday, saying
the newspaper had compiled the list itself by looking at the standardized
test scores of fourth-grade students
from all 89 New Mexican school districts.
The list contained 19 school districts with test scores that did not
meet the state standards.
State Superintendent Michael Davis sent memos to all the districts
on the list, letting them know of the error...
| Top |
Raid in Tuba City part of money probe
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Prosecutor's Office confirmed
Thursday it is investigating the alleged misuse of $43,186 in tribal
money at the Tuba City Chapter.
The allegations of misuse were made by unnamed people.
John Kern, the attorney for the White Collar Crimes Unit of the Chief
Prosecutor's Office, said Thursday, "No one is being singled
out. We are obligated when it comes to tribal funds, if there is any
hint of abuse, to look at it."
Chapter President Robert Yazzie told an Independent correspondent
earlier this week that he is not guilty of anything and that he had
no further comment. All his comments would be in court, he said...
| Top |
Brother indicted in shooting
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — A federal grand jury in Albuquerque indicted Davis
Chee Lizer, 42, on two charges in the shooting death of his 52-year-old
brother.
Lizer lives in the Coal Mine community between Tse Bonito and Fort
Defiance.
The grand jury charged him Wednesday with voluntary manslaughter and
discharging a firearm during a violent crime in the death of Paul
Chee Lizer in their hogan July 8.
Lizer will now stand trial in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque...
| Top |
Grants man killed when semi rolls
Christopher Schurtz
Staff Writer
GRANTS — A Grants man was killed Wednesday when the semi-truck
and trailer he was driving rolled over.
Nicholas Luna, 25, was driving westbound on New Mexico 124 just before
9 a.m. carrying around 500 gallons of new and used motor oil and anti-freeze
in his trailer.
State police said Luna, a driver for the Albuquerque-based trucking
company WWC Inc., apparently veered off the road onto the dirt portion
of the shoulder and then overcorrected.
He lost control of the truck and swerved to the left, crossing both
lanes of traffic. The truck then rolled at least one time, throwing
Luna from the vehicle...
| Top |
Deaths
Williamette I. Gehring
GRANTS — Williamette I. Gehring, 79, died Aug. 1 in Grants. Cremation
has taken place. No services are scheduled at this time.
Gehring was born Feb. 7, 1921, in Wichita, Kan., to Ray and Gladys
Irene Hovard Hook, and was raised by her stepfather, Gene Callaway.
Gehring lived in Montrose, Colo., before moving to Grants. She was
a member of the local bowling league. She enjoyed fishing and visiting
her grandchildren.
Survivors include son, Ralph Eugene Pagone of Elko, Nev.; daughter,
Gladys Bernice Carpenter of Hotchkiss, Colo.; six
grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Gehring was preceded in death by parents; husband, Fred Gehring; and
son, Carl Edward Pagone.
Spencer K. Charleston
TUBA CITY, Ariz. — Services for Spencer Kimball Charleston, 53,
were held at 10 a.m. today, Aug. 4, at the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints in Tuba City.
Charleston died July 30 in Tuba City. He was born for the Towering
House People Clan into the Bitter Water People Clan.
Survivors include wife, Vern Charleston; sons, Spencer K. Charleston
Jr., Edwin Allen Charleston and Charles B.
Charleston; daughters, Kelly Ann and Sheryl Lynn Charleston; brothers,
Vern Charleston and Glenn Charleston; and sister, Glenda Charleston.
Nicholas "Nick" Luna
LUNA — Services for Nicholas "Nick" Luna, 26, will
be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 7, at Our Lady of Light Catholic Church.
Burial will follow at the Cubero Cemetery.
Visitation will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday and the rosary will be recited
at 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, both at the church.
Luna died Aug. 2. He was born Sept. 22, 1974.
Survivors include his son, Vicente Luna; mother, Marilyn Chavez; stepfather,
David Chavez; father, Nick Luna; brothers, Joseph Jaramillo and Patrick
Luna; stepbrothers, Dawayne Chavez, Troy Chavez, Julian Chavez and
Gene Chavez; and grandmother, Mollie Jaramillo.
Luna was preceded in death by his grandparents, Eddie A. Jaramillo,
Reyes Luna and Vicente Luna.
Pallbearers will be Phillip Castillo, Darrell Sanchez, Paul Castillo,
Fabian Jaramillo, Orren Charlie, Keith Baca, Vince Brito, Ruben Brito
and Anthony Saavedra.
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