Ben Lilly with Brasier Asphalt holds a slow sign as men pave Highway 264 with a Nova Chip asphalt paving machine Monday morning in Tso Bonito, N.M.

Photo by Nicole Goodhue

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Kayenta school chief under fire

S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The Kayenta School Board has asked the attorney general and the state auditor of Arizona to investigate recent problems of the Kayenta Unified School District.

While the matters are under investigation, School Board Superintendent Tommy Yazzie was put on paid administrative leave. A statement faxed to the Independent said:

"Board members felt strongly that immediate action was needed to restore public confidence in the operation of the district and to clear up any allegations that are unwarranted."

School board member Harry Sombrero, who is also a criminal investigator with the tribal police, said the evidence of improprieties began surfacing when the state statutes and school board budgets were compared.

After joining the school board several years ago, Sombrero said he started asking for copies of the budget and state
ordinances to familiarize himself with the prohibitions and procedures. Finally, after two years of stalling, he received copies and began to notice the alleged improprieties. Two other school board members also decided there were problems.

When unconcerned board members were confronted with some of the issues, Sombrero said, "They said 'That's been the practice.' That bothered me."

Finally, Sombrero said, several of the members decided to do something about it when a letter informed them Craig
Brandow, a high school principal, had been terminated. The action had been taken without a meeting, or even a discussion, by the board.

Some of the allegations include:

A payment of $1,000 to John Holiday, a medicine man from Golding, Utah. The payment was for a dedication ceremony that lasted less than one hour in March for the technology building. In addition, Holiday was given a piece of jewelry. The expenditures related to Holiday's visit had not been authorized by the school board.

A practice by the superintendent of presenting the names of new hires without identifying the salary or benefits as in line with district salary schedules and which were not approved by the board.

The unauthorized payment of $38,397 in salary and $2,603 in moving costs, subsidized rent, paid utilities and other benefits totaling more than $3,000 to Richard Beverly, hired as a health science teacher and coach in September 1999. Yazzie later
increased the salary and benefits without approval of the board.

The use of district revolving credit accounts to make payments to employees and others.

Unauthorized payments of wages and overtime to individuals dealing with work that was not assigned by the board.

A violation dealing with conflict of interest in the appointment of Mike Beverly as an assistant coach for his brother Richard Beverly.

The loss of a master key by the superintendent, costing the district approximately $62,000 in key and lock replacement costs. A series of break-ins began after the keys disappeared. The key reappeared about four months later.

A practice by the superintendent of asking the board to approve expense vouchers without providing documentation and explanation about the reasons for the request.

A violation of the Arizona Open Meetings Act by Yazzie.

The governing board also entered into a contract with ABS Services to assist the district with its business operations until a new business manager is hired. William I. Allsbrooks was appointed as acting superintendent at the July 12 meeting.

"The Board is confident that a thorough investigation of theses allegations will be beneficial in restoring public confidence in the district," the statement read, "and that positive changes will result in improved educational benefits for the children of the district."

"These people ( the school board) are entrusted with taxpayers money," Sombrero said. "That is supposed to go to our children."

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Ambulance dispatch service cut

Christopher Schurtz
Staff Writer

GALLUP — In an effort to clear up clogged radio traffic, the McKinley County Metropolitan Dispatch Authority is cutting back on dispatching services for Med Star, the company that provides ambulance services to the city and county.

In a decision made by the MCMDA last week, metro dispatch will send Med Star only the initial call for service and will not provide follow-up communications other than receiving essential updates on the condition of a patient or call.

The decision was made in response to concerns from the city and county fire departments about problems they had with reaching a dispatcher when out in the field on a call.

"When we need to talk to metro dispatch to send out or respond to an alarm, too many times they're talking to Med Star and we can't get through," Gallup Fire Chief and Dispatch Authority Board chairman Louis Chavez said.

He said despite the problem in dispatching traffic, Med Star is "a very busy and excellent department."

He said the decision to limit service is less to spite Med Star and more to provide more immediate service to the community.
Under the joint powers agreement reached in 1992, each agency using the metro dispatch service must help fund the service. Last year, the city and county paid $650,000 each.

"We just want the service we are paying into," Chavez said.

Med Star, on the other hand, has paid nothing over the years, Chavez said.

The private company also receives $70,000 in subsidies from the county to provide service to the entire county.

In order to get full dispatch service back, Med Star would have to pay its share of the $1.3 million bill for dispatch services with the city and the county, something Med Star General Manager Alex Ashley said was unlikely at this point.

"There is no way we can afford it," he said.

He said he would have liked to have been notified in advance that the board was considering the decision. A letter sent to Med Star Friday was the first notice he said he received.

Ashley said prior to using metro dispatch, Med Star which receives 12 to 18 calls a day, most of them emergency calls had its own dispatch service which he said was efficient.

He said several years ago, the city asked Med Star to use metro dispatch in an effort to streamline service and to coordinate agencies when answering a call.

Ashley said they have already gone back to the old system and that at this point, it was working well, although Med Star may look at other options if service is compromised.

Under the new policy, after being sent on a call, Med Star now will communicate directly with the hospital. Metro dispatch, meanwhile, will not scan their calls, which it did until last week.

Metro dispatch Director Sandy Aragon said metro's 26 dispatchers handle up to 50 different units on four different
frequencies, with one dispatcher generally covering fire department and EMS calls.

She said they work 11-hour shifts three to four days a week.

Though operating on different frequencies, fire, police and Med Star agencies receive the calls from dispatch at the same time.

Each agency then determines if it is needed, though most of the time all agencies will respond to the call.

Because there are only two or three metro dispatchers on duty at a time, some agencies have complained that they cannot get through to dispatch.

And because a few minutes or seconds can make the difference in some emergency calls, losing time trying to contact a dispatcher impacts service to the community.

Aragon said she would like to hire more dispatchers to handle the problem, but does not have the money.

Aragon, as well as the other parties involved, emphasized that service to the community will not be disrupted by the change.

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Juggling the budget in Grants
Session takes on circus air

Tom Purdom
Staff Writer

GRANTS — A three-ring circus came to town Monday disguised as a city council meeting and there was plenty of action in all three rings.

In the far right ring, ringmaster Mayor Bill Snodgrass threatened to toss spectator Jonnie Head, a leading area
businesswoman, out of the meeting because she objected to the mayor's shutting down Councilor Shirley Taylor's questioning about budgets.

In the center ring, City Manager Bob Horacek admitted to spectators that in order to get the true picture of the city budget, $12 million had to be "backed out" by which he seems to mean subtracted of the figures.

And in the ring to the left, Councilor Ruben Aranda was telling people he would not vote on issues pertaining to Operations Maintenance International (OMI) because he worked for the company, and then he turned around and voted on the OMI supplemental budget in a manner which surprised many in the council chambers.

Taylor asked close to 70 questions before the meeting ended, but it was while she was in her preliminary round about the fourth quarter year-end budget revision that the action heated up.

Actually, the budget revision and the 2000-2001 budget closely resemble each other, but the bottom line is that the new 2000-2001 budget calls for deficit spending.

City Manager Bob Horacek said the budget revision was necessitated by unexpected legal fees incurred in a bank lawsuit.

"If we didn't have the legal fees I don't think we would need these budget adjustments," Horacek said in answer to a question by Councilor Ruben Aranda.

A constant critic of city government practices and policies, Taylor asked about payroll funds and then pointed out that she added up the salaries of all employees and the figure came up to $3,356.580, not the $5 million-plus in the budget.

The total budget income is shown as $25,793,690.61.

However, $12 million of that might as well be Monopoly money because it does not exist.

Horacek did not explain why he put it in the budget in the first place despite questions from Taylor about it. Taylor said instead of having an estimated income of $25 million, the figure is actually $12 million less. "This method of showing the budget is misleading," she said.

When Taylor kept questioning the budget, Snodgrass cut her off and asked Councilor Ron Ortiz if he had questions about the budget.

"I'm not through," Taylor protested.

"Yes, you are through," Snodgrass told her.

And out of the spectators section of the room came Jonnie Head.

"I object," she said looking directly at Snodgrass, who told Head that if she continued he would have her removed from the meeting.

Ortiz looked quickly at the situation and made a motion to accept the budget.

Taylor tried again to ask questions, but Snodgrass cut her off.

In a surprise move, Aranda asked that Taylor be allowed to finish her questions and the mayor relented. Aranda and Taylor have been constant contestants on many city issues.

Taylor resumed her questions to Horacek, who reminded Taylor, a business owner, that he has an accounting background and she does not. Taylor responded that she was trying to get answers to some questions which bother her.

Then, after all the questions, Taylor voted to approve the budget revision, leading the group into the second issue, the new budget, which also called for $12 million to be backed out of overall figures, as Horacek put it.

The new budget calls for a total income of $23,982,460, but when $12 million is deducted it amounts to $11,984,460 and on the expense side the budgeted amount is $27,164,453. Again, when the $12 million is backed off of the expense side too, the amount drops to $15,164,453.

"That's deficit spending any way you look at it," Taylor said, adding after the meeting that Horacek did not explain why he put the additional $12 million into the budget in the first place.

In several instances Taylor complained that the budget figures did not add up and she said the budget did not include figures from Operations Management International Inc. (OMI).

OMI operates the city's water and sewer system as well as the city's park maintenance. Councilors Bob Ulibarri, Ortiz and Aranda voted for the budget, Taylor voted against it.

"I can't approve this budget because it doesn't even reflect the cost of OMI," she said.

OMI vote

Her words ushered in the next agenda item, which grants an exception for Aranda to vote on OMI matters, even though he is an employee of the company and the city charter says that as an employee, he cannot vote.

Before that discussion began, Aranda said he would not vote on OMI issues.

Aranda used to work for Continental Electric Co. Grants officials turned over the park maintenance to OMI and a month later OMI offered Aranda the job as parks supervisor, so he quit Continental Electric Co., and went to work for OMI.

At the time of that transition Gary Whittington, a Grants resident and outspoken critic of the city's government, questioned the move as a conflict of interest.

At Monday's meeting Taylor revisited the conflict of interest issue again and she read from the city charter: "It says 'No member of the governing body shall vote on any policy, decision or determination in which that governing body member has a financial interest.'"

Determined to pass the issue despite Aranda's vow not to vote on OMI matters, Horacek said he checked with municipal attorneys and was told if the governing body passed a resolution, Aranda could indeed vote on OMI matters if he wished to vote on them and he cited the next subsection of the charter as proof. The subsection does not specifically address voting on issues.

Ulibarri and Ortiz voted to approve the resolution, Taylor voted against it, saying it smacked of ethical problems and Aranda abstained from the vote.

In a turnaround issue, Aranda did, in fact vote on the OMI supplemental budget, though it was a surprising vote.

Horacek said the supplemental OMI budget came to $905,672 and will be added to the budget approved earlier. Ulibarri and Ortiz voted to approve it and Taylor voted against it saying, "I think this represents an attempt to deceive the public."

And then in a move that even made Taylor turn around and look at him, Aranda also voted against it, making it a tie vote until Snodgrass broke the tie with a "yes" vote.

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Lawyer calls Navajo election board 'criminal'

Jim Maniaci
Din Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Chief Legislative Counsel Steve Boos charges in the couched language of lawyers that the ousted Navajo Board of Election Supervisors members are criminals.

In a memo, Boos said that the board intentionally canceled the Aug. 1 election, violating its duty to enforce the election code, and costing the tribe $135,000.

"There is therefore probable cause to believe that the board and its chairperson have committed a criminal violation of Section 365 (of the election code)," he concluded in his two-page memo to Delegate Freddie Howard on Thursday.

With a statement of probable cause, Boos established a foundation for tribal lawyers to file criminal complaints against the supervisors.

Howard, a member of the council's Public Safety Committee, asked Boos to provide the legal analysis, which was issued the day after the council rescheduled the election to Sept. 5.

Boos said the election code section that applies makes it unlawful for the board "to knowingly and willfully fail or neglect to perform any duty under any part of this chapter in the manner prescribed by this chapter."

The penalty, if the 10 members are convicted, could be jail for up to six months and fines of $1,200 each.

The chief legislative counsel said "knowingly" is defined in the criminal code as conduct where the actor "is aware of the nature of his or her conduct." He adds that "knowingly and willfully," in Black's Law Dictionary, is defined as "an act (that) is done ... when the actor intends to do it and knows the nature of the act."

Boos said one of the board's mandatory duties is to hold the election on the first Tuesday of August every fourth year after 1992.

"The board therefore had a duty to hold a chapter election on Aug. 1, 2000, unless that duty was legally excused. A failure to hold the election, if the failure was intentional, knowing and without legal excuse, would therefore constitute a criminal violation," Boos wrote.

"I will not repeat in detail the facts connected to the board's refusal to hold the election on Aug. 1, 2000. The board was repeatedly told by the attorney general and the Office of Legislative Council that it had a legal duty to the election as required by law on Aug. 1 and that there were no grounds sufficient in law to postpone the election.

"The board and its chairperson nonetheless intentionally and knowingly canceled the election, thereby violating their duty to implement and enforce the election code. (This cancellation caused a monetary loss to the nation of more than $135,000)," he wrote.

Boos also wrote that he was not aware of any other person, not on the board, being involved in the decision.

After quoting the tribal criminal code definition of conspiracy, Boos concludes, "Any person who solicited, counseled, commanded, facilitated, aided, agreed to aid, or attempted to aid, in the unlawful failure to hold the election on Aug. 1 may be criminally liable as an accomplice of the board and its chairperson."

In its justification for postponing the voting until Oct. 3 which the council nullified by its sanction that stripped the board of its powers the board cited another election code section repeatedly not mentioned by Boos, Attorney General Levon Henry, and council leaders.

The board pointed to a section that it said allowed the board to take that action due to changed circumstances. Board members said the provision was included to cover unforeseen situations not already in the code.

Defining the lack of funds to pay for what it called a fair and unbiased election equaled the changed circumstance, the board said.

The board pointedly had asked Frank Seanez, Boos' chief deputy, at the meeting in June that delayed the election two months to be sure to word its action so that it was legal. He encouraged the board to include its justification in its reasons.

Supervisors remained unhappy throughout the conflict with the lack of an independent attorney to advise them, since Boos' office was providing a lawyer to them while at the same time being the legal adviser to the Office of the Speaker and the Council.

Board members cited the same problem that they said caused the crisis in the first place the council not providing enough money for either the general election or a separate lawyer to go along with their function of being independent of council pressure.

Lacking their own lawyer, the supervisors appealed to the Navajo Supreme Court to answer three questions about their authority. The court quickly ruled it could not reply because there was no suit.

The three questions remain unanswered.

They were asked if the board had the authority to postpone the election, if lack of funds constituted the changed circumstance upon which they based their action, and if they lacked the authority to change the date of the election did they thus also lack the authority to change the date in a council resolution in February that said the referendum vote on reducing the size of the council to 24 from 88 delegates would be Nov. 7?

Boos later said that everyone understood the November date to be a typographical error since it also referred to holding that vote at the chapter-level general election, which would be August.

In support of its questions, two board members submitted statements that Navajo common law also backed up the supervisors actions.

The board also steadily maintained the council's action to force an Aug. 1 election basically deprived many Navajos their right to vote by absentee ballot.

The 10 supervisors are elected, two from each agency, for four-year terms, just as delegates are.

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Sports Briefs

Tohatchi volleyball practice

TOHATCHI — Tohatchi High School will be having volleyball practice at the Mid School from 8 a.m.-noon.
Please bring a completed physical form.

For more information, contact David Scott at Tohatchi Mid School.

Coed basketball tournament

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Interdepartmental coed basketball tournament will be held August 10-12 at the Window Rock Sports Center.

Entry fee is $110 per team (10-player roster). Limited to 12 teams, double-elimination bracket.

For more information, call Thale Goodluck at (520) 729-4338 or (520) 729-4336 and fax (520) 729-4339.

Kin Hozhoni Team Roping

MANUELITO — The Kin Hozhoni Classic Number One team roping will be held August 12-13 at the Arrowhead Team Roping Arena.

Books open at 10 a.m. Roping will start at 11 a.m.

Saturday's roping will go as follows: drawpot, #4, drawpot, #3, drawpot, #4, drawpot #1 and #2 ropers only for the day.
Sunday's roping will go as follows. Drawpots throughout the roping all day.

All ropings $8 a roper. Drawpots $8 a draw. All ropings three steers.

For more information, call Mike at (505) 863-3965...

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Begaye, Henry feud over election

Jim Maniaci
Din Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — A rift has developed between Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye and Attorney General Levon Henry over the tribal general election.

And in turn, the Legislative Branch issued a statement Monday in response to the president's.

It all started last month when Henry issued a memo supporting Chief Legislative Counsel Steve Boos, who said the Board of Election Supervisors didn't meet the standards to postpone the voting from Aug. 1 to Oct. 3. The supervisors based their decision on another section of the election code that covered unforeseen circumstances not included in the four specific sections about which Boos issued his legal opinion...

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2 Grants youth die in crash

Roni Polk
Staff Writer

GRANTS — Two local young men were killed late Sunday afternoon when an automobile rolled down a hill off State Road 279 between Bibo and Seboyeta.

Fernando Rodarte, 20, and Kyle Irwin, 19, were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

Eloy Sandoval, 19, and Andrew Kiefer, 19, remain hospitalized at this time.

An ambulance was sent from Laguna and Lifeguard was flown out to the accident location to take the surviving two passengers with serious injuries to hospitals...

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Casino-track vote today

Tanya Brazil
Staff Writer

GALLUP — The long-awaited proposal from investors wanting to build a racetrack/casino at Red Rock State Park has been
submitted and will be put to a vote at today's city council meeting.

City Manager David Ruiz said the subject of whether to allow Red Rock Downs Corporation to build a gambling facility at the park has dragged on long enough, that it is time to make either a pro or con decision.

In the proposal, investors have agreed to pay the city 10 percent of the net income if the city agrees to a 20-year lease.
Investors also are exploring the idea of purchasing the park and, in the proposal, make an offer of $1 million for the property...

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District studies high school for Pueblo Pintado

Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Gallup-McKinley County Schools will be looking into the possibility of building a new high school in the Pueblo Pintado area.

The number of students that people have said may attend the school ranges anywhere between 100 and 500, Superintendent Robert Gomez told school board members at their Monday night meeting.

So before the district can commit to any particular project it will survey the area and see what the demand is for a public school out there. GMCS will work with chapter house officials in the area and talk to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to assess what the need is in Pueblo Pintado, said Angelo DiPaolo, an assistant superintendent.

Right now, the closest Gallup-McKinley County school is Crownpoint High. Other students in the area go to Bloomfield, Cuba and Wingate. All of those, including Crownpoint, are far from Pueblo Pintado...

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Body of man found in pond

Staff Report

GALLUP —E A Gallup man reported missing for five days was found dead Friday night in a sludge pond west of the Conoco gas plant, police said.

John Thomlinson, 40, was seen a week ago Monday night walking from a residence near the White Cliffs Mobile Home Park, police said.

A New Mexico State Police helicopter located Thomlinson in the ditch about 6:30 p.m. Friday after a Gallup woman had reported him missing.

Captain Glenn Thomas said the cause of death is unknown and although there was no indication of foul play, police are continuing to investigate the incident as if it were a crime...

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Deaths

Sam Martinez

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Funeral services for Sam Martinez, 82, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, at the Sand Mountain Church of theNazarene. The Rev. Freddie Lee will officiate. Burial will follow at Ramah Community Cemetery.

Martinez died Aug. 6 in Gallup. He was born May 16, 1918, in Sunset Valley for the Chiricahua Apache into the Meadow People Clan.

Martinez attended school and was a bilingual culture teacher at Navajo Community College and the Pine Hill School System. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in World War II. His employment includes working for the railroad, Fort Wingate Sheep Laboratory, bus driver, dormitory attendant at Fort Wingate and Ramah, and BIA Roads Department, Zuni Agency.

He was a founding member of the Ramah Navajo School Board Inc., served on the Ramah Navajo Chapter Grazing Committee and Veterans Committee and was a medicine man.

Survivors include his wife, Esther Martinez of Mountain View; sons, Benjamin Martinez, Chancey Martinez, Nixon G.
Martinez, and Richard Martinez, all of Mountain View, Rodger Martinez and Sampson Martinez, both of Gallup, and Swansom Martinez and Wilcox Martinez, both of Albuquerque; daughters, Dixie Begay, Arabelle Martinez, Loretta A. Martinez, Lydia Martinez, and Rita A. Martinez, all of Mountain View, and Rena Martinez of Albuquerque; brothers, Dan A. Martinez and Thompson Martinez, both of Mountain View, and Edwin Martinez of Pine Hill; sisters, Elsie Martinez and Marie Martinez, both of Sunset, and Julia Martinez and Pamela Martinez, both of Mountain View; 47 grandchildren; and 28 great-grandchildren.

Martinez was preceded in death by father, Sam Martinez; mother, Nancy J. Loretto; daughters, Ellen M. Martinez and Karen
Martinez; and brothers, Arviso Martinez and Chee Dodge Martinez.

Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Dorrie A. Sanchez

CUBERO — A Mass of Christian Burial for Dorrie A. Sanchez, 85, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, at the St. Teresa of Avila Church in Grants. The Rev. Emeric Nordmeyer, OFM, will officiate, and Deacon Timoteo Lujan and one grandson will assist. Burial will follow at the Grants Memorial Park.

A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. today at St. Teresa of Avila Church. Visitation will be held at 3-6 p.m. today, Aug. 8, at Grants Mortuary Chapel.

Sanchez died Aug. 6 in Albuquerque. She was born Feb. 11, 1915, in Cuberto to Mr. and Mrs. Antolino Arviso.

Sanchez grew up in the Cubero, Tohatchi and Gallup area. She worked as a sales clerk at the Adam's and Michaels' department stores in Grants. She worked for a family catering business, and 20 years for the Grants Public Schools as a cook and head cook. She was retired for the last 11 years. She was a member of St. Teresa of Avila Church in Grants.

Survivors include son, Pat Sanchez of Mentmore; daughters, Gloria Weddle of Las Vegas, Nev., June Blea of Grants and Sally Zamora of Milan; sister, Regina Lopez of Gallup; seven grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Sanchez was preceded in death by husband, Guadalupe Sanchez, and infant daughter, Joanne Jeannette.

Pallbearers will be Troy Sarracino, Patricia Romansky, Jamie Warr, Kelie Mirabal, Jill Lujan, J.P. Sanchez, and all her grandchildren.