Police dog sniffs out drugs in car on I-40
Tanya Brazil
Staff Writer
GALLUP — A Las Vegas, Nev., man who police said was the passenger
in a vehicle traveling 65 mph with the driver's door open was arrested
on drug charges at mile marker 24 on East Interstate 40.
McKinley County Sheriff's Deputy John Trevor-Smith made the traffic
stop Monday after spotting the speeding vehicle and asked the driver
why the vehicle's door was ajar.
The driver told him when he rolls the window down, it hits the door
latch and opens the door.
Trevor-Smith said he suggested that if he knows the door will open,
he may not want to roll the window down. Nevertheless, the driver
was cooperative, he said, and consented to having a police dog conduct
a search around the outside of the vehicle.
But the passenger, later identified as Wesley Brown, 31, was acting
nervous and became "combative" when the deputy tried to
administer the search, he said.
When Brown became angry and began yelling at the driver, telling him
not to let the deputy open the trunk, Trevor-Smith said he decided
to wait for back up.
Police then found about two packages containing 8 grams of cocaine
and two more packages containing less than 8 ounces of marijuana concealed
in two suitcases inside the trunk.
Brown was booked into McKinley County Adult Detention Center on charges
of possession of cocaine, a felony, possession of marijuana under
8 ounces and possession of drug paraphernalia.
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Grants pool an 'eyesore'
Petitions call for changes
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — Following more than 35 years of neglect, the municipal
swimming pool is in such bad shape that citizens petitioned the Grants
City Council to do something about it.
In a recent meeting with the City Council, businesswoman Beverly Tafoya
said, "The conditions of the pool are deplorable. The buildings
are dilapidated, the grounds are totally unmanaged, the showers and
locker rooms are beyond repair, the fence is ready to fall down, the
entire facility is in complete or near-demolition state."
Some 500 residents signed the petition to force Grants to do something
about the pool, which some residents call an eyesore.
Eyesore or not, it is still in use.
Several attempts to reach City Manager Bob Horacek for comment failed.
At a recent Milan board meeting, a village official reported that
trustee Tom Ortega was told Grants intended to shut down the pool
this year. A Grants official said that possibility has been discussed,
but no decision has been made. The situation in Grants cropped up
during a short discussion about the Milan municipal swimming pool.
If Grants did lock the gates on the damaged fence around the pool,
it would leave hundreds of children without a place to swim, despite
the safety concerns about the pool.
"Even the safety board they have there won't float," Tafoya
said.
Leslie Kinkade, director of the Future Foundations Family Center,
located in front of the pool, said the foundation is working on a
$400,000 Community Development Block Grant application to set in motion
a new swimming facility, complete with a wading pool for smaller children.
The application will be presented to the county commissioners at the
Sept. 11 commission meeting.
But Kinkade said that getting CDBG funds for a swimming pool is a
long shot, but is the only option at the moment.
"This one is going to be tough," she said. "There is
a lot of competition out there. We need people to pack the house that
night to let the commission know they want the pool."
If the commission can be persuaded to file the grant application and
the county is successful, the $400,000 would not pay for the complete
costs of the pool. The foundation's plan calls for complete demolition
and rebuilding of the current pool structure.
Kinkade calls the $400,000 a phase one proposal that includes demolition,
design, infrastructure, and some structural
development.
While the city pool is under the operation of the city of Grants,
the new facility would come under the wing of a consolidated effort
of the county, Grants and Milan, according to the foundation plan.
Kinkade said through a joint community and local government effort,
additional funds to complete the facility are expected to be leveraged
by a special legislative allocation from the 2001 session.
Tafoya said a decent swimming pool is a quality-of-life issue for
city residents that should not be put aside because of other city
projects.
"We need to keep in mind dollars spent wisely on community recreation
are never wasted, the longterm effects of quality programs in a community
produce tremendous results for our children, families, the community
and society as a whole," Tafoya said.
Another alternative recommended by Tafoya would be to put the pool
under a joint effort of the city, the county and the Grants-Cibola
County School District.
Tafoya invited all Council members and Horacek to visit the pool for
a look at the situation. She said council members Ron
Ortiz and Shirley Taylor toured the facility.
Tafoya's business deals with young children. She said she got involved
with the pool issue because of the children with whom she deals.
"One of my jobs is to take pride in this community and I would
love for all the kids to take pride in their community and take pride
in their pool," she said. Tafoya added that little community
pride can be taken for the present swimming pool.
Kinkade said citizens and groups have talked to city and county recreation
directors about the concern with safety and health issues related
to the erosion of the existing pool facility.
Kinkade said a survey of area students shows swimming as the No. 1
activity preference, followed by basketball, biking and camping.
Should the city plan to dump the pool next year it would leave residents
with one less quality-of-life issue in Grants. The city budget allows
no money for building a new pool.
Grants swimmers could go to Milan, but that pool is already used heavily.
"You'd have transportation issues to deal with then," Tafoya
said.
"This is something where we need the help of all of the community,"
Kinkade said. "And, we need people to show up and support us
at the commission meeting."
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City drop-out rate higher than county
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Schools in the county have a lower drop-out rate than
schools in the city. That may indicate how important community involvement
is for student success, said Angelo DiPaolo, an assistant superintendent
for Gallup-McKinley County Schools.
The district drop-out rate for all GMCS students was 4.9 percent in
1998-99, which is up slightly from 1997-98 when the rate was 4.0 percent,
but lower than the 1996-97 rate, 5.1 percent.
Most of the high schools outside of the city had drop-out rates below
5 percent in the 1998-1999 school year. Gallup High
School had a drop-out rate of 8.8 percent and Thoreau High School
had a drop-out rate of 8.1 percent.
One of the reasons for the discrepancy is many of the high schools
in the county include grades that usually belong in middle school.
For example Crownpoint High, with a 1.3 percent drop-out rate in 1998-99,
includes seventh and eighth graders, who are more likely to stay in
school, so they may lower the overall drop-out rate for Crownpoint
High.
However, city students in the ninth through 12th grades still drop
out at a slightly higher rate than their counterparts in the county.
County schools are smaller and can reach the community more easily,
DiPaolo said. The largest high school outside of Gallup is
Crownpoint High which has 599 students, whereas Gallup High has 1,585
students.
DiPaolo said principals in county schools say their teachers often
know all of their students' parents because there are fewer students.
It also helps students that people in those communities are closer
to each other, he added.
New Mexico Board of Education members had similar comments about state-wide
rates. Board member Lynn Medlin noticed that most of the high schools
in the state that achieve low drop-out rates are small schools. The
average drop-out rate for the state for 1998-99 was 7 percent.
The drop-out rates in GMCS may also reflect mobility rates.
"When students are moving from school to school and losing continuity,
there is a chance for them to fall behind," DiPaolo said, "because
not all the schools are doing the same thing at the same time."
When students suffer in their classwork, they are more likely to drop
out of school, he added.
In GMCS, most of the drop-outs district-wide are Native Americans.
In Gallup High, which had the highest drop-out rate, out of 135 drop-outs
in 1998-99, 105 were Native Americans, 22 were Hispanics and seven
were Anglo. The district had a total of 353 drop-outs and 287 of those
were Native Americans in 1998-99.
School officials try to deter drop-outs by contacting parents of children
who do not return to school or may be at-risk for leaving school,
DiPaolo said.
Harry Montoya suggested similar methods for schools to use to encourage
Native American and Hispanic students to stay in school. Montoya is
the chief executive officer for Hands Across Cultures, which looks
at education for minority students in New Mexico.
Montoya said Hispanics and Native Americans often face conflicts between
the expectations of school and of their culture.
Those students often have a difficult time fitting into a traditional
American classroom and using English. If teachers contacted parents,
the family could help the student improve in school.
When students are struggling to learn English, they may feel uncomfortable
in school, he explained. And when they are placed in special classes
to address their needs, the students also lose confidence in their
work.
However, lowering expectations is not the way to help minority students,
Montoya said. To keep them in school, classes
should offer the kinds of services and moral support they need. This
requires an assessment of the students' learning styles and abilities,
teacher training and some policy changes, he added.
Whether cultural differences discourage students is not clear. For
the most part, school officials don't know why students drop out.
When the state surveyed the drop-outs of 1998-99, 40.6 percent checked
"other reason" for leaving school. Drop-outs also said they
left because they were not interested in school (13.5 percent) and
because they wanted to get their General Educational
Development degree (12.9 percent). Other reasons included invalid
transfers, no re-enrollment, parent requests and employment.
At the state board meeting last week, the members discussed alternative
courses students could take to explore different careers or attain
job-place skills. The goal of those programs would be to give students
the education they need and want to keep them in school.
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Navajo vote still in court
District judge to rule today
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The tribal election suit is expected to reach the
Navajo Nation Supreme Court today.
After listening to attorneys for all three sides for about 90 minutes,
Window Rock District Court Judge Allen Sloan told a near-
capacity courtroom that he would make his decision by today.
Sloan is ruling on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit aimed at stopping
next Tuesday's chapter-level general election. The loser is expected
to immediately file for tribal Supreme Court review.
Chief legislative counsel Steve Boos, assisted by Attorney General
Levon Henry, maintain the amended complaint on behalf of
Edison Wauneka and nine others contained only cosmetic changes from
the original.
In essence it remained a suit against the Navajo Nation government.
Boos said this violated the tribal Sovereign Immunity Act in three
ways, starting with the suit being filed before a 30-day notice period
expires Saturday. He said after 30 days the court can take jurisdiction.
Boos also said it violates the act because it seeks an injunction
as relief and because delegates cannot be sued for official legislative
actions.
Plaintiffs' counsel Leonard Tsosie replied that the act does not apply
because the council delegates took illegal actions, thus invalidating
all further action. He also said Navajo common law, which the tribal
courts have increasingly included in their decisions, does not recognize
such a concept because leaders are responsible for their actions.
He said the only way the Board of Election Supervisors can be stripped
of powers is by recall, as provided in the election code.
He maintains that the council illegally removed the board from its
powers.
The illegal acts continued, he said, when the council appointed its
Inter-Government Relations Committee as an alternative elections board.
Thus, all the actions, including the thousands of dollars spent by
the legislative leadership on the election since
Aug. 2, are void, he said.
Sloan questioned Tsosie, noting that his order on Friday directed
each side to provide the bench with something so profound that he
could support a decision to which the act doesn't apply. The judge
said it "would have to be so important (that) I should lay waste
to the Sovereign Immunity Act."
The judge asked how the plaintiffs could get relief if the act protected
them if they committed an illegal act. Boos said Tsosie asked for
an injunction, which the act forbids.
Tsosie said that normally the attorney general should be the plaintiff
but in this case Henry has already sided with Boos. "So the only
equitable relief available is to go to this court," Tsosie said.
The judge asked Michelle Brown, the tribal president's in-house attorney
who is not on Henry's staff, to explain why Kelsey
Begaye wanted to intervene in the Edison Wauneka suit.
Brown said the intent of the act never was to keep the people from
seeking relief and getting answers to very important questions.
"Sovereign immunity was never intended to say the council is
above the law," she said. The president agrees that the council
resolutions should be voided because of extensive conflicts of interest
under the Navajo Ethics in Government Law, she said.
Brown said four of the 11 members of the Inter-Government Relations
Committee are school board candidates and all 88 council members have
a conflict over the question of reducing the size of the council to
two dozen delegates.
"When the attorney general jumped the fence and referred his
legal opinion to the chief legislative counsel," Brown said,
"the only way the president can enforce the law is to come to
this court."
She had said one of the president's duties is to enforce the law.
| Top |
Athletes of the Week
Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer
This week's Independent Athletes of the Week for the week of August
20-26 are Grants quarterback Wade Pynes and Ramah volleyball player
Candice Gibbons, both for leading their respective teams to surprising
easy victories in the season openers.
Grants senior quarterback Pynes nearly singlehandedly took apart Shiprock
as he engineered an impressive offensive performance during a 43-6
romp Friday night. Pynes amassed 230 yards of offense, rushing 12
times for 111 yards and three touchdowns along with a two-point conversion.
Pynes also completed 5-of-13 passes for another 119 yards with no
interceptions. He also had a 43-yard rushing touchdown called back
because of a penalty. Pynes showed exceptional mobility all night
long in scrambling out of the pocket to either find an open receiver
or keeping the ball for a sizeable gain while eluding a number of
tacklers downfield...
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Gallup loses to Farmington
Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer
GALLUP - Gallup dropped its second volleyball match in a row, losing
in four games to Farmington Tuesday night.
No scores or stats were available at press time.
Gallup, 1-2, will host Del Norte Saturday in its next match.
"We're just lacking in intensity," first-year Gallup coach
Rachael Stewart said. "We're getting lazy and just standing flat-footed.
Also I'm trying to put a new rotation together, to find a spot for
each athlete and none seemed to work tonight..."
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Chinle picks up on winning style
Carrie Loretto
Sports Editor
TOHATCHI — The Chinle volleyball team is a quick study.
"I've had probably two weeks of practice with them," first
year Chinle head coach Nana Allison, the former Farmington standout,
said after her coaching debut. "With school and an activity bus,
I can't start earlier or keep them later so we've only practiced two
hours at a time."
Except for a few illegal rotation calls and some confusion resulting
from line up changes, Allison's team did execute a more complicated
scheme than many high school players are familiar with, including
back row hitting, jump setting and jump serving during a 15-13, 15-8,
7-15, 15-6 prep victory over Tohatchi...
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Kayenta walker killed by car
Staff Report
KAYENTA, Ariz. — A 69-year-old Kayenta man died Saturday night
when he tried to cross a poorly lit main highway and was struck by
a pickup truck in this Monument Valley township.
Navajo police identified him as John Burns, who lived in the Navajo
Housing Authority subdivision. According to the Kayenta
Criminal Investigations Department report there was alcohol on his
breath.
Burns tried to go from west to east in a heavily traveled intersection
at Mile Post 394 on U.S. 163. Police said a Chevrolet S-10 pickup
truck hit him in the intersection and Burns died at the scene. A second
vehicle dodged the victim, but he was hit by a third vehicle...
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Navajo budget bigger
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation's new budget has now ballooned
to more than $819 million, with about one-eighth of that being tribally-raised
funds.
This compares with the current year's ratio of about one-third being
from the tribal general fund.
But the general fund on which the Navajo Nation Council is concentrating
this week during its annual budget session isn't growing. The huge
increase comes from federal, state and other funds.
With the latest figures from the Navajo Office of Management and Budget
the grand total is now $819,081,909. This includes $100.4 million
in general funds, $3.7 million to be taken from the Undesignated Reserve,
$13 million in indirect cost support for operating with federal funds,
$16.1 million in proprietary funds, $17.7 million in fiduciary funds
and the giant $668.1 million in other funds...
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Milan teen faces charge after attack
Roni Polk
Staff Writer
GRANTS — A 17-year-old Milan man has been charged with possible
aggravated assault with intent to commit murder and also possible
aggravated burglary following a stabbing Saturday night.
Joseph Valdez allegedly opened the door to Jeremy Rael's car after
Rael pulled up to the Econo Lodge "to see what kind of dance
they were having" shortly after 10 p.m. Rael, 19, said he thought
he had been punched in the neck, according to the police report.
Rael, 19, of Milan, drove himself from the Econo Lodge to the hospital,
where medical staff contacted Grants police. The victim said a young
man came over to the car and wanted to fight him, but Rael said he
didn't want any trouble...
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Deaths
Roy Mullahon
CRYSTAL — Funeral services for Roy Mullahon, 77, were held at
10 a.m. today, Aug. 30, at the Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic
Church in Fort Defiance, Ariz. Father Martan Rademaker officiated.
Burial followed on family land in Crystal.
Mullahon died Aug. 25 in Gallup. He was born Oct. 13, 1923, in Crystal
for the Edgewater People Clan into the One Who Walks Around People
Clan.
Survivors include wife, Norena Mullahon of Crystal; son, Donald Mullahon
of Crystal; brothers, Leonard Yazzie of Van Buren, Ark., and Everette
Yazzie of Crystal; sister, Violet Yazzie of Albuquerque; and four
grandchildren.
Mullahon was preceded in death by daughter, Donna Mullahon; grandson,
Shawn Ray Mullahon; brothers, John Mullahon Sr. and Joe Mullahon;
sisters, Magaline Yazzie, Clara Yazzie and Alice Yazzie; and parents,
Pat Mullahon Yazzie and Lillie Yazzie.
Pallbearers were Jarvis Mullahon, Ira Mullahon, Rex Mullahon, Michael
Mullahon, Raymond Mullahon Jr. and Larry Mullahon.
The family received relatives and friends at the Crystal Chapter House
after services.
Tse Bonito Mortuary had charge of the arrangements.
Nancy Schadel McCoy
GRANTS — A memorial service for Nancy Schadel McCoy, 49, will
be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, at the Grants Mortuary Chapel.
The Rev. George Brittain will officiate.
McCoy died Aug. 25 in Grants. She was born Oct. 6, 1950, in Grants.
Shadel was a school teacher.
Survivors include son, Daniel McCoy of Grants, and parents, John Schadel
Jr. of Albuquerque and Doris Goforth of Grants.
Donations may be made to St. Joseph's School, P.O. Box 370, San Fidel,
N.M. 87020.
Philip Toney Schmaltz
GALLUP — Services for Philip Toney Schmaltz, 75, will be announced
at a later date.
Schmaltz died Aug. 28 in Farmington. He was born Oct. 16, 1924, in
Montrose, Colo.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Marie C. Bia
GREASEWOOD SPRINGS, Ariz. — Services for Marie C. Bia, 83, will
be announced at a later date.
Bia died Aug. 28 in Albuquerque. She was born May 30, 1917, in Greasewood
Springs for the Red House People Clan into the Honey Comb People Clan.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
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