Grievers find refuge in local churches
Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Special to the Independent
Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those
who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute
you.
Words of Jesus, Matthew 5:44
GALLUP Many people sought refuge in the sanctuaries of local churches
last evening as they searched for a little island of peace amidst
Tuesday's deluge of terrorist violence.
Numerous churches opened their doors for special services to pray
for the victims of the attacks, their families, the emergency
workers, the United States, and American leaders. And as worshippers
struggled to follow the teachings of Jesus, there were even prayers
for the people responsible for the violence and the hope that
justice would be pursued, rather than revenge or retaliation.
Sacred Heart Cathedral was one of the Catholic churches which
offered a special evening Mass. Paula DeWeese, a parish staff
member, said the church's "phones were ringing off the hook"
during the day with calls from parishioners looking to gather
with others in prayer.
"The community really needed this," she said. "I
think everybody felt the need to be together."
Nearly 100 people attended the somber ceremony. Father Larry O'Keefe
said participants were gathered together "in shock, bewilderment,
anger, and confusion" over the horror of the day's events.
"The power of evil is indeed real," he said. "And
it is indeed frightening."
O'Keefe told his listeners to turn to God, the only real source
of security in an uncertain world. He urged them to seek God,
turn to him in prayer, and to reaffirm their own faith that light
is always more powerful than darkness, good is more powerful than
evil, that love is more powerful than hate. Only God's spirit,
he said, had the power to change human hearts and to spark forgiveness
between people and nations.
"How hard do we work to strengthen the good in the world?"
O'Keefe asked. He then prayed, "Lord, help us to be better
disciples of your son."
As O'Keefe was preparing the bread and wine for communion, he
reminded his listeners that Jesus also "died at the hands
of violent men."
Pastor Mike Kleeberger of Emmanuel Baptist Church waited on the
front steps of his small church before a scheduled prayer service
and talked about the difficult dilemma of how to respond to terrorist
violence. The Bible teaches that there are always consequences
to actions, he said. But at the same time, God also calls us to
love our enemies, "which humanly doesn't make sense,"
Kleeberger said.
"As Christians," he added, "we don't pursue offenders
with hate but with justice."
At Gallup Baptist Church about 40 people gathered for an informal
prayer service. Participants sat in a large semi-circle and were
free to offer spontaneous personal prayers. People prayed for
the families of victims as well as for the terrorists and their
supporters. They prayed for survivors to be found by emergency
workers. They prayed for sons and daughters in military service
around the world and for a local family vacationing in New York
City. They prayed for the decisions of President Bush, his advisers,
and American military leaders. They prayed for the healing of
the United States, and they also prayed for forgiveness of the
nation's sins. Their prayers were emotional and sometimes tearful.
Afterwards Pastor John Luginbuhl talked about his church's decision
to hold the prayer service. Gallup Baptist also received many
calls from people wanting a service, so a scheduled elders' meeting
was turned into a public prayer gathering. Anytime tragedies of
such magnitude occur, he said, people feel the need to come together
and pray.
"There's power in prayer," he said "That's why
we called it together."
Luginbuhl said there will be another community-wide prayer service
at 7 p.m. Friday in the auditorium of Gallup High School. The
service is called the "Gallup/McKinley County/Navajo Nation
Prayer Gathering of the Body of Christ."
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Gallup absorbs tragedy's shock
Andrea Egger
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Tuesday, 9/11/01, was the day the nation called "911"
after terrorists hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The Federal Building in Gallup, among other state and local agencies,
was evacuated Tuesday as panic echoed through the country following
terrorism in New York and Washington.
Roland Herwig, spokesman for the FAA in Oklahoma City, said all planes
were grounded as of 9:25 a.m. Eastern time until further notice.
This shouldn't affect medical flights in Gallup for critical patients,
he said. "I'm sure accommodations will be made," Herwig
said.
The fall of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon caused Gallup
officials to take action to be prepared for local trouble.
Emergency officials met Tuesday morning at the McKinley County Fire
Marshal's office on Hasler Valley Road.
Pedro Flores, public information officer for the McKinley County Emergency
Operations Center, said officials are as prepared as they can be to
handle the situation but one can never predict such mass destruction.
"This is an unusual situation. We've never had a situation like
this to deal with," Flores said. "I wouldn't have dreamed
this. How can you foresee this?"
Flores said all state and federal buildings were on lockdown. Municipal
Court in Gallup remained open, while Magistrate Court closed for the
day.
Giant Refinery was on alert, as were FBI special teams.
Even Rio West Mall joined in the closures locking its doors at 1 p.m.
Tuesday. The mall will reopen at 10 a.m. today.
"A moment of silence goes out to the victims and their families,"
Stacie North of Rio West Mall wrote in a press release.
Officials were mainly at the Fire Marshal's office including New Mexico
State Police officers, Gallup Police officers,
McKinley County Sheriff Frank Gonzales, fire marshal's representatives,
the City of Gallup Civil Preparedness Division, and Gallup-McKinley
County Schools Assistant Superintendent Angelo DiPaolo.
At the National Guard Armory, Staff Sgt. Jeff Henio manned the station,
on alert for any threat.
McKinley County Sheriff's Lt. Tim Cron said off-duty deputies also
are on stand-by. Deputies on the street are on alert for trouble.
"We're telling the guys to look out for stuff they already should
be looking for," Cron said.
Police are always looking for signs of trouble as they patrol the
county.
Cron's brother, Lt. Robert Cron of the New Mexico State Police in
Gallup, met with sheriff's deputies to inform them of the state police's
plans for preparedness statewide.
Meanwhile, the city election was held despite the national hiatus.
Voters dwindled to nil at various voting stations. At the Gallup Fire
Department's voting poll, presiding judge Linda Garcia said only 19
people had voted by noon.
With 608 voters at the precinct, Garcia doubted a large turnout.
"We usually have a pretty good turnout, but I think everyone's
in shock because of this," said Garcia, who sat with other voting
staff, watching the news on a large-screen TV while waiting for voters.
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Grants' citizens shocked, outraged at
terrorist attacks
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — From a judge to female prison inmates here, a sense
of absolute shock prevailed concerning the horrendous terrorists attack
on America. Through it all, a nervous 12-year-old wrestled with his
own private hell that it means war.
In Grants and Milan road traffic was noticeably less as people crowded
around television sets to hear the latest breaking news on two hijacked
commercial jets crashing into New York's World Trade Center minutes
apart. Then there was the shattering realization that another commandeered
commercial jet filled with people slammed into the Pentagon and finally
the odd crash of yet another airliner smashing into an open field
in Pennsylvania.
If it was a day of horror in New York and Washington, D.C., the horror
reverberated all the way back to New Mexico as ordinary citizens,
stunned at the events of the moment, stood frozen in time waiting
for the movie to be over.
Joseph Lopez, a 12-year-old from Milan, absorbed all the breaking
information his young mind would allow as the events unfolded before
him on the television. "I think it's kinda scary," he said.
"Some people are saying it could start a war ... I'm kinda freaked
out."
Federal offices were either put on reduced employee status or shut
down completely. "We're under a limited personnel status,"
Chuck Hagerdon with the Mount Taylor Ranger District of Cibola National
Forest said Tuesday.
Bureau of Land Management offices and National Park Service offices
shut down in the wake of orders from their respective field offices,
which got orders from Washington, D.C.
"It's being done to reduce the risk to federal employees,"
Hagerdon said, while a skeleton staff of employees sat in the front
office around a tiny radio blaring news about the potential for between
100 to 800 deaths of federal employees in the Pentagon.
Hagerdon said fire and law enforcement will remain active, but most
support personnel have been told to go home. He said
word came from the Albuquerque Field Office late Tuesday morning.
A news release sent to the media later Tuesday states that all Cibola
National Forest administrative offices will be closed down today and
will reopen Thursday.
If there is a fire emergency call (505) 346-3910, which is the telephone
number of the Albuquerque Zone Dispatch Office of the National Forest
Service.
At the Mount Taylor District Office on Lobo Canyon Road, the people
in the office elected not to talk much about what happened. "I
think people are still wondering if this really did happen,"
Hagerdon said.
Word came from Santa Fe to shut down the courthouse, which is exactly
what happened Tuesday with the crew of the district attorney's office
staying behind. While the offices were closed, Thirteenth Judicial
District Judge Camille Olguin came to her office to unload books from
a parked van to her office.
"I'm speechless," Olguin said. "How can something so
horrible happen? When I first saw it, I thought I was seeing sound
bites from a movie and I was waiting for someone to come on television
and tell me it really wasn't happening. And then I realized it was
a news report."
Grants City Councilor Shirley Taylor called the acts of terrorism
"pure evil."
Visibly upset, she said, "This was a devastating act of evilness
taken against innocent people in our country."
The alleged terrorists boarded the four civil airplanes inside the
United States. "This should wake us up to the fact that we can't
protect ourselves from the evil which resides within our boundaries,"
Taylor said.
"Absolute disbelief" is the way Taylor described her first
reaction and then she paused briefly to gather her thoughts, sighed
and added: "I don't think it's countries we need to fear, it's
the madmen we need to fear ... it's evil people who get their rush
over destroying lives for which they have no value at all."
Clorinda Brito is in shock. "I don't even know where to start
how I feel," she said.
Ray Bennett, who manages Smith's grocery in Grants called Tuesday's
events a true American tragedy. Asked if he notices fewer people than
usual in his store Bennett said, "Yeah, I think many of them
are home watching television." He thought for a minute and then
added, "Payback is a bitch."
Inmates at the three prisons in Cibola County were glued to their
television sets.
Bill Snodgrass, warden at the women's prison and Grants mayor, said
the women were upset, some needing reassuring words from someone other
than other inmates to quell the state of disbelief.
"Today, I'm probably as low as I've ever been for a long, long
time," he said. "I thought it couldn't get any worse than
the day of the Oklahoma City bombing ... I was wrong."
Snodgrass said, "I grew up in an era that believed our national
defense was tops ... today that was proven wrong."
A former cop, Snodgrass had one final thought: "When the responsible
parties are caught then the American judicial system kicks in and
we get to see how our judicial system affords them the right to be
innocent until proven guilty."
In Milan, Mayor Elisabeth Lopez-Rael said her first reaction when
she learned about the attack was, "My God, this is really happening."
Lopez-Rael said America has been preparing for a disaster, but not
one of Tuesday's magnitude that ripped into the hearts of Americans
from coast to coast.
"Terrorism is here now, and we have to fact that fact,"
Lopez-Rael said, adding that what happened will make the nation stronger.
"What we all need to do now is pray for the victims, for all
the victims and for all of America."
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Area games affected by attacks
Michael Peretti
Staff Sports Writer
GALLUP — In the wake of the New York and Washington attacks,
the NMAA decided Tuesday to cancel all of their scheduled games for
Tuesday, with possibly more coming Wednesday.
The Gallup Bengals, scheduled to play four soccer games and three
volleyball matches, canceled their games earlier Tuesday.
"We are doing it for the safety of all parties," said Gallup
athletic director Bill Miller on Tuesday. "There is no panic,
we just think that it is better to be safe than sorry."
Miller said that the cancellation decision came from the superintendent
because all of the teams would have to travel through Albuquerque
to get to their games.
The Bengal boys JV and varsity soccer teams were scheduled to play
at Los Lunas while the girls varsity and JV teams were scheduled to
play at home against Los Lunas. The Gallup C-team, JV and varsity
teams were scheduled to play at home against Belen.
Miller said that the Bengals have not decided if the bombings would
effect the rest of the Bengal's schedule, but said that as of now
games are still on schedule.
"We are working on rescheduling (Tuesday's) games now,"
he said.
Miller said that the Bengals volleyball game scheduled for Thursday
and the football game scheduled at home against Rio Grande for Friday
are still scheduled to play.
APS later canceled all after school activities, which was then followed
by the NMAA decision to put all athletics on hold.
Coaches from Chinle, Ganado and Greyhills were unable to be reached
by the Independent for reaction.
Contacts at Window Rock, Monument Valley and Red Mesa did confirm
that their volleyball games were canceled.
A contact for Winslow High school did confirm that Winslow did play
their volleyball game scheduled against Hopi.
Competition at the college level was effected as well.
The Comcast Dick McGwire Invitational golf tournament scheduled in
Albuquerque had to be rescheduled. The UNM tournament, which included
17 other schools, was scheduled to begin with a practice round today
with the three round tournament on Thursday. Instead, the practice
round was moved to Thursday with the first two rounds of the tournament
now set for Friday with the final round on Saturday. Schools scheduled
to compete in the tournament are being given the option not to attend.
The UNM volleyball game scheduled to be played against Texas Tech
Thursday evening was postponed with no rescheduled date. The NMSU
volleyball game scheduled at Texas A&M Corpus Christi was supposed
to be played today. Instead, the game is now set to be played Thursday
evening.
The NMSU golf team left Las Cruces yesterday for Colorado Springs
to compete in the Air Force Academy tournament, and are still in Colorado
Springs.
The UNM football game this weekend scheduled against NMSU is in currently
in limbo with a decision to be made in the near future. The UNM football
luncheon on Tuesday was canceled while the NMSU luncheon was rescheduled
for today at noon in Las Cruces. The UNM football team went on with
practice as scheduled Tuesday.
The Arizona State Pac-10 football opener against UCLA this weekend
has been postponed with no reschedule date set yet.
Arizona, was not affected by any schedule changes because they were
not scheduled to play anyone this weekend.
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'Never be the same'
Nation awaits death count
NEW YORK (AP) — Rescuers dug for bodies in the World Trade Center's
smoking rubble as a shaken nation struggled Wednesday to recover from
an airborne attack that shut down the financial capital, badly damaged
the Pentagon and likely left thousands dead.
By the morning, 403 people were taken to St. Vincent's Hospital and
its affiliates; 90 were admitted and five died, said Mark Ackermann,
a hospital spokesman.
Into the night, ferries carted loads of bodies across the Hudson River,
said Stan Eason, a Jersey City spokesman. Three cab companies ripped
out seats from vans to help carry the dead to the Military Ocean Terminal
in Bayonne, N.J.
Officials did not provide estimates of the number of dead transported...
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District may be sued for school test
Andrea Egger
Staff Writer
GALLUP — A lawsuit looms over the Gallup-McKinley School District's
refusal to turn over to the State Department of Education the elementary
school standard test scores for students who have a hard time reading
English.
Ed Monaghan, director of elementary education for the district, said
court might be the best place to resolve the issue, because the test
is not fair for students who don't have a grasp of the English language.
These tests won't give an accurate picture of how students in the
district perform overall.
"We're also looking for legal remedies, too," Monaghan said.
The CTBS/5 Terra Nova Survey Plus test is a standard test taken by
students across the country on scantron forms. The state uses the
tests to plot New Mexico's Achievement Assessment and determine how
New Mexico compares to national averages...
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Grants shares nation's grief
Tara Drolma
Staff Writer
GRANTS — "Shocked, outraged, angered" was how Ken
Kincaid described his and fellow workers' feelings Tuesday after
they learned of the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade
Building.
"Those are my feelings," said Kincaid, who is a medical
technologist with the Cibola General Hospital. Kincaid said the
workers monitored events on the TV throughout the day whenever they
had a moment to spare.
Roxanne Ashley, principal at Mesa View Elementary School, said,
"So many of our staff are just sick in their heart and in their
stomach by what has happened." She said several teachers have
asked if they can give blood.
Schools remained open for the day, but extra safety precautions,
like locking school doors, were taken...
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UNM-G cop recalls stint at Trade Center
Bill Donovan
Staff Writer
GALLUP — When Joseph Sweeney went to work Tuesday morning at
the University of New Mexico-Gallup branch and learned about the
terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, he didn't believe it
at first.
But he knew who to call to find out first-hand what was happening
because he had, for several years, worked for the New York Port
Authority and had been stationed as a police officer at the trade
center.
"I called and was told that everything was chaos," he
said. This was sometime between when the first plane had struck
one tower and before the second plane had hit the second tower.
The officer Sweeney talked to finally asked, "Are you coming
to work or not?" When Sweeney said he couldn't, the officer
hung up...
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Voters OK county center
Bill Donovan
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Less than 8 percent of the registered voters went
to the polls Tuesday, but it was enough for the county to get approval
of all three tax proposals.
The proposal for a new tax to build a county government complex
was the least favored of the three, but even it passed by 63.7 to
36.2 percent, according to the unofficial results that were released
late Tuesday by the election office.
It won support in all but 15 of the 69 precincts. About half of
those precincts were in the county.
The extension of a 5 percent liquor excise tax was approved by 79.8
percent of the voters. The continuation of the tax to pay for county
fire protection received approval from 81 percent of the voters...
Group: Oust white lawyers
Larry Di Giovanni
Staff Writer
WINDOW ROCK — Navajo tribal delegates stand "politically
naked" without the non-Navajo lawyers who do most of the hard
thinking for them, a Diné grassroots group alleges.
A grassroots Navajo group concerned that the Diné are continually
cheated out of their water rights, the Diné Sovereignty Defense
Association has written a letter to each of the 88 delegates, critical
of them for holding onto lawyers they say have damaged the nation.
These lawyers work within the Navajo Nation Department of Justice
and the Legislative Counsel, Diné Sovereignty members said
in the letter. The group has also produced and distributed a full-page,
double-sided set of articles critical of the lawyers.
Diné Sovereignty members distributed their literature to
visitors at the Navajo Nation Fair parade on Saturday. However,
since their parade permit application was filed one day late, the
float that group members worked on was not part of Saturday's festivities...
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Deaths
Nancy Pino Beaver
RAMAH — Services for Nancy Beaver, 108, will be held at 10 a.m.
Thursday, Sept. 13, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
Ramah. Minister Jenny Dubois will officiate. Burial will follow at
Ramah Community Cemetery.
Beaver died Sept. 10 in Zuni. She was born April 4, 1893, in rural
Ramah into the Bitter Water for the Meadow People.
Beaver was a rug weaver and homemaker.
Survivors include her daughters, Lillie O. Yazzie, Jennie V. Coho
and Mary Marie Pino, all of Ramah; brother, Kee Yazzie Pino of Ramah;
20 grandchildren; 47 great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren.
Beaver was preceded in death by her husband, Alejuandro Beaver; brothers,
Adrast Pino, Anderson Pino and Richard Pino; and sister, Minnie Martine.
Pallbearers will be Marvin Begay, Edison Beaver, Jeffery Coho, Harold
Pino, Gabriel Peshlakai and Terrance Frank.
Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Marcus Arviso
CROSS CANYON, Ariz. — Services for Marcus Arviso, 19, were held
at 10 a.m. today, Sept. 12, at All Saints Mission, Ganado, Ariz. Burial
followed at Kinlichee Cemetery.
Arviso died Sept. 9 in Cross Canyon. He was born May 7, 1982, in Crownpoint
into the Bitter Water for the Keyonnie Edge of Water.
Arviso attended school in Crownpoint, Kinlichee Boarding School, Pinon
Middle School and Ganado High School. His hobbies included drawing,
running, tending to horses, listening to music, fixing electonics
and skateboarding.
Survivors include parents, Caroline and Gary Arviso; brothers, Edgar
Tracy, Elbert Tracy, Elroy Tracy and Gary Arviso Jr.; and sisters,
Elvira Tracy, Eileen Tracy, Elvera Tracy, Elvina Tracy, Regina Arviso
and Geraldine Arviso.
Pallbearers were Henry Hardy, Benny Laughlin Jr., Gary Arviso Sr.,
Walter Laughlin, Allison John and Wilson Yazzie.
The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services
eight miles south of Cross Canyon, Rural 829 A.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Frank Morales Jr.
GALLUP — Frank Morales Jr., 65, died Sept. 9. He was born Jan.
21, 1936, in Fort Collins, Colo. There will be no services or visitation,
as he requested.
Morales was employed by Albertson's for 33 years, starting in Laramie,
Wyo., and transferring to the Gallup area in 1974. He retired in 1999,
due to health problems.
Survivors include his wife, Marinanne Morales; sons, Frank M. Morales
of Gallup and Darryl Morales of Phoenix; daughter, Jeanette Menapace
of Gallup; brothers, Pete Morales of Longmont, Colo., and Jack Morales
of Aurora, Colo.; sister, Rita Morales of Denver; and eight grandchildren.
Donations can be made in Morales' name to the American Cancer Society.
Sam James
LOWER GREASEWOOD, Ariz. — Services for Sam James, 73, will be
held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, at the Greasewood Pentecostal
Church of God. Evangelist Paul Jones will officiate. Burial will follow
at Greasewood Community Cemetery.
James died Sept. 8 in Farmington. He was born Nov. 18, 1928, in Greasewood
into the Red House People Clan for the Tower House People Clan.
James was a pastor for 20 years, chapter president eight years and
vice president, on the chapter grazing committee for eight years and
a school board member for two years. He received several awards for
services in his local community. He was a saddle and bareback rider.
Survivors include his wife, Marie B. James, and sister, Marie James
Shorty.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Walter D. Shibata
ALBUQUERQUE — Mass of the Resurrection for Walter Shibate, 86,
will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Father Jim Walker will officiate. Interment will follow at Hillcrest
Cemetery.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at
the Church of the Risen Savior, 7701 Wyoming NE. Father
Richard Olona and Father Douglas Mitchell will officiate.
Shibata died Sept. 10 in Albuquerque. He was born July 8, 1915.
Shibata attended schools in Gallup and Walsenburg, Colo. Prior to
World War II he worked as a mechanic for Navajo Chevrolet.
During the war, he served as a corporal in the United States Army
with the famous 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He was captured by enemy
forces and taken prisoner of war near Suvereto, Italy. He was awarded
the Bronze Star.
After the war, Shibata was employed as a mechanic for Central Motor
Company, which later became Gurley Motors, until his retirement in
1979. His hobbies included fishing.
Survivors include his wife, Anne; sons, Ronald and Randolph, both
of Albuquerque; brother, Tom of Albuquerque; sister, Mary Shigenaka
of Lake Forest, Ill.; and two grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made
to Gallup Catholic Schools, 405 Park Ave., Gallup, N.M.
87301 or the Alzheimer's Association of New Mexico 1330 San Pedro
NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87110.
Victor Thomas Bailey
GRANTS — Victor Bailey, 50, died Sept. 10 in Grants. He was born
April 11, 1951, in Moscow, Idaho.
Survivors include his mother, Dale Bailey, and sisters, Barbara Odom
of Hobbs and Nora Nichols of El Dorado Hills, Calif.
Bailey was preceded in death by his father, Thomas Bailey.
Henry Paddy Martinez
THOREAU — Services for Henry Martinez, 75, will be announced
at a later date.
Martinez died Sept. 10 in Gallup. He was born Dec. 25, 1925, in Haystack
into the Sleeping Rock People Clan for the Salt People Clan.
A family meeting will be held at 5 p.m. tonight at Baca Chapter House.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
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