Foes: Navajos not ready for IHS takeover
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
Editor's note: This is the second of three reports on the Navajo
Nation Council's two-day study session Thursday and Friday at
the Gallup Holiday Inn about Public Law 93638 proposed contract
to take over the Navajo Area IHS medical operations.
GALLUP — Opponents of a takeover of Indian Health Service
say that the Navajos aren't ready to take over the system.
At issue is a $277 million contract as part of a $443 million
project and opponents say the people don't want it, one being
because people have been spoiled by the federal government's providing
socialized medical services through the IHS since 1955.
Opponents also say it could be because they think the tribal central
government is trying to shove it down their throats after they
voted 4-1 against the effort that began in earnest in 1995.
Since Public Law 93-638 requires a proposed self-determination
contract be approved by the tribal government, council delegates
will consider approving or rejecting it during the week-long winter
session that will begin Jan. 28. The council assigned the proposed
contract to the Navajo Health Care System Corporation, a tribally
chartered non-profit corporation.
The focus of the opposition the past few years has been a volunteer
group, the Doo' Da IHS 638 Committee. During the conference, the
committee offered four speakers.
Also opposing the effort is the Laborers International
Union of North America, whose Local 1376 has served a minority
of the
more than 3,000 Navajo Area IHS non-supervisory workers since
1976 and is recognized by the federal government as the collective
bargaining agent.
The union has more than enough authorized signatures under Navajo
law to force the corporation to recognize it as the collective
bargaining agent. Tribal law requires the signatures of at least
55 percent of the eligible workers.
At a luncheon Friday, the local challenged the Navajo Health Care
System Corporation's statement that the benefits it plans to offer
are better than the existing federal benefits, and remains miffed
about the lack of employee input on the question.
Currently IHS employees can accrue both vacation and sick leave,
which the corporation would replace with a use-it-or-lose-it paid
time off.
Separate, but accruable, vacation and sick leave "was the
highest priority benefit Navajo area employees wanted to keep,"
a union statement maintained. "Sick leave accrual is especially
important because it can be used toward retirement. Elimination
of this benefit constitutes a significant loss to IHS employees."
Other benefits, such as a match for a 401(K) plan, would be lost,
too, the union contends. Some workers would lose one-fourth of
their salary-benefits total, according to the union.
Union officials questioned why an actuarial study has not been
done to show the impact of adding and subtracting such a huge
group of workers to the financial status of the existing tribal
insurance program, which is self-funded.
The union asked delegates if the corporation would be eligible
to receive the quarters maintenance funds or the full cost of
living allowances in the future.
Also questioned by the labor group is whether Navajos outside
the reservation, especially in the big cities, could go to the
IHS.
Union officials claim the corporation might not be able to get
the $100 million-plus it projects in Medicare because it hasn't
been approved by the federal government.
The Local's executive board, in a recent letter, said it opposes
the effort until there is more grass roots support shown. The
letter was based on the June 19, 2001, tribal referendum initiative
that showed little support among reservation residents.
Because the election failed to draw a yes vote (yes meant no to
the contract) of at least a majority of all registered voters,
despite a 4-1 margin against the proposed contract, under tribal
law it failed.
Proponents interpreted this to mean the people opposed an all-at-once
takeover and shifted to a two-year phased-in process for the five-year
contract. (Under the tribal law, which sets a tremendously higher
standard than any of the 50 states, only the very first referendum
vote, in the late 1970s, passed.)
Doo' Da representatives said that during the referendum discussions,
"Particularly the elders stated that if we continue to utilize
P.L. 93-638 we continually erode the Treaty of 1868."
The volunteer group gathered resolutions of support to conduct
the referendum from 69 of the 110 chapters, or 63 percent.
"Our Diné told us the mistrust they have for the Navajo
government," the group said. (The tribal government effort
included several major committees, including industry experts,
that concluded a separate non-profit umbrella corporation should
operate the contract, not a tribal division or department.)
Doo' Da breaks the IHS employees into three groups.
One is temporary workers of less than five years experience, mostly
Din, who don't seem to have an opinion about the advantages or
disadvantages of the proposed contract. A second are the professionals,
mostly non-Indian, who "have no way of addressing the issue
at hand. This leaves the long-term employees who are largely our
own people," the committee said.
The opposition group believes the council has heard only from
management, since the Hatch Act inhibits the employees.
"We feel the federal government is promoting, or rather pushing
is the right word. They want us to take over. It seems their intention
is for us to fail. Beginning with their lack of attention to their
responsibility, it seems they cause us to say, 'let me do it,
let me take over, give it to me (as) I can do a better job. So,
sooner or later, they will say 'we gave it to you but it is your
fault it failed, so I can't help you any further'," the committee
charged.
The committee compared the drive by tribal leaders to U.S. Interior
Department Secretary Gale Norton's effort to split off most of
the BIA's functions into a new bureau "against your wishes
and the opinions of other tribes. You met with them in Window
Rock and in Albuquerque, but still they are going to move ahead."
Since smaller tribes don't have the communications problems faced
on the vast Navajo Reservation (about 275 miles east-west and
about 180 miles north-south, excluding the three satellite reservations),
it isn't fair to compare their "638" contracts to the
proposed Navajo deal, the committee believes.
| Top |
Whoyagonnacall? The Chamber, that's who
Bill Donovan
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Every working day the Gallup-McKinley County Chamber
of Commerce gets calls from people who are thinking of relocating
here and ask what kind of place it is.
Is Gallup a safe place to live? Are there a lot of gangs? Drugs? What
about the school system? Can I find a husband/wife? Is there anything
to do at night? How expensive is the housing and is there a lot available?
What's the climate like? Is there any place I can go rock climbing?
Chamber director Barbara Quinones has probably heard all of the questions
and it's her job to be honest, but also put Gallup in the best light
possible. She says that it's not difficult because she honestly believes
that Gallup is a good place to live, especially if you want a small
town type of life.
"Do we have opera or big musicals, no, we don't," she said.
But Gallup is two hours from Albuquerque and three hours from Santa
Fe where opera and musicals are put on all the time. She points out
that Gallup also has its own theatrical companies that put on productions
year-round as well.
When asked if Gallup is a safe place to live, she explains to callers
that she has come to live in Gallup from New York by way of Los Angeles
and feels a lot safer living in Gallup than she did living in a big
city.
"I come to work sometimes at 6:30 a.m. with no worries,"
she said. She added she feels safe walking any street in Gallup and
although Gallup has its share of violence, almost all of it seems
to be directed from one member of a family to another. Violence to
strangers, she says, is rare.
She admits to callers that Gallup has problems with gangs and drugs
- what town doesn't - but it's a different problem than one sees in
big cities where drive-by shootings are common and drug dealers are
selling their wares out in the open.
People who live in Gallup, she tells callers, do not generally come
in contact with gangs or drugs unless they make an effort to do so.
"We get a lot of single people who call and wonder if Gallup
is a place where they can meet someone to marry. I tell them that
when I came I was single and I met my husband here - in a gym,"
she said.
Everyone knows, she said, that Gallup has its bars and she tells people
who wonder about drinking that there are places they can go. But she
also points out that there are a number of other places one can go
in Gallup to meet single people and have a good social life.
While Gallup doesn't have the nightlife that a bigger city would have,
she said that there are things to do in Gallup if one checks out the
paper or gets involved in the community life.
People with families wonder about the school system and Quinones tells
callers that the schools here are good if they, as parents, put forth
an effort to help their children get the most out of the system. She
said she knows this from personal experience and uses this experience
to explain to people thinking about relocating that she knows of a
lot of students who have done well here and have gone on to good colleges.
"There's all kinds of housing available, whether you want to
rent or own,"she tells callers, pointing out that compared to
the prices one would pay in a big city, the prices in Gallup are quite
reasonable.
As for the weather, Quinones said some people call and expect to be
told that Gallup is sunny the year around. No, she tells them, Gallup
does get cold in the winter but if it snow, it generally goes away
after a few hours. And the summers are quite pleasant, without the
stifling humidity that plagues other cities.
All in all, she said, Gallup is a fine place to live and people who
give Gallup a chance enjoy a quality of life that they never would
be able to enjoy in a city like New York or Los Angeles.
| Top
|
Tribe to control waste transfer stations?
Bill Donovan
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Discussions are underway between the Regional Solid
Waste Authority and the Navajo Nation about the possibility of the
tribe taking over the four convenience stations located in the county.
The convenience centers, which are basically mini-transfer stations,
provide county residents with a place to drop off their trash for
a fee without coming to the main transfer station just north of Gallup.
Joe Murrietta, executive director of the authority, said that if the
centers were to be taken over by the tribe, they would be run by the
community development department in conjunction with the chapters
where the centers are located.
The convenience centers are located at Breadsprings, Tohatchi, Coyote
Canyon and Crownpoint.
Pat Butler, chairman of the authority, said that the centers were
never set up to make a profit but to provide county residents with
a convenient location to dispose of their trash instead of dumping
it illegally in gullies or washes or bringing it to Gallup and pitching
it in some business dumpster.
"We hope each year to break even," said Butler but in most
years, that doesn't happen, although the Crownpoint center has been
used enough to at least pay for the salaries of the workers.
The authority used to also operate a convenience center in Zuni but
that was taken over by the pueblo just over a year ago, under a similar
arrangement that is now being discussed with the Navajos.
The authority is going to be discussing the takeover at its January
or February meeting, said Butler, and if a decision is made to go
this route, he said he expected the transfer would be made gradually
over the next several months.
The authority is also talking about getting some new equipment to
replace bulldozers and compactors that are wearing out, said Butler.
The authority will be going to the state legislature, he said, to
try and get as much as $1 million to buy the equipment.
From the city side, Murrietta said that the authority is seeing some
Gallup residents take advantage of a new program that allows city
residents to take up to one pick-up load of trash to the dump for
free a month if they have a copy of their monthly utility bill.
He said that the number of residents who take advantage of that program
isn't that great yet but he expects to see it pick up in April or
May when people do their annual spring clean-up.
| Top |
Chamber more than just barbecues
Bill Donovan
Staff Writer
GALLUP — For the past year, officials for the Gallup-McKinley
County Chamber of Commerce have been quietly convincing businessmen
and local residents that the chamber does more than hold an annual
barbecue.
"That's probably the perception most people in Gallup had about
the chamber," said Barbara Quinones, president.
While the barbecue probably receives the most publicity, a listing
of things the organization does would take a couple of legal size
pages and then wouldn't include everything.
Quinones said she likes to think of the chamber as a promoter of Gallup,
an organization that helps people understand what's available and
generally a tool for people near and far to use to help them resolve
problems, both big and little.
Take the elderly Navajo woman who a couple of years ago came to town
on a bus during Ceremonial time expecting her sons to meet her at
the bus depot. She waited several hours, and no sons showed up, so
she decided that she needed help and the place she went was to the
building near the bus station that housed the chamber.
"She came into our office crying and saying she wanted to get
back to her home," said Quinones.
It turned out that the woman lived in a remote Navajo community somewhere
near Chinle, Az. The chamber, with its limited manpower didn't have
the ability to take the woman home. And there was the concern of liability.
But the chamber staff pride themselves on their ability to help people,
whether it's finding someone in town who sells a certain product or
someone outside the area who wants to know more about the services
that are available.
So the chamber staff got on the phone to the sheriff's office and
the tribal police and set up a piggyback system that transported the
woman to her home.
If people have relatives coming during Ceremonial and they want to
know the best place to house them, they can call the chamber. If people
are putting on an event and need to figure out a way to make people
and businesses aware of it, they can call the chamber.
The chamber gets between 18,000 and 20,000 queries a year, about 75
a day from people all over the world, wanting to know something about
Gallup.
Sometimes it's a person who purchased something in Gallup with which
they're not happy. They call the chamber to see if they can get some
kind of resolution to their problem.
Most of these calls are referred to the Better Business Bureau, said
Quinones, but if it's a chamber member who the complaint is about,
Quinones said she would probably call the business, explain the caller's
concern and try to see if something can be done to resolve the problem.
A dissatisfied customer, she points out, not only hurts the business
but it could make that person not like Gallup as a whole.
"But I must say that we get a lot more positive calls about Gallup
than we do negative ones," she said. Many of the calls come from
people who have been through Gallup and want to call to say about
what a pleasant experience they had or that someone went out of their
way to make their visit more pleasurable.
The chamber staff spend a lot of time, she said, helping local businesses
and chamber members in other ways.
Nine times a year, the chamber holds what is known as Business After
Hours.
This is a chance for a business to put its best foot forward by hosting
a get-together after the regular working hours. Some do it as a way
to get better acquainted with other members of the chamber while others
use it for promotion. Gurley Motors, for example, will be sponsoring
one in the near future to show off their new showrooms.
The chamber also hosts an annual banquet. this year it is on January
24, where the chamber names a citizen of the year and a volunteer
of the year. While these selections are kept secret from everyone,
including the persons who will be honored, the chamber this year has
made public some other honors it plans to bestow that night.
Larry Brian Mitchell, a Gallup Police Department officer who was killed
in action this past year, has been named the police officer of the
year. The fireman of the year is Jonathan Pablo and Kathe Noe, an
art teacher at Gallup High, has been named educator of the year.
The chamber also holds a reverse raffle each year to raise money.
It's a banquet that allow members a chance to get together and win
door prizes. In that event the winners are the last three tickets
drawn, with the winners getting from $1,000 to $10,000.
Quinones said she also spends a lot of time each year representing
the chamber on various committees, such as Adventure Gallup, Route
66 and the McKinley Magistrate Adult DWI program.
These are just a few of the things the chamber does each year and
the best part is that the cost to run the program, some $119,000 this
year, does not include taxpayer money.
While the chamber occasionally gets funds from the city or from the
lodger's tax fund to help with special events, all of its operating
funds come from the dues and donations from its members.
Members, depending on the size of their company, pay annual dues of
anywhere from $126 to $948, which is used to pay for the staff and
operating expenses.
The chamber this past year spent a lot of time talking to business
owners and urging them to get involved. As a result, membership in
the chamber went from 279 to 350. But the chamber at one time had
500 members so Quinones said that the drive continues.
"Once we explain all that we do, which is more than just hold
an annual barbecue, we usually have no problems getting someone to
become a member," Quinones said.
| Top
|
Santa Fe charity official sentenced
SANTA FE (AP) — A former official of a charity ball that raises
money for at-risk children in Santa Fe County has pleaded guilty to
a second-degree felony charge of embezzlement.
Kay Enfield entered her plea Monday before state District Judge Michael
Vigil, who sentenced her to five years' probation and ordered her
to perform 200 hours of community service.
Enfield was accused of taking about $94,800 from one of the Buckaroo
Ball's accounts in 2000, when she was co-chairwoman of the event.
She returned the money in December 2000...
| Top |
Couple arrested after Allison scuffle
Andrea Egger
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Deputies arrested a Gallup fugitive from justice and
his girlfriend, who they accused of harboring a felon Friday.
In a McKinley County Sheriff's Department report released Monday,
Deputy Rocky Klein details incidents at 9 a.m. Friday.
He was called to No. 6 Cortez, in the Allison section of Gallup,
because a suspected fugitive from justice, Jamie Estrada, 19, was
allegedly hiding there. Klein had Metro dispatch check for warrants
for Estrada, and found he was wanted for failure to appear to a
Magistrate Court case after prosecutors filed a criminal complaint
June 26.
The complaint charged Estrada with three counts of assault with
intent to commit a violent felony, Magistrate Court records show...
| Top |
Flea marketer robbed
Staff Report
GALLUP — McKinley County Sheriff's Department deputies investigated
the burglary of saddles, bridles, halters and ropes from a vendor
at the Gallup Flea Market Saturday afternoon.
Deputy Roger Mace was sent there around 3:20 p.m. to talk to victim
Salomon Fresquez of Albuquerque. Fresquez said he left his place
of business at the Gallup Flea Market on Dec. 29 and returned Saturday,
when a groundskeeper told him one of the walls to his business had
been torn open around 10:30 a.m. Jan. 3, according to the sheriff's
report...
| Top |
Preference suit by Hopi vs. Diné dismissed
by Feds
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — A federal appeals court has decided the Navajo
Nation can't be forced, due to sovereign immunity against being
sued, to be a party to a Hopi man's discrimination suit against
a utility.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in
San Francisco on Jan. 2 dismissed Harold Dawavendewa's suit that
claimed Salt River Project (SRP) broke federal anti-discrimination
laws in its lease with the Navajo government for a generating station
in Le Chee Chapter east of Page.
Terms of the lease mirror the Navajo Preference in Employment Act
and require local Diné be hired over all others if the applicants
are equal...
| Top |
Deaths
Ganelle Charley
KLAGETOH, Ariz. — Services for Ganelle Charley, 11, will be
held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 9 at Rollie Mortuary-Palm Chapel.
Pastor Mark Thomas will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset
Memorial Chapel.
Charley died Jan. 1 in Klagetoh. She was born March 9, 1990 in Gallup
into the Bitter Water People Clan for the Towering House People
Clan.
Survivors include his parents, Tommy Charley of Fort Wingate and
Elvira Charley of Klagetoh; brother, Leander J. Charley of Klagetoh
and sisters, Vanessa Mand Charley and Assha Bah Charley both of
Klagetoh.
Charley was preceded in death by her brother, Jerrel Thomas Charley
and sister, Radelle Genine Charley.
Pallbearers will be Darall Begay, Howard Begay, Benjamin Benally,
Aldren Chicharello, Melvin Jones and Wilfred Murphy.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Jerrel Thomas Charley
KLAGETOH, Ariz. — Services for Jerrel Charley, 10, will be
held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 9 at Rollie Mortuary-Palm Chapel.
Pastor Mark Thomas will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset
Memorial Chapel.
Charley died Jan. 1 in Klagetoh. He was born Dec. 31, 1991 in Gallup.
Survivors include his parents, Tommy Charley of Fort Wingate and
Elvira Charley of Klagetoh; brother, Leander J. Charley of Klagetoh
and sisters, Vanessa Mand Charley and Assha Bah Charley both of
Klagetoh.
Charley was preceded in death by his sisters, Ganelle Charley and
Radelle Genine Charley.
Pallbearers will be Casey Charley, Melvin Robbie Charley Jr., Mark
Thomas Jr. and Rico Thomas.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Radelle Genine Charley
KLAGETOH, Ariz. — Services for Radelle Charley, 9, will be
held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 9 at Rollie Mortuary-Palm
Chapel. Pastor Mark Thomas will officiate. Burial will follow at
Sunset Memorial Chapel.
Charley died Jan. 1 in Klagetoh. She was born Dec. 27, 1992 in Gallup.
Survivors include his parents, Tommy Charley of Fort Wingate and
Elvira Charley of Klagetoh; brother, Leander J. Charley of Klagetoh
and sisters, Vanessa Mand Charley and Assha Bah Charley both of
Klagetoh.
Charley was preceded in death by her brother, Jerrel Thomas Charley
and sister, Ganelle Charley.
Pallbearers will be Denton Gleason, Carlton John, Ronald John and
Uldile Platero.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Effie Joe
COYOTE CANYON — Services for Effie Joe, 67, will be held at
10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 9 at Cope Memorial Chapel. Rev. Richard
Clymer will officiate. Burial will follow in Coyote Canyon.
Joe died Jan. 5 in Albuquerque. She was born April 2, 1934 in Coyote
Canyon into the Bitahnii Clan for the Tachiihii People Clan.
Joe was a rancher, homemaker, rugweaver and a participant in the
CETA Program.
Survivors included her sons, Charlie Joe, Tully Joe, Ricky Joe,
Clarence Joe and John Joe Jr.; daughters, Annie Tsosie, Laverna
Tsosie and Linda Mud; parents, John and Mary Benally; brothers,
Jimmy Benally and Johnny Johnson; sisters, Lorraine Livingston of
Church Rock, Sadie Catron of Fort Defiance, Ariz. and Dorothy Kalleco
of Crownpoint; and 22 grandchildren.
Joe was preceded in death by her husband, John Dee Joe Sr.; son,
Tom Roger and brothers, Timothy Benally, Tom Benally, Frank Benally
and Ned Benally.
Pallbearers will be Del Ray Joe, Marques Johnson, Orlando Johnson,
Deion Joe, Alfred Tsosie and Al Tsosie.
The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services
at Coyote Canyon Chapter House.
Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Asdzoni Bitah
LOWER GREASEWOOD, Ariz. — Services
for Asdzoni Bitah, 99, will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan.
9 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Lower Greasewood.
Burial will follow in Lower Greasewood.
Bitah died Jan. 3 in Chinle, Ariz. She was born Oct. 15, 1902 in
Lower Greasewood into the Coyote Pass People Clan for the Big Water
People Clan.
Bitah was a rug weaver.
Survivors include her son, Tsosie Yazzie of Lower Greasewood; daughters,
Mae Bitah of Cornfield, Ariz., Sarah Wilson and Lucy Bitsilly both
of Lower Greasewood; brothers, Ben Navajo of Nahateed Canyon, Ariz.;
sisters, Ellen Watson, Evelyn Yazzie and Ruth Phillips all of Lower
Greasewood; 25 grandchildren; 51 great-grandchildren and five great-great
grandchildren.
Bitah was preceded in death by her parents, Hosteen and Nanabah
Phillips; husband, Stephan Bitah; sons, Paul Allen, Edgbert Yazzie,
Pascal Bitah and John Phillips.
Pallbearers will be Tsosie Yazzie, Ernest Wilson, Arnold Wilson,
Alvin Wilson, Delbert Yazzie and Justin Bitsilly.
The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services
at Lower Greasewood Chapter House.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Albert L. Yazzie
HOUCK, Ariz. — Services for Albert Yazzie, 75, will be held
at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 9 at St. Johns the Evanglist Church,
Houck. Father Cormack will officiate. Burial will follow at Houck
Community Cemetery.
Yazzie died Jan. 4 in Gallup. He was born Oct. 6, 1926 in Houck
into the Black Streak Forest People for the Towering House People
Clans.
Yazzie worked as a forestry/logger in Showlow Chevelon, McNary area,
and was a rancher and carpenter. He retired from the Union Pacific
Railroad.
Survivors include his sons, Arnold Yazzie of Farmington, Melvin,
Dennison and Fredrick Silversmith all of Oak Springs, Ariz.; daughters,
Norma Tsosie and Shirley Yazzie both of Sanders, Ariz., Erica Woody
and Sharlene Begay both of Page, Ariz., Gail Leslie-Bob of Gallup,
Cheryl Begay and Loretta Silversmith both of Oak Springs; sisters,
Nellie Shirley of Lupton, Ariz. and Alyce Gilcrest of Gallup; 33
grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren.
Yazzie was preceded in death by his parents, John and Bah Elizabeth
Yazzie and brother, Lee Chee Yazzie.
Pallbearers will be the Veterans Association.
The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services
at Houck Chapter House.
Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Bertha A. Fisher
GRANTS — Services for Bertha Fisher, 84, were held at 10 a.m.,
Monday, Jan. 7 at St. Theresa Catholic Church. Father Emeric Nordmeyer
officiated. Burial followed at Grants Memorial Park Cemetery.
Fisher died Jan. 3 in Grants. She was born May 30, 1917 in Puerto
DeLuna.
Pallbearers were Mark Herrera, Michael Herrera, William Gauna, Troy
Harris, George Gonzales and Benito Via.
Manuel Chavez
COLUMBUS, Mont. — Services for Manuel Chavez, 66, were held
at 10 a.m., today at St. Teresa Catholic Church. Father Eugene Bowski
officiated.
Chavez worked in mining industry as a hoist man in New Mexico, Arizona
and Montana. His hobbies included watching football games, horses
and horse racing.
Survivors include his wife, Virginia Chavez; sons, Manuel Chavez
and Michael A. Chavez both of Grants, Mark A. Chavez, Dennis Chavez
and Robert Chavez all of Albuquerque; daughter, Peggy Chavez of
Rio Rico, Ariz.; brothers, Elfego Chavez of Sena and Leo Chavez
of Albuquerque; sisters, Molly Ortiz of El Pueblo and Gabby Vigil
of Grants; ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Chavez was preceded in death by his first wife, Josefita "Josie"
Rivera Chavez; parents, Apolonio and Isidora Chavez; sister, Virginia
Lambert.
Pallbearers were Anthony Garduno, Ralph Ortiz, Gabriel Chavez, Darrell
Chavez, Tommy Ortiz and Darren Chavez.
Paul Edward Tso
Sr.
CHINLE, Ariz. — Services for
Paul Tso Sr., 83, will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 9 at
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Burial will follow
on family plot, Salt Water Canyon, Ariz.
Tso Sr. died Jan. 5 in Chinle. He was born June 20, 1918 in Fort
Defiance, Ariz. into the Mescalero Apache Clan for the Bitter Water
People Clan.
Tso Sr. was a Navajo Code Talker with the U.S. Marine Corp. He was
a business man, a rancher and a Navajo Nation judge the Chinle District
Court.
Survivors include his wife, Theresa Tso of Chinle; sons, Eddie Tso
of St. Michaels, Ariz., Jasper Tso, Paul E. Tso III both of Chinle,
Orvel Tso of Durango, Colo. Paul Tso Jr. and Harold Z. Tso both
of Ganado, Ariz., Arthur Bahe of Many Farms and Eugene Bahe of Cottonwood,
Ariz.; daughters, Mary Ann Benally of Shiprock, Harriett Mike of
Kirtland, Evangeline Tso of Kayenta, Ariz., Rae Annette Platero
of Farmington, Zoncho Tso of Chinle, Imogene Burbank of Many Farms,
Ariz.; brothers, Donald Tso of Many Farms and Zhealy Tso Jr. of
Chinle; sisters, Virginia Begay of Many Farms, Helen Begay and Lorraine
Hardy of Chinle; 47 grandchildren and 65 great-grandchildren.
Tso Sr. was preceded in death by his parents, Zhealy H. and Zoncho
Tso; brother, Howard Tso; sisters, Mary Sells and Martha Draper;
daughter, Christine K. Tso and son, Wayne Henery Tso.
Pallbearers will be Paul Edward Tso III, Eugene Bahe, Charles Tso,
Matt Platero, Jarvis Tso and Sean L. Mike.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Evelyn Montezz Harrison
GRANTS — Services for Evelyn Harrison, 73, will be held at
10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 9 at the First Prebyterian Church of Grants.
Rev. Diane Monger will officiate. Burial will follow at Grants Memorial
Park.
Visitation will be held from 3-6 p.m., today at Grants Mortuary
Chapel.
Harrison died Jan. 4 in Albuquerque. She was born Feb. 19, 1928
in Kentucky.
Survivors include her husband, William G. Harrison of Grants; sons,
Phil Adams of Steelton, Pa. and Michael Harrison of Rio Rancho;
daughter, Debra Gray of Rio Rancho; brother, Don Burrell of Sacramento,
Calif.; sister, Ruth Hill of Detroit, Mich.; two grandchildren and
one great-grandchild.
Pallbearers will be family and friends.
Denny Long
GREASEWOOD SPRINGS, Ariz. — Services for Denny Long, 68, were
held at 10 a.m., today at Our Lady of the Rosary. Brother Paul O'Brien
officiated. Burial followed at Greasewood Springs.
Long died Jan. 2 in Greasewood Springs. He was born July 15, 1934
in Greasewood Springs into the Coyote Pass People Clan for the Black
Streak Wood People Clan.
Long attended Greasewood Catholic School. He was a rancher and worked
for Union Pacific Railroad.
Survivors include his wife, Mary K. Begay of Greasewood Springs;
sons, George Long of Sheep Springs; daughters, Charlene Long of
Sheepsprings, Geraldine Williams of Phoenix, Caroline Antonio, Lorena
Jimm and Bertha Ben all of Greasewood Springs; brother, Glenn Long
of Greasewood Springs; 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Long was preceded in death by his parents, George Long and Mae King;
brothers, Benjamin Long Sr., Tom Long Sr. and Kenneth Long.
Pallbearers will be George Long, Virgil Long, Holmes Long, Keith
Long, Clifford Long and Freeland Long.
The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services
at Greasewood Springs Chapter House.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Alma F. Delgado
GALLUP — Services for Alma Delgado, 70, will be announced at
a later date.
Delgado died Jan. 7 in Gallup. She was born Nov. 7, 1931 in LaFeyette,
Ind.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Paul Begay
GALLUP — Services for Paul Begay, 71, will be announced at
a later date.
Begay died Jan. 6 in Gallup. He was born April 19, 1930 in Jones
Ranch into the Red Running into the Water People Clan for the Black
Streak People Clan.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
| Top
|
Contact the Gallup Independent
Please send the Gallup Independent feedback on
this website and the paper in general.
E-mail: gallpind@cia-g.com
By mail:
The Independent
PO Box 1210 Gallup, NM 87305
500 N. 9th Gallup, NM 87301
All contents property of the Gallup
Independent.
Any duplication or republication requires consent of the Gallup
Independent.
Feel free to send any questions or comments to gallpind@cia-g.com
E-mail the webmaster at martyr_dom@hotmail.com
for problems concerning the website ONLY.
|
