Carlsbad, Clovis Kmarts get axed, Gallup spared
The Associated Press
New Mexico is losing two of its 18 Kmart stores — those in
Carlsbad and Clovis.
Kmart Corp. announced Friday it will close 284 stores in 40 states
and Puerto Rico as part of its restructuring under Chapter 11
bankruptcy.
"We got screwed," a 19-year Kmart employee in Carlsbad
said after hearing the news.
New Mexico Kmarts in 15 communities employ about 1,600 people,
and the company buys some goods and services from other firms
in the state.
The Clovis store has about 96 employees and the Carlsbad store
has 65, state Labor Secretary Clinton Harden said.
But a list released by Kmart shows that a total of 120 employees
in Carlsbad and Clovis will be laid off.
Harden said state officials have not been told when the stores
would shut down.
"Anytime there are layoffs it's not good news," he said.
"The indications are the recession is turning the corner,
but especially
in rural communities (when) you have losses of these kinds of
jobs, it has an impact."
A man who answered the telephone at the Clovis Kmart said he had
no comment and hung up.
The 19-year Carlsbad employee who did comment declined to be identified
and was quoted by the Carlsbad Current-Argus newspaper.
Clovis Industrial Development Corporation executive director Robert
G. Duckworth heard on the radio the local store would be closing.
He said he didn't know the impact because he hadn't worked out
the numbers yet.
"We may not agree with their decision, but we'll have to
work through it," Duckworth said.
"I don't think it's fair," Clovis Kmart customer Danielle
Mason said, contending that employees weren't given enough time
to line up new jobs.
The Labor Department will send teams to talk with the Kmart workers
to let them know what benefits are available from the state and
federal governments, including unemployment insurance and services
for dislocated workers.
"That's our role right now, to get the information to the
workers as far as what's available to them as far as programs,"
Harden said.
The nation's No. 3 discount retailer filed for Chapter 11 reorganization
Jan. 22 after a disappointing Christmas season, credit rating
downgrades and a plummeting stock price. Kmart has struggled to
compete with industry leader Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and No. 2 Target
Corp.
The corporation's filing said dozens of secured creditors —
including Fleming Cos. which bought out the bankrupt Furrs grocery
stores in New Mexico and Texas — are owed millions of dollars.
Shoppers and employees at a Rio Rancho Kmart were relieved to
learn their store was not on the list.
Debbie, an employee who gave only her first name, said she had
worried about the possibility of the store closing.
"You can't help it," she said.
At a nearby store, Hastings employee Bianca Pacheco said she shops
at the Kmart "almost every other day" for household
supplies.
"Every time you go in there there's something on sale,"
she said.
It was the second bankruptcy filing of a major company to affect
New Mexico. Texas-based Fleming took over Furrs grocery stores
after that chain filed for Chapter 11 protection in February 2001.
Some Furrs stores were sold to other grocery chains, but more
than a dozen in New Mexico closed.
Troy, Mich.-based Kmart said the stores closing include 271 discount
stores and 12 Supercenters and one store in Puerto Rico. The cuts
amount to just under 9 percent of Kmart's total work force of
about 250,000.
"The decision to close these underperforming stores, which
do not meet our financial requirements going forward, is an integral
part of the company's reorganization effort," CEO Chuck Conaway
said in a statement.
"While the business rationale supporting this action is compelling,
we deeply regret the impact these store closings will have on
our associates, our customers and the communities where these
stores are located."
Kmart expects the sales generated from the closings and related
savings will improve its cash flow by about $550 million in 2002
and about $45 million annually after that.
On the Net:
http://www.kmartcorp.com
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Two arrested in two homicides
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Tribal justice moved swiftly last week in what
law enforcement authorities believe to be two separate murders discovered
Thursday.
The arrests and judge's actions mean the two suspects will be in custody
while federal murder on a reservation charges are prepared. FBI spokesmen
in Phoenix and Albuquerque said they had not talked yet with the field
agents in Gallup and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix and Albuquerque
as to how soon the Safe Trails Task Force would be able to file the
U.S. charges.
Navajo Nation Window Rock District Court Judge LaVerne Johnson, at
a Friday afternoon arraignment, accepted a guilty plea to a battery
charge levied against Nathan Christensen, 18, of 3 Red Lake Acres,
Navajo, N.M., in connection with the death of Orlando Marshall, 22,
of 70 Lone Pine, Navajo, N.M.
The tribal judge gave Christensen the maximum punishment Congress
allows First American courts to impose — a year behind bars and
a $5,000 fine, which will end up going to the victim's family as restitution.
Judge Johnson also received a not guilty (innocent) plea at Friday
afternoon's arraignment from Garrett Begay, 28, who lives about 15
miles southwest of Klagetoh Chapter House. She set his pre-trial (plea
bargain) conference for April 23. The judge also required a $5,000
cash bond for him to be out on bail.
He was arrested on a tribal aggravated battery charge in connection
with the death of his relative, Thomas K. Tsosie, missing since Feb.
19 from his home about 12 miles west of Klagetoh.
Marshall's death
Orlando Marshall, 22, died at the home of Helen Gregory, his aunt,
with death pronounced by Navajo Criminal Investigator Marjorie Henderson
around 9 a.m. Thursday.
According to the Window Rock Criminal Investigations District report,
Marshall came to his aunt's home Tuesday night with injuries, telling
her he had fought with someone. He spent the night, then left Wednesday
morning, returning sometime between 4 and 6 p.m.
Around 9 p.m., he and the suspect got into a fight in his aunt's living
room, with Christensen allegedly punching and kicking Marshall in
the face, the report said. Marshall's uncle, Christopher Gregory,
stopped the fight, cleaned his nephew up and put him to bed.
When the family woke up about 6:30 Thursday and checked on Marshall,
he would not respond and was cold to the touch, the report said.
His body was taken to Tse Bonito Mortuary, and an autopsy was requested.
The report also indicated alcohol was involved, but didn't specify
how.
Tsosie's death
A relative found Thomas K. Tsosie, 52, around 7:45 a.m. Thursday face
down in a wash about 10 miles west of Klagetoh, according to the Window
Rock Law Enforcement District report. The reservation chapter has
been hard-hit in recent months by violent deaths.
Thomas Tsosie's brother David was searching in the woods on Thursday
about 10 miles west of Klagetoh, continuing the family's efforts begun
Feb. 25. Two missing persons reports were filed, the report said,
adding that Tsosie was last seen with Begay on Feb. 19. Continued
checks of border towns and relative's other field searches proved
fruitless, the report indicated.
David Tsosie told officers he spotted tire tracks leading from Antelope
Trails Road and knew no one had been in the area, so he followed them
for about a mile to where the vehicle turned around at a wash.
David Tsosie found his brother's body face down, partially clothed,
in the wash with multiple stab wounds, the report said. The suspect's
vehicle was described as a 1994 GMC supercab pickup truck.
However, tribal detectives would not confirm on Friday the patrol
officer's report. Criminal investigators and FBI agents also returned
to the scene repeatedly Friday.
Tsosie's body was taken to Cope Memorial Chapel in Gallup.
Kidnapping
TO' HAJIILEE — Police are looking for a 34-year-old man suspected
of threatening and kidnapping his estranged wife March 6 from her
mother's home on the Canoncito Navajo Reservation.
According to the Crownpoint Law Criminal Investigations District report,
Douglas D. Nez of northeast Albuquerque was released from prison Jan.
30.
Around 7 p.m. March 6 he came to the home of Patricia Platero, 34,
about two miles north of the To' Hajiilee Community School, pulled
her from the house, breaking the screen door and knocking down her
mother, Fannie Platero, according to the report.
With a history of domestic violence, Nez served two years in prison
for stabbing Patricia Platero. While on parole he battered her again,
the report said, and was sent back behind bars. The report added he
threatened to finish her off.
Detectives believe he took her off the satellite reservation about
30 miles west of Albuquerque with intent to do more harm to her. As
of Friday, they had not been seen.
Man dies under tractor
RED ROCK CHAPTER — An 80-year-old suburban Gallup man died March
5 after being crushed under a tractor at his home, according to the
Crownpoint Criminal Investigations District report.
A Crownpoint Law Enforcement District officer found Tom Lee of 33
South Sitting Rock Road around 10 p.m. Relatives did not know he was
under the tractor and may have been that way since 6 p.m., the detective's
report said. They told officers he had been working around the house.
Detectives believe he might have fallen under the tractor when it
hit a ditch and threw him. Lee was pronounced dead by the Office of
the Medical Investigator about a half-hour after being found, the
report added.
Family burned out
TOH NANEES DIZI — A local family lost its home and all possessions
in a afternoon fire March 6possibly caused by a retarded youth playing
with matches, according to the Tuba City Law Enforcement District
report.
Tommy Suetopka Sr., 50, Noreen Graham, 50, Adam Suetopka, 21, a nine-year-old
boy and a 16-year-old boy escaped 38 Tuba City Mobile Home Park, but
were treated for smoke inhalation at the IHS hospital in Tuba City.
Authorities evacuated neighbors, blocking off Moenave Road from the
Hollywood Arizona video store to the park entrance, the report said.
The Navajo Nation and BIA Fire Departments responded. They couldn't
save the home, but did protect neighboring homes from catching fire.
Electrical fire?
CROWNPOINT — Two elderly people and two youths escaped a burning
home early Thursday morning in what may have been an electrically
caused fire, according to the Crownpoint Criminal Investigations District
report.
Johnson Largo, 72, and Martha Largo, 70, along with a 16-year-old
boys and an 11-year-old boy were saved around 12:30 a.m. when a security
officer spotted 41 Old West Mesa on fire.
Mrs. Largo told police she saw smoke coming from inside the stove
or a nearby refrigerator plug, but the report said the official cause
remains unknown.
The four people were taken to the IHS hospital in Crownpoint to be
treated for smoke inhalation, the report added.
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Pet owners' nightmare comes true
Andrea Egger
Staff Writer
My heart is breaking.
Actually, it breaks more every day. That's because every day brings
me closer to the end of my three babies' lives.
My cats are dying of FIP, feline-whatever-the-rest-means-and-I-don't-care.
Pet lovers out there: How do you handle not one, but three, pets dying?
And there's nothing you can do about it?
First, little Autumn wouldn't eat or drink and lost weight down to
literal bones and her fluffy fur — she's a longhair tortoiseshell,
just beautiful. So I took her to my vet, Dr. Ken Podkonjak at Red
Rock Animal Hospital, last week because Autum's "sister,"
Jessica (no actual relation but sisters by me being their "Mama"),
had the same symptoms four years ago and she had a kidney infection,
easily treated by antibiotics and this expensive prescription food.
Now, my brother's cat, Fuzzy, died at the ripe old age of 23, and
I told my cats they had to live to be at least 25. (Obviously,
they weren't listening.) They're 12, except for Ryan-the-cat, he's
8. Doc said 12 for a cat is like 70 years old to a human. My parents
are 77, and they're not old. And hey, if Fuzz can live to 23, then
my babies are not old.
Autumn wasn't listening Saturday either, because I whispered to her,
"You can't have a fatal disease... you come back to your mama."
Well, it's my own, cheap fault that they're dying. I killed them,
same as if I shot them in the head. I hadn't taken them for years
for their annual vaccinations until this year. They were indoor cats,
so I rationalized away the hundred bucks a year. Then someone suggested
they'd have more fun if I let them go outside. So I took them for
their shots this year and they got to go outside.
Except Autumn. She really didn't like to go outside, so she
became a lot closer to her mom by virtue of being an only cat, well,
sort of — for most of the day.
Not to mention that my ex-husband scared my cats to death and Autumn
and Ryan hid all the time. We never saw them.
Except when the ex went to try to pet Ryan, who usually hid under
this one chair. Ryan always hissed at my ex, every time. That was
actually kind of funny, but I got in trouble if I laughed, so I usually
left the room with a hidden smile. Autumn just
hid. I feel really guilty that I put my cats through this abuse, because
the second I moved away from my ex, Autumn and Ryan came out of the
woodwork.
There was Autumn, always begging to be petted. There was Ryan, always
climbing in my lap or sticking his thick, furry tail in whatever I
was eating so he could have some, too.
Ryan, by-the-way, is an adorable, longhair Siamese/tabby blend, with
adorable blue eyes that cross a little bit, as is typical for
Siamese cats, making him look constantly so confused. It's
so cute. Jessica, although she's the oldest, is my baby. I jokingly
call her my husband, because she sleeps under the covers with me and
snores away on the other pillow. She's a fairly-ordinary-looking cat,
a grey-and-white-striped tabby, but she's the sweetest cat in the
world. There will never be another Jessica. And anyone who knows me
knows about Jessica because I always talk about her.
In fact, when I was a substitute teacher with the Gallup-McKinley
County Schools, whenever I came across a girl named Jessica while
I was taking attendance, I used to say, "Hey, you were named
after my cat!" 'Course, I did that with my other cats, too. Always
found Ryans in school. Hard to find an Autumn, but I did it! There's
a Gallup girl named Autumn, and she's even pretty enough to have been
named after my precious Autumn. (I don't think the girl has eyes as
striking as my cat's brilliant green ones, though).
And there's a young guy at my church named Ryan. I picked his name
off the board to pray for once because I don't know too many kids
in my church and he had the same name as my cat!
Jessica was my first cat. I got her in college, after my roommate's
death. She had four cats, and I loved them — I always thought
I'd be a dog person until I met her cats. Jessica was born under a
trailer in Illinois, a stray. I saved her from being run over by a
train. She always slept on my bed, and she used to wake me up every
morning by sitting on my chest and licking my face insistently, like
a dog. 'Cept cats have this "hook" on their tongues, so
it kind of hurts after awhile! She was my alarm clock. She always
did this at 6:30 a.m. Until the time change. Cats don't understand
Daylight Savings. Then she'd wake me up at 5:30, which wasn't cool.
But it was OK, because it was Jessica.
My cats are my life and I have lived through difficult times because
no one could love them like their "mom."
Now every time I look at them, I'm going to think, "Is it today?"
"Will they be alive next week?" "Next Christmas, will
Jessica be there?"
Hard to think of them dying. I've never had a pet die. It was hard
enough when my brother's cat — and then his special dog —
died. And my brother, George, lives hundreds of miles away, so I didn't
get to see his "babies" wasting away.
I've actually always been worried about what I would do when Jessica
died. Just Jessica. Because she was my favorite cat. And then I was
holding Autumn and crying Saturday at the vet's office because I knew
— I could tell somehow — that she was dying. And she was
never my favorite cat. "I shouldn't have a favorite cat,"
I said. "I should love them all the same." My friend, who
was there, thank God, told me to stop being so silly.
So, who's going first? Probably Autumn, she's the sickest, although
she's already put some weight back on and she's eating and getting
into things. Ryan and Jessica just look healthy as heck. They all
sleep on my bed. They each have their own corner, and then, of course,
Jessica's up top with me. Sometimes she tries to sleep on me, which
is cute, but it isn't very practical, as in, I can't sleep with a
cat on top of me!
I don't want to go anywhere anymore, I just want to spend every last,
precious minutes of my babies' lives with them. I want to capture
every purr, every meow. Every time they look at me like I'm crazy.
Every time I call them and they ignore me. You've heard the joke,
I'm sure, that dogs come when they're called, but cats take a message
and get back to you later. It's true!
How do I live without love in my life? Those cats are my heart.
How do I live without a heart?
Whenever I cry about something going on in life, Jessica always comes
up to me and sits next to me and puts her little paw on my shoulder
— you know, like you would do if you saw me crying, well, those
of you who like me, anyway. Jessica's my nurse. When I fell, like
an idiot, in a school lunchroom and hit my head on the table and the
floor and twisted my back, I later asked my then-husband to "just
bring me Jessica."
Nobody will ever understand my love for my "babies." They
can't. I tried to get through to someone today at work, moments after
I found out, and he was out at a meeting. I tearfully said it was
an emergency. When whoever found out the emergency was "just"
my cats dying, they didn't do anything to find this person Or maybe
he did try...
Everybody at work keeps coming up to me today and telling me my makeup
is all messed up from sobbing at my desk. Like I care about my face
right now. My babies are dying! Who cares about looks?
Pets are always there for you. Yes, they also throw up on or pee on
the carpet, but you clean it up and you love them while you're doing
it.
Cats especially have such neat personalities. The girls beat the crap
out of Ryan when he was a kitten. Now he's bigger than they are and
he's the dominant cat. He picks on them and they hiss at him,
but he still gets his way. He eats first. When Autumn gets her daily
saucer of milk that she begs for, Ryan has to be outside so he doesn't
gulp it down first. And Autumn will just sit there and let Ryan drink
her milk if he's in the house. It's so funny watching them.
Scares visitors when one of the girls hisses at Ryan. But I'm used
to it. It's like, "Oh, yeah — they're just playing."
Right now, I don't care about anything else. I just want to be with
my babies and enjoy every second they have left. The thing with FIP
is, they could die next week, or it could be two years. But they are
going to die, no question.
So, for anyone who's read this far, you must be a pet lover —
go see your vet and get their vaccinations! Pay your vet the too-high
(in my opinion) vaccination charges. Sell something on ebay, like
I did, to be able to afford it. Sell your soul, who cares. Just get
those annual vaccinations.
I don't think anyone's ever going to see me again until my cats die,
because I'm going to spend every waking minute with them. No, I'm
not even going to sleep. So goodbye, world. If anyone gets shot, beat
up, killed, maimed, whatever — tell someone who gives a flick,
because I have more important places to be... at home, with three
cats on my lap.
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Military notes
Smith graduates
CHINLE, Ariz. — Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Bernardette
A. Smith has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air
Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.
Smith is a 1992 graduate of North High School, Phoenix. She is the
daughter Howard Smith of Chinle.
Greyeyes graduates
KAYENTA, Ariz. — Army Pvt. Sonya L. Greyeyes has graduated from
basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
Greyeyes is a 2001 graduate of Mounment Valley High School, Kayenta.
She is the daughter of Pauline and David Greyeyes of Kayenta.
Owens graduates
TOHATCHI — Army Pvt. Jason T. Owens has graduated from basic
combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
Owens is a 1999 graduate of Tohatchi High School. He is the son of
Bernice Owens of Tohatchi.
Gallegos graduates
GALLUP — Army Pvt. Jeremy D. Gallegos has graduated from the
automated logistical specialist advanced individual training (AIT)
course at Fort Lee, Petersburg, Va.
Gallegos is a 2001 graduate of Gallup High School. He is the son of
Julieanne A. and Fred M. Gallegos both of Gallup.
Yazzie graduates
CHAMBERS, Ariz. — Rhonda Yazzie, daughter of Harold and Mary
Yazzie of Chambers has graduated Marine Corps recruit training in
San Diego, Calif.
After completing the "Crucible" she has earned her Tan belt
in Marine Corps martial arts. Pvt. Yazzie is a 2001 graduate of Sanders
High School.
Belone graduates
WINDOW ROCK — Army Pvt. Patricia M. Belone has graduated from
the automated logistical specialist advanced individual training (AIT)
course at Fort Lee, Petersburg, Va.
Belone is the daughter of Alice L. Belone and Howard Wallace both
of Window Rock.
Wyaco graduates
ZUNI — Army Pvt. Nicheallo O. Wyaco has graduated from basic
military training at Fort Leonard Wood, Waynesville, Mo.
Wyaco is a 2001 graduate of Zuni High School. She is the daugther
of Claudine Wyaco of Zuni.
Skeets graduates
WINDOW ROCK — Army Pvt. Rozanne Skeet has graduated from the
automated logistical specialist advanced individual training (AIT)
course at Fort Lee, Petersburg, Va.
Skeet is a 2000 graduate of Chinle High School. She is the daughter
of Adelia M. and Jimmy Skeet both of Window Rock.
Gene graduates
HOUCK, Ariz. — Shawn Gene, son of Ronald and Pearl Gene of Houck,
graduated Marine Corps recruitng training in San Diego, Calif. After
completing the "Crucible" he has earned his Tan belt in
Marine Corps martial arts. Pvt. Gene is a 2001 graduate of Sanders
High School.
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Gallup girls take state
Santiago Ramos
Staff Sports Writer
ALBUQUERQUE — The Gallup Lady Bengals used a total team effort
to turn back Hobbs 52-47 to claim the Class 5A girls state title late
Friday night at University Arena.
With just over a minute remaining, senior guard Vanessa Hubbard drilled
a crucial trey to give Gallup a slim one-point lead.
After working the ball around and running some time off the clock,
senior point guard Tanya Bailey dished off one of her trademark "no-look
passes" to senior post Candace Roanhorse underneath for the easy
score. And then with seconds left, Rhonda Begay sank a pair of free
throws that sealed Gallup's third state title.
"Our fans, our town believed in us," said Lomasney who has
now guided Gallup to three state titles (in 1994 over Eldorado, in
1997 over Santa Fe and now 2002 over Hobbs) in the last nine years
along with one second in 1998 to Rio Grande. "This win is for
them and for us. Most of all we believed in ourselves. We're focused
all the time.
"It was a total team effort," added Lomasney who is in his
20th year at Gallup. "We have to fight and scrap for it. The
leadership brought this team back. We didn't fold. Hobbs had the game
for three or four minutes at the end but we took the game back at
the end."
Hubbard said that she was confident about taking the shot that gave
Gallup the lead back.
"I was thinking about it (shooting a trey)," Hubbard said.
"When I shot it, I knew I had it. It came at a great time."
Bailey, who directed the Bengal offense with skill and patience, said
winning the state title was special.
"It feels good when you know you won," she said. "Then
you let it all out."
Hobbs (25-2) came out with an aggressive trapping defense at the start
that fueled an early 4-0 lead.
Then Gallup (23-4) grabbed the lead which the Lady Bengals would not
relinquish until the final two minutes of the game.
The Lady Bengals, who displayed a balanced scoring attack with seven
players scoring at least five points each. Gallup took
advantage of its effective long range shooting as senior guard Vanessa
Hubbard, senior point guard Tanya Bailey and guard
Rhonda Begay, drilling three-pointers for a 17-10 advantage.
The Lady Eagles, who were seeking their first state title after three
consectuve state runnersup from 1982 to 1984, rallied to
within one point, 19-18. By halftime Gallup still clung to a slim
one-point lead, 25-24.
The Lady Bengals outpointed the Lady Eagles 13-8 in the third period
to take a 38-32 lead into the final period.
But Hobbs battled back to within two points, thanks to a perfect 8-of-8
shooting from the free throw line. A score by junior
guard Adrianne Ross, who led all scorers with 24 points and six rebounds
in a losing effort, finally tied the game at 40-all with
4:41 remaining in the fourth period.
Roanhorse scored inside that pushed Gallup back into the lead. Bailey
then lofted a long pass downcourt to Jennifer
Christensen for another score inside for a four-point Bengal lead,
44-40.
But Ross again spearheaded a comeback with two quick scores that tied
the game once again.
With a one-point lead, the Lady Bengals went to their trademark patient
offense after Bailey came up with a crucial steal.
Gallup ran the clock down to 2:14 before Sunny St. Clair missed a
layup.
Hobbs tied the game for a final time on a Ross free throw with just
over two minutes left in the game. The Lady Eagles stole
the lead away for the first time since the beginning of the game when
Ross sank a pair of free throws for a 47-45 Hobbs lead.
But the Lady Bengals came right down and Hubbard buried her second
trey of the game that gave Gallup the lead for good
with 25 seconds left in the game.
Gallup had a very balanced scoring attack with Jennifer Christensen
with 10 points leading the way, followed by Rhonda
Begay with 9, Anna Antonio and Sunny St. Clair with 8 each, Vanessa
Hubbard 7, and Tanya Bailey and Candace Roanhorse
with 5 each.
Hobbs' Ross led all scorers with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-20
shooting from the field and 8-of-10 from the line.
The Lady Bengals shot a solid 50 percent from the field (16-of-32)
with the Lady Eagles struggling with 13-of-40 for 33
percent. Gallup also the advantage from long range, hitting on 5-of-13
treys while Hobbs was just 1-of-9. Hobbs had a slight
advantage at the free throw line, converting 20-of-25 with Gallup
15-of-18.
"We strived to play as a team tonight," said Lomasney who
says he plans on coaching for two more years at Gallup. "We
weren't blessed with a lot of height but we play with a lot of heart.
We have the toughest schedule in the state bar none. We
play a difficult schedule and it makes us ready to play at state.
We play under pressure and we play before 2,000 or 3,000 fans
all the time."
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WWII-era canteen sparks friendship between families
Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Special to the Independent
GALLUP — The old canteen isn't much to look at, but to Bertha
Menini, it's a treasured possession. When a stranger mailed it to
Menini two years ago, it was a bittersweet memento. Now the battered
old military canteen is at the heart of a friendship that has grown
between two families, one in Gallup and the other in Georgia.
In May of 2000, The Independent featured a story that chronicled
the canteen's surprising journey. During World War II, the canteen
had been issued to a young American soldier, Carlo A. Menini of
Gallup. Menini served in the Philippines with almost 80 other Gallup
men in the 200th Coast Artillery of the New Mexico National Guard.
Suffering from a lack of equipment, munitions, food, and medicine,
the 200th Coast Artillery bravely fought off the Japanese forces
until they were forced to surrender on April 9, 1942. Menini then
survived the infamous Bataan Death March and three-and-a-half years
as a prisoner of the Japanese...
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Firefighters, law enforcers walk the 'The Patriot
Line'
Larry Di Giovanni
Staff Writer
SANDERS — The typical fire district in the rural United States
offered the typical reaction this week to Elle Milner and family,
who are traveling across the United States walking "The Patriot
Line."
That "typical" reaction has been fiercely patriotic and
positive to her cause. Milner, an independent associate in prepaid
legal services from Portland, Ore., is driving/walking across the
United States toting the U.S. flag, joined by firefighters, emergency
medical personnel and law enforcement officers.
The Patriot Line is her grassroots America cause that is paying
tribute to men and women in those same honorable professions who
gave their lives saving and trying to save the thousands of souls
who lost their lives on Sept. 11 in New York at the World Trade
Center and at the Pentagon in Washington. Milner plans to reach
New York on Memorial Day, May 27...
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Veterans call meeting for Sunday at Steamboat Chapter
House
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — All Navajo military veterans have been invited
to a Fort Defiance Agency veterans meeting at 10 a.m. Sunday at
the Steamboat Chapter House.
According to Lee C. Bitsui, one purpose is to screen political candidates,
while another is to begin forming a new reservation-wide veterans
organization.
A third purpose is to expand the campaign to convert the existing
IHS hospital in Fort Defiance to a veterans elderly care center.
The agenda calls for adopting a formal resolution of request...
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Chamber music to close concert season
Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Special to the Independent
GALLUP — The Thuringer Salonquintett, a chamber music ensemble
from the former East Germany, will be performing this Tuesday evening
in the last concert performance of the Gallup Community Concerts
2001-2002 Season. The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Gallup
High School auditorium.
The quintet is comprised of the classic Kaffehausmusik instrumentation
of two violins, cello, double bass, and piano. The music for Tuesday's
performance is taken from the nearly forgotten repertoire of European
coffeehouses from cities such as Leipzig, Vienna, and Paris. The
compositions are part of a tradition of light, entertaining music
that offer sheer listening pleasure to audiences...
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Authorities stumped in missing coed case
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — It's as if Ruth Miller got out of her car about 4:30
p.m. Feb. 11 far up on the side of Mount Taylor, grabbed the keys
to her car and simply vanished into nothing.
Everyone involved in the intensive search for the 20-year-old University
of New Mexico-Valencia County-Campus coed have exhausted all leads
into Miller's disappearance and she is now listed as a "missing
person."
Like the many sets of footprints belonging to Miller that played
out into nothing but thin air, investigators admit they are scraping
the bottom of the barrel for clues. "I've gotten no new leads,"
said New Mexico State Police Agent Kevin Bruno in a short interview
Thursday. "I don't know what to think. There is such limited
information..."
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Deaths
Marilyn Delores Begay
TOHATCHI — Services for Marilyn Begay, 35, will be held at
10 a.m., Monday, March 11 at Cope Memorial Chapel. Deacon Marcellino
Morris will officiate. Burial will follow on family land, Tohatchi.
Begay died March 7. She was born July 27, 1966 in Gallup into the
Black Streak Forest People Clan for the Edge of Water People Clan.
Begay attended Tohatchi High School. She volunteer for the Tohatchi
Head Start, parent representative, member of the Ki'Project Board
and was employed at the Tohatchi Mustang. She did potttery, kachina
dolls, silversmithing, canvas work and inlay.
Survivors include her sons, Fernando Copey, Orland Copey both of
Tohatchi; daughter, Jessica Copey of Tohatchi; brothers, Jasper
Begay, Martinez Charlie and William Wes Jackson all of Tohatchi;
and sisters, Selcido Johnson of Continetal Divide, Marlene Brown,
Irene D. Begay, Mary D. Begay, Lucita Begay and Christine Van Horn
all of Tohatchi.
Begay was preceded in death by her parents, Evelyn S. and Deswood
Begay and grandparents, Manygoat Begay, Charolette Begay, Guy Shipley
and Jeanette Shipley.
Pallbearers will be Jasper Begay, Ernest Begay, Kenny Val Dez, Steven
Long, Billy Destea Jr. and Gary Begay.
The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services
at Tohatchi Chapter House.
Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
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