Air Force and Marines Build Navajo homes


Marine combat engineer Lance Cpl. Rob Kenrick, of Taylor Mich., scores anew concrete driveway outside te building where his unit is building housing for the South West Indian Foundation, Thursday June 20, in Gallup. One of the nearly finished units is behind him. Once built the houses are taken in two sections to alocations where a foundation has been laid and then the house is reassembeled.

Photo by Craig Robinson

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Gov's fireworks ban confusing county officials

Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — As expected, Gov. Gary Johnson issued an executive order Wednesday asking all municipalities to consider
banning the use of all fireworks, even those permitted by state statute.

But there was some confusion here in McKinley County (and elsewhere) about just what effect Johnson's directive will have on the sale of fireworks.

As for Gallup, the city council has already gone on record approving a resolution banning all fireworks and the county commission has banned all aerial and ground fireworks except those that are permitted by state statute.

This has allowed firework dealers to set up their booths in various areas of the county to sell some fireworks, such as sparklers and others permitted under state law, but no one right now knows if Johnson's directive means that everything will be prohibited and the dealers will have to close up shop altogether.

"All I have seen so far is the press release issued by the governor's office and that pertains mainly to municipalities," said County Attorney Doug Decker.

Johnson's press release said that his administration has "banned fireworks use outside of the municipal lands" but Decker said he has not seen a copy of that administrative order.

Relying on what was said in the press release, Decker said the governor's statement doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
"It doesn't say anything at all about banning the sale of fireworks outside municipalities, just the use," Decker said, adding that this was an absurd approach to solving the problem.

"It's stupid to allow dealers to sell fireworks but then tell the people that they can't use what they buy," he said. "What does the governor expect them to do with the fireworks once they are bought store them?"

He also pointed out that a county the size of McKinley, which has limited police and fire officials, would have a difficult, if not impossible time, trying to enforce a ban on the use of fireworks.

Johnson went on television and radio Wednesday pleading with state residents not to use fireworks this year.

"This is not a time for half-measures," he said. "This state is on fire and suffering from an unprecedented drought."

Johnson's feelings are already being felt by many residents of the county.

Ellis Tanner, a long-time supporter of fireworks, has refused to sell fireworks this year and a small, but vocal, number of county residents have been urging the county to do what it can to close down the firework stands altogether.

Gamerco resident Pat Sheely said that for her, the issue is one of safety. She pointed out that Gamerco suffered a fire a few years ago because of fireworks and couldn't understand how the city, county or state could allow any firework sales this year
with the drought being the way it has been.

But city and county officials are still saying that they are doing everything they can under state law which means that dealers have the right to sell a limited amount of fireworks this year.

Johnson indicates in his police release that the cities have the right under their police powers to ban the use of all fireworks, but again skirts the issue of the sale.

"I believe that inside city limits, municipalities are best suited to assess the fire danger posed to their residents by fireworks and if necessary use their police powers to deal with them accordingly," he said.

Johnson said in his press release that the state will support whatever decisions the cities make.

City officials have already said there is nothing more the city council can do since it has banned all fireworks already and the dealers have set up shop in the county selling what fireworks the county has allowed them to sell.

The county commission is meeting on Thursday and Decker said that there is an item on the agenda for the commission to get an update on the sale of fireworks as well as drought conditions. There is, however, no resolution before the commission calling for the closing down of all firework dealers.

County officials were also saying Wednesday that closing down the dealers wouldn't solve the problem for this year because a lot of people have already bought their fireworks for this year and all Johnson's public statements will do is make people buy their fireworks early in case the dealers are shut down.

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Mum on ID of Mitchell shooter

Andrea Egger
Staff Writer

GALLUP — While technicians at the state crime lab are still deciding who will test two .45-caliber bullets for slain Cpl. Larry Brian Mitchell's DNA, they determined which police officer shot Michael Mitchell.

But no one wants to say who. Deputy District Attorney Joseph Arite said he hasn't received any documents showing who accidentally shot Michael Mitchell.

"I don't have a report from the crime lab," Arite said. "I haven't even talked to the crime lab in a long time. I need to do that."
Defense attorneys Trienah Gorman and Devin Fooks of the New Mexico Public Defender's Capital Crimes Division did not return several calls to their office.

A source who is a part of the case and did not want to be identified told the Independent that the officer has been named, but even the source would not reveal the identity.

Kathy Mitchell, mother of Larry Brian Mitchell, said she doesn't know who shot Michael Mitchell, who was her son's best friend and who she loves dearly. But Kathy Mitchell doesn't think identifying the shooter in Michael Mitchell's case will accomplish anything in fact, it would be detrimental to the shooter, she said.

"I feel for whoever it was. I know it was not intentional. It would be really difficult to deal with, for Mike or the person who was responsible," she said. "I don't know what difference it would make. We know it was an accident. I don't know if that would help anybody, especially the person who accidentally did it."

The two Mitchells, who are not related, were shot during a raid on the home of Robert Kiro, 34, in Red Hills Mobile Home Park. After allegedly waving a gun at his girlfriend and teen-age daughter in the trailer, someone called 911.

The girlfriend and daughter got away safely. Then began a stand-off between Gallup Police officers and McKinley County Sheriff's deputies from late May 29 to 5:45 a.m. May 30, when officers decided to storm the home.

Officers who went in the home include the Mitchells, Lt. Richard Perez, Officer Tod Heaton, Sgt. Matthew Wright, and Sgt. Brian Guillen. As officers entered the trailer, Kiro admitted that he fired first at the direction of the barrels of the Mitchells'
guns.

State Police Criminal Agent Kevin Bruno determined through investigation that Larry Brian Mitchell fell within the first four of 100 or so shots. Michael Mitchell threw his body over his dying friend to protect him, and moments later, he took a shot to the back.

Luckily, his bulletproof vest absorbed the shot and left Michael Mitchell with a huge bruise from the impact. Larry Brian Mitchell was not so lucky the bullet went in one unprotected arm, around the bulletproof vest and straight through his body.
Before 6 a.m., he was dead.

While police fired hundreds of shots, none of them hit Kiro. After Larry Brian Mitchell collapsed and Michael Mitchell got
shot, the police abandoned the mission.

It was about two hours later that Kiro surrendered.

Whether or not police or Kiro shot Larry Brian Mitchell is still up in the air, but the two bullets found with what appears to be body fluid and fibers are .45-caliber.

Kiro shot with a .45-caliber handgun while police used 9mm guns.

It was no mystery that an officer accidentally shot Michael Mitchell, because the bullet taken from his vest was a 9 mm.

But nobody knew who fired that shot until now. It had to be either Perez, Heaton, Wright or Guillen.

The unidentified source said Michael Mitchell and the officer who fired the fatal shot are both traumatized over the incident. Although it was an accident, no one wants to bear the burden of having shot another officer.

Michael Mitchell declined comment when asked Tuesday.

Kathy Mitchell said the distinction is the police officer didn't intend to shoot a fellow officer. But Kiro had hours to decide what to do.

"I can see something in the heat of the moment, but he (Kiro) had no heat. He had plenty of time to decide what to do, and he decided to kill my son," she said.

"He has not said 'I'm sorry,' he has not shown remorse for what he did. He's destroyed a lot of lives. My life, my family's life, my grandson's life. You can't have that level of happiness again. On holidays, somebody should be there sharing with you that's not. Not to mention waking up every day and missing him."

Kiro has pleaded not guilty, so any apologies to Larry Brian Mitchell's family could be held against him at trial. The family has said that the officer's death should be blamed on the police department for storming the trailer instead of waiting.

Kathy Mitchell said she gets sick of hearing people say what a "nice" guy Kiro is.

"You don't turn into somebody who does cocaine and pull a gun on your girlfriend and child overnight. That man was high on crack and ended up killing my son," she said.

She knows his family is suffering, too, but she said the difference is: "They can visit him. Well, I can't visit my son except in the cemetery."

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Ariz. fire's haze a problem for N.M.

WINSLOW, Ariz. (AP) — It was bad enough having to flee with a wildfire threatening her home.

Then Rose French had to move again, and again, and again because of the charcoal-smelling haze that's causing scratchy throats not only around here but far into New Mexico.

After the weekend's evacuation order, French, an asthmatic, went from her house in Pinetop-Lakeside to a friend's house in St. Johns. Seeking clearer air, she went to a trailer she owns in Snowflake and then to the evacuation center in Holbrook.

"Every time my lungs were starting to hurt, I had to move again," she said.

Finally, she found better air here in Winslow, which is slightly upwind of the fire.

Similar stories abound at Winslow High School. People who can't stand the air in Eagar and Holbrook, where two major shelters are located, are winding up here.

Charlene Amador of Pinetop-Lakeside moved from Holbrook to Winslow with her 7-month-old daughter, Gabriella.

"I realized I needed to leave when I couldn't see the moon," she said. "The next day, while I was pouring milk into a glass, I saw ashes."

"I drove into Holbrook Saturday at 2 p.m. and the streetlights were on. That was how dark it was," said Howard Nutter, who spent one night in Holbrook before moving here.

About 15 people with severe respiratory problems have been given oxygen at Winslow Memorial Hospital, spokeswoman Anita Warboys said.

The Arizona Department of Health issued a public health advisory for Navajo County, where the fire is burning, and Apache County, downwind to the east. People in those areas who are affected by the bad air, especially those with asthma and elderly people who need oxygen, were urged to cut back on outdoor activity.

New Mexico's Health Department did the same as the haze stretched to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, creating spectacular sunsets.

"Everybody around here has red eyes, and I don't think they're products of the '60s," state Health Department spokesman Eddie Binder said about the effects of the smoke in Santa Fe.

Will Humble, office chief for the Arizona Department of Health Services Environmental Health Program, said many people in towns where smoke is concentrated report coughing, itchy eyes, sore throats and nosebleeds.

The reports shift as the wind does. Holbrook had the most early on, then Eagar got more smoke, Humble said.
"In one sense, we've been fortunate in that the air has been shifting back and forth," he said.

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Area Sports

Carrie Loretto
Staff Sports Writer

GALLUP — Clutch hits by Chad Manges and Shaun Griswold capped a 7-6 come-from-behind A's victory over the Red Sox in a battle of division leaders in 13-14 year old baseball action at Indian Hills Park Wednesday night.

Manges, also the winning pitcher, led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single before stealing second. He scored the winning run for there on a full-count single into centerfield by Griswold.

The outcome left the teams tied for the division lead with three losses apiece. With two games remaining the A's improved to 10-3. The Red Sox are 7-3, but have a couple of games to make-up from earlier in the season in addition to finishing out the rest of their regular schedule.

The Mets, the only team to beat the A's twice, pounded the Braves 20-1 in the nightcap.

A's 7, Red Sox 6

The Red Sox had built a 4-0 lead in the second and third innings with RBI hits from Kyle Chavez, Derek Deal and a two-run single by Adrian Dahozy.

A defensive stand by the A's in the top of the fourth inning sparked an offensive rally as they came back to take a 5-4 advantage.

Defensively, A's outfielders Tony Baca and Abel Campos made a pair of catches and Manges struck out lead-off hitter Deal to leave a pair of Red Sox baserunners stranded at second and third.

Offensively, the A's bunted their way back into the game. Griswold walked, then rounded the bases on a throwing error to first that was created by a bunt from Mike Ramirez. Back-to-back singles by Will Armijo and Adam Sotelo produced another run and Sotelo's aggressive baserunning pulled the A's within a run.

Sotelo drew an attempted pickoff throw and engaged the Red Sox defense in a rundown between first and second base. While he had their attention on the basepath, Armijo scored from third.

Chavez made a diving stop of a bunt by Campos, but didn't realize he had the ball and was late getting the throw back to his catcher Ryan Edison, allowing Sotelo to slide in safely. Meanwhile, Campos rounded first and drew a late throw from the catcher. The ball sailed into the outfield allowing Campos to make it home to score the go-ahead run.

The A's lead was short-lived as the Red Sox regained a 6-5 margin on an RBI single by Edison and an RBI triple by Adrian Dahozy. With a runner on third and just one out, the A's again got a heads-up defensive play from third baseman Randall Miller. Miller fielded a hit near his bag by Derrick Nez. Dahozy, leading off third, was forced to head home and Miller threw the ball at catcher Ramirez. Manges, backing up Ramirez, snatched a deflection and ran down Dahozy for the second out of the inning.

An intentional walk to Chavez paid off for the A's as Manges got the next batter to pop out to second baseman Sotelo.

The A's tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Griswold beat out a throw from shortstop Adrian Dahozy for an infield single, stole second then scored on an errant pickoff attempt.

Manges then retired six of the last seven batters he faced to shut down the Red Sox.

Chavez struck out the A's side in the sixth, but again faced the top of the order in the seventh and Manges and Griswold responded with the winning run.

Griswold and Armijo batted 2-for-3 to lead the A's offensively.

Manges registered the pitching victory, scattering seven hits. He also walked one, hit a batter and struck out four.

Despite a nine-strikeout performance, Chavez was tagged with the loss. He also gave up seven hits and walked two.

Adrian Dahozy was 3-for-4 from the plate for the Red Sox.

Mets 20, Braves 1

The 8-5 Mets, coming off a 12-4 victory over the A's on Tuesday night,
exploded for 12 runs in the third inning for their mercy-rule win.

Adam Teran struck out eight, walked one and gave up no hits in three innings for the pitching victory. James Bayless gave up a walk in relief.

Tony Morales and Mario Ponce had RBI hits to put the Mets ahead for good in the first inning, 2-0.

The Mets strung together 18 hits off Obrien Brown. Teran finished the game going 4-for-5 and Delvin Begay was 4-for-4 to lead the Mets. Roberto Carveo was 3-for-4 and Jaramillo went 3-for-5 from the plate.

Brown registered the loss, also giving up five walks while striking out three.

On Tuesday, Ponce hit his second homerun of the season, a two-run shot over the left centerfield fence, to cap the Mets' second win over the A's.

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