Fundamental Right to Know

Fox Run plan has critics, Page 2

Piñon football preview, Sports Page 1

Tuesday

Pirate preview

August 18, 2015 Number 170 Volume 128

7

Sports Page 1

GALLUP, NEW MEXICO 87301

©2015 THE GALLUP INDEPENDENT CO. http://www.gallupindependent.com

PHONE 505-863-6811

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

5

PER COPY 50¢

Chiapetti booted by board Nez calls critics of action ‘racist’

Independent file photo

Bryce Franklin sits in court during his 2013 murder trial in Grants.

Killer gets life in jail

By Patrick O’Malley Staff writer education@gallupindependent.com Twitter @PKOmaly

By Kathy Helms Cibola County Bureau cibola@gallupindependent.com

GRANTS — Bryce Franklin, 25, of San Rafael, was found guilty Thursday of first-degree murder by a Cibola County jury. Franklin was sentenced immediately after the trial to life in prison with enhancements for being an habitual offender.

Franklin is responsible for the murder of Fernando Enriquez, a University of New Mexico-Albuquerque student, who went missing in November 2012. Through the combined investigative efforts of the Albuquerque Police Department, Grants Police Department and the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau, Franklin was charged and convicted.

Sue McLean, prosecutor, said Monday that the facts of the case showed Franklin went to Albuquerque around Halloween to pick up Enriquez, whom he referred to as a “friend” when he spoke to police. Another friend, Clifford Bearden, accompanied Franklin. Bearden said he didn’t know Enriquez prior to that day.

“They go around Albuquerque buying things with Mr. Enriquez’s credit card — all of which wind up at Mr. Franklin’s house — and then they come to Route 66 Casino, they spend the night, they go back into Albuquerque and they come back out to Grants,” McLean said.

According to Bearden’s testimony, once they reached Grants, Franklin drove immediately to El Malpais National

24695 22222

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Above, Vtora Quimayousie cuts out the lining of fat from sheep stomach during a butchering demonstration by Franco Lee at the sustainable living workshop held in Fruitland Wednesday.

Top, Zefren Anderson teaches how to make blue corn bread in a fire at the sustainable living workshop.

Sustainable living workshop offers up hands-on feast

By Marley Shebala Diné Bureau navajo1@gallupindependent.com

S

use it to shave fresh corn kernels off a cob and quarter the squash.

He also showed the youth how to cut apart the freshly butchered Churro lamb with a very sharp knife and small saw.

Lee peppered his hands-on cooking class with Navajo stories about the first cooking fire, Black God, and how traditional foods reduce fat and provide protection from negativity.

HIPROCK — The menu was fire-roasted Churro lamb served on a juniper branch, baked zucchini, berry salad, goat cheese, earth-baked blue corn bread and sparkling pear cider.

It was served on a long table covered with offSupporting hands-on white material under a chaha’oh, or shade.

As the table was being set, Chef Franco Lee, of He explained in a separate interview why he’s White Mountain, Aria staunch supporter of zona, served iced hands-on learning. sumac tea.

“When students preThe noon feast was pare their own food, part of the “Feeding they retain memory Our Grandchildren’s longer,” Lee explained.

Grandchildren Navajo “It sticks in their mind.

Sustainable Living They grasp that memoWorkshop for Diné ry and knowledge. And Youth” at the farm of whenever they’re cookLarry Emerson on ing, they always have Wednesday. that memory.”

The workshop attenHe added that the dees prepared the feast workshop he presented under the watchful eye was all about underCayla Nimmo/Independent of Lee, who showed the standing how traditional Ruthie Edd learns how to cut sections of rib young Diné youth how See Hands-on feast, from mutton at the sustainable living workto properly hold a very shop held in Fruitland Wednesday. sharp knife and how to Page 5

See Killer, Page 5

Navajo just want to be ‘at the table’ with feds

By Marley Shebala Diné Bureau navajo1@gallupindependent.com

WINDOW ROCK — Members of the Navajo Nation Council met with Arizona state and federal officials Friday to continue Gov. Doug Ducey’s first Tribal Leadership Roundtable meeting at the state Capitol July 15.

The meeting, which was closed to the public but open to the media, was initially scheduled for two hours but was reduced to one hour after the Arizona officials unexpectedly spent more time at the Navajo Code Talker Day celebration, which was held at the Navajo Nation Veterans’ Memorial Park.

The meeting of tribal and state officials, which was at the Navajo Nation Museum and Library, was delayed when a group of Navajo people held a sit-in in the room where the tribal, state and federal officials were to sit at tables arranged in a circle.

The meeting began with introductions and

brief statements from each of the chairmen of the Council’s standing committee.

After the presentations by the chairmen, Ducey and Sen. John McCain made brief responses and the meeting ended.

Little Colorado River water rights During introductions, Delegate Alton Joe Shepherd said he hoped to see a true partnership.

“In our tradition, as leaders, we always try to bring something that’s best for the Navajo people,” Shepherd said.

He noted that he was a “simple man” who grew up without running water and electricity until he was a senior in high school.

“So I can cherish a lot of things that we take for granted these days,” Shepherd said.

“Where I want to come in today is our water rights.”

See Navajo, Page 5

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

U.S. Sen. John McCain visits Window Rock Friday to show support for the signing of SB 1332, which expands the Empowerment Scholarship Account to include Native American reservations in Arizona.

GALLUP — Superintendent Frank Chiapetti has been put on administrative leave, by a vote of 4 to 1 of the Gallup-McKinley County School District Board of Education.

When the board presented a motion to put Chiapetti on leave pending an investigation, only one board member — Joseph Menini — voted no; new board member Lynn Huenemann, President Titus Nez, Secretary Priscilla Manuelito and Vice President Kevin Mitchell all voted yes.

The superintendent review has gone into closed session in multiple meetings for the past two months, with board members being tight lipped about what was being discussed.

Rumors had spread to almost common knowledge of the possibility of Chiapetti being replaced with Carmen Moffett, who was recently moved to the special education department.

After the vote to put Chiapetti on administrative leave, Mitchell motioned to make Moffett the acting superintendent with special “external direction” from the board president.

Prior to the meeting Mitchell declined to comment on what the allegations were against Chiapetti.

Chiapetti himself said he is unaware of the

See Chiapetti booted, Page 5

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

During an emergency chapter meeting in Shiprock Aug. 9, residents expressed concern about the contaminants seeping into the surrounding plant life of the San Juan River.

Tests: Lead 3X higher in San Juan

By Vida Volkert Staff writer eastnavajo@gallupindependent.com

SHIPROCK — What type of contaminants released from the Gold King Mine disaster in Colorado into the Animas River traveled though Shiprock via the San Juan River during the days of the spill?

A water sample collected by the Independent from the east side of the Shiprock bridge Aug. 9 has been analyzed by Hall Environmental Analysis Laboratory in Albuquerque.

The sample was tested for various minerals, including arsenic, copper, lead, selenium, aluminim, cadmium, calcium, iron, potassium, zinc, chloride, sulfate and mercury, as well as for pH levels.

According to the results, finalized by the lab Friday, all minerals listed except for cadmium, selenium and mercury were found in the sample.

See San Juan water, Page 5

Local

San Juan water Continued from Page 1 Lead, for instance, is regulated by a treatment technique that requires systems to control the corrosiveness of their water. If more than 10 percent of tap water samples exceed the action level, water systems must take additional steps.

Under such regulations, the maximum amount of lead permitted is 0.015 milligrams per liter. The sample from Shiprock contained three times the allowed level, 0.059 milligrams of lead per liter.

Metals found include: 8.4 milligrams of chloride per liter, 82 milligrams of sulfate per liter, 24 milligrams of aluminim per liter, 63 milligrams of calcium per liter, 25 milligrams of iron per liter, 6.4 milligrams of potassium per liter, 0.11 milligrams of zinc per liter, 0.0066 of arsenic and 0.039 of copper.

The pH level of the water collected from Shiprock in the same sample was 8.21.

Gary Rayson, a professor of chemistry at New Mexico State University, specializes in the area of analytical chemistry with an emphasis on the determination of heavy metals in water. He said he has followed the Animas River situation with great interest as both a citizen of New Mexico and as an analytical chemist. He reviewed the data provided

by Hall Environmental Analysis Laboratory pertaining to the water sample collected by the Independent.

“The only levels reported that may be of concern are the zinc and lead levels. Lead is especially problematic because it bioaccumulates in organisms (e.g., fish, plants, mammals, people). As such, ingestion of lead is undesirable at any level,” Rayson wrote in an email Monday.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, EPA sets legal limits on the levels of certain contaminants in drinking water.

The color of water The water sample was collected from Shiprock at 12:56 p.m. Aug. 9 when a yellow pigment was observed in the water in the San Juan moving under the bridge.

According to Rayson, the pigment was most likely due to suspended solids in the water and not the result of dissolved material.

“The methods reported for the analyses were those prescribed for the analysis of water, not suspended solids,” he wrote about the data reported by Hall Environmental Analysis Laboratory. “It is the composition of these solids that is of interest because these will slowly dissolve and will contribute to the concentration of materials in the

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Tuesday, August 18, 2015 — Page

5

Chiapetti booted

water. Some minerals are a source of inconvenience such as calcium, the primary contributor to ‘hard’ water. Other minerals can be significant health concerns (e.g., arsenic and lead). Without analyses of sediment samples and the suspended solids from the mine water release, it is difficult to ascertain the long-term impact of this situation.”

The EPA reported on its website that sediment samples were collected in the Animas River from Bakers Bridge to north of Durango on Aug. 11.

The data has been validated, and it is available on the website.

EPA indicates on its website that water quality samples were collected from the northern border of New Mexico to Navajo Nation beginning on Aug. 7.

There is no indication that sediment samples were collected from the Shiprock area or the Navajo Nation.

Ban lifted The state of New Mexico Saturday lifted a ban on San Juan County’s drinking water systems’ supply connection to the Animas and San Juan rivers. According to the news release, data collected from the rivers by the New Mexico Environment Department shows that all levels of contaminants are below all applicable state water quality standards, including those established to protect human health.

Sampling and analysis started following the state’s Aug. 6 notification from the EPA of the approach of contamination from the Gold King Mine spill.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality examined data provided by states upstream of Lake Powell and closer to the Gold King Mine spill and concluded on Monday that water quality conditions in the San Juan River upstream of Lake Powell are generally consistent with prespill conditions.

“Based on what we’re seeing with the water flowing into Lake Powell, we don’t expect there to be noticeable change in water quality in Arizona,” ADEQ Director Misael Cabrera was quoted in a news release issued Monday.

ADEQ reported it will continue coordinating with public health and environmental agencies in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, as well as with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Navajo Nation officials to gather, analyze and share water quality data with each other and the public as it becomes available.

— Independent reporter Kathy Helms contributed to this report

Killer Continued from Page 1

Violent history

Monument, down Ice Caves Road and into an area known as Twin Sinks. “They’re extremely deep lava tubes that have caved in,” McLean said.

Testimony showed that after they parked, Franklin removed a shotgun from the trunk of his car. When Bearden asked him why he was doing that, he said he thought there might be some people growing marijuana out there.

“So they walk up this hill, and Mr. Enriquez goes and stands at the edge of this hole.

He turns around and Mr. Franklin shoots him,” McLean said. “The first shot was in the head, and then he shot one more time in the chest and two more times in the back — kicks him into the hole and leaves him.”

New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau personnel found Enriquez’s body Dec. 1 approximately 60-65 feet down the lava tube, which is said to be 80 feet deep.

Enriquez’s credit card, debit card and his state identification card were found at Franklin’s house after the body was recovered, McLean said. No clear motive for the murder has been established, although Bearden said that as they were driving to Albuquerque, Franklin mentioned that Enriquez owed money. He didn’t say to whom.

Franklin has a record of violent crimes, including armed robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon, and a false imprisonment charge stemming from a motel robbery in 2008.

“Then while he was in the jail waiting for this trial, he got nailed for possession of heroin,” McLean said.

“The jury sentenced him to life because that’s the mandatory sentence for firstdegree murder. He was also charged with tampering with evidence and conspiracy to tamper with evidence for calling up his mother and bringing her into it, then stealing the debit card,” McLean said.

Franklin will have to serve 42 1/2 years before he is eligible for parole.

Cibola County District Attorney Lemuel Martinez said McLean “did an outstanding job” prosecuting the case. He thanked the jurors for their work and the law enforcement agencies that helped put the case together.

“Without that evidence we wouldn’t have gotten the conviction that we did. I’m hoping that because of this we can all continue to work together, share information and try to combat crime in our area,” Martinez said.

Stay alive - Don’t drink and drive!

Continued from Page 1 specifics of the allegations.

Despite this reasoning, audience members were extremely vocal that the motivations behind the decision were political. Nez would later counter by stating that Chiapetti’s supporters were “racist.”

In the few past weeks when asked if Chiapetti’s job was in jeopardy, both Mitchell and Nez had stated that this was not the case.

Board members Nez, Mitchell, Manuelito waited for parents and administrators to clear the parking lot before coming out. Former state rep. Sandra Jeff accompanied the group as they exited.

During the public comment section at the beginning of the meeting, Jeff called out Brian Bernard and “the paper” for reporting a connection between her and Mitchell, her former campaign manager.

Outside of the boardroom Jeff said, “I was hoping I could enjoy my two years off and begin enjoying time with my family.”

She said she feels Bernard should have chosen his words carefully rather than stirring the pot.

She feels that Chiapetti should not have gone after his bosses, who are the school board members. Jeff reiterated something Mitchell has said repeatedly, which is that the superintendent’s review is up to the board and they should be allowed to do their job.

Prior to the vote on the superintendent, the school board drilled the new Johnson O’Malley coordinator, Doreen Wonda Johnson. They were upset that permission slips for the class had not reached the students yet. At one point Chiapetti offered to explain, but Mitchell cut him off saying he was asking questions to Johnson.

Jeff said later that “she doesn’t have the credentials.”

Jeff and other IEC members believed that the administration lowered its standards in hiring Johnson. Jeff was concerned that Johnson was training on the job and not hitting the ground running. Her main concern was that when Johnson was asked questions by the board, she responded, “I’ll get back to you.”

While Ruby Haley, vice president of Indian Education, was giving her report, Nez asked her and the IEC to work with the new coordinator, Doreen Wonda Johnson.

Johnson, who did not seem

upset during the meeting, said she felt good about her stance.

“I know who I am, I know where I stand, I take pride in my work,” said Johnson.

As to her qualifications, she said that besides having a college degree and working for multiple state governors, she also worked in D.C. for eight years at the National Indian Education Association.

She calmly added, “I do feel singled out, but I understand — you know, it is what it is.”

Once the board met to adjourn, Bernard said, “I’m not impressed with Titus Nez disparaging an employee; I’m an employee.”

He was upset because Nez had opened the meeting saying that disparaging comments would not be tolerated in the public comments portion, which he felt happened during Jeff’s comments.

Bernard also said that he finds it ironic that he’s being “lambasted” for spreading rumors, when he had originally heard from Mitchell that Chiapetti’s job was in jeopardy.

The final vote After a lengthy executive session about the superintendent’s review the board members came out, at nearly 10 p.m.; Nez brought up the final action item, and Manuelito made a motion to put Chiapetti on administrative leave pending an investigation.

One audience member who also spoke during public comment session, Deanna CraskStone, mumbled “politics” as the tension in the crowd was rising.

As the votes were being tallied, only Menini voted no, stating, “I want to say for myself I am totally against these two new board members; they should not vote the way they’re doing. I vote no.”

At this point the audience began applauding and someone yelled “politics” loudly.

Nez called for order and as he began to explain that it was a tough decision, former candidate Ryan Hudgeons quipped, “No, it’s not.”

The only time it was quiet after the vote was when Huenemann explained the reasoning behind the vote.

“We know this is a serious kind of decision of the board,” said Huenemann. “It’s a serious decision or you folks wouldn’t be sitting here this much longer.”

The board meeting began promptly at 6 p.m. and went on for four hours. Huenemann con-

tinued to explain that during his short three days as a member, he has received allegations about the superintendent that were serious enough to warrant an investigation. He continued, saying based on the advice of the school board’s attorney they will hire an external evaluator to find out if there is any truth to these allegations.

“The board needs to know that,” said Huenemann, “as much as I wish this weren’t the first thing I had to deal with.”

Vocal opposition After this statement, CraskStone loudly proclaimed, “I said when I spoke it’s about politics and it damn well is.”

Ryan Hudgeons added, “I find it funny that the president can vote on this but abstain from a school board vote — that is ridiculous.”

Audience members were commenting while the board continued voting on a few more changes.

Mitchell made a motion to temporarily appoint Moffett to the position of acting superintendent. At this point the audience was yelling and clapping, and one person exclaimed, “What a joke.”

The final vote prior to the adjournment was difficult to make out with the commotion.

One board member filed a motion to give “external direction” from “the president,” presumably Titus Nez, to the acting superintendent. All members except Menini again voted yes to this motion.

The audience continued to jeer at the school board, and Hudgeons openly questioned the leadership of Nez. Crask-Stone, perhaps the most vocal member in the audience, said, “Why does it not surprise us now that Carmen is going to be superintendent?

We’re not as stupid as you think we are.”

Jeff: ‘I won’ As members were filing out, Jeff could be heard saying, “Good bye, I won, grow up.”

The board members and Jeff stayed in the building until all of the parents and administrators had left the parking lot, presumably out of safety concerns considering the hostility in the board meeting.

After the meeting Mitchell said, “All I can say is the board is finally going to address the concerns of our constituents.”

He continued to stress that these actions came about

because of concerns brought up by parents, and not for political reasons. Mitchell declined to comment on the status of Chiapetti’s job, after the pending investigation.

As he was walking to his car, Nez stated, “I just wanted to say that the Gallup people are very disrespectful and they should have respect for their leaders, and they’re racist people.”

When asked if there was any foreseeable unanimity among the board, Jeff responded, “It’s going to heal. They need a new direction, they need to move forward, and it’s really about the students — and from what I’ve witnessed we need to come together.”

Jeff added that she had no “beef in this,” but was there because of concerns brought about by teachers and parents.

Chiapetti was not among the crowd as people were filing out, but he did later comment, saying, “I’m definitely upset.”

He said everything that the people and the paper had said was going to happen, happened.

“I think their actions just prove they had a premeditated plan,” said Chiapetti.

He reiterated that he does not even know what the allegations are about, and that the board is out of control. The most upsetting thing for Chiapetti was concern over the progress of the University of Virginia’s turnaround program and its now uncertain future.

When asked about the accusations of racism — not toward Chiapetti but his supporters — he merely stated, “I find it ironic.”

Chiapetti was investigated once before due to allegations of changing grades for athletics.

After an extensive audit he was cleared. Chiapetti’s tone and demeanor, much like Nez, was calm before and after the meeting. Chiapetti added that he hopes he can get back to work soon.

Ryan Hudgeons offered his prediction, saying, “I’ve talked to a lot of these people and there’s going to be a lot of outrage.”

He added that no leader is 100 percent perfect, but he believes removing Chiapetti was a drastic decision particularly due to the amount of money it would cost the district.

According to Chiapetti, breaking his two-year contract would cost the district at least $300,000. This figure does not include any potential lawsuits, which have only been alluded to thus far.

Hands-on feast Continued from Page 1 food is a life way to staying connected or reconnecting to one’s cultural heritage.

Lee said the current lifestyle of many indigenous people is to sit at home and watch television instead of planting gardens and singing songs to Mother Earth as they take care of it, going to the mountains to collect food and herbs, taking care of livestock and even speaking their own language.

“So when we say reconnect, it’s because all these distractions have removed us from who we are,” he said.

“If we don’t participate, we lose our tradition, our culture. It’s kind of like floating backwards.”

But hands-on workshops, such as the sustainable living workshops, share a small portion of tradition and culture, Lee said.

“Once you plant a seed, it grows,” he said. “All you have to do is plant that seed.”

Just watching Santana Edd, 13, who came with her sisters from Durango, Colorado, to attend the sustainable living workshop, said she really liked the hands-on training.

Edd said she got a better understanding of the different perspectives being presented by participating instead of just watching.

She said that her mother, Esther Belin, received an invi-

tation to attend the workshop and she wanted to attend because she wanted some new ideas for her paintings.

Edd will participate in the upcoming Santa Fe Indian Market.

She added that she really enjoyed the cooking class and helped prepare the corn and blue corn bread.

Edd said she didn’t want to help with the butchering of the Churro lamb because she’s a vegetarian.

Drip irrigation Vtoria Quimayousie, 21, of Dilkon, didn’t hesitate when Lee asked her if she wanted to help cut up the lamb.

Quimayousie conducted a hands-on drip irrigation workshop with Nate Etsitty.

She said that watering plants using the drip irrigation method, or drop line system, prevents overwatering or drying out plants.

Quimayousie and Etsitty also showed the youth how to build a gavion, which is a rock wall encased in wire mesh that is placed in washes to catch water and create a pond.

Once everyone starts making ponds and conserving water, the next step is growing their own food, which would eliminate genetically modified organisms, and keep the youth and children busy, she said.

“We won’t have to haul water for livestock,” Quimayousie added. “Basically, we’re helping Mother Nature help Mother Nature.”

Navajo Continued from Page 1

year asking for benefits.”

He recalled how the proposed Navajo-Hopi Little Colorado River Water Settlement was created without the involvement of the Navajo people.

“It’s a priority that we get back to the table to simply it,” Shepherd said. “To say that the Navajo people, the Native American people have a right to be at the table. And that’s all we want to ask.

“It’s against no matter what but we have the capabilities and ears to change this,” he said. “The last settlement had a lot of things that our people brought to our attention.

“We couldn’t water bank; we couldn’t market our water,” Shepherd recalled.

“We want to do so many things that will get our economy up so that we don’t come down to Washington every

Controlling natural resources “That’s all we ask,” he added. “As chairman of the Resources and Development, there’s a lot of resources here on the reservation.”

Shepherd said that he had the opportunity to travel to Alaska where he met with “our relatives to the north” about how they are in control of their resources.

And looking at that and how the federal government managed to put corporations like Peabody in control, the tribe is looking at putting “ourselves” in the driver’s seat, he said.

Ducey and McCain said they are open to beginning a dialogue with the tribe about water rights.

McCain emphasized that the process to begin negotiations

must be initiated by the tribe in the form of a letter.

“The governor and I are committed,” he added. “I pledge to you that we will do everything we can.”

Speaker LoRenzo Bates acknowledged that not all of the issues would be resolved.

“And recognizing that we’re not going to be able to solve all the issues,” Bates said. “But by virtue of being here, as I have

heard from all of you, we want to open and continue this line of communication. Because as mentioned, if you don’t talk, nothing gets done. That also applies to the federal government.”

Korean contemporary jeweler, Page 2

Cross country champions, Sports Page 1

Weekend Saturday Oct. 31-Nov. 2015 October 31,1,2015 Number 233 Volume 128

Senior costume contest Page 7

GALLUP, NEW MEXICO 87301

©2015 THE GALLUP INDEPENDENT CO. http://www.gallupindependent.com

Chiapetti’s fate to be decided

Turn the clocks back Remember to move your clocks 12 1 11 back one 10 2 hour.

Former member files Open Meetings complaint against current board

By Kyle Chancellor and Richard Reyes Staff writer and city editor education@gallupindependent.com Twitter: @KylechanEdu @iamrichardreyes

GALLUP — The investigation regarding unknown allegations against Superintendent Frank Chiapetti has been completed, Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education President Titus Nez said Friday. And the board is sched-

uled to discuss the investigation in executive session before taking action on Chiapetti’s contract during a regular meeting Monday.

Meanwhile, former GMCS board member Mavis Price filed a complaint Friday with multiple state offices accusing current board members of violating the New Mexico Open Meetings Act and conspiring to remove Chiapetti and install Carmen Moffett as interim superintendent.

On Friday, Price sent her complaint to the

PER COPY $1.50

PHONE 505-863-6811

offices of Attorney General Hector Balderas, Secretary of Education Hannah Skandera and Public Education Commission Chairwoman Carolyn Shearman. However, it’s not yet known if or when it will lead to an actual investigation.

Nez had not heard about Price’s complaint Friday, but he read a letter to the editor she wrote that was published Oct. 15. He said he

See Chiapetti’s fate, Page 5

How to pick up s p o t a r e c a t n e p a

9

3 8

4 7 6

AP

5

‘Zombie’ homicide sparks fright

By Kathy Helms Cibola County Bureau cibola@gallupindependent.com

GRANTS — Following an Oct. 22 homicide near Los Alamitos Middle School, county officials are questioning why there was a delay in notifying the school.

Damon Perry, 23, of Prewitt, was arrested

by Grants Police and charged with murder after reportedly telling investigators he was drinking large amounts of alcohol with the victim, when the victim began “to change into a zombie.” Perry alleged the victim was attempting to bite him, so he reacted by brutally beating the victim. Perry attributed his actions to binge watching “The Walking Dead” on Netflix.

Red alert At Wednesday’s meeting of the Cibola County Commission, Chairman Walter Jaramillo told Cibola County Sheriff Tony Mace that a parent of one of the children at the school called him af-

See ‘Zombie’ homicide, Page 5

Friday Night Lights

Cable Hoover/Independent

Above, Army National Guard personnel direct the drop of a pentaceratops skull during an operation at the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Thursday. At top, Amanda Cantrell from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History gets an up-close look at a plaster-wrapped pentaceratops skull Thursday that she help discover and excavate during a three-year operation at the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness.

Dino fossils in badlands airlifted to museum

By Vida Volkert

Pentaceratops Facts

Staff writer eastnavajo@gallupindependent.com

Length: 27 feet Weight: 5.5 tons Period: Late Cretaceous (75-73 million years ago) Name meaning: Five horned face — refers to the three large horns on its face together with the two spikes by its eyes (one under each eye).

First fossil find: By C.H. Sternberg in New Mexico in 1921.

B

ISTI/DE-NA-ZIN WILDERNESS AREA — A Black Hawk helicopter appeared on the horizon Thursday morning flying low over a desolated area of steeply eroded badlands at the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area. Hanging from the helicopter was a 1,000-pound skull of a juvenile pentaceratops — one of the largest horned dinosaurs that inhabited the region about 70 million years ago.

The skull was protected in a jacket made of plaster. It hung tightly from the helicopter, which had been assigned for the special mission by the New Mexico National Guard at the request of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. The helicopter flew over the parking lot of the wilderness area, where paleontologists with the museum, employees of the

Source: www.dinosaurjungle.com

See Dinosuar fossils, Page 5

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Grants Pirate Trey Narramore, senior, carries the school’s pirate flag as he exits the tunnel at the start of the game against Moriarty Friday.

I

t’s that time of the year again.

Friday Night Lights fell on the day before Halloween. While that is considered the scariest night of the year, area football teams were showing their bravery as they faced important key games.

The Gallup Bengals and the Grants Pirates were playing what many considered must-win games at home. The Bengals, fresh off a victory over city rival Miyamura last Friday, were hosting the district-leading Piedra Vista Panthers at Public School Stadium and hoping to get a victory treat. The Pirates were taking on Moriarty for the second straight week in what could be considered a trick of the schedule.

Other area games that fans were able to enjoy on Friday included the undefeated Monument Valley Mustangs traveling to Piñon, Zuni hosting Bloomfield, Rock Point at Chinle, Shiprock at Kirtland Central, Thoreau at Wingate, Tohatchi at Crownpoint and Window Rock at Holbrook, just to name a few.

Tohatchi man in critical condition after stabbing

By Bill Donovan Independent correspondent cops@gallupindepdnent,com

GALLUP — A Tohatchi man was listed in critical condition Friday at a Gallup hospital after being stabbed Tuesday on South Second Street.

Ryan Gene Plummer, 30, is being treated for a stab wound in the abdomen.

Gallup Police Officer Cindy Ro-

mancito said in her report that she was at first dispatched to the area of 714 S. Second St. about 7 p.m. in reference to a stabbing.

She was en route to that address when she was told that the stabbing victim had been taken to Gallup Indian Medical Center. Once she arrived at the hospital’s emergency room, she observed medical personnel working on Plummer, who was in the process of being taken into surgery.

Romancito said she had a brief opportunity to talk to Plummer and he said, “One did it” before he was taken away. She said he also said he couldn’t describe the man who stabbed him.

A black skateboard Gallup Detective Neal Yazzie said Thursday that a preliminary investigation revealed that Plummer and his

wife Lisa Begay were walking south along Second Street in the area of Gallup Business Systems when they passed two males going in the opposite direction.

Plummer was reportedly attacked by one of the men, who stabbed him once. Yazzie said the motive for the stabbing was unknown at that time.

Once Plummer was stabbed, the two men continued north on Second Street.

Begay told police she did not know either of the men. She gave police a brief description of the men, describing them as being in their late teens.

The man who stabbed Plummer, she said, had an all-black skateboard with him.

She said he was dressed all in black and was between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall. He had an athletic

See Stabbing, Page 5

LOCAL

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Saturday, October 31, 2015 — Page

Dinosaur fossils

Chiapetti’s fate

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

Bureau of Land Management and the state of New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, New Mexico National Guard personnel, and numerous volunteers, tourists and members of the media watched in awe as the dinosaur came out of its resting place for the first time.

“Imagine being here 70 million years ago, eating plants in the jungle, and 70 million years later you are being flown away in a helicopter. That’s the fossil’s perspective,” said Spencer Lucas, curator of paleontology and geology at the museum.

The juvenile pentaceratops was discovered by paleontologist Amanda Cantrell during a surveying trip in the Bisti/ De-Na-Zin badlands in the summer of 2011. Cantrell was 24 at the time and a student at the University of New Mexico.

“It was the best month of my life,” she said.

It was by the end of the 30day surveying trip with three other paleontologists that Cantrell saw the giant bones sticking out of the ground.

“I’m used to the color of the bones,” she said. “I saw it from pretty far.”

Now Cantrell is the geoscience collections manager at the museum. She attended the airlift of the skull Thursday and watched in excitement the culmination of a long process that included the request of numerous permits and clearances. She was standing on the back of a truck accompanied by her mother.

“All your hard work is finally paying off,” Deb Dunagan, Cantrell’s mother, said.

The helicopter flew over the truck where Cantrell and her mother were standing.

“I hope it is OK,” Cantrell said about the fossil.

The helicopter flew away to the delivery site, about a quarter mile away. Two National Guard trucks, a crane and National Guard personnel waited to load the skull onto one of the trucks. The helicopter slowly descended and hovered over the site, placing the jacket on the ground. National Guard personnel detached the jacket and the Black Hawk flew over the parking lot one more time before it took off toward the badlands, where it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

“It looked like he was doing a victory lap,” said New Mexico National Guard public affairs liaison Master Sgt. Doug Mallary, who watched the action from the parking lot. He praised the crew’s skills because the jacket didn’t even sling during the transport.

Another jacket, containing a bigger skull of an adult pentaceratops, waited in the badlands to be lifted that morning. The adult dinosaur was discovered by museum research associate Robert Sullivan in 2013. Sullivan found the adult pentaceratops in the

also heard that Chiapetti was planning to file a complaint along the same lines.

“I don’t know where Mavis is getting this from,” Nez said.

“Obviously, she’s a disgruntled school board member who lost the election. I’m not sure what’s going on with that.”

Stabbing

Superintendent investigation

Photos by Cable Hoover/Independent

Above, a Black Hawk helicopter carries dinosaur fossils over the badlands at the Bisti/DeNa-Zin Wilderness Thursday. Below, Army National Guard Sgt. James Ray, left, and Staff Sgt. Noe Amador maneuver the skull of a juvenile pentaceratops into place on a flatbed truck during an operation at the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Thursday.

Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness study area, about 10 miles from Cantrell’s discovery.

Because the surrounding area is home to the Navajo, the tribe was consulted before the airlift and recovery to ensure no cultural, environmental or archaeological property was being violated.

Esther Willeto, the BLM tribal coordinator in Farmington, said she contacted Navajo medicine man Alex Benally.

“He is originally from Chaco. He has a place there,” Willeto said. “He said that the dinosaur is of prehistoric The world Pentaceratops existence and that the Navajo legend has no close affiliaof pentaceratops profile tion.”

The fossils of both pentaThe pentaceratops is a type Willeto was referring to ceratops airlifted Thursday of ceratopsian dinosaur long the Navajo Twin Heroes, who, were found on land manfound only in New Mexico, according to legend, fought aged by the Bureau of Land but recently a pentaceratops and got rid of monsters that Management.

Phillip Gensler, fossil was found in Colorado. roamed within the Diné’s Four regional paleontologist with It measured as much as 27 feet Sacred Mountains. the BLM, New Mexico State long and weighed an estimated “Yes, there were monsters Office, described the world 5 tons or more. It was one of that the Twin Heroes defeated of pentaceratops — about 70 the largest horned dinosaurs but not in the form of giant million years ago. that ever lived, according to lizards as dinosaurs. But in When the pentaceratops museum records. our tradition and culture we inhabited this region, “most Pentaceratops were herstill do practices where repof New Mexico was covered bivorous and may have used tiles have a connection with by an inland sea known as the the horns for defense, but the medicine man to cure, Western Interior Sea,” Gensler evidence also suggests that the and with the songs and chants said. horns and frill were used for … we still have medicine The Western Interior Sea or sexual display. The rhinocmen diagnosing and healing Seaway was a large inland sea eros-like dinosaurs probably through sand painting and that existed during the mid- to traveled in herds. song that involve reptiles but late Cretaceous period as well The juvenile pentaceratops not dinosaurs.” as the very early Paleogene, discovered

by Cantrell includes Charles Turner, a retired splitting the continent of North the skull and skeleton, and it’s biologist who volunteers with America into two land masses. “mostly complete,” she said. the museum and helped enThe Western Interior Sea The skeleton had also been close the fossils in the plaster went as far north as Canada encased in a plaster block jackets, said it was believed and connected with the Gulf in preparation for the airlift; dinosaurs were closely related of Mexico to the south. It exhowever, it could not be lifted to reptiles but that is not the tended to Kansas to the west, Thursday because the plaster case.

Gensler said. jacket cracked.

“They are more like birds,” Along the shorelines, in a “This discovery (of the he said. jungle of ferns and conifers, first juvenile pentaceratops) The pentaceratops fossils lived some of the last dinois important because we recovered from the area can saurs, including the pentacerdon’t know much about their provide invaluable informaatops.

Another dinosaur of the growth,” Cantrell said. tion to scientists researching time, which is quite popular The fossils were taken to these animals and the time the museum in Albuquerque, period, but no DNA can be ex- thanks to the “Jurassic Park” where they will be examined tracted from them. Turner said movies, is the tyrannosaur — the top predator near New at the lab. A public viewing is the bone cells were replaced Mexico’s sea coast during the scheduled for Thursday. by minerals in the process of late Cretaceous.

“It’s exciting to see this being fossilized.

The Cretaceous covers 144 finally happening,” Cantrell “Water, time and pressure million to 66 million years ago. said. helps it mineralize,” he said.

‘Zombie’ homicide

Continued from Page 1

Continued from Page 1

build.

The other man had a thin build and was about 5 feet 6 inches or 5 feet 7 inches. He was wearing a gray sweater, she said.

terward about the incident and questioned why the school was not locked down.

“What if this guy would have come into the school, thinking the kids were part of the situation?” he said. “We all need to know what’s going on.

We dropped the ball between the city and the sheriff’s office.

I’m not blaming you guys, I’m not blaming the city. I’m just saying we probably need to be more responsive toward all the other agencies.”

Mace said that had been brought to his attention as well.

“There was kind of a disconnect on the scene with the first responding officer. But since then I’ve talked with the county manager as well as our emergency manager. We have that Code Red system that automatically notifies all law enforcement and EMS,” he said, in the event of an emergency.

“What we’re going to do is develop a standardized message to come out from the Communication Center if there is an event like that.”

Mace said that in the future, if there is an incident nearby that would affect the school, the 911 Communication Cen-

Search for suspects Romancito said that after she talked to Plummer, she went back to the area where the stabbing occurred and began searching for the suspects in the area of Second Street, the Downtown Walkway and the area around Coal and Aztec avenues.

Gallup Police Capt. Rick White said the department is still trying to get leads to find out the identity of the two men.

Anyone with information about the incident or the men who were responsible can call Gallup Crime Stoppers at 505722-6161.

Callers do not have to identify themselves and if the information leads to the arrest and conviction of the men responsible for the stabbing, the caller may be eligible for a reward of as much as $1,000.

5

ter would automatically send a Code Red message to the school resource officer, who then would determine how to handle the situation.

“I don’t know if you guys are aware of this right now, even in that specific situation, the intercom system at the middle school is down,” he said. “It does not work. They bought radios to try to communicate with each other.”

County Manager Tony Boyd said it took 15 minutes for the school to receive notification of the homicide in the apartment complex. He said he later got a call from the school resource officer at Los Alamitos requesting a meeting among a number of parties, including himself, the school and Grants Police Department, on that issue.

“The fact of the matter is that the school does not want to put money into that (Code Red) system because they’re building a new school,” Boyd said.

He also noted that the school’s smoke detectors are not operating.

“The only thing that we could come up with, the only way we could fix the issue, was to have them get radios,” he said. “They did purchase radios for the staff and they are

supposed to do a daily test of the radio system, check it out to make sure the radios are charged and ready to go.”

Schools uninterested Boyd said that when he was emergency manager and county fire marshal, he met with all the principals and school officials and tried to get them to come on board with the Code Red system.

“But they did not want to participate with that,” he said.

“The last word I got was that they still do not want to participate, that they have their own system, especially at the high school.

“With Code Red you can send out voice messages to landlines, to cellphones. You can send out text messages to those phones as well, along with email messages. We still would like to get them on board because that’s the reason we got this Code Red system, so that we could get notifications out.”

Jaramillo said county and school officials probably need to sit down together to discuss the matter, “or we need to go to one of their school board meetings and be on the agenda.”

According to the agenda for Monday’s meeting, the board is scheduled to meet in executive session to discuss limited personnel matters related to the investigation, contract and evaluation of the superintendent. After the closed session, there will be a report followed by board action on the superintendent’s contract.

Nez said he doesn’t know the results of the investigation, but he’s ready for this ordeal to be over.

“It’s getting very absurd,” he said. “I want the whole thing to end to make sure we have a clean slate. Hopefully, during this Monday’s meeting, we can address all that.”

The allegations against Chiapetti have not been made public yet, and Nez did not explain them during an interview Friday.

However, he said the allegations were based on emails and letters that he and other board members received from community members and employees. There have been no formal complaints made against Chiapetti in the past two years, according to the school district’s response to the Independent’s request for such complaints.

The Independent filed an Inspection of Public Records request Oct. 15 for emails and letters from and to board members regarding Chiapetti. The school district said it would respond to the request by Oct. 30, but as of Friday, the Independent had not received any documents.

Nez said he talked with the board’s attorney, however, and that a response should have been postmarked Friday.

He said that when he became board president, those complaints concerned him and he wanted to address them before they became issues down the road. He said some people reported that they took complaints to the front desk at central office, but they supposedly went nowhere from there.

He said the previous leadership failed to act on those complaints, though. In particular, he named Price and current member Joe Menini.

“That’s one of the things that I have brought up previously,” Nez said. “It’s kind of strange that we never got any of these complaints. ... When I became school board president, I did get letters in the mail stating concerns and I started getting email complaints from the former employees, just talking about problems with central office.”

Open Meetings violation?

In her complaint, Price asks state officials to look into the situation surrounding the administrative leave of Chiapetti and the ensuing installment of Moffett as interim superintendent.

She claims that current members of the board violated the Open Meetings Act. “I ask that the investigation look into allegations that GMCSD board members met and made decisions without a quorum being present or through the use of a rolling quorum,” the complaint states.

Also, the complaint states that board members met with Moffett, when she was director of Special Education for the district, behind closed doors in her office regularly in the months leading up to the board’s action against Chiapetti.

The complaint does not include any proof of those allegations, but Price notes that board members may have openly talked about their action.

“Members of those meetings allegedly informed employees that they were meeting to find a way to remove Mr. Chiapetti as superintendent and appoint Ms. Moffett as interim superintendent,” the complaint states.

Nez said he heard about such allegations before and addressed them directly with the board. During a meeting in Twin Lakes Sept. 21, he said he reminded them that they cannot talk about board business outside of a meeting. He doesn’t believe anybody violated the act, however. He simply wanted to reiterate the law.

“I do know the Open Meetings Act cannot be violated,” Nez said. “I certainly would like to follow that.”

The Open Meetings Act’s requirement for open, public meetings applies to any discussion of public business among a majority, or quorum, of a public body’s members. Usually, a quorum of a public body’s members meets together to discuss public business or take action.

However, a quorum may exist for purposes of the act even when the members are not physically present together at the same time and place.

For example, if three members of a five-member board discuss public business, such as the investigation of the superintendent, in a series of telephone or email conversations, the discussion is a meeting of a quorum.

This is sometimes referred to as a “rolling” or “walking” quorum. The use of a rolling quorum to discuss public business or take action violates the act because it constitutes a meeting of a quorum of the public body’s members outside of a properly noticed, public meeting.

Menini and fellow school board members Kevin Mitchell, Priscilla Manuelito and Lynn Huenemann could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. Moffett also could not be reached.

Indian gaming plea, Page 2

Cross country results, Sports Page 1

Tuesday November 3, 2015 Number 235 Volume 128

Bears win Sports Page 1

GALLUP, NEW MEXICO 87301

Accused child molester out on bail

©2015 THE GALLUP INDEPENDENT CO. http://www.gallupindependent.com

PHONE 505-863-6811

PER COPY 50¢

Chiapetti still in limbo

By Bill Donovan Independent correspondent cops@gallupindepdent.com

GALLUP — Accused child molester Ernie Begaye was released on his own recognizance by 11th Judicial District Court Judge Louis DePauli Jr. Monday.

Begaye, 50, of Fort Wingate, appeared before DePauli Monday in his first hearing since the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that the state could prosecute crimes that are committed on Parcel 3 in Fort Wingate.

Begaye had been charged in 2012 with 14 counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and 11 counts of sexual penetration of a minor, all involving children under Begaye the age of 13.

Before the cases could be tried, however, his public defender argued that the state had no right to try him because of jurisdictional issues in that section of Fort Wingate where the alleged crimes occurred.

The prosecution was put on hold for almost three years while both sides waited for the Supreme Court to rule on the question of jurisdiction. The ruling came down June 25, giving District Attorney Karl Gillson the authority to refile the charges against Begaye.

See Accused molester, Page 5

Adron Gardner/Independent

Community members react at the conclusion of the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education meeting in Gallup Monday.

After three hours of executive session to discuss limited personnel matters related to the investigation, contract and evaluation of Frank Chiapetti, the board recessed, stating no action would be taken at this time.

City board GMCS board postpones contract decision Results and subject of investigation reviews options remain a mystery; board stays mum for cardboard

By Kyle Chancellor

Staff writer education@gallupindependent.com Twitter: @KylechanEdu

By Patrick O’Malley Staff writer city@gallupindependent.com Twitter:@PKOmaly

GALLUP — While the city of Gallup continues to work on a request for proposals regarding a solar farm, the Sustainable Gallup Board reviewed the city’s progress in recycling.

The city has placed a questionnaire regarding curbside recycling in every Gallup resident’s bill and they are continuing to receive mailers.

Gallup has also offered an online survey option on the Gallup city website, but only 16 people have completed it there. However, the stack of recycling questionnaires is reportedly much larger. Once the results are in, staff will present them to the Gallup City

See Cardboard options, Page 5

Gamerco man beaten with pipe

By Bill Donovan Independent correspondent cops@gallupindepdent.com

GALLUP — The McKinley County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a report of a Gamerco man being beaten up by unknown suspects Friday.

According to the incident report, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Gallup Indian Medical Center about 12:35 a.m. in reference to a man who was beaten up at the basketball courts in Gamerco.

At the hospital, they met Gregory Mitchell, 44, who said that he and his girlfriend were playing basketball on the courts next to the Church of God. As they were walking home, he said, two men attacked him and started to beat him up.

See Beaten with pipe, Page 5

Adron Gardner/Independent

Superintendent Frank Chapatti stretches while waiting for completion of the executive session of the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education meeting in Gallup Monday.

GALLUP — After a five-hour-long meeting, three of which was spent in executive session, the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education postponed its decision on the fate of suspended Superintendent Frank Chiapetti.

The boardroom at the Student Support Center was packed as parents, teachers and other concerned persons waited for the five members, with Joe Menini reporting telephonically, and their attorney to come out of executive session Monday evening. According to agenda items, the board was expected to discuss the results of the investigation of still unknown allegations against Chiapetti and make a decision on his contract.

See Still in limbo, Page 5

Protestors demand Zuni governor’s removal

By Vida Volkert Staff writer eastnavajo@gallupindependent.com

ZUNI — A small group of protesters led by suspended Zuni Councilwoman Margaret Eriacho and suspended Zuni Head Councilman Phillip Vicenti marched into the Zuni Tribal Council office Monday morning and demanded the removal of Zuni Gov. Val Panteah.

Panteah, who was in a meeting with the rest of the Council, walked out of his chambers and blocked the door. People called him “liar” and “bully” and accused him of abusing his power and violating the Zuni Tribal Constitution. They were accompanied by Zuni Bow Priest Perry Tsadiasi, who demanded access to the chamber to have a discussion with members of the Tribal Council, or to retrieve the canes of power given to the officials as a symbol of their authority.

“You people are coming here like a mob yelling at me,” Panteah said. “What do you want to accomplish today? You want to come in and you want to remove us? The only way you can remove us is if there’s a petition.”

Photo by Z. Vicenti Photography

A small group of protesters led by suspended Zuni Councilwoman Margaret Eriacho, center, and suspended Zuni Head Councilman Phillip Vicenti enters the Zuni Tribal Council office Monday to demand the removal of Zuni Gov. Val Panteah.

Protesters complained about the governor’s actions earlier this year when he allowed federal authorities to take custody of an alleged offender, violating his right to an extradition hearing — as is customary in sovereign nations.

Panteah defended himself, arguing that there was a federal warrant for the man’s arrest and that he

was concerned for the well-being of a child who resided in the same household.

“What about the child? Who is representing the child?” Panteah said. “You need to understand, in that federal process I have no part.”

Eriacho, who has served as lay counsel at Zuni for many years, said the alleged offender was entitled to

an extradition hearing regardless of the accusations.

“Justice does not mean ‘just us,’ meaning the Council. It means for every member of our tribe,” Eriacho said, adding that the alleged offender was removed from his home by Zuni Tribal Police and handed over to federal authorities. Eriacho added prior to the detention of the alleged offender, the governor asked her to talk him into surrendering himself and she refused to do that.

Protesters further accused the governor of using federal funds to renew the contracts of three former Zuni appellate judges, including Navajo attorney Elsie Redbird, Laguna attorney June Lorenzo and Isleta attorney William Lorenzo.

The Zuni Tribal Council voted April 29 against renewing their contracts and abolished the appellate court. The Council then reinstated the South West Intertribal Court of Appeals as its appellate court. About two months later, Panteah signed new contracts with the attorneys extending their powers to serve as consultants for two months to adjudicate on two particular cases, one

See Zuni protest, Page 5

LOCAL

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Tuesday, November 3, 2015 — Page

Accused molester Continued from Page 1 Begaye is accused of luring three non-native girls to his home in Fort Wingate where he allegedly molested them on a number of occasions while showing them how to play a piano.

DePauli said the reason for Monday’s hearing was to put the case back on his docket and to decide on the question of bail.

DePauli had held a hearing the week before but Begaye failed to show up, which resulted in a bench warrant being issued for his arrest.

Begaye’s attorney, Richard Wade, however, argued that Begaye was unaware the hearing was going to be held until Monday afternoon. As soon as he received the written notification in the mail, Wade said, Begaye contacted the public defender’s office to make arrangements for his appearance before DePauli.

“He has done all of this voluntarily,” Wade said.

After being charged in 2012, Begaye lost his maintenance job at the Fort Wingate Middle School. He said he moved to Iyanbito to take care of his elderly aunt and uncle.

A flight risk?

Gertrude Lee, the assistant district attorney in charge of prosecuting the case, urged DePauli to set a bond for Begaye’s release from jail, citing state law requiring

Cardboard options bonds for people who are a flight risk or a danger to their community.

Wade argued that Begaye was neither of those things, pointing out that he voluntarily appeared at the hearing.

DePauli asked the prosecutor if Begaye had violated any laws during the three years the case was before the Supreme Court and she said no, leading Wade to argue that his client was not a danger to anyone in his community.

The mother’s statement Lee said the family of the alleged victims had been keeping in contact with her office. The mother of the three children wrote a statement she wanted DePauli to read before he made a decision on bond.

Wade objected to the judge reading the statement, arguing that legislation giving victims the right to make statements comes only after the defendant has been convicted and is done at sentencing or post-sentencing.

DePauli agreed with Wade and the statement was not entered into the record.

He said it would be improper for the court to consider the statement at a time when the defendant has not been convicted.

DePauli also ruled that because Begaye showed up voluntarily for the court hearing, he could not be considered a flight risk. Since Begaye has had no other criminal charges filed against him, he could not be considered a danger to his community.

“The court fully understands the position of the family and understands why she wants him to be locked up,” DePauli said.

But in recent years, the feelings about placing defendants in jail under a high bond have been changing, he said, and if there is no risk of flight or danger to the community, the need for a high bond is no longer there.

When he was arrested back in 2012, Begaye was put in jail with a $75,000 cash-only bond, but this time the court agreed to release him on his own recognizance.

Release conditions Begaye had to agree to the normal release conditions — commit no crimes and no using of alcohol or drugs. He also is prohibited from any contact with children younger than 16.

Since Begaye lives in Iyanbito, which is on reservation land, he was required to sign a waiver of extradition. After the hearing, he went to the McKinley County Adult Detention Center, where a GPS bracelet was placed on his ankle.

DePauli said he would not have to come up with a secured bond to be released.

However, a $25,000 unsecured bond was put in place, which means that if Begaye violates his conditions of release, he would forfeit $25,000 of his assets.

He is scheduled to be in district court for a status conference Dec. 14. A tentative trial date of April 5 was also announced.

Still in limbo Continued from Page 1 Chiapetti sat at the back of the room with his daughter and supporters from the district, chatting and passing the time.

Chiapetti appeared anxious, but would not comment.

After three hours, the members returned to the boardroom as the audience fell to a hush.

Attempts to call Menini back failed and board President Titus Nez decided to proceed without him.

Nez reconvened the meeting only to announce that, after being advised by their attorney, the board would postpone their discussion and decision regarding the investigation surrounding Chiapetti until the next meeting, Nov. 16.

“Our attorney advised us to wait until the next meeting to continue the discussion and decide at the next meeting,” Nez said following the adjournment of the meeting.

The audience met the announcement with groaning and slight booing after waiting out the three-hour executive session.

The board offered no indication as to the results of the investigation, but Nez said that it had been completed — almost two months after he first said it would be finished.

After adjournment, Chiapetti offered no comment, saying only that he was under instruction by the board not to comment.

Chiapetti has been on ad-

5

Continued from Page 1 Council.

Apart from dropoff locations scattered around Gallup, the city and the nonprofit Empowerment Inc. do most of the cardboard recycling. Solid Waste Superintendent Adrian Marrufo gave the board an update Monday regarding city cardboard recycling. Currently, Marrufo’s crews pick up cardboard from 37 bins at 30 locations Monday through Friday.

Most of the bins are located at commercial businesses such as Family Dollar, yet they continue to collect from the University of New Mexico-Gallup and several Gallup-McKinley County Schools locations.

Marrufo said there is no bin in the downtown area or at the city warehouse because of the nearby dropoff location at the train station.

The city bins range from 4-8 cubic yards, mostly at businesses with plenty of room like truck stops and grocery stores. Marrufo said when a business wants to recycle but only has room for a smaller container, the city links them up with Todd Naktewa from Empowerment Inc. The city has spent $53,930.40 on recycling containers and labor costs for the pickup program. The city is saving around $38,373 in tipping fees based on what they no longer bring to the landfill. City Manager Maryann Ustick pointed out that the bulk of the cost to the city was for containers, after which the only cost is man hours.

The cardboard bails ultimately go to the Northwest New Mexico Regional Solid Waste Authority. The board discussed the possibility of delivering more of that cardboard to Empowerment Inc. to support the local community.

Empowerment Inc.

Adron Gardner/Independent

Board member Lynn Huenemann discusses language and cultural studies during a meeting of the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education in Gallup Monday. ministrative leave with pay since Aug. 17.

Other items After months of discussion, the board voted to approve the broadcast and video archival of its semi-monthly meetings.

Director of Maintenance Ron Tripplehorn offered a report for the board, stating that the district currently has the infrastructure to record, archive and live stream to the Internet not only board of education meetings but other

events districtwide.

Tripplehorn said the equipment on hand will do the job, but with a small investment in a permanent camera system for the boardroom and audio system improvements, the broadcasts would be of much better quality. He also said there would be no bandwidth concerns as the meetings happen in the evenings when other school activities are done.

Board member Prescilla Manuelito said she liked the idea of broadcasting the meeting online after seeing it suc-

cessfully done by the Central Consolidated School District.

Board member Lynn Huenemann suggested that students from district schools could help with the production of the meeting videos, in a video journalism type of fashion.

The board meets again at 6 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Student Support Center. Already slated to be on the agenda, other than the further discussion of Chiapetti’s contract, is the continued discussion and agreement on board goals and study topics.

travel. About signing Vicenti’s travel authorization, she said she had been signing sick leave or other types of leave for her fellow councilmen prior to the incident and had never had any problems with the governor or lieutenant governor before.

Zuni Tribal Council, and for using his authority to access tribal documents and obtain resolutions, statements, invoices, payment vouchers, contracts, etc., regarding the aforementioned appellate justices. According to the suspension letter, Vicenti did not follow proper procedure to request such documents form the Zuni Court, the Tribal Council and from the Zuni Finance Department.

During the meeting Friday, Vicenti explained it was his duty as head councilman to ensure Panteah and Sanchez were placed on administrative leave while the appellate-justices matter was being investigated by the legislative body.

He gave investigative tasks to the council members, including signing the administrative leave letters and gathering information about the contracts in question.

About the “unilateral decision,” Vicenti argued that he was not directing the tribal administrator, but confirming in writing issues discussed during a previous meeting.

Vicenti said the trip to Washington was an official visit that had been already approved by Chavez.

Empowerment Inc. is a nonprofit located in downtown Gallup that employs disabled persons and promotes recycling in Gallup and Zuni. Todd Naktewa currently picks up at 40 locations in Gallup, Zuni and Window Rock. The nonprofit is funded solely by the amount they make on the cardboard bails, which is $55 a ton.

“We have the capacity for growing,” Naktewa said.

“We’ve been doing recycling for so long.”

Naktewa employees 20 disabled individuals who run the bailer and wire the bails for pickup. He said he may buy another bailer if business continues to increase.

Marrufo sometimes refers downtown businesses to Naktewa, who makes smaller containers made of wood for more compact locations.

“We’re looking at hiring more drivers,” Naktewa said.

“The demand for cardboard pickups is increasing.”

Better communication As an advisory board, the group didn’t make any official recommendations Monday; however, they discussed better communication with the city.

“I wanted to raise concerns that we’ve had about communication,” board member JoAnn Benenati said. “I’m still not comfortable on that.”

Ustick explained that generally the board forwards the minutes to the city clerk so that the council and the mayor are kept updated. In addition to this, the board can be put on the city agenda to make recommendations. Ustick said in the future she would assign a liaison, similar to the planning commission, who brings reports to City Council.

‘A green agenda’ Sustainable Gallup comprises individuals appointed by the city to make recommendations regarding sustainable energy. Joe Schaller, a self-described public “watchdog,” stated he felt the board was biased toward a “green agenda.”

On Monday afternoon, Schaller told the board, “I’m wondering if there’s a balanced approach, it comes across as very one-sided like a very anti-fossil fuel, pro-renewable energy agenda.”

Schaller continued, “I’ve been studying renewable energy for 40 years. I probably know more than anyone in Gallup about renewable energy.”

Board members Bill Bright and Jo Ann Benenati listened to Schaller and said he was free to recommend experts and present his evidence at the next meeting.

Beaten with pipe Continued from Page 1 “He said they first attempted to hit him with what he thinks was a metal pipe,” the report stated.

Mitchell managed to block the pipe with his right hand but the man immediately hit him on the forehead, causing a laceration to the top of his head above his right eyebrow.

Mitchell told deputies that he did not know either of the men and never got a close enough look at them to know who they were. He said his girlfriend also didn’t get a close look at them.

Medical personnel at GIMC said they used seven stitches on Mitchell’s head and were planning to X-ray his hand to see if it was broken when he blocked the first hit from the pipe.

According to the letter of suspension, Eriacho was suspended for representing three different Zuni tribal members in their cases against the tribe or tribal programs. In her defense, Eriacho said when she took the position of tribal councilwoman, she informed her fellow councilmen, including the governor and the lieutenant governor, that she would continue to represent tribal members on civil cases that she was already working on. She did withdraw representation from criminal cases.

Eriacho, whose platform running for office stressed judicial reform, has been urging a review of the Zuni Tribal Court system, which lacks a public defender, does not afford for fair trails and violates due process, according to an assessment conducted in 2013.

“If serving my people is my crime, I’m guilty as charged.”

Panteah told the group of protesters he and members of the council will hold a special community meeting to address the suspensions at the Wellness Center Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Zuni protest Continued from Page 1 involving Vicenti and a land issue, according to the contracts, released to the public Friday.

Vicenti said the governor had no authority to renew the contracts because under the Zuni Constitution, all contracts are subject to a consensus or quorum. He questioned the governor’s motives and believed he was being targeted.

All three contracts were signed by the governor.

Vicenti said he and the other members of the Council were concerned about the matter, particularly because federal funds were involved, and without Panteah and Sanchez being present, held a meeting and discussed placing the governor and Lt. Gov. Birdena Sanchez on administrative leave while the matter was being investigated.

Vicenti went on travel Oct. 13-16 and asked Councilwoman Virginia Chavez to sign the administrative leave letters, which she did and handed them over Oct. 13.

Panteah and Sanchez claim the administrative leave letters were invalid and continued to run business as usual. The two then held a special meeting with councilors Carleton Bowekaty, Eric Bobelu and Audrey Simplicio on Oct. 18.

During this meeting, it was decided by consensus to suspend Chavez, Eriacho and Vicenti — who were not notified about the special meeting.

Councilwoman Chavez’ suspension Chavez was suspended for 10 days without pay, effective Oct. 19, for signing the administrative leave letters addressed to Panteah and Sanchez when there was no consensus, according to her suspension letter.

“You stated that you ‘assumed’ there was a consensus because there was no objection during Councilwoman Margaret Eriacho’s statement to place Governor and Lt. Governor on administrative leave,” reads Chavez’ suspension letter.

“There was not a consensus due to these actions occurring without discussion or vote being taken within a special meeting.”

Chavez was also punished for signing Vicenti’s travel authorization to Washington on Oct. 12.

“You did not have the official capacity to do so as the Governor and Lt. Governor had not been put on official notice regarding the administrative leave,” according to the letter of suspension.

During a community meeting at the Zuni Wellness Center Friday night, Chavez defended herself, explaining that members of the council had met and agreed to put Panteah and Sanchez on administrative leave.

While they did not vote on it, Vicenti instructed her to sign the letters because he was on

Head Councilman Vicenti’s suspension Vicenti was suspended for 60 days without pay effective Oct. 19 for several reasons, including instructing Chavez to sign the letters to place Panteah and Sanchez on administrative leave.

“There was no consensus due to these actions occurring without discussion or a vote being taken within a special meeting. Councilmen Bobelu and Bowekaty, and Councilwoman Simplicio were not aware of the letter and your intentions. You knowingly allowed another Councilmember to participate in official misconduct,” according to the suspension letter.

Other issues included making a “unilateral decision” by directing the acting tribal administrator to place “disciplinary action on his employees, place a 2-year moratorium on the field work of the Little Colorado River project, and the purchase of the Bobcat on hold.”

Vicenti was also punished for traveling to Washington without authorization of the

Councilwoman Eriacho’s suspension Eriacho was suspended for 60 days without pay effective Oct. 19.

Page 4 —

OPINION

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Thursday, November 5, 2015

New York Times column

Partisan growth gaps

L GMCS board needs to satiate public’s appetite for truth

A

t the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education meeting Monday, the board did what they do best — put off an important decision for another two weeks while failing to be open and honest with the people they represent.

The board received the results of its investigation into the suspension of Superintendent Frank Chiapetti in an executive session that lasted more than three hours. More than 50 people were in attendance and most sat through the wait with anticipation, hoping to hear the results of what has turned into a frustrating and drawn-out process. For those who have been paying attention, this whole affair has been torturous.

After returning to the main board room and resuming the meeting, board members announced that no decision would be made yet and that discussion would be continued in an executive session in a meeting at 3 p.m. Nov. 12.

Their reasoning behind this extremely frustrating decision was that their attorney, Andy Sanchez of Cuddy and McCarthy LLP, advised them to further postpone a decision that has already taken too long.

This move to a special meeting instead of the biweekly is no doubt a ploy to have as few of the concerned, angry people as possible attend the announcement of the decision.

The board has still offered no explanation as to why they decided to suspend Chiapetti other than claiming they had received numerous complaints, in the form of letters and emails, from their constituency. However, no formal complaints against Chiapetti have been filed in the past two years.

We know because we made a request through the Inspection of Public Records Act for such complaints and it turned up nothing.

The Independent also made a request for those letters and emails, but so far the district has failed to adequately respond in the time allotted and are now in violation of state law.

These board members don’t understand that they’re public officials. That means when they were elected, the eye of the public was turned upon them. They need to be open and honest with their constituents. Every effort we’ve made to educate community members about what’s happening has been met with silence and resistance.

Every time we call the board members for interviews, they avoid us.

Frankly, we were surprised board President Titus Nez called us back Friday and was willing to talk.

It’s the first time that’s happened in a while.

If you act like you have something to hide, then people believe that is the case. Right now, this board absolutely looks like it’s hiding something. There is no substitute for openness and honesty — especially in elected officials. It is their duty.

We believe this investigation is being dragged out because the inquiry came up with only hearsay and innuendo and no solid proof of wrongdoing. The problem is, no one in the public really knows. Maybe the investigation brought to light some real issues and the board is taking time to consider the implications and make a serious decision. If so, then that should be stated and the appropriate action should be taken.

We hope that, whatever the outcome, the board has solid reasoning and proof to back up their accusation because people care about this district in which their students learn. Hearsay and weak, rumored complaints will not satiate their appetite for truth. Children learn from their elders — what kind of example do you think the school board is setting for the students who attend Gallup-McKinley County Schools — that listening to rumor, avoiding the public and not being honest are the way to go?

If the board continues to play games and avoid openness and honesty, then maybe it’s time we recall each member and replace them with representatives who can.

... What kind of example do you think the school board is setting for the students ...

In this space only does the opinion of the Gallup Independent Editorial Board appear

ast week The Wall Street Journal But isn’t the story different for the published an op-ed article by Obama years? Not as much as you Carly Fiorina titled “Hillary think. Yes, the recovery from the Clinton Flunks Economics,” ridiculGreat Recession of 2007-2009 has ing Clinton’s assertions that the U.S. been sluggish. Even so, the Obama economy does better under Democrats. record compares favorably on a num“America,” declared Fiorina, “needs ber of indicators with that of George someone in the White House who actu- W. Bush. In particular, despite all ally knows how the economy works.” the talk about job-killing policies, Well, we can agree on that much. private-sector employment is 8 milPartisan positioning on the econo- lion higher than it was when Barack my is actually quite strange. Republi- Obama took office, twice the job cans talk about economic growth all gains achieved under his predecessor the time. They attack Democrats for before the recession struck. “job-killing” government regulaWhy is the Democratic record so tions, they promise great things if much better? The short answer is that elected, they predicate their tax plans we don’t know. on the assumption that Blinder and Watson growth will soar and raise look at a variety of posrevenues. Democrats are far sible explanations, and more cautious. Yet Clinton find all of them wanting. is completely right about There’s no indication that the record: Historically, the the Democratic advantage economy has indeed done can be explained by better better under Democrats. monetary and fiscal poliThis contrast raises two cies. Democrats seem, on big questions. First, why average, to have had better has the economy performed luck than Republicans on Paul better under Democrats? oil prices and technological Krugman Second, given that record, progress. Overall, however, why are Republicans so the pattern remains mystemuch more inclined than Democrats rious. Certainly no Democratic canto boast about their ability to deliver didate would be justified in promising growth? dramatically higher growth if elected.

Before I get to those questions, And in fact, Democrats never do. let’s talk about the facts.

Republicans, however, always The arithmetic on partisan differmake such claims: Every candidate ences is actually stunning. Last year with a real chance of getting the GOP the economists Alan Blinder and Mark nomination is claiming that his tax Watson circulated a paper comparing plan would produce a huge growth economic performance under Demosurge — a claim that has no basis in cratic and Republican presidents since historical experience. Why? 1947. Under Democrats, the economy Part of the answer is epistemgrew, on average, 4.35 percent per ic closure: Modern conservatives year; under Republicans, only 2.54 generally live in a bubble into which percent. Over the whole period, the inconvenient facts can’t penetrate. economy was in recession for 49 quarOne constantly hears assertions that ters; Democrats held the White House Ronald Reagan achieved economic during only eight of those quarters. and job growth never matched before

or since, when the reality is that Bill Clinton surpassed him on both measures. Right-wing news media trumpet the economic disappointments of the Obama years, while hardly ever mentioning the good news. So the myth of conservative economic superiority goes unchallenged.

Beyond that, however, Republicans need to promise economic miracles as a way to sell policies that overwhelmingly favor the donor class.

It would be nice, for variety’s sake, if even one major GOP candidate would come out against big tax cuts for the 1 percent. But none have, and all of the major players have called for cuts that would subtract trillions from revenue. To make up for this lost revenue, it would be necessary to make sharp cuts in big programs — that is, in Social Security and/or Medicare.

But Americans overwhelmingly believe that the wealthy pay less than their fair share of taxes, and even Republicans are closely divided on the issue. And the public wants to see Social Security expanded, not cut. So how can a politician sell the tax-cut agenda? The answer is, by promising those miracles, by insisting that tax cuts on high incomes would both pay for themselves and produce wonderful economic gains.

Hence the asymmetry between the parties. Democrats can afford to be cautious in their economic promises precisely because their policies can be sold on their merits. Republicans must sell an essentially unpopular agenda by confidently declaring that they have the ultimate recipe for prosperity — and hope that nobody points out their historically poor track record.

And if someone does point to that record, you know what they’ll do: Start yelling about media bias.

New York Times column

The evolution of simplicity

I

n this country we’re raised to go for the gusto, to try new things and savor the smorgasbord of life’s possibilities. As Oliver Wendell Holmes put it, “The chief work of civilization is just that it makes the means of living more complex.

Because more complex and intense intellectual efforts mean a fuller and richer life. That means more life. Life is an end to itself and the only question as to whether it is worth living is whether you have enough of it.”

This striving for fullness and variety has always sparked a counter-impulse toward simplicity and naturalness. Benjamin Franklin wore an old fur cap in Paris to exemplify a natural unaffected virtue.

Henry David Thoreau made a fervent protest out of simplicity. Most Americans lead lives of quiet desperation, he argued. The things they call good, like riches, are really bad. On the other hand, “as you simplify your life the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude; poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

Puritans, Quakers, Orthodox Jews and many other groups have always favored ascetic living and high thinking as a way to clear out those material things that might distract them from humility and grace, compassion and prayer, the spirit and the Lord.

Today’s simplicity movements are different from what they were in the past. Today’s most obvious simplicity impulse is the movement to declutter the home. Marie Kondo’s book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” now ranks at No. 2 on Amazon among the best-selling books of 2015.

There are thousands of members of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Magazines and websites are stuffed with tips on how to declutter your living areas. (Ev-

erything that can be folded should be geoisie ethos here — that simplifolded! Open the mail while standing fication is not really spiritual or over the recycling bin!) antimaterialism; just a more refined, Cleaning out the closets and parorganic, locally grown and morally ing down the wardrobe has become a status-building form of materialism. religious ritual for many — a search Today’s simplicity movements are for serenity, a blow against stress, also not as philosophically explicit as and a longing for a beauty that is older ones. The Puritans were stripfound by pruning away what is not. ping away the material for a closer The second big tendency in tocontact with God. Thoreau was day’s simplicity movement involves stripping away on behalf of a radical mental hygiene: techniques philosophy. It’s easy to see to clean out the email folder what today’s simplifiers and reduce the incoming are throwing away; it’s not flow. For example, Mailalways clear what they are wise is a mobile email for. It’s not always explicit product that cleans out what rightly directed life repetitive phrases so you they envision. can read your emails more Still, there’s clearly quickly. (Woe to the day some process of discovthey invent a version for ery here. Early in life you David newspaper columns.) choose your identity by Brooks As my New York Times getting things. But later in colleague April Lawson an affluent life you discover points out, many of us are on a or update your identity by throwing wireless hamster wheel, running away what is no longer useful, true furiously to keep the inbox in the and beautiful. One simplicity expert same place. Something special like advised people to take all their books a dinner party or a museum visit is off their shelves and throw them on hollowed out when your mind is on the floor. Only put back the books your screen or at five places at once. that you truly value.

After a while there’s an ache from all That’s an exercise in identity disthe scattered shallowness. covery, an exercise in realizing and So of course there’s a mass movethen prioritizing your current tastes ment to combat mental harriedness, and beliefs. People who do that may the epidemic of ADD all around. Of instinctively be seeking higher forms course there’s a struggle to regain of pruning: being impeccable with control of your own attention, to set your words, parsimonious but strong priorities about what you will think with your commitments, disciplined about, to see fewer things but to see about your time, selective about your them more deeply. friendships, moving generally from One of the troublesome things fragmentation toward unity of purabout today’s simplicity movements pose. There’s an enviable emotional is that they are often just alternate tranquility at the end of that road. forms of consumption. Magazines In a world of rampant materialism like Real Simple are sometimes and manifold opportunities, many asking you to strip away your stuff people these days are apparently so you can buy new, simpler stuff. learning who they are by choosing There’s a whiff of the haute bourwhat they can do without.

Veterans Day through the lens, Page 2

Rock Point coaches, Sports Page 1

New Mexico volleyball

Friday November 13, 2015 Number 244 Volume 128

Sports Page 1 7 ©2015 THE GALLUP INDEPENDENT CO. http://www.gallupindependent.com

GALLUP, NEW MEXICO 87301

Cuba man found dead at school work site

PER COPY 50¢

PHONE 505-863-6811

School board reinstates GMCS superintendent

By Kyle Chancellor Staff writer education@Gallupindependent.com Twitter: @KylechanEdu

Staff writer eastnavajo@gallupindependent.com

See Man’s death, Page 5

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Frank Chiapetti hugs Freda Joe, a retired employee of the school district, after the Gallup McKinley County Schools Board of Education reinstated him in Gallup Thursday.

GALLUP — After three months of investigation and six hours total in executive session, the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education voted 3-2 to reinstate Superintendent Frank Chiapetti.

“I’m back!” Chiapetti exclaimed while surrounded by friends and co-workers in attendance after the special meeting Thursday afternoon.

The GMCS board met to discuss the investigation into still unknown allegations against the performance and actions of Chiapetti. The board discussed the results

of the investigation at their Nov. 2 regular board meeting, but they postponed their decision at that time and picked up the conversation Thursday.

When it came time to make a decision, Prescilla Manuelito and Kevin Mitchell voted against reinstating Chiapetti while Lynn Huenemann, Joe Menini and board President Titus Nez voted in favor.

Chiapetti seemed happy after the decision was announced and the meeting adjourned. He received hugs, handshakes and congratulations from supporters who had attended the meeting.

“I’m happy I’m back,” Chiapetti said.

“That was my goal. Now we can get back

See Chiapetti, Page 5

Petitions filed for 2 board member recalls

By Kyle Chancellor Staff writer education@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — Petitions to recall two Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education

members were filed in McKinley County District Court Thursday.

The petitions were filed to the McKinley County Board of Elections Thursday for Titus Nez, District 2 representative, and Prescilla Manuelito, District 3

representative. Nez is the school board president. A judge will evaluate the petitions to see if enough evidence exists to justify the continuance of the petition.

“This is a first for us,” Director of Elections Richard Palochak

said Thursday afternoon.

Palochak said his staff received the petitions Thursday morning and worked through the the day to make sure they proceeded cor-

See Recall, Page 5

Turnaround for downtown?

Naa’bik’iyati’ wants action on toxic spill claims

By Marley Shebala Diné Bureau navajo1@gallupindependent.com

WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Council Naa’bik’iyati’ Committee held another late night meeting that included the tabling of legislation for President Barack Obama to hold the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accountable for the Gold King Mine environmental disaster.

With a vote of 11-5, the Naa’bik’iyati’ Committee tabled the Gold King Mine spill legislation and plans to bring it up during a work session and special meeting Nov. 30 with Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch, Navajo Environmental Protection Agency Director Donald Benn and a representative from the Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President.

Committee members asked for the work session and special meeting to hear from Branch, Benn and the executive office about the status of legal claims filed by individual Navajo citizens against the U.S. EPA for damages and losses they sustained because of the EPA’s “negligence” in causing the blowout and release of 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater and sludge into the Animas and San Juan rivers Aug. 5.

The committee also requested that discussions with the three top tribal officials include efforts and plans for the U.S. EPA to designate the Colorado communities of Silverton and Cortez and surrounding areas as a Superfund site, which the committee felt would prevent another Gold King Mine incident.

Cable Hoover/Independent

Sarah Ijadi, left, with Community by Design, discusses plans for downtown revitalization with Gallup resident Al Montes during an unveiling of the firm’s proposals Thursday at El Morro Second Street Event Center.

Gallup city center redevelopment plan nearly finished

By Patrick O’Malley Staff writer city@gallupindependent.com Twitter:@PKOmaly

G Cable Hoover/Independent

Spending $500 million The Naa’bik’iyati’ Committee

See Naabi, Page 5

2

Chiapetti keeps his job

By Vida Volkert

RAMAH — A 30-year-old Cuba, New Mexico, man was found dead at the construction site of the new Ramah Elementary School Tuesday morning.

Authorities suspect the man died from exposure to the cold.

McKinley County Sheriff’s investigator Joey Guillen identified the man as Marlon Martinez. He said that at the time of his death, Martinez was an employee of the Albuquerque-based company Beaty Construction Company Inc., which has been subcontracted by Murphy Builders to do masonry work at the elementary school.

Martinez had been spending the nights in his truck so that he would not have to drive back home every day, Guillen said. He was wearing blue sweatpants and a flannel shirt, and was missing shoes and one sock when found dead lying on his back. Authorities also found signs that Martinez had been struggling with hypothermia, including scratching and clawing marks on the ground.

Inside Martinez’s vehicle, authorities found a laptop, movies, magazines, a

24695 55555

Design consultant Charlie Deans makes an announcement to the crowd at a downtown revitalization meeting Thursday at El Morro Second Street Event Center.

ALLUP — Consultants from Community by Design and city officials presented a draft of their plans for downtown Gallup Thursday night for one of the last public input meetings before the final draft.

The open house community meeting was actually a presentation of two separate but similar projects: the Gallup Downtown Redevelopment Plan and the Gallup Arts and Cultural District Plan.

Members of the public were given a pamphlet as well as a strip of stickers to place as a vote on their favorite ideas. Pictures and layouts were spread about the Second Street Event Center, and the consultants and city officials answered questions as best they could.

The Downtown Redevelopment Plan, or Metropolitan Redevelopment Plan, is a little more

See Downtown, Page 5

LOCAL

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Friday, November 13, 2015 — Page

5

Restaurant report

By Independent staff

GALLUP — The following facilities received an approved status after inspections conducted by the New Mexico Environment Department Nov. 10:

Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Bar 1112 Susan Ave. Gallup No violations were found.

Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks Restaurant 1112 Susan Ave. Gallup Two low-risk violations were found: The exhaust hood had grease buildup that was forming droplets, and there was a hole in the wall near the dishwashing machine.

Gallup Central High School 325 Marguerite Gallup

No violations were found.

The inspector noted floors, walls and appliances were clean to the sight and touch.

McDonald’s 700 N. U.S. Highway 491 Gallup No violations were found.

The inspector noted floors, walls and appliances were clean to the sight and touch.

Gallup High School 1055 Rico St. Gallup No violations were found.

The inspector noted floors, walls and appliances were clean to the sight and touch and the inspector observed good personal hygiene with staff washing hands and using gloves.

Chief Manuelito Middle School 1055 Rico St. Gallup One low-risk violation was found: Single service food trays were stored in a box on the floor, but this was corrected on site.

Naabi Continued from Page 1 adjourned about 10 p.m.

Thursday after spending several hours of heated debate on Legislation 0355-15, which extended the term of the Naa’bik’iyati’ Shihasin Fund Subcommittee.

The committee created the Shihasin Fund Subcommittee on April 9 to recommend a plan to the full committee on how to expend about $500 million, which is the balance of a $554 million settlement between the Navajo Nation and the federal government for the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ misuse of billions of dollars in oil and gas royalties that belonged to individual American Indians and American Indian nations.

No transparency Committee member and Council Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty said she was concerned about subcommittee members going into executive sessions when there are no Council and standing committee rules that allow subcommittees to have closed door meetings.

Crotty also said that the subcommittee lacked transparency because information about proposed meetings, including agendas, was not

publicized or shared with delegates who were not subcommittee members.

Subcommittee Chairman and Delegate Leonard Tsosie provided a verbal report on proposals to use the shihasin fund for bulk water projects, which would be Phase 1.

Tsosie added that the subcommittee’s Phase 2 proposal would be to fund local community projects or capital improvement projects that involve smaller water projects.

Committee member and Delegate Jonathan Hale immediately responded by announcing that he would be sponsoring legislation for his communities, which are Oak Springs and St. Michaels, to have their capital improvement projects included in the shihasin fund.

Committee members also questioned why the subcommittee had not produced a written report about its proposals and meetings to use the shihasin fund in two phases and to leverage the earned income from the permanent trust fund.

The committee’s vote on extending the term of the Shihasin Fund Subcommittee was 12-4..

The committee also took action on several other pieces of legislation.

Recall Continued from Page 1 rectly. This is the first time Palochak has seen a recall petition in his 20-plus years with the election board.

The reasons for the recall of Nez, filed by District 2 voter Larry King, are stated as violations of the Open Meetings Act by allowing select individuals to speak during closed forum, exceeding time limits and addressing items not on the agenda; failure to follow board policy; grievances and complaint procedures; and participating in a rolling quorum with two other board members to suspend Superintendent Frank Chiapetti.

The reasons for the recall of Manuelito, filed by District 3 voter Daryl Nomee, are stated as violation

of staffing personnel position regulations; neglect of HBl 212 concerning “chain of command,” making demands without going through proper “chain of command”; being involved with personnel investigations and submitting falsified documents; tampering with the investigation of Chiapetti by going to news media and divulging allegations against the superintendent; involving outside contacts in the investigation of Chiapetti; and participating in a rolling quorum with two other board members to suspend Chiapetti.

If the petitions are granted permission to continue, county voters could see the issue as early as Feb. 2 as a part of a possible election on a bond question.

Man’s death Continued from Page 1 blanket, tools and a half pint of Dark Eyes vodka, which was almost empty.

The worksite’s foreman Jerome Snyder told authorities that he arrived at the site at about 6:20 a.m. Tuesday. He drove to the northeast corner to warm up the forklift and to turn the propane on so he could get water warmed up. Snyder said he noticed a pair of work boots and pants next to the propane tank and realized they belonged to Martinez.

He said it was unusual

to see his belongings lying around like that. When Snyder found Martinez on the ground, he called 911.

Snyder told authorities it was not unusual for Martinez to be staying overnight at the site. He had done this several times before because his home was several hours away.

Martinez was pronounced dead at 8:14 a.m. Tuesday.

A spokesperson for Beaty Construction Company Inc. said the company has “no comment on the issue.”

— Correspondent Bill Donovan contributed to this story.

Cable Hoover/Independent

Community members and city officials meet with representatives of the design firm Community by Design during an unveiling of the firm’s downtown revitalization plans Thursday at El Morro Second Street Event Center.

Downtown Continued from Page 1 quantitative with suggestions for public-private partnerships, state and federal funding sources, and tax resources. The Arts and Cultural District Plan is more of an assessment on how to reinvigorate the unique heritage of Gallup with a modern uptake.

The city voted on a request for proposal in the spring to find a consultant to develop both plans, and Charlie Deans from Community by Design said the plan has gone through a few public input meetings.

“We’ve been working directly with the 15-member steering committee in preparing the draft,” Deans said.

The steering committee for

the project is a combination of the Arts and Cultural District, the city of Gallup and Community by Design. Deans said the committee has had five open meetings to review the drafts and make revisions. The plan is meant to last 10 years, with additional updates every five years thereafter.

Deans said the open house was “the community’s opportunity to review (the plan) and make revisions and prioritize what they think what should be implemented.” He said they would make changes to the draft later in November and present a final revision at the next City Council meeting.

Because of a lack of agenda items, the city will not be meeting a second time in November but there is a special

meeting planned for Dec. 15.

In addition to this, the Planning and Zoning Commission will likely review the plan as well as the Gallup Master Plan at its meeting Dec. 7.

Based on the presentation Thursday night, the plan covers around 20 public project ideas and eight private development suggestions.

The plan details major renovations for the alleyways running east and west between Coal Avenue and Aztec Avenue, and between Coal Avenue and Historic Highway 66.

One idea presented was a quiet zone at the Second and Third street rail crossings, though it doesn’t give details on whether BNSF or Amtrak would be on board. While the trains pass through downtown

Gallup, they are generally liberal with the horn.

At the same rail crossings another concept was an underpass for both pedestrians and bicyclists. The walkway would pass under the railway and connect Second Street to Historic Highway 66.

The plans for downtown include the area just north of the railway, which is part of the Arts and Cultural District.

While nothing is set in stone yet, the city is looking at locations and designs for a Native American cultural event center, a multicultural event center and a youth/performance center.

For Gallup residents who wish to give some final input on the downtown redevelopment plan, they should contact the city before Dec. 15.

Chiapetti Continued from Page 1 to finishing what we were working on.”

Chiapetti indicated that the board still offered no explanations about the allegations that led to his suspension, but he said he would soon receive a copy of the investigation report.

‘This is not a contest’ After the vote and before adjournment, board members gave speeches explaining the rationale to their decisions.

The overarching theme was unity among the board and moving forward.

“We all know this has been a decisive matter to employees of the district and the community,” Huenemann said. “This is not a contest. It is not about one side winning and one side losing.”

Huenemann was the first to speak of board unity, saying they had a lot to move forward to and that the decision was an opportunity for the board to operate together.

He then spoke of the struggles of the school district.

“We have a long history of students not performing at the levels that they need to be at, and its not because they can’t,” he said. “It’s because we haven’t found the most effective mode of operation and the most effective way to relate to kids in our district of many backgrounds.”

Manuelito gave her speech in both Navajo and English. She told the audience that the board had heard what they had to say and that the board is going to be listening and watching. She echoed Huenemann’s statement that this was a new, renewed board.

“We do not get paid for this, but we’re here and we’ll continue to do what we can to support the vision of our children and our parents and our community,” Manuelito said.

“We will continue to use our

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

The public listens to the McKinley County Schools Board of Education decision to reinstate Frank Chiapetti as superintendent during an executive meeting in Gallup Thursday. authority as board members that you have elected us to do, to control the district through the budget and through the district policy and with our superintendent.”

Manuelito also offered a “big thank you” to interim Superintendent Carmen Moffett.

“I am truly sorry to all the staff and former staff who were treated unfairly and bullied,” Mitchell stated in his speech. “I know it’s a little too late for this as we’ve

lost many great employees.”

Mitchell also spoke of unity in a “new board,” as did Menini and Nez during their speeches.

“I urge this matter to be settled and stop the resentment, the retribution and the hearsay,” Nez said during

his speech.

The board members did not offer any further details of the investigation against Chiapetti.

The board of education meets again 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at the Student Support Center.

Page 4 —

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Saturday, January 9, 2016

OPINION

Letters to the editor Meat industry - 9; consumers - 0

GMCS’ refusal to give public record: A bunch of bologna

O

fficials for Gallup-McKinley County Schools promote a program called Character Counts, which is a group of guidelines that are meant to teach students to be responsible and upstanding citizens.

The problem is that the district’s school board and officials are horrible examples of this because of their recent attempts to keep information secret that should be public. Specifically, we’re talking about Associate Superintendent of Business and Human Resources Mike Hyatt; secretary to the superintendent Joan Nez; and Board of Education members Titus Nez, Prescilla Manuelito, Lynn Huenemann, Joe Menini and Kevin Mitchell. They think they don’t have to set a good example to either the students they are trying to make good citizens or to the taxpaying public. The public’s ignorance is their bliss.

The school board shows its disrespect for the fundamental right of the pubic to know by telling officials for the Indian Education Committee that they could do away with provisions in their bylaws that require the IEC meetings to be open to the public. The public has a fundamental right to know how committees like the IEC spend public funds — state law requires it — but this seems to be a foreign concept to board members like Prescilla Manuelito.

And just a couple of days ago, the Independent received an unsigned response from Hyatt’s office regarding our request for the results of the investigation brought by the board against Superintendent Frank Chiapetti. However, the response arrived more than a month after our request, which far exceeds the 15day requirement of the law, and it fails to cite any exemptions of the law.

Their response: “These documents are sealed and are in Mr. Chiapetti’s personnel file and are not considered public information,” which is flat out wrong.

Our response: It’s a bunch of bologna. As New Mexico law states: The public has a fundamental right to know.

And the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government agrees. Executive Director Susan Boe said, “You can seal documents all day, and you need some authority to do that, but just because it’s sitting in a personnel file doesn’t exempt it from public record.”

FOG Board of Directors President Greg Williams said, “The investigative report and any documents that go with it are public records, and the school district has no basis to withhold them. The fact that they are related to a personnel issue is not enough under IPRA.” This is just another attempt by school officials to keep information secret and away from the public. The principle that the public has a fundamental right to know how the district spends tax money apparently doesn’t mean anything to some in the district. Yet they want our tax dollars.

The district’s position is the investigation report fits into one of those exemptions in the state’s law dealing with public documents. Exemptions are specific, and none of the school’s objections to releasing the information falls into any category.

The investigation into Chiapetti deals only with facts, and these facts are public.

At the school board meeting where members announced that Chiapetti was being put on paid administrative leave, members said the investigation would center around complaints that had been brought dealing with the way Chiapetti did his job. Some of these complaints were in writing and some, apparently, were given to school board members verbally.

In either case, the complaints dealt with specific actions that Chiapetti took as superintendent. Facts, not opinion. The central office, in the past, would make these complaints available to the media if a request was made, but not this time. What are they hiding?

The investigation was made to determine if any of these complaints had a factual basis, and apparently they didn’t because three months after putting Chiapetti on administrative leave, they voted 3-2 to reinstate him.

It’s obvious that the complaints were part of a smear campaign by factions in this district that didn’t like some of the decisions that Chiapetti made, decisions like removing popular principals because they had failed in their responsibility to provide a decent education to the students who attend their schools.

It is also obvious that making these complaints public would just embarrass members of the school board who tried to use them to remove Chiapetti and put in someone who would allow the school board to micromanage the operation of the district. And that is against New Mexico state law.

The public has a fundamental right to know. Providing the public with the information they need to know is probably the most important function of an open government.

To the editor, The “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” released yesterday by U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services mark the ninth time in a row that the meat industry has successfully suppressed scientific findings recommending reduced meat consumption. The reduction was recommended by the government-appointed Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in a 571-page report based on review of thousands of studies.

Reduced meat consumption was first recommended in 1977 by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs in “Dietary Goals for the United States”, a precursor to the Dietary Guidelines. The meat industry forced the Committee to destroy all copies of the report and to remove

the offending recommendation from a new edition.

That wanton government sell-out to the meat industry has replayed itself with every new edition of the Dietary Guidelines since then.

“Dietary Guidelines for Americans” shape school lunches and other government food support programs and underlie public health campaigns to lower rates of obesity, diabetes, heart

disease, and cancer.

Fortunately, American consumers are not easily duped. Sales of plantbased meats, cheeses, milks, and ice creams have skyrocketed, and every grocery store provides seemingly countless choices of fruits and vegetables.

Grant Ives Gallup

Letters to the editor policy GALLUP — The Independent encourages letters to the editor, which are published as available.

Letters must include writer’s name, address and phone number although only the name and community of residence will be published.

Letters may not exceed 500 words. Letters may be edited for space and clarity. The Independent may choose not to print any letter for any reason.

Anyone may submit a letter, and there is no charge for publication.

Letters may be mailed, delivered in person, faxed or emailed to: Editor, The Independent, P.O. Box 1210, Gallup, NM 87305, 505-722-5750 (fax); letters@gallupindependent.com (email).

Quotations in the news “Yes, that is a conspiracy. I’m only going to be here for another year.

When would I have started on this enterprise?”

— President Barack Obama, who dismissed the belief by some pro-gun advocates that the federal government wants to seize all firearms as a precursor to imposing martial law.

“You know what a gun-free zone is for a sicko? That’s bait.”

— Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, indicating he would eliminate gun-free zones in schools on his first day if he’s elected to the White House.

“This is not a situation that should result in panic; it should result in caution.”

— Kristina Hooper, head of investment strategies for the U.S. at Allianz Global Investors, after another free-fall on China’s main stock market reverberated around the globe and sent the Dow Jones industrial average to a loss of nearly 400 points.

The Washington Post Writers Group

Defy America, pay no price

W

ASHINGTON — If you’re going to engage in a foreign policy capitulation, might as well do it when everyone is getting tanked and otherwise occupied. Say, New Year’s Eve. Here’s the story. In October, Iran test-fires a nuclear-capable ballistic missile in brazen violation of Security Council resolutions prohibiting such launches. President Obama does nothing. One month later, Iran does it again. The administration makes a few gestures at the U.N. Then nothing. Then finally, on Dec. 30, the White House announces a few sanctions.

They are weak, aimed mostly at individuals and designed essentially for show. Amazingly, even that proves too much. By 10 p.m. that night, the administration caves. The White House sends out an email saying that sanctions are off — and the Iranian president orders the military to expedite the missile program.

Is there any red line left? First, the Syrian chemical weapons. Then the administration insistence that there would be no nuclear deal unless Iran accounted for its past nuclear activities. (It didn’t.) And unless Iran permitted inspection of its Parchin nuclear testing facility. (It was allowed self-inspection and declared itself clean.) And now, illegal ballistic missiles.

The premise of the nuclear deal was that it would constrain Iranian actions. It’s had precisely the opposite effect. It has deterred us from offering even the mildest pushback to any Iranian violations lest Iran walk away and leave Obama legacy-less.

Just two weeks ago, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards conducted live-fire exercises near the Strait of Hormuz.

It gave nearby U.S. vessels exactly 23

seconds of warning. One rocket was Houthi rebels since at least 2009. launched 1,500 yards from the USS The danger is rising. For years, Harry S. Truman.

Iran has been supporting anti-reObama’s response? None. gime agitation among Saudi Arabia’s The Gulf Arabs — rich, weak minority Shiites. The Persian Gulf is and, since FDR, dependent on Amer- Iran’s ultimate prize. The fall of the ica for security — are bewildered.

House of Saud would make Iran the They’re still reeling from the nuclear undisputed regional hegemon and an deal, which Obama declared would emerging global power. be unaffected by Iranian misbehavior For the United States, that would elsewhere. The result was to assure be the greatest geopolitical setback Tehran that it would pay no price for since China fell to communism in its aggression in Syria and 1949. Yet Obama seems Yemen, subversion in Saudi oblivious. Worse, he appears Arabia and Bahrain, and inert in the face of the three support for terrorism. great challenges to the postObama seems not to unCold War American order. derstand that disconnecting Iran is only the most glarthe nuclear issue gave the ing. China is challenging mullahs license to hunt in the status quo in the South the region. For the SauChina Sea, just last week dis, however, it’s not just landing its first aircraft on blundering but betrayal. an artificial island hundreds Charles From the very beginning, of miles beyond the Chinese Krauthammer coast. We deny China’s they’ve seen Obama tilting toward Tehran as he fancies claim and declare these to himself Nixon in China, turning Iran be international waters, yet last month into a strategic partner in managing we meekly apologized when a B-52 the Middle East. overflew one of the islands. We said it This is even scarier because it was inadvertent. is delusional. If anything, Obama’s The world sees and takes note. As openhanded appeasement has enit does our response to the other great couraged Iran’s regional adventurism U.S. adversary — Russia. What’s and intense anti-Americanism. happened to Obama’s vaunted “isolaThe Saudis, sensing abandonment, tion” of Russia for its annexation of are near panic. Hence the reckless exCrimea and assault on the post-Cold ecution of the firebrand Shiite insurWar European settlement? Gone. rectionist, Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, Evaporated. Kerry plays lapdog to that has brought the region to a boil.

Sergei Lavrov. Obama meets openly Iranians torched the Saudi Embassy. with Vladimir Putin in Turkey, then The Saudis led other Sunni states in in Paris. And is now practically begbreaking relations with Tehran. ging him to join our side in Syria.

The Saudis feel surrounded, and There is no price for defying Pax it’s not paranoia. To their north, Iran Americana — not even trivial sancdominates a Shiite crescent stretchtions on Iranian missile-enablers. ing from Iraq, Syria and Lebanon Our enemies know it. Our allies see to the Mediterranean. To the Saudi it — and sense they’re on their own, south, Iran has been arming Yemen’s and may not survive.

Business tax credits examined, Page 2

Arizona basketball, Sports Page 1

La Mesa Mall costs climb

Weekend Saturday February 13-14, 2016 Number 066 Volume 129

Page 7 GALLUP, NEW MEXICO 87301

©2015 THE GALLUP INDEPENDENT CO. http://www.gallupindependent.com

PER COPY $1.50

PHONE 505-863-6811

Weapons and eagle feathers Warrant details depth of search of Coleman’s ranch

By Bill Donovan Independent correspondent cops@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — When state police searched the ranch and vehicles of Indian trader Steve Coleman on Jan. 22, one of the things they were looking for were the bodies of dogs that may have been shot.

GMCS probe costs unpaid

Coleman was already being accused of shooting a neighbor’s dog that had wandered onto his property the day before, but a search warrant issued by 11th Judicial District Court Judge Robert Aragon allowed police to look for a variety of items, including firearms and dog remains.

The warrant allowed police to search for “any and all remains of deceased do-

mesticated dogs for laboratory examination.”

The search warrant went further, allowing the police to search for photos.

“Photographs of all deceased domesticated dogs on the premise and/or in the vehicle, sufficient to document any injuries that he/she sustained during the incident as well as the identification of other evidence that may have been deposited

on the animal during or as a result of the incident,” the search warrant stated.

There were no reports that police found any evidence of any dog that was killed at the ranch. Coleman is, however, facing charges of extreme cruelty to animals in state court in connection with the killing of his neighbor’s dog.

See Weapons, Page 5

Coleman

VALENTINE’S DAY SURPRISE

District still owes $41,409 in legal fees for Chiapetti investigation

By Kyle Chancellor Staff writer education@gallupindependent.com Twitter: @KylechanEdu

GALLUP — The investigation that the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education set in motion against Superintendent Frank Chiapetti cost $99,997 in salaries and legal costs, but half of that amount remains to be paid almost Frank five months Chiapetti later, according to invoices received from the district through a New Mexico Inspection of Public Records request

See Probe costs, Page 5

Man dies after hit and run Police captain says teen driver may face new charges

By Bill Donovan Independent correspondent cops@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — A Window Rock man who was struck down in a hit and run died in an Albuquerque hospital Thursday.

Gallup Police Capt. Rick White said Friday that Ramsey James, 24, died Thursday Smith at the University of New Mexico Hospital from injuries he sustained in Gallup on Feb. 6.

See Hit and run, Page 5

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Bobby the elk and Pepsi the deer spar through the fence in their joint enclosure Thursday at the Navajo Nation Zoo in Window Rock.

Bobby shed his antlers on Valentine’s Day two years in a row and zookeepers predict he will continue the pattern Sunday.

“ Dave Mikesie, zoologist Navajo Nation Zoo

It just so happens that they fall off around Valentine’s.”

Bobby sheds antlers on same day for two years — will he do it again?

By Vida Volkert Staff writer eastnavajo@gallupindependent.com

W

INDOW ROCK — Bobby is the Navajo Nation Zoo Valentine’s Day surprise.

A bull elk that was brought to the zoo from the Santa Fe area in 2007, Bobby has been shedding his antlers for the past two years in a row on Valentine’s Day. Will that happen again this Valentine’s?

“I think it will,” zoo keeper Leonardo Charley said. “If not, I’ll knock them down to the ground on Valentine’s.”

Charley, of course, was joking because he does not dare go in Bobby’s enclosure this time of the year, when Bobby’s testosterone level is still high. As a matter of fact, Bobby spent Thursday afternoon engaged in a sparring dominance duel with his next-door neighbor, a mule deer named Pepsi. The two kept locking each oth-

See Valentine’s surprise, Page 5

Meeting of the minds on Real ID may be close

By Sherry Robinson Independent correspondent

SANTA FE — Legislators were still wrestling with language in a compromise driver’s license bill Friday night, but they’re closer than ever to a meeting of the minds.

Sens. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, and Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, presented to the Senate Finance Committee Friday a much amended HB 99, which

2016 NM Legislature

started out as the governor’s proposal. They believe the latest rehash of the bill will bring the state into compliance with federal Real ID mandates.

“Sen. Ingle and I have met with the fourth floor (the governor), and they have submitted their requests. We accepted some of the changes,” Smith said. “The executive wants fingerprinting. Sen. Ingle and I want limited fingerprinting. There are

See Legislature, Page 5

LOCAL

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Saturday, February 13, 2016 — Page

Weapons

Probe costs

Continued from Page 1 State police said they confiscated more than 60 weapons, some of which were antique and collectible, some illegal Indian artifacts as well as illegal eagle feathers.

Among the weapons were three that had reportedly been on the stolen

gun list, which led to Coleman being charged with three counts of possession of stolen property.

The firearms that were confiscated led to both state and federal authorities filing charges against him for possession of firearms by a felon.

The search warrant also allowed police to find evidence of alcoholic bever-

ages on the premises. The warrant also allowed police to confiscate any computers and computer discs at the ranch.

Coleman has not been charged with possession of illegal artifacts or eagle feathers, neither of which were mentioned in the search warrant.

Coleman remains at his ranch on $50,000 bond posted with the Gallup

Magistrate Court. He remains on a GPS ankle bracelet, which is monitored by the McKinley County Adult Probation Office.

His next court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday before Magistrate Judge Kenneth Howard. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for that time.

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Bobby the elk roams his enclosure at the Navajo Nation Zoo in Window Rock Thursday.

Valentine’s surprise

Antlers Most male members of the deer group, which includes elk, grow a set of antlers every year around September, Mikesie said. The antlers serve them to attract females, to fight for them and to pro-

How elk, deer lose their antlers

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

The antlers Bobby the elk shed in 2015 on Valentine’s Day decorate the description outside his cage at the Navajo Nation Zoo in Window Rock Thursday.

tect themselves from predators.

For every pound of antler, the deer must consume enough food energy to support the weight. While antler size has no bearing on the age of the individual, it is a great indicator of the health of the animal, he added.

Antlers begin as bony growths covered with skin and hair. They grow at fast

rates, with the immense racks of deer, elk and moose growing in just three to four months. This makes them one of the fastest growing living tissues. When the mating game ends, the antlers fall off.

“It just so happens that they fall off around Valentine’s,” Mikesie said.

And when the antlers fall, so does the testosterone level.

The zoo bulls

fingerprinted.

Smith and Ingle agreed Friday to an amendment specifying that only new undocumented immigrants would be fingerprinted, but the bill’s original sponsors – Reps. Paul Pacheco, R-Albuquerque, and Andy Nuñez, R-Hatch – objected that the public still wouldn’t be safe. Groups like the Anti-defamation League and the American Civil Liberties Union still object to fingerprinting anyone.

“It’s truly a very bad message we send any time we require people to be fingerprint-

ed,” Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, said. “It stigmatizes people.”

Sen. Steven Neville, R-Aztec, came up with wording to say that the state Department of Public Safety may submit fingerprints to the FBI for purposes of a background check but may not show them to another agency.

“We’re willing to move some,” Smith said.

He said he considered the amendment semi-friendly.

Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, in a series of questions tried to pin down the

original sponsors of HB 99, along with the secretaries of the Taxation and Revenue Department and the Public Safety Department.

“I want both representatives to commit to support this bill all the way through, or are you going to go to the floor and say, ‘They didn’t do what we wanted,’ which is the theme of the whole session,” Muñoz said.

Pacheco objected that he hadn’t seen the amendment until coming to the meeting and couldn’t say what would happen.

Pepsi was brought to the zoo from the Chuska Mountains when he was still a fawn about two years ago.

He survived a coyote attack and was brought to the zoo by the person who found him. He was fed artificial milk in a Pepsi bottle, thus his name.

Bobby and his sister were

Antler shedding happens because of dropping testosterone levels. When this occurs, a layer of cells, called the osteoclast, will cause the base to weaken by absorbing calcium from the antlers.

Eventually the antlers will drop off or may be knocked off while raking, sparring, or even while running or walking. Individual animals shed at different times, as can each individual antler.

Currently, shed antlers can be picked up with no required permit or season, but check local regulations before heading out. It is unlawful to possess the head, horns or antlers of any biggame species found in the field without a receipt from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish so, contact the department if you find any.

brought in 2007. Mikesie said the duo was used to being fed by people and that compromised their survival in the wild. That’s why they were brought to the zoo.

“They lost their ability to be in the wild,” Mikesie said.

Unfortunately, Bobby killed his sister in the fall of 2015 during one of his dominance bouts.

Legislature Continued from Page 1 things the executive doesn’t particularly care for and things we don’t particularly care for.

The big thing was the opt in or opt out. This is probably the best compromise we can come up with at this point in time.”

The two senators want to allow citizens who need Real ID-compliant licenses to obtain them. Citizens who opt out and undocumented immigrants could get a card authorizing them to drive. Until Friday, the two had said those opting out wouldn’t need to be

Continued from Page 1 filed with the district by the Independent.

On Aug. 17, Chiapetti was placed on paid administrative leave while Carmen Moffett was named interim superintendent. During the three-month investigation, the district continued to pay Chiapetti’s normal salary and benefits, which amounted to $42,690.87, while Moffett received extra pay and benefits of $12,058.48 on top her normal salary. These costs have been paid out by the district.

But the other large portion of the cost, $41,409 in legal fees for the services of Andrew Sanchez, of Cuddy & McCarthy, LLP, has remained unpaid.

During the three-month investigation, Sanchez racked up 127.2 billable hours of services for the board. At $205 an hour, plus taxes, his costs came out to $37,252.04.

Sanchez also paid for the investigating services of Patterson Consulting, a cost of $7,996.05, which brought Sanchez’s total costs to $45,284.09. This cost was spread over four invoices delivered to the district Sept.

10, Oct. 8, Nov. 9 and Dec. 7. Only one of the invoices, $3,797.57 billed Oct.10, has been paid.

Both Chiapetti and Associate Superintendent Mike Hyatt said the invoices were given to the board for approval, but the board has yet to approve the payments.

Board Vice President Kevin Mitchell said the invoices were given to board President Titus Nez. He said he and the other members haven’t seen the invoices or totals and were told they could approve the them once Nez signed them, but he has yet to do so.

“I have asked him why he hasn’t signed them yet and he didn’t give me an answer,” Mitchell said Friday afternoon.

Nez was unavailable for comment Friday afternoon.

Hit and run

Continued from Page 1 er’s antlers between the metal fence that separates their enclosures, hitting hard and defiantly. At times, Bobby would walk away, stand on a corner and make high-pitched sounds, as if calling for a female.

Navajo Nation Zoo zoologist Dave Mikesie explained Bobby’s and Pepsi’s ritualized mating behavior is normal this time of the year, when both animals would still be engaged in dominance duels in the wild.

During the mating season, the bulls with the largest antlers, generally matched with the toughest temperament, have an advantage when it comes to competing for mates.

“The bigger the antlers, the higher the chances to attract females and to keep them in their harem,” Mikesie said.

And harem bull elks can become “so obsessed” with breeding that they “typically neglect eating” during this period, according to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

5

The committee approved the bill, which now goes to the Senate floor.

Continued from Page 1 Cameron Smith, 18, was later charged with causing great bodily harm by a motor vehicle, causing an accident involving great bodily injury, and having no driver’s license.

White said that with the death of James, the district attorney’s office is expected to amend the original charges.

Ramsey was found lying in the middle of the roadway at 1 a.m. near El Charrito Restaurant, 2003 W. Historic Highway 66.

Police reported James had a weak pulse and was transported to Albuquerque with leg and head injuries.

The driver of the vehicle that hit James was not at the scene when police arrived, but as officers were processing the scene, Smith’s father called Metro Dispatch and said he was bringing his son back to the scene of the incident.

Smith told police that as he was driving, he saw someone go up and over his vehicle. He then said be became scared and kept driving, leaving James on the roadway.

Smith was asked if he had been drinking that evening and he said he had a can of alcohol. Police also reported the odor of alcohol on his breath and said he had watery, bloodshot eyes.

Smith reportedly showed signs of being intoxicated, so he was taken to McKinley County Adult Detention Center and was given a breath alcohol test, which showed he had blood alcohol levels of .14 and .13.

Gallup preps for recession, Page 2

Grants tennis beats Gallup, Sports Page 2

Wednesday

Area All-Stars

March 30, 2016 Number 105 Volume 129

Sports Page 1

7

GALLUP, NEW MEXICO 87301

Willis Nez candidacy challenge to be heard

©2015 THE GALLUP INDEPENDENT CO. http://www.gallupindependent.com

24695 33333

4

PER COPY 50¢

PHONE 505-863-6811

POWERED UP

By Bill Donovan Independent correspondent cops@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — A challenge has been filed against Willis Nez claiming he failed to secure enough valid signatures in his candidacy for the Democratic primary in the New Mexico Senate District 3 race.

Nez is running against incumbent John Pinto, who has held that position since 1977.

According to the challenge filed by Flora Dennison March 21, Nez was required to secure 102 valid signatures on his petitions in order to be a candidate for the race.

On March 8, Nez submitted seven nominating petitions that contained a total of 140 signatures. Ten days later, Zach Marcus, a researcher who lives in Albuquerque, searched the voter records within the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office.

Based on that research, Dennison said she is challenging 58 of those State Sen. signatures, which, if invalid, would give Nez only 82 valid signatures.

John Pinto Most of the signatures are invalid, she stated in her complaint, either because the person was not a registered voter at the time the petition was signed, is not a voter in District 3 or is not a registered Democrat.

The case was first scheduled to be heard by 11th Judicial District Court Judge Louis DePauli Jr. at 10 a.m.

Monday.

However, the case had to be postponed when a bomb scare forced the evacuation of the courthouse from about 10:30 a.m. to almost 4 p.m.

By the time the building was cleared for use, DePauli had announced that there was not enough time to complete the hearing that day and rescheduled it for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Patrick Dennison stands outside his home in Buffalo Springs Monday. Dennison has waited for over a year for the electricity and water to be hooked up to his home so he can move in. The eletricity was hooked up Feb. 22.

Veteran struggles through the system to own a home Navajo agencies through legislation that diverted 2 percent of the veterans’ set-aside funds. Dennison’s house was among a batch of 300 houses planned in a period of four years.

“I sure really appreciate it,” Dennison said during a phone interview Tuesday. He had just found out his house had been connected UFFALO SPRINGS — A veteran who has been waiting to the main power grid. “It took so long, I’m not really excited. I’ll to become a homeowner for more than three decades is get really excited when they put the water line. I hope it does not closer to his dream now that his home has been connecttake that long.” ed to the main power grid. But he is still waiting for a Connecting the house to the main power grid took over a year water line. after the house was completed Patrick Dennison, 71, because of changes in the way applied for assistance to build homesite leases are processed a house on his homesite lease on the Navajo Nation. in Buffalo Springs in 1984, but Deenise Becenti, spokes— as with the cases of dozens woman for Navajo Tribal of veterans across the Navajo Utility Authority, said DenniNation — his request for assisson’s house was connected to tance fell trough the cracks and the grid Feb. 22. never got processed.

“With every connection In 2014, Department of we need to make sure that we Navajo Veteran Affairs senior meet the guidelines,” Becenti carpenter Ron Manson found said Tuesday. “Sometimes it out about Dennison’s plight is a very long process and it is and decided to move the case unfortunate for our customers.” to the top of the waiting list.

Becenti said NTUA has “We found out he has been about 40,000 customers across applying since 1984,” Mason the Navajo Nation. Accordsaid during an interview in Cayla Nimmo/Independent ing to a survey conducted by early 2014. “For some reason Patrick Dennison’s home in Buffalo Springs has been sit- NTUA, about 18,000 homes he was not being selected.” ting empty for about a year as he waits for the utilities to Dennison’s new house See Veteran’s home, be installed. The power lines were hooked up to his house was built in 2014 with funds Page 5 Feb. 22. allocated to each of the five

By Vida Volkert

Staff writer eastnavajo@gallupindependent.com

B

Young Jeff Tom remains on Navajo Oil & Gas board

By Marley Shebala Diné Bureau navajo1@gallupindependent.com

WINDOW ROCK — Former Navajo Nation Council Delegate Young Jeff Tom remains on the Navajo Oil and Gas Company Board of Directors. Tom pleaded guilty Feb. 12 to a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit bribery in official and political matters related to a quid pro quo scheme involving $13,750 of the Council’s slush fund that he pocketed.

According to the Navajo Oil and Gas Company’s federal charter, Tom’s guilty plea automatically disqualified him as a Navajo Oil and Gas Company director.

The charter mandates that “no director shall have been convicted or entered a plea of nolo contendere to any felony or gross misdemeanor in any court, including without limitation those involving Tom dishonesty or moral turpitude, extortion, embezzlement, theft, violation of fiduciary duty, bribery, perjury, or fraud; provided, that any misdemeanor shall be limited to the last ten years of such person’s history and provided that the board of directors shall have discretion to waive any misdemeanor upon presentation of reasonable evidence or justification.”

City’s General Services director off to Illinois

See Young Jeff Tom, Page 5

By Patrick O’Malley Staff Writer city@gallupindependent.com Twitter: @PKOmaly

Rick Snider

GALLUP — After five years as Gallup’s General Services director, Rick Snider will soon be leaving the city to take a job in Illinois as the new Champaign County administrator.

The University of Illinois in Champaign is Snider’s alma mater, where he studied computer science. Champaign County is located south of Chicago and west of

Indianapolis in the heart of Illinois.

The county encompasses the area around Champaign-Urbana and is more populated than McKinley County with 210,000 people. Snider leaves after the first week of April and has a one-week turnaround as he starts the new job April 18.

Snider said that going back to work at his college hometown is a dream come true.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of Gallup,” he said.

Snider said he’s enjoyed his

time in Gallup, stating it’s a unique place, different than anywhere in the U.S. Among the challenges during his time here, Snider said working on behavioral health issues has been one of the toughest.

However, he’s glad they’ve put a lot of investments in the detox center. The city recently re-did the roof and heating, ventilation and air conditioning system among other projects at Na’nizhoozi Center Inc. Detox.

At home, Snider operates Rock

See Snider resigns, Page 5

Newspaper’s lawsuit seeks documents in Chiapetti investigation

By Kyle Chancellor Staff writer education@gallupindependent.com Twitter: @KylchanEdu

GALLUP — The Gallup Independent filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Gallup-McKinley County Schools for withholding documents associated with the investigation of Superintendent Frank Chiapetti.

The GMCS Board of Education placed Chiapetti on admin-

istrative leave Aug. 17 pending an investigation based on alleged complaints that board members received by mail and email.

The investigation lasted three months and cost the district just less than $100,000 in salaries for Chiapetti and interim Superintendent Carmen Moffett as well as legal fees for the district’s attorney, Andrew Sanchez, of Cuddy & McCarthy LLP.

After the board voted 3-2 to reinstate Chiapetti as superintendent, no details of the investigation were released to the public. Chiapetti was served with a “direction letter” and official reprimand, but the board never released any details of the letter or reason for reprimand or suspension.

The Independent filed Inspection of Public Records Act requests for documents pertaining to the investigation includ-

ing the contract and invoices of the investigator, the report from the investigation and the complaints against Chiapetti.

According to the law, the district had 15 days after the initial request to provide the documents or provide legal reason as to why they would not provide them.

On Feb. 3, the district responded to the requests, denying inspection of the records, saying the records are exempt

from inspection as personnel matters or attorney work-product materials.

“In your request, you are seeking to inspect documents contained in a personnel file related to a personnel investigation and possible personnel taken by the Board of Education,” a letter from the school district stated. “Please be advised that under the IPRA documents pertaining to any employee regarding personnel matters are

typically withheld for confidentiality reasons under the IPRA as not being ‘public records.’”

The Independent’s complaint claims that the defendants —

See Lawsuit, Page 5

LOCAL

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Wednesday, March 30, 2016 — Page

5

Young Jeff Tom Continued from Page 1 The charter further mandates that no one who fails to meet those requirements shall serve as a board member.

Removal process But there is a process mandated by the charter, which gives the shareholder representatives the right to remove any director who is found to have violated the above requirements.

The charter also mandates that for the removal to be valid, a director’s suspension or removal for cause must be based on due process protections that are in the corporation’s own charter and bylaws.

But for the shareholder representatives to comply with the due process protections, they must meet in a special meeting, which may be called by the chairman of the board of directors or by the board of directors, and shall be called by the CEO at the request of the Council speaker.

Speaker LoRenzo Bates said Tuesday that he has not asked acting CEO Louis Denetsosie to call a special meeting because he hasn’t finished speaking with all the shareholder representatives and he hasn’t received a request from them for a special meeting to remove Tom. But even if Bates asks Denetsosie for a special meeting of the shareholder representatives, the Navajo Nation Supreme Court has ruled that the shareholder representatives may not remove a director until the board of directors has followed the procedures in the bylaws and then submitted “a formal request” to the shareholder representatives to remove the director.

And the board has not submitted a formal request to the shareholder representatives because, according to Bates, the shareholder representatives have not asked him for a special meeting to address the removal of Tom. The board of directors are Chairman Leonard Eltsosie, Vice Chairwoman Diandra Benally, Secretary Janna Blanter, and members Damon Jr., Wilson Groen, Phil Winner and Tom. If the board ignores the process for the removal of Tom, the Navajo Nation Supreme Court has provided another option, which is a quo warranto action.

According to the Supreme Court, a quo warranto action may be used for resolving “internal conflicts” of corporations, such as removing a director, where there is “need (for) expedited remedies.”

Black’s Law Dictionary defines quo warranto as an “extraordinary proceeding” to prevent a continued exercise of authority unlawfully asserted and to protect the interests of the people as a whole and guard the public welfare.

The Navajo Nation Supreme Court explained that “the quo warranto writ is an expedited self-enforcing writ directed to the person whose continued legitimate occupancy of an office or position in a public body or corporation is questioned.”

The Supreme Court also stated that such writs may be filed in the district courts and also with the Supreme Court.

Resignation The Navajo Oil and Gas Company charter also provides another option to address the removal the Tom, which is resignation.

The charter states that any director may resign at any time by giving written notice to the board chair, who is then mandated to provide written notice to the chief executive officer. The resignation is effective on the date specified in the notice.

When Tom was attending the Supreme Court hearing on the incarceration of Council Delegate Mel R. Begay’s wife, Mitzie Begay, on March 11, he declined to comment on his guilty plea and his status as a Navajo Oil and Gas board member.

According to the Feb. 12 Navajo Nation Dilkon District Court order, Tom’s guilty plea was part of an agreement with the Nation’s special prosecutors to dismiss six additional criminal charges of bribery related to the discretionary financial assistance fund conspiracy.

Lawsuit Continued from Page 1 GMCS, Associate Superintendent Mike Hyatt and records custodian Joan Nez — have improperly withheld public documents and violated the Inspection of Public Records Act. “This lawsuit was filed by the Gallup Independent because the public has the fundamental right to know,” Gallup Independent publisher Bob Zollinger said. “Superintendent Chiapetti was placed on administrative leave because of alleged accusations of impropriety on his part.

Our requests to the school board for the complaints made against him were denied.

“Chiapetti was making changes in the district that had positive outcomes but ruffled entrenched, incompetent administrators’ feathers.

“We, the public, have a fundamental right to know the results and the rationale behind this witch hunt investigation the school board conducted in secrecy and purposely tried to hide from public scrutiny while using $100,000 in taxpayers’ money.”

The Independent is seeking the publication of the documents requested as well as attorney’s fees and costs.

Snider resigns Continued from Page 1 Ridge Goat Dairy, a local business that specializes in goat milk soap and other products.

Snider has been making soap for 15 years, and his products can be found on milkbarsoap.com.

In Illinois, Snider said the soap business won’t be a “priority” in the first year, adding that it would be easier to raise goats as farmers don’t have to buy hay from Colorado.

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

Patrick Dennison received house warming gifts when he first was scheduled to move in to his new home in Buffalo Srings, but now he stores them in a back room while he waits for the utilities to be hooked up Feb. 21. Dennison now has eletricity.

Veteran’s home Continued from Page 1 on the reservation lacked electricity in 2008. Becenti said NTUA officials estimate the number of families without electricity has gone down to 15,000.

New guidelines Why did it take more than a year to connect Dennison’s house to the power grid?

In September 2014, NTUA employees informed Dennison that the homesite lease approved by the Tohatchi Chapter more than 20 years earlier needed to be updated with the Navajo Land Department before they could provide services.

Raymond Joe, a senior homesite agent, reviewed his case and wrote back Sept. 26, 2014, that “an additional environmental review is NOW required on Home Site Lease Categorical Exclusion Exception review for all home site leases.” The review was assigned to Navajo Fish and Wildlife Department.

“There’s no fish in the area where I live,” Dennison joked upon learning about the request.

He wondered what species could be at stake on his land. His homesite lease is located in a dry area devoid of wildlife. The land has endured decades of overgrazing and is rapidly eroding. His new home is located in a desert landscape, surrounded by dunes.

In addition to the “biological date review on species of concerns,” Joe informed Dennison that a review for environmental concerns was also required by the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency.

“Once we received all the studies and surveys from the above mentioned departments, your home site lease will be reviewed and submitted to Department Manager for his approval and to be finalized through the BIA’s Regional Director,” Joe stated.

At the time, Dennison questioned: If the Department of Navajo Veteran Affairs was able to honor the 1994 homesite lease and build a house on his lot, why couldn’t NTUA do the same while the new paperwork was being processed?

Bombarded In January 2015, the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency reported the office was handling 1,274 requests for environmental reviews for homesite leases across the reservation. That would not have been a problem if the agency had a crew to work on such requests, but in January 2015 there was only one person handling all the cases — Rita Whitehorse, a senior environmental specialist with the EPA. Whitehorse said her office started getting “bombarded” with requests in April 2013.

“We started getting these notifications for homesite lease reviews,” she said. “The first batch of 10 was no problem. Then we got bombarded with more.”

Whitehorse said she sat down with Navajo Land Department officials and was informed about a new process requested by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to complete the homesite leases with additional paperwork, including biological date review on species of concern to be conducted

by Fish and Wildlife and an environmental review for environmental concerns by the EPA. Whitehorse said she received Dennison’s case Oct. 29, 2014.

Because Dennison’s house had already been built on the site of the

Cayla Nimmo/Independent

The last step before Patrick Dennison can move in to his home is to have water hooked up. Dennison has waited over a year to get electricity and water set up so he can move in to his new home. homesite lease in Buffalo Springs, and he was an elder taking shelter in his sister’s house, she agreed to expedite his case so he could get the utilities hooked up as soon as possible.

“It came in like a normal case,” Whitehorse said. “Had I known he was seeking this as an emergency, I could have handled it very quickly.”

Whitehorse said her office has expedited cases for elders or families with medical emergencies before.

Black Mesa’s connection to new homesite lease guidelines The process of handling homesite leases on trust land has always required environmental, biological and archaeological surveys. But the environmental and biological parts of this process were only enforced beginning in April 2013, after a resident from Black Mesa, Arizona, reported health concerns related to mining activities near his home.

Harlen Charley, a manager with the Navajo Land Department, reported that the BIA never enforced the environmental or biological surveys until April 2013. In Charley’s words, the “BIA was kind to only require an archaeological clearance for homesite leases since the 1970s.”

In 2013, Black Mesa residents complained of dust particles from the Peabody Coal Mine activities and the mine blasting, which caused cracks in the foundations and walls of their homes. More residents complained that a “family and grandchildren had respiratory problems such as asthma, lung cancer and other respiratory problems,” Charley reported.

“That’s when (Navajo Land Department) considered the environmental concerns and homesite leases within Peabody Coal Mine leases area,” Charley said. “Do we continue to allow people to build within the coal mine lease or adjacent to the mining lease?”

Charley said such concerns were brought up during the Energy Policy public hearing in early 2013. As a result, Navajo Land Department authorities met with Peabody Coal Mine Company officials to address the issue.

“In the process, Navajo Land Department decided not to approve proposed homesite leases within the

Peabody Coal Mine Company mining lease area,” Charley wrote to the Independent in January 2015.

Other meetings followed. Charley reported that during one of such meetings, one of the BIA real estate supervisors “questioned his staff, if they were processing a ‘Homesite lease with a Categorical Exclusion Exception Review’ checklist on the proposed leases for all approved leases to determine the environmental impacts.”

Charley explained that as a result of the Black Mesa incidents, and the meetings that followed, the BIA required this categorical exclusion for all proposed homesite leases on the Navajo Nation starting in April 2013.

“About 400 homesite leases that were pending review at the agency BIA offices were returned to Navajo Land Department to process compliance for environmental clearance by Navajo Environmental Protection Agency, Navajo Fish and Wildlife Department, and the Navajo Historic Preservation Department,” he reported.

During a phone interview Jan. 16, 2015, Pam Kyselka, a wildlife biologist with Fish and Wildlife, reported that she was called into a meeting with Navajo Land Department officials sometime in mid-2013 and was asked to get ready for an influx on biological reviews for homesite leases. Until then, her office was only getting about five requests a year for biological reviews on species of concern in connection with the homesite lease process. After that meeting, her department went from processing five to about 800 requests for biological reviews a year.

“They never had a plan,” she said, referring to the Navajo Land Department. “There was no additional help brought to help us process all these requests.”

Navajo veteran trapped in the backlog This sudden influx has created a backlog, and several dozen families are anxiously waiting for these surveys to complete their homesite lease packages and start building homes, or hook up utilities to existing homes, as was the case with Dennison.

Charley reported that the Navajo Land Department received Dennison’s homesite lease application

Sept. 18, 2009. He also released a chronological line of events in Dennison’s journey trough the system.

Charley reported the archaeological clearance was issued six months after Dennison filed his application.

A legal survey took three years because of the lack of resources within the Navajo Land Department. More specifically, in 2010, the department lost its registered land surveyor position through the budget process. A new surveyor was acquired later; and on Sept. 25, 2014, Dennison’s homesite lease survey plat was certified.

Dennison’s story Dennison graduated in 1965 from the Intermountain Indian School in Brigham, Utah. He joined the U.S. Army in 1966 and was stationed in Germany where he worked welding parts for military vehicles during the Vietnam War. Dennison was discharged with honors 18 months later.

Upon his return, he sank into depression and struggled with alcoholism, homelessness and a series of health issues related to diabetes and asthma.

He has been sober since 1997 and is a member of a Christian gospel band.

Department of Navajo Veteran Affairs records indicate Dennison had been applying for assistance to build a house since 1984.

Manson, who is also a Vietnam veteran, said Dennison’s case serves to illustrate the situation of dozens of veterans across the Navajo Nation who are homeless, living with relatives or in the streets. Some are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and are still unable to help themselves, much less get involved in a process as complicated as putting a homesite lease package together.

There are about 10,000 veterans registered with the Navajo Nation.

About 4,000 are registered with the Fort Defiance Agency, which has a list of about 100 veterans waiting to qualify for assistance to build a new home. Manson, who struggled with cancer in recent years, recovered and got back to work, committed to help them.

“I made it my purpose,” he said.

Manson visited some of the veterans in the list and found out that many had already started building a home or some had passed on. That’s how he got to Dennison’s case and moved him to the top of the list.

Page 4 —

OPINION

The Independent — Gallup, N.M. — Saturday, April 2, 2016

New York Times editorial

Hints of an end to the fighting in Yemen

Public’s fundamental A right to know is basis of lawsuit

“T

he public has a fundamental right to know” is a key component of the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act. These eight words strike terror in the hearts of government officials in our state when they deviate from telling the truth to the public.

Most of the time, the government officials relent and give us the documents when they realize the public’s right to know. In a few cases, the people had to resort to taking them to court. And when this court action was done, the public won. And when the public wins, state law requires the government agency to pay all legal costs.

One thing we have learned from these battles is that deception plays an important role in why they refused to release the documents.

That happened when we sued McKinley County for refusing to release the names of the members of a team evaluating a plumbing contract. The winning bid went to a company owned by the chairman of the County Commission and what government officials were trying to hide was that the evaluation team included high ranking officials for the county.

A number of years ago, the Gallup Independent sued the city when they refused to give us utility records. When records were released a member of the City Council had not paid his bill for many months.

Now we are seeing the same thing happen with the Gallup-McKinley County Schools Board of Education, which, after putting Superintendent Frank Chiapetti on administrative leave, hired an outside company to do an investigation into the alleged complaints that led to Chiapetti’s suspension.

After spending $100,000 or so on the investigation and other factors, the district returned Chiapetti to his position, and ever since then we have been trying to get a copy of that investigation report.

We have been told at one time or another that there was no written report. Later the excuse was that it was an internal investigation into a personnel matter of a public official, and therefore was exempt from public records laws.

So, we have filed a lawsuit to get that information, and when we win, as we always do, the school district will not only have to pay their legal expenses but ours as well. More wasted money that could have been used to buy school supplies or textbooks.

When we win, we expect to find that there really were no valid complaints and the school board members who voted to put Chiapetti on leave used this as a witch hunt excuse to get rid of him because of his efforts to improve the quality of education in our schools.

These efforts angered a few misguided members of our community who didn’t like seeing popular personnel transferred or replaced. History has proved Chiapetti to be right, and the schools in our district are now showing improvement.

The people will eventually win and those who want to keep secrets will lose. The public has a fundamental right to know.

Quotations in the news “When you’re just winging it, that’s what happens. Running for president, it’s not a take-home exam.”

— Kevin Madden, a veteran of Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, on 2016 Republican candidate Donald Trump’s response to MSNBC’s Chris Matthews’ question on abortion during a town hall event in Wisconsin.

“I wish I could go back to school, I liked school when I was in Syria. But now I can’t, I am the eldest and I must support my mother and sisters.”

— Mohammad Hussein, 13, among the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who fled their country’s devastating civil war, for refuge in tiny neighboring Lebanon.

“I left my cup of tea and ran.”

— Yogesh Sharma, a resident of Kolkata, India, on the overpass collapse that killed 23 people and left others injured.

fter a year of civil war, there is a glimmer of hope for long-suffering Yemen. The main combatants, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces, have agreed to a cease-fire starting April 10, and the United Nations plans to revive peace talks a week later.

Saudi Arabia is said to be looking for a way out of the war, but whether Saudi leaders and the Houthis can agree on a political solution remains a big question. In a show of good faith, the two sides did complete a prisoner exchange involving nine Saudis and 109 Yemenis.

The conflict has been a disaster — for Yemen but also for the region, Saudi Arabia and the United States, which supported the Saudi military intervention that human rights groups and the United Nations say resulted in war crimes. It needs to end now.

A Saudi-led coalition of mostly Sunni Arab nations began the air war a year ago with the aim of defeating the Houthis, an indigenous Shiite group, and reinstalling President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, whom the rebels had ousted from power. Although initially reluctant, President Barack Obama agreed to support the effort with intelligence sharing, weapons and in-flight refueling of aircraft.

The Saudis, under a new king and an inexperienced defense minister, decided to take direct action against the forces of Shiite Iran because they feared Tehran was gaining influence in the region. Although the Saudis overstated Iran’s role, Obama apparently felt it was necessary to support them, perhaps in part to appease Saudi outrage over the Iran nuclear agreement.

The cost of this proxy war is staggering. More than 6,200 people have been killed, almost half of them civilians, and more than 30,000 have been wounded, the World Health Organization said this week. On Tuesday, UNICEF said at least 934 children have been killed and 1,356 wounded. More than 80 percent of Yemen’s 24 million people need humanitarian aid.

There have been reports of abuses by the Houthis, but the top U.N. human rights official, Human Rights Watch and others say the majority of civilian deaths have been from indiscriminate airstrikes by the Saudi coalition. Schools, hospitals and electricity and water supplies have been destroyed. Last month, 106 people were killed at a crowded market reportedly by a coalition airstrike.

In January, a U.N. panel said 119 coalition sorties violated international law. It called for an international commission to investigate abuses by all parties. After the United States and Britain, a Saudi backer in the war and an arms supplier, played down such concerns, the U.N. Security Council opted for a Yemeni-led national inquiry, which will not be impartial.

Now, though, calls to end the conflict are building and the European Parliament recently approved a nonbinding resolution urging an end to arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to meet soon with foreign ministers of gulf Arab nations. If he can make sure they go forward with the cease-fire, there may be a chance of ending a conflict that has slaughtered civilians, tarnished America’s standing and diverted resources from fighting the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

The Washington Post Writers Group

The four foreign policies

W

ASHINGTON — After dozens of contests featuring cliffhangers, buzzer-beaters and a ton of flagrant fouls, we’re down to the Final Four: Sanders, Clinton, Cruz and Trump. (If Kasich pulls a miracle, he’ll get his own column.) The world wants to know: What are their foreign policies?

Herewith, four candidates and four schools: pacifist, internationalist, unilateralist and mercantilist.

(1) Bernie Sanders, pacifist.

His pacifism is part swords-into-plowshares utopianism, part getthee-gone isolationism. Emblematic was the Nov. 14 Democratic debate which was supposed to focus on the economy but occurred the day after the Paris massacre. Sanders objected to starting the debate with a question about Paris. He did not prevail, however, and answered the first question with some anti-terror pablum that immediately gave way to an impassioned attack on his usual “handful of billionaires.”

Sanders boasts of voting against the Iraq War. But he also voted against the 1991 Gulf War. His reaction to all such dilemmas is the same anti-imperialist/pacifist reflex: Stay away, but if we must get involved, let others lead.

That’s for means. As for ends, Sanders’ foreign policy objectives are invariably global and universal, beginning above all with climate change. The rest is foreign-policy-as-social-work do-goodism, most especially undoing the work of U.S. imperialism.

Don’t be surprised if President Sanders hands Guantanamo Bay over to the Castros, although Alaska looks relatively safe for now.

Closest historical analog: George McGovern.

(2) Hillary Clinton, internationalist.

The “Clinton/Obama” foreign policy from Ukraine to Iran to the South China Sea has been a demonstrable failure. But in trying to figure

out what President Clinton would do ton and Cruz foreign policies on a in the future, we need to note that she recognizable ideological spectrum, often gave contrary advice, generally left to right. But not Trump’s. It more assertive and aggressive than inhabits a different space because it President Obama’s, that was overlacks any geopolitical coherence. It’s ruled, most notably, keeping troops all about money. He sees no parin Iraq beyond 2011 and early arming ticular purpose for allies or foreign of the Syrian rebels. bases. They are simply a financial The Libya adventure was her drain. grand attempt at humanitarian interImperial Spain roamed and ventionism. She’s been chastised by ravaged the world in search of gold. the disaster that followed.

Trump advocates a kindHer worldview is tradier, gentler form of wealth tional, post-Vietnam liberal transfer from abroad, internationalism — Amerthough equally gold-oriica as the indispensable ented. nation, but consciously Thus, if Japan and South restraining its exercise of Korea don’t pony up more power through multilatermoney for our troops staalism and near-obsessive tioned there, we go home. legalism.

The possible effects on the Closest historical anabalance of power in the log: the Bill Clinton foreign Pacific Rim or on Chinese Charles policy of the 1990s. hegemonic designs don’t Krauthammer enter into the equation.

(3) Ted Cruz, unilateralist.

Same for NATO. If The most aggressive of the three those free-riding European leechcontenders thus far. Wants post-Cold es don’t give us more money too, War U.S. leadership restored. Is why stick around? Concerns about prepared to take risks and act alone tempting Russian ambitions and/or when necessary. Pledges to tear up aggression are nowhere in sight. the Iran deal, cement the U.S.-Israel The one exception to this singular alliance and carpet bomb the Islamic focus on foreign policy as a form of State. national enrichment is the Islamic Overdoes it with “carpet” — it State. Trump’s goal is simple — implies Dresden — although it was “bomb the s--t out of them.” Yet even likely just an attempt at rhetorical here he can’t quite stifle his mercanemphasis. He’s of the school that will tilist impulses, insisting that after not delay action while waiting on crushing the Islamic State, he’ll keep feckless allies or farcical entities like their oil. Whatever that means. the U.N. Closest historical analog: King Closest analog: Ronald Reagan.

Philip II of Spain (1556-1598).

(4) Donald Trump, mercantilist.

On Jan. 20, one of these four conHe promises to make Ameritenders will be sworn in as president. ca strong, for which, he explains, And one of these four approaches to he must first make America rich. the world will become the foreign Treating countries like companies, policy of the United States. he therefore promises to play turnDon’t say you weren’t warned. around artist for a foreign policy that Charles Krauthammer’s is currently a hopeless money-losing email address is operation in which our allies take us letters@charleskrauthammer.com. for fools and suck us dry. (c) 2016, The Washington Post You could put the Sanders, ClinWriters Group