Gallup Indian Medical Center will be the first Navajo Nation health facility to receive the  coronavirus vaccine when it arrives on Dec. 14.

Dr. Loretta Christiansen, chief medical officer of the Navajo Indian Area Health Services, told a Facebook live town hall Dec. 10 that the vaccine, which requires very cold storage would be coming to GIMC in less than a week.

Christiansen attributed the designation to the hospital’s ability to store the vaccine as instructed by the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer-BioNTech.

A waterline break at Aztec and S. Ford Drive in Gallup Dec. 8 did not disrupt water service for area customers, but did create a void at the southwest corner of the intersection.

Dennis Romero, Gallup executive director of water and sanitation explained that a void is something hidden underground.

“When you have a waterline leak like this,” he told the Sun, ”the pressure creates a hole underneath. It doesn’t affect what’s above.”

Because the break did not impact service, it was determined that the line would be repaired Dec. 9.

“We can do that without affecting any customer service,” Romero said.

By Kevin Opsahl

Sun Correspondent

 

In a virtual forum on Dec. 3, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez announced he would be extending a lock down order for three weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus, in addition to sending a “major disaster declaration” for President Donald Trump to sign.

 

The extension would begin Dec. 7, ordering the Navajo people to only go out for “essential business” and limiting gatherings under one roof. He also reinstated the 57-hour weekend curfew for the Nation Friday through Monday and having needed businesses open only for 12 hours a day during the work week. Nez reminded people that if a household needs something, only one person should...

With his presidency now nearing its end, Donald Trump is rushing through a process to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain to lease for oil drilling.

The administration has invited oil companies to name the areas they’d like to drill in one of the nation’s most iconic and sacred landscapes. The Center for Biological Diversity joined Indigenous groups this week in condemning the move.

“On his way out the door, Trump is trying to lock in climate chaos and the extinction of polar bears and other endangered Arctic species. This is unconscionable,” the Center’s Kristen Monsell said. “The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge can’t be replaced, so we can’t...