Staff Reports

CIBOLA COUNTY – The New Mexico State Police Uniform Bureau and Investigations Bureau were called to investigate allegations of criminal sexual penetration of a juvenile against Edwin Mariano, 40, of Grants.

Through an extensive investigation, State Police agents learned the victim resided in the home with Mariano. During the investigation the juvenile disclosed that Mariano gave her alcohol and sexually assaulted her.

On Nov. 1 State Police officers were able to locate and successfully arrest Edwin Mariano without incident in Grants.

He was booked into the Cibola County Detention Center on the following charges:Criminal sexual penetration of a minor, 2nd degree...

About 18,000 voters turned out in McKinley County.

Here are some of the county vote totals from the Nov. 6 election:

A total of 12,195 voted for Democrat Martin Heinrich for U.S. Senate, while 3,008 voted for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. Republican candidate Mick Rich received 2,864 votes.

Ben Ray Luján received 12,461 votes for the District 3 Congressional race, easily beating Republican Jerald McFall, who received 3,003 votes. The Libertarian candidate, Christopher Manning, received 869 votes.

In the race for governor, Democratic candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham received 12,913 votes to the 5,139 votes for Steve Pearce. Statewide, Lujan Grisham collected 392,215 votes to...

Nez elected prez; Dems the winners at N.M. polls

Going into this year’s race for Navajo Nation president, the polls indicated the man most likely to win was the tribe’s vice-president, Jonathan Nez.

Sure enough, Nez won the Nov. 6 election by an unofficial count of 33,203 to 15,356, ending what may have been former tribal President Joe Shirley Jr.’s last chance of getting a third term in office.

Nez won 91 of the tribe’s 110 chapters.

A popular politician on the reservation for almost 20 years, Nez has served on the tribal council and as a member of the board of supervisors for Navajo County. He has never lost an election, and in some cases, he ran unopposed.

Among...

District students more than double state proficiency growth average

The results of the New Mexico PARCC test were received by Gallup-McKinley County Schools in August. The data showed significant growth in student proficiency in test categories like English Language Arts, math and science.

The results also revealed that GMCS was the No. 1 school district in New Mexico when it came to proficiency growth, with students more than doubling the state average.

“This is history for Gallup-McKinley County Schools,” GMCS Superintendent Mike Hyatt said during the meeting.

More than 100 students from GMCS were recognized by the school board at the meeting. Each student received a plaque...