SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Health announced the death of a 4-year-old Santa Fe County girl who was suffering from a flu-related illness April 21.  It’s New Mexico’s first pediatric influenza death of the 2021-2022 season. Since the start of this flu season, DOH has identified 143 pneumonia and flu-related deaths.

“Our love and heartfelt prayers go out to the family during this difficult time,” said Acting Department of Health Secretary, David R. Scrase, M.D. “Children younger than age 5 are at particular risk of flu complications, and the American Academy of Pediatrics advises that all children ages 6 months and older get vaccinated against the flu.”

Flu...

Tensions around Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services are allegedly hitting a boiling point, with an Albuquerque news outlet reporting the hospital is in danger of closing within two weeks and the hospital management disputing that claim.



The Sun has not independently verified the report as of April 28, but the hospital’s interim CFO hired to communicate to community activists and the McKinley County Commission has been fired less than four months after she was brought on, the station said.



Activists have been raising the alarm for months and took their complaints to the County Commission in March. The panel threatened to pull the plug on the hospital’s land...

The name of a New Mexico State Police Officer has now been released after a shooting that happened on April 16.

On April 16, 2022, the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau was called to investigate an officer-involved shooting on Interstate 40, milepost 64, near Prewitt, N.M.

Officers learned that around 11:56 am, New Mexico State Police Officer Corey Newman was dispatched to the area for a welfare check on a male slumped over the steering wheel of a brown BMW passenger car. The officer arrived and made contact with the male, who was later identified as Oliver Ashley Toledo Saldivar, 26, of North Carolina.  Unbeknownst to the officer, Saldivar was the suspect in a homicide...

Senior folly ends in suspensions. Story Page 10

A senior prank has led to some trouble at Gallup High School.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the Gallup Police, about 15 to 20 people entered the school on the night of March 31. These people proceeded to decorate the school’s commons and the principal’s office with streamers, balloons, signs, and glitter, among other decorative things.

Gallup High’s Principal Tammy Hall was the one who called the police. In a press release that was published on April 7, the Gallup McKinley County Schools district called the incident “illegal, damaging and disrespectful.”

The press release goes on to state:  “Breaking and...