Bulls, riders electrify crowds

After canceling last year’s show due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WildThing Championship Bullriding was back at Red Rock Park “bigger and badder than ever” July 9 and 10.

WildThing organizer Larry Peterson said the crew put on an event where all the guests had a fantastic time.

“Everything we had planned more or less went off,” Peterson said July 13. “We almost sold out the event on Friday, and then we actually sold out on Saturday. The crowds really had a good time, and we’ve been hearing nothing but how much fun they had and how great it was.”

Peterson said the crew did all it could to prepare Red Rock Park for the large turnout...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Mexico Public Health Department recommend that unvaccinated people continue to wear masks, while vaccinated people can remove them.

What that means for Gallup-McKinley County Schools has yet to be determined. At the June 12 board meeting, GMCS Superintendent Michael Hyatt said he would pass along the guidelines from the New Mexico Public Education Department for the upcoming school year as soon as they became available. He also said the CDC may be changing the mask directives again.

Hyatt said the district would address issues about students’ return to school in the fall by sending out a survey to parents about in-person...

Four Corners Detox Recovery Center picks up the ball

When NCI (Na Nizhoozhi Center) was closed down during the pandemic, the state’s Behavioral Health Services Division approached the Santa Fe Recovery Center for help.

Santa Fe Recovery, which was established in 2005, became the parent of a Gallup branch now-called Four Corners Detox Recovery Center. The newly-established operation opened in January.

Then, only a few months later, on May 14, Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services suspended operations at the WellSpring Recovery Center.

That’s when the detox center decided to expand its services.

On June 24, a little more than a month after WellSpring closed...

Which local events to fund; how much to give

The Lodgers’ Tax committee met May 25 to determine how upcoming area events would be funded.

Since the hospitality industry took a hit last year during COVID, the amount of money available for this year’s funding is smaller than it has been.

Gallup’s Tourism and Marketing Manager Jennifer Lazarz told the Sun how the tax works.

People pay Lodgers’ Tax when they stay at hotels in Gallup. The tax comes out to five percent of an area hotel’s daily rate. When a person pays $80 a night, $4 goes to the Lodgers’ Tax.

Lazarz said that Gallup’s average daily rate for hotel rooms was $66 the first week in April 2020. During the...