FARMINGTON — The Navajo Transitional Energy Company was recognized for exemplary mining and reclamation by the U. S. Dept. of Interior Sept. 29.

The department gave NTEC it’s highest honor for activities that went above and beyond reclamation requirements to achieve superior   results, reworking marginal, legacy reclamation sites to create a stable landscape, ultimately allowing the land to be returned to a condition better than the one in which they found it.

NTEC is the steward of the nearly 33,000 acre Navajo Coal Mine on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Traditional piecemeal reclamation began at the mine in 1970. When NTEC, a Navajo-owned company, purchased the mine in 2013 they...

A number of Gallup residents woke to an unpleasant smell on the east side on Oct. 7. One reader contacted the Sun about a strong smell of gas that was first noticed about 5 am.

The City of Gallup manager’s office said Metro Dispatch received one call about the smell of gas and New Mexico Gas Company was also alerted.

Customer service from NMGC said they had staff on-site to investigate the source of the gas odor.

This story will be updated with more information as it comes in.

Infrastructure improvements coming to West Logan Avenue

Gallup is about to receive a million dollars for a street and drainage improvement project on West Logan Avenue between Ninth Street and Seventh Street.

The application, which identifies the project as West Logan Avenue (6th to 9th St.) Street & Drainage Project, will not include improvements to Sixth Street at this time. Funding is currently available to complete two of the three blocks, starting from Ninth Street and moving east to Seventh Street at a cost of just over $1.27 million.

The infrastructure funding is part of the state’s investment in Community Development Block Grants in municipal and county...

In June, the Gallup City Council approved the FY21 city budget, which included numerous reductions in services on city revenues and the governor’s public health orders restricting in-person gatherings due to the impact of the COVID pandemic.

As a result, the budget called for the closure of city recreation centers, including Larry Brian Mitchell, Harold Runnels, the Aquatic Center, El Morro Theatre and Events Center, Cecil Garcia Fitness Center and Red Rock Park Convention Center and Arena through Sept. 30.

Memberships for the Aquatic Center and Cecil Garcia Fitness Center were suspended as well.

Fifty-four full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees were also furloughed through...