Ben Kruise is an essential worker these days. The 22-year-old pilots a white Honda Civic, which has over 230k miles on it, many of those miles from trips transporting patients who tested positive for COVID-19 to area motels and alternative care facilities.

Kruise is originally from Ethiopia. He was adopted from an Ethiopian orphanage by a Gallup couple and has been living in Gallup for most of his life.

When Dr. Jennie Wei of the Gallup Indian Medical Center saw a need for more vehicles to take people to motels and places such as the Miyamura High School field hospital, she asked one of her contacts if he had any suggestions. Rick Kruise, Ben’s uncle, who works in the medical field...

Even as people stay inside during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the imminent summer season means people are going to want to buy fireworks. But Gallup Deputy Fire Chief Richard Austin says the weather conditions around McKinley County may put a damper on those plans.

“Based on the most recent U.S. drought monitor data, approximately 80-90 percent of McKinley County is either under moderate drought conditions or severe drought conditions with approximately 30 percent of McKinley County currently in severe drought conditions,” he said.

As in past years, the ban would not completely outlaw sales of fireworks, however.

“It does not ban all fireworks, only those kinds the state...

Don’t let the pandemic make the decisions

The future of the Coal Avenue Commons Construction Project was the subject of a special meeting for the Gallup City Council May 18.

The city reopened bids for the construction project award on May 12. The apparent low bid was just over $4,475,539, which includes the bid on a downtown walkway while a bid that does not include a downtown walkway was made for $3,393,618. The bidder in both cases was the Gallup-based firm Murphy Builders.

The project covers the reconstruction of Coal Avenue through downtown Gallup from Fourth Street to Second Street.

Public Works Director Stan Henderson presented three decisions to the city council. The first...

Rehoboth Christian Hospital’s urgent request for clinical staff has resulted in additional healthcare professionals bringing much needed relief to nurses and patient care technicians who are providing care for patients battling COVID-19.  On May 11, four nurses and five medical technicians from the N.M. Medical Reserve Corps began working at RMCH. Another group of eight volunteer healthcare professionals arrived May 14 and began caring for patients one day later.

The volunteer medical workers are from COVID Care Force, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization out of Olathe, Kans. Dr. Gary Morsch, an emergency medicine physician, saw the need for emergency medical workers within a few...