Staff Reports

SANTA FE  – The New Mexico Department of Health is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of Agriculture on a multi-state cluster of Salmonella infections linked to ground beef.

Since late August, NMDOH has identified 30 New Mexico residents that were diagnosed with Salmonella after preparing ground beef at home. Illness duration has averaged 13 days and 27 percent of patients were hospitalized.

“Salmonella infection can be a very serious and sometimes deadly illness,” Department of Health Secretary Lynn Gallagher said. “Cross-contamination from raw meats to counter tops, utensils, and cutting boards...

Staff Reports

A body was discovered Oct. 27 just north of Christian Child Care Home, 220 W. Jefferson Ave. in Gallup. The cause of death is still unknown.

Gallup Police Department Captain Marinda Spencer told the Sun Oct. 29 the partially decomposed body was found by a person taking a walk in the area, who initially thought the deceased was sleeping and continued on their walk.

Spencer said the walker went back to the scene later in the day “to see whether the person had left,” but the body was still there in the same position, so the walker took a closer look.

The body, which Spencer said has been identified as a Native American male, showed obvious signs of being deceased, and...

Annual EVENT explores Bigfoot, the paranormal and beyond

The 15th annual Gallup UFO Film Festival took place Oct. 19 - 20 at the Gallup DownTown Conference Center. The two-day event, presented by the Gallup Film Festival, showcased films and speakers, plus Q&A sessions with the audience.

The featured films included Aztec 1948: UFO Crash, Open Minds Investigates and The Naked Truth about the 1947 UFO Crash at Roswell, among others. Chuck Wade, Jonathan Dover, Clifford Mahooty and Dr. Christopher Dyer headlined as the festival’s guest speakers.

The Conference Center provided an intimate setting for up-close Q&A sessions. And according to Chuck Wade, who organized the event, all...

Designs for three new facilities in the works

The Gallup City Council discussed design conception and fiscal programming for three new regional facilities as part of the 2018-19 Community Improvement Plan at the Oct. 23 regular meeting.

City staff solicited a proposal from Huitt-Zollars, Inc., of Albuquerque, for their Architectural Professional Services contract for programming and concept development, as well as for site-location reviews. HZI worked with the City of Gallup in the past on a study for a regional library.

The first facility discussed at the meeting was an animal shelter design concept, budgeted for $40,000 by the council. HZI’s proposal for this project came to...