Even after the campus was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff at Rehoboth Christian School is doing everything possible to keep in touch with students and their families.

Bob Ippel, the executive director of the school, said this is a strength that comes from being a smaller private school.

“[Fewer students] gives you more agility in terms of being able to respond to their needs more quickly,” Ippel said April 10.



COMING TOGETHER

Ippel said Rehoboth has always been known for being seen as more of a family than just a school, a fact he wants to celebrate.

The bonds shared between students, teachers, and their families would face a big test when the pandemic...

McKinley County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tammy Houghtaling started 2020 by making the most DWI arrests in McKinley County in January, nine in all. She first began serving with the Gallup Police Department about 2006, running saturation patrols with other officers.

She transitioned to the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office in 2011, where she has served for nearly nine years.

“In about three months [after joining MCSO] I was put into [a] DWI unit as a full-time deputy,” she said April 15. “I went through the process and was promoted, where I picked up my rank.”

In 2012 Houghtaling was promoted to the supervisor of the McKinley County DWI Task Force, where she served until 2017...

With a side helping of prevention, alternative sentencing, treatment

The DWI reports listed each week in the Gallup Sun are a testament to the size of the problem in McKinley County. Despite the arrests and any ensuing fines or sentences, convictions continue.

The McKinley County DWI Program is set up to spread awareness of the consequences and dangers of these intoxicated driving as well as other alcohol misuse issues.

The county’s DWI program aims to reduce the number of DWI arrests and fatalities and keep them low in a manner that is respectful to the local diverse cultures.

Maura Schanefelt, program manager for the McKinley County DWI Program, spoke with the Sun April 1 to...

Coordinating with GIMC-HIS, NM Department of Health,

Center for Disease Control

Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services is monitoring the spread of the Coronavirus with an eye on McKinley County and the rest of New Mexico. It is also watching adjacent states as it prepares to care for residents should the virus spread to the area. The hospital is also closely coordinating its plans with the New Mexico Department of Health, the Gallup Indian Medical Center-Indian Health Service and the Center for Disease Control.

“Our efforts are primarily focused on five specific areas,” RMCHCS CEO David Conejo said. “Testing anyone showing symptoms, providing adequate care for...