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Grants mayor: Navajo Nation welcome here

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GRANTS — Grants Mayor Martin “Modey” Hicks wants to set the record straight about his comments published in national newspapers.

Hicks told the Gallup Sun national publications in May painted him as a racist, but he says that is the furthest thing from the truth.

“One of the main things I found astonishing was how The Washington Post, The New York Times, tried to paint me [as] a racist, and they did that because they cut off my statement. They were asking me about the Navajo Nation and COVID, and I said, ‘My understanding is that our first case of COVID in Grants came from the Navajo Nation.’”

But, Hicks said that’s where they cut off the statement.

Hicks said the rest of the statement went like this, “It doesn’t matter, because if we hadn’t got it from them, we would have given it to them, because we’re a border town.”

Grants, about 60 miles east of Gallup, has not experienced any city-wide or area shutdowns like residents of Gallup and the Navajo Nation have.

“We welcome the Navajo Nation here. [Our] gross receipt taxes are out the roof because of the Navajo Nation. They’re boycotting Gallup. Gallup shut them down, Gallup didn’t want them and I said, ‘Come to Grants, we’ll take you, we want you here.’

“And they’re here every weekend now. Every weekend, the nation shuts down, and they come to Grants.”

Although exact figures were not available before publication, Hicks said the gross receipts taxes from April were up over $250K for his city.

The Sun reached out to Gallup Mayor Louis Bonaguidi and the Navajo Nation for comment on this story but did not hear back from either before press time.

By Dominic Aragon
Sun Correspondent

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