A weather system took down two power poles at County Road 1, north of the rock climbing area (second track crossing) on July 10.



Continental Electric and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office are on the scene and estimate repairs will take as long as 14 hours or more, which could mean 7 am on July 11.

The downed power lines across the roadway resulted in two vehicle crashes which are being handled by the Navajo Police Department. There were no injuries.

MCSO will stay at the scene until the McKinley County Road Department can close the road from both directions.

County Road 1 is impassable at the site of the downed power lines until further notice.

Motorists are advised to use...

Rider entries fill up in first hour

The calendar page  has turned to July, and with businesses reopening and outdoor events able to resume, it is almost time for the return of a signature Gallup event: WildThing Championship Bullriding.

WildThing organizer Larry Peterson said rider entries were taken last week and spots were completely filled within an hour.

“We’ve got a lot of really good bull riders coming to Gallup,” Peterson told the Sun June 29. “We have riders from everywhere, [such as] all the top riders from the Navajo Nation. We have riders from many states, [including] Texas, Oklahoma, California, Wyoming, and Oregon.”

About four previous WildThing champions...

Senator Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M. talked about vaccinations as well as housing challenges when he met with Gallup Veterans Helping Veterans June 30.

Lujan shared information on the American Rescue Plan Act. He said getting vaccines into people’s arms and ensuring support for families facing challenges with rent and mortgage payments were primary considerations.

“I reached out to Dennis McDonough, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, for the deployment of mobile units for more access to vaccines,” he said. “We have to get into communities where people live.”

He said the American Rescue Plan Act includes $17 billion for healthcare along with investments for telemedicine and the...

Downtown Night Out re-launch draws Gallupians to the streets

Once the Coal Avenue fence came down and the state promised to reopen, Downtown Night Out was ready to make its return to the City of Gallup.

June 26 was the night. It came with trappings including the Diné Boyz, Austin Ramirez, and the Starlight Dancers.

Organized by Gallup Main Street Arts and Cultural District Executive Director, Kara Smith and Gallup Arts Crawl Executive Director, Rhonda Quintana, of Quintana’s Music Center, the event brought out a mix of people — masked and unmasked, in boots and sneakers, bluejeans and cowboy hats — ready to dance the night away, or sit in their chairs and watch.

After...