W hile firefighters are busy running to save citizens lives, whether it be automobile crashes, fires, exposure to hazardous materials or just a false alarm, the administration is gearing up for anything that could happen.

Chief Eric Babcock said that he has to look at what could cause fires.

“My job is to assess the risk,” Babcock said.

He said that he has to have his firefighters and staff monitor the vegetation that has grown throughout the rain, because that could dry out and become a fire hazard.

He also has to have plans in place as Gallup has over 70 trains coming through on a daily basis and a refinery that sits on the outskirts of the town.

Jesus Morales said that the...

Local citizen to push for deconsolidation

The decision of the Board of Education to place Gallup McKinley County Schools Superintendent Frank Chiapetti on administrative leave Aug. 17, created a whirlwind of comments on social media that gravitated between praise and hate for the superintendent now in limbo, as well as the board itself.

As with most personnel matters, the five-member school board was tightlipped on the matter. The board went into closed session to discuss Chiapetti’s fate that Monday evening.

That same evening, the district appointed administrator Carmen Moffett the role of interim superintendent, until the board decides whether to continue on with Chiapetti, who...

The headcount for University of New Mexico Gallup Fall semester declined slightly from Fall 2014, with 97 less students making their way to classrooms, according to a report submitted to the Sun from Marketing & Communications Officer Marilee Petranovich.

But student credit hours rose by 1.58 percent, which equates to the amount of classroom hours a student is taking each week.

The UNMG Student Senate held a meet and greet with students and faculty the first week of school. They gave out prizes, burritos and root boot floats as a part of welcome back days.

Director gives overview of process, costs

Shortly after Fran Palochak was elected as District 4 councilor in April, she went on a tour of Gallup’s wastewater treatment plant.

Little did she know at the time, as she toured the facility, Vince Tovar, director of Gallup Water and Sanitation Department, felt a tinge of shame about the pungent odor coming from the plant that has haunted the westside for countless years.

“When you visited us, I have to admit that it was embarrassing,” he said, during the City Council meeting Aug. 11.

But things are better, for now.

Tovar and management company Severn Trent, have engaged in multiple projects to help reduce and eliminate the odor, but...