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 the walker called dispatch around 5:25 pm.

Detectives responded to the scene, which Spencer said, was about 60 to 100 yards north of Christian Child Care Center, up in the hill area, near the base of a cliff.

The Office of the Medical Investigator was also called.

At the scene, an ID was recovered “from the body but because of the stages of decomposition, [detectives] weren’t able to confirm visually that it was the same individual,” Spencer said.

The cause of death does not appear to be suspicious based on the scene, she said, though this and a formal identification await OMI. This is an ongoing investigation.

Annual EVENT explores Bigfoot, the paranormal and beyond

The 15^th 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 went well, and the audience brought forward plenty of UFO-related questions.

Wade said each year, the intrigue of UFOs and sightings seems to grow. He insisted UFOs are real.

“The event went great, it was just a wonderful line-up of films, the speakers, just doing great,” he said. “Each year, we try to have different speakers, different films, and this year, it was about seven different UFO crashes in New Mexico, 1945 and 1948. I can’t believe it’s lasted this long, and the reason why we started this was because of a UFO crash we got to visit back in 2005 in Magdalena.”

Wade said while in Magdalena, they found pieces of the UFO from the crash.

“We wondered what do we do with it,” he said. “We decided to show it to the public.”

According to Wade, the event speakers were informative. Former Navajo Nation Ranger Jonathan Dover, for instance, held a talk that lasted more than three hours, and according to Wade, it was simply fascinating.

Dover’s stories and the paranormal phenomenon he allegedly experienced captivated the crowd. Along with the pieces of the UFO, Dover, who said this is his fourth year participating as a speaker at the festival, displayed strange artifacts from his paranormal investigations.

He spoke about paranormal incidents on Navajo lands. Of his 27 years with the Navajo Nation Rangers and Historic Preservation Department, he said he spent 11 years investigating such incidents.

His investigations included Bigfoot, UFOs, hauntings and Navajo skin-walkers. Dover said his department took on assignment after assignment. He said such investigations were a significant portion of his duties.

It all began with a call from an elderly couple who claimed Big Foot entered their corral and took a sheep.

“Our director told us to investigate it, and from there, it took off,” he said. “We had an international mutual UFO network say that we had one of the best UFO cases ever investigated put on paper. We had hauntings in one case that we showed them slide presentations over a period of two days, where 65 coins appear out of thin air. All landed on the ground, all landing heads up which is a statistical impossibility.”

When asked if he was ever a skeptic, Dover said he’d always been interested in paranormal cases, and he never went into them with preconceived ideas.

He said paranormal cases are like accident investigations – you look at the evidence you collect, and you form your own opinion of what happened. Then, he said, you fit those with statements and look at the evidence.

“We’ve seen things that we can’t explain” Dover said.

Dr. Christopher Dyer, former CEO of the University of New Mexico-Gallup, also spoke at the festival. He said information and evidence was brought to him about Bigfoot sightings in the Chuska Mountains and the Four Corners area, along with recent information about Bigfoot in the Sawmill area near Window Rock, Ariz.

“This is fairly recent information and its very eye-opening,” he said.

This new information, according to Dyer, includes Bigfoot hair.

“Hopefully, in six months, we hope to have DNA because there is this new technique that they can strip the DNA from it — this is a new way, which is cool,” Dyer said.

His interest in Bigfoot began when some of his students in a physical anthropology class asked for his help after their family members indicated something was happening to their animals and property.

Dyer said he never would have imagined Big Foot was in New Mexico, but one thing lead to another for him, and he said he hopes people continue to have an open mind about such occurrences.

“The weather patterns are changing, and this disrupts [Bigfoot’s] patterns,” Dyer said. “It will be interesting to see what’s going to happen in the next couple years, because apparently the sightings are going up and not down.”

Dion Thomas of California, who attended the festival, said the interesting topics discussed and the evidence shown can’t be overlooked or dismissed.

“When we watch this stuff on television and then are introduced to it face to face, like here at this festival, you get a different perspective on it and that’s when the questions begin to roll out,” Thomas said. “Are we really, truly alone and is there something that goes bump in the night?”

For more information about UFOs and Bigfoot topics, visit: www.chuckwadeufo.com.

By Dee Velasco

For the Sun

Battered Families Services reminds community hands are not for abuse

Domestic Violence Awareness month is here, and Battered Families Services of Gallup hosted their annual Domestic Violence Day. The event featured a walk and candlelight vigil with events held on Oct. 13 and 14.

The walk began at the City of Gallup Police Department along Historic Route 66 and concluded at McKinley County Courthouse Square, where games for the kids and adults were held, along with Zumba demonstrations, dance performances and guest speakers. A free lunch was provided to the first 250 participants, and according to Willard Eastman, director of Battered Families Services, all went well.

“This year was different,” Eastman said. “We had a lady from Santa Fe come down and do the wellness dance. Our speakers talked about a program focusing on children; we even had a cake walk, but we really wanted to get the word out about domestic violence awareness.”

Eastman provided statistics on domestic violence in the Gallup area.

He said one out of four calls made to metro dispatch is a domestic violence-related call. Last year, dispatch received 4,440 calls, and this year, that number has reached 4,678.

A night at the shelter is given to domestic violence victims in need of a safe place to stay, and this year, a total of 6,000 shelter nights were offered so far. Eastman said the number of nights is dependent on need.

“The word is getting out for the assistance, which is positive,” he said. “But only if they are willing to get out of the situation they’re in and make that call.”

On the evening of Oct. 14, a “Remember My Name” candlelight vigil was held in memory of those who have lost their lives to domestic violence.

Eastman said more fundraising events are scheduled, including a “Spa Day” set for Nov. 5 at the University of New Mexico-Gallup Cosmetology Classroom, from 11 am to 7 pm. Participants receive a facial/manicure for $5, and all proceeds benefit Battered Families Services.

And this holiday season, BFS will also host its annual Festival of Trees at the Rio West Mall. Eastman said he’s excited about the event.

“We’re really looking forward to it and glad we are doing it this year,” he said. “We really want this to be a huge success, as we’re hoping proceeds come in to help out Battered Families.”

For domestic voilence crises, call Battered Families, 24-hours a day: (505) 722-7483. For information on how you can help, call: (505) 722-6389.

By Dee Velasco
For the Sun

WINDOW ROCK – The Navajo Nation Council recessed for over one hour during the third day of the Fall Council Session Oct. 17, to welcome a group of Navajo veterans that marched many miles to the Council Chamber to demand accountability and action from the Navajo Veterans Administration, which is directly under the authority of President Russell Begaye.

Speaker LoRenzo Bates (Nenahnezad, Newcomb, San Juan, Tiis Tsoh Sikaad, Tse’Daa’Kaan, Upper Fruitland) thanked the group for their persistence and advocacy on behalf of all Navajo veterans and for bringing their issues to the attention of Navajo leaders.

“Since the 23rd Navajo Nation Council took office in 2015, we have passed numerous legislations supporting additional funds, housing services, and other direct services for Navajo veterans. In many cases the legislations were unanimously approved and from there on it is the responsibility of the President and his administration to implement them,” Bates said.

Many of the marchers held up signs demanding that Begaye release funds that were approved through Council resolutions to provide housing and other direct assistance for veterans.

Bates outlined a number of resolutions passed by the 23rd Navajo Nation Council that benefit Navajo veterans including the following:

-       Resolution CMY-50-18, which approved $1,094,784 for the five veterans agency organizations to assist veterans with direct services.

-       Resolution CJY-60-18, which approved $1.2 million for the Navajo Veterans Administration to assist veterans with emergency assistance requests, energy assistance, burial assistance, and weatherization assistance.

-       Resolution CJA-02-18, which approved an increase in funding available for direct services each year for Navajo veterans through the Veterans Trust Fund.

-       Resolution CJY-55-18, which approved the establishment of the Veterans Housing Program within the Navajo Veterans Administration

The Navajo Nation Council adopted each of the resolutions and it is the responsibility and duty of the executive branch to implement them, added Speaker Bates.

He said despite claims by Begaye that the resolutions are not clear or lack legal sufficiency, the fact remains that attorneys from both the legislative and executive branches played a role in developing the legislations.

He added that Begaye had every opportunity to seek clarification when the legislation was making its way through the Council’s Standing Committees and during the 10-day timeframe after the Council passed them.

“This Council has done a lot to help Navajo veterans, but the disbursement of funds is in the hands of the executive branch and it is their obligation at this time to resolve the internal issues they have and help our veterans,” Bates said.

For news on the latest legislative branch activities, visit: navajonationcouncil.org.