Let me admit right off that I am not, repeat NOT, the person to come to for sympathy. Oh sure, I have lots of empathy for people living in conditions they have little control over, but if you go much beyond those conditions, you’re barking up the wrong tree.

It’s a common complaint, now and even in the past, for those afflicted with boredom to never look past the one tree in their life while forgetting the many and varied trees in the entire forest or jungle. Thus, the headline of today’s column.

Perhaps my unsympathetic response to this subject is rooted in my occupation. In my experience as a sports writer, I have covered a multitude of activities. Quite a few of them I had no connection with, but a story demand required me to involve myself whether I liked it or not. Do I need to make a list?

Archery, Bowling, Canoeing, Darts, Exercise, Futbol, and etc. A game for almost every letter of the alphabet, multiplied by an X factor, taking into consideration just how many activities there are starting with the most popular character. In short, those who complain about the lack of things to do have not looked beyond that tree in front of them. Instead they use it as an excuse to sit idly and complain.

It only takes a quick glance at Summer Activities available in Gallup to open one’s eyes, mind, and imagination to the possibilities. The City of Gallup Recreation Department has a complete free booklet on the events they sponsor, the Rio West Mall is also allowed the use of their space for many more, and other organization like the Octavia Fellin Public Library, several churches, and youth groups like Girl Scouts, Civil Air Patrol, and Broken Arrow Bible Ranch also contribute to the very long list of things for kids, up to and including high school in some cases, to do during the lazy summer months.

There are so many summertime activities, in fact, just printing a complete list would require two or more pages of this publication. Some do require a small fee, but many are freeexcept for the tine and effort required to transport your children to and from the ones holding the most interest for them.

A case in point is the one connected to the accompanying picture, the Junior Reporters. Some of these kids are quite young, but have all expressed an interest in learning the qualities needed to prepare them for a career. It’s not like any of them will win a Pulitzer Prize in the next couple of years, but the experiences they have may well feed other curiousities that will come up in the future.

Keeping children’s minds and bodies occupied in this and other ways feeds their need to learn, and might even keep them from becoming bored adults. No guarantee there, as 250-channels on the TV, the Internet and other electronic toys, and other distractions are always present to shorten attention spans, but it is at least a start.

My advice, for whatever it’s worth, involve your children into one of these activities, or more. Keep their minds sharp, let them make new friends, and allow them to see different sides of our community. The payoff may not be immediately forthcoming, but your children are for the rest of your life, so it is worth doing, NOW.

If absolutely none of the activities appeal to your children, explain forcefully how weeds always need to be pulled, dishes washed and dried, vacuuming and house cleaning are always constants, and a whole other list of alternatives that make their involvement in these programs seem much more enjoyable.

Well, that about exhausts my thoughts for today, and uses up all the words I’m allowed. But in closing, since this is supposed to be a sports column, let me revert to my favorite line with a small add-on..

See you in the bleachers, and we’ll talk!

See Kid’s Event calendar on pages 21 (Rio West Mall) and 22.

Nettie Cooley was jolted awake at 3 am on May 6, 2023 to a call from the mother of one of her sons’ friends. The woman on the other line had some terrible news: Nettie’s son Elon Cooley had been shot and killed outside of the Sports Page Lounge.

The mother couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d just been at the bar with Elon and her other sons. The family had started the night off at Sammy C’s Rockin’ Sports Pub & Grille, but they eventually moved on to Sports Page Lounge, which was formerly located at 1400 S. Second St. before it was shut down in late 2023. Nettie said they went over to Sports Page because her sons wanted to play pool.

In an interview with the Sun, Nettie said that her son’s killer, Isaiah Palacios, was at both bars that night. She said that Palacios, who was 22 years old at the time of the shooting, saw her family and purposefully followed them to Sports Page.

A BITTER HISTORY

Nettie claims Elon and Palacios had never liked each other ever since high school. She said that Palacios kept trying to pick a fight with Elon at Sammy C’s, and that’s why they moved on to Sports Page.

According to a police report, Metro Dispatch received a call around 1:45 am after shots were reportedly fired outside the local bar.

When Gallup Police officers arrived at the scene, they found security guards performing CPR on Elon in the bar’s parking lot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Elon had reportedly told the security guards that he had gotten into a fight with Palacios in the bar. He asked the security guards to escort him to his car. Nettie said her other sons left Sports Page about 10 minutes before the shooting happened.

As the security guards were escorting Elon to his car, Palacios ran up to them and reportedly shot at Elon multiple times, with the security guards firing back at him. Elon was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the altercation, Palacios was transported to an Albuquerque hospital. GPD obtained a warrant for his arrest, and when he was released from the hospital on May 16, 2023, University of New Mexico police officers arrested him. He was booked into the McKinley County Adult Detention Center that same day.

DISSATISFIED WITH THE SYSTEM

Palacios was originally charged with first-degree murder, criminal damage to property (over $1,000), and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. But after he signed a plea deal on Nov. 1, the criminal damage charge was dropped and the first-degree charge was brought down to second-degree. As a part of the plea deal, the court is recommending that Palacios undergo a 60-day diagnostic evaluation before sentencing.

Because he took the plea deal, Palacios will not face a jury trial. Nettie has a problem with that, and with how the case was handled in general.

“I think they should have done a jury trial and tried to charge him with first degree murder because he did see me and my son and my other sons at Sammy C’s and that’s why we left,” Nettie said.

Nettie said she believes the justice system failed her son.

“I just wish the justice system was better with these laws because the max sentence for second-degree murder is only 20 years,” she said. “First degree would’ve been only 30 years. These kids that are shooting [people] are only in their 20s, they’re only going to be in their 50s when they get out; they’ll still have their whole life ahead of them.”

Nettie filed a wrongful death petition with the Gallup District Court in January. She is suing both bars for overserving both Elon and Palacios, the security team who tried to help Elon that night, and Palacios. The case won’t go to court until sometime next year.

In the meantime, Nettie said she hasn’t had time to properly grieve her son.

“I think I haven’t really had time to properly grieve because I’m trying to get his killer put in jail,” she said.

By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor

This writer has written many stories in the last 10 years about the exploits and talents of 14-year old Dylan Vargas. None are more important to me than the overall skills this young man demonstrates in other fields, rounding out his thirst for knowledge and accomplishments that seems never-ending.

His Second Degree Black Belt and the accumulation of 745 trophies and 49 World Championships he has garnered in the last decade are very impressive, but his short life so far has not depended on these accomplishments alone. Dylan is also an awesome sudent, holding a 4.0 GPA as he finishes his eighth-grade year, and holding two Regional Science first place awards. He was unable to attend either of the last two state science events because of a conflicting schedule with the U.S. Martial Arts Grand International tournament. He won both titles, though.

When talking of the physical side of his life with martial arts, one must mix into this his long love of baseball, and a new passion, golf. He keeps in great shape by practicing his karate moves daily and with isometrics, building a six-pack of abs on his slight frame that many older athletes aspire to have, but few accomplish.

He is also an accomplished musician, as his first entry in the Country Showdown last year proved, when he beat out the competition in Gallup and then almost won a regional contest in Prescott, AZ. His musical skills are inherited from his mom and dad, Cindy and Charlie. Cindy won the Country Showdown in 1995, and Charlie played with the Elektro Katz and Sudden Impact before starting his own band. Looking for a young guitar player, Charlie found that his own son had the ‘professional feel’ he was looking for and named the band, Dylan Vargas and the Black Belt Band. Mom and dad are part of this band with their only child and have picked up Tim Martin and Philip Romero to round out the Classic Rock sound they play.

According to Charlie, the band is currently working on an original CD, with four tracks laid down presently with five more to go. Charlie also reported that after Dylan performed in Prescott, the family received a call from “America’s Got Talent,” but it was about the time Cindy’s mom died, which put that plan on the back shelf. There are videos of Dylan on YouTube showing his performance in Prescott. Several people in Las Vegas, connected to the MMA world, have mentioned the possiblity of a ‘reality show’ that would feature him, but are waiting for a couple more years to pass while taking videos of Dylan in competition and singing the national anthem at the start of the World Championships.

That said, Dylan is working hard at teaching the skills he has learned to others. His friend and Karate instructor, Joe Mandaragan of Joe’s Karate Club in Grants, has put Dylan in charge of teaching private Weapons’ classes to his students – there are 10 weapons at which he is skilled: Nunchucks, 3-Sectional Staff, Bow Staff, Kama, Rope Kama, Tomfa, Sai, Sword, Whip Chain, and Escrima. Barbara Kozeliski, the principal at Sacred Heart School, has also chosen Dylan to teach a Karate class at the school, where the only other athletics they have are basketball and cheer.

The teaching has become more satisfying than the winning, according to Dylan. “It means more to me to see my students win than it does for me to win,” Dylan said.

His instruction paid off on March 27-28 when four of his students went with him to the Grand International tournament in Albuquerque. All returned with medals or trophies.

Five-year old Damiano Kozeliski received two first place trophies for Forms and Fighting, seven-year old Cross Malcolm earned a medal for Fighting, 11-year old Daniel Guillen and his 13-year old brother Isaiah (pictured below) captured four trophies and two medals between them: Isaiah for firsts in Kata and Sparring and a third in Bareknuckle Koshiki, and Daniel for a second place in Sparring, though the latter also competed in Forms and Chambara. The Guillen brothers had trained previously with the Sanchez Academy for about five years.

“Dylan taught us about take downs, mounts, and put us in different positions,” said Daniel, while Isaiah said their instructor taught them “Tae Kwan Do and new weapon forms.”

Their mother, Jennifer Guillen, added that she is happy with the instruction, “The boys are doing really good, and having fun.”

Vargas commented that his students “did awesome. They all showed heart and respect, and never gave up.”

Which sounds very much like another young man, who hopes to start his own MMA Academy this summer, appropriately named after himself, Dylan Vargas.

“The coaches teach us sportsmanship and I like the hitting and counter punches,” said the JFK Mid School seventh grader.

The ancient sport, started as an Olympic event in BC 688 though it wasn’t called boxing until 1719, is no stranger to the High Desert Plateau, where regular bouts were scheduled at Kitchen’s Opera House in the last part of the 19^th century and well into the 20^th century.

Updates on the National match will be available in the next issue of The Gallup Sun.

Two employees of Bulk Transfer were injured after a fuel tank exploded in downtown Gallup on Nov. 12.

Around 10 am that day both Gallup Police and Gallup Fire responded to reports of a possible explosion and fire near Round House Lane, located between Highway 66 and Interstate 40 close to Downtown Gallup.

People were asked to evacuate the area due to safety concerns, and multiple streets were closed down for about an hour, including Highway 66 at the intersection of Second and Third Streets and Maloney Avenue.

The fire was contained about an hour after the GFD responded to the scene, and the roads were reopened around 11 am.

Two people were injured during the explosion, and they were both employees of Bulk Transfer. Gallup Fire Chief Jon Pairett said he was unaware of their status as of press time.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

Staff Reports