Each month, Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe recognizes one local teacher within the Gallup area for his or her determination to help students go above and beyond. Prospective teachers are nominated by students who feel they deserve to be recognized.

This month Lucy Montoya, who works at Indian Hills Elementary as a first-grade teacher, is the recipient of February’s “Teacher of the Month” award.

Montoya grew up going to school in Gallup. In an interview with the Sun, she said she spent her summers playing school with her sister, but that wasn’t what led her to teaching.

After high school, she was a preschool assistant at Gallup Catholic School. That decision ultimately led her to...

Turn dream projects into a reality

Digital technology has revolutionized many industries over the last few decades, but it tends to favor those who can afford access to the world’s digital onramps. The price of entry can be steep, especially in places where Internet access can be spotty or even nonexistent.

GallupARTS wants to be an onramp for local artists, with a newly opened Artist Lift Zone, made possible through local grants. The Zone is a space with a computer, lighting, photo and video equipment, and free WIFI to help artists manage their online presence.

“It’s really an open-ended, adaptable space for them to do what they need to do,” Rose Eason, executive director of...

As Gallup works to bounce back from two years of COVID-19 limitations, key summer events look to be on track but some may have a few modifications.

It’s still difficult to predict what direction the pandemic may take, so this year’s events still come with the caveat that another wave could spoil the best-laid plans.

“There’s been a pattern with COVID, when the restrictions are relaxed, nobody wears a mask and then they go out and party and everyone gets infected again,” Gallup Business Improvement District Executive Director Francis Bee said.

But his biggest worry for the summer season is rain, which can spoil outdoor events.

Barring catastrophic weather or intrusive...

When self-taught metalworker Michael Mitchell transitioned from silversmithing to working with steel and other metals, he didn’t anticipate receiving a commission to craft a sword to honor Gallup native Hiroshi H. “Hershey” Miyamura, a second-generation Japanese American Medal of Honor recipient and former POW who served in the United States military during the Korean War.

Mitchell told the Sun that he learned how to craft steel by working on personal projects as a “backyard blacksmith” shaping steel, copper, brass, and other metals into horseshoe art and various objects on a trial-and-error basis.

Last year, Mitchell “wanted to test myself” by making a sword. “The...