Roads snarled, drivers stranded following snow storm

During the closing comments of the City Council’s regular meeting on Dec. 15, Mayor Jackie McKinney lauded its public works department and Executive Director Stan Henderson for staying on top of clearing icy roads Dec. 14.

However, feedback from Gallup Sun’s Facebook page reveal a disgruntled community with some parents saying it was a monumental task  to pick their kids up from school. Others got into fender benders, spun out, and were stranded on slick roads for hours. Out of more than 50 comments, there were only a few supportive of the road crews’ efforts.

According to the city’s website, the public works department is responsible for a variety of tasks, which includes “roadway maintenance and repair, storm drainage maintenance and repair, and snow removal.”

The social media comments came pouring in after a comment was posted by the site’s administrator about the seeming lack of road crews from the state on down to the city. A later post, written by a Sun correspondent, also created some inflammatory responses.

One reader posted a comment stating, “School buses couldn’t make it up to some of the schools. I saw school buses heading back to the bus barn at 7:30 pm last night. Some students had to be transported by vehicles other than buses. Parents and families were parking their vehicles and walking home rather than risk getting stuck or spinning out. I was driving on the roads between 4 pm and 4:30 pm. It was clear by the back up in traffic along the 66 and people down the hills, there had been no sanding of the roads.”

Another reader wrote, “It started snowing at noon! It was thick and starting to really come down. I didn’t see a truck until 5 pm and it was sitting in the middle of the street with its lights on, not moving. I got into a one-vehicle accident on Aztec. I hit a patch of ice and slid into the curb. The cop just looked at me as he passed by! City of Gallup, what is your excuse??!!!”

For those that were traveling to and from Gallup, it was no surprise that the roadways were in need of salt and cinders come late Monday morning as the snow clouds started to roll in.

“The timing of the storm because the asphalt was warm and then the rains hit it, and the snow came down, it froze and it created an ice condition,” Mayor Jackie McKinney said. “We got our equipment out immediately but it happened about around that time, where there was so much traffic moving around town that our equipment couldn’t operate because of the traffic congestion in a lot of places.”

He said overall it was just bad timing and a heavy flow of traffic that prohibited them from operating their equipment.

“Our law enforcement was out there,” he said. “Our trucks were there, it’s just there wasn’t so much a removal of snow, or plows, as much as getting cinders on the ice. Our crew is on standby. They watch the weather patterns. They were ready and they know when it is coming in.”

As for the county’s roads, McKinley Road Department Superintendent Jeff Irving said that one issue that the department is having right now is that they are down to one plow truck.

“We got one plow truck that has engine issues, so that is out of service and we have another plow truck that was in a minor accident last week, so we need to get that one fixed,” he said. “So, that one is out of service at the moment too, so we’re running on one plow truck right now.”

He added that he is hoping to have one of their trucks up and running by the end of this week, so that will give them two trucks that are fully functioning.

McKinley County Road Department’s responsibility is strictly to maintain county roads not city roads, which consists of 570 miles of road in the county.

“We have our standard operating procedure for when it snows,” Irving said. “We have routes that we try to hit. We know where some of our problem areas are and we try to hit those early on Monday. Some of the hills down south, we have a couple of hills that are always issues. We hit those first. We have a strategy. We have a plan.”

He said that him and his team worked until 9 pm that Monday night and were back to work early the next Tuesday morning working on some other routes that they did not work on Monday night due to them having a hard time getting back into town.

District 2 City Councilor Allan Landavazo said that the conditions were “pretty abnormal” due to high winds, snow, and the glaze on the roads.

“I think that they did the very best that they could do with what they had to work with, but just with the conditions, the conditions weren’t normal,” he said. “The temperature dropped so quick. It just exacerbated the conditions and made them really bad, fast. There wasn’t thick, thick snow to plow, that wasn’t really the remedy to plow. The remedy in the conditions that existed were to be out and start spreading salt and cinders.”

He also said the icy road problem escalated quickly because of the heavy traffic in a lot of areas that were already congested and it was hard for any kind of salt and cinder-type trucks to get through the traffic.

“All your routes that go to the hospital and the public safety facilities are the first priority outside of 66 or the neighborhoods and things like that,” he said. “That will always be the priority that there is a way that, in an emergency, that people can get to our health facilities like RMCS or IHS. Getting people to the facility where they need emergency care and those are the first priority, and then they filter out from there to other parts of town.”

Gallup Public Works Department  Executive Director Stan Henderson was unable to be reached for comment by press time.

In all, there were about 30 accidents reported, in which none had serious injuries, according to a report.

Tom Hartsock contributed to this report.

By Chrissy Largo 
Sun Correspondent

New Mexico's Public Education Department released its grades today on individual, school performance. Six Gallup-McKinley County Schools earned a Grade of "B" or "A." Congratulations Miyamura High, Gallup Middle College High, Ramah High, Chief Manuelito Middle, Indian Hills Elementary, and David Skeet Elementary students, faculty and administrators for making the grade! There were plenty of C, D, and F grades, but there's only one way up!

As a 19-year-old special needs student approached the bus that takes her home Dec. 9, she tugged at bus driver Gloria Frank’s arm to let her in, who had blocked the doors, drawing either side close to her body as she spoke with fellow bus driver Laverne Jim. It was the end of the school day at Miyamura High and students were just starting to board buses.

Based on bus video footage, the response the Miyamura High senior received when she attempted to board her bus was a punch in the face by a district employee, followed by some choice curse words.

According to Gallup Police Department Sgt. Billy Padavich’s report, and contained within the video footage itself, after Frank struck the student, she called her a “F-cking B-tch, F-cker.”

It also appears that Frank checked her knuckles for damage. The video also shows the student touching her mouth while Jim, sitting in the driver’s seat, seems unfazed by her colleague’s actions as students start to filter onto her bus.

The incident was reported by the student’s mother Denise Jones that same day, and Gallup McKinley County Schools Transportation Director Jeff Bond would take investigative and administrative action the following day.

Jones said during a phone interview Dec. 17, that when she viewed the police report, “it just made me cry.”

“She only got charged with battery and that isn’t fair,” she said. “I am planning on talking to the governor about that.”

In a written letter attached to Padavich’s report, she said that when she picked up her daughter Dec. 9, she was crying, and said that a lady slapped her and “was calling her bad names.”

“My daughter had a red mark on her left cheek and she said her teeth were hurting but I gave her some aspirin for it,” the letter states.

Also, according to Jones’ letter, the next morning she approached bus driver Jim, who said she didn’t slap her daughter, and claimed that she didn’t know the other driver’s (Frank’s) name.

Frank said, in a written statement, that she saw the student running towards the bus and that the student told her to move.

“… So I said wait and she just grab my arm without no reason so I hit her in the mouth, and she grab my arm again and she got on the bus and she was saying stupid, ugly, and shut up to me,” Frank stated. “… I left back to my bus, and Laverne [Jim] told me ‘what wrong with you.’”

Based on video footage, it does not appear the victim was speaking as she was touching and holding her mouth as she boarded the bus.

Meanwhile, on Dec. 16, Bond said he could not reveal if Frank was still working at the district, and to make a written request through Superintendent Frank Chiapetti’s office.

Chiapetti responded via email.

“I cannot go into detail because both are personnel actions,” he said. “Board policy and personnel action was followed with Laverne Jim. Gloria is on administrative leave pending personnel action.”

Sources close to the district said they haven’t seen Frank at work since she got called into Bond’s office, and confirmed that Jim was still driving her bus.

While the district remains tight-lipped on the matter, GPD Capt. Rick White lauded Bond for conducting an immediate investigation and notifying police of the incident.

“Jeff Bond did an excellent investigation on the school district’s behalf,” White said.

White said a Criminal Complaint has been filed in Municipal Court, and Frank is facing one charge of battery – a charge that if it leads to a conviction –  could mean a sentence of up to one year in jail.

As of press time, Municipal Court had not set a preliminary hearing date.

To review the video of the incident and for updates, go to: www.gallupsun.com

By Babette Herrmann

Sun Editor

By Shepherd Waldenberger

Sun Correspondent

Gov. Susana Martinez paid a visit to Gallup Dec. 10 to announce crackdowns on repeat DWI offenders.

New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas joined the governor and a host of other police officers at We The People Park Thursday afternoon to express concerns over continuing drunk driving incidents, and unveiled a list of the “Top-Ten Most Wanted DWI Absconders.”

“The legislature has failed to act to toughen DWI laws, so we’re going to do it,” Martinez said.

She explained that she's tired of the hazards drunk drivers pose to the community and means to put a stop to it. To those most wanted DWI absconders, Martinez has a clear message – “We’re looking for you.”

Kassetas followed up the governor, announcing that they apprehended one of the DWI fugitives earlier that day, noting that in addition to his DWI crimes, he also owed $30,000 in child support.

“He’s going to jail, and I hope he stays in jail,”  Kassetas said.

The news was met by applause from the governor and officers in attendance.  Many officers were from the Mckinley County Sheriff’s Office DWI Unit, which will dispatch staff and extend shifts to help combat drunk driving.

While the logistics of keeping repeat DWI offenders off the roads are complex, the mission is clear.

“Our focus is keeping people safe,” Martinez said.