‘Blue Desert Tour’ heads to Gallup

denizens will soon get a chance to experience some stick-to-the-soul, indigenous-style jazz at the “Blue Desert Tour” concert series.

And the show will appeal to all budgets. It’s only a $5 suggested donation to get into the soiree, slated for May 26.

GallupARTS, the host of the concert series that features three bands, will pull back the curtains at the El Morro Theatre at 7 pm.

The lineup features D’DAT, a contemporary jazz/hip-hop band; li-yat Collective, an all-woman combo inspired by jazz and ancestral songs; and the Rico Jones Quartet, a blues/jazz ensemble.

In an interview with the Sun, gallupART’s executive director Rose Eason said that Delbert Anderson organized the event.

“I think it’s a great combination of local music and also bands that don’t perform in Gallup regularly,” Eason said. “It’s cool to see Delbert bringing new opportunities to our community and we also get to experience music that’s rooted here.”

D’DAT, Anderson’s band, is from Farmington. The Rico Jones Quartet is from Colorado. Julia Keefe, one of the members of Ii-yat Collective, is from Miami.

2022 marks the second year of the Blue Desert Tour. Last year’s event was virtual, and Eason said that allowed 500 people to view the concert on YouTube and Facebook.

Eason gave Anderson all the credit for coming up with the idea for the concert.

“Delbert is kind of the mastermind behind this whole tour,” Eason said. “His whole mission through this program is to promote healing within the Indigenous community through Indigenous music.”

In a May 6 gallupART’s press release, Anderson talked about how excited he was to bring the tour, up close and personal, back to Gallup.

“We’re very excited to bring the Blue Desert Tour to Gallup and to share the healing powers of jazz music with the community,” Anderson stated. “Through the collective experience of jazz we cultivate respect, listening, expression, and improvisation. As Indigenous musicians, it’s really important to us to lift up our communities in these ways.”

The tour will also be making stops in Farmington and Cortez, Colorado. The tour is funded by Chamber Music America.

For more information about the tour, visit: galluparts.org

By Molly Ann Howell
Sun Correspondent

Traveling is about to get a little bit easier for locals. Starting in August, Gallupians will be able to fly directly to Phoenix, Ariz., and back for a little under $200.

Advanced Airlines will offer the service daily. Tickets will have a fixed price of $75 each way, which comes out to $80.63 with tax for the trip down, and $90.73 to come back (taxes are higher in Phoenix). Discount booklets will be offered on the company’s website soon, said Advanced Air President Levi Stockton, who started the company in 2005 as a charter service.

“The business started with me and one airplane, a King Air 350, flying charters out of Los Angeles,” Stockton said. “That’s been our core business of aircraft charter, and over the last seven years we’ve gotten into scheduled service.”

Passengers will be allowed 50 pounds of checked baggage and a carry-on item up to 15 pounds, which must be kept in the passenger’s lap at all times during the 1-hour-6-minute flights. Travel will be on eight-seat King Air 350 planes. (Technically, the planes have a ninth seat, which doubles as the restroom when the plane has only eight passengers.)

The planes also have wing lockers to carry larger items like guns or sporting equipment, and will offer free beverages (beer, soft drinks, water) and light snacks on all flights.

Passengers will not have to go through TSA inspections leaving Gallup, but will need to go through security for connecting flights after disembarking at Terminal 3 in Phoenix.

Each flight will have two pilots on board.

“We have a pretty exciting program with Southwest Airlines, where pilots come work with us for two years then go to Southwest,” Stockton said.

City officials are excited about the new partnership and the economic prospects it brings for the region.

“I don’t just mean in Gallup, but all the way extending into the tribal lands in the Four Corners region, because there’s so many opportunities for economic growth by using air service,” Gallup’s tourism and marketing manager Jennifer Lazarz said.

The new route will mean more advertising for Gallup’s charms as well as easier access. The two-year deal, which the city council is expected to finalize at its May 24 meeting, will have a marketing budget of $50,000 a year from each state’s tourism department and the city, plus Advanced will kick in $25,000 to market its services locally.

Those efforts may include a billboard as well as newspaper, radio and social media advertising.

The biggest advertising boost for the city may be on a service called Boingo, available at Sky Harbor Airport.

“It makes you watch a video before you can sign on for your free Wi-Fi,” Lazarz said. “[It’s] the perfect opportunity to show videos showcasing Gallup.”

Advanced Air is based at Hawthorne Airport in Los Angeles, Calif., which will also create opportunities for Gallup to draft off of the state’s tourism campaign.

“The state tourism department has heavy buys in California. What we’re doing is going to be a strong backup because New Mexico already has a presence,” Lazarz said.

For now, tickets on Advanced Air must be purchased separately from flights on the larger carriers, but a spokesperson said the airline is negotiating with larger carriers to be able to book all connecting flights at once in the future.

Tickets are available for purchase on Advanced Air’s website at www.advancedairlines.com, as well through travel agencies and online booking sites, although Advancd Air “highly recommends booking through our site for expedited service.”

The schedule for Gallup flights is aiming for a late May release.

On social media the company is at @advancedairlines on Facebook and Instagram.

By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent

Without an American-style football team, Homecoming at Rehoboth Christian High School is always planned for the late winter basketball season. As in past years, the version for 2016 proved to be a success, as the court was announced during halftime of the boys’ varsity game against Crownpoint on Feb. 6.

The freshman members, Shawna Drake and Levi Sowers, were the first to step under the arch of balloons on the west end of the basketball arena. Drake is the daughter of Benjamin and Roberta Drake and sings in the Cantabile Choir and plays on the ladies’ Basketball C-team. Sowers is the son of Ted and Kathy Sowers and runs on the Lynx Cross-Country Team.

Sophomores were represented by Halle Lizer and Ivan Vestal. The daughter of Myron and Dottie Lizer, she plays varsity on both the Volleyball and Basketball teams. Vestal is the son of Donovan and Janelle Vestal and runs for the Cross-Country Team.

The junior class was represented by Grace Harrison and T.J. Sherman. Harrison is the daughter of Harrison and Roberta Tayah, a member of the National Honor Society, and a Big Sister in the Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) Program. Sherman is the son of Chance Sherman and Anthalina Lincoln and plays on the JV Basketball Team.

Three couples represented the senior class, with Mariah Begay and Randolph Alonzo named as the second Runners-Up. Begay is the daughter of Julius and Phyllis Begay and is a member of both the NHS and BBBS. No other info was available for Mr. Alonzo.

Runners-Up to the King and Queen were Kayla Cowboy and Jon Kinsel. Cowboy is a member of NHS and plays varsity Basketball and is the daughter of Wilfred and Esther Cowboy. Kinsel is an exceptional young man of God and is the son of Alvina Kinsel.

The 2016 Homecoming Queen is Thea Benally, the daughter of Ted and Maureen Benally. She serves on the Executive Council of NHS and runs for the Rehoboth Cross-Country Team. The 2016 King is Matthew Begay, the son of Darryl and Rebecca Begay, a member of NHS and the Cantabile Choir.

The basketball game played on both sides of the Homecoming ceremony did not draw as much attention as the well-dressed Court, but Rehoboth did put away the Crownpoint Eagles for those interested in the game, 39-28.

The game was not as close as the score indicates as the Lynx jumped out to a 7-0 lead after one quarter and led 17-4 by halftime. James Byker led Rehoboth with 16 points and was assisted by Lance McMullin and Zane Charleston with six points each. Austin Wilson scored four, Christian Jacquez three, and Ethan Joe and D’Andre Palmore had two points apiece for the Lynx.

Braydon Yazzie and Derrick Dixson each scored seven points for the Eagles, while Taven Chavez had six. Mykale Harlen scored three and Brent Jodie two for Crownpoint.

City: Water rate INCREASE needed to replace old pipes

If climate change isn’t a good enough reason to conserve water, hang onto your bathing cap: a stiff rate hike is on the way for Gallup water customers.

Estimates on the cost to business customers weren’t immediately available but the proposed increase, which will likely take effect on customers’ July water bills, will amount to $5.50 to $6 a month for lower-consumption residential customers, and $12 to $15 for residents who use more.

That’s on top of the sewer rate increase last year, and another  22.5% water rate hike will follow in another year. In the end, water rates will go up a little more than 50%.

The higher rates are opposite ends of the same problem: the city’s underground infrastructure is bordering on ancient – 100 years old in many places – and, while the cost of replacement isn’t cheap, repairs just aren’t enough any more.

There’s not a lot of wiggle room. The city avoided substantial water rate hikes for a long time, even as water pipes burst and failing sewer pipes belched nasty fumes – forcing city crews to work day and night to keep up whenever disaster strikes.

The proposed increase is expected to go before the City Council in May. In an informational presentation to the Council April 26, Chief Financial Officer Patty Holland compared the situation to an old car breaking down.

“If your car is burning oil and you see it coming out, continually putting oil in is not going to fix it,” she said. “We want to move from every time you get gas putting oil in, to break it down and rebuild it so that all we need is the fuel to run it and don’t have to put in oil every time.”

Inflation isn’t helping. It’s hitting every sector of the economy, increasing costs for many city projects. Recent department budget requests have included higher costs for everything from fuel to new vehicles. City consultant Erik Harrigan, of RBC Capital Markets, said the Ukraine war and anticipated Federal Reserve lending rate hikes are adding to the pain.

City Councilors understand that any further postponement could raise the cost of both the improvements and any stopgap measures until projects get done, but were alarmed at the amount of the increase.

“I can only imagine the community is going to flip a lid when we go to tell them that we are raising the water rates by 22.5%. I don’t want my water raised by 22.5%. So I guess the question is, is there a way to get other Dist. 3 Councilor Sarah Piano asked. “There are some people that can afford that, but there are a lot of people on fixed incomes that are not getting an increase for inflation and for cost of living and they are not going to be able to afford this.”

Dist. 2 Councilor Michael Schaaf said he’d prefer smaller, incremental hikes.

“This is going to be a big jump. It would be better to just increase a small percentage yearly-  instead of waiting for the big jumps.”

City Manager Maryann Ustick noted that spreading out the rate increase would force the city to postpone capital projects, and could make it harder to get more funding.

Councilors acknowledged that residents will feel the pinch from higher rates, but the alternative is worse.

“Councils before us don’t look at these as pretty projects. They don’t give you glory. It’s not a new building, it’s not anything that you can look at day after day,” said Dist. 4 Councilor Fran Palochak, adding that invisible upgrades can’t wait any longer. “In my district we had a giant break and it destroyed people’s homes. It flooded and flooded and flooded and wasted a lot of water. The fallout from that was horrible.“

Mayor Louie Bonaguidi isn’t looking forward to citizen reactions, but said the Council can’t keep kicking the can down the road.

“We’re going to have to pay the piper one way or the other,” he said “ If we keep it low this year and next year, at some point we’re going to have to raise it and it’s going to be a tremendous raise.”

By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent