New Mexico’s governor announced residents can access free COVID-19 tests they can administer themselves at home, with results as soon as 24 hours later.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said New Mexicans can order the saliva testing kits. regardless of whether or not they’re symptomatic or have come into close contact with an individual who tested positive for coronavirus. If they wish, residents can use Zoom to talk to a supervisor who can help administer the test before they mail it off to the lab for results.

“We can drive down county positivity rates, help more businesses and workers get safely back on their feet, and keep more New Mexicans healthy,” Lujan Grisham said in a Dec. 22 news release. “But it all starts with you, and it starts with getting a test. This is a very, very promising development.”

Referring to the Department of Health’s color-coded system for tracking the number of coronavirus infections, Lujan Grisham added that testing can get the state from a “red” to “green” status.

Currently, McKinley and all other counties are in the “red” phase, with a positivity rate of 5 percent or more a day, in addition to an average of eight daily cases or more per 100,000 people. In order for any area of the state to be designated as “green,” average cases and positivity rates must be trending at the same rates in the opposite direction.

According to the Department of Health’s website, McKinley County has a positivity rate of 19.4 percent and 134 cases per 100,000 people.

New Mexico had a total of 130,808 positive COVID-19 cases as of Dec. 21, after adding 826 cases that day, according to the state’s health department coronavirus tracker.

Health Secretary-designate Dr. Tracie Collins called testing “an absolutely essential tool in our fight against the virus.”

“When we know who’s positive, we can isolate the virus and cut down on transmission,” she said. “New Mexicans should have every confidence in the testing our state makes available.

Human Services Secretary David Scrase echoed what Collins said about knowing the status of the infection in every community in New Mexico, if as many people get tested as possible.

“I hope New Mexicans take advantage of this simple and accessible means of testing – and continue to undertake all COVID-safe behaviors in their day-to-day lives,” he said.

All anyone needs to get a free coronavirus test is an email address, photo ID and internet access, particularly if they want to access a supervisor to help them take it. Those tested will be asked for basic identification information, including date of birth and their insurance provider. Though even if someone does not have health insurance, they can still get access to a test.

The tests will be mailed to individuals who request it and then sent via UPS prepaid package to the lab. Results will be available 24 to 48 hours after it arrives there.

This at-home testing is made possible through a public private partnership between the state and Vault Health.

More information about the at-home tests can be found at learn.vaulthealth.com/nm/.

The McKinley County Board of Commissioners recently voted to increase the county’s budget by more than $4 million, using revenue from the CARES Act, the economic relief bill signed into law during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Commissioners Bill Lee and Billy Moore approved a motion on the matter during their Dec. 8 meeting with little fanfare.

But County Manager Anthony Dimas, Jr., who spoke with the Gallup Sun afterward, stressed the importance of the funds, saying they are much needed in a place like McKinley County, which has experienced its share of coronavirus cases compared to other parts of the state.

“It’s giving us (the ability) to be able to get PPE [personal protective equipment] and all the sanitizing, cleaning equipment and supplies to help protect the community and protect the staff,” Dimas, Jr. said. “So it is huge for us.”

So far, the CARES Act has allowed McKinley County to purchase personal protective equipment — including gloves, masks, gowns — as well as things like hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies and thermometers, the county manager said.

Dimas, Jr. said the commission’s actions this past week allowed for the $4 million to be disbursed into McKinley’s budget generally, and it will be determined at a later time how the money will be spent.

He noted that the money disbursed to the budget he oversees includes several nonprofits and other nongovernmental entities, but not the school district.

“We’re putting out there what we can,” he said.

According to McKinley County attorney Doug Decker, the CARES Act funds can be used to reimburse the county for any COVID-19-related purchase between March and June — when the new budget was approved — future expenses from September to Dec. 31. It cannot be used for any expenses beyond the new year.

Decker explained that, when CARES legislation was signed into law back in March, the funds went to the states, which then “built the criteria” for counties to apply for CARES Act funding.

Since those federal dollars were not built into the county’s budget, the commission approved the budget in June not knowing it would receive federal coronavirus relief.

“Now that we’ve got this chunk of money coming in, we have to amend our budget — to increase our budget — saying, ‘this is what it’s budgeted for and we can spend it,’” Decker said, referring to the motion made on Dec. 8. “So, we can continue on and have enough — I’m going to use the word ‘stuff’ — to go through COVID-19 for the duration of our needs.”

The $4 million added this week is only a fraction of the $16.1 million total in CARES Act money for McKinley County.

But that amount is not something the county has on hand, so the federal funding is being utilized in the form of a reimbursable grant, according to Dimas.

“We … borrowed from ourselves, put it up front,” he said. “Then, we started doing expenditures and sent those expenditures to the state for reimbursement. Once those came back in, it was just that revenue, and we started again.”

“So we’re rotating that money and as it gets paid, we’ll put it back into the budget — cash — to expend [on] the next projects,” Dimas continued.

He was hopeful CARES money would be available in 2021.

“We’re talking to our state legislators, our federal legislators and advocating that we need more funding … in the future,” Dimas, Jr. said.

But it’s not a dire situation if McKinley County doesn’t receive more CARES funds by January. That’s because CARES has allowed for the county to get enough things for it to “stockpile” to “combat coronavirus into the future.

“We’re going to have PPE, gloves, masks, gowns, sanitizer … at least we still have a little bit to get us through the next few months,” Dimas, Jr. said.

By Kevin Opsahl
Sun Correspondent

Candlelight walk for Suicide victims and survivors

Suicide is a subject that is often difficult to deal with, and much harder to discuss with other people. Whether it’s having to face the loss of a loved one who committed  suicide – or even perhaps contemplating suicide – it’s a problem that has grown and there is no better way of addressing it but head on.

One way at addressing it was in the form of a candlelight walk that was held Sept. 30, at the McKinley County Courthouse Plaza.

The walk was for those who committed suicide and for those who attempted and survived. The event was sponsored by The Door Gallup Christian Center. Of course, the goal of the event was to let the public know that suicide is not the answer, and that someone does care. And that there is hope.

Dr. Kofi Sallar, a local pharmacist who helped organized the event, said even if one person is touched by the event, it’s well worth the effort.

“I don’t think the impact of the event can be easily measured,” he said. “Our goal was not to necessarily drive down the suicide rates in our community to zero. Our effort is a success if one life is saved because someone was inspired somewhere along the line to intervene in another’s crisis, or if a suicidal individual picked up a phone and called for help.”

Sallar gave an opening address and talked about warning signs as well as risk factors that make it more likely that someone will consider, attempt, or die by suicide. A moment of silence was held for those who have committed suicide as attendees held lit candles in remembrance.

“There’s help for those who need it,” he said. “People on the brink of suicide unfortunately may not or cannot see it that way. What remains then is the personal intervention of those of us who remain – family, friends, or even perfect strangers.”

As the event took place, church members handed out resources to those who came to hear about the topic of suicide, but what really stood out were those individuals who attempted suicide, survived, and gave their account of what happened.

One survivor, Donovan Dez, who was going through the emotions and thoughts of suicide, found himself one night standing on the train tracks here in Gallup.

Going through anxiety, frustration, and panic attacks, he said the world and the people closest to him would be better off without him. That night it was the thoughts of his children that snapped him to reality, and he stepped off of the train tracks in the nick of time.

“I knew the truth when it came down to it; it gave me this uncomfortable fear,” he said. “The thought of my daughters at the time living without their father.”

Dez says that when life gets hard we must be willing to reach out because the greatest response starts with us. How he felt now, and then addressing his story is both uplifting and scary, he says.

“Liberty sums up how I felt about surviving and sharing what God has done for me,” he said. “It brought back negative thoughts, had a bit of shame in the beginning, afterwards it struck me knowing that many people in our area deal with this issue on a consistent basis.”

Today Dez’s life has changed drastically because of his faith, and he now has a sense of peace and that there is hope for folks contemplating suicide.

Another suicide survivor who shared her story is Judith Hoskie, who during one evening in December 2013, was contemplating suicide.

With her marriage falling apart, and feeling like her life was a huge mess, she was crestfallen. That night her plan was to say goodbye to loved ones, text her husband to tell him to never leave her children. She just wanted to the pain and hurt to end. However, her plan was thwarted by a simple call from a pastor asking how she was doing.

“His first words were how was I doing; I burst into tears, but no words came out,” she said, “That night, that phone call changed my life forever.”

Hoskie says there is hope out there and her belief in a higher power is the hope that saved her that night.

“I want people to know that there’s hope, no matter how lost and desperate they think they are,” she said. “There’s many people on the reservation who think there’s no way out, that there’s absolutely no hope, to which they think suicide is the answer. I have peace within my heart to speak openly about it.”

Hoskie hopes that her testimony will give others hope and believes that the miracle she was given will be passed on to another precious soul.

Onlookers came forward as they listened to the stories of these suicide survivors, hoping to learn more on how they could do their part in stopping suicide.

One such attendee is Geneva Valesquez.

“I had attempted suicide three times, and I wanted to desperately make sense of my broken life,” she said. “I believe there is hope and we can be that hope to someone by simply asking how they are doing.”

There are plenty of resources for those who are contemplating suicide. One is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

You can get a hold of someone 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255. A skilled, trained crisis worker is there to help you, they are there to listen to you, understand how your problem is affecting you, provide support, and share any resources that may be helpful.

By Dee Velasco
For the Sun

Dine model/photographer creates positive life out of adversity

When Shundeen Modell was a young Diné girl living in Arizona, she faced a lot of obstacles. In her home, she dealt with alcoholic parents, domestic violence, and abuse. At school she was bullied by children who made fun of her for being too thin.

“I remember kids would tease me because I was so skinny,” she said. “They would trip me and push me into the lockers and now it’s funny because when they see me now (laughing), they [guys] try to hit on me on Facebook.”

“I’ve forgiven them, but I just want to move on. But [I am] watching my boundaries.”

Raised in Teesto, Ariz., then relocated to Sanders, Ariz., the full blooded Diné model and photographer recalls living in a world of chaos and now uses that to improve her life and help others.

The 40-year-old said she overcame her background and learned to trust people in front of the camera, and behind it, too.

It’s part of something she described as “body positive.”

“’Body positive’ is feeling good about how your body looks, even if your body is not perfect like those you find on fashion magazines,” Modell said. “If you simply can be confident in who you are, you can get anywhere, and don’t care about what others think.”

This was what her late brother Jake Modell told her when she was sixteen years old. That’s also when he suggested she get into modeling. She said it was her brother who really pushed her to become what she is today; even when her family fell apart.

At the time she said she didn’t quite know how to connect with her brother’s words.

“He would tell me to not be shy around people,” she said. “He kept pushing me to tell the world — ‘This is who I am’, to be comfortable in my skin and to have a high esteem.”

Modell says her name Shundeen means “my light” in Navajo, but she was always portrayed as the black sheep in her family.

She said that her family has objected to some of her photography portraits.

“Some of my photo shoots are implied nude or boudoir, but I never go further,” she said. “I’m just pushing out of my tradition and telling others that you can do whatever you want. Push for whatever you want. It’s like a tease and putting it to the imagination. When I’m modeling, I’m not doing it for myself, I’m doing it for body positive.”

Modell says little girls are brought up to think that you must be what they see on magazines and television, even if this means starving yourself to have a body like those models.

“You can be beautiful no matter what size you are. You don’t have to be photoshopped either,” she said.

Modell said in order to do what she wanted, she sometimes had to veer off the traditional Diné path.

MODELL AS PHOTOGRAPHER

Modell said when she posed for photo shoots, she often wondered why the photographer would move all over the place. That curiosity motivated her to get involved behind the camera.

Modell recalled that at the beginning she felt awkward with a camera in her hands. But with some help from a seasoned photographer, she became more comfortable with the craft.

“When I take pictures, I see it in a different perspective,” she said. “I’m showing the world what I see, and it feels pretty good, I capture people’s memories. I love it and I’m always with my camera wherever I go.”

She said she now she loves taking pictures and seeing something different in what she shoots. Whether it’s taking pictures at car shows or scenes from her native land, she wants to capture these moments and hold them in time. That’s true especially with family portraits.

“It’s fun when I capture family moments on my camera. These are memories that they can look at always, and that makes me happy.”

Modell’s photography work primarily consists of low rider cars, family shots, and random subjects.

Modell came up with the name Mountain Cove Photography, which in her Diné language is Dzilglahnii.

Modell lives in Denver, Colo. When she is not modeling or taking pictures, she works as a Certified Nursing Assistant and a phlebotomist.

For more information on Shundeen Modell, you can contact on Facebook/Shundeen, or emails This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for my modeling, and for photography This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By Dee Velasco
For the Sun