SHIPROCK – On Dec. 13, a house fire in Shiprock, N.M., claimed the life of an unidentified male. The Navajo Nation Police and Fire Department responded to the fire.

The fire was reported to have taken place north of Bluff Road and east of 4th Lane.

The Shiprock Police Department was on-scene within eight minutes after the fire was reported and the Shiprock Fire Department was there within 12 minutes. Support was also given by the Ojo Amarillo and Newcomb Fire Departments. The NNFD had enough support and manpower that they didn’t need to alert the San Juan County Fire Department.

After the fire was extinguished, a burnt, deceased human body was discovered within the...

Three recently elected county officials took the oath of office at the County Courthouse in commission chambers. Judge Louis DePauli, Jr. did the swearing in on Dec. 14.

SHIPROCK – A house fire in Shiprock claimed the life of an unidentified male Dec. 13. The Navajo Nation Police Department and Fire Department responded to the fire.

The fire was reported to have taken place north of Bluff Road and east of 4th Lane.

The Shiprock Police Department was on-scene within eight minutes after the fire was reported and the Shiprock Fire Department was there within 12 minutes. Support was also given by the Ojo Amarillo and Newcomb Fire Departments. The NNFD had enough support and manpower that they didn’t need to alert the San Juan County Fire Department.

After the fire was extinguished, a burnt, deceased human body was discovered within the...

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Santa Fe, N.M., returned a verdict Dec. 12 finding Cornelia Tom Tapaha, 40, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., guilty on assault charges after a six-day trial.  The verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division, and Director Jesse Delmar of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.

Tapaha was arrested in June 2016, on an indictment charging her with assault with a dangerous weapon, a vehicle, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  The indictment alleged that Tapaha committed the crimes on July 8, 2015...