Some new faces are now at the helm of the McKinley County Democratic Party. And, relative to the same party line, the State Central Committee, representing McKinley County, recently elected new officers as the political ups and downs of 2017 roll along.

Albert Shirley, a former member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, confirmed that Cas Hoefman (Gallup) and Sonlatsa Jim-Martin (Tohatchi) were elected chairman and vice chairman of the McKinley County Democratic Party on March 28, respectively. Hoefman announced candidacy during a February meeting of the party.

“We’re getting everything set at the local level and at the state level,” Shirley said. “Everyone agrees that...

Funding still necessary to tackle problem

One of the first things one noticed when walking into the April 11 stakeholders meeting on how to best go about combatting Gallup and McKinley County’s substance abuse problem is that area professionals area ready and willing to work toward education and prevention.

But to really get at things, funding is key. That, in part, was the consensus that came out of a 90-meeting called by U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and held at the Gallup-McKinley County Student Support Center.

“This is to get the various behavioral health professionals together and talk about what the problem is from various standpoints,” Lujan said. “This is about...

Festival brings out nearly 1,600

Adults and young people alike explored the many different worlds of books April 7 at the 3rd annual Gallup Authors Festival. The two-day event was held at the Octavia Fellin Library and saw a little more than 1,600 people pass through the doors of Fellin and the Children’s Branch Library.

The theme of the 2017 Gallup Authors Festival was “Unity Through Diversity.”

“It was a tremendous success,” Library Director Mary Ellen Pellington said. “We had a variety of writers and every year there are more and more people who attend the festival.”

The event featured book talks and discussions such as one called “Diversity in Poetry.”...

Earlier today, April 7, at approximately 7 am, a New Mexico State Police Officer stationed in Gallup stopped a 2016 Hyundai Sonata 4-door vehicle on the west end of Gallup on Interstate 40 for a traffic violation.

During the traffic stop, the officer asked the driver, who was identified as Stephen Thompson, 33, from Oklahoma City, O.K., to stay out of the vehicle. During the stop Thompson quickly walked back to his vehicle and entered it through the front passenger door. The officer reached into the vehicle, through the open passenger door, in an attempt remove Thompson and was repeatedly ordering him away from the car. Thompson was able to drive off with the officer...