Gallup swamped in water line repairs

Accidents happen.

That was the word April 18 from Gallup Water and Sanitation Director Dennis Romero about an accidental water line break at the intersection of 5th Street and Historic Highway 66.

Romero said the contractor working on the 5th Street line replacement project was preparing to tie into the new 16-inch line when the accident happened. There is water line construction activity as far south as Hill Avenue from Highway 66. The new break resulted in standing water and the re-routing of downtown traffic.

“While clearing up the excavated area to allow for more room to finish the tie-in, the contractor, Adame Construction...

Iowa administrator picked over Chiapetti

Frank Chiapetti’s quest to get back into business of education came close last week after not getting picked for the top job at the Flagstaff Unified School District, according to information provided to the Gallup Sun from the Flagstaff Unified School District.

Karin Eberhard, spokeswoman for the FUSD, said Chiapetti was one of 20 candidates who applied for the job. Eberhard said six candidates ended up getting a preliminary interview and two were finalists for the job. Chiapetti was the superintendent at Gallup-McKinley County Schools for about three years.

The Flagstaff Unified School District Governing Board voted 3-1 at a March...

UPDATE: IN CUSTODY

Man faces forgery, identity theft charges

A Gallup man, wanted on theft of identity and forgery charges, is on the wanted list of Gallup police, according to information obtained from Magistrate Court. An arrest warrant was signed April 19.

According to a criminal complaint on the matter, Josh Cucciardi, 33, is the primary suspect connected to a series of forged checks that were cashed at Perry Null Trading Company and which later cleared at Pinnacle Bank in Gallup. The checks did not belong to Cucciardi and were written out in the name of another person. The Gallup Sun is not revealing the name of the person in which the checks were written out to.

Cucciardi’s...