City not in unchartered waters with new plant operator

The Gallup City Council unanimously approved a design, build and operating contract Nov. 22 with CH2M of Colorado in connection with the wastewater treatment plant. The action took place at the regular city meeting. The council vote puts into place an eight-year deal with the firm and replaces a previous treatment plant pact with Severn Trent of Pennsylvania.

“We feel very good about the new contract,” city water and sanitation director Dennis Romero said after the meeting. “We are eager to get to worth with CH2M.”

Romero, hired into the wastewater job in July, said fixed construction costs with the contract are set at...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – President Russell Begaye, the Division of Natural Resources and the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency met with the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a government-to-government consultation regarding the Draft Resource Management Plan and the Environmental Impact Statement for the San Juan Basin Nov. 30.

The discussion focused on gathering input prior to presenting an EIS after the comment period closes. The chapters of Ojo Encino, Pueblo Pintado, Torreon and Counselor could be affected by mineral extraction pending the EIS.

Discussion also focused on the rights, authority and responsibility of each agency and government...

CLOVIS, N.M. – Attorney General Hector Balderas announced Dec. 1 that convicted murderer Albert Jose Ramirez will remain in prison after the New Mexico Supreme Court agreed with the Office of the Attorney General Criminal Appeals Division by affirming his murder conviction.

Ramirez was found guilty by a Curry County jury for murdering his mother’s boyfriend at her Clovis home in 2007. Ramirez shot the victim multiple times including bullets to the head as the victim lay on the ground.

“A tragedy of this nature involving family members is hard to understand, but I hope today’s decision can bring closure to the family of the victim and to the Curry County community as Mr...

McKinley County Sheriff’s Office reported that they responded to 15 accidents over the Thanksgiving weekend.

“Two of those crashes were drivers of vehicles who rolled their vehicles over, and three other drivers were involved in serious crashes and were taken to the hospital,” Lt. Pat Salazar stated in a press release. “Their conditions are unknown at this time.”

A total of 128 citations were issued during this storm for different violations, the press release also states.

“The McKinley County Sheriff’s Office urges motorists to slow down during inclement weather conditions,” Salazar concluded.