Former director Vince Tovar resigns; Matzke now at the helm

Residents around the city won’t notice changes in turning on tap water or with flushing their toilets, but there is a top-level employee change connected to Gallup’s waste water treatment plant.

City Human Resources Director Klo Abeita confirmed April 19 that Vince Tovar, former city executive director of water and sanitation, resigned the job Feb. 26. The city remains in the hunt for a qualified person to replace Tovar, officials said.

“I am leaving to pursue other opportunities and challenges,” Tovar wrote in a one-page resignation letter to City Manager Maryann Ustick. “The highlight of my tenure with the city...

In 1981, Jack Henry Abbott wrote the acclaimed “In the Belly of the Beast,” a book of letters to famed novelist and journalist Norman Mailer about his experiences as what Abbott saw as a brutal and unjust prison system.

The book was an account of the 37-year-old Abbott’s life behind bars for more than two decades.

Gallup isn’t too far removed from the theme of Abbott’s book, especially when one considers the size of the Octavia Fellin Library.

The library is the Indian Capital’s take on ‘In the Belly of the Beast.’

This isn’t a tongue-lashing directed at the Gallup City Council and it certainly isn’t a ploy to make people go out and buy a book most probably have...

ALBUQUERQUE— New Mexico Voices for Children cheered President Obama’s designation of the Sewall-Belmont House in Washington, D.C., as the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument April 12.

The historic residence was the epicenter of the Suffragist Movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The house, not far from the U.S. Capitol, was home to Suffragist leader Alice Paul and was where the U.S. movement for women’s suffrage gained a foothold in the nation’s capital. For years it served as headquarters for the National Woman’s Party.

“Increased civic participation and equality across race and gender are a necessity as we seek to end poverty and provide...

It’s a tough job, serving as Gallup’s general services director.

The resignation of Rick Snider, the city’s general services director until April 8, is a big loss for the city. Love him or hate him, Snider leaves behind some big shoes to fill.

The Chicago native came to the city five years ago initially to manage Gallup’s customer care center as the deputy director of information technology. Duties within the purchasing department and operations at the municipal warehouse soon became part of Snider’s domain. Lately, though, most know Snider as the guy who oversees operations at the historic El Morro Theatre and the Downtown Events Center.

Snider deserves credit for doing...