Growing up on the Navajo Reservation, Stanley Bain was afraid to dream. The future looked less than hopeful: graduate from Holbrook High School in Arizona, then get a dead-end job there or in some other bordertown. Grander opportunities seemed out of reach.

“I didn’t think I was afforded or had the right to dream,” Bain recalled. “I could maybe find a job in town. I didn’t think I was allowed to dream and do what I wanted to do. I felt alone.”

A lot has changed. Today Bain is realizing his dream of being a filmmaker, working the festival circuit with his short film “Together” and pursuing new projects.

“Together” screened at the Santa Fe Film Festival over the...

Funds from New Mexico MainStreet will help the city complete downtown upgrades

New Mexico MainStreet Awards, a program of the New Mexico Economic Development Department, granted Gallup $100,000 to through the Capital Outlay Program Jan. 14. This program awards funds annually to continue its work on the Coal Avenue Commons Alleyways Project which reached the completion stage of Phase I last summer.

Gallup’s funds will be to fix drainage and flooding issues and make the alleyways more pedestrian-friendly. Utility lines hanging in the alleys will also be buried.

Since the downtown district in Gallup has faced flooding issues, recent upgrades have focused on renovating the storm...

Tobe Turpen Elementary first-grade teacher uses skills from her previous career to help students succeed

Each month, Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe recognizes one local teacher within the Gallup area for his or her determination to help students go above and beyond. Prospective teachers are nominated by students who feel they deserve to be recognized. This month, Michelle Viloria of Tobe Turpen Elementary school is the recipient of the Teacher of the Month award.

This is Viloria’s fifth year teaching first grade. Before teaching, she worked as a software developer in Las Vegas, Nev. However, she’d always loved working with children. Her career as a software developer had been...

On the 36th annual celebration of Martin Luther King Day, people in the Gallup area gathered at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church at 1121 W. Lincoln Ave. to give and receive food and clothing donations and distributions following the principles of Dr. King to help those in need. The event was sponsored by the church, the City of Gallup and included help from the Gallup Community Pantry.