Lone robber brandished a pistol

The lone robber of a west side hotel remains on the lam following a June 21 robbery of the Knights Inn & Suites at 3208 W. Historic Hwy 66.

Gallup Police Officer Charles Steele recorded in a report that at about 12:51 am, a male, possibly Native American and wearing a zip-up black hoodie, black sunglasses, and a red bandana, told a desk clerk at the hotel to “give me the money.”

Steele noted that the clerk on duty stated that the robber entered through a west-side door of the two-story building. The robber got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.

“The suspect walked around the corner to the front counter and showed the clerk the gun in his...

Less than 30 percent of registered vote in primary

McKinley County Democrats fervently backed incumbents in the June 7 primary election, sending familiar names back to the Roundhouse in January. McKinley’s sole race featuring a Republican was related to the 11th Judicial District seat.

But the real story in McKinley County was the low number of voters who turned out for the primary, both Democratic and Republican.

The cost to put on the election was around $80,000, according to Rick Palochak, executive director of the McKinley County Bureau of Elections.

The canvassing process now moves on to the state, as required by law, Palochak said. The McKinley County Board of Commissioners...

The Gallup City Council passed a resolution June 14 requesting that the US Congress place a hard dollar cap on the city’s obligation under a repayment contract with the Bureau of Reclamation relevant to the near $41-billion Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. The council approval was unanimous and was not met with opposition.

City Attorney George Kozeliski introduced the matter to council members, explaining that a series of events have occurred over the past two years that has lead city staffers to believe that the cost of the Water Project will far exceed original estimates.

“The federal government is in charge of about 80 percent of the project,” Kozeliski explained. “They...

City keeps promise not to abandon NCI

The Gallup City Council kept its word June 14 and unanimously approved emergency funding for Na’nizhoozhi Center, Inc., commonly called NCI, and  Gallup’s sole detox center. City Manager Maryann Ustick informed council members that a current emergency-funding contract that the city shares with NCI expires June 30.

NCI runs the detox center, which was established back in the 1990s. Ustick told council members that the city has expended a one-time amount of $234,000 toward NCI operations. The re-instituted agreement pertains to the detoxification center and for emergency shelter during winter months.

“Since full annual funding has not yet...