Animal ordinances, NCI grant money, legal fees also discussed

The Gallup City Council Regular Meeting on Dec. 12 began with a special work session with Jon DeYoung, the assistant city manager. The session focused on proposed amendments to the utility services ordinance for the city.

After the special session, and a short break, the regular meeting began and the council reviewed amendments to an animal control ordinance.

Most of the revisions passed without discussion, but Mayor Jackie McKinney asked for clarification on language that read: “…allow for animals that disturb the peace to be seized or impounded.”

“We are going to have an issue when the neighbor calls and the dog...

A woman pulled from a mid-morning house fire was pronounced dead at the scene Dec. 12.

“[Firefighters] found a person unconscious inside of the house,” Gallup Police Department Capt. Marinda Spencer said. “They weren’t successful in reviving the individual.”

The victim was later identified as Terri Martinez, 52, of Rio Rancho, N.M. She worked at the Gallup Indian Medical Center.

Spencer said the call on the fire, at 608 S. Woodrow, came in Metro Dispatch shortly before 11 am.

First responders were on scene within minutes, and kept the blaze from spreading to other structures.

Office of the Medical Investigator officials arrived on scene to investigate the death.

At...

the first open-area death of the season

Gallup Police Department officials believe the death a man found on Gallup’s east side Dec. 8 may be exposure related.

Police responded to a call on a report of a dead body south of KFC east, 2504 E. Highway 66, shortly after 11 am.

The man was later identified as Ambrose Lincoln, 65, of Window Rock, Ariz. His body was found behind a shed.

Police didn’t give an estimated time of death, but this likely marks the first open-area death of the winter season.

“It looks like weather played a factor, but his body has been sent to OMI [Office of the Medical Investigator] in Albuquerque for autopsy,” GPD Capt. Marinda Spencer said.

Lincoln...

FARMINGTON, N.M. – On Dec. 11, the Resources and Development Committee approved Legislation No. 0465-17 with a vote of 4-0, which confirms the reappointment of Bobby Begaye to the Navajo Nation Telecommunication Regulatory Commission for a four-year term.

Begaye is Tsi’naajinii (Black-Streaked-Wood People) and born for Tł’ógí (Weavers –Zia Clan) and is from St. Michaels. He has a bachelor’s degree in computer science systems from Northern Arizona University and has previously served on the commission for 12 years.

RDC vice chair Council Delegate Benjamin L. Bennett (Crystal, Fort Defiance, Red Lake, Sawmill), who sponsored the legislation, asked for the committee’s...