Gallup talks animal shelter, vet services

The city of Gallup, McKinley County, and the state Department of Finance and Administration are in lock step with a new Joint Powers Agreement regarding animal control.

The Gallup City Council OK’d the document several weeks ago and one aspect of the agreement pertains to the possibility of building a new animal shelter. Currently, there is an area animal shelter on Hamilton Road, off US 491.

“It is something the county and city want to look into,” City Attorney George Kozeliski said of funding and site selection for a new animal shelter. “It would take about $2 million for a new shelter facility to be built.”

Kozeliski...

New top cop was DEA agent

As a special agent with the US Drug and Law Enforcement Administration in Denver, Colo., Phillip Hart, 53, participated in myriad criminal investigations over the span of two decades. As a police officer in Lakewood, Colo., Hart enforced the law — from traffic violations to street crime.

The city selected Hart to lead the GPD in mid-June, ending a months-long search to replace Robert Cron who retired in March. Come July 1, Hart will bring his years of law enforcement experience to the Gallup Police Department.

“I am very pleased to have Phillip Hart as our new police chief,” City Manager Maryann Ustick said in a prepared statement. “He is energetic...

Brent Detsoi wants to restore trust to District 14

He may be the youngest candidate running for the Navajo Nation Council Delegate seat in District 14, but Brent Detsoi believes “…we need to restore trust in our Navajo leaders and that needs to start now. We need young in there.”

A former Gallup Police officer, Detsoi is from Twin Lakes, and is a former probation and parole officer with the Navajo Nation office in Shiprock. Detsoi, 27, is one of 13 people running for the post vacated by Mel Begay.

A special council delegate election is June 28.

“We need to advocate for increased funding and keep our governmental leaders accountable,” Detsoi said in an interview with the...

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...