$1.50 Navajo TimesDINÉ BI NAALTSOOS VOLUME LIX | NUMBER 26 THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 NAVAJOTIMES.COM Lizer defends attendance at Trump event as lobbying BY CINDY YURTH TSÉYI’ BUREAU WINDOW ROCK — Vice President Myron Lizer was roundly criticized on social media Tuesday for attending a “Students for Trump” event in Phoenix on the Navajo Nation’s tab, but Lizer said Wednesday he used the event as an opportunity to corner some key congress people. He said he wanted to keep the Navajo Nation in the forefront as the Nation lobbies for an extension of the deadline to spend the NAVAJO TIMES | DONOVAN QUINTERO $714 million it recently received from the Dozens of law enforcement vehicles drive down Nizhoni Boulevard on Friday as they escort the hearse of fallen Navajo Nation Senior Police Officer Michael Lee, who federal government in coronavirus relief. died from COVID-19 early Friday morning. Lizer caught flak from what he calls the “armchair generals” on Facebook and Twit- ter for disregarding his own “stay home, stay safe, save lives” mantra, violating the Navajo Nation curfew and putting himself at risk for catching the coronavirus. In a telephone interview with the Times he disputed all those criticisms. ‘A GREAT LOSS’ “The (Navajo Nation) president and I have been in hotspots all over the Navajo Nation delivering supplies,” he noted. “Chilchin- beto, Kayenta, Chinle … and nobody batted Academy classmate saddened by officer’s passing an eye.” Actually, some people did bring up the fact that the president and vice president BY DONOVAN QUINTERO probably shouldn’t both be in hot zones at NAVAJO TIMES SEE DEFENDS | A2 WINDOW ROCK – He was a husband, a father, and a Navajo Police officer. Senior Police Officer Michael Lee was also in charge of putting smiles on children’s faces during Christmas in the Chinle District. He gave out toys in the “Toys4Tots” pro- gram and regularly traveled to California to haul donated toys back. “My heart saddens as I express my deepest condolences Nez’s plan to the family of Officer Michael Lee and ahxéhéé for your many years of service to the Navajo Nation,” Vernita Largo wrote on Saturday on the Navajo Police’s social media page after learning of Lee’s death due to COVID-19 on June 19. OK’d, with “Children of (Navajo) Nation will miss you during Christ- NAVAJO TIMES | DONOVAN QUINTERO mas,” she said, “you were Santa to them, you took long SUBMITTED Gallup Police officers offer their condolences to members of the trips and hauled toys back to Nation just to brightened up a Navajo Police Department and bump elbows instead of shaking child’s face.” changes hands on Friday after a procession for the hearse carrying Commander Roscoe Herrera, a fellow Navajo Law En- Navajo Nation Senior Police Officer Michael Lee, who died from forcement Academy graduate, remembered his classmate Michael Lee COVID-19. from their days at the academy in Toyei, Arizona. BY ARLYSSA BECENTI The academy then was notorious for having a high drop- NAVAJO TIMES Law out rate due to the demanding physical rigors drill instruc- SEPT. 8, 1969 enforcement tors forced on police recruits. - JUNE 19, 2020 WINDOW ROCK – President Jonathan Nez officers from “We all had to pull together to get through,” Herrera last Friday asked the Navajo Nation Coun- the Navajo remembered. “We had to depend on each other and work as cil to move forward its their vote on Legis- Nation Police a team.” lation 0116-19 — Nez’s plan for coronavirus Department, After six months of pushing one another, studying for ex- relief funding — and to not add any more the Gallup ams together, running and doing pushups together, Herrera amendments. Police said they got their badges pinned together. After more than seven hours of discus- Department Although it challenged him to stretch his memory back 29 sion and adding six additional amendments, and the years, Herrera remembered how they “went through hell” the Council approved the bill by a vote of Farmington to become Navajo Nation Police officers. 20-1. Police He was not sure but recalled that 14 recruits become A few weeks prior, the president had Department police officers that day in October of 1990, in the midst of upset Council by line-item-vetoing its own stand at the Gulf War. While many young Navajos prepared for war, plan for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and attention Lee’s and Herrera’s services to the Navajo Nation had just Economic Security Act funding. during a begun. So it was more or less: You line-item veto procession us, we amend you. ceremony. SEE SADDENED | A2 The bill passed Friday in order to tap NAVAJO TIMES | DONOVAN QUINTERO into the federal CARES Act funding, which grew to $714 million this week, had been given two amendments at the Budget and Finance Committee and over 30 other amendments during the Naabik’iyati’ be- fore it hit the Council floor. “We got to move forward on this,” said Only half of federal DV grant makes it to shelters Nez during his presentation to Council. “There was some amendments that were BY CINDY YURTH the total for all the nation’s tribes. allocations of the federal funds, which arrived on given to us and some of them are concern- TSÉYI’ BUREAU But after adding up their individual grants, the Nation on Feb. 28. ing to us, but what we need to do now is Emily Ellison, executive director of Battered Some of the other shelter directors question move forward. No amendments, just move WINDOW ROCK — On top of the fact that the Family Services in Gallup, discovered only whether this is a legitimate use of Family Vio- forward.” seven domestic violence shelters that serve the $960,000 of that is actually going to the shelters. lence Prevention and Services Improvement Act “I’ve been doing my own requests to my Navajo Nation have been waiting eight months The Nation takes 30 percent of the grant for funding. community members on how we should for the tribe to grant them contracts and release administrative services (by contrast, states are For starters, the Gentle Ironhawk shelter, use this funding,” said Budget and Finance their federal pass-through funding, had their allowed to take five percent) — about $540,000. purchased by the tribe in 2018 during the Rus- Committee member Nathaniel Brown re- contracts revised three times and endured three But that still adds up to $1.5 million. Where is the sell Begaye administration, is not even open. Or garding Nez’s presentation. “As elected peo- changes of leadership at the tribal department other $300,000? rather, said Cindi Atene, the shelter’s principal ple for our community, we owe it to them that oversees them, the executive directors According to Brenda Tsosie, principal accoun- witness victim advocate, “we’re semi-open.” to listen to them and bring their concerns recently did some math and discovered that just tant for the Navajo Nation Division of Social Ser- While the 30-bed shelter is still in the process forward to the Navajo Nation Council. over half the tribe’s Family Violence Prevention vices, some of the federal grant money is going of preparing to open its doors, she is answering “Does he (Nez) want to legislate every- Act funding is coming to them. to fund the two domestic violence shelters run an average of two calls a day — and referring the thing now?” he asked. “If he does, he can The Navajo Nation gets a little more than $1.8 by the tribe, Gentle Ironhawk in Blanding, Utah, million annually from the feds to fund DV ser- and the Northern T.R.E.E. house in Shiprock. SEE HALF | A3 SEE CHANGES | A3 vices on the Navajo Nation, about nine percent of Those two shelters have already received their INSIDE WHERE TO BUY OPINION A6 COMMUNITY C1 The Times is sold in stores BUSINESS A10 EDUCATION C3 VOLUME LIX | NUMBER 26 throughout the region. OBITUARIES A11 CLASSIFIEDS D1 navajotimes.com/ © 2020 Navajo Times Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved SPORTS B1 PUBLIC NOTICES D2 contacts/locations A2 THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 NAVAJO TIMES Navajo Times closes for 2 weeks due to coronavirus NAVAJO TIMES quarantine to protect our staff, our legal notices and classified adver- that we do here at work.” 6, after the conclusion of the July 4th newspaper carriers and all of our cus- tising,” said Arviso. “It’s just that Duane Beyal, editor of the Navajo holiday. WINDOW ROCK – The Navajo Times tomers and clients. we will publish all of that informa- Times, said this is a special kind of For questions or more information Publishing Company Inc. will close its “All of our staff have been tested tion in an online issue. We’ve never emergency that requires everyone to on business, advertising and circula- doors for 14 days beginning June 19 and we will wait until all of the results missed a publishing date but we pull together and support one anoth- tion issues, contact Arviso at 928-309- due to the coronavirus pandemic. have been received,” he said. “As a re- have been delayed a few times in er. 9447. For news and coverage, contact According to CEO/Publisher Tommy sult of the testing, it is most important the past due to mechanical or press “Not publishing a newspaper you Beyal at 928-205-3185. Arviso Jr., the Navajo Times newspa- that we follow proper protocol and ad- issues. can hold in your hands goes against “I hope that all of our readers, per will not be printed for the next two here to the 14-day quarantine period, “This time we around we are en- everything I’ve been trained to do,” advertisers and the general public weeks, the June 25 and July 2 issues.