Navajo Times (Newspaper) - May 11, 1989, Window Rock, Arizona Inside Capital see page 4 Track 899 page 8 HK The Times Company XXVII 19 newspaper at iho WINDOW NAVAJO ARIZONA 865150310 May A ribbon cutting ceremony was Wednesday morning in front of Bashas 5th store on the Navajo Nation in Window Taking part in the ribbon cutting ceremony front Tony Economic Development Specialist Nathan General Navajo Nation Shopping Center Program Albert council delegate from Michaels Chapter Johnnie vice president of Real Basha Virgil Wyaco Michaels Chapter Tutsi acting executive Division of Economic Development Wayne Basha by Pail Ribbon cutting officially opens Bashas fifth and largest store on the in Window on May The Grand Opening cutting ceremonies were conducted on Wednesday May Bashas is a supermarket featuring quality fresh select gourmet a fullser vice scratch hot and cold takeout deli and a wide assortment of general merchandise In the store includes Bashas first A pharmacist will be on staff Pharmacy are 10 to 7 Monday through Wednesday and Friday and 10 to 2 on Thursday and Customers will discover an emphasis on service including card and magazine a video the a photo developing a customer service desk and a check cashing 10 registers with pro vide fast and accurate Many Bashas members employees are bilingual enabling them to serve both English and A large variety of fresh produce is available in the expanded produce In the meat customers will find service meat and seafood cases with select gourmet beef and fresh rood section are rfa in the modern Customers will enjoy a cold beverage The deli features a wide variety of hot and cold takeout items as well as freshly made European style deli hand dipped premium ice cream and a dining area that seats The bakery features a broad line of fresh decorated cakes as well as cookies and A rack oven provides the best baking bakery cases display the rows jof A broad line of general merchandise items including health and beauty aides is Bashas store hours are 8 to 10 Monday through Saturday and 8 to 8 The management team includes Randy Mast and Conine directors Eddie meat manager Myron produce manager Susie deli manager Nick bakery manager and George Bashas is the store in the familyowned supermarket chain begun in 1932 by brothers Ike and Eddie Basha The company employs approximately members with about 380 members in its five stores on the Navajo Possible misuse of tribal funds being investigated WINDOW ROCK Its become almost a tradition in the Navajo tribal government that whenever there is a change of there soon follows charges of financial mismanagement against the former The government of Interim Chairman Leonard Haskie began issuing statements this past week charging former appointees of Navajo Tribal Chairman Peter MacDonald with misusing tribal On the tribe issued a press release stating that William director of administra tion and finance under Mac may have illegally removed just more than million from the tribes division of natural resources to pay for the Crow Largo Ranch in New The purchase of the ranch was approved in 1988 by members of the Navajo Tribal Council who directed the coun cils budget and finance commit tee to find the money to pay for The in pass ed the buck to Morgan used funds from the natural resources division without the knowledge of its according a tribal press and could now be personally responsible for the As a result of that the division is now in a spending deficit by some monies that will have to be reimbursed by the tribal government in the next few weeks if the division expects to continue to operate for the rest of the fiscal Tribal officials said the tribes current budget and advisory committees have been meeting on this and other priority mat ters that have to go to the tribal council when it convenes next On Duane press information officer for In terim Chairman Leonard said financial records indicate that a good portion of the million mat was appropriated by the council for emergency ser vices to Navajo communities went to MacDonald Only two of the requests for the money was approved by the tribes emergency services com he These approvals gave almost to the chairmans office for emergency purposes and Beyal said that a lack of proper documentation has made it difficult for tribal officials to learn how the money was Of the remaining Beyal said there are a number of questionable all of which were approved by Mac Donald and many of which were approved over trie objections of tribal financial Some of the transactions in clude for a new four bedroom home in Thoreau for Ella There are already other tribal such as the housing program and the revolving loan account for these kinds of Beyal for a consultant for a tribal department and to pay for the taxes of Virginia 1 dont think either of these cases were said A number of MacDonald including Sylvia received checks of or Beyal It appears that MacDonald was just operating the way he always has Beyal referring to a former scandal in MacDonald supporters receiving loans of up to under a tribal emergency loan program in the week before MacDonald left office for the first time in Tribal finan cial officials said that close to 80 percent of those funds were never Then there is the American Express controversy that has been raging in the papers over the past few Council delegates supporting Haskie have released copies of the tribes American Express that showed some was see page 3 Negotiations continue for fired Navajo Police Officers WINDOW ROCK Negotia tions are still ongoing between Navajo Tribal Police Chief George John and 10 former of who he fired about a month the attorney for the police officers said theres a good chance that a couple of those of may be soon getting their jobs The former police most of whom were in command positions when Kellogg was police were fired by John because of their involvement in his who was a major in Kelloggs police was appointed police chief Interim Chairman Leonard When he informed Kellogg of his Kellogg fired and when he refused to turn in his badge and had other of restraint him while they were physically Michael who is the at torney for Kellogg as well as the former said it now ap pears that a couple of the of who were believed to have taken part in that incident werent even For Peter one of former se curity was outside of Kelloggs office when the inci dent according to Stuhff We may be able to get a couple of the officers back on in a short time while the Mothers will have to wait for a grievance Stuhff John said he didnt want to about the situation while negotiations are going Navajo Tribe to hash out million tax debt with IRS By DONOVAN Navajo Times Correspondent WINDOW ROCK The Navajo Tribe has been socked with a million tax from the Internal Revenue according to documents obtained by the Navajo The taxes are owed over a three year from 1985 through and deal with a dispute between the tribe and the IRS over wages paid by the tribe for the Public Employment Program and the Youth Employment Program for those According to the IRS docu the tribe has contended that the payments to workers under these programs do not constitute wages under the IRS The rule cited by the tribe is Revenue Ruling 6838 which states that payments made from funds provided under both Title IIA of the Economic Act of 1964 and the Man power Development and Train ing Act of 1962 to unemployed residents of an Indian reserva tion who participate in a train ing program to acquire skills in the construction trades are not wages subject to federal employment Under the policy used by the persons who are paid a wage have to pay a certain employment usually about 6 percent with their employee pay ing another 3 or 4 The tribe had not been paying any of the employment tax for the two employment citing that revenue IRS documents show that for the year ending the tribe paid employment taxes on paying the IRS about putting the two programs in question added about million more in requiring the tribe in that year to pay an additional The dispute centers around the IRS contention that the two employment programs offered by the tribe do not fit in ruling 6838 because very few of the participants in the youth pro gram are actually trained in a construction job and because very few of the participants of either program find employment as a result of the work they do in the both programs pro vide employment on a tem basis for children during the summer and the unemployed on the reserva tion on a shortterm In other according to the the programs are geared toward providing income for people and not The IRS contends that in the public employment for Must 1 receive ac cording to the IRS means the participants are receiving a Majority tribal council file legal brief to put MacDonald on leave WINDOW ROCK At for the majority tribal council Tuesday filed brief be fore Window Rock District Court Judge Robert Yazzie defending the tribal councils decision to put Navajo Tribal Chairman Peter MacDonald on administrative leave with The brief addressed a number of issues in the case but its main argument was that the attorney for MacDonald failed to present any evidence that showed the tribal council did not have proper cause to put him on Thomas introduced no evidence whatsoever at last weeks according to the much less any evidence that proves the council did not have just The key to this appears to according to the ny given during the hearing and statements in the as to whether the council had enough knowledge or information in its possession at the time of its decision to justify putting Mac Donald on The majority councils brief out that even MacDonald felt there was reason for him to go on administrative leave when he voluntarily agreed to do so on minutes be fore the council passed the reso lution requiring him to do according to the even admitted during that days council session that the allegations against him were I want to first say that I am here before you as all of you accused of one of the most serious crimes I can t hink of betraying the trust that the Navajo people placed in me by selling the power of my office for personal the brief quotes MacDonald as It is apparent from the evidence that MacDonald breached his obligations by fail ing to exercise the powers of his office legal and to the best of his abilities in a way which is beyond cions or the brief Hynes did not submit a brief on his arguments by 5 the official although he did tell court of on Tuesday that it was in the Daniel Deschinny repre Navajo Vice Chairman Johnny said in his brief that the council in stripping his client of his Stripping Thompson of his legislative and executive authorities but allowing him to keep his title and pay is like stripping him of his clothes but allowing him to keep his hat brief He argued that the least the council could have done was allow Thompson a chance to de fend himself against charges he signed false campaign documents to the tribal election commission after the campaign was Deschinny also argued that there was no quorum present when the vote to put Thompson on administrative leave was taken because two members of the council were acting as presiding chairman and vice chairman and therefore were not eligible to The majority councils brief addresses this argument by stating there was no evidence in to support this conten Nor is there any tribal law that strips a council delegate of his right to be a part of a quorum just because he is acting as a presiding chairman or vice As for Thompsons ability to lead the the councils brief said that Thomspon was given three weeks to show that he could run the tribe without un due influence by MacDonald and after he showed he could he was placed on ad ministrative Yazzie is scheduled to give his ruling on this case
