Navajo Times, The (Newspaper) - July 10, 1980, Window Rock, Arizona WINDOW ARIZONA THURSDAY JULY 1980 Community perspectives Waiting for Action TIME f 1 Fourth of July celebration draws record crowd WINDOW council delegate and one of the coordinators for last weeks Fourth of July celebration estimated that almost attended the Alfred Michaels chapter president and another of the agreed that the attendance was substantially higher the expected but said firm attendance figures wont be available for a couple of Persons who attended the four day fete said crowds were substantially higher than they have ever seen for the Jackson for that the crowds on Friday and Saturday were more than Many of those who attended the night activities at the fair got in since the gates were unmanned after 9 Fair officials said the reason for this was to prevent people from having to pay to get into the fair grounds and then pay again to get into the dances held nightly at Gorman The actual paid attendance is expected to be substantially less than the estimated Fair officials said that everything went that this WM the first that the Michaels chapter hat sored the Mike to be an high for the Fourth of July festivals which have been having problems during the past several mainly because there have been different sponsors almost every Last years sponsored by the Window Rock Powwow lost money and attendance was estimated as only about half of this The increased attendance was due to several according to fair The fact that Flagstaff cancelled its which is held annually during the July Fourth enabled many people who go to Flagstaff to attend the Window Rock Fair this The although a little hot with temperatures hitting the was sunny throughout the first three Dark clouds were present on Sunday but fair officials said they seemed to do little to decrease the The which distributed more than in attracted a total of 485 another The which also gave out a record Cont on 2 Tribal budget being finalized be corrected if sponsors the event again next This fair expected WINDOW rations on the fiscal year 1981 budget arenow in the final stages by the tribes budget and finance ac cording to William director of the tribes ad ministration and finance The in meetings held during the past three weeks in have basically approved a budget for submission to the Navajo Tribal Council when it later this Earlier this the committee asked Morgan and other members of the chairmans budget review committee to go back through find to fund a con world program for The which received about last was deleted in early deliberations on the The committee is expected to come through with a balanced budget of somewhere in tile neighborhood of million or with about million to million being set aside for use by the tribal departments and another million to be used for economic development Because of these last minutes changes being requested by the budget and finance tribal which was scheduled to begin its summer session on Thoreau faces difficult energy issues is having difficulty handling its rapid growth as well as seeing a lot of energy noted one which used lo be a community of has now grown to more than But officials realize now that any community that wishes grow must have And thats what everybody is talking about say local During the middle part of Thoreau residents were rationing water because water tanks in the immediate area were completely said Barbara secretary for the Thoreau Its been such a dry summer almost everybody was using water to keep their lawns But that has Everybody during the past weeks has been rationing Community planners are just not sure how much more the community will she With more energy development going on in the Thoreau will have to have more water and facilities to accommodate the There is no industry in but people who work in the mines and with energy companies have begun settling in and around she Some of these companies include Phillips Petroleum optimistic about repaying tribal loan My The advisory meeting has been and will now be held on July spite of the fact that the tribes sawmill has been losing money the past two the general manager is optimistic that they will soon be able to pay the tribe the money it owes for the cutting of tribal timber in Robert general manager of Navajo Forest Products Industries said that they to pay the money with interest when the market owes the tribe million because of ac cumulated stumpage fees which had to be paid to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Since a timber task consisting of the BIA and Navajo Forestry agreed to readjust stumpage fees to a fair market value based on production At the that means a reduced stumpage said Gerald Navajo tribal We felt the BIA was overcharging and their ap system was in said He cited dif in the tribes mill and an Albuquerque which he felt justified paying a lower stumpage Stumpage fees are based on market conditions and the cost of The timber on the reservation is counted as a tribal resource and thus has to pay the tribe a fee for every tree it cuts While this fee is paid to the BIA as trustee of the all of it eventually is turned over to the tribal treasury with has to maintain a town keep people working and ship all lumber by truck rather than by said Because of these and other I feel our stumpage should be a little he In the issue was resolved and the stumpage was o The mill has suffered because of inflation and recession resulting in decreased housing Mosby Our market is tied to the housing he and people cant afford to build these Many mills in the country are closing or laying off Many people dont pay attention to the said The lumber business has been depressed for eight or nine Its a tough Mosby Were not losing as much as other Some people think weve bottomed put on the meaning he didnt feel that the lumber market would go much lower than it is it is difficult to say what will happen in the next few he The mill has cut back as much as they Mosby and there are no plans to reduce He said that less than 20 people in mill work have been laid off in the last three months and most of those had an option os working in another area of the Since the mill has generated more million in stumpage and net said A total of million has been in wages and They have spent million for road he There are presently billion board feet of pon derosa and douglas fir in the tribes said and though this amount is presently the forest can be a renewable resource if handled con f 3 Tribe to establish radio network WINDOW the next five years the Navajo Tribe could have its own radio station as well as a mass media according to tribal plans are un derway to identify an AM frequency which will be used to broadcast live Navajo programs within and outside the reservation Ray Chairman of the Navajo Film and Media said this would benefit a large majority of the reservation This is mainly because areas such as Navajo Black and other remote areas need some type of programs relative to their he There are stations that have Navajo but most times they are too biased and dont reflect the lifestyle of the Navajo he For one stations dont adequately serve the large majority of the Navajo he In religious programs seem to distort the philosophy of the Navajo he Gilmore added that many of the stations only cover events and programs happening in their What the tribe needs is a station which will send in formation out to residents who live in remote he Cont on page 2 Gulf Mobile Oil Company and Plains Electric which is constructing a new power plant in nearby would like to further expand but the community just doesnt have the tax base that is We are one step from being Most of the land around Thoreau is located in the checkerboard Many of the residents have expressed a lack of enthusiasm about future Right Thoreau is known as a sanitation district rather than a The only difference is that law enforcement is run by the county and its town is run by a board of similar to a city she The town is run like a city government but changes and laws have to go before the district county and state before they become she Earlier this Thoreau community officials an that water situations were easing a bit and that problems with the lack of water were When Thoreau was founded back in the late it was a center for trade as well a shipping center for lumber and One of the first commerical centers for Navajo silver smithing was established in During the Herman Switzer was one of the first men ever to promote silver smithing on a national With the help of a local Switzer distributed silver across the country on Thoreau was also a focal point for shipping ar chaelogical loot from the Anasazi ruins in Chaco But when Highway 66 completed back in Thoreau lost most of its Today Thoreau anticipate growth but that will depend largely on the resources said community on Rock Indian Champion borrol placed in tho moro
