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u.s. news Diasabra 24 aPriL 2021

Jill Biden to visit tribal school still teaching remotely

(AP) — A small grade the vast reservation — which operates less than one-third dow Rock area, was standing
school on the outskirts of extends into Arizona, New of them. Hunters Point is alongside the road Thursday
the Navajo Nation capital Mexico and a corner of Utah among those run by tribes hoping to get a glimpse of Jill
is ready for students to re- — and her inaugural visit or tribal organizations under Biden. She's hopeful Biden,
turn. as first lady. She vowed to contract with the federal gov- who also is an educator, will
work with the Navajo Na- ernment. understand the challenges
Staff at Hunters Point Board- tion and all tribal nations, in teachers on the reservation
ing School in St. Michaels a recognition of their inher- The schools have a tainted have encountered during the
have repainted the build- ent sovereignty and political 19th century legacy from pandemic.
ing, upgraded the washer relationship with the United when Native American chil-
and dryer in the dorms, in- States. dren were taken from their “We’ve been so stressed out
stalled a security gate, placed Genevieve Jackson, who sits homes and sent to boarding and overworked,” Denzpi equipment for teachers to in-
plexiglass between beds and on the school board in St. schools. They are among the said. “It’s like being a front- struct remotely.
installed hand-washing sta- Michaels, said on windy days, nation’s lowest performing, line worker, we’re the un-
tions. the internet is “questionable” and have struggled with is- sung heroes. I just wish the The Navajo Tribal Utility
and has caused delays for sues such as shoddy facilities. kids were back in the class- Authority estimates that ex-
Now, they are ready to show standardized, online testing. rooms.” panding broadband across the
it off and talk about what else Some of the school's equip- Few people have been on the 27,000-square mile (70,000
they can use as First Lady Jill ment dates back more than a Hunters Point campus in the Biden is expected to meet square-kilometer) reserva-
Biden wraps up a three-day half-century, she said. past year amid the pandemic. with a handful of students tion would cost more than
tour on Friday of the U.S. before visiting a vaccination $220 million. Tribal lawmak-
Southwest. High on the list “We are a very poor nation Across the Navajo Nation, site Friday. ers like Daniel Tso said they
is internet service and a new and (Joe Biden) recognizes students have been learning realize they need to be more
building to replace the one that we're an impoverished remotely, some given flash In a normal year, students systematic in how to allocate
built in the 1960s. nation,” she said. “We're rich drives with school work or at Hunters Point stay in the the next round of federal vi-
in culture and our teachings, paper packets if they have no dorms during the week and rus relief funding.
Biden spent the first day of but we need to catch up to access to computers. School are bussed home on the
her trip to the Navajo Na- the modern day of 2021. We buses have become Wi-Fi weekends. Many come from Jackson said she's hopeful
tion on Thursday listening to need to be at par with all of hotspots and delivered food single-parent families who students at Hunters Point
female tribal leaders whom the other private schools. We to students' homes or at a struggle financially, Jackson can return in the fall with the
she referred to as her “sister feel like we've been left out." central location when they said. same opportunities as stu-
warriors” about the broader couldn't navigate dirt roads dents in bigger cities.
needs on the country’s larg- Hunters Point falls under that turn into a muddy, rutted The school that serves kin-
est Native American reserva- the U.S. Bureau of Educa- mess when it rains or snows. dergarten to fifth grade has “We are producing tomor-
tions. tion, which oversees more used money from a federal row's leaders, so we all share
than 180 schools in nearly Virgilynn Denzpi, an educa- virus relief package to pro- that dream and hope,” she
The trip is Biden’s third to two dozen states but directly tor at a school in the Win- vide laptops for students, and said.

Parents sue father accused of hiding Kristin Smart's body

(AP) — The parents of missing California investigators said they found “biological evidence” Her body has never been found.
college student Kristin Smart on Thursday indicating Smart had been buried under Ruben
sued the father of the man charged with kill- Flores’ deck behind his home in nearby Arroyo Defense lawyers have criticized evidence against
ing their daughter nearly 25 years ago. Grande and was recently moved, according to a the father and son as flimsy and based on hearsay
court document. and speculation.
The lawsuit filed in San Luis Obispo County Supe-
rior Court said Smart's body was buried in Ruben The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for inten- Paul Flores was the last person seen with Smart on
Flores's backyard and he moved the body “under tionally causing emotional distress by helping his May 25, 1996, at California Polytechnic State Uni-
cover of darkness” to another location a few days son cover up the crime. It said Flores got help versity in San Luis Obispo, where they were both
after investigators searched his property in Febru- moving the body from two unnamed accomplices freshmen. Prosecutors said he killed Smart while
ary 2020. who will later be added as defendants in the case. trying to rape her in his dorm room after he had
agreed to walk her home from a party, where she
Ruben Flores, 80, pleaded not guilty to accessory “Had Kristin’s remains not been hidden, re-hidden had gotten intoxicated.
after murder on Monday, and his son, Paul Flores, and then moved yet again, it is reasonably likely
44, pleaded not guilty to murder. (her parents) could have been reunited with the re- The case has long been a mystery on the scenic
mains of their daughter and would have been per- Central Coast. A billboard featuring a photo of
The father and son were arrested last week after mitted the opportunity to conduct a burial service Smart smiling and offering a $75,000 reward for
at which their daughter could be laid to rest in a finding her has served as a constant reminder of
place of honor and dignity, as opposed to the pres- her disappearance in the town of Arroyo Grande
ent circumstances where their daughter’s body was where the Flores family lives just a short drive
discarded like human garbage,” the lawsuit said. from the campus.

Attorney James Murphy Jr. did not say how he Denise and Stan Smart, who live in Stockton, sued
learned about when the body was moved. Paul Flores in 1996. A judge has put that case on
indefinite hold because the investigation into her
Ruben Flores was released Wednesday on $50,000 death has been ongoing since she vanished. They
bail. also sued Cal Poly, though that lawsuit fizzled be-
cause the university had immunity as a govern-
His defense lawyer, Harold Mesick, declined to ment entity, Murphy said.
comment on the lawsuit, citing a gag order in the
criminal case. Murphy, who has been on the case for more than
half of his 46-year legal career, said he was in tears
Prosecutors had argued he shouldn't be released over the arrests and savoring the idea of being able
because he had spent nearly a quarter century help- to witness the outcome after so many years.
ing his son cover up the crime and was likely to
continue to hide Smart's remains. “To still be practicing and watch the final chapter
unfold is the greatest reward for me,” Murphy said.