Monument Valley / Oljato

Spelling bee winners ready for region

Adriana Johnson was the winner again in the San Juan School District Spelling Bee on February 5. Johnson, an eighth grade student at Albert R Lyman Middle School (ARL), is no stranger to the top of the spelling bee podium. Kaidence Mitchelle, a fifth grade student at Bluff Elementary, finished in...

Monument Valley High School teacher wins excellence award

Doug Freed, a teacher at Monument Valley High School, was honored with the Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs (MCA) Excellence in Education award at the State Capitol on February 5. The award highlights students and educators who exemplify a commitment to advancing civic engagement, embracing...

MVHS matman named Most Valuable Wrestler

Tanner Tsinigine, a junior at Monument Valley High School, was named the Most Valuable Wrestler at the 1A State Wrestling Tournament. Tsinigine earned a thrilling 4-3 victory over Zac Cecil of Monticello in the championship match. He explains that it was the third time he had wrestled Cecil this...

Monument Valley Tribal Park closes for day due to unauthorized filming

UPDATED 12/4/2018 Members of “Global Witness” attempted to gain entrance into the Monument Valley Tribal Park on Nov. 29 without prior permission or permitting and were eventually denied access. Park officials closed the park to the general public and the estimated 50 members of the...

MVHS gives us a lesson in flying under the radar

by Rhett Sifford When the dust settled at the 2018 1A State Volleyball Tournament in Orem Oct. 27, four teams finished with three wins and one loss, and one team alone was 4-0. Two of those five teams call San Juan County home. By now, most folks in the county know that Monticello...

German slackliner to attempt world record for distance walked between two hot air balloons this weekend

Alexander Schulz, a German slackliner, will attempt a world record feat crossing between two hot air balloons that will be flying over the mountains in Monument Valley at an altitude of 4,920 feet this week. The attempt will be a world record if the daring slackliner is able to pull it...

MVHS cross country

The Monument Valley Cougar boys cross country team is hard at work, building momentum for regional and state competitions in coming weeks. Members of the team include (left to right): Coach LeCheminant, Michael John, Lamario Slim, Cody Smith, Karl Laws, Devin Slim, Jeremiah Yazzie, and...

Monument Valley football

The Monument Valley High School football team has had a strong start to the new season. The Cougars host the Parowan Rams Friday, September 7 at 7 p.m. at the beautiful Monument Valley football field. Team members include: (top row, left to right) Cordell Atene, Roderick Cly, Jalen...

One of last Navajo Code Talkers dies

Samuel Tom Holiday, one of the last surviving World War II Navajo Code Talkers, passed away on June 11, 2018 at the Southern Utah Veterans Home in Ivins, UT. He was surrounded by family and friends. Holiday was born in 1924 near Oljato, in San Juan County. As a young soldier in the...

Local teacher gets “extreme makeover”

Megan Decker, a language arts teacher at Monument Valley High School, was the recent winner of an extreme makeover of her classroom by Brittany Wheaton, who runs the SuperHERO Teacher blog. Decker was the winner of the 5,000 teachers across the nation who signed up for the contest....