Majestic Living Spring 2019

contributors DoroThy NobiS has been a writer and editor for more than 25 years. She authored a travel guide, The insiders Guide to the Four Corners, published

by GlobePequot Press, and has been a frequent contributor to New Mexico Magazine.

MarGareT CheaSebro has been a freelance writer for more than 30 years. her articles have appeared in many magazines across the country, some of those articles have won state and national awards. She was a correspondent for the albuquerque Journal and worked for several local newspapers. She is the author of the young adult fantasy/reality novel, The healing Tree, set in aztec.

She also wrote the non-fiction book, healing with Trees: Finding a Path to Wholeness. a retired elementary school counselor, she is also a reiki Master and practices several alternative healing techniques. She enjoys playing table tennis.

Debra Mayeux, of Farmington, is an award-winning journalist with recognitions from the associated Press of New Mexico and Colorado and the New Mexico Press association and the Colorado broadcast association. She has covered stories throughout the Southwest and in Mexico and Jordan, where she interviewed diplomats and the royal family. Mayeux enjoys the outdoors, reading and spending time with her family. She is married to David Mayeux and they have three children: Nick, alexander and Peter.

ThoMaS yoST haS been a freelance writer for local publications including The Daily Times, Four Corners Golf Magazine, Four Corners Sports Magazine and Majestic Living Magazine. his current passion revolves around teaching the game of golf and all of its inherent values to thousands of youth yearly at The First Tee of San Juan County, N.M. When not immersed in all things golf (or writing), he loves spending time with his beautiful family and crafting new/tasty adult barley beverage recipes as an avid home brewer. publisher Cindy Cowan Thiele designer Suzanne Thurman

MAGAZINE

Celebrating the Lifestyle, Community & Culture of the Four Corners

Vol. 11, No. 1 ©2018 by Fir efly MultiMedia Majestic Living is a quarterly publication. Material herein may not be reprinted without express written consent of the publisher. If you receive a copy that is torn or 5damaged call 505.516.1230.

Cover photo WhiTNey hoWLe

writers Dorothy Nobis, Margaret Cheasebro, Ben Brashear, Debra Mayeux Tomas Yost Rick Hoerner photographers Whitney Howle, Ben Brashear sales Clint Alexander administration Lacey Waite

4 | MAJESTIC LIVING | WINTER 2018

For advertising information Call 505.516.1230 505.573-5223 505.330.4975

WhiTNey hoWLe was born and raised in Farmington and is proud to call San Juan County home. The richness of the landscape and the diverse people, culture and traditions are a photographer’s dream. Whitney has his b.a. in Visual Communication from Collins College in Tempe, ariz. he is a co-owner of howle Design and Photography — a family owned studio offering graphic design, photography, market research and consulting. beN braShear has called the Southern San Juans home for most of his life. he holds a b.a. in Creative Writing from Fort Lewis College and has worked for Cutthroat: a Journal of The arts, as assistant poetry editor. he is currently working as a freelance writer and photographer based out of Durango, Colorado.

Vicky ramakka writes about the Four Corners region, where she meets the most fascinating people, who are always willing to share their stories. She has recently completed a mystery novel, The Cactus Plot, set in northwest New Mexico, featuring a botanist heroine. her publications have won awards from the New Mexico Press Women.

Vicky enjoys writing, hiking and photographing the flora and fauna that reside in her “back yard” which she considers any place within a mile walk.

Comments & Ideas Majestic Living welcomes story ideas and comments from readers. email story ideas ancomments to fireflymmdesigns@gmail.com

SPRING 08 Children’s Hope Foundation helps local families Children’s Hope Foundation, located at 1503 Schofield in Farmington, has become the lifeline for local parents whose children struggle with severe pediatric medical issues for which there is no help in Farmington. Before it began, families stood alone as they faced overwhelming financial and emotional challenges.

By Margaret Cheasebro

18

14

Ken Christesen has worked to keep San Juan County safe He is a highly decorated law enforcement officer with a knack for solving crimes. Former San Juan County Sheriff Ken Christesen could read a crime scene like a book, resulting in the arrests and convictions of numerous murderers, rapists and drug dealers. Christesen went to work as a reserve deputy for the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in January 1989. By 1990, he was a full-time deputy. Christesen worked his way up through the ranks, becoming sheriff in 2010.

By Debra Mayeux

Lisa Hutchens has a passion for improving our community Ask Lisa Hutchens to share some of the major milestones in her life is like opening a box of Cracker Jacks – you never know what surprises await you! Hutchens grew up in Aztec, under the guidance and care of her parents, Kent and Kim Hutchens. Lisa was also fortunate to have other family nearby including her grandparents, Gerry and Maxine Hutchens and Leo Samora and Della Rodriquez. She graduated from Aztec High School in 1996, thinking she would get married and have children and live happily ever after in her hometown.

The marriage and children have taken a back seat for Hutchens but living happily ever after in Aztec has not.

By Dorothy Nobis 6| MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

Linda Wheelbarger’s students learn first hand what archeology is all about

22

When Linda Wheelbarger tells her students to dig in, she means it — as in, grab your shovels and trowels.

Wheelbarger eight-week field school leads the Totah Archeological Project summer field school, oper-

ated by San Juan College and supported by Tommy Bolack. Last summer marked two decades that students have come from all over the United States and even Canada, to get their hands dirty in the eight-week field school

26 Chevel Shepherd has set some new goals after The Voice win

At age 16, Chevel Shepherd of Farmington is one of the youngest winners of NBC television’s The Voice, a competitive show for singers. “It’s awesome!” she said, a word she uses frequently. the ranks, becoming sheriff in 2010. She’s been singing since she was two years old. It comes naturally to her. She had no formal voice training until her TV experience.

By Margaret Cheasebro

- fastest 34 Pickleball growing sport in U.S.

Questions 36 0with Selkirk

Pickleball Professional, Cami Blake

Pages 40 & 41 SPRING | MAJESTIC LIVING | 7

Area families facing severe pediatric illness are not alone

Children’s Hope Foundation provides financial assistance to young children and families facing serious illness Story by Margaret Cheasebro Photos by Whitney Howle Children’s Hope Foundation, located at 1503 Schofield in Farmington, has become the lifeline for local parents whose children struggle with severe pediatric medical issues for which there is no help in Farmington.

Before it began, families stood alone as they faced overwhelming financial and emotional challenges.

They sometimes lost their jobs, their 8| MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

homes and even the lives of their sick children as a result.

Vanessa Benally benefited from Children’s Hope Foundation. Her six-year-old son, Randall Begay, has cerebral palsy and a left club foot.

“I want to thank you so much for giving us the resources that we need to go to all of his appointments in Albuquerque,” she told the founda-

tion. “During the roughest time of our lives you were very helpful because I didn’t have any money to get to his out-of-town appointments.

When my son had to go through immediate surgery in Albuquerque, you were there to help us.”

Rural communities face challenges People who live in rural communities across the nation face similar challenges. Specialized pediatric

medical care doesn’t exist there. It’s available in bigger cities such as Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Denver, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas and other large metropolitan areas. Sometimes the expertise is as far away as San Francisco.

“Doctors highly trained are in the big cities where they have bigger hospitals and more patients to service,” said Children’s Hope Foundation Executive Director Debbie

Joslin. Though adults can get cancer treatments in Farmington, children have never been able to receive treatment for severe pediatric conditions here. That creates huge financial and emotional challenges for parents.

“This is a very common need in rural communities,” Debbie said.

“You’ve got families that work, live and play and have their jobs in our community. They can’t just uproot their careers and their whole family and move to a big city when their child gets sick. So they have to make this work by staying here and traveling to Albuquerque or Denver.”

Loss of an income Sometimes the father has the best income but does not get health care benefits. The mother might be a teacher with a much smaller income that includes health insurance. So the father quits his job to keep the family’s health insurance and stays with the child while the mother continues to work. Because their income drops so much, they may not be able to pay their mortgage and could lose their home. They sometimes don’t have the money to travel for a needed treatment.

“Just before Christmas, a father was prepared to bundle up his fouryear-old daughter, who has leukemia, and hitchhike to Albuquerque because she could not miss her chemotherapy treatment. He was out of gas and out of funds,” said Children’s Hope Foundation Development Director Shelly Diede. She handles fundraising and marketing.

He asked Children’s Hope Foundation for help. “We put gas in his vehicle so he didn’t have to hitchhike,” Shelly said. “It makes you wonder how many families out there either end up rescheduling or missing their chemotherapy and how many children are losing out because they don’t have access to that care.”

Gas cards and gift cards

Christine Green of Farmington is grateful for the foundation. “Children’s Hope has helped the Green family in so many ways,” she said.

“They have helped us with gas cards, gift cards for food or snacks for the trips to Albuquerque for treatment.

While our daughter was in the hospital, they gave us a huge gift basket with snacks, stuffed animal, t-shirts and other items. Debbie and her staff are always happy and welcoming when we visit their office. Their love, support and prayers are helping with our daughter’s medical journey.”

Stephanie Wimbish, who founded Children’s Hope Foundation with her husband, Brian, knows firsthand what it’s like to face a child’s catastrophic illness. When their son, Ian, became ill, she was a homemaker and Brian was the regional sales manager for Antelope Sales and Service Inc. in Farmington. A month after his fourth birthday, Ian got sick.

“He had night sweats and funky flus,” said Stephanie. “He threw up for a couple of hours one day and

was fine for the rest of the day. The next day the same thing happened. I felt like he was catching everything the other kids at the day care center had. The first week he was kind of bad. The second week he didn’t feel much better. I really started getting alarmed when he would say, ‘Mommy, my legs are tired. Can you carry me?’”

Devastating diagnosis Their physician did blood work.

He called the family that evening with the devastating news that Ian had leukemia. “He told me I needed to pack a bag and go to the hospital.

They were going to Life Flight him to the University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital in Albuquerque, because we don’t treat kids with cancer in Farmington,” Stephanie said.

The next morning, Stephanie and Ian were life flighted to Albuquerque, and Brian later joined them there. Doctors told them Ian had less than a fifty percent chance of surviving the treatment for acute myeloid

leukemia. Chemotherapy can cause children’s organs to fail.

For almost a year, Stephanie stayed in Albuquerque with Ian, while Brian came and went. “I saw my daughter Stevee twice that year because she had to keep her life going to do school,” Stephanie said. “She ended up living with my parents.

Some of the time she spent with one of my sisters. At the end of every day before Ian went to bed, I would write her a letter and we would draw pictures. Ian was in charge of drawing the pictures on the envelope.

The ladies at the hospital would put it in the mail for me.”

Ian survived The Wimbish family was lucky. Ian survived his treatment and is now a healthy 22-year-old attending Fort Lewis College. Because Stephanie didn’t work, the family had always managed on Brian’s salary, so they didn’t have to adjust to the loss of an income. In spite of added expenses, they were able to keep their SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 9

Farmington home.

Not everyone is so lucky. Ian made friends at the hospital with a little boy who had bone cancer.

His parents couldn’t make their mortgage payments, lost their house and lived out of a camper shell on their pickup in the hospital parking lot.

Once Ian’s treatment ended and the Wimbishes returned to Farmington, Kelly McClellan and Greg Vick of McClellan & Vick Consulting Inc., a Farmington based oil and gas consulting firm, put together a golf tournament to raise money to help with their medical expenses.

“We gave the money to the social workers at the UNM Children’s Hospital to spread to patients who needed it worse than we did,” Stephanie said.

Wimbishes take over fund raiser The second year after Ian’s chemotherapy treatments ended, the Wimbish family took over the golf tournament and ran it every year for 15 years.

“We raised $50,000 or $60,000 a year, which we gave directly to the UNM Children’s Hospital in care of the social workers so they could use it to help families that were showing up there for cancer treatment,” Stephanie said.

In 2008 the family decided it was time to create the IGW Pediatric Cancer Foundation, a legal non-profit with the state of New Mexico. They turned its operation over to a six-member board of directors.

IGW stands for Ian Gregory Wimbish.

Three years earlier, in 2005, the San Juan Medical Foundation started Hope Children’s Fund. It raised money for children’s travel expenses, including gas cards and meal vouchers, so San Juan County families could access pediatric medical care.

Children’s Hope Foundation forms Because the two organizations were duplicating services, the San Juan Medical Foundation discussed the matter with the IGW Pediatric Cancer Foundation. As a result, the medical foundation turned over to IGW its funds and the pediatric patients for which it was caring.

“That required us to have an office space to meet with families face to face to disburse the funds to local families and staff,” said Debbie. Before that, IGW had no office.

In December 2016, the agreement was finalized, and IGW took on the name Children’s Hope Foundation. Debbie became the executive director in May 2017.

10 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

Debbie and Shelly are the foundation’s two full-time staff members.

They get help from many volunteers.

People may call the foundation at 505-787-2143. An after-hours connection is available for emergencies.

“We currently service 220 San Juan County families with children who have medical issues but no local access to their medical care,” Stephanie said. “We help them with gas vouchers and hotel vouchers.

We’ve also started assisting families with their housing and mortgage or rent payments and utility bills because we don’t want families to end up homeless.”

Donors help with mortgage One family of a three-year-old boy with leukemia was in danger of losing their mortgage. They had gone from two incomes to one after one of the parents had to stay with their son in the hospital. The mortgage company generously put the mort-

gage on a moratorium for six months, but that ended on Feb. 28.

“They faced losing their home March 1,” Debbie said.

When Debbie and Shelly shared the dilemma with donors, several in-

Dennis M Gross, AAMS®

dividuals volunteered to pick up those mortgage payments for a few months.

Two major fund raisers Children’s Hope Foundation has two major fund raisers each year.

One is the Walk for Hope and Color Run. It’s coming up Saturday, April 13, at the Berg Park Pavillion, 400 Scott Ave. Registration is at 8:30 a.m., and the walk begins at 9 a.m.

“It’s a two-mile walk, but it’s not a run in the sense of an intense athletic event,” Debbie said. “We want everybody to be able to participate from people in strollers, wheelchairs or walkers and anything in between.

Bring the pets on a leash and have a nice couple of hours as families walk along Berg Park and the Animas River.”

Several companies offer to be corporate sponsors, and every walker who registers is asked to raise a minimum of $250.

“It’s easy to do,” Debbie said.

“All you’ve got to do is ask 10 of your friends to give you $25 each.”

In the fall, the foundation has a fund raising gala. They bring in a comedian, have dinner, wine, and an evening of laughter.

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SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 11

They ask for corporate sponsorships from local businesses to underwrite the event, and people are given an opportunity to give at the end of the evening.

Corporate partners They also develop corporate partners that donate to the foundation for a specific cause, and the foundation applies for grants.

“We’ve received some very generous grant support from a couple of organizations,” Shelly said.

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12 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

She expressed gratitude for the amazing support the foundation has received from the oil, gas and coal industries. Most of the advertising in their annual magazine, The Courageous Journal, is purchased by them. “The energy industry is our anchor,” Shelly said. “They rallied around this cause from the very beginning, and they have been incredibly generous to us.”

Brain tumor crisis Candice Nakai writes in the magazine about how the foundation

!

helped her daughter, Heaven. When Heaven was nine and attending a Farmington elementary school, she seemed healthy, but in the spring of 2016 she got tired and sleepy and began vomiting.

Her left eye started turning in toward her nose. Local doctors weren’t sure what caused her problem, so they flew her to the University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital in Albuquerque, where she was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

After an eight-hour surgery doctors removed most of the tumor, but the surgery left Heather blind.

Through the radiation and chemotherapy that followed, the foundation was there to help. “It’s not always just the financial help we are thankful for,” Candice said. “It’s the thought, intention and heart behind it. I come here to Children’s Hope, and the staff is so caring and will sit with us and listen to our struggles. It’s so helpful to know we are not alone.”

Children’s Hope Foundation also supports families through hospice care and with funeral expenses, though many more children recover than die.

Provide immediate help As more families learn about the foundation, they reach out in desperation.

During the interview for this article, the phone rang. Debbie went to her office to answer it. “It was about one of our little cancer boys,” she said when she returned.

“They’re having an emergency right now.

Even while we speak, he’s being life flighted to UNM from San Juan Regional because he stopped breathing. The family is in a panic.

They put him on a breathing machine, and Mom is in the helicopter with her son going to Albuquerque. But the rest of the family has to get there, and they don’t have any money.

Families don’t have this kind of money sitting in their bank accounts.”

The foundation immediately stepped in to help with travel expenses. Thanks to donors who make generous contributions, the foundation can meet such needs.

Compassionate help Parents often come to the foundation’s office shattered and feeling helpless.

“Yesterday a mother came and started talking to me,” Debbie said.

“You realize in that moment that you need to set everything else aside and focus on her, because she’s truly the only thing that happens for the next half hour. We listen to her story and connect heart to heart.”

Then staff members jump into action, calling donors for help, handing out gift and gas cards as needed, and extending compassionate help. They do it every day.

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SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 13

A big smile & a lot of hard work Lisa Hutchens has always had a passion for improving our community Story by Dorothy Nobis Photos by Whitney Howle Ask Lisa Hutchens to share some of the major milestones in her life is like opening a box of Cracker Jacks – you never know what surprises await you!

Hutchens grew up in Aztec, under the guidance and care of her parents, Kent and Kim Hutchens. Lisa was also fortunate to have other family nearby including her grandparents, Gerry and Maxine Hutchens and Leo Samora and Della Rodriquez. She graduated from Aztec High School in 1996, thinking she would get married and have children and live happily ever after in her hometown.

The marriage and children have taken a back seat for Hutchens but living happily ever after in Aztec has not.

Strong work ethic “I was raised in Aztec, where everybody knew each other,” Hutchens said. “Aztec schools were great.”

With classes in the morning at Aztec High School, Hutchens had the afternoon off, and, “My parents weren’t going to let me sit around and do nothing,” she said with a laugh.

Her dad, Kent, worked for BP at the time and had a best friend, Kelly Lane, whose wife, Melissa, was the president and CEO of the Farmington Chamber of Commerce.

Melissa interviewed Lisa and offered her a job and in August of 1995 Hutchens went to work – 1-5 p.m. – at the chamber as a work study.

14| MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

“Lisa began working at the Farmington Chamber of Commerce during her senior year of high school. Within a short period of time I saw her potential. Lisa is a good critical thinker and she is able to create and execute a vision. Lisa is one of the most dedicated employees I have worked with over my career, “ Lane said.

The old lady car

The money she earned from the chamber, however, was not to be squandered, Hutchens said.

“My folks bought my car – a 1971 Monte Carlo, which I thought was an ‘old lady’ car,” Hutchens said with a laugh.

“It was an old boat, but boy, did the guys like it!” While the guys may have liked the old Monte Carlo, it was a gas hog, Hutchens said.

“I had to buy gas and insurance for my car and pay for my phone,” Hutchens remembered.

“But the chamber was paying me minimum wage, so I was happy with that. I thought I was really making bank!”

That part time job became a full-time job.

“I loved the Chamber job,” Hutchens said.

“Melissa (Lane) was very trusting of me and always giving me additional responsibilities.”

“Lisa is very community minded and has worked hard to help promote San Juan County

throughout the United States,” Lane added.

Learning from the best Working alongside Lane, Jennifer Grossheim and Becky Wiseman, all of whom were older than Hutchens, was a gift.

“I always thought if could grow up and be like them, I’d be OK,” she said.

“They were the smartest women and they taught me so much. They taught me that if it doesn’t go as planned at an event or a meeting,

it’s OK. You go to Plan B or another plan. It was all part of the fluidity of what we did – things rarely go as planned.”

“The most important thing Melissa taught me was to maintain our integrity,” Hutchens added.

“She said we might be pushed to do the wrong thing, but we always do what is right.”

With a slight pause, Hutchens added, “At the time, I didn’t understand that, but Melissa was right – and doing what is right isn’t always easy.”

SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 15

New job, new skills After eight years with the chamber, Hutchens decided it was time for new challenges and new opportunities. She went to work for the Farmington Daily Times as a sales representative for real estate.

Hutchens sold those ads for three months and was then offered a job

by David H. Paul, Inc. Hutchens was a recruiter, inviting individuals to take advantage of DH Paul’s college water treatment program. She traveled to San Antonio, Texas, and Tampa, Florida, hosting open houses, doing advertisements and following up on potential prospects.

radio personality who has known Hutchens for years.

Advancement Moving up to an executive assistant, Hutchens was interested in the supervisor’s position at the Civic Center when Julie Baird was promoted to another position.

Hired for the position, Hutchens said of the outdoor theater opportunity Sandstone Productions offered – “I knew a lot about drama, but nothing about theater.” Hutchens quickly learned about the theater and was surprised about one aspect of it that she didn’t expect.

“Theater folks are a tightly knit family,” she said. “Even though we work together a short time, only the duration of rehearsals and the show, we become very close.

Gaughey was killed in an automobile accident in July 2005. McGaughey was in the South Pacific production when she was killed.

Hutchens became close friends with McGaughey’s father, Doug, who continues to keep his daughter’s memory alive in San Juan County with the Heather McGaughey Children’s Theater.

“Doug really grew that program and now the city has teen and holiday programs in Heather’s name, too. That’s what Heather’s family wanted and I’m glad we were able to help make that happen,” Hutchens said.

Concerts In addition to working with Sandstone Productions for the summer theater, Hutchens also brought entertainment to the Civic Center, which was a goal of the city’s administration.

“Our first concert was Dustin Lynch,” Hutchens said. “He had the number one hit the week after we booked him – I did get lucky with that one!”

Another lucky break came when she booked Cole Swindell, who also had a number one hit shortly after he was booked for the Civic Center.

Putting together events that will attract crowds isn’t always easy, Hutchens admitted. “But Farmington has become a good ‘routing’ place for entertainers,” she said.

Theater family Those family ties were never more tightly woven than when Heather Mc-

Big shows, big changles With big names often comes big challenges, however.

A new opportunity In 2005, Melissa Lane called Hutchens to tell her of an administrative assistant position open at the City of Farmington. She was hired soon after she applied and worked with then-City Manager Bob Hudson and his assistant, Linda Benson.

“Linda taught me about city politics and the dynamic of them,” Hutchens said. “Linda didn’t just check things off her list – she made sure things were done right.”

16 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

“When we booked Eric Paslay, he and his band wanted to hang out and play pool, after the concert,” Hutchens said with a laugh. “So, I took them to the Top Deck. They had a blast playing pool and said everyone was respectful of them just hanging out. I dropped them off after the concert and picked them up at 2 a.m.!”

On demand The strangest demand for an artist was for a certain kind of cognac, Hutchens said. “We couldn’t find it in Farmington or Durango. We called around and finally found it in Albuquerque and it was $800 a bottle, which the promoter paid for.”

A staff member’s friend was in Albuquerque and brought the cognac back to Farmington so that the artist got his favorite libation.

“I never had to separate M&Ms or paint the dressing room a different color, though,” she added.

Hutchens did bend a rule for Dustin Lynch, however.

“His bus broke down on the way here, so they rented a van and a UHaul to make it in time for the concert,” she said with a shake of her head. “And Dustin wanted to skateboard out front of the Civic Center, even though it was prohibited. I told the staff to let him do it!”

“We worked hard, and we got a lot done,” she said of her tenure with the Civic Center. “And, at the end of the day, we made it come together as a team. It was very satisfying.”

Scott Michlin, a television and

A passion for the community “I met Lisa when she worked at Farmington’s City Hall and would help me get appointments to speak with the mayor or city manager, back in my news reporter days,” Michlin recalled. “She would always let me know what my chances were of getting on their schedules.”

“I enjoy working with Lisa,” Michlin added “Her passion for our community non-profits and support for the arts is to be celebrated. Many arts and cultural programs were brought to Farmington on her watch (at the Civic Center).”

“I was lucky to be part of the first “Dancing with the Farmington Stars” in 2016,” Michlin added. “It was such a fun event and many of us were very much outside our comfort zone dancing on stage. I know I was! I enjoyed so much, Lisa asked me to return as a judge for the 2017 version.

It was so much fun to see members of our community put on such a great show for our community.”

“Lisa cares deeply about our community and that becomes obvious to anyone who has a chance to meet her,” Michlin said.

Time to dance Scott Eckstein, former Bloomfield Mayor and San Juan County Commissioner also lauded Hutchens’ talents and commitment to the community.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Lisa many times over the years,” Eckstein said. “We have worked together in a number of capacities on events held at the Farmington Civic Center during my roles as a commissioner and mayor.”

“She has a great personality and always goes out of her way to be helpful,” Eckstein said. “I have also found that sometimes, Lisa won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

No is not a option Hutchens also asked Eckstein to participate in that first Dancing with

the Farmington Stars event.

“Due to my inability to dance, I declined the offer and explained why,” Eckstein said with a laugh. “She said she completely understood, but a year later, in 2017, she asked me again – acting like she’d forgotten our conversation a year ago. Knowing she would likely continue to ask until I finally agreed, I accepted.”

“To my surprise, it was an incredible experience and a lot of fun,” Eckstein said of the event and working once again with Hutchens.

“As usual, Lisa was great to work with, always smiling and always helpful. It’s great to see all the various events Lisa brought to the Civic Center over the years, giving our community much more to enjoy. It’s an honor to call Lisa Hutchens a friend.

Can’t stop the music Sheila Mobley has known Hutchens for about eight years. The two worked together on many events that helped raise funds for patients

fighting cancer, and on the countless concerts Hutchens brought to the Civic Center.

Because of Mobley’s love of music, she said Hutchens would seek her opinion when booking concerts in Farmington.

“We went to a Gary Allan concert once because she was thinking about booking him at the Civic Center,” Mobley said, laughing. “After the concert, I suggested we go backstage to see him, and she said, ‘We can’t just go back stage.’ But we did. I made Lisa do things she didn’t want to do, but they always worked out.”

While Mobley admitted she and Hutchens have totally different personalities, they formed a close friendship.

“Lisa’s the kind of friend who always has your back, but she’s also the kind of friend who will tell you if you’ve said or done something she doesn’t agree with,” Mobley said. “I can be demanding (when doing an event), but Lisa was never afraid to

tell me ‘No, that’s just not going to happen.’ I respect her for that.”

“I’ve always been impressed with her honesty and she’s always been open to do something new at the Civic Center and she always wants events that the community can benefit from.”

“I just like Lisa,” Mobley said. “I just like her a lot.”

Progress Elizabeth Phelps, former Government Relations Director for the city of Farmington worked closely with Lisa.

“Under Lisa’s leadership, the Farmington Civic Center became an active partner in Downtown Events, from TGIF to the Annual Rod Run, Lisa made sure that the Civic Center played an integral role. Lisa is a collaborative partner that always brings fresh ideas and energy to event planning and programming. Her tenure as Civic Center Supervisor elevated Farmington, making it a premier lo-

cation for live music and theater,” she said.

Future While her future hasn’t yet been decided, Hutchens said she is pleased to have had a small part in making the community a better place to live.

“We’re all close, and we’re all working toward one goal – the betterment of the community.

The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department has the privilege of contributing to Farmington’s quality of life. “The team is amazing and gets to do the ‘fun’ stuff in our little corner of the world. Quality of life is where it’s at.”

“We all serve a purpose of some sort – whether it’s keeping the water on, the sewer working or adding the sprinkles on the cupcake. I loved what I did.” With a slight pause and a big smile, Hutchens added, “We got to add lots of sprinkles to a lot of cupcakes.”

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A knack for solving crime For more than 30 years Ken Christesen has worked to keep San Juan County safe Story by Debra Mayeux Photos by Whitney Howle He is a highly decorated law enforcement officer with a knack for solving crimes. Former San Juan County Sheriff Ken Christesen could read a crime scene like a book, resulting in the arrests and convictions of numerous murderers, rapists and drug dealers.

Rising through the ranks Christesen went to work as a reserve deputy for the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in January 1989. By 1990, he was a full-time deputy. Christesen worked his way up through the ranks, becoming sheriff in 2010.

Retires after 30-year careen After serving as the top law enforcement officer for eight years in 18| MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

San Juan County, Christesen decided to turn in his badge and retire after serving 30 years in law enforcement.

“I’ve had a blessed career, and I mean that, because not only did I have an opportunity to work with some great people – great judges, great prosecutors and great law enforcement people, I had great cases and had an opportunity to work on some great things. Having a career like that I’m just blessed,” Christesen said.

Cases would make a great crime novel Christesen’s career was storied.

He took down a lot of criminals and each case has a different story that tells like a television crime

drama. “I was trying to get him to write a book,” said his wife Kathy Christesen. On a weekend afternoon in February, Ken sat down to share some of these stories.

The border and drugs He started telling about the time Pulitzer Prize-winning author Judith Miller came to San Juan County to have the sheriff take her on a tour of drug-ravaged areas and to discuss the U.S. border. It was in Fall of 2009, and Christesen said New Mexico’s border with Mexico was even a problem then. “Since December of 2006, there’s been 100,000 people killed on the border over drug wars,” Christesen said. “It’s always been bad.”

There were drug wars between

the cartels with the Sinoloans killing everyone.

“If you were in another cartel you die. If you helped another Cartel you die,” Christesen explained, adding the violence was seeping over the border into the U.S., and San Juan County became a place to run drugs through - with cartels setting up shop here to store and sell drugs as well.

Pressure on a balloon Christesen compared it to putting pressure on a balloon. “If you squeeze it in one place it goes to another. People started migrating up here at a greater rate. Cartels realized they could make money on it.,” he said. “They don’t care if you die out there.”

Christesen said he told Miller that Crouch Mesa was a hotbed for drug trafficking, and the quote he used at the time raised some eyebrows. “I drove her all over San Juan County, as we were driving around, I showed her Crouch Mesa.

I said, “You can’t swing a dead cat by the tail without hitting a drug dealer around here.”

Learning how Israelis secure their border The interview with Miller showcased Christesen’s knowledge of drugs and the border – a topic on which he is recognized as an expert. Christesen even was selected as one of 15 sheriffs in the nation

to travel to Israel to learn about how the Israelis secure their border and keep terrorists out.

“The whole idea of the trip was really about the border - our border,” Christesen said. “The Israelis saw an opportunity to show us their borders, what they deal with and why.”

Building relationships between countries It also was a way to build relationships between Americans and help this country understand the Israeli’s struggles. “We went to the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian border. The Saturday before we got there, they had just been hit by a

rocket attack from the Gaza Strip,” Christesen said. “We got to see why those walls were there and the kind of security they put up.”

Christesen explained that the walls at the West Bank have stopped car bombs and sniper attacks. “They shoot over the walls.”

The Israelis have even developed ways to stop terrorists from sneaking in explosives. “They use their military and their police and everybody works in unison,” Christesen said, “You can’t get away fast enough. The Israelis developed a lot of the drones, even before we started using them.”

There is a lot to be learned from Israel, in Christesen’s opinion,

and he said the notion that there is not a crisis at the border with Mexico is false.

“To listen to this nonsense today that we don’t need a wall or we don’t have a crisis - I’ve dealt with Mexican gang members who come up to kill people - all of the drugs,” Christesen said.

“I understand the working people, but it’s the crime that goes with it. I can think of eight murders that illegals did here. San Juan County has been a distribution point for years.”

Today, our border is “out of control” according to Christesen, who said that illegals cross daily at Antelope Wells and then, they have SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 9

to be held in custody for lengthy periods of time.

“It’s costing the U.S. $150 billion a year.”

Homeland security and human trafficking While serving as San Juan County Sheriff, he worked with Homeland Security and Immigration Customs Enforcement Teams to detain illegal immigrants, drug dealers and human traffickers right here in San Juan County.

Drug Enforcement Agency Mobile Enforcement Team This led to Christesen receiving a partnership award from the agencies in 2015. His work with the Drug Enforcement Agency Mobile Enforcement Team led to arrest 23 one-pound dealers during a six month investigation ended with him receiving Achievement Awards in 2005, from the Mobile Enforcement Team and DEA. Christesen also earned a lifetime achievement award from the F.B.I

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Region 2 Narcotics Task Force Prior to becoming sheriff, Christesen led the Region 2 Narcotics Task Force. He earned an award from the Drug Enforcement Agency for his work on that team. “I’ve got walls of plaques when you invest 30 years of your life into something – each one has a story,” he said.

“The awards don’t mean as much to me as the friendships.”

And amongst all of those awards, there is one for Kathy Christesen, who dedicated 21 years of her life working as an Operation Support Technician with the FBI. Kathy received the FBI’s Medal of Excellence Award on April 11, 2017. “This usually goes to agents, not support personal,” she said. “But I took good care of my boys.”

50 years combined service Together the Christesens have 50 years of service through law enforcement to the citizens of San Juan County, and the awards show what an accomplishment that is. “I’ve had a blessed career, and I mean that, because not only did I have an opportunity to work with some great people – great judges, great prosecutors and great law enforcement people,” Ken Christesen said. “I had great cases and had an opportunity to work on some great things. Having a career like that I’m just blessed.”Some of the cases he helped solve include homicides that ended with the suspects serving life sentences on death row in the New Mexico prison system. Christesen was a sheriff’s lieutenant when Bobby Fry was finally caught and tried for the murder of Betty Lee in 2000.

Betty Lee was found murdered in a remote area of the county. When sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene, one of them found a cell phone sticking up in an arroyo. The cell phone ended up belonging to Charlie Bergen, the tow truck operator, who towed Fry’s car away from the crime scene. This one piece of evidence led to Fry’s arrest and the end to his murdering spree in the county. “That started the ball rolling,” Christesen, adding that Les Engh gave up the information on Fry’s killing of Donald Tsosie, and then, it was discovered that in 1996, Fry killed Matthew Trecker and Joseph Fleming at the Eclectic counter-culture store in downtown Farmington. Fry is on death row and some say he killed more people. When Christesen was asked about that his answer was, “Oh hell, yes.”

Christesen also worked the case of Timothy Allen, a man who in 1996, kidnapped 17-yearold Sandra Phillips from the now-defunct Country Palace. Allen took her to a remote location in the county, where he raped and strangled her.

Christesen has a way with reading a crime scene and it was this natural intuition that led to Allen’s arrest. “He (Allen) laid her out real neat, and as we looked at, I realized he would have

had to carry her over his shoulder from the road,” Christesen recalls when they discovered the teenager’s body. “I told the guys, ‘Underneath her - there’s got to be a footprint,’ and sure enough there was the print of the cowboy boot.” That print helped with Allen’s arrest, prosecution and sentencing to death in the Eleventh Judicial District Court.

Reading the scene “I like to listen to other people talk about crime scenes. It’s just what makes sense. If it

didn’t make sense, then it didn’t happen that way,” Christesen said, about reading the scene. “If you care about what you’re doing and you’re really looking there’s something there that is going to tell you something – every time. I don’t have any unsolved homicides.”

Confessions He also had a knack for getting the confession. “Interviewing that was my forte, getting people to confess,” Ken said. “It’s amazing that feeling you get, when you make a connection with somebody, and they tell you the most heinous crime and how they did it.”

Kathy says Ken has a “million stories” about drug busts, homicides and arrests of people doing crazy things. During his career, he put a lot of people away, and he dealt with threats on his life and his family’s lives.

He became the chairman of the New Mexico Sheriff’s Association removing the Sheriff’s from the now defunct New Mexico Sheriff’s and Police, and he built a high-tech sheriff’s office at the county seat in Aztec.

* Ken

32

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Diggin’in For more than 20 years Linda Wheelbarger’s students learn first hand what archeology is all about Story by Vickie Ramica Photos by Whitney Howle When Linda Wheelbarger tells her students to dig in, she means it — as in, grab your shovels and trowels.

Wheelbarger eight-week field school leads the Totah Archeological Project summer field school, operated by San Juan College and supported by Tommy Bolack.

Two decades Last summer marked two decades that students have come from all over the United States and even Canada, to get their hands dirty in the eight-week field school. During the first six weeks, Wheelbarger instructs students in professional excavation techniques. This is followed by two weeks of laboratory work learning to clean, label, photograph, and store the artifacts they uncovered.

During the fall and winter, interns and volunteers draft maps, enter data into spreadsheets, and complete an excavation summary report.

The anticipation of discovery motivates participants to brave New Mexico’s hot summers 22| MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

and carefully, systematically reveal living quarters and gathering places of people who occupied this area nearly a thousand years ago.

Along the way, Wheelbarger adds to their experience by arranging trips to Aztec and Salmon Ruins and attending the solstice celebration at Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

She helps students find lodging and is known to treat them to nachos at the local brew pub.

Wheelbarger’s irrepressible enthusiasm for anything archeology has surely convinced many students to seek a career in this field. “I love it,” she says. “I still love what I do. I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to do what I love to do, my entire life. We live in an archeological mecca, with both the Puebloan and Navajo cultures. We have so much beautiful, beautiful property all around us and so much public land.”

Tommy Site and Point Pueblo Site In the late 1990s, with the encouragement of Tommy Bolack, San Juan College began planning

an excavation on the 12,000 acre B-Square Ranch. Wheelbarger drew up the research design, and the first field school took place in the summer of 1999 at the “Tommy Site” named for the property’s owner.

Wheelbarger and her eager crew revealed rooms undisturbed for hundreds of years that had been buried by six to eight feet of sand from the Bluffs.

“The Tommy site was completely intact. The top had been washed away by the river, but the remaining structures that we worked on still had plaster with finger prints of the people in it, and pots left in floor. It was quite spectacular.”

Over the years, field school participants documented a dozen rooms in two separate roadblocks. Bolack’s work at the site in the late 1980s had revealed a total of four different room blocks, at least a dozen kivas, and several pit houses. The pit houses indicate earlier human occupation, perhaps as much as 1100-1500 years ago.

After twelve years working at the Tommy site,

the operation moved about 500 feet northeast, and began research at what is termed the Point Pueblo site. During the first years there, much of the dig focused on a Great Kiva. Kivas are underground structures used by the Ancient Puebloans for religious and cultural gatherings. Great Kivas, however, differ in that they are larger, extend above ground level, and probably accommodated larger, community functions.

The thrill of discovery, and the aim to add to the ever-evolving knowledge base of human occupation in northwest New Mexico, keeps Wheelbarger going back year after year. For her, what is old reveals new insights into human history.

“About a year and a half ago, we discovered an arc of rooms that attaches to the Great House.” Wheelbarger explains that a Great House is a larger, more substantial stone masonry structure denoting a planned layout built using core-and-veneer or compound veneer wall construction. “I can now say there is definitely a Chacoan Great House, in addition to a Great Kiva at Point Pueblo.”

She lights up and says, “Just this last fall—this is the most important thing, I think. We discovered multi-story rooms in the Great House. There’s one, and I think there may be at least four, two-story rooms. Possibly one may even be a three-story, but I’m not sure if we’ll be able to figure that out. In terms of excavation, you can’t beat the archaeological opportunities at Point Pueblo.”

Stay tuned—who knows what this summer’s field school participants may find.

For an armchair look at the excavation work, dozens of pictures, as well as reports, can be viewed by going to the San Juan College website (sanjuancollege.edu) and typing “totah archaeological project” into the search box.

Wheelbarger believes there were Ancestral Puebloan communities throughout this area. “Archeologists acknowledge that there could have been more people living here then, than there are today. We’re talking tens of thousands of people — that would include along the La Plata, Animas River and San Juan Rivers. There’re tons of sites everywhere here. Another reason this is an archeological mecca.”

She relates that Tommy Bolack has many times said to her, “Imagine standing on the bluffs overlooking Farmington and the San Juan SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 23

River Valley a thousand years ago. You’d be looking at the hub of activity.”

Rite of Passage Sweating through field school was pretty much a rite of passage for budding archeologists in past years. Wheelbarger experienced her first field school while she was a student in anthropology at Wright State University, in her hometown of Dayton, Ohio. She worked on the Normandy Archaeological Project in Tennessee, an area about to be flooded to create a reservoir.

This experience wasn’t the turning point that led Wheelbarger into an archeology career.

Seems it was in her genetic makeup.

“I always liked digging in the dirt. I remember going to Girl Scout camp, and the girls were kind of prissy. I felt like Pig Pen, because I was always out playing in the dirt. Yup, I just like digging in the dirt and finding an cient treasures.”

Wheelbarger attended Wright State University through her junior year, she then took a detour.

A detour that lasted for four years and took her to 29 states across the northern half of the US and into Canada. She got an “itchy foot” and signed on with W. T. Grants stores to be a traveling children’s photographer. Grants stores sold a variety of merchandise, popularly called “five and dime” stores. As the oldest of five siblings, she was good at getting children to smile. “It paid well, I got to travel, and it was a great job,” Wheelbarger recalls. “But I was still interested in anthropology and went to museums and archeological sites all over the place.”

She returned to Wright State and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology in 1975. Wheelbarger began a Master’s program at Washington State University, but a new path opened when, through her professor’s various connections, she got to spend a month on the Dolores Project during the summer of 1978.

That archeological excavation project uncovered Ancestral Puebloan sites within a portion of the Dolores River Valley before the dam was built that created McPhee Reservoir.

She fell in love with the Southwest, and fell in love with her future husband. They met on the Dolores Project. During the next few years, they worked on a variety of “digs and surveys,” which included the Ridges Basin prior to the area being inundated to create Lake Nighthorse.

There were a number of employment opportunities at that time due to implementation of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1975, which required surveys for cultural resources prior to development on federal lands. Eventually, the couple went to work for Salmon Ruins which had contracts with oil and gas companies to do archeological clearances before putting in roads, well sites and pipelines.

By the late 1980s, Wheelbarger had left Salmon Ruins, and she and her husband had also parted ways. But she did have two fine daughters to raise and a new job as co-director, along with Meredith Matthews, of the San Juan College Cultural Resources Management Program.

Wheelbarger taught courses, did contract archeology work and ran the summer field school.

She is not shy about bragging on her daughters, now in their thirties.

Retirement doesn’t mean mowing mown Although Wheelbarger formally retired from San Juan College in 2010, she continues to lead the field school and teaches part-time for the Community Learning Center. Her mission is not only to contribute to the field of archeology, but to educate others about the fascinating history of this area. “I’ve always felt that archeology is something that if you are involved in, it’s your duty to let the public know what you know, because other wise, why are we even doing it?” She figures close to 300 students have participated in the intensive summer field schools. And if you count tours for local residents, college students, volunteers, out-of-state visitors, and school groups, she has probably introduced more than a thousand people to the pre-history of our region.

As co-coordinator of the Site Steward program operated out of Salmon Ruins, she trains volunteers to monitor ruins, petroglyph sites and abandoned homesteads in northwest New Mexico. Navigating with a GPS and safety in the field are part of the training she provides.

24 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

Popular Instructor Community Learning Center Director Liesl Dees, said that, “In the past five years, Linda has taught more than 400 students in dozens of classes. She has a devoted following who are eager to see what she will offer each semester.

Her classes often fill and we’ve had to add class sections to give even more students these hands-on experiences. Students routinely rave on evaluations about how they appreciate Linda’s expertise that comes from years of research. Most of Linda’s classes combine a lecture and field trip so that attendees get classroom learning which provides context for what they see outside.

She exposes both long-time and more recent residents to worldclass archaeology beyond what you can find in local national parks, monuments and museums.”

Dezbah Benally, of Waterflow, is

facts range from small pot sherds and stone tools, to heavy metates, to beautifully decorated pots. Ideally, the finest artifacts will be properly preserved and displayed in a museum setting. She recognizes that the field is shifting away from excavation toward preservation, a reflection, in a way, of her own career. Besides, that “itchy foot” among those repeat students; she has taken four of the classes Wheelbarger has taught. Benally writes of her experiences, “Fellow Encore students frequently comment on Linda Wheelbarger’s contagious enthusiasm and passion as she guides us through our Four Corner Ancestral wonderland. But as a native Navajo, I also appreciate the respect she shows of these ancient sites.“ Itchy foot It’s been 32 years since Wheel-

barger started at San Juan College.

She is considering cutting back on teaching and shortening the summer school. It will be a slow process to wean herself away from the “dig”, but she has two major goals yet to be accomplished. She is committed to write up and publish a summary of the research done through the Totah Archeological Project. Finding a permanent home for the hundreds of thousands of artifacts unearthed during the project also weighs heavy on her mind. The arti-

seems to be resurfacing. She wants to travel. Where to? Archeological sites, of course. Italy’s Pompei and Peru’s Machu Picchu are calling.

Likewise, to Caral, a desert kingdom in southern Peru, considered one of the most ancient cities of the Americas. And, for the ultimate contrast to desert, Alaska is also on her bucket list. She’ll probably pack a trowel.

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Rising Star

26| MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

C n t

Chevel Shepherd, Farmington’s winner of The Voice, has new music, concerts and lot of travvel ahead but vowws to never forget New Mexico and her hometown Story by Margaret Cheasebro Photos by Whitney Howle At age 16, Chevel Shepherd of Farmington is one of the youngest winners of NBC television’s The Voice, a competitive show for singers. “It’s awesome!” she said, a word she uses frequently.

She’s been singing since she was two years old. It comes naturally to her. She had no formal voice training until her TV experience. She absorbed most of what she knows about music, breathing techniques and how to strengthen her diaphragm from listening to her mom and older sister sing around the house. Her mom and sister both have good voices, though her three older brothers don’t sing. Her dad doesn’t sing, but he plays classic rock on his guitars.

Thankful she won Chevel got the idea for competing on television when she watched American Idol. When she saw The Voice, she really wanted to compete there. She had no idea she would be the winner, but she’s thankful it turned out that way. “I was hoping something like this would happen, but I didn’t really know,” she said. “I just went for it.” Though she’s only 4’10” tall, she has a powerful voice and perfect pitch.

Her mother, Julie, was with her during her entire experience on The Voice. “She said when she was up there at The Voice that she didn’t realize how much she enjoyed performing and singing to people,” Julie said. “It just felt like home up there for her. She enjoyed every single minute. She never had a sad face. She never was upset. She never was nervous. She just took in every day and was herself. She wanted to emote the music that she loved so the audience could feel what she feels.”

“I’ve enjoyed every second of it,” Chevel said. “I want to do this as a career.”

Dad names her for a car Chevel hopes to learn to play the guitar

someday partly because she’s enjoyed listening to her dad, Robert, play his guitars. Robert has always loved cars. When she was a baby, he named her Chevel after the 1972 Chevy Chevel.

“I used to call her Little Black Bird because she was squawk, squawk, squawk,” Robert said.

“I thought one day she’ll be someone. That’s why I gave her the name Chevel, because that’s a name you don’t forget. Everywhere we went, she was just sing, sing, sing. At grocery stores, malls, restaurants. I just love her.”

“He thought I was going to be a rock star,” Chevel said. But it was country music that drew her. “I like the heart and the story of country music,” she said. “It’s always just stuck out to me. I love that genre.”

Accomplished at age two Julie remembers how early Chevel’s talent for singing appeared. “At two years old, she could actually hold a tone, hold a beat,” said Julie. “She didn’t sound like a typical two year

old singing. She continued to progress. She sings all the time. I’m so used to her singing that I forget she’s singing. I remember once in Target I was pushing her around in the grocery cart, and she was singing. The next thing I know I’m turning the corner and there are all these people following her, trying to see where this singing is coming from.”

Chevel remembers always loving to sing.

When she was still a pre-schooler, she would stand in front of the bleachers at rodeos that her family attended and sing. “No one asked me to,” she said. “I just did it because I wanted to. It was awesome.”

When she was four, she sang for Farmington Idol, a local live contest. “I wanted to sing ‘Before He Cheats’ by Carrie Underwood, but they wouldn’t let me,” Chevel said. “So I sang a Cinderella song. I wasn’t actually in the competition, but I got balloons and stuff. As I got older, I kept singing on radio stations in Florida and here. I just kept doing it, singing at funerals and weddings, any event I could.”

SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 27

Born in Durango Chevel was born in Durango, Colorado when her family lived in Farmington. They moved to the Bronson, Florida area when Chevel was eight. The family returned to Farmington when Chevel started sixth grade. She attended Tibbetts Middle School and is a junior at Farmington High School.

She was a sophomore when she attended The Voice audition in February 2018. She was a cheerleader that year.

Partway through the year, she quit cheerleading to compete on The Voice. She couldn’t tell anyone about it until the show sent her a picture saying she had auditioned.

In June she returned to California for about a month to participate in the blind auditions in which she sang while judges had their chairs turned away so they couldn’t see her. Three of the four judges turned their chairs for her. She chose Kelly Clarkson as her coach.

Followed her gut “Something inside my gut and in my heart told me to go with Kelly, so I had to,” Chevel said. “She’s like a big sister to me. We text all the time and talk all the time. She’s so funny and down to earth.

It’s easy to be yourself around her. She worked with me on the song I was doing each week and made sure I was singing at my best.

She gave me a lot of good advice like smile when you’re hitting certain high notes. She told me to always be myself and to always put emotion in my song.”

It wasn’t easy for Chevel to keep a secret about what happened in June. She couldn’t talk about it until the show aired. Even then, she couldn’t share a lot, because The Voice would not let her talk about the show’s process.

In July, she and Julie flew back to California for the battles and knock outs portion of the competition.

They were there about two months. In November, they returned to California for eight weeks to compete in the live shows.

28 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

Born in Durango Chevel was born in Durango, Colorado when her family lived in Farmington. They moved to the Bronson, Florida area when Chevel was eight.

The family returned to Farmington when Chevel started sixth grade. She attended Tibbetts Middle School and is a junior at Farmington High School.

She was a sophomore when she attended The Voice audition in February 2018. She was a

cheerleader that year. Partway through the year, she quit cheerleading to compete on The Voice. She couldn’t tell anyone about it until the show sent her a picture saying she had auditioned.

In June she returned to California for about a month to participate in the blind auditions in which she sang while judges had their chairs turned away so they couldn’t see her. Three of the four judges turned their chairs for her. She chose Kelly Clarkson as her coach.

Followed her gut “Something inside my gut and in my heart told me to go with Kelly, so I had to,” Chevel said. “She’s like a big sister to me. We text all the time and talk all the time. She’s so funny and down to earth. It’s easy to be yourself around her. She worked with me on the song I was doing each week and made sure I was singing at my best. She gave me a lot of good advice like smile when you’re hitting certain high notes. She told me to always be myself and to always put emotion in my song.”

It wasn’t easy for Chevel to keep a secret about what happened in June. She couldn’t talk about it until the show aired. Even then, she couldn’t share a lot, because The Voice would not let her talk about the show’s process. In July, she and Julie flew back to California for the battles and knock outs portion of the competition. They were there about two months. In November, they returned to California for eight weeks to compete in the live shows.

Family supports her Julie was with Chevel in California the entire time. “She has gone everywhere with me,” said Chevel. “She was at the hotel in California with me for months at a time, sequestered. We couldn’t go anywhere. She has always supported me and helped if I ever needed help. She’s always been great to have around for emotional and mental support. She’s been really awesome, and I love her to death.”

Most of her family members were able to attend finale week at Universal Studios in Burbank, California.

Chevel loved hanging out with the other contestants, and grew especially close to fellow competitor Sarah Grace. “We spent every single day together,” Chevel said. “It was tons of fun being able to hang out with all the people that share the same passion as you.” She still keeps in touch with them.

Keeping up with school is hard The blind auditions and the battles and knock outs portions of the competition were held during the summer, so Chevel didn’t have to worry about school work. In November and December it was a different story. Competitors spent at least an hour a day in a room doing school work with a teacher in attendance. Farmington High School teachers emailed her school work to her.

“It was hard, really, really hard” to keep on top of her school work, Chevel said. She’s not sure how she did it. “I just tried to focus on school.”

Now that she’s won The Voice, her schedule is pretty hectic, and she does her classwork online. “I’m doing it through Farmington High School so I can still graduate with my class,” she said. “I took a lot of my senior classes this year so I won’t have as many classes my senior year.”

SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 29

Thankful for Farmington support She is grateful for the enthusiastic support she received from everyone at Farmington High School and in the greater Farmington area.

“They were super excited for me,” she said.

The entire town has supported her.

It’s not unusual to see “Congratulations, Chevel” signs on cars and businesses.

Her life now is a whirlwind of activity, and she loves every minute of it.

She and Julie were in Atlanta, Georgia on January 28 recording a music video and a song for One Life Project, which teaches people about global warming and how to take care of the earth. It will be released in March.

“Someone contacted us, and we decided to do it,” Chevel said. “It had nothing to do with The Voice. It is an awesome cause.”

Sings at Clarkson concert On January 31, she was in Glendale, Arizona singing at the Gila River Arena, where Kelly Clarkson was in concert. Chevel performed with her, singing “Broken Hearts” while Kelly harmonized. It was a song Chevel sang on The 30 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

Voice. Her family and her best friend, Aspen Murray, went with her.

“Chevel is a true inspiration to me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it!”

Aspen said.

“She has proven that no dream is out of reach. She is a great friend with a huge heart, and I am so lucky to have her in my life!”

Lots of performing goals Chevel plans to sing at various balls in Albuquerque and Farmington, and she hopes to start working on her album soon.

“I want to sing at the Grand Ole Opry one day,” she said. “I have a lot of goals that I want to reach.

I want to do albums, and I want to do a tour of my own.” She also hopes to start writing her own songs.

Anyone who would like to schedule her for an event may contact Julie through Chevel’s website, www.chevelshepherd.com, where Julie’s email is listed. Julie has become Chevel’s planner and organizer, expanding her stay-at-home job of keeping the home fires

burning. Robert also supports and champions Chevel. He fixes up motorcycles, cars and hot rods, and he collects and sells them.

“He’s one of those entrepreneurs,” Julie said.

“If people have a car they want him to work on, they can contact him. He just loves to do that, so you can’t call it work when you do something that you love.”

Feels passionate for music It’s that same kind of passion Chevel feels for music. People from many places around the world have given her positive support. She hears on social media from people in places like India, Brazil, Mexico, and, of course, the United States.

To thank people in the Farmington area for the many times they voted for her on The Voice and downloaded her music, Chevel and her family organized a free concert January 26 at the Farmington Civic Center. They auditioned several area bands to find Wild Country from Bayfield, Colorado, that accompanied her during the performance. After Midnight, a Farmington band, opened the show for her.

Keeps clothes from The Voice At the Farmington concert, Chevel sang many songs from The Voice and wore costumes she’d worn there.

“I got to keep all the clothes I wore on the show,” she said. “I liked all the songs I sang on the show, so I decided to sing them.”

Even though she knew the songs, she still had to practice with Wild Country so they could learn them.

She enjoyed doing the free show. “My family was with me behind the stage,” she said. “I just got ready. Then I went out and did it. It was lots of fun.” Her photos and colorful tshirts featuring a decorated cowboy boot were on sale during the concert. Chevel plans more shows in Farmington and the surrounding area, though they won’t be free.

A few challenges Along with all the positive things about winning The Voice have come minor incidents that

made the family decide she needed a bodyguard. With her everywhere she goes is a man who calls himself the executive director of operations for a security company that helps to keep her safe.

“I make sure no one touches her,” he said. He chose not to use his name for security reasons.“I treat her like my own daughter,” he said.

“She’s easy to work with. She’s very mature for her age. Her music talent is amazing like I’ve never seen before, and I’ve been around music a lot. But not like this. Not at this level. She’s at the top of the game.”

Need town with larger airport Chevel and her family are in the process of selling their Farmington house and moving to a larger area with access to a bigger airport, perhaps Albuquerque.

They have not chosen a final destination.

“One thing she will never forget is New Mexico and her hometown,” Julie said. “No matter where she ends up, she will always return to give back to the community.”

SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 31

Ken

continued from 21

“You did everything you promised, when you were running for sheriff, and saved the county millions of dollars with that office. ” Kathy said.

He designed that with a stick.”

In capable hands Ken chuckled and admitted he picked up a stick and drew the office’s design in the dirt. “I

32 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

showed them where to tie into the other building. They were pretty appreciative – the whole project was 3.1 million, so I was able to put some extra stuff in with the crime lab,” he said.

Christesen also says he left the office in the capable hands of Shane Ferrari. “I’m so proud of that young man.”

So what might be next for former Sheriff Ken

Christesen. Will he work unsolved cases or just enjoy time with his family at home?

“I miss the people. I don’t miss the craziness.

But I miss the hunt for bad guys,” Christesen said, adding that somewhere down the road he might work on unsolved cases. “I don’t want to be certified anymore. I’ll just research it.”

shop local

SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 33

the fastest growing sport in America This hybrid racket sport will give you a workout Story by Thomas Host Courtnay Photos The San Juan College Health and Human Performance Center has long been a staple in the community offering a full service workout facility, climbing wall, basketball courts and classes teaching health and wellness. These classes range from fitness to yoga to golf through the diverse catalog offered

by San Juan College and Encore.

Quiet offering In 2006, another activity was quietly offered with little fan-fare or response from the community… an up and coming sport called pickleball. Played on a badminton sized court, pickleball is a cross between tennis and ping pong on steroids. It is played with a paddle, a whiffle-type ball and a net that is slightly lower than a tennis net.

It’s beginnings Pickleball started in a driveway cul-de-sac in 1965 in Bainbridge Island, Washington (near Seattle) as a game that families could play in their neighborhood. It got its peculiar name from a family dog 34| MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

named “Pickles” that liked to chase the ball. Fast forward 53 years and pickleball is now considered the fastest growing sport in America with over 2.8 million people playing the game in either a casual or competitive format.

Don Carlson “In the early part of the summer of 2006, a member of the board of directors at San Juan College named Don Carlson asked to speak with me about a pickleball court,” recalls San Juan College HHPC Director Cody Elledge. “I met with Don as he had just retired as the CEO of San Juan Regional Medical Center and he explained how this sport was growing so I started researching pickleball. Every July we resurface the basketball courts in the gym and we decided to put one pickleball court down on the north court. In 2008, Don said we needed another pickleball court on the south end...so we had 2 courts. This year we put down six additional courts along with the original two.”

Only one student at first

Cindy Dunnahoo

Carlson took advantage of the newly placed court at San Juan College and offered a pickleball class in the fall of 2006…only one person signed up. That person

was named Cindy Dunnahoo.

“I was the only student,” said Dunnahoo. “And when Don didn’t want to teach the class anymore after the 2nd year, they asked me to take it over and away it went.

We started with 1 intermediate class, and then we started another class called for beginners. Today we have our beginners class, two intermediate classes and one advanced (another person teaches the advanced class).”

It catches on To understand the explosion in this community in the popularity of pickleball, one must first understand the perfect storm that was a fast growing sport combined with Dunnahoo’s involvement in the HHPC’s success.

Cindy might as well be the face of the HHPC,” said Elledge. “She teaches everything from group exercise class, physical education classes, pickleball, Encore classes, and she is in here working out all the time. She is just a huge part of our team. Everyone knows

Cindy…she has been in this community forever as a teacher and been with us for all these years and we wouldn’t trade her for anyone.”

Dunnahoo came to Farmington in 1978 and has been a physical education teacher for 40+ years.

She started her teaching career at Hermosa Junior High and then moved to Bluffview Elementary.

She continues teaching physical education classes at San Juan College and even acts as a substitute teacher in the Farmington Municipal School District.

She is an avid runner and fitness enthusiast, which helps her lead by example when it comes to teaching the copious number of classes at the HHPC. In her 13 years there she has taught: yoga, weight training, a cardio class called Walk/Jog/Run, power pump weightlifting, core exercise classes, dance and Pickleball.

Dunnahoo expands pickle ball popularity And while Dunnahoo deflects most of the credit for the popularity of the game in the San Juan County Basin, her influence in bringing community members into the game cannot be overlooked.

After Mr. Carlson came in and taught the first pickleball class, Cindy took over and has taught the classes, promoted it in the community, and spread the word,” said Elledge. “We started with 14 hours of open pickleball play per week, and once classes got going with Cindy we got up to 23-24 hours of open play per week. With our six new courts we put in we are currently at 29 hours of open pickleball play per week. The Community Learning Center is planning to put on our first tournament later this spring. I cannot begin to comprehend how much pickleball has exploded in this community. It is a great thing for

our community and the HHPC to have it indoors. The sport is growing…fastest growing sport in the country.”

Fastes growing sport in the country Repeat that once out loud, “Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States”. It is hard to conceptualize until the details explain why that is and how it makes perfect sense.

The cost of entry into the world of pickleball is not very expensive as you can purchase a paddle and the balls for well under $50. Also, the court size is small so the need to run and chase down shots is minute compared to tennis. There

are courts indoors and outdoors and plenty of space to play as two pickleball courts will fit on one full size tennis court. And like tennis, you can play singles or doubles… with doubles being the most social and popular by a wide margin.

“It is a value to a variety of ages and skills,” explained Dunnahoo.

“The variety of skill and the court is small, it allows people who may not be so mobile to have success, and is why it appeals to the older crowd. The game can be recreational, but also offers variety and can be very competitive.”

The rules of the game The basic rules of pickleball are pretty simple. The serve must be underhand with the ball contacted by your paddle below your waist.

The pickleball must bounce once on each side before players can go to the net and start volleying.

There is the non-volley zone called “The Kitchen” where you cannot enter unless the ball has bounced once inside The Kitchen, which is referred to as a dink shot. The player or team can only win points when they have serve. Games can be played to different point totals, but most often is to 11 winning by 2 points or the game can end under a time limit.

Placement first “We start teaching recreationally with placement of the ball and not how hard or vicious you played,” explained Dunnahoo. “The textbooks tell you that there are 2 games: one is recreational, and the other is tournament bound. I don’t have a desire to play in tournaments…my game is quite recreational. I play to enjoy the game, smile, hit some good shots and socialize. We have advanced players that are very competitive and extremely good…their volley game is very fast and reactionary…quick.

We even have a professional in our area (Cami Blake) that travels all over the country playing in tournaments.”

Schedule The HHPC offers open play during the mid-afternoon on Mondays and Thursdays with evening play on Tuesdays and Fridays, while Saturdays offer open play from 7 AM until Noon.

“Three courts are open during open play, so a maximum of 12 people can be playing at one time,” said Dunnahoo. “Many times we also have up to 24 players on the side waiting. We don’t have leagues yet, but they could be coming. And while we have quite the discrepancies of skills and how people want to play the game (recreational versus competitive), we are looking at timing our courts based on skill and ability level, which is how they do it in Durango.”

The demand for the game is growing out of control while the supply of available pickleball courts to meet the demand is lagging behind in our community. With that being said, classes continue to be taught by Dunnahoo year around at San Juan College at a very affordable price ($46 for a 10-week class unless you are over 65 and then it will only cost $6).

All ages “Not only do we offer a wide range of abilities, but a wide range of ages as well,” said Dunnahoo.

“Our youngest player is 14 and our oldest just turned 93 years young. It is such a lovely game to get involved in.”

Pickleball is taking the world, country and now our community by storm and is most definitely here to stay…especially with a passionate advocate like Cindy Dunnahoo leading the charge.

SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 35

10 Questions with Selkirk Pickleball Professional, Cami Blake Cami Blake is a 25 year old professional pickleball player from Kalispell, Montana. She and her husband recently moved to San Juan County and have established residency in Bloomfield. Cami has helped lead the charge in making the sport of pickleball more accessible and getting more of our community’s residents involved in the sport.

Blake grew up in Montana playing basketball and is a two-time state champion in girls tennis which led her to a tennis scholarship to Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, AZ and ultimately (by way of injury) got her into the sport of pickleball.

1. How did your college tennis scholarship transition to pickleball?

I played a year at Eastern Arizona College, in Thatcher, AZ and would have gone on to play at a major university but I tore my labrum. It was a tough recovery, but ultimately led me to pickleball because it is so much easier on your joints.

That labrum injury is and always will be with me.

I can serve a set or two in tennis and be sore

36 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

for a week…whereas I can play six hours of pickleball in a day and not feel a thing.

2. How did you get into pickleball?

After that first year and the injury, I transferred to BYU-Idaho. While I was there, I certified as a tennis teaching professional along with a family friend. He moved back to Kalispell and started teaching while I was getting my degree and teaching a tennis class at the college. I received a phone call from my friend about an older gentleman who had reminded him of the game pickleball. We both knew it from our childhood in PE classes, but had forgotten about it. So he encouraged us to play when we got back and he got us hooked.

3. Why is pickleball the fastest growing sport in America?

The appeal is that people can play for so long and it is not that hard on the body. Anywhere you go, you can find pickleball courts and tournaments for all ages…whether you are five years old or 85 years old.

Anybody can pick up a pickleball paddle and successfully hit dinks across the net their first time out.

I have taught a 5 year old boy in two days how to play pickleball and win points. That is what is awesome about the sport…anybody can play.

You can play the game in singles and doubles just as in tennis. Most people are playing doubles because players only have to cover 10 feet with your partner. Doubles is about getting to the net and dinking balls until someone decides to tee off on one and then it becomes reactionary in the attack game.

There is something extremely addicting about playing doubles. The atmosphere is so different with pickleball because all four players are so close to the net that there is a lot of interaction.

You get to hear their comments and see their expressions. You are so close to the other team for the majority of the game that it is impossible to not talk to the people on the other side of the net. I love that about the sport. It is very welcoming and social.

4. What constitutes being a professional?

Skill ratings are just like they are in tennis.

They go from 2.5 which is beginner all the way up to 5.5 which is a high level and very skilled touring pro. As soon as you hit 5.0 you are considered a professional. I am ranked a little bit above a 5.0 and the skill level number actually will extend out to three decimal places (e.g.

5.032 could be a skill ranking).

You get ranked by playing in tournaments using a similar algorithm as the tennis circuit. So depending on the ranking of the opponent you are facing it is weighted on whether it affects your rating more or less. If I win a tournament and I don’t really play anyone ranked very high, my ranking won’t go up…but if I play and beat a top rated player like Simone Jardin, who is number 1 in the world, then my ranking would go way up.

I am better ranked in singles. You come out of college level tennis and you play the majority of your tournaments in singles…with the passing shot and the ground strokes being so similar to tennis. I am currently ranked in the top ten in women’s singles nationally…toward the back end like sixth, seventh or eighth position.

I went to nationals and finished in fifth place this past year.

5. How much money is involved in being a professional pickleball player?

Five years ago the winner of a national tournament might have received $500, now the winner is receiving $3,500. Which is still not a lot of money, but what comes from it is an increase in sponsorships and teaching lessons. If you go to a tour tournament and win it you might receive $2,000, but if you have a sponsor then they will match that prize money. And most companies will offer stipends to cover travel costs, food and registration if you are a touring pro, which helps keep costs low.

I have been playing professionally for two years and it took me that long to be recognized enough to get a sponsorship from Selkirk. As a Selkirk professional, I am part of an amazing family owned company in Hayden, Idaho that started crafting high level paddles when pickleball started to get big. They make the best paddle when it comes to quality, durability, reliability…the quality is tenfold when compared to other paddles.

6. How does being a professional

player help you as a pickleball teacher?

The bigger money that is made by being a known pro is teaching at camps and giving private lessons. I teach a lot of lessons in the summer time and I give a ton of lessons to older adults in this area.

I came from a place where I was well established, so the challenge was spreading the word and getting my name in the community for lesson opportunities. So when I first came to the community I went to the Farmington Recreation Center and asked if they had pickleball and then I found out about San Juan College. And since they found out that a professional had just moved to town, they were excited and ecstatic.

They welcomed me with open arms and word has traveled fast since then. I am going to have my first clinic at San Juan College in February and we are going to host our first tournament in the summer.

7. I heard your dad travels by car to all your events…speak to that?

My dad travels by car to all of my events. My dad has been amazing. He has been a huge supporter, not just in pickleball, but in all of my events growing up. He loves watching his kids play sports.

I am number seven of eight children and he loved watching all of us play doubles tennis. My older brothers played together and my younger sister and I played together in doubles. We played mostly in Montana. I don’t every recall him missing one of my high school games in basketball, volleyball or tennis. My mom and dad went to everything.

When I got into pickleball and started traveling he said, “I am coming to watch.” He is retired, but when he isn’t building cars as a hobby, he loves to travel…but he hates to fly.

So now I am in New Mexico, and I am playing all over the south and west…he will drive and meet to watch me play. Last year he drove from Montana to New Mexico in 17 hours, then he hopped in the car with me and we drove 23 hours to a tournament in Georgia…watched us play and then did the 40 hours in the car back home.

Family is always first to me and pickleball is second. I am 5 months pregnant with our first child and my parents always said that when I travel and get back on tour, they would be at every tournament to hold and take care of the baby. I am super lucky.

8. What kind of growth do you want/expect to see with pickleball in San Juan County?

What I expect to see with the amount of people already playing is more lines being put down for courts on already built tennis courts.

One tennis court can make two pickleball courts, and most players have their own portable net so they can play anywhere. You SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 37

have already seen it in Aztec at Florence Park Courts; the same thing is going to happen in Bloomfield with their courts. And I expect to see lines painted on the courts at the Sports Complex in Farmington, but it hasn’t been done yet. What we want to see is actual pickleball courts being built, but that takes a lot of money (up to $10,000 per court)…but I see continued growth happening in Farmington area.

9. What else would you like to see to help spread the word?

I would encourage everyone to go and try to play pickleball just once. It is $6.50 to play at San Juan College and it is only $2 to play at the Farmington Recreation Center. And even if you don’t have a paddle, just show up because somebody will lend you a paddle. Even if you have tried tennis and think that you aren’t a racquet sport person…it is so different. It is so much easier to pick up.

And, Pickleball Nationals has just moved to Indian Wells, CA for the 2019 season and beyond and will be telecast on CBS Sports Network and ESPN. I would recommend either going to YouTube and searching for pickleball or tuning in to Nationals in the fall to watch.

38 | MAJESTIC LIVING | SPRING 2019

10. What do you charge for lessons and how can somebody get in touch with you?

I charge $25/hour for a private lesson…$15 per person for a two-player lesson and

$10/hour for a four-person group lesson. I teach in Aztec at their courts, when the Bloomfield courts get lines painted I will teach there as well. If you are interested in learning the fastest growing sport in America, you can contact me at camimathisonblake@hotmail.com

M L

What a difference a year makes. In spring 2018 we were lamenting the lack of snow and worrying about water shortages.

But this year, with an above normal snowpack everyone is itching to get outside and enjoy a great spring and summer.

That’s the thing about New Mexico weather - all we know is that we never know but wait 15 minuets and it will all change. Here are some items to kick off the season.

Coolest Things It’s raining spring

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fly Me t0 the Moon

vGazer levitating Moon www.amazon, www.target.com Thanks to the latest in levitation technology, the Moon Lamp levitates in the air at all times and can rotate continuously or stay in a fixed position - it's up to you. It uses wireless charging technology, so it can be charged even while levitating!

Moon size: 4 x 4 inches Base size: 5.3 x 1 inches

$89 to 129

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Coffee a warM shave addiCtion? to start the day no probleM! the bripe brews coffee kit www.amazon, Gillette heated razor www.digitaltrends.com www. Amazon, WalMart, Ebay

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This ultra light, ultra portable coffee brew pipe is capable of making an awesome coffee shot in under three minutes. The pipe is made of pure copper and includes a copper cooling stand and patent-pending inner core for faster brewing. A variable photo etched stainless steel filter is designed to be used with various types of coffee grinds. The process works by first inserting the filter into the body of the copper pipe, covering the stem hole.

Gillette's innovation branch debuted this heated razor for an Indiegogo campaign and it was wildly popular — probably because a razor that mimics the barbershop treatment without tacking on more blades sounds pretty nice. In less than a second, the razor heats up to 122 degrees, warming soap and skin for an upgraded shave.

Maxwell spart was ahead of\ his tiMe smart shoe www.e-vone.com A connected shoe that can send a message to your relatives if you fall down is cool – it brings function to the concept of connected footwear and can help save lives.

This new kind of shoe tops our list of the five coolest things we saw at CES (formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show).

$150 to 175

$149.99

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WATCHING OVER bAbY

COCOON PLUS bAbY MONITOR Mam bear necklace www.cocooncam.com, www.amazon.com The Cocoon Cam baby breathing monitor can track your baby’s breathing while she sleeps. It’s one of a new generation of high-tech devices that give parents an unprecedented level of information about their babies. It uses computer vision to collect a baby’s vital signs with a motiondetecting video camera that syncs with a smartphone app. It tracks the rise and fall of baby’s chest (or back) to monitor breathing patterns. The detection works through a blanket or when a baby is swaddled. $129 to 149

THREW THE LOOKING GLASS Lucid Mirror www.incommongoods, www.Amazon

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Experience walking in a forest and seeing the light flicker through the trees as you move, or the exhilaration of seeing the sun burst from behind a bank of billowy clouds. all right in your home. This design incorporates three functions in one frame: a mirror, an ambient light source, and an illusionistic work of art. It combines LED lighting with a lenticular photographic image composed of 70 layers for a 3D effect of remarkable depth. A smart choice for small spaces, it transforms from functional mirror to decor with the touch of a button. $$880

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HTOGO bARROW

H2Go Wheelbarrow bag www.worx.com, Amazon, Home Depot Transporting water has never been such a breeze! The H2gO bag holds up to 20 gallons of water. Get water to an area where a hose is not available. You'll wonder why you ever strained to carry only two five-gallon buckets! Bag measures 40" x 28".

Holds 20 gallons of water. Comes with a non-slip mat to place in the wheelbarrow.

Sprinkler head included.

Great for using around the barn, garden, farm, or even construction sites. NOTE: Wheelbarrow not included.

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WeMo light switch www.Amazon, , Amazon, Home Depot The elegance of The Frame TV goes beyond a 4K HDR crisp, clear picture and delivers ingenuity turning a screen into a personal art gallery. Every detail elevates a room with artistic appeal, including a design to sit flush on the wall and hide unsightly wires. 43 inches, 49 inches, and 55 inches. $1,79 to $2,200

$20 to 29 SPRING 2019 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 41

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