Gil1729

Page 1

ESTABLISHED 1868

A New SV Media publication

Friday, July 21, 2017

gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 150, No. 29 • $1

BUSINESS: Gilroy’s heaviest company grosses $19 million a year P4

Captain demoted; reason is not being released

LOCAL SCENE Gilroy Benefit for SJPD Officer Sandy’s Cafe is hosting a spaghetti feed Friday evening 4-7 p.m. to help retired San Jose Police officer Juan Reyes in his battle with ALS. It’s $12 a plate and all proceeds to go the family to help with medical costs. Sandy’s is at 6120 Monterey Road.

Bike Awards

REASSIGNED TO PATROL, GPD’S LOWEST RANK

Do you know someone that strives to make Gilroy a better place for bicyclists and pedestrians? The Gilroy Bicycle Pedestrian Commission is seeking nominees each month for recognition. Award, including for adults and kids. Get the document here: http:// www.cityofgilroy.org/ DocumentCenter/Home/ View/6628

By Jack Foley Senior Editor

Gilroy residents have a chance for a free degree

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN

JULY 21, 2017

FEASTING ON FIFTH

A section of the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times

Food trucks have gone upscale and gourmet in Gilroy

Inside this issue: Food Truck Review

STEFANIA WINE P10 | LION KING P12 | REALTOR MARY SQUIRE P16

6

58015 02001

Bryce Stoepfel

Online education leader Study.com launched its Working Scholars program in Gilroy this month offering anyone living or working in the city the chance to earn a free bachelor’s degree. All costs are community funded: covered by the local business community, philanthropic organizations, grants, individual donations and more. The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce partnered with Study.com to bring Working Scholars to the city. Fresh off the heels of the success of a similar program in Mountain View, the initiative was kicked off with an info session held at Gilroy High School theatre. Attendees were introduced to success coaches, including Mark Turner, CEO and President of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce and Dr. Michelle Bresso, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Gavilan College. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 25% of Gilroy residents over the age of 25 have a bachelor’s degree. Study.com said that 27 potential scholars activated accounts within just one day of the invitation email being sent, and 17 applicants had already completed the required college success course. Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis as further community funding is secured to finance the cost. More information about the Working Scholars program is available at www. workingscholars.org

TAKE AIM Nick Liao and Emily Power shoot at half inch targets from five feet away, something that is as hard as shooting bigger targets from a greater distance.

Shooting at bugs THE ANNUAL EVENT DRAWS 300 PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER CALIFORNIA By Bryce Stoepfel Reporter

High atop Mount Madonna the satisfying thwack of arrows piercing targets was abundant Sunday at the annual Mount Madonna Bowmen Bug Shoot. Archers from all over California converged on the archery range nestled among the redwoods and chaparral of Mount Madonna County Park, in what is the organization’s largest fundraiser and with nearly 300 shooters this year’s event was another success.

build the bugs and it adds a fun challenge.” The annual shoot was a reunion of sorts for archers from as far as Fresno, Sacramento and Lodi. Groups of six people took turns at the targets from varying ranges, some as far as 90 yards and some short as five feet. Keeping score as they went, the archers took opportunities to apply good natured trash talk, based on the placement of the previous shots of their competitors. One recalled the exact spot in which he blew two bows in as many years, an ominous occurrence he was happy to not repeat. “It's a signature event; no other archery range puts on a novelty ➝ Archery, 12

New Pacheco Dam proposed DISTRICT CONSIDERS $800 MILLION PROJECT By Brad Kava Editor

In the wake of half a decade of drought and torrential rains last winter, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is proposing an $800 million dam that will make the 0

Men and women, young and old, wielded compound and standard bows, targeting menacing, foam bug targets, made by the Mount Madonna Bowmen, providing inviting targets. An upright green grasshopper, arms stretched as if seeking prey, took arrows all over its body at one of the shoots. The idea of the bugs was inspired by the winged nuisances that occupy Mount Madonna. “This was an event started well over 30 years ago,” said Curtis Campisi, President of the Mount Madonna Bowmen and co-owner of Predator’s Archery in Gilroy. “Being up in Mount Madonna, of course, there are a lot of mosquitos and bugs up here,” Campisi, 52, said. “We took on the challenge to

Pacheco Reservoir 25 times bigger and ease droughts and floods, the district says. The reservoir off Highway 152 near Casa de Fruta supplies water to Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. This would be the county’s first big water project since it built Uvas Reservoir in 1957. “We would have

a large reservoir we could depend on for a long period of time,” said Melih Ozbilgin, the project’s manager who is working to meet an Aug. 14 deadline to apply for funding from the California Water Commission. “It has the potential for reducing floods downstream when the rains come from the hills and it will relieve us from having to use

ground water in times of drought.” One of the problems during the drought was that water started tasting and smelling bad because of algae blooms at the San Luis Reservoir, which would be helped by having more available fresh water. The reservoir now holds 6,000 acre feet of ➝ Pacheco Dam, 12

For perhaps the first time in its history, a veteran Gilroy police captain has been demoted from the department’s second highest rank to its lowest, according to city officials. “I have been here a long time and this has never happened (before) to my knowledge, at least not in the 33 years I’ve been here, Police Chief Scot Smithee said this week. Citing confidentiality laws surrounding personnel matters, he and other city officials, including City Administrator Gabe Gonzalez, would not say why former Capt. Royce Heath was stripped of his management rank and demoted to police officer. The demotion stems from an alleged violation of departmental policy or city rules that happened long before Heath was promoted in the spring of 2016 to be one of four captains, the rank right under police chief, according to Health’s San Luis Obispo attorney, Dennis Belsamo. “There are no criminal allegations, it’s strictly internal allegations of a violation of police department rules, city rules,” he said. LeeAnn McPhillips, Gilroy’s Human Resources Director declined to discuss specifics of the case. “We are not able to confirm date of a peace officer rank change or if a peace officer employee was on administrative leave as that would require accessing a Peace Officer personnel file,” she said in an email Wednesday. Without referencing the Heath matter, she said appeals are in process and that the city takes such matters seriously. Police and fire personnel are held “to an even higher standard,” she said. “When something serious happens and the facts support that, you will see the city take serious action in what we believe is the best interest of the organization and the city we are,” McPhillips said. ➝ Demoted, 2


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Gil1729 by Weeklys - Issuu