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A New SV Media publication
Friday, August 11, 2017
gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 150, No. 32 • $1
BUSINESS: Wrangle western deals at new Ariat store P4
Glen View Elementary gets a new principal
LOCAL SCENE Broadway Musical free Friday See Gilroy Children’s Musical Theater’s "Broadway Movie Musical" outdoors for free this Friday, at the Gilroy Center for the Arts! Filmed by local movie company 152 West Productions, this two-hour film features over 75 local youth from Gilroy and Morgan Hill. The Gilroy Children's Musical Theater recreates Broadway's greatest moments on film, performing songs from hit shows like Wicked, Matilda, Hamilton, Something Rotten, School of Rock, and many more. The film starts at dusk. (Approx 8:45pm) Bring your own chair and blankets. Concessions available. Alcohol is not allowed. Gilroy Center for the Arts is at 341 Monterey Rd.
EDUCATION IS A JOURNEY FOR GILROYAN By Brad Kava Editor
Pause for Paws
Halloween Jobs Great America is ramping up hiring for the 10th anniversary of Halloween Haunt, with salaries for monsters and makeup artists starting at $13.05 an hour. Apply at https://www.cagreatamerica. com/jobs/monster-jobs
Hip Hop Mondays, Guitar Wednesday Remember when you used to get shhhhhhhshed at the library. No more. Now, you can work on your hip hop or guitar skills there. The Gilroy Library has a hip hop dance class every Monday 6 p.m.-7 p.m., that welcomes dancers of all skill levels. There’s also a guitar class Aug. 16 from 2 p.m.3:30 p.m., where you can learn some basics of how to play the guitar. You have to bring your own guitar. Adults and teens are welcome. Go to the Gilroy Library site to sign up for the free classes. (https://www.sccl. org/Locations/Gilroy).
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
AUGUST 11, 2017
A section of the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
Top of the World
Brad Kava
Operation Freedom Paws is holding its annual Paws with Patriots Wine Gala Saturday at San Martin’s Operation Freedom Paws Canine Education Center, 13920 Llagas Ave. The night features wine, entertainment, auctions and dinner to support the organization’s mission of matching veterans and others with disabilities with rescued dogs to train and certify as service dog teams. The event goes from 5 p.m.-10 p.m. and costs $75 in advance and $95 at the door. Tickets are available a Eventbrite.com. Search Paws with Patriots.
TOP COP At 6 feet 8 inches tall, new Police Chief Scot Smithee is one of the few people who get to look down
on his equine officers. Smithee retired from Gilroy Police and now returns to the department’s top $185,000 a year slot. He had been serving temporarily since January.
Public Servant #1 JUST THE FACTS FROM GILROY’S NEW TOP COP By Bryce Stoepfel Reporter
After a nationwide search, the City of Gilroy didn’t need to look far beyond the city’s limits for a police chief. Last Wednesday, during his official swearing in ceremony at New Hope Church Scot Smithee came out of retirement to become the Gilroy Police Department’s newest police chief. “I decided the day I wake up in the morning and I’m not ready to come back to work, that would be the day that I leave,” Smithee said. “Long story short, that day never came.”
NEW ENGINE SEATS SIX, HOLDS 700 GALLONS OF WATER
Snow Valley Peak Challenge
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South Valley Magazine
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Q: How did you become interested in police work? A: I got my interest in police work with the Atherton Police Department. I was a police Explorer and Cadet before I turned 18. Coming here as a reserve I’d work weekend nights once a week.
I put myself through the police academy in 1985 and was then hired full time. During the week, when I was swinging a hammer in 100-degree heat, I couldn’t wait for the day to be over. I decided, maybe I should try this for awhile. I envisioned myself doing police work for three to five years and then going back to take over the family business building homes. Q: What separates the GPD from others? A: It comes down to philosophy, A department is kind of like a big family. You can extend that to the whole community and Gilroy feels like a big family. You must hire ➝ Chief Smithee, 10
New bells, whistle, siren, LED
By Bryce Stoepfel T OUT & ABOU OF CALE NDAR EVEN TS
On Monday Chief Smithee, 52, sat down to field questions from the Gilroy Dispatch. He spoke about the changing nature of police work, the role of the press, immigration and the challenge of being a police officer in an increasingly politically polarized world. He spoke of the joys of his work, the difficulties, and dangers, along with the issues that police officers in Gilroy face on a daily basis.
Reporter
The Gilroy Fire Department has a new flagship to lead its armada of fire fighting equipment. On Monday, before the Gilroy City Council meeting, Gilroy firefighters displayed their new Pierce Quantum fire engine. With a price tag of more than $665,000, the engine is expected to serve the city for at least 20 years.
“This is the first new fire engine we’ve had in this city in the last 12 years,” Fire Chief Alan Anderson said. “We put a committee together to research what the best in the industry was and this is what they come up with.” With a six cylinder Detroit Diesel motor, the capacity to hold 700 gallons of water and seat six firefighters, pneumatic steps, state-of-the-art displays and indicators, it might be hard to choose the coolest thing on the fire engine. “The LED lights for sure,” Anderson said. “We can turn a
neighborhood into daytime with the flick of a switch.” The Pierce Quantum fire engine has hoses, pumps and water, used to apply the muscle needed to combat fires. Fire trucks, as opposed to fire engines, carry the long extendable hydraulic ladders with other special equipment for forcible entry, ventilation and search and rescue. Besides axes and saws, the engine is equipped with a 24-foot extension ladder and a 12-foot roof ladder, along with a ➝ New Fire Engine, 14
Glen View Elementary School will start the school year with a new principal, Christine Pereira Vasquez, who replaces seven-year veteran Corina Sapien. Pereira Vasquez began her teaching career at the Salinas City Elementary School Districtt where she taught kindergarten for five years. She came to GUSD in 2005 to continue teaching elementary students. In her most recent assignment, she was an academic coach for Eliot and Glen View Elementary Schools providing training and support to staff with lesson plans, new curriculum implementation, and professional development. ”I have also continued my own educational journey so that I can continue to make a difference,” said Pereira Vasquez. “I am very excited to be carrying on the school’s vision, working with incredible staff, and making a positive difference for our students and families. ” District Superintendent Dr. Deborah A. Flores praised her. “Through her work as the Academic Coach at Glen View, she has become very familiar with the school and has developed a strong working relationship with staff,” she said. Pereira Vasquez, 39, lives in Gilroy with her husband and two children, Maleah, 9, who will be going into the 4th grade at Eliot Elementary and son Tristan, 15, who will be going into the 10th grade at Christopher High School. She began her new position Aug. 4. Sapien, the former principal who was with the District for 28 years in various capacities, will be Administrator for District Relations representing the Sobrato Early Academic Literacy (SEAL) program. The SEAL program is designed to build the capacity of preschools and elementary schools to develop the language and literacy skills of young Spanishspeaking English Learner children and to close the academic achievement gap by fourth grade. Five schools within GUSD have implemented the SEAL program – Antonio Del Buono, Eliot, El Roble, Glen View, and Rucker Elementary Schools.
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