ESTABLISHED 1868
A New SV Media publication
Friday, September 8, 2017
gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 150, No. 36 • $1
BUSINESS: Gilroy Gardens spreads awareness of rare disease P2
Gavilan kicks 17 players off team
LOCAL SCENE Honor a vet with a brick at Christmas Hill
Golf for the Knights
SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
T OUT & ABOU OF CALE NDAR EVEN TS
A section of the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
TAINS
Gilroy Artist Elissa Nesheim is reconstructing landscapes
➝ Cannon, 8
➝ Gavilan, 10
cul-de-sac and moved quickly uphill, burning 100 acres. There was no air support in the dark.
Fire in the Hills STEEP HILLS, DARK AND DRY WIND PROPELLED THE BALLY BLAZE
It was already a long week. Working a 96-hour shift as a firefighter in extreme heat, away from home, away from family, can be draining. But when the bell rings, tired or not, members of the Gilroy Fire Department are on the job. At 7 p.m. on Sunday nine Gilroy firefighters were first on the scene of a 50-acre fire above Eagle Ridge. Reinforcements had not yet arrived, and it was too dark for air support. That didn't matter. There was a job to be done. By Wednesday, the blaze was 65
By Bev Stenehjem
Inside this issue:
Contributor
People living in the more rurals areas of Gilroy are losing sleep and wondering about a regular loud popping noise that sounds like a shotgun going off. It turns out that farmers are using propane-powered machines that blast off at set intervals to scare away the birds
Watercolor landscapes
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allowed to do what they need to mitigate crop destruction, according to the county’s Right to Farm act. That act even trumps local noise ordinances. Tim Slater, owner of Sarah’s Vineyard on Hecker Pass, used to use the cannons, but got rid of them after neighbors complained. He’s replaced them with nets to keep birds away. “I owned a few of them, they are called Zon guns,” said Slater.
Gavilan College removed 17 out-of-state football players—all but one of them African American— from the team and campus last week, claiming the athletes had received prohibited transportation, housing and food benefits and were improperly recruited. They all lived in the same three-bedroom house in Hollister, rentfree for the month of August, on the condition that they would buy school and housing supplies and start paying rent in September. Two assistant coaches were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, and one of them resigned. The students contend the college removed them out of racial bias and believe that the administration simply found an excuse to throw them out of school. They said the school treated them like “thugs” and “criminals,” including calling seven cars from the Santa Clara County Sheriff ’s office and Gilroy Police Department to the school on the day they were told they were to be removed from the team. The players said they were forced to hand over their phones to the administration and to give the administration access to text messages and emails. They say they were denied access to attorneys to defend themselves. Many were given plane tickets home, although the administration said they were offered a chance to stay in school, but not remain on the team. The players denied that. “We didn’t do anything, so why are we getting kicked out of school?” asked Meek Jones, who was among five athletes who spoke to the Gilroy Dispatch. Jones is from Virginia, along with Josh Riley from Chicago, Devyn Edward from Oregon, and Terrance Cherry from Baltimore. The players said all they
SCARY HOT Gilroy firefighters were first on the scene Sunday night as a blaze began right above the Ballybunion
THOSE EXPLOSIONS ARE LEGAL, IF ANNOYING
RAPAZZINI WINERY P8 | BAMBOO GARDEN P18 | REALTOR LORI ROBITAILLE BIASCA P20
6
Sports Editor
percent contained and no homes or lives were lost. “It sounded like a plane was coming down for a landing,” said Kevin Bebee, 43, of the sounds the huge flames were making. “It was like a jet engine.” There are dangers, other than the fire itself. The terrain was steep and trees were weakened by the fire. “On the fire line you could see boulders that would get exposed by the fire, and there’s potential for those to shift,” said Casey Main,40, a firefighter paramedic. “There are so many different variables that you need to look out for. You always need to watch out where you’re going.” Firefighters are trained to expect the unexpected and they rely on extensive training to make it through dangerous situations.
But every emergency is different. “I was basically the first one there on the scene,” Main said. “As soon as we pulled out of Las Animas Station we could see that it was a significant column of smoke. Based on that we could tell it wouldn’t be the typical fire. We train and talk about it, but this is the first time in 11 years that I’ve seen something that big here in the city limits.” Added Bebee: “We knew it was going to be big. We knew it was going to take a long time and we were going to be working hard.” Upon arrival at the heel of the fire, a cul-de-sac on Ballybunion Court, the firefighters were relieved to see that the fire which started in the dry, grassy hills
➝ Ballybunion, 4
Sounds like the Fourth of July
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
MOUNTAINS
Cheeto Barrera
By Bryce Stoepfel
The first Knights of Columbus charity golf tournament kicks off Saturday at noon at Gilroy’s Municipal Golf Course. Registration is at 11 a.m., Tee time is noon and there is a barbecue, raffle and awards at 3 p.m. Money raised goes to an assortment of Gilroy charities. A single payer fee is $80; dinner only is $25 and there is a four person scramble of nine holes and a cart. You can also sponsor a hole for $100. For registration and information, call (408) 710-1773.
MOVING
TWO COACHES SUSPENDED AFTER AN INVESTIGATION
Cesar Vega
The Veterans Memorial at Christmas Hill Park honors Gilroyans who have served the country, but space for the commemorative bricks is running out. “There are nearly 600 bricks already in place, and we only have space for about 80 more,” said Bob Diaz, Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 6309, which sells the bricks. “This is a lasting way to honor our veterans.” The brick pavers, for a donation of $75, can include up to two lines of 20 spaces. Pavers typically include the veteran’s name, branch of service and dates served. Applications are available through the VFW or at the Veterans Memorial Hall at 74 West Sixth Street in Gilroy. The VFW John A. Berry Post 6309 established the Veterans Memorial on the Ranch Site of Christmas Hill Park in June 2006. The monument features the logos of the six branches of military service, three flag poles and the brick pavers honoring local veterans. In August 2014 the final brick was placed, however there is still demand for more bricks by local veterans and their families. As a result, the Gilroy City Council approved the expansion for up to 160 more spaces for the bricks. Founded in Gilroy in 1946, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6309 is a patriotic veterans’ organization that fosters camaraderie among veterans of overseas conflicts. Its mission is to serve the veterans and the community and to advocate on behalf of all veterans. Worldwide there are more than 2 million VFW members. In Gilroy, there are nearly 300 members.
and deer that would otherwise decimate their crops. Neighbors have taken to websites to complain. “As homeowners, we should have received prior notices about these loud noises–at the very least, they shouldn't be going off all night long,” one resident wrote. Another resident lamented, “So annoying.” Police have heard the complaints, but say the noise is legal, according to Gilroy Police Sgt. Jason Smith. He said farmers are
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