HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
A New SV Media publication
Friday, August 18, 2017
sanbenito.com • Vol. 144, No. 33 • $1
LOCAL SCENE
The Rozas House hits 161 years
Dark sky
Not since bellbottom jeans and cults were popular has a total solar eclipse been visible across the United States. On Monday, August 21, Americans are in for a treat as the morning sky turns dark when the moon travels in front of the sun, leaving a shadow in its wake. The eclipse will be best viewed along the 70-mile-wide path of totality, which goes from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Excited spectators are already packing out those places, with reports of high accommodation costs and fears of clogged highways. Current Airbnb prices in Lincoln Beach during the eclipse range from $500 to over $1500 for a single night. While we will only get to see a partial eclipse, peak viewing time will begin around 10:16 a.m. and is expected to last around two minutes and 40 seconds. Remember, looking directly at the sun can cause serious eye damage. Star watchers recommend people view the eclipse with a filtering device such as special solar eclipse glasses or a telescope with a solar filter.
OWNERS GIVE HISTORY TOUR TO CELEBRATE Roseann Hernandez Cattani Editor
Dirty cars beware
Be prepared
An emergency preparedness fair will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kmart parking lot, located at 491 Tres Pinos Road in Hollister. Hosted by the San Benito County Office of Emergency Services the event will share tips on how to properly prepare for and respond to disasters and other emergencies. Representatives from multiple agencies, including the Community Emergency Response Team and San Benito County Public Health will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. The fair is free and open to the public.
Coffee with the president
at San Benito High School.
School back in session MEASURE G FUNDS PUT TOWARDS UPGRADES Nicholas Preciado Reporter
HOLLISTER CA. PERMIT #48
The San Benito County chapter of the national nonprofit organization Birthday Cakes 4 Free started last spring and group members have been bringing cakes, cupcakes and muffins to low-income seniors and children ever since then. Since the group started in June, its members have delivered about five cakes a month to the Emmaus House, Chamberlain's Children Center and the assisted living facility Whispering Pines Inn. Now they're looking to expand to individual homes in the county. A2
“Schools are built over time so when we start to touch the campus we have to meet new codes and regulations,” Tennenbaum said. Other campus additions include a new staff lounge, updated special education room and 10 all-gender bathrooms. “That was a big one for us. We want to make sure we’re responding to the current needs of all our populations,” Tennenbaum said. Although summer projects are near completion, more construction is expected over the next three to four years. Tennenbaum said they aim to convert the section of campus south of Nash Road into a new hub with an open flow corridor. “The goal is to create a walkable campus with a central hub so that students can get to all the facilities,” Tennenbaum said.
Solar revisions
installed throughout the 116-acre campus. “We are a very large campus and so one of the things we’re trying to do is communicate better with the public,” Tennenbaum said. “What we noticed this year with our freshman was a constant stream of freshmen at all the campus directories. That was a good sign.” Buildings on campus also received exterior lettering to help students and staff distinguish locations. “We’re a large campus and it does help for emergency situations and emergency services,” Tennenbaum added. Campus upgrades also help the school come into compliance with American Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. Tennenbaum highlighted some of the ADA improvements in Baler Alley, including the addition of designated handicap parking areas, handrails and wheelchair ramps.
The company vying to build a 247-megawatt solar farm in Panoche submitted a draft supplemental environmental impact report addressing plans to examine impacts under a revised, reduced proposal. PV2 Energy filed the supplemental draft EIR on Dec. 23. The prior company overseeing the project, Solargen Energy, had an initial EIR approved by the county board in late 2010. A5
SPORTS
Incoming freshman are not the only new addition to San Benito High School this fall. Thanks to funding from a school bond measure that passed in 2014 and quick work done by construction crews this summer, the high school campus that enrols up to 3,000 students from throughout the county, is gleaming and includes a brand new building for vocational instruction. Open to students the first day of school last Thursday, the bright red Career Technical Education (CTE) building is a campus standout. Divided into four components agriculture, woodworking, metalworking and
auto shop - each comes with a classroom and fully-stocked workshop. “All our instructors were able to participate in the design of their workspaces,” Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum said during a campus tour earlier this week. “They shared their feedback and input on design.” The new building is part of series of campus upgrades that was completed this summer by Blach Construction, which has offices in Monterey and San Jose. “The window was very small,” Tennenbaum said. “We had great construction crews and great leadership. They were able to accomplish roughly four months of work in seven weeks.” Numerous classrooms received new paint, whiteboards, tackboards, carpet and upgraded technology like a campuswide PA system. A total of 18 different campus directories were
Soph surge
PAID
BRAND NEW Superintendent Shawn Tenennbaum stands inside the new Career Technical Education Building
A year ago, Brad Sparrer was the No. 5 player in the lineup on San Benito High’s golf team. But entering the 2015 season—practice starts on Feb. 1—the 5-foot-8, 140pound sophomore will likely be the Haybalers’ No. 1 player. Sparrer’s meteoric rise came the good old-fashioned way: hard work. B1
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE
Grab a cup of coffee on the house with Gavilan College President and Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Rose Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Mars Hill Coffeehouse. The informal gathering will give people an opportunity to talk about what’s happening at Gavilan College.
Robert Eliason
Support the Anzar High Football team at a special car wash fundraiser Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at San Juan School, 100 Nyland Drive, in San Juan Bautista. Football players and coaching staff will wash, scrub and buff dirty vehicles large and small to raise money to cover essential costs for the 2017 season. Items including equipment, lights for home games, bus rides to away games and referees can exceed $12,000 for which the team must raise funds.
Hollister decides on dispensary
58015 02002
7
➝ Cannabis, 4
➝ Rozas House, 4
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
AUGUST 18, 2017
Hollister tea company creates robust flavors
A section of the Hollister Free Lance
****ECRWSS**** Residential Customer 6
one of the staff-recommended dispensary applicants, Higher Level of Care, which operates a medical cannabis dispensary in Castroville, and Layla’s Landing. The mayor did not like the Layla’s Landing proposed site at 817 Industrial Drive, a recently renovated warehouse that was listed by a number of cannabis business applicants that failed to move forward on Monday.
of wood-fired oven used to make his pizzas. In starting the business, he is also bringing a taste of his family’s home country to his family’s hometown in Hollister. The Felice family is from the Calabria part of Italy and has deep roots in San Benito County as well. With the opening of Forno, meanwhile, Hollister will once again
The Hollister City Council approved local medical cannabis business Purple Cross Rx to move forward in the dispensary permit process after a testy face-off between council members and
packed council chamber. “I think we have more work to do here. I think we need to step back and revise our ordinance so we get it right the first time. It won’t be perfect, but I see problems coming here that we need to address. We owe it to the public to get it right.” When the council approved the citywide medical cannabis ordinance in December, the dispensary limit was capped at two facilities. Velazquez said he couldn’t support either
TURN TO PIZZA • A8
Reporter
San Juan resident:
Nicholas Preciado
Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velazquez. After hearing presentations from six medical cannabis dispensary applicants, Velazquez said he had lingering concerns over the city’s medical cannabis ordinance that requires a 150-foot setback from residences. The initial setback was 600 feet, but was changed during the months long deliberation process. “I quite frankly don’t think we’re ready,” Velazquez said to a
Project planned for Y Road
KATIE HELLAND •REPORTER khelland@freelancenews.com
A $16 million bridge stretching 900 feet across the San Benito River is planned to connect Y Road and San Juan Bautista. But in this rural area, the number of people it will serve is small. “It's like our own bridge to nowhere,”
HOLLISTER
11 PERMITS APPROVED FOR CANNABIS CULTIVATION, PROCESSING
Cake, anyone?
For seventy-five years Emelda Lugo Rozas occupied the house at 31 Polk Street in San Juan Bautista. There, with husband Ambrosio, she raised 12 children and lived to be 104 years old. The wooden structure, now called Rozas House, is an example of post-adobe construction, and was originally built in 1856 by Chilean Bartolome Samit. At that time the singlelevel structure was used as a boarding house with multiple rooms. When the Rozas took it over in 1891, the house became their primary residence. It was not until nearly 100 years later that the house came under the possession of a non-Rozas family member and on Sunday, that family threw open the doors of the historic house to celebrate the structure’s 161th birthday. “We are the first nonfamily members to own it,” said Shawna Freels, whose parents bought the house in 1977. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. “The house has always been a residence but there have been other occupants,” said Freels during the Sunday tour. “There was a real estate agency, little shops, artists. We had a hairdresser when I moved here as a kid.” The house is filled with history, from the warped floors to its wood panelled ceilings. “There is no foundation,” said Freels. “The house was built directly on the dirt and without any flooring. There was just packed dirt.” Except for the addition of a bedroom, everything at the house is in its original state. “There used to be a fireplace, which was removed before we bought the place. Everything is original, nothing has been restored yet,” she said. To help fund the restoration of the house in future and to support other historic preservation activities in San Juan Bautista, a nonprofit, Rozas House org., Inc. has been established.
Blended Bliss
WINE FAUX PAS P8 | VEGGIE SURPLUS P16 | REALTOR TAMARA LUCACHIN P19
Inside this issue: San Benito Tea Company is hot
said Jim ranch on walk from The ri complet the Fede Toll Cred with con of 2017. “The k