HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
A New SV Media publication
Friday, October 13, 2017
sanbenito.com • Vol. 144, No. 41 • $1
LOCAL SCENE
Fault line blocks aquatic center
Help Sonoma and Napa rebuild A fund has been established to send contributions directly to community-based efforts to aid victims of this week’s catastrophic Sonoma and Napa fires. The Rebuild Sonoma Fund, an advised fund of the 501(c) (3) Silicon Valley Community Foundation, was established by the Santa Rosa-based North Bay Bohemian to assist victims of the catastrophic October 2017 Northern California fires. With no administrative overhead, all funds will be transferred directly to community-based nonprofits that provide direct aid to the rebuilding and relief effort. The North Bay Bohemian is part of Metro Newspapers, a family of newspapers that includes New SV wMedia, publisher of the Free Lance. To contribute online: rebuildsonomafund.org To contribute via mail: Rebuild Sonoma c/o Silicon Valley Community Foundation 2440 W El Camino Real, Suite 300 Mountain View, CA 94040
SAN BENITO HIGH’S 2 NEW POOLS ARE OK Nicholas Preciado Reporter
Optometrist of the Year
HOLLISTER TOP COP A FAN AND EARLY USER OF SOCIAL MEDIA
for his approachability and use of social media— was in his element at Mars Hill Coffeehouse. “It helps us communicate with the public, which for me is vital and key to the success of my agency,” said Westrick of the police department’s use of Facebook and Twitter. “But it also helps us convey those messages we’d want to put out.” While some might think there are drawbacks to putting yourself out there, Westrick said he doesn’t mind.
Nicholas Preciado Reporter
Hollister cops met with a dozen local residents over coffee last week for an event aimed at bringing police together with the community they serve. Coffee with a Cop is a national initiative and in Hollister, police chief David Westrick—known
“I don’t mind listening to folks criticize. I think it helps me do my job better,” he said. Westrick’s embrace of new modes of communication is not a surprise considering his background. Hollister’s top cop was a journalist and sports writer before he joined the police academy. Westrick also runs his own blog and earlier this year gave a talk on the concept of serving and loving mankind from a police chief ’s point-ofview at Salinas TEDx.
“It takes an incredible amount of love for me to do my job,” Westrick said during the February conference. “For police officers it’s an act of love everyday they put their uniform on.” The San Benito County Sheriff ’s office communicates important messages through the free, online Nixle service. “Though we are not opposed to a presence on social media, we simply do not have the staffing or resources to ‘do it right’ ➝ Coffee Cop, 4
held a town hall Monday, October 9 to discuss potential levee repairs with Lovers Lane residents. frustrated by the proposal. “We had a meeting down at the end of Lovers Lane when all this flooding was going on,” said Ted Zunella, a local resident. “I told you guys back then, you’re reactive, not proactive. You’re being reactive again. You guys
should’ve been proactive and should’ve attacked this creek issue, cleaning it out right at the beginning.” The county had asked residents to sign indemnification agreements, which would protect the ➝ Levee Repairs, 4
HOLLISTER CA. PERMIT #48
****ECRWSS**** Residential Customer
➝ Aquatic Center, 4
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
OCTOBER 13, 2017
Sacret Heart’s ‘Kindness Coins’ are inspiring a community
Gracious Acts
A section of the Hollister Free Lance
LEVEE TALK Supervisors Robert Rivas and Mark Medina
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
TURN TO PIZZA • A8
Nicholas Preciado
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San Juan resident: ‘Lik
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said Jim Brumfield, ranch on San Juan H walk from the site o The riverbed cros completely with fed the Federal Highwa Toll Credit Highwa with construction s of 2017. “The key to a bette
Residents impacted by flooding near Lovers Lane last winter will get their levees repaired. The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to repair the Pacheco Creek levee system damaged by last winter’s storms. The estimated cost of repairs is approximately $350,000. Costs were previously estimated at $491,500, but a savings of $141,500 could be reached by completing the work on a
Project planned for Y Road
KATIE HELLAND •REPORTER khelland@freelancenews.com
HOLLISTER
Reporter
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
Nicholas Preciado
time and material basis compared to a competitive bidding process, said county officials. “Two things require our immediate attention,” said Supervisor Mark Medina. “First is to repair that levee. Second is to clear the creek out and continue to have some kind of maintenance on that creek.” Last winter’s storms overwhelmed the levee system, which runs across numerous private properties, and flooded Lovers Lane, as well as parts of Shore Road and San Felipe Road. Medina and Supervisor Robert Rivas held a town hall with Lovers Lane residents Monday to discuss a proposed indemnification agreement. Residents were largely
Solar revisions
LOVERS LANE RESIDENTS CONFRONT OFFICIALS AT TOWN HALL
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
County to fund levee repairs SPORTS
PAID
Police chief reaches out
Soph surge
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE
Hollister last week. The event is part of a national initiative to bring local law enforcement together with the community they serve.
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,”
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SOCIAL COP Hollister Police Chief David Westrick sits down for a cup of joe with local residents at Mars Hill Coffeeshop in
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
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Nicholas Preciado
Hollister eye doctor, Dr. Robert M. Theaker has been named Western States Optometrist of the Year by The Great Western Council of Optometry. Recognized as the 2016 California Optometrist of the Year by the California Optometric Association in February, Dr. Theaker has been a practicing optometrist since 1991 and currently serves patients at the Hollister Vision Center. Theaker’s leadership resulted in a landmark California law that expanded optometrists’ role in treating glaucoma and in expanded access to eye care for members of the public through the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Theaker has also volunteered with Flying Doctors and traveled to Mexico to provide vision and eye health care to needy children in that country. Outside of his optometry practice, Dr. Theaker is a longtime, active member of the Monterey Peninsula Sunrise Rotary Club. “It's been a pleasure to help my profession thrive. I really care about helping my patients see better and making sure they have good eye health and vision,” he said.
Cake, anyone?
A proposed public aquatic center in Hollister will not proceed as planned because the proposed site at San Benito High School is in an earthquake zone. “Unfortunately since late last week, the geologic report came back and the no-build zone for the earthquake fault that runs through campus was doubled in size,” said Jud Shutts, chief operations officer for Hollister for Aquatics, a local nonprofit that would have operated the center. The revelation came at last Thursday’s intergovernmental committee meeting. Shutts told officials from Hollister, San Juan Bautista and San Benito County that results from the latest report left “absolutely no room” for the group’s plans to build a recreation facility next to the high school’s new 50-meter and 25-yard pools. The discovery meant the end of an aquatic center, but the two new high school pools will go ahead as planned. The aquatic center site is in an area affected by the Calaveras Fault that runs through town and San Benito High School. San Benito High School Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum said the geotech report, which needs to be completed whenever new construction is proposed for the campus, found a new fault fracture. “Looking at the different fault lines, we actually found a new fracture on the south part of our campus,” he said. The original aquatic center proposal included a lazy river, wave generator, splash pad and water slide. This was reduced in size when the proposal couldn’t get adequate financial commitment from local governments. Hollister for Aquatics said it had also looked into private donations.
OU T & AB OU T CA LEN DA EV EN R OF TS
OLIVE FESTIVAL P10 | INDOOR PLANTS P17 | BIKING ABOUT P19
Inside this issue: Do-gooders spotted in Hollister