$1 • Friday, October 20, 2017 • Vol. 123, No. 42 • morganhilltimes.com • Serving Morgan Hill since 1894
Locals pitch in to help wildfire victims AIR QUALITY IS FORECAST TO IMPROVE, AIR DISTRICT SAYS Michael Moore Editor
➝ Pumpkin Weigh Off, 14
➝ Fire and Smoke, 12
Robert Eliason
again, however, he was going to skip the San
When a South County fire department put out a call for donations for victims of the recent North Bay fires, firefighters were welcomed with an outpouring from area residents. On Monday, Oct. 16, staff of the Gilroy Fire Department Local 2805 carried two truckloads of donated hygiene supplies, clothing, food and other donations to North Bay locations, according to Gilroy firefighter Chris Teresi. On the way to their first drop-off point in Petaluma, the convoy—with one trailer already loaded with donated supplies— stopped at the home of Carrie and Peng Lim in northwest Morgan Hill. The couple had a garage full of donated items for the fire victims, collected from students and families of the Charter School of Morgan Hill, Carrie Lim said. Teresi said shortly after the IAFF Local 1165 Firefighter Union posted on social media that it was accepting donated items, the firefighters were flooded with support. At one point, there was a line of cars outside the Gilroy Fire Department’s Chestnut Street station with residents dropping off
CHAMPION Santa Rosa resident Russ Pingrey, with his 2,000-pound grand champion pumpkin, at the 27th annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off at Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park in San Martin.
Winning squash escapes fire RUSS PINGREY’S PUMPKIN WEIGHS IN AT 2,000 POUNDS Scott Forstner Reporter
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
OCTOBER 20, 2017
A section of the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
Festival oflights Diwali celebrations begin to light up the South Valley
OU T & AB OU T OF NDAR CA LE EN TS EV
Inside this issue: Diwali Delights
SARAH’S VINEYARD P8 | SUPER SENIORS P16 | REALTOR AMBER NEIL P19
58015 02004
LOHS MOVES HOMECOMING DATE; SEASON IS EXTENDED ONE WEEK Cheeto Barrera
1
Because of the smoke from the Wine Country fires raging in the North Bay, the Blossom Valley
Picture a school where...
learning is more intentional.
BIGGER THAN A PERSON Three-year-old Nate Duncanson
stands in front of a giant pumpkin during the Oct. 14 weigh-off at Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park in San Martin.
Monday, Oct. 9, after the evacuation orders were lifted. With uncertainty the fires could threaten
Smoke brings local athletics to a halt
Sports Editor
6
evacuation orders, which came later that day. His house and his prize pumpkins were in jeopardy. “We evacuated but (the firefighters) were able to hold the line on Badger Road (about half a mile north). It was kind of a stressful time,” said Pingrey, a letter carrier by trade who also grows pumpkins on his oneacre property. “(The winning pumpkin) used to be called ‘Gourdo,’ but after surviving the fire I changed its name to ‘Fireball.’” Pingrey was able to return to his home on
Robert Eliason
Days after devastating fires in the North Bay threatened to incinerate Russ Pingrey's 2,000-pound pumpkin— along with his Santa Rosa home—the gargantuan gourd earned the hobbyist grower the title of 2017 Grand Champion at the 27th annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off at Uesugi Farms in San Martin. Pingrey’s giant
pumpkin earned him a $14,000 paycheck (at $7 per pound). “I thought I had a chance,” said Pingrey of his first-place gourd. He had originally planned to enter in the Half Moon Bay competition one week earlier, but he was delayed due to the the wildfires that surrounded his home and continue to burn. “I woke up Monday morning and there was fire all around me.” The Tubbs Fire was only a half mile from his house Oct. 9, so his family packed up a tent trailer and were ready for
Athletic League cancelled all games through last weekend, affecting two big football games and forcing Live Oak and Sobrato to adjust. Live Oak was forced to move its homecoming game to this week’s game against Santa Teresa. “I wouldn’t want be the one to make that decision,” said Live Oak football coach and athletic
director Mike Gemo. “It was a tough decision, but they did what they felt was best for the safety of the student athletes.” Sobrato lost its Saturday game against Evergreen Valley in a matchup of two unbeaten teams vying for a claim at a West Valley Division title. “Lot of the guys were a little frustrated to not get an opportunity to get
on the grass and play last week,” said Sobrato Coach Tony Holmes. “They were looking forward to solidifying a spot at the top of the division. They don’t want to share it and were very eager to play. There were some hurt feelings last week because of the circumstances.” Holmes said he lost a day of practice anyway because he had given
his team Monday off following a tough game the week before. After a day of practice on Tuesday, Wednesday got washed out because of the smoke in the air. Then with Thursday’s announcement that games were cancelled, Sobrato was unable to practice Thursday and Friday. ➝ Sports Cancellations, 19
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