$1 • Friday, November 17, 2017 • Vol. 123, No. 46 • morganhilltimes.com • Serving Morgan Hill since 1894
LOCAL SCENE ‘Nutcracker’ storytime The South Valley Dance Arts will present a preview of their upcoming production of “The Nutcracker” ballet 1pm Nov. 18 at BookSmart, 1295 E. Dunne Ave. The presentation, which will feature excerpts from the local dance and arts company’s upcoming production, is also sponsored by BookSmart Community Advantage. The family-friendly event is free.
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‘Act One’ The South Valley Civic Theatre presents Act One, a classic Horatio Alger adapted for the stage by Moss Hart. The performance is a “funny, heartbreaking and suspenseful play.” Showtimes are 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:30pm Sundays Nov. 17 to Dec. 9 at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse, 17000 Monterey Road. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit svct.org.
Celebrate Morgan Hill nominations The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for the annual Celebrate Morgan Hill awards.
➝Local Scene, 16
BEFORE THE CLEANUP Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman gets a kiss from a dog of Guide Dogs for the Blind, as they are joined by community volunteers and members of Boy Scout Troop 799 at the inaugural San Martin Trash Bash and Veterans Flag Raising Ceremony on Nov. 11.
Volunteers get dirty
INAUGURAL TRASH BASH BRINGS OUT COMMUNITY SPIRIT Scott Forstner Reporter
San Martin is a cleaner and greener city today than it was last week, thanks to the efforts of
NOVEMBER 17, 2017
ABOUT OUT & AR OF CAL ENDNTS EVE
St. Joseph’s sets families up with Thanksgiving dinner
Food for the table THANKSGIVING WINES P15 | VETERANS SERVICES P18 | REALTOR TERI FORTINO P19
Inside this issue: Gifts of Thanksgiving
FORMER MH GYM OWNER, CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER TRANSFERRED TO PRISON Michael Moore Editor
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about 80 South County residents who participated in the local chamber of commerce’s inaugural Trash Bash and Veterans Day Flag Raising event. Volunteers from San Martin, Gilroy and Morgan Hill met up Nov. 11 at the Sig Sanchez Government Center, 80 Highland Ave., intent on putting in a hard day’s work to help clean up the area.
“It was really fun—not fun like I want to do this every week, but it was just very rewarding,” said San Martin Chamber director Connie Ludewig, who got her hands dirty as part of one of the 10 cleanup teams that was designated to a particular part of town. “We were really happy with the turnout. We had enough for four or more with each group.”
Ludewig’s crew covered an area from Fitzgerald Avenue and Santa Teresa Boulevard to California Avenue and Monterey Road. “We just filled up the truck, dumped it and then hit the road again,” said Ludewig, who was overjoyed with the outpouring of support from the volunteers as well as the local businesses to make the
inaugural event a success. Pastries and cookies were supplied by CoPart; Starbucks coffee by PetersonCAT; bottled water by Terry Moriyama of Re/Max Realty Partners; Pizza by My Pizza owner Hamdey Altayyeb and Alex Kennett of Real Estate Solutions. “The philosophy of this ➝ Trash, 14
Wolfsmith must pay $75K to victims
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
A section of the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
Scott Hinrichs
Applications are open for Community Action Grants for 2017–18, funded by the American Association of University Women Morgan Hill chapter. The application deadline is Oct. 31, for grants of up to $1,000 each. These grants are awarded to local nonprofit organizations in support of projects that are in alignment with AAUW’s mission, including broad-based education programs, education programs targeted at underserved segments of the population and programs targeted at equity for women and girls. This year, grants totaling $3,000 were given to Learning and Loving Education Center for ESL class supplies; Central High School for its Chef’s Garden; San Martin Gwinn Elementary Home and School Club for its mariachi music program and Discovery Counseling Center for Bold Journey. The grants are funded through AAUW’s annual Wildflower Run. For grant criteria and information on how to apply, visit aauw.org, and click on “community” in the navigation bar on the home page.
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David Wolfsmith, the former Morgan Hill gym owner who was convicted of sexually assaulting 13 female clients, was sent to San Quentin State Prison
following his Nov. 6 restitution hearing at South County Courthouse, according to authorities. From there, Wolfsmith will serve the remainder of his seven-year term on 14 counts—mostly felonies—related to the 13 victims, one of whom was age 13 when he assaulted her, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Tim McInerny said. Wolfsmith will likely be “farmed out” from San Quentin to another
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facility in the California prison system. “That was a great relief to a number of victims, that he was finally shipped” to prison, McInerny said Nov. 14. Also at the Nov. 6 restitution hearing in Morgan Hill, the judge ordered Wolfsmith to pay more than $75,000 to his victims. This sum includes $25,000 in “non-economic” damages to the 13-year-old victim.
McInerny described these sexual battery by frauddamages as “basically pain ulent purpose, one count and suffering.” of felony lewd and “Children are lascivious acts the most vulneragainst a child able members of younger than our society (and 14 and a misdethey) have a hard meanor count of time dealing with child molestation. the ramifications Wolfsmith was of these offenses,” arrested by MorMcInerny said. He David Wolfsmith gan Hill police in added these effects April 2016, after “can be long lasting.” five of his victims reported On June 23, Wolf- the crimes. In the ensuing smith, 51, pleaded guilty ➝ Wolfsmith, 12 to 12 counts of felony
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