HOME + GARDEN APRIL 6, 2018
HOME + GARDEN INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
A SPECIAL EDITION OF SOUTH VALLEY & SAN BENITO MAGAZINES
South Valley Magazine INSIDE THIS ISSUE
THIS WEEK: St. Josephs puts gifts under the tree
San Benito Magazine inside this issue $1 • Friday, April 6, 2018 • Vol. 124, No. 14 • morganhilltimes.com • Serving Morgan Hill since 1894
Police to flood theSan Benito Magazine INSIDE THIS ISSUE streets for ped safety
THIS WEEK: Poppy Jasper screens Luis Valdez’s ‘Ceasar’s Last Fast’
ENFORCEMENT OP WILL OCCUR ON APRIL 18 DURING THE MORNING RUSH HOUR IN MH Michael Moore Reporter
➝ Traffic, 10
Robert Eliason
The morning of April 18, Morgan Hill will be covered with police officers from several area jurisdictions to conduct a citywide “high-visibility, directed traffic enforcement operation,” according to the Morgan Hill Police Department. The operation is scheduled on city streets from 6:30am to 10am April 18. Traffic officers from Campbell Police Department, Sunnyvale Dept. of Public Safety, Santa Clara County Sheriff ’s Office, Mountain View PD, Milpitas PD, San Jose PD, Santa Clara PD and Los Altos PD will participate in the Morgan Hill operation. During the operation, these officers will
SERVICEMEMBERS AND SERVICE DOGS Vietnam veteran Denny McLaughlin introduces Abbey to Brandon Borba.
Operation Freedom Paws works to train and match service dogs with veterans.
An egg hunt for vets OFP PROGRAM GETS SUPPORT IN EGG HUNT Bryce Stoepfel Reporter
What do you get when you combine the Easter Bunny, kids, dogs, and a charity whose mission is to train service dogs to assist veterans in need? The result was Operation
Freedom Paws’ Annual Easter Egg Hunt, where for $5 kids and parents had good wholesome fun on a perfect Spring day, while helping to match service dogs with veterans. Operation Freedom Paws is a 501 (3) c nonprofit organization that takes dogs from shelters and rescue groups, then matches them up with
veterans who train them as service dogs. When the training is complete, the dogs are matched with veterans or people with disabilities. The 48-week program comes at no cost to clients. “We do more than just match veterans with dogs,” said Operation Freedom Paws President and Executive Director of Operations Mary Cortani.
“We have therapist group meetings where veterans can get support for themselves and their sponsors. We also have outings to get them out and active in the community.” For a dog to qualify as a service dog, it needs to be able to perform an assortment of tasks defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Duties could range from
letting a veteran know when to take their medication, informing them of an oncoming seizure, or to act as a calming agent when they’re in a large crowd. “For a veteran with PTSD, being in a crowd can trigger memories,” Cortani said. “The service dog can warn the ➝ Freedom Paws, 15
Funds needed to bring statue to MH PUBLIC ART DEPICTS MURDERED TEEN TARA ROMERO Michael Moore Editor
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The family of Tara Romero, a local teen who was gunned down in a driveby shooting in 2011, and the residents of Morgan Hill are nearing the home stretch in their
commitment to bring a life-size bronze sculpture of her likeness to a prominent public location. The City of Morgan Hill recently established a fundraising campaign at gofundme.com to fund the remaining expenses to complete the statue of Romero and transport it from southern California. The goal of the campaign is to raise $10,000, specifically for statue refinements, a cement base, plaque, transportation and installation,
according to the fundraising page found at gofundme. com/tara-romero-memorial-sculpture. When the artwork is complete, it will be placed at “a central location” in the public pedestrian plaza between City Hall and the Morgan Hill Library, on the west side of town in the area of Peak, Alkire and West Main avenues, according to city staff. While the statue, titled “Never Forgotten,” is created and commissioned
to depict a young girl in Romero’s likeness, it will also represent the many other young lives taken too soon by violence, according to her parents and others in the community who united in response to the 2011 shooting. It will also serve as an inspirational symbol of hope, peace and unity for young people growing up in Morgan Hill, according to city officials.
HOW TO HELP The city’s fundraising campaign to complete, transport and install the “Never Forgotten” statue—a likeness of Tara Romero—can be found online at gofundme.com/ tara-romeromemorial-sculpture. Contributions can be made electronically, directly on the site.
➝ Statue, 16
Summer Explorers Pre-K – Grade 2 May 29 – August 10
2018
Summer Adventures Grade 4 – Grade 8 June 18 – June 29
The Perfect Blend of Academics and Fun in Morgan Hill
Summer Arts & Summer Blast Pre-K – Grade 6 July 9 – July 27
oakwoodway.org/summer Language Arts
Math
Drama
Art
STEM
Cooking
Animation
Dance
Engineering
Music
Gardening
Keyboarding
Animals
And More!