THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
MAY 18, 2018
St. Joseph’s Presents Starship
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Mickey on the Mic A supplement to the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
St. Joseph’s annual fundraising event pools money for good
SOUTH VALLEY MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
MAY 18, 2018
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A supplement to the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
Homes and gardens of Aromas and Gilroy
Mother’s Day Tours
South Valley Magazine INSIDE THIS ISSUE
THIS WEEK: St. Josephs puts gifts under the tree
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THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
MAY 18, 2018
Pining for Pinnacles SAN BENITO MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE Community contributes San Benito Magazine INSIDE THIS ISSUE nearly $10k for school UT & ABO R OF NDA CALE TS EVEN
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$1 • Friday, May 18, 2018 • Vol. 124, No. 20 • morganhilltimes.com • Serving Morgan Hill since 1894
A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
Natural attactions impress at Pinnacles National Monument
Formed Earth BOOK SIGNING P6 | WINNING ROSÉS P10
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
MAY 18, 2018
THIS WEEK: Poppy Jasper screens Luis Valdez’s ‘Ceasar’s Last Fast’
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A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
Homes and gardens of Aromas and Gilroy
Mother’s Day Tours ANNIE JR. P8 | PASSPORT IN REVIEW P16
HUGE ONLINE DONATIONS HELP OFFSET BRITTON LOSSES AT CARNIVAL Scott Forstner Reporter
Robert Eliason
The Britton Home & School Club is close to reaching its $15,000 goal in a community-wide effort to recoup valuable funds lost in the shocking carnival chaos of several weeks ago. As of May 14, $9,495 had been raised via the club’s crowdfunding page along with additional monies donated directly “It’s just phenomenal,” said Jennifer Allen, president of the Britton all-volunteer, parent-run home and school club. “The way the community came together to help out Britton and the home and school club shows just how much they appreciated the carnival that is a community event.” On April 27, the threeday Britton Carnival was shut down after Morgan Hill police officers were attacked by local students while arresting individuals
RIDING HIGH Hollister police chief and vice president of local high school rodeo district, David Westrick steadies Barbara on a mock bull,
with student Tucker Burdett (right) along with others learning rodeo skills.
Ranch meets needs EL CAMINO CLUB HOSTS ITS FOURTH ANNUAL SPECIAL NEEDS RODEO EVENT
➝ Britton, 2
Robert Eliason
SADDLE UP Elijah prepares to mount a horse with the help of mom Monica Soldana at Thorson’s Arena in San Martin.
Arena in San Martin Saturday, May 12 to experience a Day out on the Ranch. The fourth annual event was hosted by the El Camino Club—a local nonprofit comprising members of the Gilroy-Hollister California Highway Patrol (CHP). “It’s just about providing a fun day for adults and children with special needs who reside in the local community from south Santa Clara County and San Benito,”
Debra Eskinazi
Magazine and Features Editor
More than 200 specialneeds adults and children donned cowboy hats and ventured to Thorson’s
said El Camino Club president Chris Miceli. “It’s about live music, a petting zoo— giving those folks an outlet and an opportunity to experience something they don’t normally get to experience.” The El Camino Club, which sells fireworks in Gilroy each year to raise money for the community, will be holding a chili cook off and car show Saturday, June 2 to benefit Operation Freedom Paws.
Mushroom crops yield millions MORGAN HILL PRODUCERS NEED MORE WORKERS Bryce Stoepfel Reporter
As the annual Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras approaches, it only seems appropriate to further examine Santa Clara County's second biggest agricultural product, the mushroom.
Garlic gets lots of play locally, with Gilroy as the self-designated Garlic Capital of the World and hosting the Gilroy Garlic Festival. But the $79 million in annual Santa Clara County mushroom sales, according to the most recent Santa Clara County crop report, soars above garlic’s $6.5 million like a towering portobello. At one of the area's mushroom farms, Del Fresh Produce at 11300
LEARN AT TOP COMPANIES WHILE EARNING YOUR DEGREE.
Center Avenue in Gilroy, mushrooms are grown by the ton, but business continues to be a challenge because of a lack of labor, and strict state and federal regulation. The buck stops with Don Hordness in his absolutely no-frills office at Del Fresh Produce, one of the most productive mushroom farms in one of the most prolific mushrooms growing locations in the world.
California ranks third, behind Pennsylvania and the entire country of Canada when it comes to growing mushrooms. At Del Fresh, it all starts with the soil, which the company produces from raw wheat straw and cottonseed meal, along with 100 tons of compost a month. “Composting is like, if a tree falls in the woods, it takes some years for that tree to break down
into the soil, but we rev it up here,” Hordness said. “We add nitrogen to the straw, and we grow these thermophilic bacteria and fungus, and those little guys break it down. We build tight piles that build up the heat, between 130 and 160 degrees. That's when you see the steam rising off the piles—that's when the bacteria is eating up the nutrients.” ➝ Mushroom, 8
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