THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
A supplement to the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
JUNE 29, 2018
Rebekah Children’s Services receives honor
Righteous Rewards
SOUTH VALLEY MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Rebekah Children’s sows seeds of hope
GUYS AND DOLLS P8 | CALERO PARK P16
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
JUNE 29, 2018
Dirty action for the over 40 crowd
Raucous riders hit Hollister Hills
SAN BENITO MAGAZINE
A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
$1 • Friday, June 29, 2018 • Vol. 124, No. 26 • morganhilltimes.com • Serving Morgan Hill sinceINSIDE 1894 THIS ISSUE
Radical Riders
Trustees Teens blame district for abuse abandon parcel tax election effort GUYS AND DOLLS P8 | CALERO PARK P16
KEVIN COLE CONVICTED IN DECEMBER 2017 SOBRATO INCIDENT Michael Moore Editor
Kevin Cole, a drama production technician who
has worked with youth performers in Morgan Hill for several years, was convicted earlier this month of annoying or molesting a child in relation to an incident during a December 2017 dance recital at Sobrato High School. Cole, 36, of Newark, faced multiple female
accusers during the trial in a San Jose courtroom. Three of these teens’ families are also aiming to hold the Morgan Hill Unified School District accountable for failing to notify police about a previous complaint that Cole, who has worked as a contractor and employee of the local district since 2014,
inappropriately touched a female student, according to the accusers’ attorney. Furthermore, two of Cole’s teen accusers plan to blame the private dance company whose tutelage they were under when Cole allegedly touched or spoke to them inappropriately, for “negligence and/or negligent hiring, training
(and) supervision,” said the girls’ attorney, Lauren Cerri of the San Jose based Corsiglia, McMahon and Allard law firm. During the jury trial for Cole’s criminal charges, six teenage girls testified “to inappropriate language and touching by ➝ Cole, 12
MHUSD BOARD, CHARTERS FAIL TO AGREE ON MEASURE Scott Forstner Reporter
With three school board members second-guessing their prior decision in May to include two charter schools in a parcel tax resolution, Morgan Hill Unified School District’s governing body pulled a complete 180 and withdrew the proposal at a June 19 meeting. Trustees Mary Patterson, Teresa Murillo and Tom Arnett changed their minds about placing the parcel tax on the Nov. 6 ballot and shifted the board majority from a 5-2 vote in favor at a previous meeting to a 5-1 vote against moving forward with the resolution. “I believe what has happened is I have failed and we as a board have failed on two accounts,” Patterson said. “Number one, we failed when we launched the parcel tax and we didn’t instruct staff Robert Eliason
➝Parcel Taz, 8
COOL DOWN Kids headed to the Community & Cultural Center to beat the heat at Downtown Splash Friday, June 22. Local youngsters Zac and Scott chill out on the splash pad.
Summer splashes in Temperatures nearing the triple digits on Friday and Saturday, June 22 and 23, prompted many residents to cool down at Downtown Splash, an outdoor spray pad at the Community and Cultural Center. The free feature, located at 17000 Monterey Road, offers the public a fun reprieve from the heat. Maureen Tobin, the city’s communications and engagement manager, said the city is thrilled to have the water feature, which reopened last year, up and running again. “We are just delighted to be able to have that for
the community,” Tobin said. “It’s really the only free water feature available to the community, and it attracts a lot of families and children to the area to have a picnic lunch there. And it serves parts of our community that might not be able to afford to go to the aquatic center.” Downtown Splash runs daily through Aug. 19 at Community and Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road. Hours of operation are Monday-Thursday, noon-4pm, Fridays, 10am-2pm, and Saturdays and Sundays, noon-4pm. The splash pad stays open weekends from Aug. 20-Sept. 23, noon-4pm. For more information, visit morgan-hill.ca.gov.
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