Our public servants, our new high school student center and our
city’s ‘super mom’ earn big cheers for the week
The following organizations and individuals deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
CHEERS: For all those honored by the Gilroy Exchange Club at the annual Blue and Gold Luncheon to honor public servants who are, for the most part, in the public safety arena. The actions – from capturing a murder suspect in the crawl space under neath a house to posing as a “dirty” auto mechanic in a lengthy chop-shop sting – were varied and worthy.
CHEERS: For the new student center at Gilroy High School. It’s beautiful, and the interior architecture is stunning. It’s a great facility addition to the school and the community. Let’s make sure the students appreciate the efforts of the taxpayers who financed the building by backing bond measure. A well-planned effort to re-kindle taking pride in the school facilities should be part of the program for students when they come back to school next year.
JEERS: For the stuck-in-the-mud Santa Teresa road improvement project and the mold found in the new $26-million police station that’s under construction. How long are those red cones going to be littering Santa Teresa? Residents are fed up with the situation. Perhaps our City Council members can step in and create a real sense of urgency. Resolve the dispute, fix the road. As for the mold, let’s hope all the measures the city is taking arrests the problem.
CHEERS: For the news that the city of Gilroy is adding 18 new positions over the next four years, seven next year alone. It’s a testament to prudent management, and let’s not forget our late Economic Development Director Bill Lindsteadt, who worked very hard to get the two new 10th street shopping centers on the east side of U.S. 101 built. Our retail tax base has not only shielded us from the travails of budget woes, but allowed us to prosper. Let’s make sure we spend the money wisely.
CHEERS: For the Silicon Valley Land Conservancy’s purchase of development rights for 510 acres of prime farmland just south of Gilroy. With all the pressure for huge development all around Gilroy, this preservation agreement is a welcome relief.
JEERS: For the con artists who stole $20,000 from a Gilroy woman after befriending her at the Grocery Outlet. Preying on older people who have generous hearts is sickening. If you have an idea an older person is about to be taken advantage of, intervene. A few questions may scare away the shysters, and the scams usually begin in a public setting.
CHEERS: For the opportunity for Barry Bonds to tie and break Babe Ruth’s home run record against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Regardless of the steroid issue, if he hits the blasts against the Dodgers, something’s right with the world.
CHEERS: For Aggie Ternasky, the Gilroy super volunteer nurse who was featured on the Today show Thursday morning. Ternasky made the cut for the pre-Mother’s Day TV segments for her medical aid and counseling help post 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. She’s a shining example of Gilroy’s finest.
