Symphony presents concert
GILROY
– The next concert for South Valley Symphony will be presented
on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Gavilan College Theater with
presentations at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets will go on sale Jan. 15
at California Music Company and Porcella’s Music in downtown and
Snappy Photo at 785 First St. in Gilroy, The M
usic Tree in Morgan Hill, Terry’s House of Candles in San Juan
Bautista and Dorothy McNett’s Place in downtown Hollister. Tickets
are priced at $12 for adults, $10 for seniors age 55 and up and $7
for students age 12 to 18. Details: 847-1441
Shots fired into home
GILROY – Police are looking for one or more suspects who fired at least two rounds of .22 Caliber bullets into a home in the 7500 block of Forest Street around 2:40 a.m. Monday.
At least two residents of the house were home at the time of the shooting but were not injured.
“They said they were sleeping and heard popping noises like gunshots,” said Gilroy Police Department Cpt. Debbie Moore.
When police arrived at the residence they found two .22 Caliber casings lodged in the north side of the house.
It is not known at this time if the shooting was gang related.
Second charge lodged against molest suspect
MORGAN HILL – A 14-year-old Morgan Hill girl is the second to come forward in the case of a San Jose man charged with child molestation.
Alan Benderas, 20, remains in the Santa Clara County jail, where he has been since his arrest on the first molestation charge in August.
On Aug. 7, Benderas allegedly approached a 12-year-old female in Community Park and asked her if she would consider modeling nude. He asked her if she was 18, the girl said, and she told him her age. After allegedly trying to lift up her shirt and shorts, he gave her a business card and left.
Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Troy Hoefling located Benderas a day and a half later by using the business card. He was arrested and held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
The 14-year-old contacted Morgan Hill Police to report Benderas allegedly approached her at a teen Christian activity center in July.
“The subject apparently asked her the same type of questions (as he allegedly did in the earlier case), only much more graphic,” Hoefling said Monday. “He (allegedly) asked her about her sexual experience and her preferred dress during those activities.”
Benderas was arraigned Monday on the additional charge, a misdemeanor charge of child molestation, and an additional $10,000 bail amount was added.
Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to contact the MHPD at
779-2101.
Students back in classrooms at Jackson Elementary
MORGAN HILL – The water has receded or been pumped out, the mud has been scraped away and students are back in their classrooms at Jackson Elementary School after heavy storms before the holiday break forced them out.
“Sometimes, in times of adversity, we have the opportunity to pull together, and something good comes out of it,” Jackson Principal Mike Crocker said Monday.
The school was closed for one day, Monday, Dec. 16, after weekend storms flooded one of the classroom buildings and the amphitheater.
A city drain that received water from two sources coming from the street above the school was congested, causing mud and debris to spill down the hill into the building.
Water flooded the lower section of the school and ran into one of the classrooms. Teachers and administrators tried to vacuum up the water and move everything up above the flood level.
When Jackson reopened on Tuesday, Dec. 17, teachers had voted to keep the students on the campus and divide the displaced students among other classrooms. First, second, third and some fourth grade students shared rooms with the rest of the students for the rest of the week.
Students were back in their own classrooms Monday.
Damage estimates are still coming in, Crocker said. So far, the district has spent nearly $25,000 on new carpet and cleaning carpets.
Be a star
GILROY – STAR T.V., an after-school performers’ workshop, is seeking participants for Spring 2003. All talented young actors, singers and dancers, ages 9 to 14 are invited to participate. The best of the best will be seen on cable channel 18. The fee for this class is $225. The class is at Gavilan College TV Studio, LI 140 in Gilroy. The first section runs from Jan. 27 to March 19, Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m. The second section runs from March 24 to May 21, Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m. Details: 847-2514.
NEWS ITEMS: Please fax local news items to City Editor Jodi Engle at 842-2206, e-mail to ed****@****ic.com or mail to 6400 Monterey St., Gilroy.
