The following individuals and organizations deserve either
CHEERS or JEERS this week:
The following individuals and organizations deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
CHEERS: For Gilroy Police Captain Scot Smithee who rescued nine passengers and crew members from under a capsized catamaran that overturned amid high winds and massive waves last week about two miles south of the island of Lana’i. Smithee, vacationing with his wife Brenda, brought a guide rope underneath the boat where the people were trapped to lead them out. “There’s no reason 10 people should be alive today,” 23-year-old Craig Hilty, an assistant golf course superintendent from Medford, Ore., told the Honolulu Advertiser. “God was looking down on all of us, and then there was Scot.” That’s quite a moving and heroic story. Special recognition by the City Council should be forthcoming.
CHEERS: For the seven Gilroy Unified School District schools that improved their similar schools ranking: Brownell Academy Middle School, South Valley Middle School, Antonio Del Buono, Las Animas, El Roble, Eliot and Glen View. The index measures schools with similar demographics, based on student performance. This is the third year that GUSD schools in general have improved their placement.
CHEERS: For Jeff Garcia, the newest member of the Tampa, er, … Cleveland Browns. Our hometown football hero left the 49ers with class and also did the right thing regarding his driving under the influence arrest. He pled guilty and took his “medicine.” Jeff will have his hands full, learning a new system and trying to bring the Browns to the Super Bowl. His hometown fans will be rooting for him.
JEERS: For the infantile “protest” statues that Gavilan College students brought to the state capitol Monday to ostensibly demonstrate against tuition hikes. One statue featured a likeness of President George Bush painted on a woman’s buttocks.
CHEERS: For the seven Mustang wrestlers who made it to the 2004 State Championships in Bakersfield. Though the team missed its goal of being ranked in the top 10 teams in the state, they placed a commendable 13th. Congratulations to senior John Gurich who won a fourth place medal, and kudos to the rest of the team and to coach Armando Gonzales, who put in countless hours training his grapplers.
CHEERS: For the 21 retired Gilroy residents who volunteer at Kaiser’s information desk and in the health education department. These energetic seniors work four-hour shifts once a week, helping to guide Kaiser patients to the right departments, showing patients how to use blood pressure checking devices and other duties as needed. Volunteer coordinator Debra Stone says she would like to expand the program to 30 volunteers, so if you’re interested, call her at Kaiser.
