Nighttime work slated for the Highway 152/156 flyover
construction project has been canceled for the weekend due to
nearby Caltrans truck passing lane project on westbound Highway
152
– just west of the flyover project.
Night work on flyover halted
Nighttime work slated for the Highway 152/156 flyover construction project has been canceled for the weekend due to nearby Caltrans truck passing lane project on westbound Highway 152 – just west of the flyover project.
The VTA flyover project is on budget and on schedule and in November, weather permitting, the flyover construction will begin. By this time next year, the flyover will be built and any construction-related congestion will be reduced.
Call to service answered
Footage of Mike Hughes volunteering at the Gilroy Garlic Festival will be broadcast at 6 p.m. today on ABC. Hughes won the President’s Call to Service Award after a lifetime of carpentry and volunteering. The award acknowledges the 61-year-old’s nearly 7,000 hours of community service, which have helped hundreds of people live and thrive in Gilroy.
Hughes has been described as genuine, honest and patient. His involvement in volunteering started about 40 years ago, when he signed up to take a woodshop class for adults offered through Gilroy High School. Within a year, he was spending more time helping other people with their projects than working on his own.
Hughes acted as an assistant to the teacher four hours each week, nine months per year for 34 years – the equivalent of 4,896 hours. His volunteering career, despite an inconspicuous start, managed to outlast even the woodshop class, canceled in 2000.
However, by then Hughes had already gotten himself involved with several organizations. In 1981, he volunteered to prepare and sell garlic bread at the Gilroy Garlic Festival to raise money for his two daughters’ basketball team at GHS.
‘Historias de Mi Madre’ on stage
Community Solutions, the largest nonprofit human services agency in southern Santa Clara County, announced that it will host its first play on intimate partner abuse during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“Historias de Mi Madre” is a bilingual play that explores domestic violence over the course of three generations and evolving cultural contexts. The event will take place at 6 p.m. today, at the Gavilan College Theater, 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd. The event is free and open to the public. Due to mature content, viewer discretion is advised.
Details: 776-6294; for domestic violence services, call Community Solutions’ 24-hour bilingual crisis line in South Santa Clara County at 683-4118
Robot fighting in costumes
The 2007 Halloween Robot Terror and Bot Costume Contest takes place Saturday, at Gilroy Hobby, 6901 Monterey Road. The fighting weight classes are 150-gram flea weights, 1-pound ant weights and 3-pound beetle weights .
Weigh-in starts at 10 a.m., and fighting begins at noon.
After one round of bot fighting in all weight classes there will be a costume contest for the fighting robots. That’s right, fighting robots in costume.
Time to sign up for holiday assistance
The Salvation Army in Gilroy is accepting applications for Thanksgiving and Christmas food boxes from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. through Friday, and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Oct. 29 through Nov. 2. Families with children 11 and younger may also apply for toys. There will be a final week of applications – from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Nov. 26 though Nov. 30 – for Christmas assistance only.
Sign up at the Salvation Army, 200 W. 5th St., Gilroy.
Details: 848-5373.
Holiday Craft Faire this weekend
The Gilroy Elks Ladies for Local Children’s Charity is holding a holiday craft faire this weekend. More than 35 vendors will be selling wares from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, at the Gilroy Elks Lodge, 2765 Hecker Pass Highway. Refreshments will be available.
Details: 842-9397.
Free health fair Sunday
The Gilroy Presbyterian Church invites the community to a Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Sunday. Come and get a flu shot, your blood pressure checked, health information and even a free 5-minute massage at Gilroy Presbyterian Church, 6000 Miller Ave.
Details: 842-3000.
Harvest dinner and auction
The Exchange Club of Gilroy is having its annual Harvest Dinner/Auction from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, at the I.F.D.E.S. Hall, Forest and Old Gilroy streets. The roasted chicken dinner, dessert and coffee is $25 per person. A live auction will be held after dinner.
Details: Eleanor Villarreal at 846-2142; Al Pinheiro at 842-4619; or Tom Cline at 710-4847.
Annual arts & craft faire slated
The annual fundraiser faire is Nov. 3 and 4 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. There is still room for vendors. Charge to vendors $50 for a 8-foot table space. All crafts must be hand made by the artist. No commercial products allowed.
Details: 847-7520 or (831) 623-4552.
Annual ICF scholarship breakfast
Branch 28 of the Italian Catholic Federation presents its semi-annual Scholarship Breakfast Sunday Nov. 4. Breakfast served 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Cullen Hall, St. Mary Church, 11 First St., Gilroy. Breakfast of scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage, juice, coffee and milk. Proceeds benefit Branch 28 scholarship programs and ICF Charities. Tickets may be purchased at the door. Donation $5 adults and $3 children younger than 12.
Details: Anna Barberi at 847-1331.
Fund-raiser Benefits GHS Interact Club
Gilroy High School’s Interact Club is working on a benefit concert scheduled for Nov. 9. Funds raised during the concert will help the club build a school in Ghana, sustainable farming in Panama, and TB testing in Tibet.
The Interact Club is a rotary sponsored service club for teens ages 14 to 18. The program gives young people an opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects while developing leadership skills and meeting new friends.
Panera Bread in Gilroy will donate a percentage of sales to the Gilroy Interact Club.
Details: 309-1179
Send news items to City Editor Robert Airoldi. FAX to 842-2206, mail to Gilroy Dispatch, 6400 Monterey Road, Gilroy, CA 95020, or e-mail ed****@****ic.com.
