Girl lied about seeing man with a weapon
Gilroy
– A third-grade student was lying when she claimed she saw a man
with a gun and a knife near Rod Kelley Elementary School Tuesday
afternoon.
Girl lied about seeing man with a weapon
Gilroy – A third-grade student was lying when she claimed she saw a man with a gun and a knife near Rod Kelley Elementary School Tuesday afternoon.
“There was no man with a gun or a knife,” Gilroy police Sgt. John Sheedy said. “Obviously, because of the age of the student, we’re not doing anything on our end. The school will handle the discipline with the student.”
Students and teachers on the 8755 Kern Ave. campus remained inside classrooms with doors locked and blinds drawn for about 25 minutes after the girl reported seeing a man near a brick wall north of the school. Police searched the area, but did not find anyone matching the girl’s description.
Police warn residents of mail scam
Gilroy – Police are asking residents to be wary of potential scams by thieves seeking personal identification or bank account information.
One resident recently received in the mail what appeared to be a prize-winning announcement from a “government supervised” agency located in Spain. It said the winner would receive $615,810 as part of a more than $10 million prize shared between 17 international winners. The announcement claimed the resident’s money was already deposited with a security company, but because of a mix-up, the agency needed a fax of the winner’s identification, and a payment.
Such scams are a way for identity thieves to obtain account and Social Security numbers. Anyone who receives an unsolicited mailer asking for personal information should ignore it.
GPS ankle bracelets on supe’s agenda
Gilroy – The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will discuss installing a “virtual fence” and outfitting wards of the Morgan Hill boys ranch with GPS anklets at 10am, Tuesday, in board chambers, 70 W. Hedding St., San Jose.
County probation officials hope that installing the GPS, at cost of $410,000 annually, will put an end to the runaway problem at the William F. James Boys Ranch.
Since January, a total of 13 boys have escaped from the ranch in six separate incidents.
Dispatch photog takes home award
Gilroy – Chris Riley, a staff photographer with The Dispatch, won an Award of Excellence in the sports action category of the 31st Annual San Francisco Bay Area Press Photographers Association Newspaper and Television News Photography Competition.
Riley, who was honored Sunday night in Oakland, was one of more than 175 news photographers from northern California who entered about 5,000 images in the 2004 competition. Attending the awards banquet was this years Pulitzer Prize winner, San Francisco Chronicle photographer Deanne Fitzmaurice.
Riley found himself in select company. Also winning sports action honors were USA Today staff photographer Jack Gruber (Award of Excellence) and Chronicle staff photographer Mike Kepka (first place). Riley’s image, titled “Soccer Sandwich” was taken in January during the Central Coast Section girls soccer finals between Live Oak and Leland High School.
“To be recognized in the same company of some of the biggest names in the business is a true testament to the talent of our photographers,” Dispatch Chief Photographer James M. Mohs said.
“It’s nice to have a newspaper that supports the photo staff and has the ability to display our artwork well on a consistent basis,” Riley said. “In shooting sports it helps to know what’s going on, it takes patience to get the right moment and a lot of luck to make all the elements work together.”
PG&E makes fee payment to Gilroy
Gilroy – Pacific Gas and Electric Company has paid the city of Gilroy its 2004 franchise fee and surcharge payments totaling more than $579,000. The payments include $191,253 for gas and $388,034 for electric service.
A franchise fee is based on a percentage of gross customer receipts received by PG&E and is paid to cities and counties for the right to use public streets to run gas and electric service.
Year to year, franchise fee payments fluctuate depending on the costs utility customers pay for gas and electricity.
Bill to delay train passes committee
Sacramento – An Assembly bill to push back a bond measure that would fund the initial phase of a high-speed bullet train from Los Angeles to San Francisco has been approved by the Assembly Transportation Committee.
Originally scheduled to be on next year’s ballot, a $9.95-billion bond proposal likely will be offered to voters in November 2008.
The electric-powered bullet trains would get riders from San Francisco to Los Angeles in two and a half hours – or from Gilroy to Los Angeles in one hour and 45 minutes – reaching speeds of 220 miles an hours in rural areas and 125 in cities.
Later phases would extend lines to Sacramento and San Diego.
The High Speed Transit Authority has not yet determined if the train will travel through the South Valley.
Before construction begins, the agency must decide whether the train will travel from San Francisco to the Central Valley through the Altamont Pass or Pacheco Pass.
Get out to GHS talent show tonight
Gilroy – No plans for Saturday night?
Gilroy High School’s annual talent show is from 5:30 to 10pm.
Twenty acts will be performing. Cost is $7 and the money goes towards publishing GHS’ Art Lit Magazine – a collection of original writing and art work by GHS students.
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.
