Community

A San Jose man who was driving on a private road in Aromas and reportedly talking on a cell phone, was struck and killed Thursday afternoon by a train at an unmarked crossing, according to the California Highway Patrol.

More than a hundred Gilroyans gathered outside the Veterans Memorial Building on Sixth Street Friday to honor the men and women who have served in our nation’s armed forces during a heartfelt Veterans Day ceremony. There was the Presentation of the Colors, by the Color Guard of Post 6309 and American Legion Post 217, a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem by Ted Sanchez and patriotic music performed by the Christopher High and Gilroy High School marching bands, who played together for the first time in five years. Mayor elect Roland Velasco, who served four years in the US Army, was the guest speaker. John Ceballos, past District 12 Commander and past VFW Post 6309 Commander, served as Master of Ceremonies for the hour-long service, which saw Robert “Bobby” Armendariz, Commander of Gilroy American Legion Post 217 named Veteran of the Year, one of eight veterans recognized by Assemblymember for District 30, Luis Alejo. “Bobby is deeply committed to the veteran community, is involved in various organizations, most notably Gilroy American Legion Post 217, where he serves as commander,” said Daniel Dodge from Alejo’s office. “Under his guidance, the post has distinguished itself as a community leader, which regularly gives scholarships and advocates for veterans affairs.” Armendariz began his military and advanced infantry training at Fort Lewis, Wa., gaining knowledge in the armored division as a tank driver and infantry light weapons specialist. He was then deployed to Germany as part of a Ranger Unit with the 16th Infantry, Alpha Company, First Battalion where he supported his unit as a tank driver.After his honorable discharge, Armendariz returned to his native Gilroy and married his wife Lucy. He worked for 30 years at Crown-Zellerbach, a paper products corporation, until his retirement. “The people of California solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly on the seas, in the air, on foreign shores to preserve our heritage of freedom,” recited Dodge before welcoming Armendariz to the podium. “It is appropriate to applaud Bobby Amendariz for the courageous manner through which he’s served and sacrificed to safeguard our democratic principles for this generation and generations to come.” Ushered through the crowd in a round of applause, at the podium, Armendariz thanked the gathered group of servicemen and their families, the American Legion and Gilroy community. “Thank you for this great honor,” said Armendariz, during a brief speech that called for veteran unity. “ We [The American Legion] does as much as we can for the community and for all veterans - no matter who they are. Whether they served in the US or overseas, or were combat veterans.We have to remember that we are all veterans, no matter what, where or who we served with. We need to appreciate ourselves, and devote our time to the community, especially to the young people of this city of Gilroy, so they grow up to be strong and hopefully become veterans that will carry on this work. Thank you very much.” 

Two women who were part of a peaceful prayer vigil say they were harassed, intimidated and lied to, and a California Highway Patrol officer trampled their First Amendment rights, because they inadvertently stood on state property to pray the rosary in the shade.

On Halloween night, four state parole officers went trick or treating around Gilroy, but it wasn’t candy they wanted. Just the opposite.

PG&E officials were confronted with a big, angry crowd Tuesday night during a public meeting to discuss plans for a substation that could be built in the bucolic Gilroy countryside.Nearly 200 residents from the winding Redwood Retreat Road area, a county-designated scenic lane and tourist-oriented wine trail at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains west of the city, aimed barbed and blunt questions at approximately six sometimes uneasy company spokespersons, engineers and subject experts.The energy giant plans to build a new substation in South County to ensure reliable service and avoid massive blackouts as the area grows. It has picked eight potential sites, most in and around Morgan Hill.But it’s the lone Gilroy option, a 10-acre parcel on Redwood Retreat Road, home of endangered and protected species of wildlife, fragile riparian grassland and mountain habitats that has residents and others, including Native Americans, fighting mad and fighting back.“This is the most sensitive area in the watershed, what are you thinking?” demanded an incredulous Herman Garcia to thunderous applause from the overflow crowd just after 7 p.m. in a reception room at Fortino Winery on Hecker Pass Highway.Garcia is the founding president of the Gilroy-based conservation group Coastal Habitat Education and Environmental Restoration, CHEER. It works closely with local, state and federal agencies to protect the Pajaro River watershed and Monterey Bay.“You don’t know what you are stepping into,” he said after listing endangered and threatened species in the area, from bald eagles and tiger salamanders to the federally protected steelhead.And then, citing a past case of a local, wealthy resident killing a dozen steelhead and ending up broke and in federal prison, he had this to say to PG&E:“You can’t beat me. I will destroy you if you ever consider putting a shovel in the ground; you mess with our protected resources you are going to [have to] fight the U.S. Attorney General’s office.”After the applause for Garcia settled down, Nicole Markowitz of PG&E asked to meet with him privately.Markowitz and colleague Don Hall fielded most of the questions about the utility’s South County Power Connect project, but residents took to shouting out questions and speaking over one another, so some went unanswered.Toward the end of the meeting, a man asked why the substation couldn’t be built in the urban boundaries of Gilroy.The answer seemed to be that a city location would be more expensive and that the utility needs to locate the substation in a place that is close to existing power lines and environmentally acceptable.Kevin Corcoran expressed concerns about water contamination from the substation, saying a well near the site supplies residents’ water.“If that well goes [out], 80 homes are screwed,” he said.Hall and others stressed that after PG&E early next year narrows its choice to one preferred site and two alternatives, the California Public Utilities Commission will make the final decision and it might not pick the site PG&E wants. They urged residents to make their views known to the PUC.One resident asked how many times the PUC had turned down a PG&E proposal.To the surprise of many, Markowitz said that it has been a long time since PG&E had tackled anything this big.Echoing Garcia, Phill Laursen of Gilroy urged PG&E to consult with Native Americans, saying, “This is their spiritual land.”Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman helped arrange the meeting, one of several to be held, and repeated PG&E’s sentiments about residents contacting the PUC. He said his office is following the matter closely.More information about South County Power Connect can be found at: http://bit.ly/2bvqisi.    

Beer on tap has long been a serving standard in the restaurant business, but did you know cocktails are also available on tap? Soon you will be able to get them right here in Gilroy.

Politicians complain that there aren’t enough jobs in Gilroy, but local employment agencies say there are more jobs than people willing and able to do them.It’s a conundrum, but one that a new company is willing to take a risk on. ResourceMFG, an employment company at 8401 Church St, which staffs skilled technical workers, opened its first West Coast office in Gilroy last week and management there said they had at least 150 jobs available for skilled employees last week.ResourceMFG is part of a larger company, EmployBridge, based in Atlanta with 500 offices across the U.S. and Canada. This division specializes in automotive, electronic machining, sheet metal and food manufacturing. It requires prospective employees to take computer and manufacturing tests.“What we are seeing now is there is a lot of re-education that needs to be done in the local market,” said Chris Machado, the Gilroy branch manager. “Ultimately, we’re trying to raise the bar to provide a better quality of associate. You have employers that might be behind in the pay scale and used to paying a minimal amount. Part of my job is to convince employers to raise their pay and attract better and more skilled employees.”Some of the companies he’s working with now need people who are able to work in welding, electronics assembly, refrigeration, carbon fiber production, satellite development and food production.ResourceMFG can send employees throughout Silicon Valley.“Our goal is to start in Gilroy and expand outward, eventually to the San Jose market,” said Machado.“What makes us unique is we actually certify that our employees know a baseline manufacturing skill set. It’s twofold, electronic assessment and a baseline manufacturing test. If someone comes in with a resume and says they’ve done manufacturing in the past, we don’t just take their word, we test them.”Machado said the competition is fierce for the kinds of jobs he supplies, because not only are they skilled, but they pay better than non-skilled work. He’s working with local companies to get workers paid more than minimum wages, although he said it’s a battle because many are used to paying as little as possible.Patti Chalfant, who runs the Gilroy hiring office for another employment agency, Labor Max, at 343 E 10th St, said there are far more good jobs than workers in the four counties surrounding Gilroy.“Agencies are fighting for the few bodies that want to work,” she said. She found jobs for 90 people last week, some skilled, some not.“There are more jobs than people,” she said. “I have two warehouses requesting people with resumes, clean backgrounds and that can pass a drug screening. That’s almost impossible here.”Companies are looking to hire temporary workers through the agencies, intending to hire them full-time. But many of the employees flake out, she said, wanting $20 an hour, rather than a starting wage.She said she’s found too many workers don’t want to commit to developing careers.“We offer them an opportunity but many are ‘entitled California.’They have too many resources available to want to work. No one wants to work for $11 an hour.”Many would lose government benefits if they take jobs, she said. Others chose to work off the books and avoid taxes.She said a lot of employment agencies had a rude awakening during Super Bowl Sunday, when the NFL needed 200 workers to staff the game and employment agencies hired them. Only 70 showed up.“Guess whose reputation is at stake when that happens?” said Chalfant, who has run the GIlroy Labor Max office since 2012 and worked for others for 16 years.The Missouri-based company does criminal background checks on potential employees and screens them to make sure they have skills and tools when needed.          

The Nimble Thimble's new Pumpkin People window display is pretty nimble, combining Election Day and Halloween.

My column this week is a bit different. I traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this past week to celebrate my BF Amy MacDonald’s 50th birthday and her success at beating breast cancer.

First it was the state, now it’s federal—the Miller Red Barn at Gilroy’s Christmas Hill Park has made it onto the National Register of Historic Places.The cavernous barn, located next to playing fields and recently used as storage for the Garlic Festival was built by Henry Miller, the cattle king of California and at one time one of the largest landowners in the West.According to research conducted by the Miller Red Barn Committee, a volunteer organization formed when the barn was at risk of being demolished, the structure was built by Miller in 1891 when he was 64 years old to store and process fruit.Part of the Glen Ranch property Miller bought in the 1880s, there were 26 acres of fruit trees, peaches, apples, pears, prunes and later wine grapes. Miller’s orchard was planted all the way to Hanna Street.Before Miller’s death in 1916, a portion of Glen Ranch was leased to Las Animas Winery. Wine production boomed in that period and the Southern Pacific ran a train line directly to the winery. A connection to the California Wine Association was forged during this time, which gives added historical importance to the land. In 1941, the ranch was sold to the Filice family to raise wine grapes for the San Martin Winery.For the MIller Red Barn Committee, the national designation is a crowning achievement, but there is still work to be done.“The stunning thing about preservation is you begin with something that already exists and therefore is already by definition ‘local,’” said committee member, Gary Walton. “Repairing what has been neglected over time is actually the easy part of any preservation project. We’ve come to understand that only a small part of preservation is about looking backward; it is more about looking forward, paying homage to earlier cultures and mentalities to which you can add a new dimension, a new function, a new beauty or appeal.”He added: “Ultimately, the success of the Miller Red Barn preservation effort will be judged by how well we develop the ideas, partnerships and funding to accomplish that goal.”On Sept. 24, the barn committee hosted a fundraiser dinner at the Gilroy VFW Hall with more than 80 people attending. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, benefactors and members of the community, the event raised enough to cover Phase I of the rehabilitation project, said committee member, Kathy Chavez.“Phase I will include securing the barn against animals and birds and repairing the roof,” she said. “The biggest challenge to the clean-up of the barn was the biohazard waste from birds and bats, which encouraged the feral cats to take up residence outside the barn. The roof of the barn is in serious disrepair and needs securing against the elements, especially the wind forces which can literally raise the roof.”Chavez added: “The barn is now cleared of debris which blocked the view of the foundation and siding. The architects and building experts can better assess next steps for future phases of rehabilitation. The funds will go toward architectural drawings and future phasing of the work.”All the funds raised will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous grant from the L’Aiglon Foundation, she said.