Community

Speeding Along The construction on Highway 129 by Crittendon Underpass is moving along on schedule and should be finished in January, barring early rains, according to project manager Katie Beach, with Caltrans.

This is about Silva’s Crossing in the creek by Christmas Hill Park. There are “No Swimming” signs posted, but when I walked there today I saw about 40 people swimming there. I wasn't aware it was a swimming hole. It’s also a protected creek, so I don’t know why Gilroy Police Department doesn’t get those people out of there and enforce the “No Swimming” signs that are posted on the property.

Forty-seven years ago, two young men from Texas met at a canteen in Vietnam.The two Army soldiers, Francisco Barrientes, 20, and Juan Pequeño, 19, had just arrived in the war-torn country in 1969. They were in the middle of being processed when they met, becoming fast friends as they waited to find out where in the country they would be stationed.One day, over the course of a beer, the two young men made a promise to one another: if one them makes it out alive, he would lay flowers at the other’s gravesite.Barrientes, who was left critically disabled by the war when he took an AK-47 gunshot to his face and lost his esophagus and left vocal cords, came to Gilroy over the July Fourth weekend to fulfill that promise and pay tribute to his brother in arms, who died in battle just weeks after the two first met.“I knew I had to do this,” said Barrientes, dressed in full uniform, standing next to the gravesite of Cpl. Juan Pequeño, 6/10/49-2/14/69, on July 1 at Gavilan Memorial Park on First Street. “I can’t let time go by anymore.”He said that every February he remembers the young man, who before volunteering to serve in the military, liked to play baseball.“So many did not make it back,” said Barrientes, who spent seven years in a military hospital and underwent 50 operations after being injured twice in Vietnam, the second leaving him disfigured and unable to eat normally.During his pilgrimage to Gilroy, Barrientes had to stop every three hours to prepare a special drink, his only nourishment over the past 40-plus years.Barrientes would go on to receive two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service, then marry, raising three children as he devoted his civilian life to community service.After 30 years of volunteering at his local school district in Edinburg, Texas, Barrientes would have a middle school named after him.Barrientes, standing at the grave next to Pequeño’s brother, David, laid down a bright, floral bouquet in red, yellow and green, the colors of Vietnam.Born into a military family, Pequeño, was the son of a WWII veteran and sibling to two other brothers who also served.Youngest brother David, who was stationed in Korea for a time while he was in the Army, was only 11 or 12 when his brother died.“It was hard on our mom,” he said stoically at the gravesite. He pointed out his sister’s final resting place at his brother’s side.Not fully knowing how to process the surprising appearance of Barrientes, the story of a promise made over beers while war raged on a foreign battlefield 47 years ago, he said he wished Barrientes had gotten in contact earlier, that maybe they could have had a relationship.For now, the two former soldiers stand together, eyes cast downward, each remembering a young man whose life was cut short while serving his country.

SAN MARTIN—So first of all, I cannot oversell just how amazing it is to walk around Cordevalle and hear the languages being spoken and the accents of those speaking.

Gilroyans and visitors drawn to the world-class splendor of the Women’s Open at Cordevalle are in for a treat next Friday, as downtown Gilroy comes alive with live music, full-scale dancing in the street, gourmet street food and an open-air fashion show that will inspire you to take that summer holiday you totally deserve.

Imagine taking an exam that will permanently alter the status of your life. Imagine that you’ve taken the classes, completed the homework, and invested hours of time studying for this test. Imagine that the exam is in a language that isn’t your own, and that a translator is forbidden.

The candidates in this year’s presidential campaign have spent hours debating the subject of immigration. But how many of us actually understand the naturalization process?

Ride the garlic trainSome big changes on the rails for the 2016 Gilroy Garlic Festival, coming July 29-31. You want the good news first or the bad news?Here’s the good, since you have been such good readers. For the first time there is a train that can take as many as 1,000 people to the festival from San Jose, or from as far north as San Francisco.The festival has chartered a special passenger train that will leave San Jose’s Diridon Station at 10 a.m. and arrive in Gilroy at 11 a.m. There will be buses to bring passengers from Gilroy’s station to the fest. The train leaves Gilroy at 5 p.m. It costs $25 above the $20 admission for the festival, which is a steal if you consider how it beats the traffic and parking.But here’s the catch: you have to buy tickets in advance at the Gilroy Garlic Festival website. There are 800 seats on the train and room for 200 people to stand. Grab a seat quickly!Here’s the bad news. For the first time the festival is charging $10 for parking and there’s no parking near the festival. You will have to park at a site on Day Road or at Gavilan Community College and take free buses to the Christmas Hill Park site.Festival organizers say the cost of running the buses for free has left them bone dry, financially. The $250,000 they expect to raise from parking should offset the bus charges and allow a good chunk of the $3 million they expect to gross to go to local charities. The festival has raised $11 million since 1979.Each of the 4,000 volunteers who works at the festival earns money for the for one of 150 charities of their choice.More good news: on Friday, July 29, South Valley locals can take $5 off the admission price and locals can also buy a three-day pass for $30. That includes residents from Morgan Hill to Aromas and Hollister. You can only buy those tickets at the gate with proof of residence.You can ride a bicycle to the fest and save all transit fees. There is a free bike valet that will keep your wheels secure.Festival organizers have drawn 85,000 to 135,000 people over the years, depending mostly on the weather.Among this year’s new highlights are a Kansas City-based barbecue contest, with a $7,500 purse for the best cooking, some big-name country bands and a revamped children’s area.

 

San Jose Police Officer Michael Katherman, who was killed on duty June 14 when a minivan struck his motorcycle at 4:22 p.m., will be buried Tuesday in Gilroy and residents will line overpasses and streets in his honor.