Community

After two and half years of haggling and wrangling red tape, a group of Gilroy activists can claim victory in an ambitious barn rescue that secures for future generations a very large piece of the city’s past to use and enjoy: the old Henry Miller red barn at Christmas Hill Park.

A mural at South Valley Middle School has got back its tiger and a local family’s story has come full circle.

Rounds of applause echoed from the Community Room of Gilroy Library on April 30, where the first FixIt Clinic in Santa Clara County took place.

One of the nation’s top attorneys accused Gilroy school officials Wednesday of outrageous conduct in allowing a teacher to return to the classroom after a complaint alleging sexual misconduct with a student.Gloria Allred, who has been involved in high-profile women’s rights and other civil rights cases, addressed the Gilroy Unified School District board at its regular evening meeting on behalf of Celeste Benn, who has claimed that officials, including superintendent Debbie Flores, refused to listen or mete out appropriate punishment when she alleged in October 2014 that the teacher sent her daughter, 15, sexually charged text messages.The teacher, Douglas Le, 25, was arrested April 26 by San Jose police on suspicion of soliciting lewd photos from minor boys. He resigned April 29.“He should not have been permitted to teach [in 2014], children and families have been harmed,” Allred said before a nearly full chamber at GUSD headquarters on Arroyo Circle.Allred called for a full investigation into, among other things, whether school officials complied with all laws in handling Benn’s complaint, including those that require officials to report suspicions that an adult might be sexually victimizing a minor.The Los Angeles lawyer announced a press conference for 3 p.m. today at school district headquarters about what her press release called the "sexual misconduct" case. The GUSD office is at 7810 Arroyo Circle, Gilroy.On Wednesday evening Allred told the press there might be more minor victims.Calmly addressing the board, Benn called for changes in how the district deals with student safety issues.“You had one job to do and you failed to do it for my daughter and all the boys that followed,” she said.She described how she was refused meetings with Flores and Gilroy High School principal Marco Sanchez the day after the incident. The district only responded when she threatened to go to the media, but permitted Le to continue teaching, forcing her frightened daughter to transfer to Christopher High School, she said.As the meeting began, trustee Linda Piceno spoke for the board after a closed session. She said of the 2014 incident that Le’s behavior “did not rise to the level of dismissal” and that while his conduct was “unprofessional and unacceptable,” it was not a crime.However, an attorney who specializes in child abuse law and is closely involved in the Benn case told the Dispatch the district is wrong. A crime did occur, he said, because of the sexually explicit nature of the texts sent to Benn’s daughter. The district was required to report the incident to authorities, he said. He asked not to be identified.

The Dispatch took the first place award for best front page design and second place for agricultural reporting in the California Newspaper Publishers Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest. Winners of the 2015 contest were announced this week.The winning front page design is for the Dispatch’s Dec. 11, 2015 issue, whose top headline reads “GAGE QUITS.” The award recognizes graphic designers Stephanie Woerhmann and Roger Black, along with publisher Dan Pulcrano, whose centerpiece photo of a sheep accompanies a news story on the City Council’s approval of plans to annex 721 acres of farmland north of the city for a housing development. With 10 months left in his term, former mayor Don Gage announced he was retiring from the council just before the annexation vote was taken.Dispatch reporter Roseann Hernandez Cattani took second place honors for best agricultural reporting with her Dec. 25, 2015 story about grower Jeff Martin, “Despite the drought, the county's only olive oil producer had a great year.”The Dispatch vied against newspapers in its circulation range throughout the state to win the front page and agricultural coverage awards.Sister papers the Morgan Hill Times and Hollister Free Lance also received CNPA honors, including a first place for best sports page or section (Free Lance), a second place for breaking news (Times), and second place honors for best columns, sports action photo and feature photo (Free Lance). In all, the Times earned three CNPA awards and the Free Lance earned seven.Sister paper the North Bay Bohemian took first place honors at CNPA for best writing, along with four other awards. Awards were also given to sister papers Metro Silicon Valley, Good Times Weekly and the Pacific Sun.In all, the associated papers won 21 awards from the CNPA, a trade group founded in 1888 that represents the daily, weekly, monthly and campus papers of California.

Bullies, unions, growing schools, lunches and working in a community of great diversity are just some of the things Debbie Flores has dealt with in her decade at the helm of the Gilroy Unified School District. And just this month she was selected Superintendent of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators, a tremendous honor.

Using lies, deceit and abuse, a caretaker bilked an elderly Gilroy man out of nearly $1 million over two years and forced him to live in filth while she enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, then filed fraudulent income tax returns, a U.S. Ttax Ccourt judge ruled.

A team of 53 firefighters quenched a thick burning blaze Saturday evening and saved most of the building that houses the METech Recycling Center.

It was a baby shower, but there was no baby.

The city of Gilroy, director Carol Romo, and more than 60 talented children from all over Gilroy and Morgan Hill opened their show, Disney’s Cinderella Kids, last week at Gilroy High School Theatre. There is one weekend left, with five more opportunities to see this hilarious adaptation of the classic tale. Shows are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 1p.m. and 4 p.m. Featuring hilarious exchanges between the King and Grand Duke, adorable animals, a beautiful princess and plenty of hijinks from Cinderella’s stepsisters, this is an experience you won’t soon forget. These kids deliver. Tickets are $10 each, available at the box office and online athttp://cityofgilroy.seatyourself.biz/.