Community

GILROY—As Bert Mar walked the grounds at South Valley Middle School, he was met with big smiles and warm greetings at every turn. Cars that whizzed by the school turned around when they saw him, the drivers eager to say hello. Mar recognized each instantly and answered them with a bright smile, a wave and a unique nickname he’d undoubtedly given them several years ago. He’s a familiar face in Gilroy—and for good reason.

GILROY—Under Construction outlasted Old City Hall 25-15 Friday to leave both clubs at 5-3 in the Men’s EE League standings at Las Animas Veterans Park.

For the second straight year, Tiffany Verbica won the Henry W. Coe 10K Fun Run and was the No. 1 overall female runner. Verbica is the wife of the great grandson of Henry W. Coe, Peter Coe Verbica, who said his wife’s victory was “especially meaningful for the family”. The course, which begins at the Hunting Hollow trail head, is an out-and-back near the Gilroy Hot Springs. The win is the latest in a long list of victories for Tiffany. She finished as the No. 1 women in her age group of 30 to 39 and No. 2 overall for the women at the 2015 Nisene Marks Half Marathon in Soquel on June 6 in a time of 1:46:30.

GILROY—A “bustling” life was cut short on May 9, when the car Natalia Salcido, a Christopher High School sophomore, was riding in struck a tree. She was killed on impact, exactly one week before she was to celebrate her 16th birthday.

GILROY—Garlic City Computer stormed to a 7-0-1 record in the Men’s DD Softball League June 16 by upending the Borrachos 16-5 at Las Animas Veterans Park.

GILROY—Classes that teach high schoolers the agricultural arts and sciences just received a big boost in Gilroy, where farming and ranching dominated life for more than a century before subdivisions and industrial development moved in.Spurred by a resurrected parent booster club, Gilroy Unified School District trustees have approved renovation of a sprawling but decaying greenhouse at Gilroy High School where in better times members of the school’s Future Farmers of America chapter grew a sea of red poinsettias as their annual holiday fundraiser.“I’m very happy to see it grow, said Hannah Komin, 16, of the greenhouse plans and renewed emphasis on programs that cater to the many students who dream of careers in ag-related industries.She is one of about 170 members of Gilroy High’s booming Future Farmers of America chapter and also one of its officers. FFA is a nationwide organization.“I wish I would be around to see it,” said FFA member Dallas Lafond, 17, a Texas transplant who was graduated from GHS yesterday, June 11.The resurrection of a greenhouse that has been a dilapidated target of vandals, graffiti artists, ground squirrels and the elements for more than four years is the story of parents with a cause, a supportive school board, help from local ag companies and the Gilroy Rotary.“They were a huge help,” said FFA member and graduating senior, Ashley Bonesio, 17.Kurt Ashley, president of Gilroy High’s FFA Booster Club, said that by the time his daughter entered GHS four years ago the ag program “was dying for lack of support” and the boosters club had vanished.Regular fair goers with their family at the annual Santa Clara County Fair, Ashley and his wife noticed other high schools had better ag programs and larger and better equipped FFAs.They sought out other parents and together in 2013 kick-started the boosters club that, with a donation of $500 from Mayor Gage, applied for and secured nonprofit status and set its sights on supporting a program the school district no longer can afford to fund as it has in the past.“We’re not just doing the greenhouse,” Ashley said. “That’s just one piece of the project. Our goal is to support the entire FFA program, including the school farm out on Kern Avenue.”FFA member and chapter officer Kimberly Potman, 16, gives all the credit for the rebirth of interest in farm and ranching subjects for the benefit of students to the involvement of parents.“It was the boosters, they pretty much fueled everything,” she said.Financial help also has come from Christopher Ranch and Uesugi Farms, among others, Ashley said, enough so that the boosters’ club will contribute $10,000 of the nearly $50,000 cost of renovating the greenhouse with new heating, cooling and electrical systems, new roof and siding materials and other upgrades to be ready for classes in August as long as the new ag teaching staff is in place by then.In addition to horticulture and floral design, new course options for students interested in agricultural sciences in 2015-16 will include Ag Chemistry, Ag Communication and Leadership, Soil Chemistry and Biotechnology.For more information on the FFA club and boosters, go to facebook.com/gilroyffaboosters.

GILROY—A little more than a year ago, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero presented 12-year-old Caley Camarillo with a miniature WBC World Title belt that made her beam from ear to ear. The belt was a symbol of Camarillo’s strength as she battled cystic fibrosis, the disease that ultimately claimed her life in June 2014.

After a one-day scorcher to start the week in South County with triple digits hitting Gilroy and Morgan Hill, cooler but still warm temperatures will prevail over the weekend and into next week, according to Forecaster Bob Benjamin of the National Weather Service.

GILROY—The Valley Transportation Authority plans on expanding bus service in the Garlic Capital in the fall, starting with two lines between Saint Louise Regional Hospital and downtown Gilroy and extending weekday hours of buses between Gavilan College and the city core.

GILROY—The second-division teams were victorious on June 3 as the Men’s E League program moved into its seventh week of play at Christmas Hill Park.