Community

USA Sports in Gilroy recently capped off its competition season as two gymnasts medaled in the all-around and several others had top six finishes at separate Northern California State Championships.

GILROY — When Gilroy Tennis Club members Mike Hansen, Paul Wheeler and Marco Renella brought their proposal to restore the Las Animas Veteran’s Park tennis courts to the City of Gilroy in mid-2012, they weren’t sure what to expect. They were asking for a hefty amount of money — $28,000 — but it was just a portion of what would be needed to complete the project — they’d take care of the rest, they assured the city. But with cities tightening their budgets across the country, the idea of allocating funds to restore tennis courts almost felt like a pipe dream.

Nathan Heredia hasn't always spent the Christmas holidays surrounded by family and friends.

Stockings were hung by the chimney with care as Santa Claus greeted downtown visitors and inviting bar stools beckoned weary shoppers outside the M & H Tavern. Children were able to write their very own holiday present requests and mail them to jolly old Saint Nick at a festively decorated letter writing station outside the Music Tree. Passersby were encouraged to demo a bicycle and other fitness items at a display sponsored by the City’s Centennial Recreation Center.

Area wineries have been told to put a cork in the noise when it comes to entertaining guests, unless proprietors pony up close to $5,000 for a one-time special outdoor amplified sound permit and associated noise consultancy fees.

Before strapping on his helmet and joining colleagues for an afternoon bike ride on a recent blustery Tuesday, Robert Egger characterized the sometimes strained relationship between two groups that sometimes butt heads when sharing the roadways.

The Community Agency for Resources, Advocacy and Services, a Gilroy-based nonprofit known as CARAS, will be holding its first-ever fundraiser at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in Gilroy to honor “community champions” including Assembly Member Luis Alejo, and world boxing champion and Gilroy native Robert Guerrero.

The annual Downtown Holiday Parade, an event sponsored by the Gilroy Downtown Business Association, will likely see swarms of attendees descend upon downtown Gilroy on Saturday afternoon.

The National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch for the Santa Clara Valley for later this week, and local emergency authorities are reminding residents to prepare their homes for the extreme cold weather on the way. The NWS alert will be in effect from Tuesday night through Thursday morning for most of the Bay Area, including South Santa Clara County, according to the NWS website. “A mainly dry cold front will pass over the Bay Area by Tuesday morning with the coldest air so far this season filtering in behind the front,” the alert says. A freeze watch means that sub-freezing temperatures are expected, and these conditions could kill crops and other vegetation, according to the NWS. This week’s forecast for Morgan Hill predicts low temperatures of 29 degrees both Wednesday and Thursday nights, and temperatures as low as 27 degrees the same nights, according to the NWS website. The City of Morgan Hill sent out a press release advising the Centers for Disease Control offers the following precautions for residents and homeowners during extreme cold weather: -If you plan to use a fireplace or wood stove for emergency heating, have your chimney or flue inspected every year.-If using a fireplace, wood stove or kerosene heater, install a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector near the area to be heated.-Insulate any water lines that run along exterior walls so your water supply will be less likely to freeze and burst. -If you have pets, bring indoors. If you cannot bring them inside, provide adequate shelter to keep them warm and make sure they have access to unfrozen water.