Get prepared for a disaster
Gilroy – Don’t be caught unprepared in an emergency. Members of the American Red Cross will be hosting disaster preparation instructional presentations from 1 to 5pm today at Christmas Hill Park.
Local law enforcement officials will be conducting similar presentations in San Martin at East Middle Avenue and Llagas Street during the same time.
Live auction benefits CMAP
Gilroy – Get all of your holiday shopping done in one weekend and benefit Gilroy’s community TV station, CMAP. The fundraiser this weekend at CMAP, involves an auction where people call in or drop by to bid on 80 items donated from local businesses. The items are all listed online, and range from autographed San Jose Sharks Hockey Pucks, to massage gift certificates, to a DVD player, picture cell phone, wine tasting tours, and Oakland A’s tickets. These items are bound to go for less than their values.
The auction takes place from 6 to 9pm Saturday and Sunday.
Watch Channel 20 and call in bids from your living room if you live in Gilroy, Hollister or San Juan Bautista, or bid in person at the Gavilan College TV studio: http://www.mycmap.org/about/location.htm
View items online at http://www.mycmap.org/spotlight/Bid_items_2005.htm.
Weinerschnitzel raises funds
Gilroy – Weinerschnitzel will raise money for the nonprofit organization Heart to Heart with Ukraine all day Oct. 26, 711 First St. The event is open to everyone. There will be food, prizes, a jump house and the appearance by the Famous Weiner Dog. The restaurant will donate 20 percent of funds raised to benefit orphans from Ukraine. Some of the children are in the process of being adopted by Gilroy and Morgan Hill families. Corporate sponsors are welcome.
Details: Rick Shute, 710-9809, or Marian Jackson, 778-7935.
Bike race aids charities
Gilroy – More than 900 serious and recreational cyclists will gather at Bonfante Gardens today for the start of the first-ever Bonfante Harvest Ride.
Bikers will complete 25-, 50- and 100-mile rides, pedaling past pumpkin patches, vineyards, and fields of flowers on a scenic fall foliage tour.
“The city of Gilroy is putting a lot of effort into planning bike paths,” said Susan Bassi, coordinator for the Bonfante Harvest Ride. “This is a really good opportunity to showcase Gilroy.”
Cyclists completing the 100-mile circuit climb a high of 3,000 feet, and those along the 50-mile tour climb 1,500 feet. Along the way, riders can stop at themed rest areas, and for the first time in 20 years, Gilroy Hot Springs will be opened for ride participants and volunteers to soothe their tired legs.
A separate children’s ride runs through Bonfante Gardens.
Proceeds go towards Gilroy Community Services, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and other healthy lifestyle-related charities.
Two injured in accidents
Gilroy – Two early morning crashes on U.S. 101 left two Watsonville residents with minor injuries.
Rafael Garcia, 25, was arrested for driving under the influence after his Ford Ranger ran off the road at about 2:45am Friday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Garcia was heading southbound near Masten Avenue when he allowed the vehicle to run off the road due to his intoxication, the CHP said. The truck overturned onto the west side of the roadway, coming to a rest on all four wheels.
Garcia and his passenger, 26-year-old Pedro Alvarez, suffered minor injuries. Both were taken to Saint Louise Regional Hospital.
The cause is under investigation.
A separate accident on U.S. 101 near Church Street caused a Ford Taurus to catch fire.
According to reports, Colie Roberts, 41, of Hollister was driving northbound at a high rate of speed into the scales lane while passing a Cintas Uniform truck.
Roberts collided with the truck driven by Paul Rocchi, 35, of Gilroy. The car caught fire, however, there were no injuries.
How to help U.S. soldiers
Gilroy – Anyone interested in helping make cooling neckties that will be sent to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, should contact Mary Ellen Salzano at ma***************@ya***.com, 779-6916 or 489-0911.
The fabric neckties are made by adding two teaspoons of polymer through an opening at the top. When the polymer is soaked in water, it expands and the surface of the ties draws moisture away from the fabric.
Salzano began making the neckties when her son, a U.S. Marine, began serving in Iraq. The neckties help the men and women cool off in the scorching hot heat of the Middle East desert.
Send news items to City Editor Robert Airoldi. FAX to 842-2206, mail to Gilroy Dispatch, 6400 Monterey Road, Gilroy, CA 95020, or e-mail ed****@ga****.com.
