News

GILROY—A retired Morgan Hill city manager was chosen Monday night to fill in as Gilroy’s interim city administrator, according to Mayor Don Gage.

Hikers, cyclists and horseback riders can learn how to safely interact with cattle and other livestock when encountering these animals on local recreation lands at an Oct. 17 workshop hosted by Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation.The workshop, which runs from 10 a.m. to noon, will be held at Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear County Park in San Martin—one of four county parks where cattle graze on the same property where hikers, cyclists and equestrians enjoy the outdoors.Collectively, such county parks where livestock live host more than 1 million visitors per year, according to county staff. Research from the UC Cooperative Extension notes that negative interactions between livestock and people occasionally occur on these parklands. Such interactions reportedly number less than seven incidents annually.With negative publicity around these incidents, people have expressed their fear of encountering a large animal on a trail, county staff added. The Oct. 17 workshop—conducted by park staff, ranchers and livestock and range management experts—will help park visitors better understand livestock and cattle behavior, and learn proper ways to safely approach cattle on the trail.Since 1992, the county has developed recreation trails on four parks where private ranchers keep their grazing livestock. Mixing these uses reduces the risk of wildfires and helps control invasive weeds such as yellow star thistle, according to county staff. Grazing also benefits some threatened and endangered animals, such as the California red-legged frog and the California tiger salamander. Grazing is also important in protecting habitat for rare species found in serpentine grasslands.Currently, more than 11,000 acres of county parklands are open for grazing, county staff added. Ranchers pay a fair market value to keep their livestock on the properties.

GILROY—The Gilroy Garlic Festival Association announced distributions totaling $250,000 will flow to 138 charities and nonprofit groups from the 2015 festival, which took place in July.

GILROY—Cal Poly trailed Montana by two points and had just four seconds left on the clock when it turned to Alex Vega. The fate of the game rested on his foot and the Gilroy High alum rose to the occasion. In his debut college game, Vega blasted a career-high 49-yard field goal to lift the Mustangs to a 20-19 win over Montana Sept. 5 in Missoula.

GILROY—In a closed session meeting, the Gilroy City Council will be interviewing candidates for the position of interim city administrator, Mayor Don Gage told the Dispatch.

Christopher field hockey shut down Carmel 6-0 Wednesday at home. The win was the fifth straight for the Cougars.

Gavilan volleyball went 1-1 at the Fullerton College Classic Friday in Fullerton.

SAN JOSE—Piedmont Hills got the better of Gilroy in Week 4, beating the Mustangs 51-26 Friday in San Jose.

Christopher knew it had a tall order to fill against Salinas Thursday night as the team had never won a set against the Cowboys heading into this game. But this time, the Cougars won three and came away with a thrilling 3-2 win at home.

Gilroy police made arrests for a variety of crimes over the last week, including assault with a firearm, robbery, possession of tear gas and driving under the influence. Arrests were recorded in the Gilroy Police Department blotter between Sept. 16 and 23 and compiled using public records.