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This summer, administrators at Gilroy High School have been working to fill five positions—including the activities director, assistant principal, counselor and two teachers—after staff members left their posts.“I've been in the business for 20 years, and I can't ever remember having five different staff members from one site leave in one year,” GHS Principal Marco Sanchez said, adding that two people climbed the ranks within the Gilroy Unified School District.Kanani Pratt, formerly a Social Studies teacher at Gilroy High, became the school's assistant principal after Christine Anderson moved on to serve as the principal of Rucker Elementary School.“I’m going from the micro level to the macro level, from the department to the whole school. It’s a big jump and it’s an exciting jump with different responsibilities,” Pratt said. “I’ll definitely miss the intimate interaction with the students inside the classroom. I’m going to be very visible on campus, but it’s not the same as having a captive audience for two hours a day in a classroom.”“I've always enjoyed working with Kanani as the department chair of social studies and our Advanced Placement coordinator,” Sanchez added. “She has been fantastic there and I know she'll do a great job as an assistant principal. She's done a marvelous job so far over the summer just helping me hire and fill vacancies for teaching positions.”Former English teacher, department chair and GHS graduate Ethan Stocks became the assistant principal at Milpitas High School, and former academic coordinator Julio Villalobos is now the assistant principal at Alum Rock Union Elementary School.Eleven-year GHS veteran and former activities director Jeremy Dirks—also a Mustang—left to accept a position as assistant principal of San Benito High School. According to Sanchez, former activities director at South Valley High School, Chris Leong, will replace Dirks.“I really enjoyed my time at Gilroy High School,” Dirks said. “To be honest, the place made me into the person I am today and it's difficult—but I'm looking forward to an exciting new opportunity.”Though the transition was made easier simply because he's lived in the Hollister area for the past 11 years, Dirks said he'll miss the students and staff at Gilroy High.Stocks, Pratt and Dirks graduated from San Jose State—from the same program—and worked alongside each other at GHS for more than 10 years.“Their talents will all be missed,” Sanchez said, speaking to the three staff members moving outside GUSD. “We spent the whole summer finding their replacements and that's been difficult.”GHS administrators are hoping to hire two teachers this summer—a Social Studies teacher and an English teacher, according to Sanchez.

Gavilan College trustees voted in closed session last month to change the way trustees are voted into office, confirmed Trustee Tony Ruiz, who represents the Hollister area on the board.

Starting in October, South County residents will have to drive to Santa Clara or San Jose to contest traffic citations or file civil claims. Starting Oct. 6, Santa Clara County Superior Court will close the traffic, civil and small claims courts at the Morgan Hill Courthouse, according to a press release from Superior Court Presiding Judge Brian Walsh. The same court services will also close at the Palo Alto courthouse. Residents with traffic violations will have to travel to the Santa Clara Courthouse to contest their citations or pay fines. Those filing or fighting small claims or civil suits will have to go to the downtown San Jose courthouse. The closures are part of the local court’s effort to close an $8.5 million operating deficit due to “significant and continuing” cuts by the state of California, according to Santa Clara County Superior Court Executive Officer David Yamasaki. The closures won’t fill that entire gap, but the court is looking at other ways to reduce the remainder of the deficit, Yamasaki said. “Obviously, personnel represents the core of our budget, about 85 percent,” Yamasaki said. “We have to look at our personnel costs to help remedy this problem.”Currently, 22 staff people deliver traffic, civil and small claims court services out of the Morgan Hill and Palo Alto facilities. The loss of traffic court services will likely produce the heaviest impact on South County residents. The Morgan Hill facility serves about 22,000—or 13 percent—of the county’s total traffic cases, Yamasaki said. Civil and small claims in South County represent about 3 percent and 6 percent, respectively, of the county’s total, Yamasaki said. 

The DUB Baseball Academy will host tryouts for its fall teams on Aug. 23 at Live Oak High School.

A burglar was caught in the act when officers responded to an alarm call at a residence in northwest Morgan Hill Tuesday, Aug. 5, according to a press release.Officers responded to the burglary in progress call about 11 a.m. on the 18000 block of Murphy Springs Drive, police said. Officers determined the suspect, later identified as Loran Green-Silveira, 25 of Morgan Hill, was still inside the residence.MHPD K-9 police dog Sony helped officers convince Green-Silveira to surrender to authorities, police said. Green-Silveira was on probation, and officers found several stolen items from previous Morgan Hill and Gilroy burglaries in his possession. Green-Silveira was booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of possession of stolen property, violation of probation and trespassing. Police said the incident is a reminder to residents to make secure, detailed lists of valuable items contained in their homes, with pictures, serial numbers and descriptions. Doing so will help investigators when homes are burglarized. Anyone with information about this incident can call MHPD at (408) 779-2101.

SANTA CLARA—The Silicon Valley Glory 18-U baseball team was apprehensive heading into its first tournament of the season. Though the Glory had been practicing for about a month, they didn’t think they were ready for tournament play. As it turns out, practice makes perfect.

A San Jose man is wanted in connection with “multiple burglaries” recently reported throughout Santa Clara County—including at least one in Morgan Hill, according to police. The suspect, David Pietrzak, 50, was seen driving away from a home on San Benito Road in Morgan Hill July 29. The home had just been burglarized, according to Morgan Hill police reports. He was seen driving away in a four-door 1997 Infiniti sedan. MHPD officers released Pietrzak’s in an effort to find him for questioning in a number of recent reported burglaries. Anyone with information about this case or who has information about Pietrzak’s whereabouts can contact MHPD at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867. 

A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, August 9, 2014, at 10:00 A.M. at Allegheny County Memorial Park, 1600 Duncan Avenue, Allison Park, PA, 15101. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, or your local animal shelter.

Police arrested an Oakland man on suspicion of shooting a male victim in a quiet southwest Morgan Hill neighborhood July 25, according to a press release. Robert Johnson, 24, was arrested Aug. 4 by Morgan Hill police officers in Oakland, with the assistance of Alameda County Probation, police said. Johnson was booked on suspicion of attempted homicide and robbery. About 8 p.m. July 25, MHPD officers responded to a call reporting a single shot fired in the area of the 15000 block of La Alameda Drive, authorities said. Police arrived and found the victim, also an Oakland man, suffering from a single gunshot wound to the stomach. The victim was airlifted to an area hospital for treatment for the wound which was not life-threatening, police said. The suspect and victim knew each other and were involved in a dispute before the shooting, police said. After the single gunshot was fired, the suspect—later identified as Johnson—fled the scene in a Toyota Camry, according to authorities. Anyone with information about this incident can call MHPD at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867. 

Editor's note: for an updated version of this story, visit http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/city_local_government/tax-hike-goes-to-voters/article_aee7795e-1e5b-11e4-b37f-0017a43b2370.html.