News

The Gilroy Police Department made arrests for a variety of crimes this past week, including possession of methamphetamine for sale, robbery, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and assault with a deadly weapon. Arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between July 31 and Aug. 6.

GILROY—The Gilroy boys water polo team ended last season on a high note. After losing to San Lorenzo Valley four times over the past two seasons, the Mustangs finally beat the Cougars 11-10 in the Monterey Bay League consolation playoffs—their final game of the year.

Last year, three girls’ teams claimed league titles at Christopher in golf, swimming and track and field. There were two other Cougar teams, boys and girls water polo, who were close to hanging their own banners up and they are determined to take their rightful places in the gym this season.

GILROY—There’s a new, but familiar face leading the Christopher Athletic Department this year.

Life’s best lessons aren’t always learned in the classroom.

Two Gavilan College students in the Computer Graphics and Design program—and their instructor—walked away from the California State Fair in Sacramento with top honors, extending the program’s winning streak for a fifth straight year. The fair, which took place between July 11 and 27, featured competition between students from all 122 of the state’s community colleges.

After more than an hour of public comment Aug. 4, City Council approved putting a measure before voters that would increase the city’s sales tax by a half percent with a 5-1 vote. If approved by voters in November, Gilroy’s sales tax would jump from 8.75 to 9.25 percent and the city would have the highest sales tax in all of Santa Clara County.

Every Tuesday afternoon, a group of local volunteers gather around a table in an industrial building in Gilroy to write personal letters to people they've never met. This past Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 5, was no different. The volunteers penned words of gratitude and encouragement to American service members stationed in Afghanistan as part of Operation Interdependence.

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.