I’m calling in regards to the homeless encampment down by Uvas
Creek. It is directly behind Goldsmith Seeds. It look like there
are about eight or 10 tents set up there.
“I’m calling in regards to the homeless encampment down by Uvas Creek. It is directly behind Goldsmith Seeds. It look like there are about eight or 10 tents set up there.”
Red Phone: Dear Moving On, The Gilroy police recently went through the area around Third Street and Santa Teresa Boulevard and told all the homeless people they needed to move. Unfortunately, some appear to have moved west, said Gilroy Police Officer Stuart Jaquez, who has worked with the homeless in Gilroy.
The homeless people usually stay in the creek bed, but have come out onto the banks with the recent rains, said a site manager at Goldsmith Seeds who declined to give his name.
“We’ve definitely seen in increase recently in the people who are down there,” he said. “We have cameras on our property, but we haven’t had any problems so far.”
Some of the area is in unincorporated areas, but the area behind Goldsmith Seeds appears to be within Gilroy Police jurisdiction. Sgt. Jim Gillio said he would have an officer take a look at that area.
Property owners are required to give warning either verbally or through a no trespassing sign, said Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Sung. After that, the owner can place the person under citizen’s arrest, he said.
If you have problems with trespassers, you can call the sheriff’s office at 299-2311 or the Gilroy Police at 846-0300.
Where to donate to Haiti?
“I was wondering is there a place to donate clothes, shoes, jackets and other valuable items that the Haiti people can use right now? I know we can donate money, but I don’t have that much with this economy. As my kids grow, I want to donate their clothes, shoes, blankets, etc. – things the Haitians can use immediately other than food. Is there a dropoff location or is someone trying to organize this type of donation?”
Red Phone: Dear Where to Donate, Most of the major organizations that are providing relief are only accepting monetary donations due to the logistics of collecting and distributing items.
The Silicon Valley Chapter of the Red Cross, which raised more than $150,000 within a week of the earthquake in Haiti, is only taking money because of lack of storage space available. And the Salvation Army also doesn’t have the means to transport items and is also just taking monetary donations.
So, readers, if you know of any local or national efforts to receive and distribute used items, we’d like to know.
Don’t play in the rain
“Red Phone, you have done wonders hitting home runs every time I have called. There is a group of 15 kids who play frisbee every Sunday at El Roble Park. Nice young kids. They play in the bowl section. But with the rains, that section is getting chewed up badly. I guess they don’t know they are doing damage to the lawn.”
Red Phone: Dear Muddy Conditions, While all the parks in Gilroy are technically open, city officials urge caution when using the fields. Several years ago, a group of football players tore up a field in Gilroy while playing there when it was wet. The person in charge of organizing the event was held accountable for the cost of repairing the field, said Gilroy Recreation Director John Garcia.
City staff plans to contact to the group this weekend to urge them not to use the fields, said Parks and Landscape Supervisor Bill Headley.
“We urge people to make a judgement call and think about the ramifications whether its at schools or parks,” Headley said. “Our hat’s off to citizens taking the time to let us know. These are your parks.”
People should visibly inspect the fields and stay off them if the grass is not showing above the mud, he said.
