On Tuesday, I attended a wonderful luncheon sponsored by the
Rotary Club.
On Tuesday, I attended a wonderful luncheon sponsored by the Rotary Club. I am not a member of the Rotary Club, and this was a very special lunch gathering. At this meeting, our local community service club handed out $24,000 in grant money to local organizations. I listened attentively as the numerous recipients explained to those gathered exactly how the Rotary funds would be used. I was struck by the number of organizations in Gilroy who are doing such great and vital work.
I have always known that Gilroy is a community of givers.
The Garlic Festival is probably the most well known example of Gilroy pulling together to benefit local charities. Groups like the Rotary Club, the Gilroy Foundation and the Gilroy Assistance League are also involved in providing monetary sustenance to local schools, the arts and other non-profits. Over the years that I have lived in Gilroy, I have seen a tremendous growth in the need for such assistance.
As more money becomes available from Gilroy citizens opening their hearts and checkbooks to these community partners, more and more organizations find themselves in need of the bounty we create. I know that each and every person who accepted a grant at the Rotary luncheon on Tuesday was sincerely grateful for the money.
The focus of the Rotary grants is youth and education. In these trying economic times, education spending is being cut to the bone.
Components that were once part of a full academic program such as fitness, art, theater and music are now thought to be “extras”. I believe that the “extras” are as vital to our children as food and water.
They are as integral to a well-rounded education as science or foreign language. In Gilroy, we are fortunate to have a community of volunteers and organizations that are willing to fill in the gaps in our public education system.
Our children in Gilroy benefit whether they know it or not.
If your family attends “Kids Discover Arts” or Safe Night at San Ysidro Park, don’t forget to thank the Rotary Club for making these celebrations possible.
If you have a student at Gilroy High, South Valley, Brownell, Mount Madonna, Glen View, El Portal, Rucker or Antonio del Buono, you owe a debt of thanks to our local Rotarians. All of these schools received grants this week from the Rotary Club. On behalf of Gilroy High’s Journalism Booster Club, I thank Rotary for their generous grant. I left the luncheon very impressed with the Rotary Club.
Finally, I want to thank all the representatives of the wonderful organizations in Gilroy that strive to provide our children with outstanding art and cultural programs, beautiful music, access to literature and an appreciation of local history. You are heroes to the children of Gilroy, and role models for all of us.
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Well, here goes nothing … I don’t have a problem with the new police station. It is expensive to be sure, but it’s no Taj Mahal.
While I don’t see the necessity of the police station being part of a community services complex, it does seem to make sense to keep our essential services in a central location in Gilroy. As I drive around town, it doesn’t seem that there too many places remaining in central Gilroy to build a new police station. What I don’t understand is the comparison to Morgan Hill’s police station. So what if they are doing it cheaper?
Let’s be totally honest here. Downtown Morgan Hill is head and shoulders a nicer downtown than Gilroy.
On the whole, the schools in Morgan Hill are in better shaper than the schools in Gilroy. Morgan Hill has a stunning new cultural center, and I believe will soon have an aquatics center. Speaking on behalf of only me, what would be so egregious about the City of Gilroy having a nicer police station than the city of Morgan Hill?
It’s a given that it is going to cost a fortune to have a state-of-the-art police station. Isn’t that what all those developer fees were collected for as we watched the Gilroy population double? I don’t have a stake in the outcome of this debate. I have already chaperoned the police station field trip, and have no other reason to frequent the police station. It just doesn’t seem too unreasonable to build the station as currently proposed and be done with it. In 10 years, when Morgan Hill finds itself scrambling to expand or relocate, we may have the last laugh.
