I had been thinking about writing my year-end column when the
news of the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in southeast Asia
first came trickling out. As the days went by from Christmas on,
the death toll has risen from 10,000 to 20,000 to nearly 50,000
people and it keeps rising.
I had been thinking about writing my year-end column when the news of the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in southeast Asia first came trickling out. As the days went by from Christmas on, the death toll has risen from 10,000 to 20,000 to nearly 50,000 people and it keeps rising.
Every day we hear horrific tales of suicide bombings in Iraq, bombings in Israel, and we have lived through a terrorist attack on our country. When we hear such stories, we react viscerally – we know how to get mad at the perpetrators of these types of acts of inhumanity. It is difficult to do the same in the case of natural disasters. We are stunned and humbled by the power of nature. This tragedy reminds me once again that even the angels among us are not in control. Control is highly overrated.
But this is a local column, and it is time to put another year in the life of Gilroy to bed. This ritual of recapping the previous year is both frustrating and therapeutic.
The frustration comes from realizing that time continues to fly by. If you are the kind of person who makes resolutions at the beginning of the year, this is the week to start analyzing how effective that strategy is working for you.
Did you resolve to lose 20 pounds last January and realize that the only way that will happen by Friday is if you cut off your leg? Did you resolve to travel this year, but only manage to make more trips to the fridge or the mall? If you set up realistic goals and have a plan in place, there is a chance for success. If you aim for the stars without a clue of how to get there, chances are you will continue to be disappointed.
Locally, it was a good year for the new retail centers. We built them, and they came. It was a mixed year for downtown merchants. The cleanup and straightening of Monterey is continuing, and the facades look better this year than last year. There will be an arts center downtown, and the Cannery project looks promising. While there is still no “there” there, I am hopeful that continued building projects in and around downtown Gilroy will make 2005 the year we turned the corner.
Mostly good news on the city front. The new police station is underway, maybe this is the year that we’ll remember as the time we finally stopped talking about how expensive it is. While we have had to cut library hours, we only need to look to the home of John Steinbeck in Salinas to see how lucky we are. In Salinas, they will be closing all three of the public libraries this year. We didn’t approve the library funding initiative last time, and the result is hurting our community. We may be short-sighted, but at least we still have a Gilroy library.
The school district was on auto-pilot in 2004. We are headed on a path which says excellence but heads straight to proficiency. The number one goal of Gilroy Unified School District, despite all the flowery language put into the numerous mission statements, goals, belief statements, and vision papers is that our students pass the CAHSEE.
This exam is a “must pass” for next year’s high school graduates. Since the CAHSEE is a sixth grade level skills test, one would think that we wouldn’t even need to worry about high school seniors passing the test, but then we remember that we live in Gilroy.
The second most important goal for GUSD this year was keeping up appearances. For some this meant appearing concerned; for others this meant appearing to be inordinately busy. For parents and students, actual concern may have varied. Some GUSD employees have now mastered the art of being busy. They may be busy, but not busy doing their job. Being busy driving to another district or to your third meeting of the day is an inefficient use of manpower. GUSD has few changes planned for 2005. There will be more focus on accountability. Parents may actually start holding schools accountable for the lack of a full curriculum. It will be an interesting year for GUSD.
Finally, I have seen an extraordinary amount of goodness in the people of Gilroy in the past year. We care for each other here in Gilroy. We have unsung heroes all over town, just waiting to ask “what can I do to help?”
As our town grows, so do the number of good and decent people who are willing to help those in need. In 2005, I hope to work with all of you.
