Community

Professors at Gavilan Community College are beginning to fret

Some overnight to early morning wet weather in and around South County produced a little more than half inch of rainfall over the past 24 hours in the Morgan Hill-Gilroy area, according to Meteorologist Roger Gass with the National Weather Service.

A new car dealership may not have materialized, but city leaders

Our top 10 people picks for Morgan Hill as it transitions into a

The local nonprofit Edward “Boss” Prado Foundation announced its board of directors for 2017. Pictured seated in the front row are (left to right) board members Laura Escoto, Jennifer Tate, Prado Foundation CEO Cecelia Ponzini, CFO Melissa Santos and Secretary Connie Sue Murray. Standing in the back row are board members John Horner, Kathy Carrera, President Gary Ponzini, Vice President Steven Riley Prado, Betty Beach, Michelle McKay and Mayor Steve Tate.The Prado Foundation was founded by the Ponzinis in 2013 as a legacy to Cecelia’s son, Edward “Boss” Prado, who died at the age of 29. The foundation is built on Edward’s values of generosity, sensitivity and being a good neighbor, explains the foundation’s website at edwardbossprado.org. The foundation operates a number of programs that strive to preserve these values by helping those who are less fortunate. These include Cecelia’s Closet and Food Pantry on Peebles Avenue, Share The Runway prom dress donations, the No Child Goes Unfed school lunch program and others.For more information, visit the foundation’s website at edwardbossprado.org.

It is often said that U.S. military veterans communicate among themselves with an unspoken language as well as an understood, unbreakable trust. Perhaps that’s one reason Charles Weston, organizer of the upcoming Veterans Day Run, knows he made the right call in supporting Mary Cortani’s Operation Freedom Paws as one of the fundraiser’s beneficiaries.Cortani—a U.S. Army veteran who, like Weston, served in Vietnam—gave a tour of OFP’s 4.2-acre San Martin site earlier this week to a small group of donors, including Weston. OFP is a unique nonprofit that matches rescued dogs with individuals—primarily veterans—who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, traumatic brain injury symptoms and other physical, neurological, psychological or mobility conditions.OFP’s program works with each client to train their own dog, then certifies the dog and handler together as a service team in a rigorous 48-week course, during which the dogs are housed at the OFP facility. The service is therapy-intense and available to clients 24/7: Cortani said it is common for a client to call her in the middle of the night “in crisis,” wanting to come over to see their dog.“We’re dealing with the families too,” Cortani told the group Oct. 24. OFP even offers spousal support groups and other family services.Cortani, who founded OFP in 2010 and was a finalist for CNN’s “Hero of the Year” award in 2012, said as of last week, the nonprofit has matched, trained and supported 316 clients with service dogs. About 85 percent of the clients are veterans, but OFP serves a variety of people with service dog needs.One of their clients is a young girl prone to seizures, who gained a service dog that OFP staff and the girl’s family trained to detect upcoming episodes, Cortani said. The dog has simplified the family’s life together, and possibly even saved the client from serious injury or death.OFP’s property, which it currently leases from the commercial owner next door, includes a fenced-in, grassy training yard and numerous structures that house dog kennels and meeting spaces. The middle of the floor of an open warehouse is set up for group therapy and dog lounging.OFP is getting ready to begin a “capital campaign” to raise enough funds to purchase the property, which Cortani feels is the ideal permanent home for the organization. OFP’s county use permit is under a “one-year review” for potential modifications due to the nonprofit’s growth at the site.Six nonprofits to benefit from Veterans RunOFP is one of five nonprofits that will benefit from the third annual Morgan Hill Veterans Run 5K/10K/Walk, which is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. Nov. 11 in the city’s downtown.The others are Gilroy-based Dreampower Horsemanship, which offers equine therapy for children, teens, adults and veterans throughout the South Bay; Wounded Warrior Project, a national organization that assists veterans with lifelong combat injuries; Taji 100, another run/walk charity challenge that raises funds for veterans service organizations; and the Morgan Hill Freedom Fest, for which Weston, organizer for the Veterans Day Run, is a director.OFP is slated to receive 25 percent of Veterans Day Run proceeds, while Dreampower and WWP will receive 10 percent. Taji 100 is tagged for 15 percent of the proceeds and Freedom Fest—which organizes annual Independence Day festivities in Morgan Hill—will gain 40 percent of funds raised.Last year’s Veterans Day Run raised $3,253 for the partners, Weston said.“I think Mary and Operation Freedom Paws is awesome,” Weston said. “I can't imagine the effort and intelligence she has to push this forward. I think they have some hurdles to get to a stable place, and I think she needs help in fundraising and operations. I hope it comes soon.”He added that he tagged the other beneficiaries or “partners” for the Veterans Day Run because veterans have a variety of different needs after serving in combat. “Not everyone digs dogs, so there’s horse people (for example),” Weston said.“Most veterans don’t feel comfortable around people who can’t understand what they’re trying to say,” he continued. “It’s easier to say it to a veteran. That’s why these organizations are important; generally, veterans remain silent. They think they can integrate into society on their own seamlessly (but) they can’t do it, fully. They need to talk it through, and express their feelings.”Registration remains open for the Veterans Day Run. More information about the event—including the different routes, registration fees, and schedule—can be found online at morganhillveteransdayrun.com.

Chabad Jewish Center of South County on Aug. 20 dedicated its new building, marking a significant milestone for the local Jewish community. More than 200 people participated in the occasion with a “Coming Home” celebration of tradition, unity and gratitude, according to Rabbi Mendel...