Community

The San Martin families who lost their homes in a multiple-structure fire Aug. 7 have received an outpouring of generosity from their neighbors who want to help them get back on their feet.Members of the Jimenez extended family, who lived in one of the mobile homes that was destroyed by the fire on Murphy Avenue, picked up donated clothing and food at Rocca’s Market Aug. 11. The store’s management offered the market as a dropoff point for anyone who wants to donate clothing, school supplies, hygiene products and other items.Outside the rear of the store, the Jimenez family perused donated clothing on a table to take home. Maria Jimenez, mother of 14-year-old Braulio Jimenez who attends Britton Middle School, wanted to tell the community who donated the items, “Thanks a lot.”Braulio said the family is staying with his uncle in San Martin until they find a permanent place to live. Eight members of the Jimenez family—including five children who attend Morgan Hill Unified schools—were at Rocca’s. They lived in the home that burned for about three years, Braulio said.Rocca’s Market, located near the intersection of San Martin Avenue and Monterey Road, also donated groceries to the families. Cecelia Ponzini, director of Cecelia’s Closet and Food Pantry in Morgan Hill, dropped off gift cards at the market, which were distributed to the displaced families.“They need the help,” said Dan Keith, Rocca’s butcher. He said he wanted to help and get the word out almost immediately after he saw the smoke from the fire from his house in San Martin Aug. 7. “I feel good because they’re getting clothed and fed.”The fire displaced a total of 13 San Martin residents, including six children, according to a spokeswoman from the American Red Cross, which has helped the families with temporary housing arrangements and basic living necessities. Five families were displaced by the fire.Keith noted that the families lost almost everything they owned in the fire. The father of another family had only the clothes he was wearing Sunday night, so Keith went to Target that evening and purchased some new clothing so he could go back to work this week.Ponzini also opened her Cecelia’s Closet distribution center on Peebles Avenue in north Morgan Hill after she learned five families lost their home Aug. 7. The center, which is part of the nonprofit Edward Boss Prado Foundation, donates clothing, food and hygiene products to local families in need.The Aug. 7 blaze started as a vegetation fire and spread to the surrounding structures on the 1400 block of Murphy Avenue, according to CalFire officials. At least three mobile homes, as well as several greenhouses and vehicles were destroyed before firefighters from multiple agencies could extinguish the flames. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

As about two dozen strangers shared a lunchtime break under the sun at her Morgan Hill home Saturday, 74-year-old retiree Bernice Lawrence could not be more grateful to her guests.

The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is creating a buzz amongst local merchants and shoppers with a new rewards-based loyalty program with a smartphone app known as BuzZub.

Santa Clara Valley Water District officials are anticipating an Aug. 27 shutdown for recreational boating at Anderson Lake as water from the reservoir continues to be drained and used for the county’s main source of drinking water.

Under a giant American flag hanging over the south end of downtown Morgan Hill from atop a CalFire ladder truck, local children and families got a chance to play games and hang out with police officers and firefighters—on their own terms—at the Aug. 2 National Night Out.Uniformed officers from the Morgan Hill Police Department and Morgan Hill Fire Department were joined by other local public safety agencies as they invited kids to climb on their equipment, fire engines, patrol cars, SWAT vehicles and motorcycles throughout the area near the intersection of Monterey Road and Third Street.City council members and other officials joined the crowds, inviting kids to play street games and take a free serving of ice cream while enjoying live entertainment.The annual National Night Out is a nationwide event designed to promote positive interaction between public safety officials and the communities they serve. The City of Morgan Hill has participated in the National Night Out for several consecutive years, with the crowd seemingly growing each time.Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing said locally, National Night Out is part of the city’s overall public engagement strategy, which strives to build a meaningful and lasting relationship between police and the community. When officers make a traffic stop or respond to a traffic collision or other emergency, their interaction with the public can be somewhat tense, Swing explained.National Night Out can provide for a much more relaxed setting with police.“An event like National Night Out allows us to put our guard down and have a little more personal, friendly conversation,” Swing said. “I think we accomplished that” Tuesday night.Another highlight of the National Night Out festivities was the presentation of the 2016 California Peace Award for the 30th Assembly District to Morgan Hill attorney Juan Lopez. In 2014, Lopez founded “We The People,” an organization that defends the civil rights of Morgan Hill residents and promotes multicultural events in the community, according to 30th Assemblymember Luis Alejo’s staff.Lopez was one of nine recipients from the 30th district named for the 2016 Peace Award.“It is my honor to recognize these truly remarkable individuals and organizations who have made it their mission to promote peace throughout all of our communities,” said Alejo (D-Salinas). “The commitment and dedication they have demonstrated for their communities exemplify what this award is all about. It’s everyday heroes like these who help keep our neighborhoods safe.”MHPD has more events coming up that allow residents to interact with police on friendly terms, Swing added. On Sept. 30, the Morgan Hill Police Officers Association will host its annual golf tournament fundraiser. This year, the tournament will raise money for the Shop With A Cop program, which invites local elementary school student-leaders to join an MHPD officer while they spend a donated $100 gift card at the local Target store.“That was a huge success last year,” Swing said.Furthermore, the police department hopes to kick off a regular “Coffee with A Cop” session in the coming weeks, the chief added. This event allows any community member to join an officer for coffee at a time and place in Morgan Hill specified beforehand, just to ask questions and offer input. More details about this event will be announced as they are available.

A bobcat kitten found wandering alone at a Los Gatos construction site has found its way to Morgan Hill’s Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center, where its current caretakers are preparing the animal to be released back into the wild this fall.The kitten, nicknamed “Gato,” was first taken to San Jose Animal Services when it was found wandering all alone a few weeks ago. Upon realizing the animal was a wild bobcat rather than a lost housecat, staff at the San Jose facility transferred the 5-week-old, 560-gram feline to Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley. WCSV took care of the kitten for about three weeks, then transferred the animal to WERC, which specializes in the rehabilitation of orphaned, injured wild bobcats, according to WERC Educational Coordinator Anna Venneman.“Initially, he would not eat at all. They had to tube feed him,” Venneman said.Gato spent two weeks in an indoor nursery at WERC before he was ready to be transferred to an outdoor enclosure. Before making the transfer, WERC staff and volunteers brought him to Princevalle Pet Hospital in Gilroy for a checkup and shots, Venneman said.After the checkup, Gato was placed in WERC’s outdoor enclosure in west Morgan Hill with the help of a surrogate bobcat “mother,” a WERC volunteer dressed in a bobcat costume. Venneman explained this procedure helps ensure the wild animal doesn’t associate “positive interaction” with humans they might encounter when released back into the wild.“That could get them hurt, or hurt the human,” she said. “We try to disguise our scent (with) sage and bobcat urine. You can’t do any normal human postures…The only time they get human interaction is when they go to the vet.”WERC has rescued and rehabilitated dozens of bobcats—which are common throughout Santa Clara County—over the years. Gato is its first bobcat of 2016. Venneman said WERC hopes to release Gato back into the wild, near where he was found, this fall.

Morgan Hill-based Del Monaco Foods, a privately held food manufacturing company, was acquired July 26 by Kettle Cuisine, artisan producer of refrigerated and frozen premium quality, all natural soups, according to an announcement made by the new owners.

All Santa Clara County Library District libraries, including the Morgan Hill library, will be closed for building and technical upgrades on Wednesday, Aug. 3 and Thursday, Aug. 4, according to library officials.

Cal Fire Capt. Herb Alpers was in quite a bind leading into Friday’s inaugural Champions for Charity first responders cook-off at the 2016 Gilroy Garlic Festival.

In a collaborative effort to bring awareness to the growing epidemic of Type 2 diabetes among at-risk youth, the American Diabetes Association partnered with Morgan Hill Unified School District and Mount Madonna YMCA to provide a week-long summer camp at Barrett Elementary School.