Community

Many local families welcomed a new member into their homes July 23 by participating in the “Clear the Shelters” annual free pet adoption event, conducted at shelters nationwide and held locally at the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter in San Martin.The animal shelter staff’s mantra for the event was, “Help us clear the shelter and take home a new friend,” and many locals did just that, giving a forever home to the sheltered cats and dogs.Nearly 20,000 pets found their forever homes in 2015 with 400 animal shelters across the country partnering with NBC owned television stations and the Telemundo Station Group, according to cleartheshelters.com.The local participating shelter, located at 12370 Murphy Ave., is open seven days a week, from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.More information can be found at sccountypets.org or by calling (408) 686-3900.

In its continued effort to honor local philanthropy and volunteerism, the Morgan Hill Community Foundation is now accepting applications for its 11th annual community-wide celebration event.

A hot spell cranking up as the week progresses combined with smoke in the air from a more than 10,000-acre wildfire burning in Monterey County has made for unhealthy air quality in South County, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Drew Peterson.

Boaters who enjoy the local waterways over the summer lost access to one area hot-spot and it’s unclear how long another will remain open after an odor-causing algae in the drinking water forced officials to switch its main water source.

Siblings Danyel Reyes and Selyna Bogino just set foot in the U.S. for the first time about a month ago, when they began touring with the Flynn Creek Circus northern California summer 2016 tour.The circus is in Morgan Hill this week, and the brother and sister from a small town on the Ticino River, near Milan, Italy, have enjoyed the generous, welcoming hospitality heaped upon them by the locals and their fellow circus travelers, who are mostly American.Danyel, 23, said he is impressed with how large, vast and open the landscape is in northern California and Santa Clara Valley, where rolling hills and jagged canyons bare of any structures can stretch for miles.He also enjoys Butterfinger candy bars, which apparently do not exist in their native northern Italy, or for that matter any place they’re familiar with in Europe. He said he has lost count of how many Butterfingers he has eaten in the last month.Selyna, 26, has been inspired by the friendliness of complete American strangers she has encountered. As the Flynn Creek Circus has stopped in Mendocino, Ukiah, Santa Rosa and areas in between, one of Selyna’s public relations tasks has been to hand out flyers promoting the show. She has received a warm reception from almost everyone.“It’s easy here because everyone is so open,” Selyna said in between bites of a hamburger and fries at In ‘n Out on Cochrane Road. “They seem very interested in what we’re talking about. I’m not so confident usually. People here are very nice.”“The friendliness shocked me at first,” Danyel said.The Flynn Creek Circus premiered in Morgan Hill July 21, but the show continues at the Outdoor Sports Center on Condit Road July 22, 23 and 24. The circus is an all-human show, featuring jugglers, knife throwers, acrobats, aerialists and more theatrics. The Flynn Creek Circus is stopping in Morgan Hill for its second year in a row.Danyel and Selyna come from a long line of circus performers, going back four generations in their family. Danyel is a juggler, and Selyna does a hula-hoop performance and her “main act,” foot juggling. Their mother is a circus juggler and their father does a unicycle act, Danyel explained.The siblings have traveled all over western Europe with different circuses and variety shows, which are especially popular in Germany, they explained. More than a year ago, they met Flynn Creek Circus co-founder Blaze Birge and longtime performer David Jones at a variety show in Frankfurt, Germany. The duo invited them to join Flynn Creek for the 2015 summer tour, but Danyel and Selyna didn’t have enough notice to make all the travel logistics work.But this year Flynn Creek’s offer remained and, despite a few road bumps—particularly in acquiring travel visas from Italy—Danyel and Selyna were determined to make it to the U.S.The siblings gave a short preview of their uncanny abilities during the public comment portion of the July 20 city council meeting. The rapt, unexpecting audience was enthralled with the performers while Morgan Hill Youth Sports Alliance President Jeff Dixon announced the details of the circus, which is taking place at the Outdoor Sports Center on Condit Road.Unsurprisingly, Selyna said it was their first city council meeting, an affair she always imagined would be more “serious” than her experience, which included a prolonged ovation for the two Italians from the Morgan Hill audience. The siblings didn’t stick around for the rest of the July 20 meeting after their brief performance.Their host July 22 was not the first American who thought they should experience In ‘n Out, as Danyel and Selyna ate at a different location of the chain shortly after they arrived in California—and they were already familiar with the secret “animal style” menu option. They said the burger tasted more or less “the same” as fast-food burgers in Europe, but supposedly with fresher ingredients. Restaurant portions in general, they have noticed, are many times larger in the U.S. than in Europe.They joked about the many details of everyday life that differentiate the U.S. from Europe, including the variety of currency units (“I need a tutorial about coins,” Selyna said.) and the confusion that is quick to arise when trying to convert miles to kilometers.And while Bay Area traffic tops most locals’ list of daily complaints, Danyel and Selyna say the courtesy on the roads is refreshing compared to how motorists drive in Italy. “Here it’s a lot slower, and everything seems more relaxed,” Danyel said. “In Europe, even if there’s only three cars on the road, it’s a huge mess.” He added he has heard car horns maybe “twice” since they arrived in the U.S., while the sound is constant on the roads of Europe.Circus audiences in the U.S. are more receptive and participatory than those in Europe, the siblings added. Flynn Creek Circus goers react enthusiastically and frequently to a single daring or complicated move, rather than waiting until the end of an act to applaud. He said he prefers that kind of energy from an audience.“Having a great audience, it’s fuel,” he said.Hearing Selyna and Danyel talk about their busy circus lives in Europe (particularly in Germany, where such shows are highly popular), it becomes apparent that smaller, independent big-top circuses are not as common in the U.S. as they are in the Old World.“People enjoy the circus (in California) but they don’t (want) to go to something new, or they think the circus is for kids or something,” Selyna said.

With the new school year fast approaching, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society of St. Catherine Church has organized a Back to School children’s clothing closet from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 6 at St. Catherine Parish Center (17400 Peak Ave.).

Acrobats, knife throwers, jugglers and daring aerialists will gather under the big top tent for a memorable performance of the Flynn Creek Circus, which is suitable for all ages, July 21-24 in Morgan Hill.The all-human circus out of Mendocino County is set to return for its second consecutive year at the Outdoor Sports Complex.The Flynn Creek Circus features top performers from the international stage, according to a July 12 press release. This year’s show will feature the Bogino Family of world-famous jugglers from Italy, as well as Terry Crane, aerial stunt artist and founder of the Acrobatic Conundrum.Furthermore, the Acrosanct acrobats are sure to be an audience favorite with their high precision flips and enormous personalities.The Flynn Creek Circus performances at the Outdoor Sports Center, 16500 Condit Road, are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. July 21, 7 p.m July 22, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. July 23, and 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday, July 24.Tickets can be purchased in advance for $12/child, $17/seniors and students, and $25/adult. Advance tickets can be purchased online at flynncreekcircus.com.Tickets will also be available at the door for a higher price. VIP front row seating is available for $50 per seat.

It’s time to “Clear the Shelters” again with the annual, nationwide free pet adoption event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 23 at the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter located at 12370 Murphy Ave. in San Martin.

Beats from a compilation of popular hip-hop songs ring out in Tiffany Maaske’s small dance studio on Fourth Street near downtown Morgan Hill, as about 30 of her younger students called “shorties” practice their “Hot Wheels” routine in unison.

Batman, Captain America, Superwoman and other local heroes joined scores of Morgan Hill residents downtown Sunday night for a “yellow ribbon” vigil to raise awareness of traffic safety.The event, organized by Morgan Hill resident Mark Preader of Heroes4Hope, was held as a show of support for two young victims of a July 4 traffic accident at Monterey Road and Fourth Street as fundraising pages recently set up for each of the children continue to gain donations and publicity.Preader, dressed as Batman, addressed the assembled crowd as the July 17 vigil and march through downtown began at the corner adjacent to where the two pedestrians were struck by a white SUV on the Fourth of July. He urged the crowd to support the family of Michael, the 13-year-old who remains in the hospital due to extensive injuries he suffered in the July 4 collision.“Michael is in our prayers,” Preader said while volunteers handed out candles to the crowd before marching through the downtown.The younger child involved in the accident, identified on a gofundme.com page as Mateo, suffered numerous broken bones and other injuries in the July 4 accident.Volunteers with Heroes4Hope, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower children and teach them that they can be a hero, were dressed in costumes including Batgirl and a Storm Trooper.Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate joined the assembled residents as they proceeded together through the downtown, and expressed his thanks for helping the injured children’s family.“I just wanted to thank them for showing the support for Michael,” Tate said. “It’s kind of a typical thing for the Morgan Hill community, when we have tragic problems the community comes out and supports, and tries to do everything they can to ease the problems.”Two pages on gofundme.com have been set up to gather contributions for medical expenses for the family of Michael and Mateo, the 6-year-old who was injured in the same July 4 accident. Both children were rushed to the hospital after the collision, in which police say the children were crossing eastbound through the crosswalk at Fourth Street when a Jeep traveling north struck them both.“Michael took the full hit straight on and ended up under the SUV,” reads a message on the gofundme page titled “Michael’s Recovery Fund.”“Michael has suffered severe head trauma,” the page continues. “His parents, family and friends who were on that journey to watch fireworks that night all witnessed this tragic nightmare.”Michael, whose last name is not listed on the gofundme page, has undergone two surgeries since the accident, including one that removed a section of his skull to relieve pressure from brain swelling. He has spent more than a week in the pediatric Intensive Care Unit of an area hospital, and he has a “long…but very hopeful road to recovery ahead of him,” the page states.The page continues that Michael’s parents face “exorbitant financial hardships” that his treatment, recovery and ongoing medical attention will incur. As of July 18, the gofundme page has raised more than $21,000 in donations toward a goal of $250,000.The page for Mateo, the 6-year-old who was struck in the July 4 accident, says the youth suffered numerous broken bones, road rash and cuts on his face in the collision. That page has raised about $2,500 toward a goal of $10,000.Michael’s fundraising page says the family was on their way to the Community and Cultural Center to watch the holiday fireworks when the collision happened. They were traveling from Michael’s house, where the family had been celebrating the Fourth of July with a barbecue. The pages do not say how Mateo and Michael are related. The administrator for Michael’s page declined to comment further when contacted by the Times.“No person, let alone such a young man, should ever endure the battles Michael is now and will continue to fight,” Michael’s gofundme page concludes.The driver whose vehicle struck Michael and Mateo July 4 stayed at the scene and cooperated with authorities, and did not show any signs of impaired driving, police have said.The fundraising page for Michael can be found at gofundme.com/miraclemichael, while Mateo’s site can be found at gofundme.com/2d22tu48.