Guest View

This guest view is part of a periodic series of upcoming op-eds on tips to prepare for wildfire season, which started May 1 in Santa Clara County.Most people believe that wildfires ignite homes through direct contact with flames, but it is rare to have a home ignite this way. Flaming brands and embers can travel a mile or more ahead of the active front of a wildfire, and up to 60 percent of wildland/urban interface home ignitions result from embers.Your home could be at risk. Make changes now to reduce the ember threat to your home. Clean out debris from under your deck, and move woodpiles away from your house.Our “Ember Aware” campaign is intended to educate people on the risks of ember cast and the actions they can take to reduce those risks, to encourage residents to harden their homes against embers and/or to maintain those ember-resistant features, and to practice ember-safe housekeeping and landscaping. You can learn more at emberaware.comTip #3: Chuck that woodHow much wood could a woodchuck chuck? If he lived in one of California’s high fire hazard areas, he should chuck all of it at least 30 feet from his home.One of the most common ember hazards homeowners create is the placement of firewood stacks next to their home. During a wildfire, hundreds of burning embers could become lodged within the stack. The dry, high winds that often accompany wildfire can fan the embers and cause ignition. Once burning, the firewood stack can jeopardize just about any home, regardless of construction material, because of its ability to ignite combustible siding, provide a flaming exposure to windows and break the glass, or climb to the eave and possibly enter into the attic.Firewood should be stored at least 30 feet from the house, deck and other structures during fire season. If the firewood stack is located uphill, make sure burning logs won’t roll downhill and ignite the home. Don’t place the stack under tree branches or adjacent to wood fences that are connected to the house. Don’t let your firewood stack be the kindling for your house fire.Fire Marshal Dwight Good serves the Morgan Hill Fire Department and South Santa Clara County Fire Protection District and the CalFire Santa Clara Unit. He has 24 years of fire service experience. He can be contacted at [email protected].

The commercial sexual exploitation of children is not new. Society has struggled with its existence and its damaging impacts throughout history. In 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) became a cornerstone of federal anti-trafficking legislation to prosecute traffickers, prevent trafficking crimes and protect victims. TVPA recognizes there is no such thing as a “child prostitute,” and children cannot consent to sexual activity, much less the illegal act of prostitution/commercial sex.

I’ve adopted several phrases that I use when life gets rough: “Someone out there has it way worse than me,” and “I’m doing this for something bigger than myself.” I used to tell myself these things when things were particularly bad in Afghanistan. I have continually referred to these lines in my time out of the service, however I never thought I’d need to use them while having mascara put on my eyes.At the Gavilan College Veterans Club, we’ve been looking for ways to help out in our community. We want to change the conversation that has become the norm when discussing veterans, especially combat veterans. A couple of months ago at a party, when one of the revelers learned that a friend of mine had done several tours to Iraq he asked him, “Are you alright? Up here?” pointing to his head. He managed to brush it off but, it’s not an isolated incident.Most of us have had someone just assume that we aren’t alright after doing a tour. One of the goals that we at the club wanted to do was put ourselves out there so that we could show combat veterans in a new light. If we could find an opportunity to help our community and simultaneously display that we don’t need to be taken seriously all the time, we win on all fronts.So when our club advisor Jillian Wilson came up with the idea of supporting Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, we all agreed it was a great idea. However, I wasn’t that excited when the suggestion came about for a tiered system of donations. With every monetary goal reached we’d make ourselves a little more feminine, and at $2,500 we’d go full drag.Some of the club members were thrilled (it raised eyebrows, but we don’t judge). I really enjoy being a guy. I grew a beard as soon as I got out of the Army. So the whole process wasn’t thrilling me. The money we would raise would go to Monarch Services (formerly Women's Crisis Support - Defensa de Mujeres), an organization that helps over 1,500 victims of sexual assault and domestic violence a year. So indeed this was “something bigger than myself,” thus it would be worth it.A couple of days away from the event it was clear that we’d make the goal for full drag. To add to the uncomfortability, I recruited my mom to help buy me a dress. It was definitely fun for her.On April 28 about 10 combat hardened veterans showed up at the Cosmetology Department at Gavilan, ready to get dolled up. We were greeted by a very eager team of women who couldn’t wait to get started on us. I was uncomfortable and they couldn’t help but laugh. I think every one of them really enjoyed doing this to us, so I’m not sure if I really need to thank them too much. A special thanks does need to go to Gilbert Ramirez and Michelle Terrano. (I know you did it just to get back at your brother.) By the time we got to Santa Cruz I think it’s safe to say we were all a bit nervous and we were right to be. All 10 of us were gawked at and even cat-called. So ladies, job well done.Our number one earner, Johnny Sandavol, who personally brought in over a grand in donations was probably the best looking out of all of us, if not the most revealing. Hopefully his lovely girlfriend Erika Linn Chesnutis will choose to dress him a little more conservatively next time. Ray Lopez, our team Captain, brought in over $700 just behind myself, although in my opinion he should redo the mile since he looked more like an 80s glam metal star.The biggest guy we got, Jake Hester, pulled in about a couple hundred. He ended up looking like a cross dressing Fred Flintstone. Jorge Gonzales was dubbed a cholo drag queen before we even left the campus. Thanks for giving me something to laugh at. Josh Santorro, with his waxed mustache and betty boop outfit, will forever haunt my dreams. Ben Sandavol went for a Marilyn Monroe look.Somebody described me as drag queen hippie Jesus; I’ll take it. In total we all raised $4,757, nearly doubling our original goal to walk a mile dressed in drag.It also wouldn’t be fair not to mention the women who joined us on this walk: Mayra Rios, Ray’s wife Elaine Estrada, Melissa Santorro, and of course my mother.The true title of queen of our group goes to Jillian Wilson as she’s the one who encouraged us to do this. A very special thanks goes out to Leeann Luna the Monarch Services Administrative Manager who was responsible for putting on this year's Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event.This was an eye opening experience. I’m happy that I did it. Even if I did exaggerate how uncomfortable I was, I’d still not like to do it again. Next year I think I’ll just stick to the shoes.Gilroy resident and Live Oak High alumnus Connor Quinn is Region IX State Membership Coordinator for Team Rubicon, a disaster relief organization that employs military veterans. He is also a VA work study at the Gavilan College Veterans Resource Center.