Opinion

Why do I Relay? My biggest reason is this amazing woman who left us all too soon. Jennifer Pavicich-Murphy was by far one of the greatest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing and calling my friend. For her I Relay!This time last year she and I were lucky enough to be placed in the same corral for the Disneyland Star Wars 10K. Funnily enough, we'd chosen to go as Anna and Elsa. This would be both of our first 10Ks. I was very nervous at first since I had not even run a 5k straight before, but running with Jen pushed me to do it. We spent the first three miles just chatting and catching up when suddenly I realized we'd hit the 5K mark. We both got excited and did a little shout out.We were feeling the Disney magic! She then asked if I was okay to keep going. I felt great, so we did. This was Jen. The girl had been through hell and back battling cancer, was running a 10K, laughing and goofing around, and making sure that I was okay.We slowed around mile 5 to make sure we'd take some pictures and could meet up with the other girls in our group. Thankfully were able to finish with most of them. It was the best feeling in the world to have accomplished that race with my mama tribe and with Jen at my side. We spent the rest of the weekend tearing up Disneyland and having the best weekend ever! Those are memories I will cherish always.We'd make a lot more memories over the following months, especially during special events like her 80s themed birthday and Relay for Life. At Relay we'd all planned to really go all out the following year and make the event one for the books.Sadly, we would lose our beautiful Jen much sooner than anyone expected. Our sweet girl went up to be our forever angel this past August. It still hurts that she can't be with us, but I know deep down inside that she is watching over us all, smiling, just waiting to catch up on all of our adventures one day.This beautiful friend, mother, wife, daughter, sister, niece—she is why I Relay. I will participate in her memory and in memory of all of those we've loved and lost to cancer. I will continue the fight because we all deserve to live in a world without cancer.Last year Jen shared why she relayed: "I RELAY because I want my boys to live in a world where cancer is a disease of the past. Where adults and children of all ages no longer have to endure this fight. And where technology and medicine can provide us with a CURE for every type of cancer. Every step we take brings us closer to these goals."   People like Jen and their families deserve a cure. We shouldn't need to share our warriors stories anymore. We should be able to celebrate that cancer has been cured and that our children get to grow up without knowing the pain of this ugly disease.  The American Cancer Society strives to improve the lives of all those touched by cancer. By creating Relay for Life, they gave us an event to focus all of our energy on, to help raise those funds that are so desperately needed to end this disease.I really hope that after reading this, you'll consider attending our Relay for Life event here in Morgan Hill May 20. Teams, sponsors, attendees, each and every one of you has some way, whether it be large or small, to help make this event great. Let's end this fight for Jen, and for all of those who have been touched by cancer!Amanda Banta, a Morgan Hill resident, is the social media lead for the local Relay for Life.

Spring’s growth position not ‘sensible’South Valley Magazine’s otherwise excellent article about Councilmember Rene Spring contained one glaring error. Then-candidate Spring opposed measure S, a sensible growth control measure, and supported more restrictive measures that would not have allowed enough new housing for the natural growth of Morgan Hill and also immigrants working in Silicon Valley.  Had those measures been in place since the 1970s, it is unlikely Spring or others would be living in Morgan Hill. Councilmember Spring may change his tune when his grandchildren grow up and need a place of their own.   Tom ScottMorgan Hill List of thanks for Passport WeekendThis past weekend, the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley hosted our Annual Spring Passport, beginning with Friday evening at the Morgan Hill Community Center where 17 of our member wineries poured their fabulous wines alongside 12 of our local restaurants offering a taste from their delectable menus.The weekend continued with more than 25 participating member wineries hosting guests from throughout the Bay Area and offering an array of food, music and a variety of entertainment.  The pictures tell the stories of folks new to the area realizing that there is a selection of remarkable wines right here in their backyards, and our recurrent visitors enjoying the beauty of the area, the diversity of the wineries and the wines they pour—not to mention the friendships they have made by becoming frequent guests.We realize how fortunate we are to have strong partners who give their time, energy and support to the wineries. We extend a very sincere “thank you” to John McKay, President of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association for arranging these restaurants for Friday evening:  Bubbles Wine Bar, GVA Café, Ladera Grill, Mama Mia's, Milias, Noah's Bar & Bistro, Odeum, Old City Hall, Prova, Rosy's at the Beach, La Nina Perdida and Trail Dust. It goes to show that we are really one community—Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy—working together.Of course, it’s impossible to name everyone who helps with our success, but I would like to mention a couple of special partners.We extend our thanks to Jane Howard, Executive Director of the Gilroy Welcome Center and her staff. They support us in reaching out to the public on a daily basis, and we appreciate their hard work and continuing efforts.And finally, wine journalist Bev Stenehjem, who leads the way in promoting our wineries through her excellent articles and her own knowledge of the wine industry. A huge “thank you,” Bev!We know it’s hard to visit all of our great wineries in the valley in a short weekend.  Take one look at our new map (santaclarawines.com/images/WSCV-map-2017.pdf) and you will see the expansive area we occupy.We will host our Annual Fall Passport Oct. 13-15 later this year. So even if you missed out this past weekend or if you simply want more fun, food and wine, you will have the opportunity to join in the festivities at that time!Thank you again to all who helped and visited. I look forward to a year of connecting.Karen SeekerCo-Owner Seeker VineyardPresident, Wineries of Santa Clara Valley Flight paths kill peace and quietOne of the great things about Morgan Hill was the peacefulness and tranquility of a small town, while it’s close enough to the larger metropolitan areas to the north.Indeed, I moved to Morgan Hill five years ago to escape the chaotic lifestyle of the Bay Area while still being able to commute to Santa Clara. But for those of us who live on the western or northern parts of the city, things have been changing rapidly.Over the last couple years, there has been an increasing volume of air traffic at very low altitudes routed over our city. This has had a dramatic negative impact on the noise levels and environment.A little research uncovers that a whole new system of flight plans has been put in place that has focused all flights into San Jose through a low altitude, pencil thin corridor right over Morgan Hill. It’s as if the San Jose airport suddenly moved to the northern part of Morgan Hill. The constant drone from the air traffic is intolerable at many times during the day, and getting worse.This is also not a problem unique to us. The new flight paths have created similar issues in places like Palo Alto, where residents expressed enough concern that the City of Palo Alto has issued a lawsuit against the airport authorities.As residents of a beautiful and once peaceful city, we need to let the airport authorities know that this is not acceptable. I would urge everyone who is affected by the noise to respond by registering your dissatisfaction.There are many ways to do this, such as, voice your concern to our congresswoman (lofgren.house.gov), send an email complaint to [email protected], or use the flight webtracker (webtrak5.bksv.com/sjc3) to enter specific complaints.Robin PeatfieldMorgan Hill

The Morgan Hill Unified School District might have saved $8.25 million and prevented the lifelong traumatization of at least three young girls if district leadership had enforced its own training procedures on how to identify and report child molesters like John Loyd, who showed a clear pattern of “grooming” some of his fifth grade students for abuse.The signs of Loyd’s favoritism toward his victims—a common trait of sexual abuse predators—were clear, and spanned years before the Paradise Valley Elementary School teacher was busted by police in 2015.An investigation by attorneys for the families of three girls—who recently settled with the district just before their lawsuit went before a jury—found that Loyd routinely played favorites with female students. He would offer them candy in exchange for hugs, and slipped them candy bars under their desks.At least two students who, luckily, did not become victims of Loyd, complained to their parents that their teacher gave this special treatment only to girls. The parents in turn complained of this behavior to both Loyd and the school principal. There is no record of these complaints in Loyd’s personnel file. No action was taken against the teacher.These and similar complaints go as far back as 2009, or three principals ago at Paradise Valley, according to the initial lawsuit.The disregard for common-sense precautions intended to keep kids safe on campus was apparently systemic while Loyd was molesting his victims. Shortly after his arrest, he told police that he was instructed by his supervisor at Paradise Elementary to work on his class’ student newspaper—the Room Nine Times—during recess and lunchtime, according to the lawsuit. This allowed him to be in his room alone with individual children on a regular basis. Somehow, he was even permitted to cover his windows with paper copies of the Room Nine Times, preventing anyone from being able to see inside.Even back in 2004, when Loyd was teaching at Nordstrom Elementary, he made inappropriate sexual remarks and contact with a girl in his class toward whom he allegedly showed so much favoritism that other students called her a “teacher’s pet.”If the district had followed its own Child Abuse Reporting Procedures—first approved by trustees in 2004 and updated in 2012—perhaps these patterns of abuse would not have continued in Loyd’s classroom for so long. This policy requires the district leadership to enact an “age-appropriate and culturally sensitive child abuse prevention curriculum” for students.No such programs seems to have been implemented, despite the district’s claims to the contrary.The abuse cited in the criminal charges against Loyd—for which he is now serving a 40-year prison term—occurred from 2012 to 2014. This was during a transition in the district’s top staff position and changes in the elected seven-member board of trustees. Wes Smith left MHUSD as superintendent in 2013. The board of trustees immediately named Betando his interim replacement, then hired him full-time in 2014 with a $225,000 annual salary.Before that, Betando served as MHUSD’s Human Resources director starting in 2012, about the time the board updated its child abuse reporting procedures.The district is not admitting it is at fault by settling with three of Loyd’s victims.But the fact that the district agreed to pay the victims $8.25 million just as the lawsuit was scheduled to be argued in front of a jury “speaks volumes,” as attorney Robert Allard told Times reporter Scott Forstner.The girls’ parents have said an even more important aspect of the settlement is MHUSD agreed to implement a predator identification training program for all staff members and students.Hopefully, MHUSD will take this requirement seriously as well as launch an independent investigation into the lapses. The superintendent should have implemented the board’s policy, and the board, as overseers responsible for the safety of the community’s children, should have been diligent about holding the superintendent responsible at annual reviews.

Columnist exaggerates civility crisis

Regulations issued by President Donald Trump to Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices are chilling.All undocumented people working and living in the U.S. are now legally deportable. This includes not only “the bad guys” with criminal records but millions of hard-working, taxpaying undocumented immigrants who have contributed greatly to the economy of this country.All people in this country have constitutional rights. Trump’s goal is to take away the right to a hearing in preparation for mass deportations. He has increased the budget for Homeland Security to $3 billion from our taxes. He has expanded the number of ICE agents to 25,000 on the border. Thirty percent of these are veterans of the war in Iraq who were trained to kill, not to arrest and deport.“Expedited removal” is the law allowing ICE to pick up and deport without giving access to a hearing or a lawyer. Under former President Barack Obama, expedited removals were limited to those caught within two miles of the Mexican border. Now, there are no limits. All can be deported wherever they are found, and if they cannot prove they have been here for eight years (on the spot), they can be deported with no legal hearing.  Two-thirds of those detained are not able to access lawyers. Those who can afford a lawyer or have access to legal aid have seven times the opportunity to be released from detention.The movement by city police chiefs to disassociate from any cooperation with ICE is admirable. In a raid several weeks ago in Santa Cruz, ICE agents lied to local police when they promised they had warrants. During the raid, they emptied an entire apartment building and detained law abiding, innocent people who were there. The mayor and police chief apologized to the community and said it would not happen again.ICE has also misrepresented themselves as “police officers,” and thus gained access to homes where they could not enter without a warrant. They question people who do not know their rights and get them to sign them away.The state of California is asking for regular reports on their raids and the daily publication of people detained, which ICE has refused to do. These refusals by ICE are illegal.What can we do to help the terrified undocumented in our area? Having the police pledge not to cooperate with ICE is one step. Educating the people who are frightened about their rights is a priority. We can arrange for public Know Your Rights workshops through Siren and the Asian Law Center. We can educate ourselves to educate all the undocumented we know or meet.   Can we organize to form groups that will intercept these ICE raids? Nothing works better than bad publicity from newspapers and radio stations.Which churches and homes in our areas will be willing to be sanctuary places for a family? Have we educated our teachers and principals about ICE coming to schools?If we work together in true community we can bring back constitutional rights to all.Natasha Wist is a former school psychologist and family therapist with 31 years experience. Since retiring, she has volunteered teaching immigrant women in Morgan Hill. For many years, she has been active in peace and justice movements in Morgan Hill and San Jose.

It’s that time of the year again, when we start to see the events on the horizon that many in the region look forward to year after year: the Spring Passport Weekend, Wine Stroll, Mushroom Mardi Gras and more…I have to suppose that most people have no idea how much advance planning and time goes into making sure we have the types of events that will bring people back every year.As an example, work on the Wine Stroll and the Wine and Food Week events starts about four months before the events, with weekly meetings on the schedule until the event happen.If the planning is successful, it should appear these events were a breeze to put together and there will be smiles all around as you enjoy the festivities.The first big event that I usually attend in the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley Spring Passport Weekend. This celebration is planned to kick off Friday, March 17, with a special night of fine wine tasting, and then continue on through the weekend.The Friday Night Passport kickoff is one of my favorite events at the Community and Cultural Center in Morgan Hill. It is an invitation only event for those that have a ticket for the entire Passport Weekend (don’t worry—you can purchase the Weekend Passes at the door).This year, 16 wineries will pour tastings Friday night, all in one location. Most of the people pouring will be the winemakers themselves. One of the main reasons for the creation of this event was to provide some of the wineries unable to participate in the entire weekend an opportunity to pour samplings of their hard work. Now this event is attracting other wineries who love the thought of being able to show off the fruits of their labor in the festive atmosphere that pervades this night.I can’t think of a better way for this Irishman to enjoy Saint Patrick’s Day than to spend it with about 200 friends enjoying fine wine.The rest of the weekend can be spent sampling wines at 23 different wineries throughout the Santa Clara Valley AVA. The AVA part stands for American Viticultural Area which means that perfect conditions for the growing of grapes and wines made from this fruit are unique to the Santa Clara Valley. And our local wineries take full advantage of these conditions. Their many awards over the years are only one testament to this.When you’re out on this Passport Weekend I hope you fully appreciate more than just the award winning wines. Stop and meet the people whose passion is not only to make great wines, but to provide you with fun and memorable experiences. Most every winemaker I’ve met has a unique story to tell. They love to tell those stories and talk about just about anything related to wine, including how a curry flavored chocolate pairs well with a red wine.This is a great way to kick off a new season of events in the South Valley, now get out and enjoy yourself.For more information about the Spring Passport Event, visit santaclarawines.com/passport.html.John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. This is a special edition of “Our Town,” timed to give extra notice for the upcoming Spring Passport Weekend, which takes place in South Santa Clara Valley March 17-19. The column will return March 24.

Demand answers to flood questions

It seems that everyone is angry these days. For many, politics—from the national down to the local level—took on a more substantial and even dire note this last year.Selecting a president from two candidates who couldn’t be more different and the local residential growth control and City Council races fostered some uncomfortable discourse. Hostility became routine on the national level. We saw some of that creep into the local scene, which is unusual for us.I don’t have to say anything more about national politics—just go to any digital news outlet and you can see for yourself. In this case, I feel I must say digital because there is something happening virtually every few hours. If you are intently following the goings-on in Washington, a lot can happen before that morning newspaper shows up.At the local level, I have to say that starting last year, with the happenings of the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees, we have been exposed to new lows in our treatment of each other. Activities of some on the school board was almost like a preview of what we’re seeing in the White House right now. Threats of impeachment, news media exposure of comments made, attempts at censuring, public outcry, denials, obfuscation, shifting of blame, retractions, apologies, etc… Wow, that was unpleasant.I don’t know if it will be ongoing, but we have seen some of the unpleasant behaviors continue locally to this day.I was recently at a city council meeting where a respected member of the community chastised city staff and loudly pronounced that either they were lying or didn’t know who to contact on an issue that had generated some passionate feelings. I don’t remember seeing this kind of behavior before.I don’t think that kind of behavior belongs in Morgan Hill. This is not the Morgan Hill way, and I hope we all actively work to curb this kind of behavior in the public place.Last weekend, I got into it with a neighbor of mine. I was working in the driveway late Sunday when I heard a terrible blood curdling cry for help, which turned to a whimper and then a moan into oblivion. Of course I grabbed a flashlight and went to see what happened in my backyard. Through the trees I saw two sets of eyes and heard a loud guttural response. Not to be deterred, I focused the flashlight right on the eyes and let them know that I heard what had just happened. That was when a loud yell in my direction really got my attention and I started the scramble in the other direction.That loud yell was the snarl of a mature mountain lion, and I think I disturbed its dinner.Being the polite neighbor that I try to be, I promptly backed away and tried to allow him to eat in peace, until we went to get the video camera...Whether it’s paid staff, City Council, a commission, grocer, neighbor or mountain lion, let’s remember that we are all in this community together, and it is us who set and maintain the tone of behavior that is acceptable. There is no police enforcement of civility; that’s up to us. And remember to let your neighbors finish their meal before disturbing them.John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. 

With all the money that’s spent in our county on flood prevention and control, it’s reasonable to expect that there would be some good plans to prevent a Katrina-style urban flood. Judging by what occurred to residents in neighborhoods to the north—in a modern city of a million people—it’s safe to conclude that local communities are not well prepared for large-scale natural disasters.The Anderson and Coyote reservoirs overtook their floodgates and water engulfed residents along the Coyote Creek, including neighborhoods just a few blocks from city hall in downtown San Jose. The interconnectedness between South Valley watersheds and nearby population centers is a fact of our modern existence. However, the information flow between water district officials and municipal emergency officials show a confused series of events, infused with misinformation and a failure to properly warn residents in affected areas.The Anderson Dam was known to be in an unsafe, overfilled state for more than two weeks prior to this week’s disaster. And although routine public announcements were issued, no effort was made to educate residents in the danger zones how to prepare for a sudden onslaught of contaminated water at their doorsteps.The botched warning systems strongly suggest that in a larger disaster—such as a seismically-triggered dam break on the fault line beneath Anderson Reservoir—the results, needless to say, would be catastrophic.The Coyote Creek flooding suggests the City of Morgan Hill might need to update its disaster evacuation plan. Morgan Hill City Manager Steve Rymer said at a recent council meeting that such a plan relies heavily on directing people out of town via U.S. 101, which is a Catch 22. The freeway was impassable for much of Tuesday, when the Coyote Canal breached under the pressure of historic creek flows and pouring rain that submerged all northbound travel lanes until the water district could repair the canal.How can a freeway located along a flood zone protected by aging facilities be relied on as a passage to safety in the event of a catastrophic, citywide deluge that might prompt widespread evacuations?As for alternate routes, all major mountain passes (Highways 129, 152 and 17) out of South County to higher ground have been closed at various times in recent days due to the rain. Many residents would be trapped on the valley floor under such conditions.Another problem is that the reservoir’s outlet pipes are too small to prevent the reservoir from reaching unsafe levels that could trigger an earthquake or, as occurred on Tuesday, a flood of population centers.We need to fix the dam, its oversight and the communication systems to get the word out. The  decaying infrastructure must be modernized and the scandal-plagued district needs to rid itself of conflicts of interest, such as no-bid sweetheart multi-million dollar contracts to consultancy firms owned by spouses of district officials. Public trust is essential. Transparency, credibility and competence are minimum requirements for a public agency.

While many know about the impact of February 1942’s Executive Order 9066 on Japanese-Americans in the U.S. in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, surprisingly few are aware that thousands of Italian-Americans were swept up in the same law that imposed various restrictions including unannounced warrantless searches and even incarceration on certain foreign-born residents. San Jose resident Chet Campanella, 86, was a child when he lived through the imposition of these harsh, discriminatory restrictions. Campanella gave a presentation on the impact of EO 9066 on Italian-Americans in Morgan Hill Feb. 11, at the annual membership meeting of Friends and Family of Nisei Veterans (FFNV). The meeting took place at the Morgan Hill Buddhist Community Center. Sunday, Feb. 19, marked the 75th anniversary of EO 9066. Below is a short version of Campanella’s Feb. 11 presentation.