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The Oakwood boys basketball team improved its record to 7-1 with a 67-43 win over Gonzales High School.

Accident

Two thieves were arrested with a stolen car full of burglarized items, after trying to purchase merchandise at a Morgan Hill store with a lifted credit card, according to police.A Morgan Hill Police officer identified a stolen vehicle the afternoon of Dec. 15 as it turned into Target, 1066 Cochrane Road, according to a post on the MHPD’s Facebook page. The officer followed the vehicle into the store’s parking lot.With assistance from more officers who arrived on the scene, police set up a perimeter and were able to locate the suspects and arrest them “following a high-risk felony car stop,” the post says.The investigation determined the two suspects—Luis Vasquez and Patricia Vaquera—had entered Target and tried to purchase items with a stolen credit card, police said. When that didn’t work, they walked out of the store with the items, without paying.The stolen credit cards were related to a burglary out of San Jose the previous evening, police said. Officers contacted that victim and notified him that his credit cards had been recovered.Also recovered in the stolen car was “a lot of mail” that had been stolen, according to authorities. MHPD contacted the postal inspector, who will reach out to these victims and investigate any possible federal crimes.Furthermore, the owner of the stolen vehicle, a black Honda, told police that the car was full of merchandise she had spent all day purchasing for Christmas presents, according to the Facebook post. The vehicle owner lost all those presents, as well as two car seats for kids.Vasquez and Vaquera were booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of multiple felonies including car theft, possession of burglary tools, identity theft, giving false ID to police, illegal weapons and narcotics offenses.A couple of days later, MHPD posted an update that the Morgan Hill Police Officers Association contacted Target and the two parties “put together a covert operation and purchased replacement gifts” for the victimized car owner. That post includes a photo of MHPD officer with the victim, surrounding a pile of new toys and other children’s items purchased from the local store.

Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, a fresh pine wreath is placed at the headstones of U.S. veterans across the country in remembrance of their service and sacrifice to their country.

Police are looking for a Morgan Hill man who allegedly assaulted his neighbor with a baseball bat last week.The bizarre incident—which at one point was reported as a possible suicide threat—started about 12:45 p.m. Dec. 9. At that time, officers from the Morgan Hill Police Department responded to a call of a fight in progress between two men on the 200 block of Oak Grove Court, according to a Dec. 14 press release from MHPD.Initial reports suggested that one of the men used a baseball bat to assault the other, police said. Shortly after the first call, police received a second phone call reporting that Mark Weber, 47 of Morgan Hill, had killed his neighbor with a bat.Officers responded to the scene and eventually located the victim, who was not dead but was suffering from major injuries inside his home, the press release states. The victim was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for possible life threatening injuries.Officers searched the area for Weber throughout the evening Dec. 9 but he fled the scene before police arrived. Weber remains on the loose.MHPD and police from multiple other agencies were stationed in the Oak Grove Court neighborhood, near the intersection of Wright Avenue, for several hours Dec. 9 as they attempted to make contact with the resident at the scene of the assault. Police at the scene that evening said at least one call reported it was a possible suicide scare, but the Dec. 14 statement does not reference such a circumstance.The police statement also does not include details about Weber’s motive or the origin of the initial dispute.Authorities caution that Weber is considered armed and dangerous, and any witness who sees him should not approach him, the press release states. Anyone who sees Weber should call 911 and provide their exact location and a physical description of Weber, police said.Anyone with other information about this incident can call MHPD at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.

The sub-par state of at least one section of Morgan Hill’s roads proved injurious and costly when a bicyclist crashed after hitting a pothole or bump on East Dunne Avenue in January 2014, according to court records.The Morgan Hill City Council on Dec. 7 approved a $250,000 settlement with Yong Sohn, who suffered “sustained multiple, permanent and severe personal injuries” due to the Jan. 18, 2014 accident, according to a claim he filed with Santa Clara County Superior Court.Sohn was riding his bicycle down a steep section of East Dunne Avenue, near the intersection of Hilltop Court, when he hit the bump in the road, described in his complaint as a “height differential or deviation or bump or buckling or heaving or abrupt change in the elevation of the traveled portion of the downhill lane,” according to the complaint. This road defect—termed a “concealed trap” in the roadway in the complaint—caused Sohn to lose control of his bicycle, resulting in a crash and injuries.The claim further alleges that the city knew about the damage to the roadway before Sohn’s accident, but failed to address the safety hazard or post warning signs advising approaching travelers to beware the bump.Among the injuries suffered by Sohn are five rib fractures, scapular body fracture and clavicle fracture, his complaint continues. Sohn filed the claim for damages in superior court Nov. 21, 2014. The “full extent” of his damages was not known at the time of the filing.Also named in Sohn’s lawsuit are the county and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.Sohn’s claim also cites damages related to loss of wages, hospital and medical expenses, property damage and loss of household services.Morgan Hill City Attorney Don Larkin said the council’s approval of the settlement with Sohn on a 4-0 vote (Mayor Pro Temp Rich Constantine was absent from the Dec. 7 meeting) does not mean the city is accepting liability for the accident.“The lawsuit was alleging the bump was a dangerous condition on public property that caused these injuries,” Larkin said. “It was a compromise settlement. There is no admission of liability, but we acknowledge there was a bump in the road that may have caused the accident.”The city’s deteriorating streets and other public infrastructure have been a frequent topic of discussion among city councilmembers and residents. The five-member council has repeatedly warned of a $20 million backlog of “deferred maintenance” costs for streets, parks and public facilities, with no source of regular funding to make the repairs.Late this summer, the council considered placing a local tax on the ballot, with revenues dedicated largely to this infrastructure maintenance backlog. However, the body declined to put the question to the voters after polling results showed a sales tax or bond issue was unlikely to pass on Election Day.Mayor Steve Tate said the city has enough funding from existing sources to make street repairs that pose a safety hazard. However, the bump on East Dunne Avenue somehow was not addressed before Sohn ran over it in 2014.Tate suggested the city has learned a lesson from the case.“We have enough money to take care of safety situations, and we should have taken care of that one,” Tate said. “(The bump) was there for too long and we should have known about it. You learn and put procedures in place, and make yourself aware of where safety problems exist.”With the success of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s Measure B countywide sales tax in the Nov. 8 election, the city will at least gain some new funding that will help get caught up on infrastructure repairs, Tate noted. This measure will, in part, provide the City of Morgan Hill with $800,000 annually over the next 30 years to fix potholes and fulfill other street repairs.That sum will bring the city’s annual street repair budget up to $1.8 million, Tate said.The city will pay for the first $100,000 out of the $250,000 settlement from the “liability fund” within the city attorney’s office budget, Larkin said. The remaining $150,000 will be paid out of the city’s insurance risk pool, the Association of Bay Area Governments plan.

The South County Outlaws competed in the 7-on-7 Braveheart Tournament in Salinas, playing well against Monterey and Menlo/Atherton. Ben Ledwith led the team in points with 4 Goals and 5 assists. Conner Berlin, Ryan Forbis, and DJ Henry each had 3 goals. JD Rosyski, Isaac Stephens and Henry Stephens also scored twice. Luke Richey, Ryan Bays and Colin Fisher also scored. Lukas Marcheshi led the team in saves while in goal.

With our 5-year-old granddaughter in tow, we recently visited Casa de Fruta, an eclectic experience that combines fun for both adults and children, all in one venue. Casa de Fruta offers a casual restaurant, 3-star lodging, amusement rides for children, a huge fruit stand, a candy shop and a wine tasting room. Because granddaughters always take precedence, we started out on the miniature locomotive and Venetian carousel ride. While my husband watched her play at the children’s playground, I ventured across the parking lot over to their wine-tasting room.

Sobrato needed one half to score what St. Francis-Watsonville did in three quarters.