THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
JULY 19, 2019
Beer Week arrives in South Valley
A supplement to the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
Calendar of events P8 Wildfire preparation P14 Real Estate P19
Beer Rising
SOUTH VALLEY MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Silicon Valley Beer Week extends to South Valley P6
LOCAL REPS DISCUSS CENSUS P2 | GARLIC QUEEN EXCITED ABOUT FESTIVAL P10 | CHS ATHLETE NEVER MISSES A BEAT P15
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
JULY 19, 2019
ESTABLISHED 1868
San Benito wineries a worthy quest
A New SV Media WINE publication A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
QUEST
SAN BENITO MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 152, No. 29 • $1
Friday, July 19, 2019
Calera, Eden Rift wineries worth the trip P6
Downtown roadwork to begin July 29 CALENDAR OF EVENTS P8 | WILDFIRE PREPARATION P14 | REAL ESTATE P19
REPAVING COULD LAST THROUGH DECEMBER Jaqueline McCool Reporter
➝ Monterey Road, 13
Robert Eliason
Construction on Monterey Road through the city’s downtown is set to begin right after guests of the Gilroy Garlic Festival leave town on July 29. The street repaving will be done in two phases: First through Fourth streets will get a grind and overlay repaving; Fourth through Eighth streets will have only a top coat of microsurfacing. Scheduled to begin in November, the microsurfacing will take place in Gilroy’s downtown core. However, the city has scheduled the construction to happen Sunday through Tuesday, 9pm-5am. The city’s contract with Granite Rock, which is performing the work, will run through December, but city engineer Gary Heap, who gave a presentation about the project on July 10 to business owners at the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce meeting room, said the
MAKERS FOR LIFE Lalita, 9, and Osias Solis, 7, work on a homemade toolbox at the Mini Maker Faire July 13 at the Gilroy Library.
Makers unite in Gilroy JULY 13 EVENT DRAWS CROWD WITH INTERACTIVE DISPLAYS Staff report
➝ Mini Maker Faire, 12
Robert Eliason
Nearly two dozen creative minds converged on Gilroy Library for the July 13 Mini Maker Faire, amazing spectators with their unique hobbies, experiments and projects. From local artists and crafters to scientists and engineers, Maker Faires are a venue for “makers” to showcase their do-it-yourself and science, technology,
engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) explorations in a familyfriendly setting. “We have wonderful groups of people ready to share their DIY and STEAM talents,” said County Librarian Nancy Howe prior to the event. “We hope they’ll inspire others to explore new avenues of creativity.” Some of the more than 20 makers attending include FabMo, a group that brought upcycled materials and showed people how to make wearable art, bookmarks and more; Cupertinker
MINI ARTIST Avila Schultz, 5, works on an art piece
at the Gilroy Mini Maker Faire July 13.
Workplace safety at the forefront CHRISTOPHER RANCH EXPANDING ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING Erik Chalhoub Business Editor
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Managers of Christopher Ranch, South County’s largest private employer, couldn’t help but notice the too-frequent mass shootings that occur almost on a weekly basis across the
nation, many of which happen at a workplace. But when a former employee shot and killed two managers and himself at the Ford Store Morgan Hill on June 25, the mass shootings hit home. Ken Christopher, executive vice president of Christopher Ranch, said that in response to the mass shootings, especially at the Ford Store, the largest garlic producer
in the nation is bolstering its safety programs for its employees. While workplace violence training has already been mandatory for all of Christopher Ranch’s employees, senior managers have recently undergone active shooter training. That will soon extend to all 1,000 employees as well. “We were developing the program, but we decided to accelerate the
training in light of recent events,” Christopher said. Christopher said the company has established a zero tolerance policy for workplace violence. Fortunately, he added, beyond an occasional verbal altercation between employees, the ranch has not experienced any major incidents. “Companies of all sizes need to make sure their HR departments are continually doing research and
training,” he said. “It might seem tedious, but employee safety needs to be at the forefront of every company.” For the City of Morgan Hill, which employs more than 500 part-time and full-time staff, the police department provides periodic training on active shooter response, according to city spokesperson Maureen Tobin. ➝ Workplace safety, 8