A SPECIAL EDITION OF SOUTH VALLEY & SAN BENITO MAGAZINES
HOME &GARDEN MARCH 15, 2019
Helping your garden grow into a living space
SPECIAL MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
NATIVE PLANTS P19 | OUTDOOR KITCHENS P20 | GARDEN PERENNIALS P24
WOMAN OF THE YEAR P2 | NAME A SCHOOL P4 | MUSTARD MEANS SPRING P4
HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
A New SV Media publication
Friday, March 15, 2019
sanbenito.com • Vol. 147, No. 11 • $1
Shoes on cam, tips from the public nab robber ARMED BANDIT WHO ROBBED QUIK STOP WAS A TEEN, POLICE SAY Staff Report
➝ Armed Robbery, 4
Barry Holtzclaw
The Hollister Police Department has identified and arrested the teenage suspect who robbed a convenience store at gunpoint a month ago. On Feb. 16, about 5:45am, an unknown male entered the Quik Stop at 10 San Felipe Road. He pointed a handgun at one of the store employees and made demands for money. The clerk complied with the suspect’s demands, and the suspect fled with an undisclosed amount of money. Following the incident, Hollister police detectives and officers received numerous tips from the public. Officers conducted more interviews, and detectives
RECYCLED WATER Jose Rodriguez of Hollister is chief operator at the Hollister Water Reclamation Facility.
Hollister reclaims water
CONTRACTOR RECOGNIZED FOR SAFE, CLEAN OPERATION Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor
A large pipe carries water from ponds at the western edge of Hollister a little
over two miles north to irrigate crops around the Hollister Airport. Ducks skim across the water of one large pond while turtles bask at the edge of the clear water. Goldfish swim in a large tank filled with colored pebbles and plants growing in water from the ponds. A few days earlier, this water had been flushed
from toilets in more than 10,000 households. The city-owned plant that treats Hollister’s wastewater celebrated its 10th birthday last year, and combines its computer-monitored membrane filtration system with the appetites of billions of bacteria to “reclaim” the wastewater for recycling.
The Hollister Water Reclamation Facility, as it’s officially known, is operated and maintained by Veolia North America, a $30 billion private waste, water and energy firm with nearly 170,000 employees worldwide. The giant Hollister facility, thanks to its stateof-the-art design, is run by six licensed operators,
with years of experience. The local water reclamation team has been recognized as Safety Plant of the Year by the Monterey Bay section of the California Water Environment Association “for its commitment to ensuring the plant is operated safely for both employees and the community.” ➝ Wastewater, 12
Food distribution center is hiring NEW PLANT IS HIRING WORKERS, AND MOVING SOME FROM SANTA CRUZ Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor
Barry Holtzclaw
Performance Food Group’s new food processing plant and distribution center in Gilroy may not in operation yet, but that hasn’t stopped the company from reaching out to Gilroy, Morgan Hill and Hollister and beyond to find new workers for its expanded Central Coast operation. Performance, one of the nation’s largest prepared food distribution companies, hosted a daylong hiring
fair on March 7, 10am to 7pm at the Hilton Garden Inn on Monterey Road, just north of the new plant. Performance said it would be hiring managers, customer service representatives, warehouse staff and drivers. When the doors opened at the hiring event, nearly 50 prospects were already in line. The interviews would continue all day. “I said, I think I’ll give a whirl,” said Ray Avila, 67 of Gilroy. “I’ve been in the distribution business for 22 years. Hopefully, they can find me something within this company.” Michael Sanchez grew up in Gilroy, where he worked as a stock boy before moving to Morgan Hill as a young ➝ Performance, 8
JOB INTERVIEW Ray Avila speaks with a Performance Food Group
representative in Gilroy earlier this month.
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