THE BEST OF SAN BENITO 2019
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HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
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Friday, June 28, 2019
sanbenito.com • Vol. 147, No. 26 • $1
County serves ‘whole person’ WHOLE PERSON CARE IN SAN BENITO CONNECTS TO WIDE RANGE OF SOCIAL SERVICES Jaqueline McCool Reporter
When Sharon Hill bought her motorhome for $400, she thought that she would live there for the rest of her life.
Then one day 64-yearold Hill tripped and fell getting out of her vehicle in Thousand Trails park in San Benito. She could no longer get up to get food, and she thought to herself, “I’m going to die.” Whole Person Care San Benito learned of Hill’s situation when the local Social Security office referred her case to them. Before long, caseworker
Cyrena Salinas from Whole Person Care in Hollister and another caseworker took Hill to Taco Bell in Hollister for their first meeting. From that point on, Hill said, she finally felt like things were going to be different. “It was two months later and I had my housing,” said Hill. “I mean, it’s just unheard of.” When Hill first met the women of Whole Person
Care San Benito, she was nearly blind, wheelchairbound and homeless. Now she’s had cataract surgery to improve her eyesight and knee surgery to get her out of a wheelchair, and she rents her own apartment, all thanks to referrals by the caseworkers at Whole Person Care. Whole Person Care
HOMELESS IN SAN BENITO COUNTY (information based on county 2017 homeless census) 527 people are homeless 81% over the age of 25 77% unsheltered 90% lived in San Benito before becoming homeless 82% are unemployed 64% are looking for work 23% are unable to work
➝Whole Person Care, 2
Rodeo week begins! LOCAL TEEN RIDER IS COMPETITOR IN 86TH SADDLE HORSE SHOW & RODEO Erik Chalhoub Business Editor
Robert Eliason
TRACTOR WHEELIE The bronco-busting trick tractor of the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show Association is a highlight
At 6 years old, Hailee Westrick dreamed of having a pony. So, the Hollister native entered the goat-tying event at the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show and Rodeo, taking on other competitors her age on horseback. “Once I really got into it, I made friends real quickly,” she said. “From there, it just kind of stuck.” Stuck, indeed. Nearly 17 and heading into her senior year at San Benito High School, Westrick has been competing in the San Benito Rodeo every year for more than a decade, and will continue this year when the event returns this weekend. “Being able to participate in a rodeo that ➝ Rodeo , 4
at the annual parade down Hollister’s San Benito Street that kicks off rodeo week in San Benito County.
Gavilan on lookout for ‘67 grads 100TH GALA CELEBRATION IN SEPTEMBER Scott Forstner Reporter
Gavilan College is digging deep into its roots for the upcoming 100th Centennial Gala celebration and
wants to honor its Class of 1967, the last graduating class from when the community college was located in Hollister. “It’s proven extremely difficult to locate alumni as there isn’t a database with their names,” said Gavilan Joint Community College District Trustee
Irma Gonzalez, who did find an old program from the 1967 commencement. “We’re hoping that perhaps someone will recognize a name of a relative or a friend and contact us.” In that 1967 class, there were 149 graduates listed on the program, with 87 earning an associate in
arts degree, 29 an associate in science degree, 12 a certificate in aviation, 11 a certificate in business, and five in each cosmetology and drafting. Gonzalez, who was elected to the Gavilan board in November 2018, and her husband are both Gavilan alumni; he
served on the Gavilan Student Senate during his time there. Gonzalez’s brother-in-law Raul Gonzalez was the last Associated Student Body president at Gavilan’s Hollister campus. “It’s been a long road ➝ Gavilian alumni, 10
We’re hoping that perhaps someone will recognize a name of a relative or a friend who was in the Class of 1967 and contact us. —TRUSTEE IRMA GONZALEZ
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