Page 2 - November 13, 2013
COMMUNITY
Morgan Hill Life - www.MorganHillLife.com
Editorial
Take a bite out of hunger with ‘No Child Goes Unfed’
Publisher Marty Cheek
(408) 782-7575, ext. 1
[email protected]
Editor Robert Airoldi
(408) 782-7575, ext 2
[email protected]
Sales/Marketing Mark Fenichel
(408) 410-4782 cell
or (408) 782-7575
[email protected]
Graphics Bob Snow at Design
Factory Graphics
(408) 6 86-0780
16360 Monterey Road
Suite 246, Morgan Hill, CA
95037
www.MorganHillLife.com
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Hunger affects one in five children in America. Despite the
fact that Morgan Hill is a part of the affluent Silicon Valley
region, the problem of young people not having enough to eat
exists here in our own community. And this problem hurts the
quality of their education.
There are many children and teenagers in Morgan Hill who
every day go to their school classrooms without enough healthy
nutrition in their bodies. This negatively impacts their academic
performance as well as their behavior. Hungry children struggle
to focus in class, facing the distraction of headaches and stomach aches. They also may act out against their teachers or other
students because of their hunger.
To help combat this problem, Morgan Hill Life encourages
the people of our community to support the Edward Boss Prado
Foundation’s No Child Goes Unfed program.
The program provides free lunches at Live Oak and Sobrato
high schools for students who cannot afford lunch but whose
families do not qualify for government-sponsored lunch programs.
The foundation was founded this year by Gary and Cecilia
Ponzini, the owners of Ponzini’s Community Garage and Towing, as a legacy for Cecilia’s son Edward who died 10 years
ago at the age of 29.
While in school, Edward participated in the free-lunch
programs, but sometimes he would bring extra food for fellow
students he knew were hungry and did not have lunch.
What makes Morgan Hill such a great
place to live? There are a lot of reasons,
but one was especially evident Halloween
night. The Morgan Hill
Downtown Association’s
Safe Trick or Treat offered families the opportunity to stroll through
downtown dressed in
Robert Airoldi
costumes while Halloween music blared from the downtown
speakers. Watching the droves of people
COMING
• Local nonprofit looks to
save the Granada Theater
• A profile of the Pho Noodle
House
• Local bowyer manufactures
bows and arrows
• Q & A with Leah De Lane
with Fast Frame
• A look at Fortino Winery
• Tips to stay healthy during
the holiday season
QUOTE OF
THE WEEK
“
Walt Disney once
said, ‘If you can
dream it, you can
do it.’ My hope
is that in writing
this book, many
people will start to
live their dream.
”
- Ken Foreman, pastor at
Cathedral of Faith regarding
his new book See story page 4
Photo by Marty Cheek
Hundreds of children accompanied
by their parents stroll through Pumpkin Park as part of Halloween Trick or
Treating in downtown Morgan Hill.
enjoying the beautiful northern California
weather while meeting old friends and
making new ones reminded me why Morgan Hill is such a unique place. Good job
to all the volunteers involved who helped
make the fun happen.
Speaking of downtown and all the reasons that make Morgan Hill exceptional,
here’s another one. Downtown will now
host a Thursday night year-round Farmer’s Market located in the former Simple
Beverages parking lot at the corner of
Third Street and Monterey Road. The
market, which began Halloween night,
runs from 3 to 7 p.m. in the winter, with
later hours come summer, according
to Raquel Crowell, with the MHDA.
Interested vendors should contact www.
westcoastfarmersmarkets.org.
One of our community’s most important
events comes this spring, but it’s time to begin planning. I’d bet everyone of us knows
With the No Child Goes Unfed program, any Live Oak or
Sobrato student who cannot afford lunch can go to the Associated Student Body office where they will be provided with a
noon-time meal. No questions are asked because the program
wants to protect the dignity of young persons who participate.
Getting nutritious food is a vital part of academic success for
our students which in turn leads to a higher quality of life in
our community. Research by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit
organization involved with child hunger, shows that, on average, students who eat school breakfast achieve 17.5 percent
higher scores on standardized math tests and attend 1.5 more
days of school per year.
Schools where students receive breakfast in the classroom
reported improved student alertness (76 percent) better attendance (57 percent), fewer disciplinary problems (54 percent),
less visits to the school nurse (55 percent) and fewer tardy
students (49 percent). These benefits help an entire school community, not just hungry children.
One of the best ways to help students in Morgan Hill schools
succeed in the classroom is to make sure they are properly fed.
And the No Child Goes Unfed program can help accomplish
this. If you are interested in supporting this worthy program,
please send a check made payable to the Morgan Hill Community Foundation (with the words “No Child Goes Unfed” on the
memo) to Morgan Hill Community Foundation, P.O. Box 1974,
Morgan Hill, Calif., 95038.
Around Town ...
someone or some family impacted by
cancer. My mother survived colon cancer a
decade ago, and an estimated 40 percent of
us will be diagnosed with cancer. Because
two-thirds of all cancers are preventable,
the 2014 American Cancer Relay for Life
is an important fundraising event. Teams
are forming now for next year’s event at
Community Park. Those interested can visit
www.relayforlife.org/morganhillca to sign
up or email Valerie Renggli at vrenggli@
csumb.edu for more information.
Congratulations to Mount Madonna
School senior Roger Hooker, who recently was named a Commended Student in
the 2014 National Merit
Scholarship Program.
Earning this distinction
signifies that a student
scored in the top 5 percent of the more than 1.5
Roger Hooker
million students nationwide who took the 2012 Preliminary
SAT/National Meri t Scholarship Qualifying Test. Hooker is one of 18 in the senior
class and one of about 34,000 high school
seniors across the country commended
for their exceptional academic promise.
California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott has
appointed Derek Witmer, 46, of Watsonville, as the Unit Chief of
the Santa Clara Unit.
Chief Witmer has 28
years of fire service. He
began his career as a paid
call firefighter with the
Derek Witmer
Salispuedes Fire District
in 1985, rising through the ranks to fire
captain. In addition to his responsibilities
as unit chief, he will also serve as the fire
chief for the South Santa Clara County
Fire District and the Morgan Hill Fire
Department. Congratulations, Chief!
The Britton Bobcat girls softball won
its last seven games en-route to the
league championship and an 8-1 record.
It was the 10th championship in 16 years
for the Morgan Hill middle school. The
league playoffs were held at Britton. The
dominant Bobcat defeated Sierramont
17-3, Bernal 21-5, and Chaboya in the title game, 24-7. Congratulations Bobcats!
Photo courtesy Britton Bobcats
Top Row, Coach Jim Green, Taylor Austin (outfielder), Sam Evans,
(infielder) Sam Brenny (pitcher),
Ashley Burke (catcher), Tori Costello
(outfielder), Haley Bonfante (pitcher), Kendall McGowan (infielder),
Mikhaele Sakamoto (outfielder),
Maddie Camacho (infielder), Madison Weeks (outfielder), Coach Anthony DeBenedetti. Front Row: Cameron
O’Connell (outfielder), Ashley Church
(catcher), Jaden Ta (outfielder), Peanut Bell (infielder).
The organizers of the British Fall
Classic Car Show presented a check for
$5,800 to Community Solutions from the
proceeds of the recent car show. Many
thanks go to major sponsors Ladera Grill
and Heritage Bank.
Photo courtesy Myles Taketa
Lisa DeSilva, Director of Development
for Community Solutions, accepts
the check from Bill and Mary Hiland
of On the Road Again Classics.