As the year winds down, it is tradition to take a look back at
the months gone by to reflect on what was good, bad, and just plain
weird about 2006.
As the year winds down, it is tradition to take a look back at the months gone by to reflect on what was good, bad, and just plain weird about 2006.
It was a year marked by the ongoing war in Iraq, threats of nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea, and threats of city service shutdowns in Hollister.
My memory of the entire year isn’t that clear, but I seem to recall January being cold. I also vaguely recall some resolutions about working out more, or getting more organized, but I had forgotten them by February.
I turned 37 in February, which reminds me that I’ll be turning 38 in less than two months. What a downer.
I want my 30s to quit passing so quickly. The 20s flew by with college and marriage and the birth of my children. I’m proud to say I’m in the same marriage and those kids are growing up well, but time is shooting by. When you’re in your 30s, the doctor tells you at check-ups that everything looks fine and you don’t have to worry about certain male physical exams until you hit 40.
Well, 40 – and its accompanying latex exams – is bearing down on me. But I digress.
March was rainy. Really rainy – like Noah’s Ark rainy. The opening of Little League was delayed and practices were cancelled. The league and the city worked together to find fields on which the kids could play until Vets Park was ready and the season ended up as successful as ever.
The Hollister City Council approved sewer rate hikes in March and we started paying more this month. Just five people showed up to discuss the issue in City Hall last spring and fewer than 100 signed a letter protesting the hike.
In April, residents of San Juan Bautista reported seeing fewer roaming chickens clucking around town, a month after the City Council made it a crime to feed the feral fowl. Around the same time, San Benito County officials limited the number of crowing fowl allowed on a person’s property. It’s OK to have 11 or fewer birds cock-a-doodle-do’ing, but 12 or more requires a conditional use permit from the planning commission.
You can’t say our local government doesn’t tackle pressing issues. In an odd coincidence, local restaurants offered many more “free-range chicken” specials last spring.
May featured downtown marches and school walkouts to protest proposed immigration reform. It also brought a ton of negative campaign mailers to our homes in advance of the June elections. It would serve as a tame preview to even dirtier campaigning in the fall.
The June elections swept out a controversial district attorney and local school graduations moved younger generations one step closer to adulthood, when they get to run for office and legislate the actions of chickens.
In July, Africanized honey bees were discovered in the northern part of San Benito County. Officials quickly moved to outlaw their buzzing without a conditional use permit.
Fewer bikers buzzed through town on the Fourth of July because Hollister couldn’t afford to welcome them. With our ongoing budget problems, it now seems we can’t afford not to welcome them. T-shirt sales won’t save the city, for sure, but at least the rally makes our community a destination and helps out a number of businesses.
August was highlighted by the Hollister Little League 9- and 10-year-old American League All-Star team’s state championship. A few of those kids went on to play in the Pop Warner Superbowl in Florida.
September’s big news was the tainted spinach scare that threatened the local ag industry. While many children were glad to have an excuse not to eat spinach, it is good news for everyone that spinach and packaged salads are back on store shelves.
October brought another flurry of campaign materials, particularly from supporters of Measure S, which would have opened the door for a large senior development near Dunneville. Voters, still reeling from unchecked and poorly-planned growth in the 1990s, weren’t ready to put their faith in more growth – despite the developer’s good reputation and fancy sales pitch.
November and December were such a blur that I can’t recall many details from the past two months. All is remember is a lot of wrapping paper, ham, desserts and football games.
Overall, 2006 was a good year. My family is healthy, none of our goldfish were found floating on the top of the aquarium, and I saw a chicken walking proudly down Third Street in San Juan last week.
Happy New Year!
Adam Breen teaches journalism and yearbook at San Benito High School. He is former editor of The Free Lance.
