Thanks for school support
I would like to thank everyone who participated in San Juan
Elementary School’s Fall Clean-Up Day on November 7th. 124
volunteers showed-up early Saturday morning to cut, prune, paint,
rake and wash our way to a beautiful school. I’d also like to thank
the Gilroy Home Depot, Morgan Hill Home Depot, Gilroy Lowe’s, the
San Juan Home and School Club and the San Juan ELAC for their
generous donations.
These donated materials were used to repair and replace damaged
basketball hoops and backstops, supply gloves to our workers and
provide them with breakfast and a BBQ lunch. A special thanks goes
out to Tony and Cathy Alameda for getting this whole thing started
and to Tom Loe for manning the BBQ.
Thank you parents, students, friends, teachers and maintenance
staff, for coming together as a community and taking pride in our
school.
Monica Guaracha
San Juan parent
Thanks for school support
I would like to thank everyone who participated in San Juan Elementary School’s Fall Clean-Up Day on November 7th. 124 volunteers showed-up early Saturday morning to cut, prune, paint, rake and wash our way to a beautiful school. I’d also like to thank the Gilroy Home Depot, Morgan Hill Home Depot, Gilroy Lowe’s, the San Juan Home and School Club and the San Juan ELAC for their generous donations.
These donated materials were used to repair and replace damaged basketball hoops and backstops, supply gloves to our workers and provide them with breakfast and a BBQ lunch. A special thanks goes out to Tony and Cathy Alameda for getting this whole thing started and to Tom Loe for manning the BBQ.
Thank you parents, students, friends, teachers and maintenance staff, for coming together as a community and taking pride in our school.
Monica Guaracha
San Juan parent
Student protesters should be held accountable for vandalism
Watching the TV news report about the “sit-in” over the increased tuition and fees at U.C. Santa Cruz this past weekend made me believe I am definitely in a different world from the one I in which I was raised.
First, the reporter did not ask the protesters what they propose giving up to help UC balance their budget.
Most important, for trashing the administration building, the UC spokesman only said it would take about a week to clean up the mess, period. When I was in college, I would have been immediately expelled for such behavior.
State taxpayers, all of us, subsidize the cost of operating the UC campuses and should be outraged that the protesters appear to be getting off without paying any penalty for their vandalism especially in light of the weak financial situation of UC.
If this is an example of how UC appreciates its financial supporters, the next demonstration should be a “tea party” on their doorstep.
Carl Chase
Hollister
Unfair trial led to conviction
The following are some unanswered questions and points to ponder: Why was the trial held in San Benito County? Judge Harry Tobias stated in May 2008 that pre-trial publicity was not an issue, and a change of venue was denied. The trial did not begin until September 2009. The local newspapers and TV news stations had Mike guilty before the trial started. What happened to “innocent until PROVEN guilty?”
Judge Alan Hedegard was biased from the very beginning. He excluded witnesses and documented statements that confirmed Mike’s innocence and cleared him of breaking the law. Judge Hedegard also overruled most of Public Defender Art Cantu’s objections and favored the prosecution throughout the trial.
The jury selection included eight women and four men for the alleged rape? There were clear conflicts of interest and there were those who should have not been on that jury. The judge used HIS questionnaire, not the one given by the defense attorney.
The four witnesses for the prosecution all had the same type story because they were “coached” or prepared on what to say by the D.A.’s office; they also discussed it during the trial amongst themselves. The prosecution did not provide police reports, DNA. or medical reports, and there was NO physical evidence. It was all “hearsay” that led to the conviction.
The prosecutor, Patrick Palacios, referred to the defendant on numerous occasions as a “serial rapist” and was asking for “60 to life” even before the trial began. He knew exactly what charges/counts to ask for based on what sentence he wanted.
The sheriff (and his department) and DA (and staff) deserve a lot of credit for manipulating and intimidating witnesses, leading to a conviction. They have personally made a 27-year law enforcement officer into a criminal. Mike is no “angel” but nor is he a criminal!! Perhaps the “Jane Does” (witnesses) should be subjected to questioning relating to perjury on their part.
Ron Rodrigues
San Benito County
