Retired teacher treks across country on bicycle
San Juan Bautista resident Jim Ostdick retired from his teaching job at San Benito High School and hit the streets—about 8,000 miles of them.
Arts council to host Poetry Out Loud at Anzar
The San Benito County Arts Council is partnering with local high schools to present a national poetry recitation contest.
Hollister trustee resigns after move from district
The Hollister School District accepted the resignation of their Board President Ben Flores on Tuesday because the trustee had to move to a home outside the district’s boundaries.
Local nonprofit purchases drug-sniffing dog with help from students
The San Benito High School student body raised money last year for Wonder Woofs, a local nonprofit, who used the funds to purchase a new drug-sniffing dog, Sapphire, which will be trained and used at area schools, including San Benito High.
“We use all golden retrievers,” said Sean Haggett, founder of Wonder Woofs, in an interview Tuesday. “They’re friendly dogs.”
San Benito High School Principal Krystal Lomanto said Wonder Woofs is a “great preventative tool” for the high school.
Haggett said the reason the school helped raise the funds is to be “proactive” against drugs on campuses - on their campus and other campuses.
“It’s not that a school has a drug problem,” he said. “If we can deter one child from doing drugs, it’s a good thing.”
Having a drug-free environment is a “priority” for the school, Lomanto said in an e-mail to the Free Lance on Thursday.
“SBHS takes pride and works very hard at providing a safe campus for our students and staff,” she said. “Wonder Woofs has helped by providing a positive deterrent.”
Estimate for new library approaches $50 million
A new county library still seems a long way off after a recent report priced a new facility at $47.5 million.
County supervisors received a library needs assessment report Tuesday and directed staff officials to continue the discussion at the San Benito County Intergovernmental Committee....
