January 9, 2006

2005: a mixed bag

By Sheila Sanchez and
Julie Davis Berry

The year 2005 was indisputably a tough one for many around the Bay Area.

January

Nearly three-and-a-half years after Jeanine Sanchez Harms vanished; the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department arrested the man who was last seen with the 42-year-old divorcee on July 27, 2001. Pictured above: Harms’ parents Jesus and Georgette Sanchez.

Natural disasters in remote parts of the world and in our own country had many wondering how to help those suffering.

Not all news in 2005 was bad. Campbell Times readers felt hopeful as Mayor Jane Kennedy saw her long time dream of extending light rail to Campbell come to fruition. They were pleased to learn that many Campbell schools continue to excel academically.

Then as the year wrapped to an end, the community united to reach out to victims of Hurricane Katrina, raising thousands of dollars to aid with the recovery of the worst national disaster in our country’s history.

Campbell issues that dominated the headlines included an arrest in the murder of Jeanine Sanchez Harms, the closing of the Silver Buckle, the arrest of a Castlemont Elementary School teacher on pornography possession charges, striking teachers, a police shooting, the opening of the long-awaited dog park and the extension of the light rail to Campbell.

January
- Nearly three-and-a-half years after Jeanine Sanchez Harms vanished; the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department arrested the man who was last seen with the 42-year-old divorcee on July 27, 2001.

The arrest comes after a painstaking 18-month examination of evidence found in suspect Maurice Nasmeh’s Jeep Cherokee that matches a rug from Harms’ home that had been discarded in a dumpster only half a mile from Nasmeh’s home.Jeanine Harms, 42, was last seen in the company of the 40-year-old architect.

- The State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology released results of an ongoing investigation into the safety of nail salons following mounting reports from women who had developed pedicure-related infections.

Inspectors arrived unannounced at 112 Santa Clara County nail salons and issued 731 violations including 315 spread throughout 69 shops in San Jose, where the outbreak originated. The citations came with more than $70,000 in fines. Only three salons survived the grueling 67-point inspection unscarred.

When the story first broke on Nov. 25, 2004, in the Almaden Times Weekly, only a handful of women had come forward and steered health officials toward Kathy Nails on Almaden Expressway, Silver Nails on Blossom Hill Road and Nails National on Snell Avenue.

Since then, more than 130 complaints have been filed, implicating 27 salons, with 28 others now also on the radar screen. This outbreak is larger than the one afflicting 110 women in Watsonville three years ago, which quickly prompted the County Health Department and the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology to take action.

February
- Western gear store, the Silver Buckle, a Campbell staple for 30 years, prepares to close its doors.

- A Castlemont Elementary School teacher pleaded not guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Christopher Casey, 44, was arraigned Jan. 31 on a misdemeanor child pornography charge.

March
- The Annual Chamber of Com-merce Dinner honored Custom Vending Sys-tems (CVS) as Campbell Business of the Year and Tom Francois as Citizen of the Year. The owners of CVS, Al and Bonnie Aerts, were lauded for their generous contributions to charitable causes in Campbell. Francois was called an inspiration for reaching out to others who have lost a limb (Francois lost his leg a few years ago) and to inmates at correctional facilities “who have lost their freedom.”

October

Tasty beer, good music and playgrounds for kids highlighted Campbell’s Oktoberfest event. If you brew it, they will come: Cindy Kunesh (right) and Mary McBain have been coming to Oktoberfest for the past six years – which may not seem like much, until you realize that MaBain makes the trek all the way from Auburn. Asked why she makes the trip every year, McBain explains “The beer and the food, and I love to look at the people – they seem so happy.”

- Campbell Elementary schools continue to score above average on yearly statewide tests, while secondary school gains still fall below statewide performance targets according to the 2004 Academic Performance Index (API).

- More than 1,000 disenfranchised schoolteachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters filled the streets along Plaza de Chavez clamoring for attention of well-heeled Silicon Valley supporters as they wined and dined with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The $1,000 a plate dinner was held on behalf of the Citizens to Save California, a committee to promote Schwarzenegger’s plan to overhaul state government.

April
- Frustrations mount as Campbell Union School District contract talks go into a second round of negotiations. At stake were teacher’s prep periods, cost of living allocations and the impact of rising insurance rates.

- Former city council candidate, 23-year-old Evan Low, is named president of the local Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans-gender Democratic Club. He attributes his interest in community service to his father, Campbell optometrist Art Low, who is a former president of the Camp-bell Chamber of Commerce.

May
- Area Catholics welcome the papacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 78, viewed as the faith’s defender of orthodox doctrine. They joined millions around the world in welcoming the new papacy of Pope Benedict XVI.

- Neighbors and parents complain when a contractor defaults on contract terms on construction of the Monroe Middle School reconstruction project.

- Open studios offers up two Campbell artists, Larry Harden and Anna Coulter, who are as different as “Monet and Warhol.”

- ‘Boogie on the Bayou,’ formerly the Prunefestival, brings Bourbon Street to downtown Campbell.

- A solemn ceremony marks a Campbell Memorial Day event. A wreath is presented to Ken Estep, the father of Army Sgt. Adam Estep, who was killed in Iraq

June
- Hollywood celebrity Paula Abdul and Almaden’s Brittany Welby, 19, testify before the state legislature urging stiffer safety standards and stronger fines for nail salons with unsanitary practices.

July
- The California Newspaper Publishers Association recognized Almaden Times Weekly (a Campbell Times sister paper) staffers Nate Levy, Diego Abeloos and Sheila Sanchez for journalism excellence. It was the first time a Times newspaper had been eligible to enter submissions for awards because newspapers must be either weekly or daily to qualify.

- A crowd of 100,000 swarms downtown to cheer the Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix around the McEnery Convention Center, Hotel De Anza, the Tech Museum of Innovation and Cesar Chavez Plaza. Throughout the inaugural weekend event, several Champ Car drivers, as well as drivers from other series, criticized the 1.44-mile, 11-turn racecourse, complaining the track was too bumpy and narrow for passing.

- The 27th Campbell Highland Games are held at the Community Center featuring cabor tosses, bagpipe bands and a historical re-enactment featuring Mary Queen of Scotts.
August

- More than 75 people file suit over infections they contracted after receiving pedicures at salons in San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Santa Clara and Mountain View. Painful lesions caused by mycobacterium fortuitum, found in poorly sanitized and disinfected whirlpool foot spas, lead to painful sores, costly medical treatments and permanent scaring, both physically and emotionally.

- Campbell’s 6th Annual Relay For Life, 24-hour fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, raises over $300,000 with the help of 60 teams of survivors and their family and friends.

September
- Results of the 2005 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program reveal that many of Campbell’s public school students are making widespread gains in every subject and grade level tested. This is in sharp contrast to the disappointing 2004 STAR test scores.

- Campbell Police were involved in the first officer involved shooting since 1994. Officers responded to an agitated man screaming at the Motel 6 at the intersection of Curtner and Camden Avenues. After advancing on an officer, the man was shot with a taser gun, which failed to deter him. After advancing again the man identified as 24-year-old Steven Fountain was shot and killed by an officer.

October
- The opening of the light rail extension to Campbell was celebrated in a formal dedication ceremony on Oct.1 attended by numerous local politicians. The extension includes eight new stations from downtown San Jose to Winchester Boulevard in Campbell.

November
- Eight statewide ballot initiatives dealing with a slate of controversial issues—ranging from teacher tenure to reproductive rights—returned voters to the polls during a special election on Nov. 8. All initiatives fail.

August

Campbell’s 6th Annual Relay For Life, 24-hour fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, raises over $300,000 with the help of 60 teams of survivors and their family and friends.

- A Veterans Day program honors fallen heroes of the War in Iraq at the Montgomery Theatre in downtown San Jose. The program featured short digital videos produced by the families with the assistance of the Digital Clubhouse Network. Campbell’s Adam Estep was among those honored.

- Tasty beer, good music and playgrounds for kids highlighted Campbell’s Oktoberfest event.

December
- The long-awaited Los Gatos Creek Dog Park, actually located in Campbell, was officially opened off of Dell Avenue (by the Perc Ponds) much to the delight of dog-owners and their furry friends. The one-acre park cost $325,000 to build and features a small dog area and a big dog area replete with rocks, logs, trees and bowls of water.

- Breast Cancer survivor Bridgit Jordan, whose treatment was featured in a three-part series three years ago in the Campbell Times, checked in from her new home near San Diego. She said that she continues to be cancer-free and has turned her journalistic talents into a career with a position as a columnist for the “Californian.”

- Alan Aerts saves the day when he takes over management of the Carol of Lights holiday event in downtown Campbell. He and his wife donate many of the decorations from his controversial home display in Monte Sereno.