GREENFIELD — As the New Year approaches, the staff at South County Newspapers looked back on the past year and compiled a list of the top stories that defined the community in 2017. Here is our Year in Review for Greenfield:
JANUARY
New homes added to development
Nonprofit housing developer Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association, Inc. (CHISPA) announced it has 16 homes completed and eight more under construction in Greenfield.
The CHISPA Cambria Park subdivision is located at Cardona Circle and Apple Avenue. Homebuyers range from agricultural workers to teachers to Salinas Valley State Prison employees.
Recall election begins
Greenfield voters began to cast their ballots for the mayor recall election during regular business hours at the Monterey County Elections Office.
Registered voters could either vote “no” on the mayor recall, saying that they are in favor of John Huerta Jr. continuing as mayor, or vote “yes” on the recall, and then choose between current Council member Leah Santibanez or newcomer Jesus OlveraGarcia for the mayoral position.
FEBRUARY
New mayor sworn in
Mayor-elect Jesus OlveraGarcia was sworn in during a special city council meeting, following the recent recall election of former Mayor John Huerta Jr.
The results of the Jan. 24 election showed 866 votes in favor of the recall and 554 voters against. OlveraGarcia ran against Council member Leah Santibanez for the positon, earning 658 votes versus 308 votes, respectively.
School district declared ‘Safe Haven’
South Monterey County Joint Union High School District is now a “Safe Haven,” a designation that protects students’ records from questions about immigration status.
“In taking this action, we are saying as a school district we are not going to release that sort of information or report somebody for deportation,” Superintendent Daniel Moirao said. “Our campuses are safe havens, not only safe from physical things but it’s a safe place to come register and take advantage of the programs we have.”
MARCH
Groundwater Sustainability Agency forms
Greenfield City Council approved forming a Groundwater Sustainability Agency with Clark Colony Water Company.
California lawmakers created the Sustainability Groundwater Management Act in 2015 as a response to the groundwater depletion that occurred in the past few years partially due to the ongoing California drought.
Permits approved for local marijuana industry
Medical marijuana cultivation and manufacturing permits were approved by the Greenfield City Council for six cannabis businesses, but councilmembers directed city staff to hold off on dispensaries for now. The local medical marijuana industry is expected to create between 300 and 500 jobs.
APRIL
Fontes named new city manager
Out of a pool of 30 candidates ranging from California to Pennsylvania, Greenfield City Council selected Jaime Fontes as the new city manager.
Fontes, who was the city manager for Santa Paula for the past seven years, is a member of the California Bar and bilingual. His contract with the City of Greenfield is for three years.
City joins Monterey Bay Community Power
The City of Greenfield is joining the larger regional effort to bring clean energy to its customers, as the City Council entered into a Joint Powers Agreement for the formation of Monterey Bay Community Power.
The agreement would be in charge of aggregating all the power demands of the member communities, marketing that power demand to power sources and providing green power use that would be similar or better than PG&E.
Chief announces departure
Acting Greenfield Police Chief Gregory Allen, who came to the city with 34 years of law enforcement experience with the Los Angeles Police Department, has accepted the position of police chief for Morro Bay. Allen started his career in Greenfield as police commander in October 2015, before serving as the department’s acting chief for the past eight months.
MAY
Voters support fire department
Measure C, which ensures the future of the Greenfield Fire Protection District, was passed by local voters in the Special Parcel Tax Election.
The measure received the required two-thirds majority vote in favor of the tax, which will support two firefighters working at all times and be able to respond to fires and emergency situations.
Junior Livestock Auction raises $2.1M
The Salinas Valley Fair Junior Livestock Auction included the sale of 950 animals and raised $2.1 million with the fair’s heritage animal selling for $371 per pound.
This year’s Salinas Valley Fair Heritage Foundation scholarship winner was Matthew Umbarger, a senior at King City High School.
The Junior Livestock Auction brings together not only auction buyers from throughout the Salinas Valley, but also FFA and 4-H members from Gonzales to King City and from Bitterwater to Templeton.
Warm welcome for new superintendent
Dr. Brian Walker begins his appointment July 1 as South Monterey County Joint Union High School District’s new superintendent, taking over for Dr. Daniel Moirao, who will retire after five years of service as superintendent.
The Governing Board ratified Walker’s contract at its Greenfield High School meeting on May 24. Walker credits Moirao’s student performance improvement as a draw. Moirao is proud of his “Bring on the Pride” legacy, with test scores and graduation rates having improved considerably since he took over.
JUNE
New school breaks ground
With excitement in the air, in typical Greenfield fashion, strong winds greeted attendees at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new elementary school to be built on Apple Avenue. The event was hosted by the Greenfield Union School District on June 1. The school, yet to be named, is scheduled to open fall 2018.
Red hot visit
Turnaround Arts mentor and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith visited with Greenfield students from Mary Chapa Academy as part of the national program that infuses the arts into struggling schools. The 55-year-old rocker, wearing jeans and a David Bowie T-shirt, spent the day moving from classroom to classroom to interact with the elementary students and learn about the activities that they are studying.
Smith’s visit marks the school’s third and final year in the Turnaround Arts program.
Wine leader
Al Scheid’s influence over the Central Coast winegrape growing industry has been instrumental over the past several decades, from co-founding two prominent winegrape grower organizations to developing his own namesake company into a full-fledged winery operation in Greenfield.
His leadership legacy has not gone unnoticed. The visionary pioneer and chairman of Scheid Vineyards Inc. was recently named the 2017 Leader of the Year by the California Association of Winegrape Growers. The award recognizes a grower who is not only an inspiration to others, but also whose record of exceptional leadership has benefitted California’s wine industry.
Greenfield Cultural Arts Center awarded $15K grant
California Arts Council has awarded $15,250 to First Night Monterey for the Greenfield Cultural Arts Center as part of its Local Impact program, which provides support to small arts organizations for projects that extend their reach to underserved populations with limited access to the arts.
With this support, the Greenfield Cultural Arts Center will expand the summer art camps to include guitar lessons in addition to a new mariachi music program.
JULY
Scheid Vineyards installs new wind turbine
A new wind turbine with blades reaching nearly 400 feet into the sky was erected at Scheid Vineyards, where the machine will generate 100 percent of the power needed to run the winery and bottling operations four miles south of Greenfield.
Located a quarter-mile west of Highway 101, the wind turbine can be seen for miles. Its tower stands 264 feet tall with three propeller-like blades, each 132 feet long, for a total height of 396 feet above ground.
New park opens on Apple Avenue
After eight years in development, Greenfield Community Park — a nearly $3 million project located at Apple Avenue and Third Street — officially opened July 4 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a big round of applause from those in attendance, including residents and past and current city officials.
The 3-acre park features a large playground area for youth of all ages, basketball and tennis courts, a gazebo, open grass areas, a walking trail around the perimeter, picnic tables, benches, restrooms and parking.
Change of Command
Col. Kerry E. Norman has taken charge of the largest Army Reserve installation and the seventh largest post in the nation, becoming Fort Hunter Liggett’s newest garrison commander.
Norman, who hails from Kirkwood, Mo., was sworn in during a Change of Command ceremony at the Fort Hunter Liggett track and field facility. She takes over the post of outgoing commander, Col. Jan C. Norris, who had assumed the commander duties since July 2015.
New bins combat opioid epidemic
New bins for unwanted or expired prescription medications have been installed at the King City, Greenfield and Gonzales police departments, providing a way for residents to properly dispose of these drugs before they fall into the wrong hands.
The drug take-back bins are funded through a grant with the help from Drs. Casey Grover and Reb Close, emergency care physicians from Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. The husband-and-wife duo are part of the Monterey County Prescribe Safe Initiative, which offers resources to help prevent prescription drug abuse, and partnered with Sun Street Centers and other organizations to bring these bins to South County.
AUGUST
New city entry signs being considered
The City of Greenfield is considering design concepts for two new entry gateway signs along Highway 101 to welcome visitors into the city, replacing the old signs that toppled over during storms this past winter.
The city has maintained two entry gateway signs along Highway 101 at both the northern and southern approaches to Greenfield for many years. Both signs, however, fell over in January and February due to heavy rainfall and high winds.
The new signs — standing about 18 feet tall — would sit on a concrete foundation and be more durable.
Victim center for South County reopens
Monterey County District Attorney’s Office has reopened the South County Victim Services Office, located in the newly refurbished courthouse building at 250 Franciscan Way in King City.
The victim center increases accessibility for South County residents who lost services in 2008 when the Monterey County Courts King City Division closed due to financial reasons. It focuses on trauma-informed services and treatment for children and youth victims of crime.
School board selects new superintendent
Greenfield Union School District Board of Trustees has selected a new superintendent to lead the district for the next three years, just in time for the first day of school.
Zandra Jo Galvan, former assistant superintendent of education services for the Gonzales Unified School District, was given a three-year contract. Galvan replaces former superintendent Kim Berman, who left the position after one year to accept a job at another school district.
Teens arrested for sexual assault
Three teenage boys were arrested and taken to Juvenile Hall on charges of rape, sodomy and oral copulation of a 14-year-old girl who was found intoxicated and lying on a sidewalk in Greenfield on Aug. 9.
Two weeks later, the ongoing investigation led to the additional arrests of a 22-year-old man and a 14-year-old male juvenile for allegedly aiding and abetting the primary suspects in the case.
Future farmers
Greenfield High School graduate Gissel Neri Corcoles was selected as one of four finalists for the National FFA Organization’s Vegetable Crop Production Proficiency award. She is the first student in the district to achieve this honor.
Fellow Class of 2017 graduate Anthony Camacho was also recognized for winning the National FFA silver medal for Ag Communications Proficiency.
SEPTEMBER
City hears suggestions for chief
Only a handful of residents turned out for the City of Greenfield’s “Listening Session” to share their input on a new police chief, but City Manager Jaime Fontes was still able to walk away with a few suggestions that will help him prepare a job description for the position.
City staff hosted the session to hear from community members about the types of characteristics and qualifications that they feel are essential for Greenfield Police Department’s Chief of Police, currently led by Interim Police Chief Tony Sollecito. The input will be used to target qualified applicants.
Barn teardown makes way for Yanks Air Museum
Construction crews worked in September to tear down three barns to the north of Yanks RV Resort Museum.
The area where the three barns were located and two mobile homes will be the location of the Yanks Air Museum. Property owners Charles and Judith Nichols received a grading permit from Monterey County to proceed with the northern portion of the project where the museum is planned.
County supervisors support Dreamers
Monterey County has been declared a “Dreamers County,” one of the first counties in the nation to enact a resolution supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which grants a temporary reprieve from deportation for so-called “Dreamers,” immigrants who were brought into the country as children by their parents.
Inmates refurbish vehicles for police department
The Correctional Training Facility, Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, has been training inmates to refurbish vehicles, such as those for the Greenfield Police Department.
The most recent project that the inmates did was in December 2016. It took them four months to refurbish two veteran patrol vehicles. Greenfield Interim Police Chief Tony Sollecito’s car is one of the refurbished vehicles.
OCTOBER
Celebration of a century
Nearly 250 guests recently took a journey back in time to tour the properties owned by Salinas Land Co. and California Orchard Co. — located between King City and Greenfield — in celebration of the companies’ 100th anniversary and their profound impact on agriculture in the Salinas Valley.
Board members, growers, dignitaries and invited guests gathered in the Los Ositos Vineyards to commemorate the significant milestone of these two companies based outside of King City.
Greenfield joins Pinnacles partners
The City of Greenfield is showing its support of Pinnacles National Park by joining the Pinnacles Gateway Partners, a partnership with neighboring cities to help protect the park’s resources and visitor experiences.
Greenfield City Council adopted a resolution to support the partnership, whose mission aims to strengthen visitor experiences both at the park and in its gateway communities, in addition to increasing recreation and healthy living opportunities for residents.
City of Greenfield supports Dreamers
The City of Greenfield has officially expressed its support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Greenfield City Council unanimously approved the resolution, and in doing so, becomes the second city in Monterey County to officially state its support; the City of Soledad recently passed a similar resolution.
NOVEMBER
City considers youth council
City of Greenfield is considering the formation of a Youth Advisory Council, in which local students would have the chance to voice their opinions and provide fresh ideas to city officials on issues affecting young people in the community.
Though the formulation is in the early planning stages, general consensus from Greenfield City Council was to move forward with the concept of a five-member youth council that would meet quarterly to discuss issues and report back to the city council.
South County resident named Veteran of the Year
King City resident Charles DeSchepper was recently named Veteran of the Year for 2017 by the Monterey County Military and Veterans Affairs Office Advisory Commission, which honored him at the annual ceremonial dinner in Monterey.
DeSchepper, 70, is a Vietnam War veteran who grew up in Iowa. He is a member of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Sgt. Frank Lillard Post 6747, American Legion and the Elks Club.
King City, Greenfield police unite to take on major crimes
King City and Greenfield police departments are joining forces to investigate major crimes in both jurisdictions through a collaborative unit established by the cities to pool resources and solve these cases, with the intent of bringing offenders to justice more swiftly.
King City Council and Greenfield City Council both approved the memorandum of understanding between the two cities for a Major Crimes Unit, which will combine resources and personnel from both police departments.
DECEMBER
Monterey County Pops! performs for first time in Greenfield
For the first time, Monterey County Pops! presented Greenfield with its 20-member fully professional Wind Ensemble in a free program of light classics, marches, movie music and traditional music from Mexico at Vista Verde Middle School.
County Supervisor Salinas to retire
Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas announced that he will retire from office in early 2019 after his current term expires, ending a nearly three-decade career in public office.
Salinas, 61, is throwing his support behind his chief of staff — and South County native — Chris Lopez to succeed him for the District 3 position, the largest supervisorial district that encompasses part of Salinas and all of South County.
The open seat will be up for election next year.
New police chief named
The City of Greenfield has found a new police chief after conducting an extensive recruitment and testing program.
Denise Chavez Oglesby was sworn in as chief of police Dec. 20. She is a retired detective lieutenant from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, where she worked for 34 years.
