 |
|
|
|
Photographs by Jacqueline Ramseyer and Douglas Rider
Year at a Glance: Top: Willow Glen High School graduates, Bobby Hobbs and Matt Durkin, led the Rams to baseball victory. Center: Tamme Whitaker organized a candlelight rememberance on Sept. 14 in honor of the victims of Sept. 11. Right: Belly dancer Maia, shimmies to Fontain's M.U.S.E., during the Dancing on the Avenue festival June 16.
Willow Glen: Looking Back
Community made strides in education, business and politics
Willow Glen--attractive and smart in the heart of Silicon Valley--continued tremendous progress this year.
Its schools wisely targeted the desegregation issue with sound analysis and community input.
Faced with the state's energy crisis, Willow Glen education officials implemented conservation ideas. The Willow Glen Middle and High School Foundation raised funds to improve its schools.
Willow Glen students set an example in school involvement by initiating measures to improve their campuses, either through monetary donations or creating surveys to gauge student participation in school activities.
In academics and school sports, Willow Glen students finished third in a robotics national championship and integrated a specialized math program into their curriculum. Willow Glen High School exceeded its academic expectations.
A new $16-million Ernesto Galarza Elementary School opened with a 200-student enrollment featuring state-of-the-art classroom equipment. Its construction was a big boost to the neighborhood it serves.
United and well-prepared, Willow Glen residents made their neighborhoods safer, cleaner and more attractive by identifying blighted areas and cracking down on graffiti with fresh paint.
Founder's Day, a celebration observed by the community for nearly two decades, was saved at the last minute by District 6 City Councilman Ken Yeager and caring members of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association.
The Willow Glen Shopping Center received a much-needed renovation with a grand opening in September.
Affected by the economy's slowdown, several businesses closed such as McWhorter's Stationers, the philatelic window at the Willow Glen post office, the Country Style butcher shop and Wolf Camera.
City planners approved changes that will pave the way for more single-family dwellings and townhouses.
Despite its achievements, Willow Glen was a victim to crime. The assault of a young girl on her way to school in the Gardner neighborhood revealed our streets are not as safe as we assumed. The community also tried to feel secure after a bank robbery, a car theft, an auto fraud case, burglaries in the Gardner neighborhood and the discovery of a narcotics lab in our back yard.
Shocked by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Willow Glen responded with a touching display of patriotism by showing off "Old Glory" along Lincoln Avenue. And Willow Glen's Harold Schapelhouman headed a team of firefighters and civilians who flew to New York City to help with the clean up efforts at Ground Zero.
-- Sheila Sanchez, editor
Looking Back at 2001
January-March
April-June
July-September
October-December
|
|
|
|
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
