North Willow Glen residents now have their long-awaited bridge as part of the Los Gatos Creek Trail that connects the corner of Gregory Street and Fuller Avenue to Lonus Street.

San Jose City Council approved construction of the bridge in June 2003. Two prefabricated 70-foot-long bridge sections were laid across the creek by a crane in January, North Willow Glen Association Secretary Ken Eklund said.

When the 40-ton bridge didn't fit, neighbors watched as a welder made last-minute changes with a blowtorch.

Eklund said he was pleased the bridge's installation did not require removing any trees or obstructing the view of the river.

"It's pretty neat," he said. "I love to cross over rivers."

Residents are glad that incorporating the area into the trail will create recreational opportunities. They also hope it will discourage homeless encampments.

The bridge will also have benches, paved walkways, a water fountain and landscaping to accommodate the public's use.

The Los Gatos Creek Trail will stretch from Los Gatos to downtown San Jose when completed in 2007.

—Beth Walker

Community rallies to save fire-station cuts

While the fate of Station 6's hose truck and three fire engineers still hangs in the balance, Willow Glen resident Susan Espinoza sought the help of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association.

The city asked the San Jose Fire Department to cut $11 million from its 2004­05 budget at a city budget study session on Jan. 15. The hose truck was an earlier suggested cutback.

Espinoza is concerned because her 16-year-old son, Marcus, has a serious heart problem and Station 6 firefighters have been called out more times than she can remember to the home, she said.

She's concerned that having fewer firefighters will impact service to the elderly and historic Willow Glen homes.

"Four firefighters can't save a house," she said. "A few minutes make a big difference."

Willow Glen Neighborhood Association President Helen Solinski said she would write a letter on behalf of the board to San Jose Fire Acting Chief Dale Foster and Mayor Ron Gonzalez, requesting Station 6 be allowed to keep the hose truck and the fifth firefighter on each shift.

Also at the meeting, Solinski asked the board if it was willing to make a donation to rebuild Gardner Academy's library, which was destroyed in the Nov. 22 arson fire.

"Books are great," Solinksi said. "But they are looking for cash so they can select the books."

The board moved and approved a $1,000 donation to help the school.

—Beth Walker

Gathering of police on Lincoln was false alarm

Passersby on Lincoln Avenue on the morning of Feb. 3 may have wondered why three police officers stood outside Willow Glen Custom Jeweler talking to an employee, when the store was supposed to be out of business.

San Jose Police Sgt. Steve Dixon said a robbery alarm call came to the San Jose Police Department from the store at 9:31 a.m. When the officers arrived, they spoke with an employee, who explained it was a false alarm.

Dixon said false alarms are not unusual. "They may have pushed the button accidentally," he said.

The store's windows are papered over and its answering machine says it is officially out of business, but employees "remain to do repair and custom work." It also says the owner Terri Brooks has future plans for another jewelry store in Willow Glen.

—Beth Walker

County is awarded $2 million grant for trail

At a time when San Jose's city budget deficit requires cuts in parks and recreation services, the county stepped in to provide $2 million for the creation of the Willow Glen Spur Trail.

County Parks Commissioner and Willow Glen resident Larry Ames approached District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager and Santa Clara County District 2 Supervisor Blanca Alvarado to request the grant.

"This is an exciting opportunity for the county to partner with the city of San Jose to provide an urban trail in an area that is park- and trails-deficient," Alvarado said.

Under Alvarado's leadership, the county supervisors board approved the grant in December 2003. The county is waiting for the city to sign off for the funds before it disburses the $2 million for the trail's development.

The city is still negotiating the purchase of the Willow Glen Spur Trail along the abandoned railroad lines that cross Coe Avenue, Willow Street and Minnesota Avenue.

"I think it's fantastic," Ames said. "The center of San Jose is lacking parks, so when the opportunity arose we all jumped on it. Blanca deserves a lot of credit."

The Willow Glen Spur Trail will tie the Los Gatos Creek, Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek trails together.

—Beth Walker

Daily walks may be the secret to reaching 100

Not many people live to be 100 or to see 12 great-great-grandchildren. But Willow Glen resident Josephine "Jay" Squglio accomplished both.

Squglio celebrated her centennial on Feb. 4 with her daughter Helen Tarmina and her neighbors. A family reunion with 125 relatives is planned for September with her four children, 12 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren.

"Everybody's been so good to me," Squglio said about her neighbors' throwing her a party and the birthday cards from her descendants. She even received a congratulatory note from First Lady Laura Bush.

Squglio has lived in Willow Glen with her daughter Helen Tarmina for six years.

"She walks every day," Tarmina said. "Everybody in the world tells her she doesn't look old."

Squglio is the oldest of 11 children born in Niagara Falls, N.Y., with only two surviving. Her mother was a mail-order bride at 15 years old. Squglio's parents owned a five-floor apartment house and a grocery store, so Squglio raised her 10 brothers and sisters.

She married Sam Squglio in 1920 at age 16 and had four children by the time she was 21, including a set of twins.

When she visited four of her brothers in California in 1944, she liked the mild winter so much that her family decided to relocate to the Santa Clara Valley.

Widowed at 56 years old, she began working at a dress shop in Willow Glen and continued until she was 79 years old, when she retired.

Her daughter sums it all up in one simple sentence:

"She has good genes," Tarmina said.

—Beth Walker

Green thumbs sprout at the senior center

For Willow Glen residents seeking spring gardening tips, help is on the way.

"Grow it Yourself," a gardening class offered every Monday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Willows Senior Center, is available for gardening beginners, experts and everyone in between. Local green thumbs are taught the art of organic gardening methods.

The $10 class allows students to explore a variety of gardening topics, including outdoor plots, containers, vegetables, herbs, fruits and composting—all emphasizing organic methods. Students will grow a class plot, and the produce grown in their garden will be sampled and cooked with during the class.

For more information on the "Grow it Yourself" gardening class, visit www.metroed.net or call 408.448.6400. The Willows Senior Center is located at 2175 Lincoln Ave.

—Amy Wicks