A 34-year-old man was stabbed in the arm at a Jack-in-the-Box on the corner of Curtner and Canoas Garden avenues. The incident occurred on Aug. 25 at 11:39 p.m.

The victim was stopped in the drive-through lane and got into an argument about a woman with another individual. An officer driving by stopped to assist when the 34-year-old man was chased by the other individual, Sergio Martinez, 24. The officer caught Martinez and handcuffed him.

The victim refused medical treatment at the scene. Martinez, of San Jose, was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and was booked into the county jail. The weapon was not found.

Council OKs Almaden,
Curtner development

The San Jose City Council unanimously voted to allow 11 single family "patio homes" designed in a Victorian style on a 0.75-acre lot on Almaden Road near Curtner Avenue. The homes will be designed as two- and three-story structures. The completed project will contrast with the existing single-story homes in the area. The proposed units will be 43 feet tall.

This project has been in the planning stages for five years. The original application was for 19 single-family attached units and two single-family detached homes on a larger lot. The project was scaled back and revised.

Founder's Day will be separate celebration

The Founder's Day committee plans to coordinate with the Willow Glen High School Homecoming parade, carnival and crafts fair to combined events will not happen.

"Many people, including myself, would like to see a Willow Glen celebration weekend where Founder's Day and homecoming are celebrated together," committee chair Don Skipwith said. "The complication is that to have a successfully run event we must have it on the same weekend year-to-year."

The issue the committee faced was it needed Founder's Day to take place in September so it didn't conflict with San Jose's Rock & Roll Half-Mile Marathon scheduled for Oct. 8, 2006.

Although the school is receptive to the idea, the school board cannot schedule homecoming more than one year in advance.

Willow Glen High School athletic director Peggy Booth said. "But it's really difficult to plan such a large event like homecoming in such a short period of time, especially right after school is back in session."

The football schedule also affects when homecoming is scheduled each year, Booth said.

For now, Founder's Day will be planned separately from homecoming.

"We believe having our event the weekend of Sept. 23-24 is the best," Skipwith said. "That's what we will be driving for."

Local residents aid
in hurricane relief

Only a day after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, local volunteers reached out to help.

The Santa Clara Valley Red Cross pitched into the national effort to help people recover from the disaster that has reportedly killed thousands. The storm hit New Orleans on Aug. 29, flooding the city and affecting parts of Mississippi, Florida and Alabama.

The Red Cross sent a handful of volunteers to Houston and Miami to assist in relief efforts. Willow Glen resident Harry Hall and Campbell resident Ann Herosy were among the first to be deployed to Houston on Aug. 30.

Hall is a veteran volunteer who has worked in more than 50 disasters, including the 9-11 aftermath and the Loma Prieta earthquake. Hall will spend the next few weeks as a Red Cross training manager.

Herosy will be serving her second deployment in Houston at a sheltering association. Herosy previously worked in the 2004 Florida Hurricanes Relief Operation.

The volunteers will provide shelter, family support services and food. Those interested in joining Red Cross volunteers near the Gulf Coast for a two-to-three week assignment can call 408.577.1000.

Options considered
for medical center

The San Jose City Council voted on Aug. 30 to consider developing a plan for a downtown medical facility instead of negotiating with two nonprofit healthcare organizations that submitted proposals to use the downtown medical center. The health-care organization expressed interest in converting the San Jose Medical Center site into a clinic.

The downtown center closed in 2004 when owner HCA said it was losing money.

The Gardner Family Health Network, one of the nonprofits, indicated it wanted to relocate its St. James Health Center, 55 E. Julian St., to the San Jose Medical Center site. Cornerstone Affiliates said it wanted to build a senior living community that would offer retired individuals housing and health care, ranging from independent living support to nursing care.

Instead, District 3 Councilwoman Cindy Chavez recommended that the city study the feasibility of a comprehensive health facility that could some day be expanded into a full-service hospital on the site that would include room for a helipad.

However, a group called Save the San Jose Medical Center Coalition encouraged council members to fill the void created by the closure of the San Jose Medical Center.

"We need a downtown clinic now, preferably one that is 24 hours, seven days a week, and we need it by next year," community member Pearl Caldwell said. "Empty buildings make remodeling much easier."

Rosilyn Dean said it was imperative that the city reserve 5 acres for the clinic as soon as possible.

"We feel these 5 acres need to be paid for by the city. Make sure that land is absolutely secured before anything else happens," she said.

Others in the audience said it was more prudent to take the council's approach to wait and plan.

San Jose music and marathon planned

The city will host a Rock 'n' Roll Half- Marathon on Oct. 8, 2006, with live music at every mile. The event, put on by Elite Racing Inc., will also feature a two-day health and fitness expo at the San José McEnery Convention Center. Elite Racing also promises a national broadcast on Fox Sports Net and hopes to recruit elite runners.

This marathon will precede the Silicon Valley Marathon, which is scheduled three weeks later. However, city staff members say the two events will draw different groups of runners, because Silicon Valley Marathon is targeted at families.

San Jose District 1 Councilwoman Linda LeZotte asked city staff to make sure that both events are promoted together so that one doesn't detract from the other.

"They do complement one another," she said. "We want to make sure we keep up the exciting momentum."

Homecoming event
will be held Oct. 15

The Willow Glen Schools Community Coalition met Aug. 30 to finalize plans for this year's homecoming parade, carnival and craft fair.

The event will coincide with Willow Glen High School Homecoming on Oct. 15. However, the coalition decided it could not invite all the elementary schools to participate.

"We have decided to only invite the fifth-graders from the participating elementary schools," coalition member Andrea Wheeler said.

Because Lincoln Avenue will not be blocked off north of Willow Street, there will be limited space for the children to gather before the parade starts.

Wheeler said that if the parade is successful and additional funding becomes available, future plans could include the closure of Lincoln to Coe avenues. This would make it possible to invite more elementary schools and more community groups to participate in the parade next year.

Elementary schools participating in this year's event include Booksin, Schallenberger, Willow Glen, Canoas, Washington and Galarza elementary schools, Gardner Academy and Hacienda Environmental Science Magnet School.