The San Jose Unified School District and the city of San Jose negotiated the trade of two streets, Blue Jay Drive and 20th Street, on Sept. 1.

The district owned 20th Street and the city owned Blue Jay Drive. However, the school district was using Blue Jay Drive and city wants to use a portion of 20th Street to construct a community center. The easiest solution was to switch property ownership to avoid legal complications.

"It was a formality to make things right," district facilities and property consultant Sonja Shurr said.

Blue Jay Drive, owned by the city, has Canoas Elementary School modules on the street. The city is not using the street so the district wants to make it part of its property, Shurr said.

Earlier this year, the district sold the former Roosevelt Middle School property to the city but did not sell the street, Shurr said. "We sold them the property but the street didn't get transferred."

Marie Callender's
may bake at PW

The closure of the Marie Callender's Restaurant on the corner of Foxworthy and Meridian avenues left the community without its signature pies, but owner Ron Garald said he's looking for alternatives to stay in the area.

Although Garald has not found a new location for the restaurant, he met with PW Supermarket chief operating officer Mike Stigers on Sept. 2 to discuss the possibility of a partnership between the two companies.

"The topic we are discussing is having Marie Callender's fresh pies sold from the PW Supermarket's location," Garald said.

Garald said there would be a baker onsite at the market to bake the famous pies from scratch daily.

"It would be the same as it has been for over 35 years," Garald said. "The only thing that would be different is the location."

Garald said Stigers is receptive to the idea and would like this to work. The next step is a proposal by Garald and Stigers to PW's corporate staff.

Volunteers needed to help relief effort

The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross has scheduled five sessions a week to train new disaster volunteers from now through October. These "boot camp" sessions are one-day, nine-hour courses that will be held every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, along with Tuesday and Thursday nights. There will also be special training sessions for nurses and licensed social workers.

A full day of training is required at chapter headquarters at 2731 N. First St.

Volunteers should expect difficult working conditions. There will be no air conditioning or power. Fresh food may not be available, and military rations will be common. The weather will be hot and access to medical care limited.

Message in a bottle is
designed to save lives

Medical information in little orange bottles has been saving lives since 2000.

The "Vial of L.I.F.E." or Lifesaving Information for Emergencies program provides emergency responders with a quick and uniform way to check for special medical conditions. This is a free service offered by the San Jose Fire Department.

The Vial of L.I.F.E. program provides small kits to participants. These kits contain a medical information sheet, a plastic bottle and a magnet. Participants complete the medical information sheet and places it inside the orange vial, which they place inside their refrigerator. The Vial of L.I.F.E. magnet is placed on the outside of the refrigerator as an signal to paramedics.

The program has distributed between 4,000 to 5,000 vials each year since the program was started.

The program recently ran out of funding, but San Jose Councilwoman Linda LeZotte's office donated $10,000. This enabled the fire department to purchase 10,000 vials, accompanying magnets and information sheets. The packet were put together by more than 100 volunteers.

"We can't anticipate emergencies, but we can minimize the damage they cause by being prepared for them," LeZotte said.

The five-year program has been deemed a success by the San Jose Fire Department. It has become a familiar sight in residents' homes and for emergency medical staff.

Vial of L.I.F.E. kits can be picked up at any of San Jose's 31 fire stations. For more information about the program call 408.277.4444.

Happy Hollow train
back on right track

The process to conserve and restore the Happy Hollow Express by the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation has begun.

The corporation has accepted the proposal that was brought to them by chairman Rod Diridon.

"The CTROC is interested in assuming responsibility of the train and is now waiting on the city for descriptions of the property," Diridon said.

He said that the corporation would need to reroute the small train from its current location behind a chain-linked fence to the trolley barn for restoration.

Diridon said the San Jose wants to have the operating agreement through History San Jose, which the corporation has worked with in the past.

"We need a legal description of what the train is," Diridon said. "Then we will proceed."

He hopes the process will be done soon but does not see it completed before the rainy season.

"We are just hopeful that we can proceed in the future," he said.

The Happy Hollow Corp. was considering selling the small train because it would cost too much to restore.

Willow Glen resident Alex Marinshaw sent an email about the possibility to local blogger David Keller, who writes the Willow Glen Extra. Keller forwarded the email to Diridon.

"We have received an outpouring of ready volunteers since then," Diridon said.