Dentist Comes Full Circle

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News Leader of the Pajaro Valley
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014 — 146th Year — No. 114
Homelessness increases, crime rate decreases
Community Assessment Project released Monday
By TODD GUILD
OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
— Santa Cruz County’s homeless population climbed significantly in 2013, with 3,536
counted during a biennial survey. That number was up 765
from 2011.
The announcement came
Monday during the release of
the annual Community Assessment Project, also known as the
CAP report.
Hundreds of community
members gathered in the Samper Recital Hall and Music
Building to hear the release of
the report.
Meanwhile, the county’s unemployment rate dropped from
9.5 percent to 6.8 percent. That
trend mirrors improvement to
the employment picture statewide and nationwide since 2010.
Santa Cruz County experienced a drop in the overall
crime rate, from 36.9 incidents
per 1,000 residents in 2012 to
34.3 incidents.
The survey, which focused
on the year 2013 and compared
it to previous years, gives a
snapshot of community perception of a wide range of
topics. It is often used to help
government officials and social
services workers determine
where to focus their efforts.
It is spearheaded by United Way of Santa Cruz County
and conducted by Applied
Survey Research, whose researchers interviewed more
than 700 people throughout
the county to get representative samples.
Economy
The numbers of white people
who said they felt more financially secure rose this year by
three percent, while those numbers in the Latino community
showed a three percent decline.
More people said they felt
they had job opportunities in
Santa Cruz County.
Education
graduated in 2013 than the year
before, rising 3.8 percent to 88.6
percent. That shows a trend of
rising rates in school districts
throughout the county.
More significantly, more
people say they are satisfied
with the education system in
both north and south counties,
which PVUSD superintendent
Dorma Baker said could add up
to more parent participation.
More Pajaro Valley Unified School District students
HOLIDAY PREPARATION
See CAP, page A10
C ounty
Train to
Christmas
Town begins
Friday
By TARMO HANNULA
OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
WATSONVILLE — The annual
Train to Christmas Town returns this
year to Santa Cruz County offering
one-hour holiday train excursions.
With the family oriented ride on the
rails, based on the book of the same
title, Train to Christmas Town gives
everyone in the family an opportunity
to delve into the tale of Janice, a little
girl who looks forward to riding the
Train to Christmas Town every year
with her brother and Grandmother.
This year is a little different though,
as readers of the story already know.
Accompanied by a bag full of surprises,
woodland friends and elves, Janice relives happy memories as she rides the
train to Christmas Town once again.
The conductor will welcome riders
and punch their tickets before they are
seated in the cars. Meet Bumblebee the
Polar Bear, Wabash the Squirrel, even
Zephyr the depot cat and laugh along
with elves while they’re busy serving
cookies and cocoa, and leading guests
in singing Christmas carols. Upon arTarmo Hannula/Register-Pajaronian
In
step with holiday tradition
Nick Gil, a bagging clerk at Nob Hill Foods, helps Jo Saucedo to her car with a load of Thanksgiving holiday groceries Monday on Main Street.
Ferguson grand jury does not indict officer
Missouri Gov. Nixon
urged for peaceful
protest
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FERGUSON, Mo. — A grand
jury has decided not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson
in the death of Michael Brown, the
unarmed, black 18-year-old whose
fatal shooting sparked weeks of
sometimes-violent protests.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch announced
the decision Monday evening. A
grand jury of nine whites and three
blacks had been meeting weekly
since Aug. 20 to consider evidence.
At least nine votes would have
been required to indict Wilson.
The Justice Department is conducting an investigation into possible civil rights violations that could
result in federal charges.
Brown’s Aug. 9 death sparked
more than a week of unrest that
included angry clashes between po-
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Associated Press
Barbara Jones, joined by other protesters, raises her hands, Monday, in
Ferguson, Mo., more than three months after an unarmed black 18-yearold man was shot and killed there by a white policeman.
lice and protesters and led Missouri
Gov. Jay Nixon to briefly summon
the National Guard.
In a brief email to reporters, a
spokesman for St. Louis County’s
top prosecutor said the decision
would be announced Monday evening at the downtown courthouse in
the St. Louis County seat of Clayton.
He offered no other details.
See FERGUSON, page A9
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As the nation awaited the announcement, authorities quickly
stepped up security around the
courthouse. Barricades were erected, and more than 20 Missouri state
troopers were seen silently assembling with rifles, 3-foot batons, riot
shields and other equipment. Some
nearby businesses boarded up their
windows, just as many shops have
already done near the site of Brown’s
death in Ferguson.
School and business closings
scrolled on local television as if
there were a snowstorm.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon urged
people to remain peaceful as he appeared at a news conference with
the state’s public safety director
and the leaders of St. Louis city and
county.
“Our shared hope and expectation is that regardless of the decision, people on all sides show tolerance, mutual respect and restraint,”
Nixon said.
The governor said he did not
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Weather
Sunny
Tonight mostly clear
Wednesday sunny
Tonight’s low: 48
Wednesday’s high: 74
Details on page A10.
See TRAIN, page A10
H ealth
Dentist comes
full-circle
Once in need of
low-cost dental care,
he now provides it
By TODD GUILD
OF THE REGISTER-PAJARONIAN
SANTA CRUZ — When Samuel
Kuo was a young boy growing up
in Santa Cruz in the early 2000s, he
needed the low-cost dental services
provided by Dientes Community Dental Care.
That’s when he had public insurance that other dental offices would
not accept.
He graduated from Harbor High
School and went to college with a
mission. That mission was completed
when he finished his residency and
became a dentist. When he joined the
Dientes staff in September as a staff
dentist, this circle was complete.
“I’m so glad that Dientes was there
for us,” he said. “It is what drives me
to be there for my patients.”
Kuo said he always planned on
See DENTIST, page A10
Page A10 — REGISTER-PAJARONIAN, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014
CAP
From page A1
This is important as it can
add up to more parent participation, she said.
“We were glad to see the
overall satisfaction among the
schools,” she said.
Health
Courtesy of Dientes Community Dental Care
Dr. Samuel Kuo in the Dientes clinic.
DENTIST
From page A1
returning to his hometown.
He said that, left untreated,
dental problems can compound,
causing other medical problems.
“Many people don’t realize
how important dental care is,”
he said. “My parents always
stressed brushing our teeth
and regular cleanings as a way
to prevent expensive dental
problems. I was very thankful
that there was a place to us to
go when we had no other way
to see the dentist.”
Public Safety
Nick and Natalie Solari and
their daughter, Natlie, 2, of
Lodi, are among the first to
board the Train to Christmas
Town in Watsonville in 2013.
Tarmo Hannula/Register-Pajaronian file
TRAIN
From page A1
rival at Christmas Town, Santa
climbs on board and walks
There was little good news
in the health portion of the report, with no significant overall
change in the numbers of people
who have a regular source of
health care. However, that number jumped by 10 percent this
year in the Latino community.
Obesity rates and alcohol
use rose, while the numbers of
people who said their health
was good remained at 84 percent, virtually the same as last
year.
The numbers of children
entering childcare centers
who had all required vaccines
dropped dramatically, from 88
percent last year to 74 percent
this year.
That is a concern to Santa
Cruz County Health Officer Lisa
Hernandez.
“As health officer this is a
challenge to me, because this
is a way to reduce disease,” she
said.
through the cars greeting each
child.
The train rides, put on by
Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay
Railway, Friday through Sunday,
Dec. 3-7, Dec. 10-14, Dec. 16-23,
and Dec. 26-28. Prices range
from $22 to $50. Parking is $5. The train departs from the Watsonville Depot, 765 Ohlone
Parkway this Friday.
For the full schedule, visit
www.traintochristmastown.
com or call 888-978-5562.
In addition to a drop in the
county’s overall crime rate,
the daily jail population has
dropped, an indication the
county’s focus on alternatives
to incarceration is working,
said UC Santa Cruz professor
of psychology and legal studies
Craig Haney.
Such programs also helped
decrease the number of cases of
gang-related cases and arrests,
Haney said.
Juvenile arrests for felonies and misdemeanors also
dropped, with 27.4 arrests per
1,000 youth. That number is
down 7 percent from last year
and 39.5 percent since 2007.
“Community involvement
is the essence of the solution,”
Haney said.
Social Environment
While people across Santa
Cruz County said they had to go
Todd Guild/Register-Pajaronian
Gabriela Sanchez Ramirez announces the Community
Assessment Project Community Heroes for the social
environment.
without food, rent, utilities or
housing in 2013, those numbers
were more than double among
Latinos. More than 20 percent,
for example, said they had to
go without utilities, and nine
percent said they went without
food.
Community heroes
Perhaps the highlight of the
CAP project is the naming of the
people who have contributed to
each of the report’s categories.
Health
Silvia Austerlic, the Latino
Community Liaison at Hospice
of Santa Cruz County. Laura
Marcus, executive director of
Dientes Community Dental
Care. Guillermina Porraz, a
healthcare outreach worker
with Salud Para La Gente.
Natural Environment
Alan Schlenger, treasurer for
Santa Cruz County Community
Farmers Markets. A volunteer
leader, and has served on several
City and County environmental
commissions and on the Boards
of both Ecology Action. Charles
Kieffer has served as a volunteer
educator for Santa Cruz State
Parks, and has been deeply involved in the rebuilding of the
newly designated Castro Adobe
State Historic Park.
Economy
Brent Haddad is the Associate Dean of Engineering for
Technology Management at UC
Santa Cruz and Director of the
Center for Entrepreneurship.
Education
Carol Polhamus, instructor with the County Office of
Education Alternative Education Programs for more than 25
years. Larry Drury, Executive
Director of GOKIDS.
Public Safety
Nereida Robles and Fe Silva,
founded and operate the folkloric dance group Centeotl. Clotilde Sanchez, a resident volunteer
with the City of Watsonville who
works with the Neighborhood
Services Division, Neighborhood Accountability Board and
Watsonville Police Post Incident
Team to increase public safety.
Social Environment
Peter Connery and Maggie
McKay, members of the Project
Homeless Connect Steering
Committee. Maria Virgen, volunteer Nutrition Ambassador,
leader of the Second Harvest
Food Bank’s Passion for Produce program at Starlight
Elementary for more than six
years. Mary Masters is the director of Bridge of Hope; a local organization that connects
dedicated volunteers with
disabled residents of nursing
facilities.
•••
For information visit www.
appliedsurveyresearch.org.