Also lucky in that same vein, beach volleyball back-to-back gold medal winners Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh … 108 matches without a loss, mentally rock-solid in crunch time when the set's on the line, able to essentially disregard the driving rain in the gold-medal match against the hometown Chinese team … amazing. You knew they were lucky when Walsh lost her wedding ring on the court during the match against Japan and then it was found amidst that 17,000 tons of sand by work crews later. Watching their teamwork and focus in tight match after tight match put a whole new perspective on beach volleyball.

Sporting a big smile, the "Ghost" (at least I think it was him it's pretty hard to spot a ghost) went for a steep run behind the hills at Gavilan College this week, and as Gilroy's second most famous athlete passed by I wondered if he might be in the Olympic boxing competition someday. I'm not sure how that all works, but I believe Robert Guerrero would be a fine representative for Gilroy and the United States of America.

By the way, Gavilan's main Gilroy campus, after years of slow deterioration, is looking quite spiffy these days. The setting has always been spectacular, tucked into the hills in south Gilroy with a creek running along the backside of campus and beautiful trees keeping everything cool and calm. Now, some of the bond money from Measure E passed by voters in 2004 - $108 million - is being put to good use. Seemingly the whole campus is undergoing a facelift - even the parking lots look great! There's a dock, however, by the pond in front of the quaint Vermont-esque chapel that needs fixing. It's falling down, and it would be a shame to just let it go since it's been the setting for many a beautiful post-wedding picture.

Speaking of sprucing up property, one friend of the paper has a good idea. "With all of the home foreclosures in Gilroy and the general economic strain, it's nice to see that some people are still maintaining their homes and front yards. Here's my idea: call it a "thank you" to homeowners from The Dispatch who despite hard times, are maintaining their homes in a nice fashion with the title "Best on the Block," writes James Fennell. Love the idea. Nominations please. If you have a deserving neighbor, shoot an e-mail to editor@garlic.com with an address and we'll publish a photo on page A2 with a pat on the back.

And since we're giving out pats on the back, I have two that I believe are and will be of great significance to our community in the long run, though I feel obligated to preface this with a disclaimer that's probably not necessary - I'm not one to fawn over either elected or appointed public officials. That said, I believe Chief of Police Denise Turner and Gilroy School Superintendent Debbie Flores are exceptional hires and dynamic leaders. They share some rare qualities. Neither likes to sugarcoat reality, they are good communicators, they have the ability to assess and deliver a game plan and they both honestly care about results. Good news ahead …

And actually, good news now. Overall, GUSD test scores are on a five-year upward trend. Interestingly, the only flat-line scores are for juniors at Gilroy High. Also interestingly, Gilroy students are doing better in math than in English. Check out Superintendent Flores' powerpoint slide presentation to teachers and staff that we've posted on our Web site. It's encouraging, pulls no punches and delivers a powerful message about success in education.

On that educational note, I appreciated hearing Jim Rogers heartily congratulate candidate Mark Good, a former-former - Gilroy police officer and GUSD trustee - for joining the race. Four candidates for three seats beats the heck out of only three which would make it no race at all.

Surely it's a race to get the new studio fixed up before classes start on Sept. 2, but I'm not sure about all the details for Yoga Bella which will be located at the piazza … Yoga Bella at the piazza … just sounds right, doesn't it? Anyway the piazza is at the corner of First and Santa Teresa (where Westside Grill is located) and it's a lovely center, large but not overbearing … and the cost to build it? Well, let's just say it's too bad the folks who ran the piazza construction project didn't run the Gilroy Police Department building project.

Building a better Gilroy, a whole bunch of electrical wizards who volunteered to get the barn where the DreamPower Horsemanship program is located in shape. The program enlists horsemanship as a vehicle

for therapy and gaining confidence. Martha McNiel, Director of Dreampower, really appreciated

the kindness and I hereby nominate Joe Giacalone for the Chamber's Good Egg award for organizing the volunteers.

Mark Derry Mark Derry is the executive editor of the Gilroy Dispatch. Reach him at (408)847-7010 or editor@garlic.com.