Published in the August 16 – August 29 2017 issue of Morgan Hill Life

Photo courtesy Mark Cummins * John Manning talks to Rick Bottomley sometime in the early ‘80s.

The former colleagues, student-athletes and community members who were positively impacted by John Manning proposed naming the training room at Live Oak High School in honor of legendary athletic trainer John Manning as the “John Manning Training Room.” The Morgan Hill Unified School District board of trustees unanimously voted in favor of this honor at a recent meeting.

Manning started his employment with the Morgan Hill Unified School District at Live Oak High School in 1969. He taught biology, anatomy, physiology, ecology and sports medicine. Before coming to Morgan Hill, he was the head athletic trainer at Cal State Sacramento, and from there he developed a sports medicine program for Santa Clara ROP. Once in Morgan Hill, he opened a training room at Live Oak High School and worked to find funding through the ROP program. In 1975, he became a certified athletic trainer and created a sports medicine clinic — the first of its kind for high schools in California.

Manning also coached football, track and baseball, as well as pioneering sports medicine as a high school curriculum in California. Before retiring in 1998, he touched the lives of thousands of Acorn students and many in the larger Morgan Hill community. John Manning put the meaning behind the term “Mighty Acorn” and was inducted into the Live Oak Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. John passed away in 2011, and a John Manning ASB Memorial Scholarship has been established to help a science or athletics student.

The naming ceremony will be held at Live Oak Oct. 13; tentative time is 5:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. The Manning family will be in attendance. Hopefully, future Acorn student-athletes will appreciate the leadership example their former coach gave Live Oak and attend the ceremony.

Poet Laureate Arlene Biala

Have a hankering for haiku? Gotta lotta love for alliteration? Takin’ some time for a rockin’ rhyme? Then you might want to apply and try for the job of Santa Clara County Poet Laureate.

The County of Santa Clara and Santa Clara County Library District is partnering with nonprofit SVCREATES to select the 2018-2019 Santa Clara County Poet Laureate. In this honorary post, the selected artist will work to elevate the power of poetry among residents and to help celebrate the literary arts. The application deadline is 5 p.m. Sept. 29.

The county’s four poets laureate who have served so far are Nils Peterson (2009-2011), Sally Ashton (2011-2013), David Perez (2014-2015) and Arlene Biala (2016-2017).

The poet laureate serves as an ambassador for poetry and literary activities to the Santa Clara County Library District. The individual represents Santa Clara County through outreach related to poetry, conducts presentations of appropriate works at selected county-sponsored events, as well as at activities to celebrate poetry schools.

The recommended poet laureate will be announced at a meeting of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in January.
For more information, contact SVCREATES at [email protected] or call (408) 998-2787 ext. 204.

So pump up your iambic pentameter and tap into your inner Bard to see if you might be a poet and don’t know it.

The Great American Eclipse the morning of Monday Aug. 21 will amaze many across the nation as the moon passes in front of the sun, creating a spectacular celestial shadow crossing Earth for a couple of minutes. Morgan Hill will be too far south from the total impact, but we’ll get a 60 percent partial eclipse that will awe and wow people who take time to step outside and experience it — think eye safety, please, and put on a pair of good quality solar eclipse glasses.

To fully appreciate the eclipse, the Morgan Hill Library will have a special talk by NASA scientist Elizabeth Keller called “NASA Presents: A Once in a Lifetime Event.” This science-focused talk appropriate for all age will take place in the library’s program room 3 p.m. Saturday Aug. 19.

Keller will explain what causes an eclipse, why the one this month is so special, and how to view it safely, followed by a glow-in-the-dark eclipse party.