The book is titled Life is short, full of trouble, and a waste of time! Unless …

Wiley says the whole idea of this little book (only 70 pages) is for the reader to come to grips with the fact that life really is short and that the world really is in a big mess without much hope. . . unless. So he asks the question, “Why are we here and what happens when we die?” Part 1 presents his thoughts regarding the world and humanity, and Part 2 explores the “unless” which provides hope for both the present and future life.

Barbara Christa, educator and public speaker said, “This book has challenged me to think beyond the humdrum of life and has led me to explore the ‘Th-ifs’ and the ‘Unless’ that have blown open the doors of my thinking! It is very well written, an easy read, and is extremely thought-provoking with a fresh approach at putting things (life/death/time/eternity) in perspective. I give it my highest recommendation!”

Just a few months after graduation, Chuck joined the US Air Force and served four years. After that he started his college education at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, then finished with a BA degree in Sociology/Criminal Justice at The University of Texas in Arlington, Texas. He has served as both a juvenile and an adult probation officer; operated an emergency shelter for children for CPS; was director of a facility for the homeless; has been a teen court coordinator; started and operated a facility for developmentally challenged adults; worked with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Fort Worth, Texas; and taught in public schools. He has also written technical manuals describing how to operate and repair fighter jets, helicopters and postal equipment.

In addition to the book, which is available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, he has written parenting material for parents and character development material for kids that has been used by thousands in social service agencies, schools and the courts in Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. Feel free to contact Chuck by email at cwiley@kitcareserv.com or by phone (817)479-6321 (it’s a land line).

A gathering held in Bardsdale in 1890. The crowd is looking across the Santa Clara River towards Fillmore.
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Willow Grove School.
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[Story & photos courtesy Fillmore Historical Museum]

Mrs. George King, known as Hattie, was born Harriett Busick in El Dorado, California, the daughter of a pony express rider. She came to Bardsdale at age 12 to live with her aunt, Mrs. S. A. Guiberson. She married George King, who was property agent for Thomas Bard, in 1896. Together they had two daughters, Ona and Agnes.

Mrs. King had many interests but two were the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (when she registered to vote it was as a member of the Temperance Party while her husband was a registered Republican), and education. She financed the construction of building that was used for the first high school in Fillmore while the permanent building was completed.

This is an excerpt from a History of Bardsdale Mrs. King wrote in either 1915 or 1922.

An Excerpt from The History of Bardsdale By Hattie Virginia King (1915)
. . .In these early days of Ventura County, before Bardsdale had a name, there were trials, seen and unseen, to endure. The county was infested with thieves and outlaws, and the settlers had to watch their stock, especially their horses, night and day or they were driven away. The settlers finally had a meeting and decided upon a plan to catch these thieves. The decided each one would watch and shoot the first man they caught driving away stock. The men patiently watched their stock, while women and children bared [sic] the doors and also watched, in daytime, with loaded guns. The time came. One man was shot and killed, several wounded and the horse thieves quit coming. Then the settlers had another trial when, as they supposed they were settled on government land, they were driven off by the Spanish grant owners -- period. Many of them went away. But a few stayed and fought it out in the courts and got their land. It was proved the grant owners were claiming twice as much land as really belonged to them. The troubles over water, and troubles went on until that terrible crime was committed the murder of Tom More, the grant owner, 1877.
After the death of Tom More, his sons, the More brothers, farmed the land that is now the Bardsdale tract. Wheat and barley were raised. The Bardsdale land was assessed in 1876 at $9.00 per acre. It was not until January, 1887, that the Bardsdale tract was opened for settlement. After the death of More, Thomas R. Bard bought the land of the More heirs, held it several years, then sold 15,000 [acres] to R. G. Surdam, who divided the land into small tracts and began to colonize. This was in January, 1887, just 35 [years] last January. The only buildings now standing in the Bardsdale community that were standing when Bardsdale was opened for settlement are the houses of John Burson, the first home of the writer, the home of Mr. Lou Henry, the second home of the writer, and the two houses on the More place where Tom More was shot. ...
The first and second year of Bardsdale's life, things was [sic] lively. Mr. R. G. Surdam did everything in his power to advertise the place, and when the railroad was finished through the valley he bought a large bus that would seat 18 persons comfortably and hired a driver and met each train. For awhile, he had the local [train] to Santa Barbara stop two hours in the morning, when he would take as many as his bus would hold on the drive, first to Mr. G. W. Edward's, where the only orange orchard was located, inviting them to partake of all the oranges they could eat, then to the Bardsdale town site [where] with the assistance of his map [he] would point out the principle business houses, churches and school house. He also had a collection of news which passed away the time in showing the tourists. If anyone wanted to stay over and investigate, all arrangements were made with an entertaining housewife to entertain them. Strange to say, many people came and the place was settled quickly. But there were many changes. Some came only staying a few months, others a year or two, and going nearer the city. For some time the Bardsdale bus met the train, and it was the delight of the young people of the county to take that ride as well as the tourists. The bus was around Bardsdale for a number of years, and the young people often took party rides in it.
Mr. R. G. Surdam was a very kind-hearted and liberal man. He gave away nearly all he made and all the children and young people were his friends. The first Christmas after Bardsdale was open, the Christmas tree and exercises were held in the Willow Grove school house, and Mr. Surdam gave everyone present a nice Christmas gift. It was estimated that he spent $500 on Xmas presents. The boys he gave drums and horns, and the young men pocket knives, the little girls dolls, the big girls scrap book and autograph albums, and the ladies woolen dresses. Everyone, of course, had a joyous Christmas. Mr. Surdam loaded the tree with candy and everything good and acted as Santa Claus. So after that, the children called him Santa, and it pleased him. There was nothing too good for the children, and as long as he had money he used it freely. . .

Interface Children & Family Services' 211 has teamed up with Fillmore Unified School District and MORRIS CHEVROLET to get school lunches to kids in need. Many schools have continued offering school lunches for students who have qualified for free or reduced lunches, but some families haven't had the means to get their children to the free lunch sites every day.

Interface reached out to a popular food delivery service to ask if they would help provide free school lunch delivery to the students from Fillmore Unified School District. The delivery service agreed, but shortly after realized that there aren't drivers for delivery in the Fillmore area, leaving many at risk children even more vulnerable to food scarcity. Interface's 211 Assistant Director, Angela Barosso said, "We thought it was such a worthy program, we didn't want to tell Fillmore we couldn't do it, so we decided to do it ourselves while still trying to find help from other agencies."

Until a reliable food delivery solution could be identified, three of 211's Specialists volunteered to start delivering a week's supply of lunches to eligible children and families. The volunteers delivered for two weeks in a row but continuing to deliver these door to door lunches would require a new partnership and collaboration between caring community entities.

Interface's 211 Director, Kelly Brown, reached out to former Fillmore Mayor and Interface board member Manny Minjares, who connected 211 with Bill H. Morris of MORRIS CHEVROLET who quickly responded to the call for assistance. Morris recruited 3 volunteer drivers who used the MORRIS CHEVROLET vans to pick up 100 bags for 54 families over the last two weeks. In addition to this service, Morris has been providing medical appointment and other transportation needs, exposing a stark reality of lack of transportation services available to vulnerable populations across our communities, particularly in rural areas.

Jason Corona, the Director of Child Nutrition Services at Fillmore Unified said, "Our Child Nutrition Services staff have really been amazing in all this to prepare 2000 meals bags in a few hours with the support from the Superintendent Dr. Palazuelos. Our families have really appreciated the help 211 and MORRIS CHEVROLET has been providing." The school lunch services will continue through the end of July, and MORRIS CHEVROLET said they are happy to help as long as they can. 211 is proud to partner with the Fillmore Unified School District and MORRIS CHEVROLET to create innovative solutions during these challenging times.

About Interface Children & Family Services
Interface is Ventura County's leading nonprofit social services agency, providing free, proven, and responsive services to address the complex physical and emotional needs of 59,000 local clients every year. Its 30 programs utilize 10 evidence-based practices to serve children, teens, adults and families who are typically low-income and struggling with poverty, domestic violence, human trafficking, homelessness, incarceration, child abuse, neglect and abandonment. Interface also connects 150,000 clients per year to a vast network of health and human services in 21 counties through its 2-1-1 Information and Assistance program.

Interface's core program areas are: Mental Health and Trauma Treatment, Domestic Violence Intervention and Child Abuse Prevention, Youth Crisis and Homeless Services, Human Trafficking Intervention, Reentry Services, Early Child and Family Development, and 2-1-1 Information and Assistance. The agency has pioneered several programs including launching California's first 2-1-1 call center, initiating Ventura County's Pay for Success Program, and was one of the first agencies in the state to open a domestic violence shelter. Interface opened the only human trafficking shelter for adults and is the only state funded provider of child abuse treatment in the region. The agency operates out of five locations including Camarillo, Moorpark, Oxnard, Santa Paula and Thousand Oaks, and will be providing early education and parent support at an additional 13 First 5 Neighborhoods for Learning Powered by Interface sites.

This important work is sustained through donations and grants from individuals and organizations, as well as by the work of dedicated volunteers and staff. For more information please contact Interface Children & Family Services at 4001 Mission Oaks Blvd, Suite I, Camarillo, CA 93012 by telephone at 805.485.6114 or visit www.icfs.org.

Courtesy Fillmore Rotary Club
During their zoom meeting the Rotary Club of Fillmore’s Scholarship Committee made up of Scott Beylik, Andy Klittich, Dick Richardson, Barbara Filkins and Garo Kuredjian presented Rotary Scholarships to Sierra High School Seniors Liliana Felix, Paige McKeown and Alina Barrera.

They also presented Rotary Scholarships to Fillmore High School Seniors Ariana Ocegueda, Erin Overton, Isabella Palazuelos, Anahi Andrade and Jared Schieferle. And announced the recipient of the Rigo Landeros Service Above Self Scholarship to Isabella Palazuelos and the “Don and Ruthie Gunderson Scholarship to Erin Overton.

The Interact Club, of Fillmore High School participated in the Rotary 4-Way Test Essay Contest and the winner’s essay was sent on to the Rotary District contest. Cindy Blatt announced the First Place winner of both contests, Isabella Palazuelos!

What occurred in Minneapolis was deeply troubling, and, along with the rest of the world, we found it difficult to watch. We condemn police brutality and will not tolerate racism. Today we are here to tell you we stand with those who seek change so that every person of color is treated with dignity and respect. In order to truly have “liberty and justice for all” we must work together to eliminate racism and all forms of discrimination from our society. We also hurt and have feelings of anger, frustration, and disgust that the actions of a few impact the work of so many dedicated and hardworking peace officers in this Country.

This week we heard chants from some regarding all the “Racist Cops” and saw signs proclaiming, “All Cops are Bastards.” For years we have worked to connect with our communities and listened to their concerns. We have strived to demonstrate that law enforcement officers are human beings with families who deeply care about their communities. Now we find ourselves painted by some with a broad brush that makes it appear there is a face of hate on every peace officer. We are heartsick because we join the world in wanting a better place to live for everyone. We recognize the way to accomplish this goal is through unity and solidarity. We must come together as a community; we must listen, we must learn, and we must grow together. At VCDSA, we find racial discrimination abhorrent and we hope you will work with us to ensure that the practices and policies of peace officers reflect this. We are proud to work for departments who previously established policy and training to improve de-escalation practices. Here in Ventura County, we feel grateful and fortunate to have the support of our community. We have a community that understands funding public safety is critical to keeping our community strong and safe. We are blessed to live and work in this place that has consistently been ranked as some of the safest communities in the Country.

We live in a cancel culture world and defunding the police has become a trending topic as a proposed cure for racism. Defunding police is becoming a popular cry to correct tragic mistakes similar to those in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, the effect would be contrary to the objective because defunding the police will punish innocent peace officers and make Ventura County or any jurisdiction less safe for citizens and visitors. Looking at policy and making changes that may need to be changed, training officers in diversity and culture, and most importantly, hiring the best of the best to do a difficult job, all cost money.

A jurisdiction that does not spend money on public safety will hire officers who need to work second jobs to make ends meet, as was the case in Minneapolis. To defund the police will create communities that are neither strong nor safe, and we fear will eventually result in the anarchy and chaos that we witnessed with the violent riots and looting of past weeks.

“We urge you to reject the approach of defunding police as one that is dangerous to the way of life we enjoy in this County,” VCDSA President Nick Odenath says. “In Minneapolis, officers are poorly compensated, and a review of their department policies reflects a mindset that is stuck in a different time and not consistent with 21st Century Policing. We need to assist all departments in making sure they are brought into this era of policing but not take actions that will destroy those departments that have progressed to modern policing practices. It is our hope you will join us in this call for reason and sanity and work for genuine change in those systems that do not work.”

About Ventura County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association
Founded in 1959, the Ventura County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association (VCDSA) represents the deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and Investigators from the Ventura County District Attorney Bureau of Investigations.

In an effort to make unincorporated streets safer, Ventura County Public Works Agency (VCPWA) and Southern California Edison (SCE) are working together to begin work on May 26 to replace existing high pressure sodium vapor fixtures with energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights.

The project, which will take 3-4 weeks to complete, will upgrade 2,400 street light fixtures with new LED lights that have a Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) of 3000K, which exudes a warm white hue that is safer for both people and wildlife.

“SCE is excited to be implementing new LED streetlights in Ventura County that will save energy and cost, and provide improved lighting conditions for residents, drivers, and pedestrians, said Rudy Gonzales, Government Relations Manager at Southern California Edison. “The new lights provide for better vision and safety while still helping to maintain a dark sky environment.”

In addition, the LED lights are much longer lasting and will save in energy and cost while also minimizing light pollution. They are Dark Sky Compliant, which means they direct more light to the ground than the sky.

“Innovation is the watchword of our Ventura County Public Works Agency, as coordination and collaborations such as this with SCE, work together,” said Jeff Pratt, Director of VCPWA. “In this case, by ensuring our unincorporated areas of Ventura County have LED lights that are safer for both people and wildlife, and to minimize light pollution.”

While Ventura County Public Works Agency’s (VCPWA) most exciting and educational event of the year, Public Works Day, is no longer able to conduct in-person tours, students and the community can look forward to an interactive virtual tour and activities right at their fingertips.

VCPWA will be providing a virtual tour of its favorite experiences, demonstrations, and materials to be utilized as an educational or social connection piece for students to learn more about the latest innovations in technology, careers, and science at VCPWA while also making it available to the whole community.

The theme of this year’s event, “Embracing Change – A Better Way, Every Day” exemplifies the ability of VCPWA to adapt and grow while maintaining our mission and vision for the community. This year’s event going virtual is just another example how we are all embracing change and making our work better each step of the way.

Students, faculty and the community can look forward to the following highlights during the virtual tour including but not limited to:

Composting and food waste recycling with worms

A day in the life of a Hydrologist

Behind the Scenes of the Moorpark Wastewater Treatment Plant

Topography-how the lay of the land influences the direction that rainwater flows to the ocean and to underground aquifers

Pervious Concrete; demonstration of a type of pavement that is porous enough to filter storm water, capture pollutants, reduce flooding and runoff to the ocean and re-charge underground aquifers with much needed water.

Demonstration of technologies that are put to work within PWA

Debris removal from a road

Road repair after a storm

Information on our public transit in our community

Drone video and how it is used by VCPWA

Kits to make your own street signs

Public Works careers

“We are so excited for the opportunity to create a virtual platform for our favorite event of the year. We understand that times are tough right now, so we thought what better way to re-inspire the students, that are currently learning remotely, than to share our innovations with them virtually,” says Jeff Pratt, Director of the VCPWA.

VCPWA’s National Public Works Week (NPWW) was first launched in 2012 and has grown exponentially over the years from 125 students to over 1,000 students. The Agency hopes to have an even bigger audience with the added virtual feature to engage students throughout the county as they adapt to an ever-changing learning environment.

The entire community is invited to join the VCPWA Public Works Day virtual education tour which will be shared through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn via a link on the VCPWA webpage https://www.vcpublicworks.org/npww.