Fillmore Senior Center
I am going to take this opportunity to clarify what appears to be misinformation regarding the Fillmore Senior Center and several letters to the editorthat have appeared in the Fillmore-Gazette.

• The City willcontinue to offer senior programs currently being provided and will be scheduling additional programs to meet the needs of our senior and non-senior residents. Staff will be meeting with various senior groups to see what programs they would like to see offered. In addition, staff has been and will continue to visit other Senior Centers in Ventura County to identify best practices and will bringing them to the Fillmore Senior Center.

• The City elected not to renew its lease with the Fillmore Senior Center Inc. (“FSCI”). The lease renewal was clearly described on the November 18, City Council agenda and the public had the chance to and did speak on the item. The City Council then met in closed session to discuss the price and terms for a new lease and use agreement with the FSCI. In that discussion, it was decided that the City could expand the use of the facility if the City declined to renew the lease and use agreement with the FSCI. Everything was incompliance with the Brown Act.

• The City is appreciative of everything that the FSCI has done and continues to do for the City’s senior residents. The City wishes to work with the FSCI during this transition period and in the future.
The Fillmore Senior Center is a multipurpose center dedicated to independence, dignity, and quality of life for our senior citizens and the community at large.

Downtown Parking – Central Avenue Business District
As a reminder to everyone there is a two hour parking limit along Central Avenue in the Downtown Business District. At the request of city council and several merchants, the Sheriff’s Department is focusing on parking compliance, and tickets are being issued. Everyone is asked to respect the two hour parking rule or risk receiving a parking ticket.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a safe New Year, and a special thank you to everyone who makes Fillmore the “Last Best Small Town”.

The Fillmore Historical Museum will host a volunteer recruitment and orientation meeting at the museum on January 10, 2015, at 1:OO p.m. in the Southern Pacific Depot , 350 Main Street. Tours will be available at no charge to show potential volunteers the museum and discuss its history and the history of Fillmore, Piru, Sespe and Bardsdale.

The historical society is looking for volunteers to be available on a regular schedule during the week and on Saturdays and Sundays to keep the museum open during regular visiting hours. Volunteers are also needed to assist in many areas such as: writing and researching for a new book about the local area, documenting on video the oral histories of local individuals, inventorying artifacts and putting the data into the computer, re-enactment of local history for tours and school presentations, developing and presenting programs for local organizations and publicity. Also needed are volunteers to develop the gift shop and help keep the site spruced up and plants taken care of.

For more information please phone the museum at 805-524-0948 or email us at fillmore.museum@sbcglobal.net.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Denisse Romero was arrested after being found hiding in a closet in her family residence, located in the 1900 Block of Ginger Street, Oxnard, after an investigation that spanned several states and lead into Mexico, where the victim had previously been rescued.

Denisse Romero was employed as a staff member at the Camarillo Children’s Learning Center, a group home, in August, 2014. The juvenile victim was a resident of the home. Romero began a romantic relationship with the victim, which led to the victim running away from the home, and Romero quitting the same day. Evidence established the pair left the State of California and ended up in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where local law enforcement authorities, acting at the direction of VCSO investigators, nearly captured the pair. Romero and the victim were located in Texas, where the victim was recovered by the San Antonio Police Department. Evidence suggested Romero fled to Mexico after eluding authorities.

The juvenile victim was returned to another group home in late August, where she ran away the following day. Evidence suggested the juvenile eventually arrived in Mexico, where she and Denisse Romero were reunited. Romero drove the juvenile around Mexico, where they eventually moved in to an apartment together in Ensenada.

VCSO investigators developed leads that established the location of the pair. VCSO members contacted agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and requested assistance. FBI investigators worked with members of the Mexican Government. Mexican authorities located Romero and the juvenile at their apartment and took the juvenile into protective custody. Romero was not taken into custody because no formal extradition agreement was in place.
The juvenile was returned to her legal guardian in the United States on 12/3/2014.

A case against Denisse Romero was presented to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, and a $250,000 warrant was issued for her arrest for felony violations of 278 PC (Child Stealing) and two additional felony charges related to sexual assault of a minor.

On 12/22/2014, VCSO investigators received information that Denisse Romero was back in the United States, living with family members in Oxnard. Detectives with the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau, along with a patrol deputy, drove to the residence, where Denisse Romero failed to come out of the home. She was found hiding inside a closet in the home. She was arrested and booked at the Ventura County Jail for her charges.

Nature of Incident: Capture of Child Stealing / Child Molest Suspect
Report Number: 14-19673
Location: Camarillo and Oxnard, California / Ensenada, Mexico
Date & Time: 12/22/2014 / 1700 Hours
Unit(s) Responsible: Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau
(S)uspects, (V)ictims, (P)arty, (D)ecedent City of Residence Age
(S) Denisse Lisbeth Romero Oxnard 27
(V)Juvenile Female 16
Prepared by: Sergeant Ryan Clark / Major Crimes Bureau
News Release Date: 12/23/2014
Media Follow-Up Contact:Sergeant Ryan Clark / Major Crimes Bureau
(805) 384-4721
Ryan.clark@ventura.org
Approved by: Captain Chris Dunn / Major Crimes Bureau.

Ventura County Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000 reward for information, which leads to the arrest and criminal complaint against the person(s) responsible for this crime. The caller may remain anonymous. The call is not recorded. Call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

OJAI, CA - The Humane Society of Ventura County (HSVC) is holding it’s first “Dog Jog” on March 14, 2015 at Lake Casitas. This soon-to-be annual event is a 5k fun run/walk for people with all proceeds benefitting the HSVC. (No dogs allowed; logistical issues prevent dogs from participating in the 5K). There will be live music by Main Street Band, food trucks, and HSVC will have both information and education booths on site.

Sign up at www.Active.com by Feb. 15 to get a free t-shirt. Enter “Dog Jog” into the search box. Prices are $15 for participants 13 and under, and $35 for those 14 and over. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Lake Casitas Special Events area just south of the main entrance. The self-timed 5K begins at 10 a.m. There is free parking.

The HSVC is a private, nonprofit 501c3 organization that receives no government funding or funds from organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States or ASPCA. “We rely on donations from the public and fundraising efforts such as the ‘Dog Jog’ to keep our doors open,” stated Shelter Director Jolene Hoffman. “We are all very excited about this event and how it will benefit the animals at HSVC.”

There are sponsorship opportunities available, please contact the HSVC at 805 646-6505 for more information.

Sacramento – A number of bills sponsored by the California State Board of Equalization (BOE) have been signed into law by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and will take effect January 1, 2015.

“The new year brings a number of new laws, including those I sponsored to help small business owners and veterans,” said Board of Equalization Member George Runner. “We want taxpayers to be aware of these new laws so they can receive all the benefits they’re entitled to.”

They include: Two BOE-sponsored bills will assist veterans. Vets whose 100 percent disability rating was delayed by the federal government, and are eligible for a state exemption from property taxes, will now be eligible for a refund for the previous eight years, up from four, under Senate Bill (SB) 1113 (Knight). Assembly Bill 919 (Williams) will refund sales tax, interest, and penalties paid from 2002 to 2010 for small sales by qualified itinerant veteran sellers.

AB 2031 (Dahle) will relieve those who sell small amounts of lumber products from having to collect the California Lumber Products Assessment.

California took a step to recover a portion of the $8.5 billion lost each year to the underground economy. BOE-sponsored AB 2681 (Dababneh) will allow the state to impose sales tax on the counterfeit goods sold by criminals convicted of trafficking in counterfeit goods at the wholesale level. Under current law, suppliers of counterfeit goods are able to avoid paying sales taxes, claiming their items are being sold to retailers who would then generally have the responsibility of remitting the sales tax to the BOE.

Another Board-sponsored bill, AB 2009 (Weber), extends BOE’s self-audit program to qualified sales and use tax account holders to many of its special tax and fee payers.

Board-supported SB 1203 was signed into law and will prohibit local governments from entering into payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements with owners of low-income housing projects and refund any property taxes assessed as a result of any previous PILOT agreements.

Other legislation impacting BOE includes:
Penalties assessed on certain Fire Prevention Fee liabilities will lighten with AB 2048 (Dahle). The bill eliminates the 20 percent per month penalty and adds a provision for a one-time 10 percent penalty charge similar to those imposed in the other programs administered by BOE. It also allows CAL FIRE to consider an appeal submitted after the filing deadline, and provides for the refund of fees paid, under specified conditions, should a home become uninhabitable due to a natural disaster that occurs within the same year.

Taxpayers who report and pay use tax to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) on income tax forms will have those payments applied directly to their use tax liability. AB 2758 (Rev and Tax Committee) says that use tax payments to the FTB will go straight to the payer’s use tax liability instead of first having to be applied to underpaid income tax, corporate tax, penalties, and interest, as is current law.

AB 1839 (Gatto) replaces a film and television tax credit under the Personal Income Tax Law and Corporation Tax Law, increasing the funding from $100 million to $330 million per fiscal year, expanding eligibility to large-budget feature films and TV pilots, and eliminating the cap for studio and independent films. In lieu of claiming the authorized tax credit, it allows the credit to be used against qualified sales and use tax liabilities payable to the BOE.

The 15th Annual Troop Turkey Drive continues to be the largest fundraising event that Troop Real Estate, Inc. has every year. By raising approximately $70,000 to purchase food from Albertsons, over 3,100 families (a minimum of 25,000 people) received a full Thanksgiving dinner this year.

This event is supported by many generous donors, and relies on over 26 corporate sponsors, including Albertsons, All Valley Escrow, Better Health and Wellness, Consumer's Title Co., DCH Toyota of Simi Valley, Dr. Victor Muradian DDS, Farmers Insurance, First Honda, First Kia, First Nissan, Harrison Industries, Infiniti of Thousand Oaks, Kirby Auto Group of Ventura, Prospect Mortgage, Rusnak BMW, Simi Auto Spa, Simi Hills Men's Club, Simi Sunset Rotary, Simi Valley Buick/GMC, Simi Valley Hospital, Skinny Wimp Moving Co., TRC Medical, Union Bank of Simi Valley, Wells Fargo Mortgage, Troop Real Estate, Inc. and Utopia Entertainment, as well as hundreds of private donors and volunteers who were also involved. Troop Real Estate was able to meet both goals to feed over 25,000 people and encourage more community involvement than ever before.

All turkeys and trimmings were distributed Thursday, November 20 through Monday, November 24. Each qualified family received a 14-18 lb turkey and all the trimmings for a complete Thanksgiving feast. The turkeys were larger than expected this year, so the food went further, leaving families generous amounts of leftovers to carry on through the weekend.

The Troop Turkey Drive thanked 750 U.S. Naval families for their service at the Seabee Base in Port Hueneme with a turkey dinner, assisted scholarship families through the Boys and Girls Club and hundreds of other families selected by food agencies in Ventura County communities. The food was moved by Skinny Wimp Movers, and volunteers delivered Thanksgiving meals to non-ambulatory seniors, touching thousands of lives.

There were four main distribution areas: Troop Real Estate, Inc. of Simi Valley fed both Simi Valley and Moorpark areas, Troop Real Estate, Inc. of Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks both fed areas within the Conejo Valley, Troop Real Estate, Inc of Ventura fed the families of Ventura, Oxnard and Channel Islands, and Troop Real Estate, Inc. of Santa Paula and Ojai both fed families in that area of the valley.

"Thank you to our huge Troop family for your hard work, support and kindness," said CEO Brian Troop. "This idea that started with 10 families has grown to have a major positive impact on families in need in all of our communities."

This community outreach program was launched by Troop Real Estate's Simi Valley Realtor® Alex Gandel in 1999 to collect funds to purchase the fixings for a complete Thanksgiving meal and distribute the food to qualified families through food banks in their local areas. A continued practice company-wide year after year, the Troop Turkey-A-Thon enjoys continued success due to support and efforts from the Troop family of agents, affiliates, private volunteers, donors and corporate sponsorships.

Every year, Troop Real Estate professionals throughout Ventura County reach out to their friends, family and clients for donations. Troop hopes to inspire more community involvement each year to help change the face of poverty and starvation in our communities. Every donation makes a big difference!

For more information or to continue donating for next year, contact your Troop Real Estate professional, or call 805.426.0623, email turkeydrive@troop.com, or visit www.troopturkeyathon.com.

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"BLUE LIGHT CHRISTMAS SPECIALS" This Thurs, Fri, and Sat, December 18th, 19th, and 20th. Come to the Alumni Office in Fillmore and get that last minute Christmas gift for your favorite Fillmore Flash. (Sorry, no shipping offered at this time). They will have Alumni and Flashes Sweaters, Hoodies, Fun T-Shirts, Ball Caps, Wine Glasses, and lot's of Bling!! All donations help support the F.H.S. Alumni Association and only the activities and functions affiliated with the Alumni Association. Hours are as follows. Thursday, Dec 18th. 9:00am to 12:00 noon. then again that afternoon from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Friday, Dec 19th from 9:00am to 12:00 noon, then again that afternoon from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. Saturday, Dec 20th from 9:00am to 1:00pm only. The Alumni office is located at the McNab Building next to the Sheriff's Station in Fillmore. 540 Sespe Ave #6 Don't miss the Alumni's "BLUE LIGHT CHRISTMAS SPECIALS" for your Favorite Fillmore Flash!!

Westlake Vilage, CA – Lydia Gable of Keller Williams Realty and Rick Winters of Winters Financial Group will host their 5th Annual Coats-for-Casa Pacifica charity event at Three Springs Park in Westlake Village, on Saturday, January 10th from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

With a huge truck load of snow delivered for the day, the event is a great opportunity to bring the whole family for complimentary snow play and sledding, coffee and smoothies, and winter crafts. All Lydia Gable and Rick Winters ask is that you don’t forget to bring new or gently used winter clothes of all sizes, including coats, sweaters, hoodies, mittens/gloves, winter hats and scarves, to benefit Casa Pacifica in Camarillo – a facility that provides emergency shelter, medical assessment and treatment, and a host of other services to children removed from their homes for abuse and neglect. The agency also provides community-based interventions for children and families in need. Visit http://casapacifica.org/ to learn more about Casa Pacifica’s 17 therapeutic programs. Last year, over 1,400 winter articles of clothing were donated – coats, sweaters, hats, gloves, and scarves.

“Casa Pacifica expects to care for and help more than 4,000 children this year, and struggling families,” say Lydia and Rick. “Your coat donation will help Casa Pacifica provide these children and their families a warm, basic necessity for the cold winter months ahead.”

If you are unable to share in the Winter Coat Drive fun but would like to donate, please contact Lydia or Rick to make other arrangements.

Casa Pacifica is a crisis-care and residential treatment facility for abused, neglected, or at-risk children in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. The agency is the largest non-profit provider of children’s mental health services in both counties and administers a number of community-based programs which are designed with the intent to strengthen families and keep children in their homes. For more information about Casa Pacifica visit its website www.casapacifica.org or call the Development Department at (805) 445-7800.

The Friends of the Santa Paula Blanchard Community Library invite all book lovers to their First-Saturday-of–the-Month and Mid-Week book sales. The next First-Saturday Sale will beJanuary 3, 2014, from 10AM to 2PM. The mid-week sales are every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12 Noon to 2PM, except holidays. The sales are held in “The Back Stacks”, accessed from the north parking lot of the library at 119 N. 8th Street, Santa Paula, CA.

The January special will be American Heritage and Horizon hardbound magazines at $.25 each. There are also great choices in fiction, non-fiction, and children’sbooks with prices from $.50-$2.00.The unique collection of rare and collectible books start at $4.00.For more information email fobcl@yahoo.com.

Camarillo, CA - Camarillo Hospice, a volunteer hospice and grief counseling center serving Ventura County, offers practical and emotional support for individuals and families facing a life-limiting illness and/or dealing with the grief of losing a loved one.

As a volunteer hospice, Camarillo Hospice does not deliver medical care and does not require a life expectancy of six months or less. Patients do not need a doctor’s referral to avail themselves of assistance from Camarillo Hospice.

Among the many services provided are: caregiver respite, friendly visiting, life story recording, errand-running, transportation, education and resources on end-of-life issues.

All services of Camarillo Hospice are free and not subject to regulatory time limits.

Ongoing bereavement support groups and individual and family grief counseling are also available from Camarillo Hospice. In 2013 alone Camarillo Hospice provided assistance and support to more than 10,000 community residents.

For more information, please call the Hospice office at 805.389.6870,email info@camarillohospice.org or visit the hospice website at www.camarillohospice.org.

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The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley is proud to announce an ambitious $113,000 renovation project to develop a Teen Study Room at their facility. As most people know the clubhouse site that the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley occupy is the old Fillmore High School Girl’s Gym from many years ago. The room being renovated is over 720sq. ft. and was the original girls shower room in the girl’s gym. A few years ago then CEO, Sheila Tate arranged to have the Seabees come in and demolish the shower stalls. After that, due to a lack of funding no further work was done.

Current CEO and former San Cayetano Elementary School Principal, Jan Marholin has taken on this project so that the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley can offer after school support and resource opportunities for our local teens in Fillmore.

Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors have donated $25,000 towards this project. Other donors include Seneca resources $15,000 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 1245. In –kind labor is being provided by Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters Local #150 with Mercy Urrea taking the lead. Also providing in-kind labor and materials is Jeff Bode and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 952. We also appreciate equipment and material donations from EJ Harrison and Sons, Fillmore Rentals , Granite Construction and Joe Diaz of Fillmore Welding.

Our first step of this project was completed on Saturday December 6th. A big shout out of thanks to: Mercy and David Urrea , Joe Duran , Tommy McNary, Matt Mynatt, Jon Duran, Anthony Ventura , Greg Baca, Romeo Ruiz, Jose Cobian, Michael Mariscal and Tony Franco for donating their Saturday. Thank you also to our wonderful architect, Doug Nelson of Mainstreet Architects.

We are excited about this project as it will directly benefit our local Fillmore youth. We have not reached our financial goal and would appreciate any donations from the Fillmore Community. Your donations are an investment in the youth in your community. Donations can be sent to: BGCSCV Teen Study Room Project, PO Box 152 Santa Paula, CA . 93061

The Humane Society of Ventura County is asking for the public’s help in order to care for and feed 10 neglected animals recently rescued from a ranch in Moorpark.

On Dec. 9, Humane Society Officers brought into protective custody two Brahma bulls, two heifer cows and six horses. Most of the animals are considered emaciated and are being housed at HSVC’s shelter in Ojai. There are already five horses from three different cases now pending charges in Ventura County Superior Court at the facility.

HSVC Shelter Director Jolene Hoffman said "it can take several months of ongoing care to get the animals back to full weight.” The shelter will be feeding them over six bales of feed per day plus supplements. The Humane Society also is in need of funds to cover the extreme cost of medical for all the animals and farrier care for the horses.

“These are tough times for people, but there is no excuse for the neglect that these animals have suffered,” Hoffman said.

Pictures of the emaciated animals can be found on HSVC’s website and updates will be posted regularly on their Facebook page.

Donations may be brought to the Humane Society shelter at 402 Bryant Street in Ojai or sent to P.O. Box 297, Ojai, Calif. 93024. You can also donate online at www.HSVC.org. For more information, please call (805) 656-5031.

The Humane Society of Ventura County is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1932. It does not receive federal, state or local tax dollars to operate and relies solely on private donations.

A light will be shining on the Hospice “Light Up A Life Tree”
These names were received between 11/29/14 and 12/8/14:

FILLMORE IN MEMORY OF:
Eric (Rick) Godfrey
Bret Godfrey
Vena Godfrey
Louis and Grace Meehl
Terry Meehl
Kathy Black
Bill (Smitty) Smith
Francine Pittman
Francis Caffro
Bernice Caffro
Lloyd Michel, Jr.
Neva and Donald DeYoung

PIRU IN MEMORY OF:
Carolina R. Avila

SANTA CLARA VALLEY HOSPICE HOME SUPPORT GROUP, INC

In observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the employees of Santa Clara Valley Disposal will be taking the days off. As a result, Fillmore residential customers will have their trash and green waste collected on Saturday, Dec. 27, and their trash and collectables on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, one day later than usual.

The regular Friday trash collection schedule in Fillmore will return on Jan. 9, 2015.

As a special holiday feature, residents may put out twice the amount of trash at no extra charge during the two weeks following Christmas. Please make sure the trash is in bags. We will also collect extra recyclables, but please make sure to flatten all boxes.

Also, Harrison is making it easy for their customers to recycle their Christmas trees. All customers need to do is remove the ornaments, hooks, lights, tinsel, bows, nails and tree stand, then cut the tree into sections no more than 4 feet long and place in the yard waste barrel on their scheduled pickup day. Flocked trees now also can be recycled.

For more information, call 647-1414.