Bill Herrera, the Fillmore Rotary speaker, is a State Farm agent, but has also been a member of the Fillmore Fire Department for 26 years. He talked about the early days when most of the firemen were volunteers from local businesses. When they heard the siren, they closed their doors and headed to the fire station. There are only a few firefighters who are funded, the rest are volunteers. Even today 70% of all departments are made up of volunteers. Bill has been an engineer, the driver, a Captain, and later an interim Chief. He also stated that it takes a few years of practice and training before a recruit is hired. When Santa Paula Hospital closed there was concern about the distance for patients to travel, so paramedic’s and EMT’s were added, as well as an ambulance. Funding is still in short supply and because of that late Fire Chief Rigo Landeros and others started the Fillmore Fire Foundation. The Foundation is a place you can make donations; they also sponsor fundraising events, such as their annual golf tournament and grants, all to help fund the fire department for needed equipment etc. Even though the department is underfunded they “get the job done with Fillmore Care Pride”!

Rotarian Jerry Peterson has been hiking for several years and last week brought his backpack and informed Fillmore Rotary Club about how he prepares for his excursions. They learned that the pack weighs about 27 lbs without water. Some of the items he carries are three liters of water, a water filtration bag, a solar panel for powering his phone, a sleeping bag, gloves, bug spray, fishing pole, tent, hiking poles, basic clothes with soap, and a rope to wash and hang dry. He also takes his personal items and first aid kit. Some items are inflatable, so they don’t take up much room. When everything is in the backpack it weighs about 43 lbs. Peterson is ready for his next adventure!

Are you, or do you know, a high school student living in the FUSD attendance area? If so, here is an opportunity you can’t miss. The International Lions’ Club of Fillmore is once again hosting a Student Speaker Contest on February 7, 2022 at 6:30pm at the Fillmore Scout House. The contest is open to all high school students living in the Fillmore Unified School District attendance area. The topic of the speech is “HOW CAN KINDNESS REUNITE OUR COUNTRY?”. The speech must be at least 5 minutes long and should be within 8 minutes. (points will be taken off if longer than 8 minutes). All speakers will receive a cash prize. The winner would go on to present the speech at the District meeting. Each level winner would advance to the next level of competition. The ultimate winner will receive a total of $21,450.00 to be used for university, college or career study. Interested students must fill out an interest form which can be picked up at the Fillmore High School office, Sierra High School office or by calling Gaylynn Brien at 360-521-5647 or Lynn Edmonds at 805-907-6576.

Fillmore City Council is being asked to rename and dedicate the street adjacent to the Sheriff's Substation as Max Pina Street. Max gave 53-years of service to Fillmore, recognized by five commendations from 1992-2018 as Deputy Sheriff and in related offices. This recommendation is supported by Duke Bradbury, Vice President of Thin Blue Line of Ventura County, Assistant Sheriff Chris Dunn, and Max's daughter, Jessica Pina-Felix, and the thousands who benefited from his service. Commendations and honors (including the Medal of Valor, highest in Sheriff's Dept.) form a more detailed story of Max's life; see next week's Gazette.

Our Civic Pride Volunteer Committee is back in Action with the selection of a “Holiday Yard of the Month”.

The Holiday “Yard of the Month” will be chosen from decorated homes and yards within the entire Fillmore community. Civic Pride Committee is putting out a “call” to all the creative and clever, to get their decorating done early, so a photo of the winner and a list of “honorable mentions” may be put in the newspaper. People can enjoy making a tour of the neighborhoods.

We invite you to make your suggestions for best decorated yard by phone or email to, Linda Nunes, 805-302-7527 or email to Lsnunes1411@gmail.com . A member of the committee will be making the selection between December 6-12, to give people a weekend to get decorations put up.

The award will be a $40 gift certificate to Otto and Sons Nursery. The Klittich Family have generously continued this award support over the years and committee members have seen a positive affect in our neighborhoods, as people “spruce up” their yards.
Sadly, there will be no Christmas trees on Central this year because of the difficulty in obtaining and maintaining living trees. BUT, we are asking people in the community to donate their old artificial, 6’ + trees to begin a collection for future years. We would need a minimum of 16 trees.

Steve McKeown has offered to pick up donated trees. His cell number is 805-904-5424.

Enlarge Photo

Our Civic Pride Volunteer Committee is back in Action with the selection of a “Holiday Yard of the Month”.

The Holiday “Yard of the Month” will be chosen from decorated homes and yards within the entire Fillmore community. Civic Pride Committee is putting out a “call” to all the creative and clever, to get their decorating done early, so a photo of the winner and a list of “honorable mentions” may be put in the newspaper. People can enjoy making a tour of the neighborhoods. We invite you to make your suggestions for best decorated yard by phone or email to, Linda Nunes, 805-302-7527 or email to Lsnunes1411@gmail.com . A member of the committee will be making the selection between December 6-12, to give people a weekend to get decorations put up.

The award will be a $40 gift certificate to Otto and Sons Nursery. The Klittich Family have generously continued this award support over the years and committee members have seen a positive affect in our neighborhoods, as people “spruce up” their yards.

Sadly, there will be no Christmas trees on Central this year because of the difficulty in obtaining and maintaining living trees. BUT, we are asking people in the community to donate their old artificial, 6’ + trees to begin a collection for future years. We would need a minimum of 16 trees.

Steve McKeown has offered to pick up donated trees. His cell number is 805-904-5424.

Dignity Health—St. John’s Regional Medical Center (SJRMC) and St. John’s Hospital Camarillo (SJHC) have received the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines ® -Stroke Quality Achievement Award for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the U.S. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and speeding recovery times.

Get With The Guidelines-Stroke was developed to assist health care professionals to provide the
most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for treating stroke patients.

“St. John’s Hospitals are honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to helping our patients have the best possible chance of survival and after a stroke,” said Darren W. Lee, President and CEO of St. John’s Regional Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital Camarillo. “Get With The Guidelines-Stroke makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis to improve outcomes for stroke patients.”

Each year program participants apply for the award recognition by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, participants also provide education to patients to help them manage their health and rehabilitation once at home.

“We are pleased to recognize St. John’s Regional Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital Camarillo for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.

“Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiatives can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”

SJRMC and SJHC also received the Association’s Target: Stroke SM Elite Plus award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

Additionally, both SJRMC and SJHC received the Association’s Target: Type 2 Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90% of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”

About Dignity Health - St. John's Regional Medical Center
Founded in 1912, Dignity Health - St. John's Regional Medical Center (SJRMC) is a 365-bed, acute care, non-profit hospital located in Oxnard, Calif. Serving Ventura County for more than one hundred years, SJRMC has been named a Top 250 hospital by Healthgrades. As a leader in stroke care, SJRMC is the first and only Certified Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center in Ventura County and is a recipient of the American Heart Association's, Get with the Guidelines- Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. Designated as a STEMI Receiving Center, SJRMC is highly recognized for excellence in cardiac care and has been named a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care by Blue Shield of California. Its Cancer Center is accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. SJRMC is home to the only all-private room, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Ventura County. Learn more at DignityHealth.org/StJohnsRegional.

About Dignity Health - St. John's Hospital Camarillo
Founded in 1974, Dignity Health - St. John's Hospital Camarillo (SJHC) is a 58-bed, acute care, non-profit hospital located in Camarillo, California. SJHC is designated as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission and a recipient of the American Heart Association's, Get with the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. SJHC houses Camarillo&'s first-ever cardiac catheterization lab. The Emergency Department is accredited as a Level III Geriatric Emergency Department. Learn more at dignityhealth.org/StJohnsHospitalCamarillo.

About Get With The Guidelines ®
Get With The Guidelines ® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.