The Fillmore Photography Club inauguration is scheduled for Thursday, July 14, 2016.

The informal get together begins at 7 p.m. at the Active Adult and Community Center, 533 Santa Clara Street.

Long time photojournalist Bob Crum will lead the discussion on tentative activity plans. These include monthly assignments based on various themes. Photos by participants will be reviewed the following month.

This initial meeting is also for interested photographers and wannabe photographers to offer feedback about what they're most interested in and their preferences. What you expect and desire is important to know.

Everyone who shares an interest in photography... regardless of the gear at hand... whether point-and-shoot cameras, a dSLR camera or even a cell phone ... is encouraged to attend and participate in the discussions.

So you there!!!

The effects of sleep apnea and temporomandibular joint disorder – TMJ – on chronic headaches will be focus of a free seminar Community Memorial Health System is holding on Tuesday, July 19.

Brigitte Lovell, D.M.D., who specializes in headache and orofacial pain, will lead the seminar that will run from 6 to 8 p.m. in the eighth-floor Nichols Auditorium at Community Memorial Hospital, 147 N. Brent St.

Dr. Lovell will discuss the warning signs, diagnosis and treatment of TMJ, which can cause pain to the head, jaw, neck and shoulders. She also will cover TMJ pain night guards, devices and injections, as well as sleep apnea/snoring custom-made alternative dental devices that are available.

Dr. Lovell received her medical degree from Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health and completed her residency training at UCLA. She is a member of the American Headache Society,
American Academy of Orofacial Pain and the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain.

Registration is free but reservations are required. Visit cmhshealth.org/rsvp or call Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800/838-3006.

Future Speaker Series events include: Stroke Recognition and Prevention on August 13 in Ojai; and New Cardiovascular Concerns for Breast Cancer Survivors on August 16 at CMH; and Neck Pain: A Real Pain in the Neck on August 30 in Oxnard.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, along with the Centers for Family Health serving various communities within and located in Ventura County, California.

I’m no expert on computer technology but I know a few scientists in the field. Just recently I ran into Jack LeTourneau at the Ojai Music Festival. Jack and I collaborated on a few art projects in the past. Jack is a Berkeley-trained computer scientist with multiple patents on computer technology. Our encounter refreshed my memory of “node label trees” and cloud computing. Jack introduced me to this technology. It was a fascinating experience for a computer science novice.

Our brain is a central processing unit, CPU. Consider your computer. Its CPU is the electronic circuitry that is mandatory for the computer to operate. The objective whether the CPU is in an iMac or your brain is essentially the same. It sends out all the information to your being’s architecture which is how you exist. Notice I didn’t include “why.” The largest mainframe computer in the world is dwarfed by the human brain’s design and processing ability. Mainframe technology is slowly being replaced by other technologies such as “cluster, grid and cloud computing.” These inventions are simply using massive arrays of smaller computers like linking up home computers around the world to process information. In a way, computer evolution is similar to our evolving brains. I might add that the technologies of the cluster, grid and cloud computing, remind us of our connectedness to each other and that together rather than apart, humanity is a far greater CPU than the individual person or mainframe-group.

The analogy of the computer CPU and our brain’s circuitry falls apart when we consider a meaningful, productive and creative life experience. The outdated computer is quickly discarded when it fails to perform. Humankind would never discard a mentally or physically challenged person. This is the characteristic of empathy and compassion that vastly separates humanity from computers and gives us our unique meaningful existence. Scientific research on how our biology responds to acts of empathy versus absence of empathy irrefutably show that empathy and compassion are essential to our health and well-being. It should be obvious that these human characteristics are deeply integral to our circuitry.

Meditation exercises your CPU. It grows new circuitry. The new wiring travels the evolutionary path of least resistance opening a workable future for the individual and humanity. It overrides epigenetic gene expression that passes on destructive types of behavior - similar to a computer virus. You don’t have to have a Ph.D. to enhance your CPU nor to discover "why" you exist. Exercise your kindness. Focus on your breathing. See yourself in others. See humanity as one CPU.

Paul Benavidez, MFA

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ: BSRR), the holding company of Bank of the Sierra, and Coast Bancorp (OTC: CTBP), the holding company of Coast National Bank, today announced that on June 20, 2016, at a special meeting, the shareholders of Coast Bancorp approved the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization and Merger, dated as of January 4, 2016 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and between Sierra Bancorp and Coast Bancorp, pursuant to which Coast Bancorp will be merged with and into Sierra Bancorp, and immediately thereafter Coast National Bank will be merged with and into Bank of the Sierra. All required regulatory approvals have also been received and the transaction is expected to close on or about July 8, 2016, pending satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Sierra Bancorp also announced that Anita Robinson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Coast Bancorp and Coast National Bank, will become part of the Bank of the Sierra team as the Market President of the San Luis Obispo area upon completion of the acquisition.

Coast Bancorp further announced that, as required by the Merger Agreement, the rights issued under its Tax Benefits Preservation Plan issued to Coast Bancorp shareholders were redeemed effective June 20, 2016. The termination of the plan and the redemption of the related rights is a closing condition to the Merger. Coast Bancorp shareholders will receive formal notice of redemption shortly, including payment of the required redemption price.

About Coast Bancorp and Coast National Bank
Coast Bancorp is the holding company for Coast National Bank, which serves the communities of San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande, Paso Robles and Atascadero, California and had $144 million in assets as of March 31, 2016. Established in 1997, Coast National Bank is a local community bank serving the needs of consumers and businesses through three branch locations and one loan production office throughout San Luis Obispo County.

About Sierra Bancorp & Bank of the Sierra
Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ: BSRR) is a publicly-traded company with approximately $1.8 billion in assets. Headquartered in Porterville, California, the company operates primarily through Bank of the Sierra (the Bank). The Bank is a multi-community financial institution that offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services, primarily in the central and southern sections of the San Joaquin Valley. The Bank specializes in agricultural lending and works with many of the businesses in that region. Since opening for business in January 1978, the Bank has grown to be the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. More information about Sierra Bancorp and Bank of the Sierra can be found at the following websites:
www.sierrabancorp.com
www.bankofthesierra.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this release, other than those concerning historical financial information, may be considered forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and are based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions. These include statements as to the anticipated benefits of the merger, including future financial and operating results, cost savings and enhanced revenues that may be realized from the merger as well as other statements of expectations regarding the merger and any other statements regarding future results or expectations. Each of Sierra Bancorp and Coast Bancorp intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this statement for purposes of these safe harbor provisions. The companies’ respective abilities to predict results or the actual effect of future plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Factors which could have a material effect on the operations and future prospects of each of Sierra Bancorp and Coast Bancorp and the resulting company, include but are not limited to: the businesses of Sierra Bancorp and/or Coast Bancorp may not be integrated successfully or such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; expected revenue synergies and cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame; revenues following the merger may be lower than expected; customer and employee relationships and business operations may be disrupted by the merger; the ability to obtain required regulatory and shareholder approvals, and the ability to complete the merger on the expected timeframe may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; changes in interest rates, general economic conditions, legislative/regulatory changes, monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve; the quality and composition of the loan and securities portfolios; demand for loan products; deposit flows; competition; demand for financial services in the companies’ respective market areas; their implementation of new technologies; their ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; and accounting principles, policies, and guidelines, and other risk factors detailed in the SEC filings of Sierra Bancorp, including the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Sierra Bancorp’s most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Sierra Bancorp and Coast Bancorp undertake no obligation to update or clarify these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Additional Information about the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find It
This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. In connection with the proposed transaction, Sierra Bancorp filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement on Form S-4 containing, among other things, a proxy statement/prospectus and other documents with respect to the proposed Merger. INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS (INCLUDING ALL AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS PROVIDED BY SIERRA BANCORP AND COAST BANCORP BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.

Investors may obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents prepared by Sierra Bancorp and Coast Bancorp free of charge by contacting Sierra Bancorp or Coast Bancorp.

In observance of the Independence Day holiday, the employees of Santa Clara Valley Disposal will be taking the day off on Monday, July 4. As a result, Fillmore residential customers will have their trash, recyclables and green waste collected one day later, on Saturday, the week of July 3-9.

The regular Friday pickup schedule will resume the week of July 10-16.

For more information, call 647-1414.

Enlarge Photo

The Fillmore Women’s Service Club was pleased to present Scholarships on June 1st at the Awards Ceremony at the High School. Susan Banks, President, Mimi Burns, Youth Chairwoman, and Danielle Quintanta on behalf of the members of the Club presented Luis Antonio Landeros, Tatem Forsberg, Christopher Berrington, Irma Torres, Jessica Manginelli, Amariza Almaguer, Lindsey Gerardo, Hope Wilcox, Jordan Manzano, and Miguel Martinez Educational Scholarships. Rafael Regalado received a Community Scholarship who plans to study business and own his own business one day. Two Scholarships were presented to Josue Guzman and Jorge Valdovinos in the name of Fire Chief Rigo Landeros. We would like to thank the following people for their donations in honor of a great citizen of Fillmore. Veronica Levy, the Patterson Family, Gertrude and Lewis Lovelace in the name of William and Richard Thompson; Sandra and Kelley Lovelace, Steve and Sandy Butts and Charmaine Delgado and the Fillmore Women’s Service Club. Josue and Jorge are planning to go to Oxnard College and become Firefighters.

Is the individual a microcosm of humanity? Are we a microcosm of the Universe? Consider the trillions of cells that make the individual a physical being. That would be an estimated 37.2 trillion cells working together in a synergistic framework. The trillions of cells that make you into a self-aware being are made up of an estimated 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 synergistic atoms. The atoms in the known Universe are ten quadrillion vigintillion and one-hundred thousand quadrillion vigintillion synergistic atoms. That’s the number 10 with 82 zeros after it. So what’s my point? It’s not mind-boggling numbers. It's a mind-boggling mystery to be taken seriously. We really don’t know the size of the Universe and the synergistic matter in it. Can it be infinite? How can we wrap our heads around infinity? No one has seen the end of the Universe. All we know is that it is big. Or is it? Shakespeare says it is or it isn’t. “To Be Or Not To Be.” It either exists or it doesn’t. To be or not to be is a profound question of balance in one’s life and the quality of your life hinges on its balance of the big and the small. In this context, you are your Universe. I would argue that this assumption is scientific if we consider that processing externalities require your brain. How do we know that anything exists outside our brain? All of the cells and atoms that make you into a physical being with the evolving capability of self-reflection cannot be perceived without your gray matter and all its wonder.

This column is about the health and balance of your two hemispheres and your body but it doesn’t stop there. It is about the Universe and everything in it and about growing the health of our species and all the other species that make up the web of life as we know it on blessed Earth. We are a microcosm of it all. This column is laid out so that we may take our role seriously as evolving intelligence beyond all words and that we may consider an autonomous objectivity of the big and the small and that we are here for that purpose, infinity or not.

The Relay for Life of Fillmore-Piru would like to welcome the community to come participate in a series of forums this summer on different patient outreaches for the American Cancer Society. To show the community how the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life can give back to their local communities. On June 20th at 7pm Kretta Shaner will come, and speak on the Look Good Feel Better program. On July 25th at 7pm David Weiss will come, and speak on Road to Recovery. On August 22nd at 7pm Pam Brady will come, and speak on the 24/7 1-800-227-2345 number. These meetings will take please at the youth building next to the memorial building in Fillmore.

On June 20th at 7pm at the youth building next to the memorial building in Fillmore. Kretta Shaner, a volunteer who has been participating in the Look Good Feel Better program for over 26 years, will be joining us, to discuss the program. Look Good Feel Better group workshops, is a program comprised of beauty professionals who teach women who are in active treatment to help with cope with skin, nail changes, and hair loss. Studies have shown that the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment can have a significant impact on the lives patients. By Providing Look Good Feel Better workshops to patients, you can help give them the opportunity to see that they can take control of their appearance, helping to improve their self-esteem and to approach their disease and treatment with greater confidence.

The Look Good Feel Better program is also available for Spanish-speaking women, teenagers, and men. For more information, visit lookgoodfeelbetter.org, call 1-800-395-Look (5665), or contact your local American Cancer Society office.

Relay for life of Fillmore-Piru will be happening September 24th-25th, 2016 from 9am-9am at Shiells Park in Fillmore. For more information on the Relay for life of Fillmore-Piru, please visit www.relayforlife.org/fillmoreca, or contact Caitlin Barringer (805)644-4237.

Valley Express, the public bus service which serves Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Piru, is proud to offer FREE rides on July 4 from 12 pm until the fireworks end. The special service will be on-demand, which means you must request a ride in advance. The phone number to schedule a ride is 805-933-2267. Space is limited, so riders are encouraged to call in ahead of time.

“We want families to be able to relax, leave the driving to us, enjoy the festivities, and to get home safely after the fireworks,” stated Aaron Bonfilio, Program Manager of Transit Services for Ventura County Transportation Commission.

“We’re delighted that Valley Express can take people from their homes directly to these patriotic celebrations,” added Fillmore Councilmember, Manuel Minjares.

During the day, Valley Express will have a booth at the 30th Annual Sespe Creek Car & Cycle Show in Fillmore. Come visit our booth. We’ll have plenty of information to share, and fun giveaways. The show, sponsored by the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce, is from 9 am to 4 pm. Learn more about the event at www.fillmorechamber.org.

Valley Express service, launched in March 2015, is provided through a cooperative agreement between the cities of Fillmore and Santa Paula, the County of Ventura, and the Ventura County Transportation Commission. It is administered by the Ventura County Transportation Commission. After its first year in operation, total ridership for Valley Express fixed-route and dial-a-ride service neared 100,000 riders.

For route and service information, please call 805-933-2267or visit www.valleyexpressbus.org.

OJAI, CA - The Ojai International City of Peace team is pleased to announce that Ojai will be the first City of Peace in the world to install a welcome sign at the entrance to a community. It will be located at the “Y” intersection of Ojai Avenue and Maricopa Highway, just south of Rotary Park, adjacent to the bus stop and south of the flagpole.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 16, at 10:00 a.m., with Paul Blatz, Mayor of Ojai, doing the honors, and Greg Grant, City of Ojai Public Works Director, also in attendance. Everyone is invited to come share this historic moment for the Ojai community.

A local group, known as the “Peace Pod,” created the sign’s beautiful design, along with Todd Chandler, owner of Chandler Design, incorporating the International Cities of Peace logo. This sign will be offered as a template, to not only the current 134 International Cities of Peace, but to future cities as well.

International Cities of Peace began in 2009, with the vision to foster peace as a consensus value in cities around the world - bringing peace consciousness into all aspects of a community. Ojai received official status in April 2015, becoming the 99th city. ICP has the goal of having 1000 Cities of Peace by the year 2020.

Parking is available at the Park & Ride on Ojai Avenue on the north side of Rotary Park. Carpooling is encouraged, or ride your bike!

For questions about Ojai ICP contact Julie Heyman: jheyman1@roadrunner.com or Brian Berman: Brian@BermanSculpture.com

Additional information available at: http://www.internationalcitiesofpeace.org/cities/ojai/ojai.html

Theresa Robledo with Civic Pride Vision 2020 presents Yard of the Month to Kevin & Sheryl. Congratulations! “ A little over a year ago my fiancée and I started looking for a home to buy. After many months of looking, our search led us to Fillmore. We were drawn in by the beautiful mountain views and the warm, small-town feel; and, let us not forget … the housing prices. We visited the Bridges track by Williams Homes and fell in love with their model three floor plan, and the bungalow style exterior. After settling on one home, my fiancée, Sheryl, convinced me that we would be happier in a different model three on a specific lot within the track. Well, that lot was to have a farmhouse exterior, and not only that, but a red farmhouse exterior. After realizing we just bought a barn to live in I decided to fully embrace the theme the City was trying to convey. After many months of staring at our new barn and thinking, “what is missing,” it came to me, “this barn needs a windmill!” So the hunt for the perfect windmill began. After many days of research I found the Aermotor Windmill Company. For over 125 years they have been making windmills for ranchers and they are still running strong to this day in San Angelo, Texas. So on the return from a road trip to Texas to visit my parents I swung by their factory. There I picked up the first addition to our little ranch in Fillmore, that beautiful Aermotor 702 in our front yard. The windmill gave the house a great little ranch appeal as it spun around and around and around. However, on one of Fillmore’s amazing evenings while watching the windmill just quietly spinning and turning, it seemed to me like the windmill was lonely; tirelessly looking for a long lost partner to share its life. So, yet another hunt began … the hunt for the perfect tractor! After many months of searching I found it, a 1949 John Deere BN tractor. This little tractor was hidden away in a garage in the outskirts of Barstow, California. It was restored several years ago and very well taken care of. Now, the windmill has a friend with which it can share those amazing evenings. So far, aside from the windmill and the tractor, we have planted over 20 trees on the property, built a custom shed that matches the house, added garden bridges and brick pathways meandering throughout the backyard. We have many years to come and many more projects planned, including another tractor for the backyard garden area, assuming I can get Sheryl to agree. If you ever see an old green tractor putting down Central, it’s just me having fun bringing back a little historic, old-town feel to Fillmore. “ Drive by 357 Edgewood Drive. Thank you Otto & Sons Nursery for the generous gift certificate to Kevin & Sheryl.

Do you have an old U.S. flag that has frayed edges and faded colors? Boy Scout Troop 406 has a collection box in front of the Fillmore Fire Station on Sespe where you can deposit that flag and the Boy Scouts will retire it in a dignified ceremony. The Scouts have retired over 200 flags in the last year.

During the ceremony the Senior Patrol Leader reads a script that describes the flag and the meaning of the stripes, stars and blue field they are on. During the reading the flag is ceremoniously folded into a triangle. Then the pledge of allegiance is spoken by all. At the end of the reading the flags are placed into a fire and the Scouts give a solemn salute. In the background, a trumpet plays taps to complete the program.

Celebrate Flag Day on June 14th by flying your flag at home and depositing any damaged flags in the box at the Fillmore Fire Station.

Last week we learned about diaphragmatic breathing. I also informed the reader on how runners use belly breathing for efficient maximum oxygen capacity. I wanted to correct a minor grammatical error just in case there was any confusion. It should have read: “three foot-strikes” and “two foot-strikes.” Having cleared that up what it fundamentally means is that life requires balance in every aspect of it. My personal belief is that the 12th and last precept of balance is the most fundamental to health and well-being. It is the efficiency of maintaining alpha and theta brain wavelengths and reducing frenetic beta brain waves. Belly breathing quickly gets you there.

Meditation is the practice of maintaining and or shifting to alpha and theta brain wavelengths ultimately causing transformative body and mind processes that translate to health but ultimately to collective relational transformation. If that sounds farfetched it isn't. If we do not transform our collective neural networks we will go extinct. We have been in an unsustainable socio-economic model for multiple millennia. We exist on a finite planet. Sustainability is necessary for a future. Meditation is an exercise to shift us to a new era of balance.
Scientifically, meditation is about creating new neural networks and overriding the millennia-old brain networks containing the unsustainable neuroses social model. Antecedents have perpetually dumped unworkable futures into subsequent generations as if they are robotic repositories.

Meditation does not require sitting and closing your eyes, although if you become a practitioner then you'll adopt the core practice of quieting the mind and body with eyes closed and body comfortably relaxed. The practice does not require external quietness.

Anywhere and anytime, standing, walking, driving, cycling, running, shopping - all day and night until sleep - on and off - with eyes open focus on your natural nasal breathing process -preferably diaphragmatically, comfortably swelling your belly. The act of focusing on your breathing process temporarily suspends the thought process. During meditation thoughts will push their way into your quietness because your brain is untrained, undisciplined and atrophied. Meditation requires constantly returning to your breathing with no judgment about the interruption due to thought invasion.

All that is required to have personal and social transformation is to want it. Meditation is not about thinking about transformation. It is about wanting a new you and a new humanity by creating new neural networks while resting in the space between thoughts. Think of the space as a clearing in a thicket of weeds.

After you have read this article take the next 30 seconds or 5 minutes and practice. On and off all day and into the night create a new you and a balanced workable future for our children and the unborn.

Paul Benavidez, MFA

It’s June and a popular time of year for young couples to celebrate weddings. Beginning in June 2016, the Fillmore Historical Museum located at 340 Main St. in Fillmore will have on display a selection of photos and wedding dresses from 1886 through the 1960s. We are grateful for the generosity of our community that these items can be seen and appreciated.

The display includes a century-old hand crocheted wedding dress, a dress worn by both mother and daughter at their weddings, and a 70 year old dress that is modern enough to be found on the fashion runways of today.

Courtesy of Mathias Gonzalez, we include the Hispanic tradition of the father of the groom writing the father of the bride, asking for the bride’s hand in marriage. Pictures of the families and a copy of the letter, written in Spanish and translated into English are on display. We invite you to visit the museum and discover the joys of romance and marriage during the time period since Fillmore’s establishment through the mid-20th century.

This is your hometown museum dedicated to showing how Fillmore and its surrounding communities of Bardsdale, Sespe and Piru grew and developed and celebrated life.

We welcome you all to visit. We are open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. until noon, and 1 p.m. until 4 p.m., Thursdays from 1-4 and Saturdays from 10:30 until 3 p.m. We offer tours to groups any day by appointment.

We are an all volunteer organization and are always looking for additional helpers to guide tours or work in the collection. If you are interested contact us at the office in the two story bunkhouse building or by phone at 524-0948.