Ventura, CA – Treasurer-Tax Collector Steven Hintz today announced the opening of the first East County satellite office which will be located in the East County Sheriff’s Patrol Station.

The Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office will be open on Monday, March 31, 2014 through Thursday, April 10, 2014 from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. located at 2101 East Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360.

The Treasurer-Tax Collector will collect and process 2103-14 tax payments at this new location. This pilot program will test the effectiveness of bringing the services to the East County residents. It will reduce the number of vehicle trips to the main Ventura Office required by East County residents.

Hintz stated, “We are excited to have formed this partnership with the Sheriff’s Office to bring these services to the East County. East County residents will have easy and safe access to the services without having to spend the time and expense driving to the Ventura main office. If the pilot program is successful, we plan to bring the heavy tax collection services in November-December and March-April each year.”

The annual Ventura County St. Patrick’s Day Parade will march down Main Street for the 26rd time in downtown Ventura on Saturday, March 15, beginning at 10 a.m. The theme is “The Irish Thru the Ages.”

The whole county will be turning out for the wearin’ of the green on Main Street. Horses, clowns, car clubs, marching bands and the Biggest Green Pig in the World will be there with all of the hoopla and shenanigans that make St. Patrick’s Day a fun day for all.
Presented by the Ventura Elks Lodge 1430, the parade will have oodles of entries and will make its way down Main Street from the old Mission San Buenaventura, past the reviewing stand at Chestnut Street and on to the end of the parade route on Fir Street.

Judges for the parade have the difficult job of choosing who are best qualified to win trophies in many categories such as best Auto Club, Best Marching Band and the coveted Arnold Hubbard Memorial Trophy for Best in Show. Judges are Trudy Arriaga, Ventura Unified School District Superintendent; James Lockwood, Ventura County Fair Grounds director of Public Relations and a St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee member; Joe Schroeder, CEO Ventura County Credit Union; Doug Wood, general manager of Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach; Ed Summers, president/CEO Ventura Chamber of Commerce; and Connie Stahl, representing the Elks Lodge 1430.

Dr. Richard Rush, president of California State University Channel Islands, is the grand marshal. He said he is proud of his Irish heritage and his involvement within Ventura County since he became president of the university 10 years ago.

Children from all over Ventura County will march in the parade this year. They will be representing the Buena High School Marching Band, Girl Scouts of America, Claddagh School of Irish Dancing, Ocean View Senior High School, Sacred Heart School, Boys and Girls Clubs, Thousand Oaks High School Cheerleaders, Dance with Aloha, Oxnard High School Air Force Jr, ROTC and the Rio Mesa High School Band.

For more information, call 643-4275 or visit www.venturastpatricksdayparade.com.

Fillmore’s Boot Scootin’ Ball "Celebrating 100 Years of Fillmore"

We Proudly Honor Our Community Citizens!

Friday March 7th, 2014
Time: 5:30-6:30pm Social hour ~ 6:30pm Dinner & Program

BAND: Common Ground 5:30-6:30pm & 9:30-11:30pm

Western Attire (Optional)

Location: Fillmore Veterans Memorial Building ~ 511 Second Street

Tickets: $30/per adult & $15/under 17 years

Call Chamber office for more details: (805) 524-0351

On Saturday, February 22, Fillmore FFA held the Tractor Contest, an event that has been going on for decades. This is a regional event where members compete in six different events demonstrating their knowledge and skill in tractors and their operations. The events included Springtooth: where participants demonstrated how accurately they could use a plow, the 3-Point Hitch: that tested speed and accuracy when attaching implements to tractors, Trailer Backing: an event where members had to successfully back up a trailer in an allotted time, Skip Loader: students had to use precision while trying to pick up a basket ball, Row Crop: participants drove a Row Crop Tractor in a straight line while trying not to damage the plants in the middle, and finally a quiz on the various parts of a tractor. There were members from all over the Region including Bakersfield and Morro Bay. There were over 80 members who came and competed. Fillmore took home 1st overall in the Advance Category, and many individuals placed independently.

Jessica Manginelli
Fillmore FFA Reporter

On Wednesday, February 19, Fillmore FFA competed in the Public Speaking Contest at Camarillo High School. Five different schools came including Carpinteria, Santa Paula, Camarillo, Ventura, and Fillmore. 24 Fillmore FFA members participated including eight who placed and got metals. Carolina Lopez received 4th in Creed Speaking, where you recite the FFA Creed. Jessica Manginelli received 2nd and Jane Ramos got 4th in Extemporaneous Speaking, a contest where you write a speech in 30 minutes on a randomly picked topic that you research prior to the contest. Chris Berrington was awarded 5th, Jaylene Ortiz got 4th, and Hellena received 1st in Impromptu, where you answer A.G. and FFA related questions on the spot. The Fillmore FFA team got 2nd place as a team in the CO OP Quiz and in individual awards Nick Johnson got 3rd and Felicity Zavala received 5th. In Job Interview Timmy Klittich was awarded 5th and Hellena Ripolgole received 4th. A handful of the participants get to move on to the regional level where they will compete against the South Coast Region, and if successful, get to move on to the State, and the National Level.

Jessica Mangonelli
Fillmore FFA Reporter

Community Memorial Hospital and nearly all of its Auxiliary members honored 63 women and men who together have donated thousands of hours of service to hospital patients and their families.

Volunteers who have reached levels ranging from 100 hours to 40 years over the course of their years of service for CMH were celebrated at the annual Auxiliary Meeting and Awards Luncheon on Feb. 7 at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Ventura. This year’s theme was “Volunteering Lights Up My Life.”

Special honors went to Mary Jane Wallace for 40 years of volunteer service, Phyllis Blankenburg for 30 years of service and Arleen Brooks and Katie Weldon for 20 years of service.

Beverly Brown, Angelina Hall and Katie Weldon was recognized for giving over 10,000 hours over years of service; Marjo Gardner for 9,000 hours; Shelby Bauer and Edie Marshall for 8,000 hours; Kay Willingham for 7,000 hours; Ann Warnagieris for 6,000 hours; Ann Simonitch for 5,000 hours; Trudy Cook for 4,000 hours; Linda Brown and Vivian Mould for 3,000 hours; Charlotte Bell, Ike Brown, Marlene Charton, Rosemary Icardo, Marjorie Ovens, Lynn Pratt, Fred Soprano and Aldine Venable each for 2,000 hours; and Marsha Batelaan, Peggy Dolan, Lee Esposito, Virginia Gallegos, David Howard, Nancy Jones, Maria Kapp, Anna LoPiano, Sue McDonald, Linda Pettit, Evon Rubenstein, Carol Torsney, Mary Wdowicki and Lola Wilson for each giving 1,000 hours.

In addition, seven other volunteers were recognized for giving at 500 hours and another 18 volunteers were honored for giving 100 hours.

The Auxiliary members at CMH, including teens in the Junior Volunteers Program, perform a variety of tasks such as discharging patients; stocking supplies; delivering books, flowers, mail and medications; staffing the front and back desks; assisting in Maternity, Pharmacy, the Emergency Department, Same Day Surgery, Ambulatory Services and Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, as well as cuddling premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Auxiliary members also raise money from souvenir birth certificate sales, fundraisers and gift shop sales. At this year’s luncheon, the Auxiliary presented CMHS President and CEO Gary Wilde with a check for $105,000 from earnings in the last year. Since 1962 the Auxiliary at CMH has donated $3,375,164.89.

New Auxiliary Board Members were installed: Katie Weldon, President; Sandy Frandsen, 1st Vice President; Trudy Cook, 2nd Vice President; Mary Wdowicki, Corresponding Secretary; Carol Torsney, Treasurer; Ann Howard and Charlotte Bell, Directors; Edie Marshall, Juniors; Judy Miller, Parliamentarian; and Ruth Downey, Past President.

Among those attending the luncheon included: Gary Wilde, CMHS President & CEO, Gary Wolfe, CMHS Board of Trustees past chair; Diany Klein, Vice President, Human Resources; Michael Ellingson, Vice President, Marketing & Development; Barbara Reynolds, Tri-Counties Area Council immediate past president; CMH Auxiliary incoming president Katie Weldon.

For more information about joining the CMH Auxiliary go to www.cmhshealth.org/volunteer, call 805-652-5043, or pick up an application form at the front desk of CMH, located at 147 N. Brent St. in Ventura.

Community Memorial Hospital is a member of Community Memorial Health System, a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and eleven family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has received reports of 15 confirmed measles cases in California residents so far this year. Cases have occurred throughout California. This time last year, only two measles cases had been reported.

“Immunization is the best defense against measles, with 99 percent of persons developing immunity after two doses,” says Dr. Ron Chapman, Dr. Ron Chapman, state health officer and director of CDPH. “With an outbreak in the Philippines and measles transmission ongoing in many parts of the world outside of North and South America, we can expect to see more imported cases of this vaccine-preventable disease.” Imported cases can spread to the community, especially among unvaccinated persons, including infants too young to be vaccinated.

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Ventura, CA - Caring for aging parents will be the focus of a free seminar Community Memorial Health System is holding on Wednesday, March 5 as part of its 2014 Ethics in Healthcare Series.

James Hornstein, M.D., chairman of the Bioethics Committee at Community Memorial Hospital, will moderate the seminar that will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Museum of Ventura County, located at 100 E. Main St. in Ventura.

Other featured speakers will be Bonnie Subira, director of Social Services for CMHS, and Dr. Lanyard Dial, who specializes in Geriatrics and is president/CEO and medical director of Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association.

In addition, the Ventura County Homecare Association, Area Agency on Aging and local programs for the aged will have exhibit tables with a wide range of information on assistance for older adults and their caregivers. The exhibits will open at 5 p.m.

Registration is free but reservations are required. Call 1-800/906-6093 or visit www.cmhshealth.org/rsvp.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and 11 family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.

Phil Birdsdell will be entertaining the Fillmore Ebell ladies at their regular monthly luncheon on February 25th. Phil is a singer and entertainer with impressions. He will be honoring the past presidents of this wonderful organization that has been in operation for 100 years.

Our luncheon will be at the Memorial Building at 12:30pm. For further information and/or reservations please call Glenda at 524-4949.

Livingston Hospice conducts several adult bereavement support groups to help those who have experienced a loss. Explore and express feeling, understand the grief process and receive emotional support. Open to the public, no cost, all are welcome; the groups are held at:

• The First Presbyterian Church, 850 Ivywood Drive, Oxnard; Every Wednesday, (March 5, 12, 19, 26 ); from 3:00 – 4:30 pm

• Livingston Memorial VNA, 1996 Eastman Ave (#112), Ventura; Every Wednesday, (March 5, 12, 19, 26); from 6:30 – 8:00

• Help of Ojai, 370 Baldwin Road, Ojai; On 2nd & 4th Tuesday, (March 11 & 25 ); from 10:30 am – 12 noon

• For the newly bereaved: at Livingston Memorial VNA, 1996 Eastman Ave, (#112), Ventura; second Thursday, (March 13); from 6:00 – 7:30 pm

FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA - One Step a la Vez (OSALV), 421 Sespe Avenue Fillmore, CA 93015, will host a Press Conference Tuesday, February 18, at 10:00am with the purpose to inform the media and community of the environmental toxicologists scientific findings about health concerns surrounding the Superfund Toxic Waste Site located on the east side of Fillmore, following the Community Health Survey conducted from 2011 to 2013. The Press Conference will bring to light possible health risks and past health conditions caused by the Superfund site. The Press Conference will increase public awareness of Chevron’s Superfund clean-up process, report the environmental toxicologists scientific findings of local health issues, and identify possible health risks associated with the Superfund site. The Press Conference will allow a question and answer session with Dr. Dahlgren and an OSALV representative to answer pertinent questions. The OSALV will also host a Community Forum, Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 6:00pm, for a community dialogue and follow-up of the Press Conference.

The OSALV staff learned that the communities’ concerns about the Superfund Site surrounded water, air and soil contamination as well as health and medical issues in 2010. The OSALV began its research of the Superfund Site in 2011 by sponsoring a Community Health Survey developed by Dr. Dahlgren, an environmental toxicologist. The Community Health Survey developed by Dr. Dahlgren, M.D., was administered by his team along with OSALV youth, staff, and community volunteers through door-to-door interviews. The health survey findings will be announced at the Press Conference on Tuesday, February 18 at 10:00am at the OSALV Center.

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This years Board of Directors has voted on having the Monthly Fillmore Chamber of Commerce Board Meetings at different local businesses to support our local businesses. Below are the entire 2014 Board of Directors meeting dates, times and locations. In order to support our local businesses we will be conducting our meetings at the various businesses in town.

Thursday January 16th 6:30pm Fillmore Chamber Office
Tuesday February 4th 3:15pm Diamond Realty
Tuesday March 4th 5:30pm El Pescador (Outside Patio)
Tuesday April 1st 5:30pm La Fondita
Tuesday May 6th 5:30pm I-Hop
Tuesday June 3rd 5:30pm Central Station(Outside Patio)
Tuesday July 8th 12:00pm Margaret's (Outside Patio)
Tuesday August 5th 12:00pm Elkins Ranch (Outside Patio)
Tuesday September 2nd 5:30pm Taco Llama (Outside Patio)
Tuesday October 7th 5:30pm Vallartas
Tuesday November 4th 12:00pm Orange Rush Cafe
Tuesday December 2nd 5:30pm El Pescador (Outside Patio)

The Big Read is a cooperative effort of the City of Ventura Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Partnerships and the Ventura County Library. It is designed to encourage the community to read, discuss and participate in activities inspired by this year’s featured book, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. In conjunction with this year’s Big Read event, the E. P. Foster Library is sponsoring a design challenge inspired by The Things They Carried.

The goal of the Art Tag Design Challenge will be to create a miniature work of art on a shipping tag using Tim O’Brien’s book as a starting point. Images may reflect war and/or the consequences, aftermath, or results of war. You can use any medium as long as it is contained on the shipping tag. Blank shipping tags will be given to participants who register at the E. P. Foster Library. Foster Library will have colored pencils available to use if you wish to create your tag inside the library.

The Art Tag Design Challenge will run March 3rd to March 28th. We hope this will invoke creativity and passion as we tap into our community. The library encourages reading as well as artistic expression and we believe in an involved and thoughtful community.

To sign up, please visit the E. P. Foster Library to register and pick up your blank tag. For additional information about the Art Tag Design Challenge, contact the E. P. Foster Library at 805-648-2716.

E. P. Foster Library is located at 651 E. Main St. in Ventura. Hours of service are Monday – Thursday 10-8, Friday & Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 1-5.

The Ventura County Library is available 24/7 at www.vencolibrary.org.

Oxnard, CA - Community Memorial Health System’s Healthy Women’s Program is hosting a Community Outreach Day which offers free mammograms and healthcare education to the first 35 women who qualify. This event will take place at the Center for Family Health in Oxnardon Saturday,Feb. 22.

The women will arrive early at the CFH office at 2361 E. Vineyard Ave. in Oxnardwhere they will be transported to The Breast Center at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, and then back to the Centers office.

In 2013, an estimated 234,580 new cases of breast cancer occurred in the United States, and early detection and awareness is the key to fighting this life-threatening disease. The Healthy Women’s Program provided through Community Memorial Health System benefits women in the community who are uninsured, under-insured or lack funds to pay for mammograms and follow-up treatment, if necessary.

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The Ventura County Library is pleased to announce a new Veterans Resource Center made possible by a grant administered by the State Librarian. The purpose of the grant is to reintegrate California veterans into the California workforce and community.

The Veterans Resource Center will open at E. P. Foster library in downtown Ventura on March 7th at 4:00. The opening ceremony will continue that evening at The Big Read kickoff held at Bell Arts Factory.

The centers, staffed by library volunteers trained by CalVet, will make it easier for veterans and their families to learn about the state and federal benefits they have earned through military service and how to claim them and about the local services available to them.

Recognizing the need to reach and serve more California veterans, in October 2012, the State Library, in coordination with CalVet, conducted a pilot project to create Veterans Resource Centers in public libraries. The project received grant funding from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to open veterans centers in Bakersfield, Redding and San Diego libraries. Those libraries, now open for over a year, have served more than 4,000 veterans and veteran families.

California is home to 1.8 million veterans. An additional 40,000 veterans are expected to return to the state every year for the next several years. State and federal benefits can help veterans and their families move successfully forward in civilian life. Veterans’ benefits can help veterans begin or complete their education, care for their health, get job training, find employment, buy or improve their home, and live out their lives with the dignity and respect they deserve. Some veteran dependents qualify for benefits as well.

Unfortunately, many veterans are unaware of the benefits they are entitled to receive or how to claim them. The library Veterans Resource Centers have proven to be an effective way for veterans to get the information and assistance they need.

The library needs volunteers to operate the center. Training and materials are provided by Cal Vet. If you are interested in volunteering to help local vets, please contact Sara Roberts at (805) 641-4414.

For decades field biologists, researchers and animal care staff were the only people able to witness the development of a California condor family. Now viewers around the globe will be able to watch the growth of a condor, from caring for the egg to rearing the hatched chick, via the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Conservancy's online Condor Cam. This rare glimpse has only recently been available for public viewing with the hatching of the Condor Cam's very first star, Saticoy, in 2012.

More than 600,000 visitors watched Saticoy on the website's Condor Cam, and many read blog updates as he was released into the wild in November of 2013. Since his release, Saticoy has been observed perching and roosting in trees with other condors and field biologists have confirmed that he is doing well and integrating seamlessly into the wild.

Saticoy's is a success story many years in the making. In the 1980s, there were only 22 condors left in the world. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has now hatched 181 chicks and released more than 80 birds into the wild as part of the California Condor Recovery Program. Having cameras in the nests has certainly played a part in the recovery programs success.

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