Do you have old computers, televisions or other techni-junk taking up much-needed space? If so, this may help.
Bardsdale United Methodist Church is partnering with Global e-Recyclers of Santa Fe Springs to collect and responsibly recycle unwanted electronics through the month of February. Besides computers and TVs, the list of acceptable items includes printers, FAX machines, modems, VCR/DVD players, cables, DVDs and CDs, cell phones, laptops, and a whole lot more. Call the church office, 524-2070 or Dan Michel, 524-0312 (after 4:30) to find out more info. For pick-up, call Dan. State law requires a donor's name and address for TVs and monitors only.

“Something special happens whenever I sing for the Fillmore Ebell Club. They are a lively, philanthropic and fun group of people!,” said Dean Regan about his third annual visit to the Fillmore Ebell Club. “It’s amazing the good work that they do,” he continued “and it is my pleasure to do whatever I can do to support them.” Broadway vocalist, Dean Regan, will at the Fillmore Ebell Club to sing selections from the American Popular Song Book and Broadway favorites. Along with his musical director, Nick Fryman, Dean will also include selections from his new CD: “Give My Regards to Broadway” which will be released this Spring. “Recording this ‘album’ has been a creative labor of love. I think everyone who loves Broadway and it’s rich place in our culture will love this recording,” Mr. Regan said in a recent conversation with the Ebell Clubs Entertainment Director, Kathi Mardsen.

The Los Angeles press announced “when Regan sings ... it tears your heart out” and dubbed him “charming, handsome, foot-loose and fancy-free.” His lively concerts enchant the most discerning audiences and bring them to their feet in exuberant appreciation. His melodious voice, bewitching style and comic timing have inspired audiences to dub him an exhilarating mixture of “Romantic Crooner” and “Court Jester of Song.” Dean's unique style brings both a heartfelt, romantic depth, as well as a fast-paced, comic energy across the footlights. Each concert is full of musical variety crafted from America’s Popular Song Book (Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Dorothy Fields) and Broadway’s Greatest Hits (Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander and Ebb, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber) ... as well as a few surprises.

The Los Angeles Times wrote: “[Regan is] likable and sympathetic. You couldn’t find yourself in better ‘Company.’” Dean's performance as the “Emcee” in “Cabaret” was heralded as “stunning and poignant” by the Los Angeles press. Named “Artist of the Year” by Professional Artists for his concert performances, Dean has also been honored with both the prestigious Garland and Drama-Logue awards for his Los Angeles musical theater performances. Along with Musical Director, Nick Fryman on Concert Piano, Dean will perform a special luncheon concert after the Fillmore Ebell monthly meeting. For more information about the concert and how to become a member of the Fillmore Ebel Club, please contact Kathi Marsden at 661-803-1430.

Chihuahua/Dachshund mix puppy. Black with brown paws, white chest. In vicinity of C Street. Call to identify 525-2225.

Santa Clara Valley Disposal will maintain its regular Friday trash and recycling collection schedule in Fillmore on Feb. 25, during the week of Presidents’ Day.

For more information, call 647-1414

This Valentine’s Day find your true love at the Ventura County Animal Shelter. To help these animals find new “furever” homes, the shelter is running a special Valentine’s Day weekend promotion – all dogs and cats will be adopted out at the special half price of $60. Included in this fee is your animal’s spay/neuter, license, rabies shot, microchip, and free obedience lessons. What a sweet deal! Visit the shelter’s web site at www.vcas.us for more information and to preview the animals. And remember, there’s an animal waiting for your love at the Ventura County Animal Shelter.

Christopher Lee, owner of CEL Financial Services.

CEL Financial Services, a reputable income tax preparation business in the State of California, now offers affordable tax services for small businesses, individuals and families looking to maximize tax refunds this year.

"People need help now in these economic times. Families and individuals don't have the disposable income nowadays," said Christopher Lee, Owner of CEL Financial Services.

"My fees are 40% to 50% lower than major tax chains and my services are completely mobile. This allows me to work with people on prices, ensuring they get all the credits they're entitled to," said Lee.

CEL Financial Services offers mobile tax services at no extra charge. Individuals, families and small businesses pay only the basic rate for their type of return. For more information visit CEL Financial Services online at http://www.TaxPrepFillmore.com.

Christopher Lee is the owner of CEL Financial Services. Born and raised in Fillmore, Lee is a graduate of Fillmore High. Lee lives with Sally Wilsey in Fillmore and is a member of the St. Francis of Assisi
Church.

Ventura, CA. - Community Memorial Health System is offering free monthly classes for patients diagnosed with either pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome, a disorder that increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The classes, sponsored by CMHS’s DiabetesAware program, are held the first Thursday of each month, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., at CMHS’s Training Center at 2809 Main St., Suite B, in Ventura.

For more information or to attend this monthly class, call 805/667-2818 or go to www.cmhshealth.org for all ongoing CMHS events, classes and support groups.

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

Ventura, CA. - Balloon Sinuplasty, a new minimally-invasive surgical option for chronic sinus sufferers, will be the focus of a free seminar the Community Memorial Health System is holding on Tuesday, March 1.

Edgar Lueg, M.D., Ventura County’s most experienced Balloon Sinuplasty surgeon, will lead the discussion during the seminar to be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the eighth-floor Nichols Auditorium at Community Memorial Hospital, located at 147 Brent St.

Dr. Lueg, of Ear Nose Throat & Sinus Specialists of Ventura, will discuss the technology and advantages of this new, quicker and safer non-cutting surgery that results in less bleeding for patients with chronic sinusitis.

Dr. Lueg earned his medical degree from the University of Toronto in Canada and received advanced fellowship training in New York City. He is board-certified in Otolaryngology and has performed hundreds of balloon Sinuplasties. Dr. Lueg is an active member of the Community Memorial Hospital medical staff.

Admission is free, but space is limited and reservations are required. Call 805/652-5436, or go to 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 nine family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.

ADULT LAP SWIM IS BACK! ! !

Monday - Friday
6:30am - 8:00am

Saturday
8:30am - 10:00am

Monday - Thursday
5:45pm - 7:30pm

Cost is $4.00 per visit.

Enlarge Photo

Our rural community of 600+ farms, ranches, supply and packing houses, nurseries and oil fields.
Keeping one another safe in rural Ventura County!

It's Sunday at noon and a perfect time to write Farm Watch. We are getting a light rain that will be perfect for our Ag Community.

As we look at our mild weather in February and a possible early Spring, we need to think about what the "Ag Crooks" are thinking about. We have to stay one step ahead of them.

Early Spring means, soil temperatures rising and fertilizer applications kicking in. Last year we lost a record amount of fertilizer by crooks stealing thousands of pounds of fertilizer from farms, County-wide. Sometimes they would take 2-3 thousand pounds in a night.

Remember, Agriculture Detective Ray Dominguez ask you to not keep-long term storage of bagged fertilizer in the field-side chain link yards. Try to get the delivery timely with the application. We know it is not always possible, but be on alert.

GOOD NEWS:
As you recall on April 17th, 2010, Sheriff Gang Deputies Bill Meixner and Beau Rodriguez were involved in a near-death patrol car crash on Highway 126 east of Santa Paula. They were both severely critically injured and each spent nearly a month in the hospital and eight months in physical therapy. Beau has just returned to work two weeks ago and typical “Beau,” he set out as active as ever combating gangs in Ventura County. Bill Meixner is starting back to work in a few weeks. We can’t wait for Bill to be back. If you get a chance and welcome them back: beau.Rodriguez@ventura.org and Bill.meixner@ventura.org

EXPLORERS:
Before, I forget, a big congratulations to our Sheriff's Teen Explorers who all went to Arizona and competed against explorers from all over the western USA. We are proud to report that our boys and girls from all over our Ventura County rural communities won many awards and had a great time. These kids are our future leaders in our communities and we should all be proud..

Young Farmers & Ranchers:
A shout out to our young farmers and CONTINUED »

Relay for Life is Sept 17th!!!

Are YOU interested in getting more involved this year?

There is an Interested Parties Meeting planned for:
Thursday, Feb 10th at 6 pm
Senior Center Building on Santa Clara Street

RSVP and for Questions, please call Josie at (805) 524-0149
or real_family@yahoo.com

“Fantasy of Flowers” will be the theme for the 2011 Fillmore Flower Show to be held April 16,17 at the Senior Center located at 533 Santa Clara St., Fillmore, California. The show will be free to the public during the hours of 1:00pm-4:00pm both Saturday & Sunday. Entries will be accepted Saturday between 7:30am to 10:30am. There will be one entry fee of $5.00 for each adult exhibitor, no matter how many entries are entered.

There will a youth poetry, prose, or short essay contest like we offered last year with the topic being the same as the show theme. Entry brochures will be available soon at City Hall, the Library, the Fillmore Historical Museum, & the Senior Center. Music will be provided by Asher Smith.

The Fillmore Historical Museum brought a wonderful Flower Show History scrapbook to display last year with the first entry dated 1925. Many guests enjoyed looking at it & discovering pictures of themselves & friends from years gone by. We chose to take a look back at the 57th annual flower show of 1980, by reusing the theme for that show.

Notes taken from the scrapbook stated that music was provided by Byron & Marian Bessette of Oxnard. The Grand prize award would be an Irish silver plated bowl. Another article said that 1980 was proclaimed a “terrible year” for flowers because of “terrible wind & extreme heat.”

Now that the theme is announced, you can begin to allow your creative “juices” to flow with fresh ideas for a fantasy of flowers entry.

Santa Paula, CA. - On Friday January 21, 2011, the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce awarded Santa Clara Valley Bank (SCVBank; OTC BB: SCVE.OB) the Medium Business of the Year at its Annual Installation Gala. President and CEO Michael Hause reported, “The award was given, in my opinion, based on the strong commitment SCVBank has in Santa Clarita, to its customers, the chamber and so many of the non-profit organizations it supports. Vice President and Regional Manager Kris Hough was instrumental in this award as a long-time board member and past president of the SCV Chamber.”

Vice President Hough commented, “We are honored to live and work in this great community of Santa Clarita. Our enthusiastic staff of professional bankers are committed to providing exceptional customer service ---their commitment makes this award possible.”

Also during the event, the Betty Ferguson Foundation was lauded for its many years of contributions to the Santa Clarita Valley. CEO Hause has been a board member of that organization for the past five years.

Besides the Chamber and the Betty Ferguson Foundation, SCVBank also supports Soroptimist International, Relay for Life, Arthritis Foundation, Valencia Industrial Association, SCV Education Foundation, SC Association of Professional Women, Hispanic Business Committee, SCV Facilities Foundation, Old Town Newhall Association, the Senior Center, the Child and Family Center, Association of Women Entrepreneurs, SCV Youth Project, SCV Film Festival, SCV Mayors Committee for Employment of Individuals with Disabilities; and the SCV Theatre Project.

The Bank also supports Rotary International, Boys and Girls Club of the Santa Clara Valley, Santa Paula Art Museum, Fillmore Grad Night Live, Aviation Museum of Santa Paula, Santa Clara Valley Hospice, Downtown Merchants Association, Kiwanians International, the Police and Fire Foundation, California Community Reinvestment Corporation, to name a few.

Founded in 1998, Santa Clara Valley Bank has offices in Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Valencia. Under its stock symbol of SCVE.OB, Santa Clara Valley Bank's stock is traded through McAdams Wright Ragen, Howe Barnes Hofer & Arnett, and Wedbush Morgan Securities. The Bank's web site is www.SCVBank.com.

Statements concerning future performance, developments or events concerning expectations for growth and market forecasts, and any other guidance on future periods, constitute forward looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from stated expectations. Specific factors include, but are not limited to, the effect of interest rate changes, the ability to control costs and expenses, the impact of consolidation in the banking industry, financial policies of the United States government, and general economic conditions.

Cities served by Harrison Industries and its business partners, Agromin Premium Soil Products and Gold Coast Recycling, have benefited from the advanced recycling programs they provide, contributing to the high recycling rates between 60 and 70 percent in 2009, well above the state mandate of 50 percent.

Harrison provides trash collection service to over 80,000 customers with residential, commercial and industrial service in the County of Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Ventura, Ojai, Fillmore and the City of Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County as well as the Channel Islands Beach Communities Service District. Harrison also provides commercial service to Santa Paula.

All Harrison customers are provided the opportunity to recycle over 17 different materials including newsprint, glass, cardboard, plastic and paper products.

As a result, the cities Harrison serves achieved the high diversion rates in 2009, according to Evan Edgar of Edgar & Associates, a leading authority on recycling, waste reduction and product reuse in California.

“The state shifted the accounting method from a published recycling rate where a 50 percent recycling rate is mandated to a pound per person per day disposal indicator specific to each jurisdiction starting in 2007," Edgar said. "Doing the math to convert pounds per person per day back to recycling rates from the published 2009 data posted by the state agency CalRecycle, the jurisdictions that Harrisons serve have achieved recycling rates well above 50 percent and are in compliance.”

Ventura – 75 percent
Camarillo – 75 percent
Carpinteria – 71 percent
Thousand Oaks – 69 percent
Santa Paula – 68 percent
Fillmore – 63 percent
Ojai – 60 percent
Unincorporated Ventura County – 57 percent

Maintaining or expanding recycling programs can be challenging for local elected officials. Harrison Industries has been able to add cost-effective programs to decrease the amount of material buried at local landfills.

Effective waste management programs like Harrison’s and economic conditions helped Californians throw away less trash than ever before in 2009, according to CalRecycle. The statewide per capita disposal rate of 4.5 pounds of trash per person per day is the lowest on record since the department began tracking statewide waste disposal in 1995. As the economy went into recession, construction of residential and commercial structures plummeted; there was a decrease in solid waste generated by construction and demolition activities, and by the commercial sector, while at the same time many recycling programs expanded.

“The market prices for many materials dropped due to the economic conditions, while the supply of some materials increased as some Californians recycled more to offset other lost income,” CalRecycle reported.

“Though the recession significantly influenced the 2009 drop in disposal, Californians should still be proud of the innovative recycling, composting, and waste reduction programs that continue to reduce our waste stream each year,” Edgar added. "Looking ahead, we need to make sure these effective recycling programs continue to thrive and grow to handle increased disposal that is anticipated when the recession eases and as greenhouse gas programs are launched.”

Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, have adopted measures such as mandated commercial recycling, anaerobic digestion, and compost use as strategies to further reduce greenhouse gases. “For every one ton of commercial waste recycled, there is a global benefit of avoiding two tons of greenhouse gas. More commercial recycling of food waste with anaerobic digestion will also generates renewable energy," Edgar said.
Bill Camarillo of Agromin Premium Soil Products, the largest compost producer in Ventura County, stated, “Compost use has shown to save farmers 30 percent water use, which saves energy on pumping and reduces greenhouse gases, and saves water during drought years, while reducing erosion and increasing yields. Taking recycling and composting to the next level with AB 32 will reduce greenhouse gases and save resources.”

About Harrison Industries
Harrison Industries was established in 1932 and is one of the oldest and largest privately owned trash collection businesses in the United States. Its philosophy is that people should not have to think about trash or recycling and that the collection is simple as possible to help people "to do the right thing.” The Company motto, "Service is everything," has ensured success and longevity. Myra Harrison serves as founder. Her oldest son Ralph is president and her sons Jim and Myron serve as vice presidents.

February is very busy for Fillmore FFA! First, along with Santa Paula FFA, we will be attending the Tulare Farm Show on February 9th. There we will learn about tractors and different crops they have at their farm. Then on the 11th and 12th we will be traveling again to Tulare County to attend the Advanced Leadership Academy and the Made For Excellence Conferences in Visalia. There we will learn team working skills, communication techniques and take part in entertaining workshops. The workshops will help us discover who we are and what we have to offer to our community. A few days after the conferences, the Fillmore Chapter will be competing against other chapters in the Ventura Section in a Cooperative Quiz, job interviewing and public speaking contests. These are Career Development Events (CDE’s) which are designed to help prepare students for the job market by teaching them to think critically, communicate clearly and to perform effectively. On February 19thFillmore FFA will be having a Farm Cleanup for the School Farm. Not only will we be picking up trash, but also weeding and sweeping areas. This is necessary because on the 26th Fillmore FFA will be hosting a Tractor Contest. The day will consist of students competing in tractor driving and maneuvering competitions. All FFA Chapters from the South Coast Region are invited. As if February isn’t busy enough! On the 27thand 28th students will be applying for the Regional Officer Screening in San Luis Obispo. We have several students who will be attending this in order to obtain an officer position on the 2011-2012 South Coast Regional Team. We will interact with other FFA members from the region and be interviewed by past officers. National FFA Week is February 19th-26th. FFA Week is a chance for members to educate the public about FFA programs and Agriculture. Fillmore FFA is excited to show other students what our organization is about. If you would like to purchase a wonderful 2011 Fillmore FFA Calendar for $10, please email Booster member Kathleen Aguirre at fiveaguirres@aol.com or call the Fillmore High School to contact Mr. Joe Ricards.

Brooke Aguirre is the Fillmore FFA Chapter Reporter