Hello-Ho-Ho Fillmore! Santa is on schedule to arrive in Fillmore in time for the Annual Fillmore Lions Club Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 5, 2009. The parade begins at 1:00 PM at the intersection of Second and Central and travels down Central to Santa Clara ending in front of Fillmore City Hall.

This year Santa has allowed time at the end of the parade for the boys and girls watching the parade to visit with him and have their parents take pictures with Santa for free. All Santa said is needed is for people to
bring their own cameras to take the pictures. Look for Santa around Fillmore City Hall to have your picture taken.

Each year the Annual Fillmore Lions Club Christmas Parade is hosted by the Fillmore Lions Club in the honor of longtime Lions Club Member and life-long Fillmore/Piru citizen the late Henry “Hank” Carrillo who saved the parade when it was in danger of discontinuing without a sponsor. To place an entry in the parade, contact Dick Diaz at 524-5315, or 279-3599, or email dickdiaz@roadrunner.com

Vision 2020, Civic Pride Committee, is sponsoring the revived Fillmore Flower Show on April 10-11, 2010. It will be held at the Fillmore Senior Center, like last year, at 533 Santa Clara Street, Fillmore, California, 93015. The event is open to the public both days from 1:00pm-4:00pm and it is FREE.
The theme will be “Spring Fever” and Fillmore’s Asher Smith will once again beguile us with his violin and mandolin music.
This year, the public will be invited to share in several Flower Show preparation workshops. In January, there will be a workshop presentation by Joanne King on pruning your rose bushes, held at Oralia Herrara’s home. Having roses ready for the show depends on the time of pruning! In February, another workshop at the Herrara’s will be on entry preparations. In March, we are hoping to present a workshop focused on Youth entries. Then the first Wednesday in April (April 7th), the week of the Fillmore Flower Show, the public is invited to join the Ventura County Garden Club at their meeting in Santa Paula at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 1:00pm to hear judges, Susan Diller and Barbara Schneider speak on flower arrangements and bouquets with critiques and suggestions. The time and date specifics for these workshops and events will be presented in news articles to follow.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Clara Valley will kick off its annual “It Just Takes One” campaign this week. The campaign will raise funds for the Club’s after-school programs and services for youth, ages 5-18, living in Fillmore, Piru and Santa Paula. Scheduled to run through the end of February, 2010, the campaign seeks donations primarily from individuals.
Serving as the campaign’s co-chairs are Tony Soriano and Mike Mobley, past presidents of Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Clara Valley. The campaign’s goal this year is to raise 75,000 for the Clubs’ annual operating budget. Tony said, “We are proud to announce that to date, our campaign has raised $13,025.00 as a result of some early lead gifts. All we need now is the rest of our community to show their support, and we will be able to reach, maybe even exceed, our goal.”
“Our Clubs are making a difference in the community,” added Mobley. “Last year, our local Clubs served 5,641youth and families, a 7.5% increase from the year before. But there are still many more children in our community that need the kind of positive influence and guidance the Clubs provide, and we want to reach out to these youth and their families.”
Funds raised will help provide quality after school programs such as the Power Hour homework help program, computer skills training, career exploration, arts & crafts, fitness & sports, and character & leadership programs such as SMART Moves (a prevention program) and Youth of the Year (the Club’s premier recognition program).
The Boys & Girls Clubs mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us the most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
“The cost of providing the Boys & Girls Club experience to one child for a year is about $850” said Soriano. “You can see what a valuable investment that is when you compare it to the cost of incarcerating a youth who went in the wrong direction – usually $50,000 or more. The Clubs give a good return on investment.”

Our Third Annual Poinsettia Sale to benefit the Fillmore Historical Museum. We appreciate your support! Mail your order to: Fillmore Historical Museum, P.O. Box 314, Fillmore, CA 93016, or call your order in at 524-0948, ore-mail your order to: fillmore.museum@sbcglobal.net. Our large, lush red poinsettias are only $10.00 each. Tell your friends and relatives. Call for more details. Orders may be picked up on Saturday, December 5, 2009. Please make checks payable to: Fillmore Historical Museum. Thank you.

All dependent on vaccine availability and/or delivery, Ventura County Public Health will hold a special H1N1 vaccine dispensing clinic on Thursday, November 19, 2009 from 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM. The clinic will be held at Mountain Vista School, 915 5th Street, Fillmore, Ca. 93015.
Public Health Clinic Vaccinations: If you have insurance, bring your card. Vaccines are free to you but we can bill insurance for providing the vaccine. Arrive early. Parking is limited. Long lines may exist, we may have to cut them off at some point.
H1N1 vaccines are only for Ventura County residents.
Due to limited supplies, H1N1 vaccine in Ventura County is limited to:
Pregnant women
Children and young adults from 6 months to 24 years of age
Caretakers and household contacts of infants less than 6 months of age
Persons aged 25 through 64 years of age who have high risk medical conditions, e.g.: lung disease including asthma, COPD, heart disease (not high blood pressure); diabetes; morbid obesity; neurocognitive or neuromuscular disease; immunocompromised (cancer, chemotherapy, steroids, congenital, HIV).
Please check the H1N1 website to determine who is eligible: http://www.vchca.org/h1n1 or call 981-5390. All this information is directly from the website.

County Supervisor Kathy Long, 3rd District would like to announce to all residents of Ventura County that the next Santa Paula Tattoo Removal Clinic will be held on Saturday November 21st, 2009 from 8:30 am – 12 noon, no appointments necessary. Orientation for first time participants will be at 9 am located at 1334 E. Main St. the Santa Paula Family Care Clinic. Due to overwhelming response, spaces will be limited.
County Supervisor Kathy Long spearheaded this clinic in collaboration with the following agencies: Ventura County Public Health, Ventura County Probation Agency, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Paula Family Care Clinic, Interface Children Family Services, and CalWORKS.
The clinic not only welcomes participants but volunteers to run the clinic. If you have any questions, or would like to find out how you can help, please call the Santa Paula Family Care Clinic at (805) 933-1242.

The Santa Paula Police Department has been awarded a new traffic safety grant for a year-long anti-DUI program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on our roadways. New enforcement measures to combat impaired driving are coming as a result of a recent $49,195 grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety to Santa Paula. The Santa Paula Police Department is dedicated to keeping our streets safe through both enforcement and education.

Santa Paula Police Chief Steve MacKinnon stated, “This grant will be a major tool in our efforts to stop drunk driving. Our officers are investigating too many incidents where alcohol was a major contributor to injuries and deaths. With this grant we will be able to make Santa Paula safer, while sending the clear message that this community does not tolerate drunk driving.”

The special DUI Enforcement and Awareness grant is to CONTINUED »

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Make sure everyone in the family gets home safely this holiday season by buckling your seat belt every trip, day and night. That’s the message that the Thousand Oaks Police Department is telling drivers as part of the 2009 holiday Click It or Ticket mobilization, November 17 - 30. Officers will be out in force looking for anyone – driver, passenger or child – not properly restrained.

Given the years of public awareness campaigns, including hundreds of Click It or Ticket highway signs, no warnings will be given out. The Click It or Ticket campaign relies on heavy enforcement and education as a means to help save lives on California’s roadways.

“There is absolutely no question that seat belts save lives,” said Police Chief Jeff Matson. “Buckling up will not only save you a heavy fine, it can also save your life.”

Currently California has a seat belt usage rate of CONTINUED »

In observance of Thanksgiving Day, the employees of Santa Clara Valley Disposal are taking the day off on Thursday, Nov. 26. As a result, Fillmore residential customers will have their trash and recyclables collected a day later than normal, on Saturday, Nov. 28.

The regular Friday schedule will resume the following week.

For more information, call 647-1414.

Ventura, CA. – As part of its ongoing commitment to family strengthening, the Ventura Family YMCA celebrates military families during the nation’s first National Military Family Month.

“The Ventura Family YMCA recognizes the sacrifices that members of the military and their families make on a daily basis,” said Kate Bucey, Administrative Services Director of the Ventura Family YMCA. “We celebrate National Military Family Month, and we are honored to provide support to families of deployed military service members.”

In 2008, in an effort to expand access to health and well-being resources to military families, the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) and the Department of Defense teamed up with the nation’s YMCAs to provide eligible military families and active duty personnel with access to youth development, family strengthening, and health and well-being programs through memberships and respite child care services at community YMCAs nationwide.
In its first year, the YMCA Military Outreach Initiative has seen more than 22,000 YMCA family and individual memberships. The program has also served more than 36,000 military children. In Ventura County the Ventura Family YMCA is serving dozens of families with full facility memberships which are subsidized through the ASYMCA-DoD Outreach Initiative. During November, the Ventura Family YMCA will celebrate Military Family Month with additional special activities, such as the YMCA Thanksgiving potluck on November 18th starting at 6pm. The potluck is a special way for the Ventura Family YMCA staff, facility members and members of the community to come together for a celebration of thanks.

First established by ASYMCA and recognized by First CONTINUED »

The Fillmore Senior Class of 2010 is selling Marie Callender Pies for Thanksgiving for Grad Nite Live. They will be selling until the 13th of November and then they will deliver them to you Tuesday afternoon the 24th of November. The pies will be ready for pick-up at 12 noon to 4 pm in the main room at the Memorial Bldg. Please use the doors on the Shiells Drive side. The front door is for the Ebell Club.

We are selling Apple, Pumpkin, Pecan, Razelberry and Lite Apple...$11:00 each. If you haven’t been contacted by a
High School Senior you can call Mrs. Chaney 524-4909 or 407-5759 and place your order. The Class of 2009 sold 1445 pies last year and this class is trying to sell more…help us!!

Conway Spitler

Findings from a survey on "Feelings about pets". Where do you stand? 36% none, 42% 1, 61% Feeling about pets, 8% looking for a pet, 61% looking for a pet - not the right time to get it, 16% think about a pet from time to time, 15% thinking.

Fillmore High Alumni Association

The alumni office received the following e-mail from Linda Jackson Durand, class of '65, and it is felt that she has expressed the concerns of many alumni members of Fillmore High School:
Last Friday night Fillmore High School played Grace Brethren and won which made them the Frontier League Champions. At the end of the game, Susan Dollar and I began to sing the Alma Mater and most of the people in the crowd sang along with us. What pride we all had in our team and what pride we had that so many people in the stands knew the song.
Sadly, I don't believe this song is known by most of the Fillmore High Students. When I was in high school, the cheerleading squad began singing this song after each basketball, football and baseball game. Unfortunately, our cheerleaders don't do the same today. Since it is the cheerleaders responsibility to keep the crowd cheering and supporting the players I would love to see it become mandatory for the cheerleaders to know both the Alma Mater, Fillmore Fight Song and have a basic knowledge of the games. This is something that all the kids and the community could participate in and be proud of. Greg Godfrey is doing an excellent job with the band. The band does play the Fight Song...but again sadly, I don't believe most students know the words.
Wouldn't it be wonderful for the school and community spirit if EVERYONE knew the words to these songs?? Perhaps this is something that Mr. Wilbur and the teachers can work on together for the students. This spirit is something that a small school like Fillmore can enjoy in the present and it will make memories for their future.
Linda Durand, class of '65
Inasmuch as the alumni Board of Directors and the Scholarship CONTINUED »

Our Third Annual Poinsettia Sale to benefit the Fillmore Historical Museum. We appreciate your support! Mail your order to: Fillmore Historical Museum, P.O. Box 314, Fillmore, CA 93016, or call your order in at 524-0948, ore-mail your order to: fillmore.museum@sbcglobal.net. Our large, lush red poinsettias are only $10.00 each. Tell your friends and relatives. Call for more details. Orders may be picked up on Saturday, December 5, 2009. Please make checks payable to: Fillmore Historical Museum. Thank you.

The Fillmore Ebell Club will be entertained this month by members of the Bardsdale United Methodist Church Handbell Choir, the Orange Pealers, at the Veterans Memorial building on November 24, 2009.

The Bardsdale United Methodist Church Orange Pealers started in 1989 as a direct result of a memorial gift given by the Dorman family in memory of Helen Lidamore’s father, Harold Dorman. The two-octave choir was started with a great deal of enthusiasm, but not a great deal of bell ringing experience, for no one had ever rung a bell before! After one year, the original director stepped down and Marcia Heerema volunteered to be the director.

Again the Orange Pealers were faced with the same problem, no previous bell experience! However, membership in the Area XII American Guild of English Handbell Ringers has made a huge difference. The choir has attended many bell conferences and is proud to say that they have graduated from “tins” to “coppers,” with an occasional “bronze” moment and are still ringing merrily every Sunday. The choir has purchased two additional octaves of bells, as well as three octaves of hand chimes which together provide a variety of lovely sounds.

Currently the choir has eight members: Barbara Mayberry, Helen Lidamore, Donna Wood, Irene Morris, Jann Duchacek, Mimi Burns, and Ralph Duchacek. We are fortunate to have two wonderful guest ringers: Rev.Wilbur and Dee Skeels who are assisting us in our Christmas program.

The choir practices Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. Anyone interested in ringing or flinging a bell is invited to join us. Just call Marcia Heerema, at 524-3674.

Anyone interested in more information, or becoming a member of the Fillmore Ebell Club, may call Pat Murray at 524-1825.

Soroptimist International of Fillmore announces their Annual Fashion Show to be held on Saturday, November 21 at the Veteran’s Memorial Building, 511 Second Street, Fillmore. This year’s theme is “Holiday’s Galore.”
The Silent Auction begins at 12 noon with lunch set to start at 12:45 followed by the fashion show. Donation is $25.00 per person with proceeds designated for local community needs. For tickets and information please contact Patti Walker 524-2731.
Hope to see you there!