Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ: BSRR), the holding company of Bank of the Sierra, announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Coast Bancorp (OTC: CTBP) of San Luis Obispo County, California. Under the agreement the outstanding shares of Coast Bancorp will be entitled to receive aggregate consideration of $3.2 million in cash and 581,753 shares of Sierra Bancorp common stock. Coast Bancorp shareholders may elect to receive cash, Sierra Bancorp common stock or a combination of both, subject to proration. Based on the closing price of Sierra Bancorp common stock on January 4, 2016, the transaction would have a value of $13.8 million, or $2.37 per Coast Bancorp common share. However, the deal value will fluctuate with changes in Sierra Bancorp’s stock price.

Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin McPhaill said, “We are excited that the employees and customers of Coast National Bank will join the Bank of the Sierra family. Expansion to California’s central coast presents an exciting growth opportunity for Bank of the Sierra. Similar to Coast National Bank, Bank of the Sierra is committed to providing outstanding service coupled with a commitment to improving the communities in which they serve.”

Anita Robinson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Coast Bancorp and Coast National bank stated, “Bank of the Sierra is the appropriate fit to continue the commitment by Coast National Bank for the past 18 years in our communities. Our customers will have access to many more products and services together with the additional benefit of a larger lending limit; enabling us to meet all of the needs of our customers and our community. This transaction benefits our shareholders who have been steadfast during difficult times and rewards them with shares in BSRR, providing opportunity into the future.” Ms. Robinson continued, "I am also excited to become part of the Bank of the Sierra team as the Market President for the San Luis Obispo area upon completion of the acquisition."

Sierra Bancorp expects CONTINUED »

Effective January 18, Valley Express is excited to announce revised schedules for both Santa Paula routes A and B; a brand new 15-stop River Central Route in Fillmore; connections between Fillmore and Piru routes; expansion of the Dial-A-Ride program to include full service to Seniors (65+); and an increase in daily fares, but monthly bus pass prices will remain the same.

“The new River Central Route will provide access to places in Fillmore where Valley Express hasn’t stopped before,” said Treena Gonzalez of Valley Express. She added, “Our service enhancements will make it more convenient than ever for people to get to the places they want to go in 2016!”

The new River Central Route complements Valley Express’ other Fillmore route. Valley Express bus service, which launched in March 2015, operates two routes in Santa Paula, one in Piru, and as of January 18, two routes in Fillmore. Both routes in Fillmore will be interlined with the Piru route, meaning a rider can stay on the same bus and get to locations in Fillmore and Piru.

The new River Central Route has stops along Central Avenue that supplement the existing Fillmore Route stops on Central Avenue, resulting in a total of ten stops on Central Avenue. This new route also stops at the following locations: El Paseo Apartments, Two Rivers Park and Greenfield Care Center.

“We’re pleased that we are able to provide all these service improvements without changing our monthly pass prices,” said Aaron Bonfilio, Program Manager – Transit Services for Valley Express. He continued to explain, “A slight increase in daily fares helps us afford these additional routes, connections, and expansion of our Dial-A-Ride program to seniors.”

All of these service enhancements are included in Valley Express’ newly revised brochures for the Santa Paula routes and Fillmore & Piru routes, which are available onboard the buses or by calling (805) 933-2267. New routes and schedules can also be seen at www.valleyexpressbus.org.

Valley Express service is provided through a cooperative agreement between the cities of Fillmore and Santa Paula, the County of Ventura, and the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC). It is administered by VCTC. The fixed-route and Dial-A-Ride service is the Heritage Valley’s own community-based transit program. Valley Express buses run seven days each week, including specialized School Tripper service with additional runs in the morning and afternoon. Day passes, monthly passes, and discounted passes for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities are available. For route and service information, call (800) 438-1112 or visit www.valleyexpressbus.org.

Back pain, which affects an estimated 30 million Americans at any given time, will be the focus of a free seminar when Community Memorial Health System opens its 2016 Educational Seminars series on Tuesday, Jan 26.

Antulio B. Aroche Jr., D.O., who specializes orthopedic surgery, 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 N. Brent St.

Nationwide, bone and joint health problems have become the leading cause of disability, and Dr. Aroche will discuss the causes and diagnosis of back pain as well as treatment and rehabilitation options available to patients.

Dr. Aroche was dual fellowship trained in orthopedic and neurosurgical spinal surgery at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He is a member of the North America Spine Society, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and several honor societies. Dr. Aroche is on the medical staffs of Community Memorial Hospital and Ojai Valley Community Hospital.

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

Future scheduled educational seminars include: Minimally Invasive Cardiovascular Care & Common Therapies on Feb. 23 at CMH; Advances in Cardiovascular Care on Feb. 27 at the Soule Park Golf Course banquet room; Hyperthyroidism on March 8 at the Courtyard by Marriott in Oxnard; and Innovative Management & Treatment of Urinary and Defecatory Disorders on March 15 at CMH.

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.

Santa Clara Valley Disposal will maintain its regular Friday trash collection schedule in Fillmore on Jan. 22, during the week of Martin Luther King Jr.

For more information, call 647-1414.

On Saturday, Jesus Torres, candidate for Ventura County Board of Supervisors District 3, kicked off the first of two events where he donated and delivered a combined 80 turkeys to families in need in Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Piru.

“The holidays can be a very stressful time for families that struggle to put food on the table,” said Torres. Growing up, my family was a recipient of a free turkey or food stuffs during the holidays. It’s important we come together to ensure we help families throughout our community celebrate the holidays.

The campaign partnered with the Santa Paul Police Department to identify families in need.

On Monday, Torres partnered with volunteers from First 5 for his second event at the Fillmore School District to hand out holiday food baskets (some of which included Turkeys donated by Torres) and toys for kids. Over a hundred families attended the giveaway, which served First 5 families from Fillmore and Piru.

Jesus currently works as a community relations director in the private sector. In this role, he manages a philanthropic budget where he has awarded grants to fund domestic violence prevention initiatives, local youth organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of Camarillo as well as literacy grants to the Ventura County Rescue Mission. Jesus has a Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and Master’s degree from USC. Jesus’ longstanding involvement in the community includes sitting on the boards of local non-profits and being a member of the Rotary. He has also been appointed by the Board of Supervisors to the Ventura County Workforce Development Board.

Jesus is married to Monica and both are raising their two young children; Joaquin, 3, and Raquel, 1 in Camarillo.

Ventura, CA - Community Memorial Health System’s Bariatric Weight Loss Center has achieved a Comprehensive Center with Adolescent Qualifications accreditation under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, a joint program of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Adolescent qualifications require the center to provide pediatric and psychiatric expertise, and also to include the very specific health needs of an adolescent. Families are an integral part of the process and are included in this major health challenge.

“Community Memorial is committed to providing our patients with the highest level of comprehensive bariatric care,” said Helmuth Billy, M.D, director of Bariatric Surgery at the Bariatric Weight Loss Center located at Community Memorial Hospital. “Our team never stops striving to improve and including adolescent qualifications is another example of that dedication.”

To earn the MBSAQIP designation, Community Memorial met essential criteria for staffing, training and facility infrastructure, ensuring its ability to support patients with severe obesity. The center also participates in a national data registry that yields semiannual reports on the quality of its processes and outcomes, identifying opportunities for continuous quality improvement.

For more information about the CMHS Bariatric Weight Loss Center call 805/658-5839.

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.

Since Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on a Friday this year, Santa Clara Valley Disposal delay its regular Friday trash collection schedule to Saturday in Fillmore both weeks.

The regular collection schedule will return the week of Jan. 4-8, 2016.

As a special holiday feature, residents may put out twice the amount of trash at no extra charge during the two weeks following Christmas. Please make sure the trash is in bags. We will also collect extra recyclables, but please make sure to flatten all boxes.

Also, Harrison is making it easy for their customers to recycle their Christmas trees. All customers need to do is remove the ornaments, hooks, lights, tinsel, bows, nails and tree stand, then cut the tree into sections no more than 4 feet long and place in the yard waste barrel on their scheduled pickup day. Also, for the first year, flocked trees can be recycled.

For more information, call 647-1414.

Santa Clara Valley Hospice Home Support Group Inc.
Light up a Life Memorials and Honors
A light will be shining on the Fillmore/Piru Hospice Tree at
Central Park Plaza in Fillmore, for names of loved ones
received, for Fillmore in MEMORY OF:
Rebecca & John Brown
Mickey “Maud” Estrada
Tina Ramirez
Manuel Guzman
Reyna Valenzuela
Raymond Valenzuela
Raymond Bessera

the following are new this week and if possible add them to the ones above:

Light up a Life Memorials and Honors
A light will be shining on the Fillmore/Piru Hospice Tree at
Central Park Plaza in Fillmore, for names of loved ones
received, for Fillmore in MEMORY O
Aaron Meyers
Carl Meyers
Gertrude Schleimer
Gerry Schleimer
Jerry Schleimer
Alice Schmittou
Leland Schmittou
Corinne Schmittou
Elise Goertz
Hanna Swafford

The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) invites cyclists of all ages and ability levels to take part in its Regional Bicycle Wayfinding Program. The program’s goal is to make it easier to navigate Ventura County by bike.

Between Dec. 9, 2015 and Jan. 29, 2016, VCTC invites members of the public to help identify intercity and cross-county bicycle routes.

The agency has created a Bicycle Wiki Map, available at www.goventura.org, to gather input. Users may log into this online tool to take a brief survey on their cycling habits and create bike routes through an interactive map. Cyclists who track their bike rides with GPS or Strava can upload their routes to be included in the project.

The Bicycle Wiki Map can be accessed directly at: http://wikimapping.com/wikimap/VenturaCountyBikeWayfinding.html
Through the Regional Bicycle Wayfinding Program, VCTC will develop a plan that designates important regional bike routes and specifies design rules and signage templates that help cyclists easily find and navigate them. The plan will also prioritize gaps in the regional network of bike paths for future improvements. Cities across the County will use the plan to install regionally consistent signage and plan future bicycle projects in their jurisdictions.

“Whether you bike to work, to school, to stay in shape or simply for fun, your input is important,” said VCTC Executive Director Darren Kettle. “To make meaningful improvements to Ventura County’s bicycle network, we need to hear from people who are out there using the system and understand its challenges.”

VCTC’s final wayfinding plan will include proposed bikeways, major destinations and services, bicycle parking facilities, and connections to transit. A major purpose of the wayfinding program will be to design and prioritize how the Ventura County network connects cities within the county and to destinations in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties.

About the Ventura County Transportation Commission
The Ventura County Transportation Commission is the regional transportation planning agency committed to keeping Ventura County moving. Program information is available at www.goventura.org.

Fillmore High School Interact Club has kicked off the collection of Canned Food for Fillmore's Christmas Toy Voucher and Christmas Basket Annual Project. This great annual project will be serving 350 families this year.

This is the Fourth year we have been doing this community project and has grown over the years along with the great need. Kids have been busy making posters and started organizing for this great cause. All schools from Fillmore Unified School District participate in this great cause. This year it is being made possible with the generous donations from Children's Services Auxiliary, Toys for Tots Port Hueneme Base, Students from Fillmore Unified Schools, FV Drafting Francisco Vazquez, Vivi Jewelry Ari Larson, American Dream Realty Alex Ortiz, One Call Logistics Ralph Jimenez, Farmers Insurance Paul Maher, Fillmore Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Food Share, Fillmore Rotary Club, Edward Jones Kyle Wilson, St Vincent De Paul, Skillin Carrol Mortuary Martin Guerrero, Water Art Design Veronica and Sean Morris, April Ortiz Foundation Irma Magana, Farmers Insurance Dina Molina, First 5 Santa Clara Valley Neighborhood for Learning and many volunteers.

If you are interested in donating any unexpired canned food items, new all types children's clothing, new toys please contact Irma Magana for pick up at (805)794-2353 or email at Notaryirma@hotmail.com for more information last day to collect is December 23. Thank you for your generosity towards those who have less during the holidays.

Kings Corner Training Stables is holding an Open House on Saturday, December 12th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Kings Corner Training Stables is owned an operated by World Champion Rider and Trainer, Taurie Banks and has been producing top horses and rider for over twenty-five years. She will be available to answer your questions about horses and their care.

This is a great opportunity to meet the horses of Kings Corner Training Stable. See World Champion Stallion “Tribal King”, World Champion Stallion “See En Magic” and “White Pharaoh” who was the stunt horse for Disney's 2013 “The Lone Ranger” movie starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.

Come and get your photo with the Lone Ranger's “Silver”. There are costumes that you can dress up in. Look like the Lone Ranger, a fairy with a magical white horse, or dress up as a knight from the Kings Corner. There will also be horse and pony rides. Proceeds from the Open House go towards competition fees for these amazing horses.

Information on the services that Kings Corner offers will be available, as well as Gift Certificates for Riding Lesson which make a great Holiday Gift.

The United Pegasus Foundation will be there with information about their program and how you can help. United Pegasus Foundation is a non profit organization founded in 1994 dedicated to the rescue of equines. United Pegasus has become one of the largest thoroughbred retirement, rehabilitation and adoption organizations, saving hundreds of former racehorses from slaughter by giving them a well deserved retirement, or second career. Two of the retired racehorses are at Kings Corner Training Stables for retraining to become show horses.

There will be other booths offering information on their products and services, and the neighbors, “Chivas Skin Care” is having their Holiday Boutique. So come and meet some wonderful animals and get your holiday shopping done while your at it.

Kings Corner Training Stables are located at 2230 Bardsdale Avenue, Fillmore. (805) 551-9244 www.kingscornerstables.com or find them on Facebook.

Topic: “Liberty and Justice for All”—What Does it Mean to You?
2015-2016 Sponsored by Lions International, Multiple District Four, California Lions

The Fillmore Lions Club has announced that this year’s contest will be held on Monday, February 1, 2016 at the Fillmore Scout House located at the end of Sespe Avenue by Pole Creek. The Topic will be “Liberty and Justice for All”—What Does it Mean to You?

This topic is very appropriate and interesting in light of our present political climate and many controversies. Chair Bill Edmonds states that the total prize money will be over $21,000 with the Fillmore winner receiving $100 and the runner-ups $25. We can have no more than six speakers to get your application in early. The winner will go on to compete against other winners. All Fillmore high school age youth who live within the Fillmore Unified School District boundaries regardless of school may enter including home-schooled students, foreign exchange students and students of other high schools may enter.

Students who wish to enter may contact Mr. Edmonds at 524-4839 or Principal Tom Ito at FHS. Edmonds emphasizes that this public speaking competition will be very worthwhile to the students and very interesting to their parents and to the community. Public speaking competition will also look very good on college applications and resumes. Students should get started early because it takes time to develop and practice a good speech.

Heather Furness is The Gazette's Cub Reporter

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving this year. Make sure to invite friends and families to your feast. I think they will bring food for your feast. I hope you make great food for your feast and your friends and families will love it. I wonder what you are going to make, but I think you should make turkey because thats the main thing on Thanksgiving. I want to make sure you have a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. I want to say something to you very quick about this Thanksgiving:) HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!