Nan Drake

Nan Drake, government affairs and public relations director for Harrison Industries, is this year’s recipient of the Ventura County Economic Develop Association’s prestigious Carl Lowthrop Golden Eagle Award for outstanding public service.

Drake received the award – VCEDA’s highest honor – during the organization’s recent 64th annual Installation of Officers event at Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo. The award is named in honor of Lowthrop, whose vision guided VCEDA for two decades, and is given each year to a volunteer demonstrating exemplary character.

Drake has over a 35-year record of service in Ventura County in both the public and private sectors. A member of the Ventura City Council from 1985 to 1989, she currently serves on the executive board of VCEDA as well as on the board of directors of the Economic Development Cooperative, Ventura County, and the Ventura and Carpinteria Chambers of Commerce. In addition, Drake is co-chair of the Ventura St. Patrick’s Day Parade committee.

Drake also served as chair of the Los Angeles Region Water Quality Board and as a board member of the California Integrated Waste Management Board. In 2012 Drake was honored for the fifth consecutive year as one of the Top 50 Women in Business in the Tri-Counties by the Pacific Coast Business Times.

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Every day people across Ventura County use the Ventura Family YMCA as a gathering place for the community. Kids pour in before and after school to play and do homework. Seniors connect with one another through exercise classes and group activities. Families learn how to eat healthy and grow together. To ensure that the Y can continue to provide Ventura County residents with life enhancing services, each year we launch an annual community support campaign to raise money for the members of our community in need.

As a leading nonprofit for strengthening community, financial gifts to the Y will help advance programming and services that support youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. More importantly, the Y uses your gift to make a meaningful, enduring impact right in your own neighborhood.

“Through our community support campaign, we want to educate people that we are more than a place to go to exercise or swim, but an organization that does vital work thanks to the support of the community,” said Sal Cisneros, President and CEO of the Channel Islands YMCA. “The Y contributes to improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods through a variety of ways that benefit all of us who live and work in the communities of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties”.

Last year we raised over $1.3 million dollars in financial support for the community. $300,000 of that was raised for those in need in Ventura County! We know that when we work as one, we move people and communities forward. That's why we are committed to providing support to our neighbors and opportunities for kids, adults and families to give, join in or advocate in the name of stronger communities.

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The Ventura County Rose Society will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, February 28, 2013, at the Ventura County Office of Education Conference Center at 5100 Adolfo Rd., Camarillo.

The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for advice from Consulting Rosarians and refreshments, and our speaker presentation will begin at 7:30 pm.

The VCRS meeting will feature David Bassani, a professional garden designer and landscape contractor, who will speak on "Smart Tips for the Rose Garden" including tips for wise water consumption, companion plants, and rose garden designs. David is the President of the San Fernando valley Rose Society, a Board Member of the Beverly Hills Rose Society, and part of the International Rose Trials at Rose Hills.

Visitors are always welcome. For more information contact: Janet Sklar at 818-337-9970 or Dawn-Marie Johnson at 805-523-9003. Our website is www.venturarose.org

LOST DOG – Poodle type dog, floppy years grey short hair with black spots. Answers to Sparky. Family holds dear to heart. Lost on February 10, around Santa Clara Valley Bank, 805-421-9409

Hit and run on January 18th, 2013 at 10:30 p.m. On Hwy 126 and Sycamore Rd. East of the Railroad Tracks. Vehicle description Ford Explorer Light Brown, Between 1996 & 1999. If you have any information, that will help in the investigation a REWARD will be given. Please call 805-421-6773.

The Fillmore Chamber of Commerce is exited to announce our 2013 Board of Directors. The Chamber is making every effort to better the economy in Fillmore by sticking to it's slogan, "Shop Fillmore, Shop Local". The Chamber also brings many events to the community. Some events that are right around the corner are: The State of the City address presented to you by Mayor Rick Neal will take place on Thursday, February 21st at the Wm. L. Morris Chevrolet dealership showroom. Social hour will start at 5:30 and the presentation will begin at 6:00 pm. The Community Awards & Installation Dinner will be on Thursday, March 28 at the Memorial Building. Social hour will begin at 5:00 pm and the program and dinner will start at 6:00 pm. The Fillmore May Orange Festival will be May 16, 17, 18 and 19 in downtown Fillmore. The Sespe Creek Car Show and Chili Cook Off will be July 4 in downtown Fillmore. We host mixers on a monthly basis and grand opening ribbon cutting ceremonies throughout the community. We have other events we are working on and will announce them at a later date. We welcome the community to give us a call if they would like to be a part of one of the events or be a volunteer and help out. The Fillmore Chamber of Commerce is located at 211 Central Avenue and the phone number is 805-524-0351. In the office you will either find Evelyn Hasty our Administrative Assistant, Rosa Martel our Sales Director, Leanne Thompson, Coordinator for the Sespe Creek Car Show and or Shawn Diaz, Coordinator for the May Orange Festival Concert. If you would like to be a member stop by and sign up or feel free to give us a call. Hop on board and join the fun!

Father Artur Gruszka, representing St. Francis of Assisi parish located at 1048 Ventura St., received a certificate of appreciation from Vision 2020, Civic Pride Committee for their generous support of our downtown Central replanting project. Father Barney Gatlin had submitted the donation to sponsor 4 pots before his retirement.

Father Gruszka has served 4 years as priest and one year as administrator for the church. He was born in Glogow, Poland & began his studies in law for 3 years before feeling that God was calling him to seminary. He began with a study of philosophy and then transferred to Cyril & Methodius Seminary in Michigan to complete his studies.

When asked about their involvement in our project, Father Gruszka said that the parish likes to serve in the community in different ways. Their biggest outreach is to the poor through their St. Vincent de Paul distribution of food on Tuesdays at 9am. They receive donations from various local stores for this ministry.

The church consists of a mix of ages with a high concentration of youth and they offer services in both English and Spanish, as well as faith based Bible studies and RCIA (Rite of ChristianChristian Initiation of Adults). The website with service times & further information is www.stfrancisfillmore.com.

Father Artur Gruszka has been in the United States for 8 years and recently returned to Poland to baptize his niece, the first new baby in his family.

Civic Pride Committee appreciates the blend of individuals, businesses, and this local church that have gotten involved in beautifying our Fillmore community for everyone’s enjoyment.

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 February 9, 2013 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.

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, free of charge, all are welcome. The groups are held at:

The First Presbyterian Church, 850 Ivywood Drive, Oxnard; On Wednesday, February 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th ; from 3:00 – 4:30 pm

Livingston Memorial VNA, 1996 Eastman Ave (#112), Ventura; On Wednesday, February 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th ; from 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Help of Ojai, 370 Baldwin Road, Ojai; On Tuesdays, February 12th & 26th, from 10:30 am – 12 noon

For the newly bereaved: at Livingston Memorial VNA, 1996 Eastman Ave, (#112), Ventura; On Thursday. February 14th, 6:00 – 7:30 pm

Call 642-1608 for more information.

Santa Clara Valley Disposal will maintain its regular Friday trash and green waste collection schedule in Fillmore on Feb. 22, during the week of Presidents’ Day.

For more information, call 647-1414.

Location: West Oxnard Job & Career Center
635 S. Ventura Road, Oxnard
805-204-5171

Wednesday, February 13 - Resumes that Sell, 8:30 am – 12:00 noon - Workshop providing hands-on assistance in completing a resume, cover and thank-you letters. Walk away with a portfolio that shows off professional skills and experience. Career Shops are offered at no cost to Job Seekers. Space is limited. Prior registration required by calling the West Oxnard Job & Career Center at 805-204-5171 to enroll.

Thursday, February 14 - Winning Interviews, 8:30 am – 12:00 noon - Supplies the tools to make a lasting first impression when interviewing. Career Shops are offered at no cost to Job Seekers. Space is limited. Prior registration required by calling the West Oxnard Job & Career Center at 805-204-5171 to enroll.

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Vision 2020, Civic Pride Committee was pleased to award Carmen & John Zermeno a certificate of appreciation for participating in our downtown planting project by sponsoring one of the pots at the corner of Santa Clara & Central Avenue.

When asked about why they got involved, they both replied that “Fillmore is their home” & they “like to help out when they can” & also that they “appreciate it looking pretty”.

John arrived in Fillmore in 1952 and Carmen in 1974. They have raised 5 children here & saw them excel in the Fillmore school system, winning scholarships to schools like Harvard.

John worked for the school district for 30 years, & taught night classes at Ventura College, ESL, for migrant education. Carmen has been a docent at Rancho Camulos for 10 years and has also participated in our Fillmore Flower show each year.

Fillmore can stand behind its claim to being the “last of the great small towns” because of the people that call this place “home” and work to make it a great place to live.

Virginia Neuman, who regularly teaches art at San Cayetano Elementary School and the Senior Center, has been giving art lessons to groups of children at the Boys and Girls Club in Fillmore since the beginning of the 2012 school year. This has been made possible through a grant provided by the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation.

She gives two lessons on Wednesday afternoons to different age groups, ranging from Kindergarten to 5th grade. The lessons are informal and supplement whatever other art instruction they receive at school. Some of the more popular lessons have been using scratch art paper at Christmas and drawing a skeleton at Halloween. They have also learnt to draw castles, houses and dinosaurs, small portraits and origami. The children have worked with paint and crayons, oil pastels and pencil, in small groups of ten to a dozen students. Different age groups rotate each week, so each group gets a lesson about once every three weeks.

Please join us on February 6th from 5-7PM at the Boys & Girls Club to see this fabulous art work on display in their First Annual Art Show.

Never have I met anyone who has had a love for chickens as much as Luke Samuel Kraft. Since he was just one year old, he developed this love for chickens and eggs. He started collecting the eggs from his four hens daily to be a little helper to his Mommy. It’s a favorite thing for him to do. During the summer of 2012 his Pop (grandpa) took him to get a bantam pair of chickens for himself. He was so excited to have his own set of chickens. Little ones, just for him. He helped his daddy make a special coop for them too. He named the boy “Rooster” and the hen “Girl”. He loves his girl the most. Luke can’t wait until she starts laying some eggs. Luke goes outside every day to check her and let them out of the coop to roam for the day. Often he will bring Girl inside for a short time. There he holds her and they read stories together, watch cartoons, he talks to her and cares for her. When they are outside he will play in the sandbox with her and follower her around the yard. In the fall when Luke went to choose his pumpkin he insisted that Girl needed a pumpkin too. For Christmas he found a nest for her and was excited to give it to her as a gift. He will often push her in his little shopping cart and go down the street to his grandparent’s house to visit and share his girl. For his third Birthday he requested to have a “chicken party” and he wanted a cake that looked just like his “girl”. So off we went looking for the perfect cake topper and he found one! Of course, it looked just like girl too. Occasionally he gets to bring her in the car if we are running quick errands. This little hen is the sweetest thing. She won’t run or fly away from him. Sometimes she will just look up at him with the sweetest look. She seems to love Luke Samuel just as much as he loves her.

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WELCOME FARM WATCH READERS!

Detective Ray Dominguez had the following to report for this edition:

Happy New Year Farm Watch readers, I hope all of you are off to a good start this year. As I mentioned in the last edition, I have been working on the Owner Applied Number Program, and all the renewal letters have been sent out. If you currently have an OAN, but did not receive a letter please contact me at (805) 384-4726 or ray.dominguez@ventura.org for assistance.

With regard to the OAN Program, I have been receiving a lot of calls asking for information, and some commonly asked questions and answers are as follows:

Q: Do I have an Owner Applied Number?

A: If you received a letter, you have a number issued. Check the mailing label attached to the letter for your number sequence. If you received multiple letters from us, that means you have multiple OAN’s issued to you. Please complete each application and send it back to us.

Q: I have multiple farm/ranch properties I would like to register. How do I go about doing it?

A: Make photocopies of the blank application form and fill out the appropriate information as it relates to each property, then send it back to us. If you already have a number issued, we’ll just provide you with a new sequence (i.e. CA0561000A, CA0561000B, etc.). Note the number stays the same, just the last alpha character changes with the addition of new properties.

Note: if you are adding a property that was not previously issued a number sequence, please write “NEW APP” in the upper right corner of the application form. This will help me and our data entry folks with processing the application.

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Vision 2020, Civic Pride Committee was pleased to present a certificate of appreciation to Theresa and Henry Robledo and son, Adrian, 11 years, for their support of our downtown planting project. Ari Larson had mentioned the project to them and they wanted to get involved with sponsoring two of the pots.

This family not only sponsored pots, but came out on the big planting day with brooms in hand & helped clean up along the sidewalk behind those who were busy planting the flowers & putting in new potting soil.

When asked about why they were interested in the project, Theresa said they have a “vested” interest in the community with their local business, Diamond Realty and Investments. Theresa has been a broker for 8 years and Henry, a realtor since 1999. Their business serves all of Ventura County. Theresa said to check out their webpage at www.diamondrealtyteam.com. She wanted people to “stay tuned” for Diamond Realty & Investments’ announcement of an exciting grand opening in the future. You can search for Diamond Realty Team on Facebook & “like” them to receive an invitation with information, when the opening is announced.

Adrian is a confident & enthusiastic young man & expressed his enjoyment in being involved on the community project. He suggested that we get more young people involved in these projects on a regular basis.