Connecting with our residents and businesses is important to the city council and staff. The city recently finalized a new mobile app for the iPhone and Android smart phones and entered into a contract to update the city website.

Mobile App
The mobile application will allow residents to report on various issues including pot holes, graffiti, and code enforcement via their smart phone and have those requests automatically routed to the correct department for proper handling. The mobile app will provide a list of frequently called numbers, an events calendar and other important information links. The app will be ready to download in April.

Website Development
Vision Internet was selected to develop and new website for the city. Vision Internet has received numerous awards for creating visually appealing websites that are loaded with well-organized content that is easy for the end-user to navigate and designs that promote transparency in government operations. The website will be under development for several months.

The City looks forward to these new communication tools as we move forward with enhancing our communication efforts and continue to show everyone why Fillmore is the “Last Best Small Town.”

David W. Rowlands,
City Manager

STEM talks at E. P. Foster Library

SUBJECT: STEM talks at the library
CONTACT: Sara Roberts, Deputy Director VCLS (805) 256-8535
DATE: March 18, 2015

Learn about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math at your local library.

E.P. Foster Library is excited to present a 3 part series focused on STEM topics. The events are designed to delight and inspire learners of all ages. This project is supported by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

3/28 Origami Math Genius (OMG) 11 a.m. – Noon. OMG is a curriculum built around origami math developed by BiJian Fan to integrate art and science into K-12 education. This program integrates fun, hands-on activities into learning. Students can learn mathematical concepts and logic by creating origami artworks, cultivate imagination and creativity, and develop problem-solving skills.

3/29 The Amgen Biotech Experience 1:30-2:30 p.m. Stop by the library to hear two teachers talk about this innovative science education program, which allows students to engage in learning molecular biology using a hands-on curriculum and research-grade tools, techniques, and supplies. Participating instructors receive training and are able help their classes explore cutting-edge science.

4/29 NOAA and the National Weather Service 5-6 p.m. Eric Boldt, Warning Coordination Meteorologist of NOAA, will speak on STEM topics and the role of the National Weather Service. This talk is for people of all ages interested in STEM fields and the careers they can lead to.

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

City of Fillmore

Aaron Farmer and Sarah Cameron with The Retail Coach will be conducting a meeting with local business owners Monday, March 23rd at 6:00 pm at Fillmore City Hall located at 250 Central Avenue. The Retail Coach has been working with the City to develop a comprehensive demographic and psychographic profile of Fillmore. The profile identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the community in the eyes of the retailer. The Retail Coach will be sharing their findings with local business owners. These findings include:

• Buying habits of Fillmore residents
• Describe retail sales leakage to other cities.
• Opportunities to retail businesses.
• Coaching session for local business owners.

Please contact the City Manager’s office at (805) 524-1500 if you have any questions.

• Ventura: We Honor Veterans Program Tuesday, March 31st at 3:30pm, The Bonaventure 10949 Telegraph Rd, Ventura. Join us to honor and appreciate the men and women who have served in the military.

• Ventura: Aging in America Thursday, March 26th 11-Noon at The Bonaventure 10949 Telegraph Rd, Ventura. Livingston’s Dr. Lanyard Dial, President/CEO and Medical Director presents this seminar which covers aging health issues, chronic disease, demographic changes, and end-of-life issues. RSVP (805) 642-0239 x739.
• Ojai: Peace Beyond Losses on Wednesday, April 15th from 1-2:30pm at Ojai’s Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association office at 202-A Cañada Street, Ojai. Brock Travis, PhD, teaches guidance and support through life changes. Solutions to problems and answers to questions for finding serenity and fulfillment once again following bereavement. More information at (805) 642-0239.

Social Services/Bereavement Groups

• Ojai: Caregiver Support Group Monday, April 6th and 20th from 10:00am – 11:30am at Continuous Care Center, Fireside Room, 1306 Maricopa Hwy, Ojai (behind Ojai Valley Community Hospital). Find encouragement and hope during your time as a caregiver. Share, listen and explore thoughts and feelings about the struggles, losses and successes of caring for your loved one. For more information call (805) 633-9056.

• Ojai: Adult Bereavement CONTINUED »

Fillmore Fire Department would like to remind everyone that fire season is here and Fillmore Fire Department will be doing its annual weed abatement inspections. Let’s get ahead of the game and get your weeds cut down. Weeds must be trimmed below 3” in height and debris removed from the property to eliminate the potentially hazardous situation. The weed abatement deadline is June 1, 2015.

Properties failing to meet this deadline will be cleaned by a City of Fillmore approved Weed Abatement Contractor and the property owner will be billed for the cost plus a 15% administrative fee. These costs constitute a special assessment and MAY BECOME A LIEN AGAINST THE PROPERTIES NOTED PARCEL. The collection of such assessments and enforcement of the lien shall be made by the Ventura County Tax Collector.

The Fillmore Fire Department thanks you in advance for your cooperation in keeping our town safe.

Rigo Landeros
Fire Chief

The Friends of the Santa Paula Blanchard Community Library invite all book lovers to their “Back Stacks” Book Sales. They are held the first Saturday of every month from 10AM to 2PM, every Wednesday from Noon to 4PM, and every Thursday, and Friday from Noon to 2PM.The next First-Saturday sale will be April 4, 2015. The sales offer great choices in fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and collectibles and are accessed from the north parking lot of the library at 119 N. 8th Street, Santa Paula, CA.Most books are priced from $.50-$2.00.Collectibles start at $4.00.

This month’s specials include a 1969 edition of “To The Moon” ,a boxed set containing one book and 6 (33 1/3) records telling the story of the first moon landing, all for $1.00. There is also a 17 volume set of “The Supernatural”, everything you ever wanted to know about the paranormal, priced at $1.00 for the set.

For more information email fobcl@yahoo.com.

Ventura, CA - Local physicians will share extraordinary stories about patients as part of the Community Memorial Health System 2015 Speaker Series, on Wednesday, March 25thand will run from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The Ethics in Healthcare topic “How Doctors Feel: Extraordinary Physician Stories” will be presented at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St., Ventura.

Featured speakers will be: JimHorstein, M.D., CMHS’s Chair of the Bioethics Committee and family physician moderates and presents, along withAlison Shuman, M.D., pediatrician; Gosta Iwasiuk, M.D., surgeon; and Jennifer Vinson, M.D., resident. They will share stories – some funny or tragic, some touching or just silly – that reflect the profoundly human bond between physicians and patients. All stories are incredibly personal because they reflect the lessons learned about life, death, relationships and meaning,

Registration is free but reservations are required. For more information or to register visit www.cmhshealth.org/rsvp or call 800/838-3006.

Future scheduled Speaker Series topics include: Ethics in Healthcare - Is Death Ever The Best Treatment?A Debate on the Pros and Cons of Physician-Assisted Suicide on April 16 at Ventura County Museum, Neurological Diseases of Aging on April 21 in Oxnard, Update on Management of Brain Tumors on May 12; and Skin Cancer on June 16.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and 12 family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.

Ventura County Public Works Agency’s (VCPWA) Department of Transportation have begun pavement resurfacing work spanning 10 miles of roads located near the city of Fillmore.

Bids for this project were opened in 2014 and the project has been awarded to MAI/PCC of Pico Rivera, Calif. for $1.3 million. MAI/PCC started construction this month and expects to complete the work by the end of April. Some roads will receive two or three layers of resurfacing, depending on the condition of the pavement.

Thin-layer pavement resurfacing using rubberized chip seal technology, along with microsurfacing and base repair, will extend the pavement life for many years before further treatment is needed. The project will also include AC curb rehabilitation, striping, and signing. Additional benefits include lower maintenance costs and a smoother ride.

Rubberized chip seal treatment also recycles mountains of old car tires, keeping them out of landfills. VCPWA has been using rubberized chip seal for about six years, with its first application in Bardsdale, near Fillmore.

The roads to be resurfaced include Sycamore Road, Seventh Street, Young Road, Hall Road, Cliff Avenue, Oak Avenue, Orcutt Road, and Willard Road. Flyers have been mailed to local residents giving details about which roads will be resurfaced and what treatment each road will receive. A website gives details about the project at http://pwa.ventura.org/pwa/sespe-paving. The County’s project manager, June Kim, may be reached at (805) 654-2065.

Applications are now available for the Fillmore Women's Service Club Educational Scholarship for Adult Women returning to College or Trade School. Applicants must reside within the Fillmore School District and be 25 years of age or older. For information and an application form please telephone Susan Banks at 524-2020. Deadline is Friday April 10th, 2015.

Applications are now available for the FILLMORE WOMEN'S SERVICE CLUB Educational Scholarships. Any graduating High School Senior going to a Public or Private School, who RESIDES within the Fillmore Unified School District and is continuing on to a College, University or Trade School can apply. Applications are available at Fillmore High School or by telephoning Susan Banks at 524-2020. Deadline is Friday April 10th, 2015.

FOOD Share—Ventura County’s food bank and distribution network—announces another tool to fight hunger: a mobile pantry.

FOOD Share and Friends, the name chosen for the mobile pantry, will be introduced to the community during an open house from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, at the FOOD Share distribution center, 4156 Southbank Road, Oxnard. Tours of the mobile pantry will be available and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

The FOOD Share and Friends mobile pantry is designed to reach those in need living in underserved areas and food deserts without nearby access to one of FOOD Share’s 180 traditional food pantries and programs available in Ventura County. The mobile pantry operators will also offer food demonstrations for food insecure families to educate them on the benefits of healthy eating habits.In addition to providing healthy foods, FOOD Share is collaborating with a host of social service providers, such as Ventura County Health Care Agency and the County of Ventura Human Services Agency, to connect people with a network of essential services through FOOD Share and Friends that include: healthcare, dental health and employment training.

Extensive research performed by California State University, Channel Islands’ California Institute for Social Business surveyed the entire county by census tract to identify areas where health, employment, food security and housing were most in need of improvement. FOOD Share and Friends will make those census tracts a preferred destination.

Poverty statistics do not cover the total number of people in Ventura County who need help buying food on a regular basis. In addition to families consisting of two adults and two children who fall below the poverty level of $22,048 per year in a county where the living wage per family is $48,443--there are families living above the official poverty rate who face challenges in meeting basic food, housing and health care needs.

For information or to RSVP to the FOOD Share and Friends Mobile Pantry debut event, call Jessica Entrekin at 805-983-7100, ext. 129 or jentrekin@foodshare.com.

Event Information:
Who: FOOD Share
What: FOOD Share and Friends Mobile Pantry unveiling
When: Wednesday, March 25, from 5-7:30 p.m.
Where: FOOD Share, 4156 Southbank Road, Oxnard, Calif. 93036

About FOOD Share:
More than 35 years ago, eight citizens performed a good deed by distributing food to those who were in need underneath a Ventura bridge. The early philanthropic movement quickly formed into what is now Ventura County’s regional food bank, FOOD Share, which has grown from serving a few hundred hungry people per month to 74,500 people. Today, staff and volunteers distribute more than 10 million pounds of food annually from two warehouses; more than 180 partner agencies, which include neighborhood and church food distributions and soup kitchens; as well as hunger assistance programs. FOOD Share’s programs provide healthy nutrition and education to children, families and seniors, which include: Kids’ Farmers Market, SENIOR Share, Nutrition Education, Community Market, SoCal Gas CARE Program and more. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, FOOD Share is a member of the Feeding America network, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. For more information about FOOD Share, visitwww.foodshare.com. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.

VENTURA COUNTY AREA AGENCY ON AGING
Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP)

April, 2015, Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program (HICAP) Outreach Presentations in Ventura County

HICAP community educators & Counselors will be conducting “Enhance Your Out-of-Pocket Savings”! The Educators and counselors will present ways to save on your health care needs and many more tips. Learn about the Benefit Counseling Checkup Center’s tool to find positive ways to find that extra income you may need.

WHERE AND WHEN:
Palm Vista Senior Center
801 South C Street
Oxnard, CA 93030
(805) 477-7310
Tuesday, April 7, 2015, 12:00pm – 1:00pm

WHERE AND WHEN:
Moorpark Active Adult Center
799 Moorpark Avenue
Moorpark, CA 93021
(805) 517-6261, ext. 261
Thursday, April 9, 2015, 1:00pm – 2:30pm

WHERE AND WHEN:
Simi Valley Senior Center
3900 Avenida Simi
Simi Valley, CA 93063
(805) 583-6363
Tuesday, April 14, 2015, 1:30pm - 3:00pm

WHERE AND WHEN:
Fillmore Senior Center
533 Santa Clara St.
Fillmore, CA 93015
(805) 524-4533
Friday, April 17, 2015, 11:30am – 12:30pm

WHERE AND WHEN:
Camarillo Healthcare District
3639 E. Las Posas Rd.
Camarillo, CA 93010
(805) 388-1952
Friday, April 17, 2015, 1:30pm – 3:00pm

For more information on the April Presentations contact HICAP at 1.800.434.0222

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 Oxnard on Saturday, March 28.

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

In 2014, an estimated 235,030 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.

“These women have nowhere else in the county to go to get these services; that’s why they come to us,” said Patty Jimenez, Healthy Women’s Program Outreach coordinator.

The Healthy Women’s Program is made possible through funds raised by the Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation’s annual Gold Dust Gala, along with the generous support of the Wallis Foundation.

Women should call 805/651-2661 to see if they qualify for the program. For more information on the Healthy Women’s Program visit www.cmhshealth.org/healthywomen.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, and 12family-practice health centers entitled Centers for Family Health. The health system is located in Ventura County, California.